1 Corinthians 12:4-12, 27
God’s Creative Work in the Church
Today, local church membership has lost its appeal. Why bother? Why not drift from church to church and see what meets my needs? Back in the beginning, though—before church buildings and budgets and board meetings—church membership at its simplest was about belonging. In fact, did you know that our broader society’s concept of “membership” comes from the Bible? Today everybody uses the term. Months before I turned 50, I received a letter in the mail inviting me to become a member of AARP. (How did they know my age?) For my VA work, I belong to a couple of professional chaplain organizations. Membership as a concept dates back to the Bible with Paul’s picture of the church as a human body, one body with many members. Each member belongs to the body, and each member is essential to the body.
This is not just lip service. On Pentecost, God sent his Spirit for the first time into believers to remain in them for the rest of their lives. And, as we heard in today’s scripture, the Holy Spirit supernaturally manifests—or shines through—the life of each believer to build up the body of Christ and to glorify God.
Usually in my sermons I suggest what to do, but when it comes to this spiritual giftedness, I want to suggest what NOT to do. There are two attitudes you need to avoid, two things not to do. First,
1. Don’t put yourself down. Sometimes we feel like the very last third grader to be chosen for the kickball team in PE. We wonder if we have any value at all: to our friends, to our family, to our church, and to our God. Maybe we compare ourselves to others: “I can’t sing like ___ ... I can’t play like ___ ... I don’t have the energy level of _____ ... I can’t entertain like ___ ... I don’t know the Bible as well as ____.” All of that may be true. But so what? What does God’s word say? Does the Bible say God only gifts certain people to do his work? Does today’s passage say, “Now to ‘some members’ the manifestation of the Spirit is given”? No, verse 7 says, “Now to ‘each one’ the manifestation of the Spirit is given.” You are one of the “each ones,” so God’s Spirit manifests through you. Now if we believe that the Holy Spirit is in us, we can no longer truthfully say, “I don’t have anything to offer.” If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit has supernaturally gifted you to serve in some way a need of the church body.
A story from the French Revolution illustrates a passion to use one’s giftedness. Three Christians were sentenced to die by guillotine. One Christian had the gift of faith, the other had the gift of prophecy, and the third the gift of helps. The Christian with the gift of faith was brought forward first. He was asked if he had any last words, so he said, “I have faith that God will deliver me.” Well, they pulled the rope but the blade didn’t fall. The executioners were in awe, as they took this as an act of God, so they quickly freed the man.
The Christian with the gift of prophecy was next. They asked him, too, if he had anything to share. He replied, “I predict that God will deliver me.” Again, the rope was pulled and nothing happened, and the executioners were amazed and freed him immediately.
Then they brought in the third Christian, with the gift of helps. When asked if he had anything to say, he looked up at the blade and then replied, “Yeah, I think I just found the problem with your guillotine.” (https://www.cybersalt.org/clean-jokes/spiritual-gifts)
OK, that’s a silly example. But let me give you a real-life example of a spiritual gifting. I don’t believe I could preach without the power of the Holy Spirit: helping me study, develop simple outlines, write a manuscript, and deliver the message in a way that will hold attention. Did you know I used to be afraid of preaching? If you would have told me in my 20s I would be doing this weekly and enjoying it, I would say you were nuts. God’s Spirit enables us to do things we cannot do on our own.
And God’s Spirit works through us, not for our glory but for the common good. If you don’t discover what you’re good at and use it to honor God, our church family and the wider Blue Skies East community will miss out on a blessing of God. God knows exactly what each church needs, so we should watch the people God adds to the body to see how God may shape our mission. If you don’t use your gift, the church is like a jigsaw puzzle with a piece missing. It’s irritating! It’s frustrating! It’s incomplete! Everybody matters. Everybody counts!
So don’t put yourself down. If you say you have nothing to add, you say more about God than about yourself. You put a limit to what God can do. The truth is, you are supernaturally equipped in some way for part of God’s mission.
Maybe you’re thinking, “OK, then, how can I find out how I’m gifted?” You might start by reading various examples in scripture, such as in our passage today, or in Romans 12 or Ephesians 4 or 1 Peter 4. The Bible lists 22 separate gifts in all, but since each list is different, they may well be just a sampling. As you review those listed, pray and ask God to reveal to you what you might do to help build his kingdom. Then, ask others what gifts they see in you. Ask yourself, “What do I like to do?” Or “What do I do well?” And then “just do it,” to borrow from Nike. Try something to honor God. If he blesses it, you’re on track. If not, maybe try a different direction.
So, don’t put yourself down, but on the other hand ...
2. Don’t puff yourself up. Don’t get all stuck up about your spiritual gift. It’s not about you! Your gift is not designed to bring you attention. Nor is your contribution God’s last and final hope for civilization. Sometimes we get tunnel vision, and we only focus on what God is doing in our little area; we forget he is at work all over this globe. I hate to burst your bubble, but God could do his mission without us if needed. God loves to involve us in his work, and we’re deeply honored to be invited to join him, but he doesn’t need us; he doesn’t have to have us to accomplish his work. It’s not all up to me, and it’s not all up to you. Give up the Messiah role. It’s already filled!
We know it’s not about us because we don’t get to choose our gift. Our gift chooses us. Listen to the intro of our scripture again, beginning with verse 4: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” Same Spirit, same Lord, same God: the Trinity at work. Five times in this chapter Paul reminds us that our gifts come from God and God alone. Even the word “gift” tells us it’s not about us. The Greek is “charis,” which means “grace,” something freely given.
Now in our church family we have a lot of awesome people who pitch in in a variety of ways. Some people do a lot of work. You know who you are. Some don’t know where to help. You know who you are. Those who do more should ask for help, if for no other reason than to train up and involve others. Those who don’t know where to help should keep asking where they might jump in. Everyone has a place, and it lines up with the giftedness God has given you.
Your place may be something behind the scenes, like checking up on people who are hurting, maybe delivering some chicken noodle soup to a resident battling a cold, or having a cup of coffee or a glass of wine with someone who is lonely. Or quietly funding a mission effort. Maybe you have a heart for intercession, for lifting up others in prayer. I love people like that. I can just tell them my greatest need, and I know they won’t gossip about it; they’ll just talk to God about it. These kinds of gifts are largely invisible, but God is at work through each of them just as he is in the more visible gifts.
Maybe you are equipped for a more visible role, possibly serving on our Board and making decisions that will help the rest of the body. Or maybe you would like to read scripture for Sunday services every now and then. Let me know and I’ll get you scheduled to do that. Maybe you can help as an usher. Let one of us know. Maybe God has put a new ministry on your heart. Find your place and fill it, so the church will be built up in God’s design.
Rabbi Haim of Poland shared a story about long spoons to contrast heaven with hell. He said, imagine that both heaven and hell have really long spoons for use at meal time. In hell, everyone is angry all the time because no one can lift food to their mouth with such unwieldy cutlery and people are starving to death. Heaven has the same identical utensils, yet everyone eats to their heart’s content. What’s the difference? In heaven, the diners feed one another across the table.
Our spiritual gifts are like that. They are not for us. They are God’s way of using each of us to build up the body of Christ, other believers around us. Pastor Alistair Begg says, “It is impossible to serve God without serving one another.” The Apostle Peter wrote, in 1 Peter 4:10-11, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”
Let us pray: Lord, thank you for this amazing church family, the local body of Christ right here at Blue Skies East. Jesus, we want to be your spiritual body, continuing the work here that you began some 2,000 years before. Please help every member of your body yield their lives to you, the head of the body, and discover how the Holy Spirit wants to use them to bring glory to our Heavenly Father. Help us encourage one another as we seek our place of service, so that each one may help fulfill your kingdom purposes. And guide someone today to say yes to God for the very first time, to renounce their sin and accept Jesus as their Savior, that your Holy Spirit may come in and gift them for service as well. Amen.
