God's Gifts To The Church Series

1 Cor 12:1-11 God’s Gifts to the Church

When the church comes together, God blesses us with gifts to serve Him.

• It is however very easy for us to end up boasting about them as if they are our achievements.

• On the flip side, some think that they do not have any gifts and so they sit on the sideline and do little, watching as spectators while others do the work.

For the Corinthians, many were boasting about their spiritual gifts.

• They were pitting them against each other to show who has the more superior gifts rather than using the gifts to bless the church.

• God’s original intent – that of edifying the church and proclaiming His Name – has taken a back seat.

• Instead, the assembly has become a platform for the egoistic pursuit of gifted Corinthians for self-praise and self-glory.

Paul wrote to address these issues in the next 3 chapters (1 Cor 12-14) and state the purpose of the spiritual gifts for the benefit of the church.

• The Corinthians need to watch their attitudes and use their gifts to bless others when the church gathers.

In today’s opening text on this subject, Paul talks about the nature of the gifts, the Giver of the gifts, the purpose of the gifts and the diversity of the gifts.

1 Cor 12:1-3 ESV THE NATURE OF THE GIFTS

1Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however, you were led. 3Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

The spiritual gifts are the works of the Spirit of God. We serve in submission to Him.

• It might be necessary for Paul to start with this emphasis because of the Corinthians’ past pagan practices before they were converted.

• He contrasted their previous life as idolaters with their present life as Christians, led by the Spirit of God and with the goal to honour Christ as Lord.

• In the past, they might have sought to outdo and outshine one another in their pagan worship to show off their piety, but not now.

• They have ceased from serving mute idols to being led by the Spirit and speaking to honour Christ.

With this new life, Christ must now shape their worldview and lifestyle.

• And one of the things they have to learn is to use their gifts to bless others and not themselves, to serve for the benefit of the church.

• It is not about showing off their piety or how religious they are, but about Christ and the building up of fellow believers in Christ.

1 Cor 12:4-7 ESV THE GIVER AND PURPOSE OF THE GIFTS

4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

God blesses the church with “varieties of gifts, varieties of service, varieties of activities.”

• Paul uses different words deliberately and does not want to tie them down to one common word.

• There are many GIFTS, many SERVICE (NASB ministries, KJV differences of administrations), and many ACTIVITIES (NIV kinds of working, NASB varieties of effects, KJV diversities of operations).

• God equips us in many different ways, that’s the main point. He is the Giver of the gifts for the work of His church. We are not left helpless or on our own.

We see a trinitarian emphasis: We are given different gifts, services or activities but all from the “same Spirit”, the “same Lord” and the “same God”.

• God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit “empowers them all in everyone.” (6)

• After listing some examples of the gifts, Paul said it again in 12:11: 11“All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.”

• He enables us to do His work by giving us gifts FOR the Body of Christ.

If we are recipients of these gifts, then that makes us stewards of the gifts of God. Spiritual gifts are a matter of stewardship!

• They are not our achievements or strictly speaking, human talents, although God uses them. They are spiritual gifts from God.

• Apostle Peter puts it this way in 1 Pet 4:10-11

10As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.