Title: Adhesive Gifts
Text: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Truth: The Holy Spirit’s purpose for spiritual gifts is to edify and unify the church.
Aim: To use their spiritual gift to edify and unify the church.
INTRODUCTION
My pastor friend (Steve H.) was telling me about two men in his church who are stricken with Alzheimer’s. One man is a retired pastor. He and his wife still attend church. Sometimes it takes this retired pastor longer than usual to say something. My friend spoke of being patient with him as they talked.
The other man is not as far along in the development of this disease. He still greets people as they come into the church. The pastor had unlocked the doors but somehow the latch at the bottom of one of the doors had locked. Not many people had arrived for church when my pastor friend went by the door where this man was posted. The man was on his knees inspecting the latch. He was pushing on it. He didn’t remember to simply lift the latch up. The pastor got on his knees beside this man and fiddled with the latch pretending he was trying to discover how it worked. Then he lifted it up and released the door. The reason he did that was to save this man from embarrassment.
I don’t doubt that my friend Steve preached a Spirit-filled, Bible-centered sermon that morning. But long before he preached that sermon, his act of love and mercy revealed that he was filled with the Holy Spirit.
This is not the way the church at Corinth was treating one another. There were divisions in the fellowship; immoral behavior, doctrinal confusion, and a heavy dose of selfishness motivated all of it. This is the background for Paul’s discussion of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts in chapters 12-14. The problem is an abuse of the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues in the worship service. The tongue speakers were being disruptive and divisive in the worship service. In chapter 12 Paul explains the purpose of spiritual gifts. They are to edify and unify the church. In chapter 13 they are to be exercised with love. The chief aim of love is to edify and unify the church. In chapter 14 it would be better to speak a few words that are understood than hundreds of words that no one can understand because the church is to be edified and unified. The Holy Spirit’s purpose for spiritual gifts is to edify and unify the church.
I want you to see two emphasis’ Paul makes about spiritual gifts and how they edify and unify the church. First, the Holy Spirit’s purpose for spiritual gifts is to edify and unify the church by exalting Jesus Christ as Lord (v. 1-3). Second, the Holy Spirit’s purpose …by equipping the church to do the work of Jesus Christ (v. 4-11). In other words, the Holy Spirit gives us a test to use to determine if any so-called ministry is truly of God, and Paul says that everyone plays a vital role in the health of the church.
I. THE HOLY SPIRIT EXALTS JESUS CHRIST AS LORD (1 COR. 12:1-3)
Read v. 1.
Paul wants to educate them about spiritual gifts. He points out that they are exceptionally blessed with spiritual gifts. They had every gift necessary to make an impact for Christ on the city of Corinth. We know from chapter 4 that they thought they had arrived at full maturity. This is probably a slap at their pride. It’d be like saying to a professor of mathematics, “I don’t want you to be ignorant of the multiplication tables.”
A spiritual gift is an empowerment by the Holy Spirit to perform some service for Jesus Christ. It’s what Jesus would do if he were in your place. Jesus taught the Word, evangelized the lost, cared for the hurting, and much more. The Holy Spirit empowers Christians to do what Jesus would do if He were in your place.
When I’m gone and another preaches for me he is called a supply preacher. He is supplying what I would if I were here. You are Jesus’ supply teacher or nursery worker or listening ear for another. The Holy Spirit wants to use you to serve as Jesus would.
Read v. 2-3.
The pagan religious practices could become very expressive and the people would often breakout in ecstatic utterances. They might even get so carried away that out of honor to the false god they’d shout, “Jesus be cursed.” Paul says the test of any religious statement or religious movement is what they say or do about Jesus. If it diminishes Jesus it is not coming from the Holy Spirit.
It is not just reciting the words, “Jesus is Lord,” that makes a person or movement OK. Remember the context of the first century. The Roman Caesar was requiring everyone in the Roman Empire to burn incense to him and declare that he was a deity. They were required to say, “Caesar is Lord.” To refuse to make this confession was to make oneself an enemy of the state and be viewed as an atheist. If a believer said, “Jesus is Lord” he might be putting his life and/or livelihood on the line.
But when Jesus means more to man than his own life, that’s a clear sign that the Holy Spirit is at work in his life. The Holy Spirit is at work if a man is willing to face poverty and rejection rather than compromise what he believes about Jesus Christ. Why? Because the singular goal of the Holy Spirit is to exalt Jesus Christ.
J.I. Packer said, “The Holy Spirit makes a career out of glorifying Jesus Christ. He focuses attention not on Himself but on the Savior, fulfilling a floodlight ministry of illumination through the Word that convinces us of the reality of Jesus Christ.”
Packer says in his book, Keeping in Step with the Spirit, that when floodlights are well designed you don’t see them but the building on which they are aimed. In the same way, the Holy Spirit is the hidden floodlight shining upon the Savior. The Holy Spirit is self-effacing. His work is a Christ-centered work.
When the third person of the trinity is at work, the second person of the trinity is honored. The Holy Spirit is obsessed with Jesus Christ. He witnesses to Jesus Christ. He works for Jesus Christ. He loves Jesus Christ. How can we tell if we are filled with the Holy Spirit? Are you obsessed with Jesus Christ? Do you witness about Jesus Christ? Do you look for ways to serve Jesus Christ? When Jesus is not preeminent in our life we know we are quenching the work of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is allowed to work freely in our life we give more and more of our will over to submission to Christ. The fruit of the Spirit will become more dominant in our personality: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
Not only is this a key truth in evaluating our life, it is key in evaluating other ministries that claim to be speaking for Jesus Christ. Glenn Beck is a Mormon. On the radio he told about a meeting he had with Mike Huckabee. Governor Huckabee was seeking the nomination of the Republican Party in the 2008 presidential elections. Beck said to the Governor that he had a problem with him. Gov. Huckabee asked, “Is it the Mormon thing?” Beck said yes. The Governor stuck to his position that Mormons are not Christians and Glenn Beck hates him for it. The Governor is right.
The Mormons do not believe that Jesus Christ is co-eternal, co-equal with the God the Father. They teach that Jesus is the offspring of a physical relationship between Father God and Mary. When you hear Glenn Beck or any Mormon refer to Jesus Christ as Lord they do not mean what the Bible means. This passage teaches that the Mormon religion is not from God because it diminishes Jesus Christ as Lord.
This comes from virtueonline.org. The article is titled: “Episcopalians refuse affirmation of Christ.” The article says:
Columbus, Ohio (6-20-06)—The House of Deputies of the 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church today overwhelmingly refused to even consider a resolution that affirmed Jesus Christ as the “only name by which any person may be saved.”
Refer to highlighted portions.
The official Episcopal Church statement of doctrine is something that we Baptists would find agreeable. My favorite Bible commentator is an Anglican minister from London. There are a number of Episcopal churches that are soul winning and Christ-honoring. But this action immediately reveals a dishonoring of Jesus Christ. This convention quenched the Holy Spirit.
That great denomination is being divided because they are debating over exalting Jesus Christ as Lord. How is a church edified and unified? How is a Christian edified and unified within himself? Exalt Jesus Christ as Lord. That’s a sure sign of the work of the Holy Spirit.
Second, the Holy Spirit’s purpose for spiritual gifts is to edify and unify the church by equipping the church to do the work of Jesus Christ (v. 4-11).
II. THE HOLY SPIRIT EQUIPS THE CHURCH (1 COR. 12:4-11)
Read v. 4-6.
We call them the gifts of the Spirit, but they are not always referred to as belonging to the Holy Spirit alone. In Romans 12 is a list of spiritual gifts that are given by God the Father. Ephesians 4 gives another list of spiritual gifts and Jesus Christ distributes them. Spiritual gifts are gifts of the Trinity.
In other words, these gifts are given to Christians to accomplish God’s purposes for the church and His kingdom. He has included us in what He wants to get done in this community. By the exercise of our spiritual gift, we contribute to His greater plan. You see this in v. 7.
Read v. 7.
The purpose of spiritual gifts is for the common good. They are not given for selfish use. They are to be used to make the church healthier and more unified.
Imagine how silly and wasted it would be for me to study throughout the week only to stand in front of a mirror on Sunday morning and preach my sermon for me! I’d hope my study would build my Christian character, and who knows, maybe my delivery would move me to act upon my own sermon. But that is not God’s purpose in giving me the gift of pastor-teacher.
The best use of any tool is to use it as it is intended. Someone said if all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail. A hammer is not intended for screws. Your spiritual gift is not intended for your personal use or promotion. It is intended to bless the whole church.
When the Spirit is at work in the church people move chairs, pour coffee, and faithfully take their turn in the nursery. "My time is limited,” you say. Well, what can you do with the time you have that will benefit the common good of your church family? “My ministry is in the work place.” God bless you. More of us should see ourselves as missionaries to the work place, but what can you do that improves the spiritual health and oneness of this church.
My study group is reading a book on church life. The author said that most people make up their mind if they will return to the church in the first seven minutes. I questioned that statistic. One of the fellows in the group told of his family visiting 14 churches in Louisville, Kentucky trying to find the right church. He said long before the service he had decided if they were going back to the church by the way that church received his family.
If that is true, then there are no little gifts in this church. Those who welcome visitors at the doors, if there is anyone to welcome visitors at the door, contribute more to a visitor returning to our church than Brady or I. If you take the initiative to speak to others that you don’t know, you have an impact that may determine if we get a second chance to share Christ with someone. Is it possible that those simple acts of hospitality toward strangers somehow communicate that this is a church where the Holy Spirit is at work?
What follows is a list of nine spiritual gifts, and the explanation that it is the Holy Spirit that determines who gets what gift. That figures in later when Paul confronts those who insist that everyone should have the gift of speaking in tongues. We don’t determine what gift we have; the Holy Spirit does this. It was never my goal to be a Baptist pastor. God laid this calling on me about a year after my salvation. I couldn’t shake it. I couldn’t do anything else and be happy.
I sought counsel. I began to educate myself. I experimented by teaching high school boys in Sunday School. They responded favorably. I’d leave that class energized. The counsel of others, experimentation, and passion are ways to discover your spiritual gift. Those boys and I grew in faith.
On our church web site there is a basic spiritual gifts test to take. It may point you in the right direction.
When you examine the five different places in the N.T. where spiritual gifts are listed—Romans 12, 1 Cor. 12 at the beginning and end of the chapter, Ephesians 4 and I Peter 4—you will tally about 21 spiritual gifts. Most commentators believe these are representative and not exhaustive of spiritual gifts.
For example, the Wesley brothers in the 1700’s were greatly used by God to bless the church. John was a gifted evangelist, teacher, and organizer. He was a multi-gifted man. His brother Charles was not much of an evangelist or teacher or organizer but what a blessing he has been to the church with his hymns. There are sixteen hymns in our Baptist hymnal by Charles Wesley. Almost 400 years later the church is being edified and unified by hymns such as “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” and “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus.”
Hymn writing is not listed as a spiritual gift. Maybe it is a natural talent you are born with. But through that talent God gifted Charles Wesley to build and unify the church. That’s the purpose God has for giving you a spiritual gift. It is for the common good of the church to achieve God’s purposes in the church and community.
Don’t think you have nothing to offer this church. Many of our unsung heroes do not carry a title like staff, deacon, or Sunday School teacher. But our church would suffer greatly without them. They fix our meals for church socials and clean up our mess when we grab our pan and walk out the door. They visit the sick in the hospital and home. Our church gets the credit for being a caring fellowship because of their unheralded kindness. There is no overestimating how this contributes to the health and oneness of our church.
CONCLUSION
The idea of the “home front” rose to prominence during the first and second world wars. As society became more industrialized, the winning of wars—that had depended upon skill, strategy and resolve—became increasingly dependent upon which country could produce the most munitions and machines. The battles were fought on the front lines, but civilians increasingly understood that the war could not be won unless those on the home front contributed their efforts.
So we read where Americans during WWII rationed rubber and sugar, they patched their car tires and kept driving on them. They planted victory gardens so more food could go to our troops. A famous picture of that time was Rosie the Riveter rolling up her sleeves and going to work in the factories because the men were off at war. While fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons went off to face the enemy, women and children funneled their energies into the war effort. We need this same attitude in the church.
If we desire to win the battle for the hearts and souls of our community and university, we can’t leave the fight to the pastor and staff or the deacons and Sunday School teachers. You may not know your spiritual gift or be confused about this subject. You may think it is so little that it will hardly be missed. That’s not true according to this text and our own experience.
The Holy Spirit’s purpose for spiritual gifts is to enable Christians to edify and unify the church. When you use your gift, you make us healthier. When you use your gift, we more clearly exalt Jesus Christ. This is a call to find a place of service in this church and use your gift. Answer the call to serve your church.
PRAYER
INVITATION
An urban legend is a fictional story that is circulated by those who think it is true. I receive many of these and check them out on a web site that investigates the truthfulness of the story. Jesus Christ is the Son of God that died as your substitute on the cross and rose from the dead three days later to purchase your salvation. This is not an urban legend. It is the single most investigated incident in history, and it is true! Salvation is real! Explain how.
Like an army needs a continual replenishing of troops to wage war, the church needs a continual supply of volunteers to accomplish its God-given assignment. Come join us as we carry out God’s purpose for Northeast.
