PvBibleAlive.com Parkview Baptist Church 3430 South Meridian Wichita, Kansas 67217
Spiritual Gifts
1 Corinthians 12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 And there are varieties of workings, but the same God who works everything in everyone. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to someone else faith [d]by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of [e]healing [f]by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the workings of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the [g]distinguishing of spirits, to someone else various kinds of tongues, and to another the [h]translation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For also [i]by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Well, this morning’s message begins a series of sermons that I will be preaching in response to the church health survey we did last year. For those of you who were not here when we took that survey, thirty of our members took a survey evaluating our church on 8 characteristics of a healthy church. The survey asked questions about our church and things like our small groups, our worship, our leadership, our outreach efforts. And the point behind the survey was to find out what our strengths and weaknesses are.
Our top four highest scores, our strengths, on the survey were loving relationships, empowering leadership, inspiring worship service, and holistic small groups. Those numbers were very encouraging to me. It meant that as far as what is happening at our church, our small group Bible studies and worship service, many of you are feeling blessed. And that is something to celebrate. It is wonderful to hear from you that your Sunday School classes are meaningful to you. I am encouraged when you say that our worship services meet your spiritual needs. And we know we want to continue growing in the areas of our strengths.
But, in addition to our strengths, the survey specified our weaknesses. Our second lowest score was need-oriented evangelism. Need-oriented evangelism is the church function that turns our focus on reaching the neighborhood around us with the gospel. It seeks ways to meet the needs of our neighbors so we can build relationships and share the gospel. Some examples of that would be some things that we have done in the past. We had the angel food ministry, trunk or treat, Vacation Bible School, the quilt ministry, and block parties. The challenge in this area, especially for us today, is to figure out a need that we are able to meet, with the people that we have. And we will be looking more at needs-based evangelism as we move along.
But today I want to look what our lowest score was; Gift-based ministry. Gift-based ministries is the function of the church that helps the members of a church figure out what their spiritual gifts are, and helps its members find ways to use those gifts either inside or outside the church. And we are going to begin today addressing this essential component of our church.
What this lower score tells us is that, we as a church should be doing more to help our members identify and use their spiritual gifts. So, today I am going to begin a series of sermons on the spiritual gifts. Then, after we have a better understanding and definition of those gifts, we are going to ask each of you to take an enhanced gift survey. I call it an enhanced gift survey because I have put it together in order to do more than just identify your gift. I have also incorporated some questions about how you are exercising your gifts now. There are also questions about how you could see yourself using your gifts in the future. My hope is that we will be able to identify some areas of giftedness that may inspire us concerning a future ministry in our church and to our neighborhood.
We will get into all of that as we move forward. But here is the biggest thing for you to know right now. You have a spiritual gift from God. I’ve heard from a number of people down through the years, who would tell me, “I don’t have a spiritual gift.” That’s just not true. If you are a Christian, you have a spiritual gift. Paul says, in the passage we just read,
7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable.
11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one (every man) individually just as He wills.
13 For also [i]by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Every believer has a spiritual gift. You may not know what it is, you may not be able to define it, but you have it. And we are all supposed to exercise our gift in the church. So, what are these sermons going to be about? I once heard a quote from Michelangelo after he took a piece of discarded granite and carved an ornate and beautiful statue of an angel. Someone asked him what inspired him to look at that stone and carve what he did. He stated that it wasn’t something in him that inspired, but rather, he saw the angel in the granite, and simply carved to set it free.
What does that mean for us in the church regarding spiritual gifts? Every believer has them in them. And it is the task of the church to carve and set those gifts free. We want to do that for you.
Prayer
Well, we are just going to be laying some groundwork today. We won’t get to the actual definitions of the spiritual gifts until next week. Today we will look at Chapter 12:4-7 and answer some fundamental questions.
Paul starts out 1 Corinthians 12 this way,
12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.
And that is our goal as well. We don’t want you to be ignorant. We have some questions to answer. The word ignorant is the same word we get agnostic from. An atheist is someone who doesn’t believe in God, an agnostic says, “I don’t know.” Paul doesn’t want you to not know about spiritual gifts, and to not understand them. He wants you to be fully aware of what they are, how they are to be used, what gifts you have, and how they all fit together in the church.
He, and we, don’t want you ignorant. But, to be blunt, there is a lot of ignorance about the gifts of the Holy Spirit today. Ignorance shows itself in a number of places; in the abuse of gifts, ignoring them, neglecting them, overemphasizing the wrong ones, confusing counterfeits for real. And the ignorance concerning the gifts today, is very similar to the ignorance that Paul was addressing 2000 years ago in this letter to the Corinthians. We’ve already studied the two letters to the church in Corinth, so we are not going to revisit all of that background material now. But our goal is the same as Paul’s. We don’t want our church to be ignorant of spiritual gifts.
We want you to understand what they are, and to get a good understanding of what spiritual gifts you have. Why? So, you can use them in the church, in your life, in your home. Here’s a little exercised secret for you. This church, any church, cannot function properly if you don’t exercise the gifts God has given you. Oh yeah, we might limp along if some people don’t exercise their gifts. But we will never be the church God has designed if everybody chooses to be a spectator.
Now, there are many questions that surround spiritual gifts, all of which we will be answering as we study chapter 12. Now, we’re not going to be able to cover it all in one session; you know that.
So, Paul begins with three simple statements;
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 And there are varieties of workings, but the same God who works everything in everyone. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable.
From those statements we get some beginning truths expressed in these questions that we will answer. 1. What is the source of the spiritual gifts? 2. What are the varieties of spiritual gifts? 3. How many spiritual gifts are there? 4. What is the purpose for the spiritual gifts?
So, let’s start.
1. What is the source of the spiritual gifts?
Look again at these verses.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 And there are varieties of workings, but the same God who works everything in everyone. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable.
These gifts come from God, the Lord, the Spirit of God. Your spiritual gifts are given to you. You didn’t learn them in a school. You didn’t muster them up by will power. They are the manifestation of the Spirit as it says in verse 7.
So why is it important for us to start with this truth? Because we need to know that the spiritual gift in us was a special gift given at salvation.
There are three points here.
First, your gift was Given by the Spirit at salvation. Second, they are spiritual gifts not talents. Third, they are not by merit.
First, your gift was Given by the Spirit at salvation. Let me read a passage to support that.
“What I am,” like Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, “I am by the,” – what? – “by the grace of God.”
He is saying that he didn’t choose to be made an apostle, he was chosen, and given spiritual gifts to accomplish that task.
They are given at salvation, so we are not talking about talents. Here’s the difference. Here’s the difference between a talent and a spiritual gift. Every person, Christian or not, has talents. You don’t have to be a Christian to play a mean guitar. But gifts of the Spirit come after you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. So, you might have played a mean guitar before you became a Christian, you take your talents and work them out through our gifts. but when you become a Christian, you might be given the gift of service, and so exercise your talent on the guitar through your gift by performing for people in church, or at a nursing facility.
3rd, the gifts are given, not by merit. The passage we just read about Paul calls the gifts “charisma.” Charisma can be translated “gifts of God’s grace.”
The next foundational truth we need to understand, Paul talks about varieties of Spiritual gifts.
2. What are the varieties of spiritual gifts?
Read again
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 And there are varieties of workings, but the same God who works everything in everyone. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable.
The word “Varieties” “Diversities” “Distributions” is used three times in these three verses. Varieties of gifts, varieties of ministries, varieties of workings.
The words “gifts,” “ministries,” (administrations) and “workings,” (operations) are used interchangeably to describe your spiritual gift. Now, before we get into these three words, let me point something out. Some verses, like the ones we’ve read today, talk about gifts in the plural. But other verses talk about what we receive as a gift, in the singular. For example.
1 Corinthians 7:7 Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one this way, and another that.
Ephesians 3:7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.
So did I receive a gift from God, or gifts? Well, both. And I think maybe this is why some may not think they have a spiritual gift. I think we should think about how we receive gifts from each other at Christmas time. For example, if someone gives me a tie, shirt, and pants, they may do it two different ways. First, they may wrap each of those three items individually. 3 different boxes, three different gifts. Or, they may give it to me wrapped all in one box. The tie, shirt and pants together in one box. 1 gift. So, if I got them all in one box, I could call it a gift, or gifts.
I think that’s what God does. And this helps us understand what he means by varieties. Let’s look at me as an example. As pastor, I am pretty confident that I have the gift of teaching. I also some giftedness in the area of exhortation. And I think any pastor has to have some degree of giftedness in leadership. All pastors exhibit these three to one degree or another. But some pastors my have more ability with teaching, and less in leadership. These are three gifts, but when I became a Christian, I think God cooked up a specially designed gift for me, according to his plan for my life. It’s like a cake recipe, put in some of this, (maybe exhortation) more of that, (maybe teaching) maybe a lot of this, (possibly leadership) and in the end, I have a Bruce Hays cake. And He does that for every Christian. Now can you see why you may not think you have a spiritual gift? You don’t think you have one because you can’t identify the ingredients. Just like when you eat cake, some ingredients are easy to identify, I can sure taste sugar in there, but others and not as easy to identify. We may think, “Do I taste a hint of lemon?”
I’m convinced that some Christians don’t think they have a gift because they don’t fit any of the listed gifts exactly. They think,
“Do I have the gift of giving?” Yeah, maybe. But let me encourage you. Even if you can’t name the ingredients that make up your gift from God, just keep serving up cake!
There are a variety of different kinds of cakes. But I am a unique blend and flavor. He has given me and you a variety of gifts.
Now, not only did he say, “variety of gifts” he also said “variety of ministries” or administrations.
Verse 5 gives another term. There are differences of administration the old Authorized says, but the word administration is diakoniōn, diakonos, diakonia, diakoneō the verb. Do you know what that means? What word do we have like that? Deacon. What does the word deacon mean? Servant. What is it saying? There are different grace gifts, different Holy Spirit-energized gifts, and there are different services.
This refers to the context in which you will exercise your gift. For example, one person may have the gift of leadership and it is leadership in a very large context, like a very large church. Someone else may have the gift of leadership, but they are spiritually leading in their own home, their own family. It is the same gift, but the spiritual enablement that God gives is for the place He is putting you.
Gifts, ministries, Then he also says that there are varieties of workings. The word workings here comes from the word energies. It means the effects produced. So, God gives the gift, for the specific ministry and effects produced by that gift. The best example to illustrate this I think is the gift of service. A lot of people have the gift of service. But the things that are produced by the gift of service are various and diverse. Let me ask you. How have you seen people exercise the gift of service? One person’s service may produce an apple pie that they give, or provide for a dinner. Another person’s service may produce a clean floor. Another person’s service may produce a fixed set of boards on a porch or fence. There are varieties of gifts, varieties of administrations or ministries where God places the gifted, and the effects that are produced by every individual by those gifts are numerous, in a vast variety. I think about exhortation. The gift of exhortation is the gift of encouraging people to take positive steps toward spiritual growth. You know people that you can go to who really pump you up to be better, to do better. Well, one person may exercise that ministry as a Sunday School teacher while someone else expresses it in song. Some people exercise their gift of exhortation by writing letters. There are varieties of ministries. The word administration is used as a synonym for gifts.
There is a huge variety when it comes to the gifts. That’s why we want you to figure out your gifts. Because what God will do in you will be totally unique. And God will mix gifts in you where I am not gifted. I’ve learned through the years, that if I want our church to be maximally effective, I need to stay in my lane, and let others do what they are gifted with.
For example, I heard about another conversation I identified with. A preacher said “a fellow came to me a few years ago and he said, “I want you to know I want to help you, and I have an observation to make.” And I said, “What is it?” He said, “I just want you to know that you do not have the gift of counseling. Having been counseled by you on several occasions I’ve come to that conclusion.” Of course, at first I thought you know, that natural human reaction, “What do you mean?” But, you really want to know that.
I relate to that. I would say that counseling is not my wheelhouse. Sometimes I have been called on to do counseling, and I did it. But I don’t seek it out. I would love it if there was someone else in out congregation who had that gifting. So I know the difference between what I’m doing what the Spirit of God has gifted me to do and energized me to do and when I’m doing something else that I need to do sometimes but I don’t have that same sense of spiritual energy. Now, I don’t say this to give you excuses, we all will exercise all the gifts sometimes. Somebody may have the gift of giving. They are a very giving person, but that doesn’t excuse the rest of us. There is a need. Well, that’s not my gift. We are not all gifted in teaching, but if a need arises in our home, or work, we may need to teach. But we focus on our giftedness, don’t spend your time in a gift you don’t have.
So, the point is that you see the Spirit of God has this fantastic variety, and we’re all in there. And listen, you’re a snowflake; there are not two of you. We can’t just swap you out for another warm body.
So, the source is God, the varieties are unique to each of us- in gift, ministry and energy.
3. How many spiritual gifts are there?
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 And there are varieties of workings, but the same God who works everything in everyone. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable.
Let me say this first. The way these four verses read to me, generally, I think there are as many gifts as there are Christians. Let me explain what I mean.
As I was illustrating before, I think that our gifts, or gift, is like a recipe. When we think about making a cake, we know the basic ingredients for a cake; flour, eggs, baking powder, milk, sugar, oil, different flavorings. But, you can combine them in different proportions and from those differences end up making thousands of different kinds of cakes. Let me repeat that. The same basic ingredients, in different measures, can make thousands of cakes. That’s how I view the gifts. There are a limited number of spiritual gifts; preaching, leadership, giving, exhortation, etc. But God measures them out to each believer, in different proportions, according to the ministry He has for them, and the degree to which they will need each gift. Think about it like this. How many of you have ever received a gift from someone of the ingredients for some kind of cookie, in a mason jar? Somebody gave you all (almost) the ingredients you would need, in a jar, to make chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, or sugar cookies.
That’s what God does when you are saved. He gives you your jar, for what you will need to produce your giftedness and your jar is a different cookie than mine. A little of this, a lot of that, some more of this.
But, if we want to get a firm handle on how many gifts are revealed in Scripture, we need to look at certain Scripture passages.
1 Corinthians 12: 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;9 to someone else faith [a]by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of [b]healing [c]by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the workings of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the [d]distinguishing of spirits, to someone else various kinds of tongues, and to another the [e]translation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. 8 gifts
Romans 12: 6-8 6 but having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: whether prophecy, [a]in agreement with the faith; 7 or [b]service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with [c]generosity; he who [d]leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 gifts
1 Peter 4:10-11 10 As each one has received a gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God— 11 whoever speaks, [a]as one speaking the oracles of God; whoever serves, as one serving [b]by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and might forever and ever. Amen. 2 categories
Now, there are a couple of things I want to point out that goes to the question of how many gifts there are. First, there are 3 categories of gifts; sign gifts; healing, miracles, and tongues. Speaking gifts; word of knowledge, word of wisdom, prophecy. Service gifts; giving, leading, mercy.
So how many gifts are there? Because you might have noticed that the lists aren’t the same. For example, Romans lists teaching and exhortation, but 1st Corinthians doesn’t. So, because of that, I don’t think that we need to think of these lists as complete. I don’t think that these lists were designed to give us a name for every gift that God gives. I think that Paul wrote Romans and 1st Corinthians to address certain issues in those churches, and so he talked about the gifts that were relevant to the issues he was addressing. The same can be said of 1st Peter. Peter didn’t specifically list any gifts. He just mentioned categories of gifts; speaking and serving gifts. And he didn’t list them because that was not the purpose of his letter.
I think these listed gifts could be representative. I really don’t think the point of giving us a list is to limit the gifts to these. The point is not to be able to classify God’s spiritual gifts and then slap a label on every believer. Well then what is the point? I think the final point for today comes from 1 Peter 4: 10-11
1 Peter 4:10-11 10 As each one has received a gift, employ it
As each one has a spiritual gift employ it, do it, exercise it. Get busy doing it.
in serving one another as good stewards
Your gift is a stewardship. You were entrusted with that gift to be used. And it may be 10 talents, or 5 talents, or just one talent, but don’t bury it in the ground, use it.
of the manifold grace of God— 11 whoever speaks, [a]as one speaking the oracles of God;
if you have a speaking gift, then open your mouth and speak.
whoever serves, as one serving [b]by the strength which God supplies;
if you have a serving gift, then start serving.
so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and might forever and ever. Amen.
Well, we will pick up with this next time. Let’s pray together.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gifts that you have given us. And we pray Lord that we are inspired by your Spirit to get busy using them for Your glory. In Jesus name, amen.