The Purpose of Gifts
1 Corinthians 12:1-11, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.”
September 19, 2010: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Romans 12:1-13
The Purpose of Gifts
Douglas Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
Romans 12:1-13, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.”
Spiritual gifts are so important to the Christian life and the health and vitality of the church that Paul writes about them to the believers in the churches in Rome, Ephesus, and Corinth. The foundation for spiritual gifts about which Paul doesn’t want us to be uniformed or ignorant, is the belief that God gives every believer certain gifts that, when used properly, allow the body of Christ to fulfill its role and the individual to develop into the person God created her or him to be. God thinks so much of us that God has given each of us a spiritual gift with which we can be a blessing to others in Jesus’ name. 1 Corinthians 12:7 makes it clear we are given spiritual gifts or “the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Spiritual gifts are primarily for building up the Body of Christ, but we are also blessed and benefit when we use them. Like members of a jazz band, concert band, or symphony orchestra, there is great diversity within the Body of Christ and our differences are by God’s design. A saxophone, a violin, and a drum look and sound quite different. To listen to one instrument playing only its part of a larger piece often isn’t as inspiring as when all the instruments are playing their part at the same time – take it from a dad whose son plays the trombone. When all the parts of a group come together there is music that creates a mood, communicates a message, and moves the spirit. The same is true of each of us in the church. When we as individuals come together and do our part, our diverse contributions enable the ministry and message of Jesus to be accomplished. Serving together we create a mood, communicate a message, and move the Spirit. It is necessary to understand our uniqueness and appreciate other’s differences if we are to serve as God intends us to serve.
“Spiritual gifts are special abilities distributed by the Holy Spirit to every believer according to God’s design and grace for the common good of the Body of Christ.” Some examples of spiritual gifts we see in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 include administration, encouragement, evangelism, faith, giving, helps, hospitality, intercession, leadership, mercy, shepherding, teaching, and wisdom. There are people in this room who are gifted and called to do ministry in ways you and I have no interest in and vice versa. The Body of Christ is a collection of gifts that are as diverse as the cells within the human body. Everyone is valued and valuable because we each have a gift to contribute to the Body of Christ of which Jesus is the head.
Some of you have been through a Spiritual Gifts Discovery class or have heard sermons about them before, but if you haven’t basically spiritual gifts are God given. They are divine endowments used for spiritual purposes. They are the abilities God has given us to make our unique contribution. Spiritual gifts allow us to serve one another better and we do so to glorify God and build up other people. While our spiritual gifts can be used in ministry outside the local church, we are not to neglect their use within the church.
The scriptures are not clear about when God gives spiritual gifts to us: some think when a person becomes a Christian and receives the Holy Spirit; some think at birth. Neither of these can be proved definitively from the Bible but we do know some people have more than one primary gift and that all gifts are enhanced and developed as they are used. God doesn’t hold us accountable for spiritual gifts we don’t have, we are responsible for the ones we’re given.
A man who was a teacher for many years shared the following experience: Every Christmas most of the students would give me a token gift. After a while you didn’t have to be a fortune teller to guess what the gifts would be – especially if it came in a long flat box. It was a handkerchief. It got to the point where I never opened those long flat boxes. I just stacked them in my closet. Whenever I needed a handkerchief, I opened one up. One day I opened a box and inside was an antique pocket watch. All this time I had been given an antique pocket watch and I didn’t know it.”
What was the impact of this teacher failing to unwrap his gift?
He lost the joy and benefit of using the antique watch. Some of us may put ourselves down thinking we have no gifts of value. Can you imagine how you would feel if you were the student who had given your teacher such a precious, valuable, and significant gift as an expression of appreciation and gratitude? How would you feel when the gift you gave was never acknowledged, appreciated or used? How does God feel when we act like that teacher and stack our spiritual potential in the closed and never unwrap it and use it? How does the Lord respond when we fail to acknowledge, appreciate, or use our spiritual gift?
One clue is given in the parable of the talents that Pastor Mary will be preaching about next month. In Matthew 25:14-30 the servant who buried his master’s treasure in the ground and never risked using it is chewed out by his master, loses what he was given, and is thrown out of his master’s presence.
There is something rare and valuable about each of us even though we may not realize it or see ourselves in that way. Perhaps there is more to who we are and what God can do with us and through us than we know. The New Testament tells us it is God’s will for us to discover and use our spiritual gifts and that we will be accountable for how we use them (1 Peter 4:10). Spiritual gifts are the primary way God accomplishes much of what God does in the world through the church. As individual Christians we become more fulfilled as we discover and use our gifts. Unity is accomplished as we find our place in the Body of Christ. God is glorified by the caring and service that take place.
I read about a pastor who preached about spiritual gifts in his church. After the worship service a big man with long hair and more than a couple tattoos approached the pastor. He said, “I can’t preach. I can’t play an instrument. I’m a mechanic, here’s what I can do…” And so began a conversation that was the start of an auto repair ministry for single mothers that grew into a program where folks would even donate cars they no longer needed and the auto ministry tuned them up and they were given to people who needed safe, reliable transportation. It never would have happened without the initiative of a mechanic, looking to serve with his gifts.
Another benefit of a church emphasizing spiritual gifts is it helps people avoid burnout. People who are serving in their area of giftedness tend to be energetic and enthusiastic so they don’t get tired or demoralized as easily. We can be very active and busy in a church without feeling fulfilled and without being fruitful and effective, if we are serving in the wrong area or the wrong place. If you are feeling guilty, resentful or dissatisfied where you are serving, especially if you know in your heart there is something else you’d rather do, you ought to resign from what you’re currently doing and pray about what you might do because you may be serving in the wrong place.
Another purpose of spiritual gifts is that they are a great leveler of persons in the church. All the spiritual gifts are needed and contribute to the health, vitality, and strength of the church. The quality of ministry goes up when all of us are doing what we do best. Several negative things happen in church when folks aren’t using their spiritual gifts.
- The Body of Christ is never complete because many of God’s gifts are overlooked.
- Basic ministries such as evangelism and mercy may not be carried out because many of the folks who have these gifts are holding other positions or doing other things.
- The ministry of the church may be limited to a few members who rotate around a few key positions. This can lead to an inactive, uninvolved membership, an overworked minority, and often a few people who are into power trying to control what does or doesn’t happen in and through the church.
- Many church members may be dissatisfied with their life in the Christian faith.
- A church may experience an overdependence on programs or pastors instead of the spiritual growth and service of its members.
Exercising our spiritual gifts is done with a servant’s heart and mind because of gratitude in our heart for what Jesus has done for us. Servants of Christ don’t feel they are “doing their time” or “paying their dues.” We use our spiritual gifts because we want to, we feel fulfilled, and we help build the Body of Christ and make a difference in the lives of other people. The Biblical model of the church is for the people, the members of the body, to care for one another. A pastor’s role is to help equip people to discover, learn about, receive training, and get involved in ministry where they’re gifted. I am thrilled we have about 80 people taking our spiritual gift class and we have several hundred people serving at BBC where they are gifted. Let me say something to some of our oldest members who have served for many decades and been a great blessing and to our children who haven’t even finished elementary or middle school. Don’t feel that there isn’t anything you can do for the common good or to build the Body of Christ. There are two things we can do from when we’re young until the end of our life – we can pray for people and we can encourage people.
Together we can be a body of believers who want our lives to count for Christ and to impact the world God loves and for which Jesus died and rose again. A lot of people have no idea who Jesus is and it is our privilege to tell them. An old nun who was living in a convent next to a construction site noticed the coarse language of the workers and decided to spend some time with them to correct their ways. She decided she would take her lunch; sit with the workers; and talk with them. She put her sandwich in a brown bag and walked over to the spot where the men were eating. Sporting a big smile, she walked up to the group and asked: “Do you men know Jesus?”
They shook their heads and looked at each other very confused.
One of the workers looked up into the steelworks and yelled out,
“Anybody up there know Jesus?”
One of the steelworkers yelled down, “Why?”
The worker yelled back, “Cause his wife’s here with his lunch.”
An ancient Hindu proverb says that at one time all people thought they were divine. So Brahma decided to hide the gift of divinity. But where would he hide it? One said, “Hide it on the highest mountain.” But Brahma said, “No, some day people will climb the highest mountain.” Some said, “Hide it in the depths of the sea.” But Brahma said, “No, some day people will plumb the depths of the sea. Anyone else have a suggestion?” he asked. All were silent. Then Brahma had an idea: “We will hide it within each human. They will never think to look there.”
Psalm 8 tells us we are created a little less than God. Jesus tells us the kingdom of heaven is within us (Luke 17:21, King James Version). There is valuable treasure waiting within us to be discovered and shared, if we will take the time to unwrap it and put it to use. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:12, “Since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for building up the church.”
Our goal as a church is to have fully devoted followers of Jesus making our unique contribution in a meaningful place of service.