Today let's talk about what it means to be unified in Christ. Christians are a diverse group of people, even within a particular denomination, people are still different. We are different in culture, race, age, social status, skill, and personality. The only thing that can bring unity among such people is the movement of God's Spirit. He gives us a common faith and a common mission.
But just what is our common mission? Some might say that it is to form a unified church family that worships and serves together. Others might say that it is getting people to come to church. Still others may say that our common mission should be bringing others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And really, these are all correct answers.
But how can we do that if we are so different? The Apostle Paul helps us in answering that question today in his letter to the Corinthians. We will be using 1st Corinthians chapter 12 today for our text. Prayer
If I were to go down each row and ask each of you what is your spiritual gift, I would probably receive a number of answers. And again, they would all be correct. Some have the gift of music-----the gift of teaching----- the gift of working with technology-----the gift of hospitality. Others have the gift of compassion and prayer. And the list goes on.
That is what the apostle Paul was facing. As he traveled to a new city, he would first go to the synagogue and he would preach the good news of the Messiah to the Jews who lived there. That was Paul's pattern. Arrive at a new city, go to the synagogue first, and preach the good news.
The Jews shared a common culture, a common view of the world, and a common knowledge about God. As Paul told the good news of the Messiah, many responded to the message of Christ by placing their faith in Him.
Paul then carried the gospel to the marketplace of the city and proclaimed Christ to the Gentiles. They also would respond to the gospel. The resulting group of believers - both Jews and Gentiles - would form a single church family, but they were far from being a united group.
Our congregation here at SEBC consists of several races, cultures, and several views of the church. So, we are kind of like the church that was formed in Corinth. Each of us are different in our own ways.
Paul addressed the diversity in the Corinthian Church because while diversity is good, the church had become divided into factions. They weren't only divided by culture, but also by their understanding of ministry and of spiritual gifts. So, in Paul's letter, he gave the church a call for unity in the church. God calls us today to unity in this church.
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 – “Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are different activities, but the same God works all of them in each person.”
A key word in this passage is the word “different”. Paul lists three things in these verses: different gifts, different ministries, and different activities. These three terms describe the working of the Holy Spirit, but each word captures that work from a slightly unique perspective.
First there are different gifts. A gift is a blessing from God, a gracious showering of blessings on the members of the church. That blessing comes through the Holy Spirit. That blessing is a specific gift that God gives to each one of us.
Next there are different ministries. The ministry describes the service that is carried out by us using the gifts that we have been given by the Holy Spirit. For instance, your gift may be hospitality. Your ministry might be to greet people on a Sunday morning in the foyer or even out in the parking lot as the people get out of their cars. That is a Ministry in itself.
Then there are the activities. When we use our gifts in the ministry that God has given us, an activity is the power behind those gifts and the work of God through those gifts.
Another example, may be the Spirit gives one person the gift of evangelism. That person would have a heart for the lost and a desire to talk to them about the gospel. That person's ministry would be to engage with the lost for the purpose of seeing them respond in faith. The activities would include the specific ways God works through that individual for the purpose of evangelism, like directing them to a specific place at a specific time to share Christ in a specific way.
So it is the Holy Spirit who is the one who equips but he doesn't give the same gifts to all believers. People won't be drawn to the same kinds of ministries. The Spirit inspired passions of one person may seem a little odd and out of step to someone else, yet it is the same Spirit who works in us in exactly that way.
Apparently in the Corinthian Church rifts were occurring. So, Paul stressed unity in the body. Some became prideful over their spiritual gift. It was causing a lot of damage to the fellowship of the church. The gifting of the Spirit doesn't create divisions. The same Spirit gives all the gifts, the same Lord calls us to use them in ministry, and the same God leads us to action. That is because God is one Father, Son, and Spirit. God is one, and He expects His church to function as one.
1 Corinthians 12:7 – “A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good:”
What Paul is saying in this verse is that Christians have different gifts but only one goal. It's important to recognize one thing about Paul's message to the Corinthian believers: he was not calling for uniformity. Uniformity means we are doing the same thing in the same way. The Holy Spirit works through people differently, but in our various ways of living in the Spirit, we exhibit a unity of purpose. We are not all doing things in the same way, but we are doing it for the same purpose.
So Paul says, a manifestation of the spirit is given to each person. Gifts are more than characteristics that the Spirit gives us. They display the power of God by working through us in different ways. These gifts give us a glimpse of God's power. When we understand that, it ends personal pride. It is not we that are able to do these things, but God's Holy Spirit working through us.
The gifts are not about individuals and what we want to do. God gives us the gifts for the common good. Some people may have more public gifts than others, but the Spirit is at work in and through every person. But God has gifted you and me, we use these gifts in His service, for His church, and for the good of all his people. One way to put this into practice is to take a look at the church calendar and ask God to show you where he can use your gifts, then volunteer to serve in that area.
Our spiritual gifts enable us to complete the work God has for us to do.
1 Corinthians 12:8-10 – “To one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, 9 to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of tongues, to another, interpretation of tongues.”
Paul was demonstrating different ways the Spirit gifts his people. One key truth rings out through these verses. There is one Spirit! Paul mentioned a variety of gifts individuals might use in the body of Christ, but regardless of the gift, they all come from the same Spirit. The church has a diverse range of gifts and ministries, but the work is done through the Holy Spirit. People have tried to group spiritual gifts in various ways, but maybe the simplest way is to put spiritual gifts into four broad categories.
• Gifts that support. Gifts like helping and leading to guide the work of the church and help to get it done. Those are gifts that support.
• Gifts that share. Gifts such as showing mercy and hospitality or other ways of communicating God's love - both inside and outside the church family.
• Gifts that speak. These are gifts such as prophecy and teaching. This grounds the church in God's word.
• Gifts that supplement. These are gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, and faith. These gifts support the other gifts.
So, you see the Spirit works in many different ways through the people of God to carry on the mission of God.
1 Corinthians 12:11 – “One and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as he wills.”
We need to realize that it is the Holy Spirit that empowers us to use our gifts. Never think that your spiritual gift is not needed. Let me give you an example.
A ministry team went overseas with a small group of men and women to support the work of a new church in that area. One day, they gathered in a city park to connect the young people gathered there. One of the team members grabbed a football and invited several youth to learn American football. Other team members joined them. One was not so athletic, but he connected with the young people with their kind-hearted jokes and words of encouragement.
At this same event, one of the women was just sitting in the shade of a tree. A sad looking girl wandered over, and the woman welcomed her. When the young girl began to share her own frustrations and doubts, their conversation led quickly to a deep spiritual discussion.
So here you have one event but two different things are happening. To ask which one of these people did ministry correctly is to miss Paul's point. Not everyone does Ministry in the same way. The idea is to minister out of the movement of the Holy Spirit in our own lives.
Verse 11 is the key. One and the same Spirit is active in all of these. The Holy Spirit moves among the people of God in a variety of ways to accomplish the common good. The Spirit distributes His gifts to each person as He wills. The Holy Spirit knows what's best and He does what He sees fit. Another example.
Last August we had a back to school bash where we distributed free school supplies to children in our area. It was a wonderful event with close to 400 people coming through our parking lot. We had approximately 50 of our church members serving in different areas. Some worked booths as it was similar to a carnival event. Some served water. Some discretely served as security. Others just simply walked around and spoke with different ones. If you put it all together, it was a very successful event. God used each of us with our own specific gift and brought it together as one unified body sharing the love of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12 – 14 – “For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink. 14 Indeed, the body is not one part but many.”
Can you see that it is the Holy Spirit that makes us one, that makes us unified. Paul wrote that the human body is one. Your body has many parts—hands, feet, eyes, a pancreas - lots of parts. All the parts of your body are important to you. Your body can function with only one eye, but the loss creates new challenges. And even though you can't see your pancreas, try living without one. It is the same with the body of Christ. We are one spiritual body in Christ. There are many of us but we're to function as one.
We might wonder how such a collection of different gifts and individuals among us can possibly work together to accomplish the work of the church. Verse 13 answers that question. Paul pictured the work of the Spirit to bring people together in two ways.
He says that we were all baptized by one Spirit. It seems like Paul uses the picture of water baptism to remind us of a spiritual truth: believers are united because we have each been immersed in Christ and His Holy Spirit. Together we are surrounded by Him, engulfed in Him.
Paul also says that we were all given one Spirit to drink. We are also filled up with the Holy Spirit. We are in Him and He is in us. We share the same Spirit who works through us. That's precisely how we can remain unified and accomplish what God has called us to do.
Let me give you one last example and then I will close. Most of you know that I am directly involved in a children's ministry in four churches in Karachi, Pakistan. The children that we minister to speak mostly Urdu as their home language. They may speak a little English but not much. Their culture is very different from our culture. I wondered how I could ever do any good in this ministry.
I am not like them. But over these past two years, I have grown to love them dearly and to feel a deep sense of connection with them. They feel that same connection with me. They call me Uncle Jerry. It is the Holy Spirit that used Covid to make this ministry a reality.
When Covid shut our church down, we immediately started broadcasting the messages on Facebook. The family that heads up the children's ministry in Pakistan begin watching the sermon broadcasts. One thing led to another and I begin teaching children's lessons each week. We began with one church and now we are in four churches.
Unity among different kinds of people seems unrealistic, but the Holy Spirit works in us, binds our hearts to each other, gives us a common purpose, and makes us one.
So we are one with them and they are one with us. In a like manner, even though each of us is very different and have been given specific gifts to use for God's glory, we still are united as one body of Christ to bring glory to God. And as a united body here, we are now united with four churches in Pakistan. If someone ever asks you the size of our congregation, you can tell them that we have about 300 in membership here in the church and 280 in membership in Pakistan. And if that isn't something to give God the praise for, I don't know what is.
So now God calls us to be united in the Holy Spirit, working together, using our spiritual gifts that we have been given, and serving our Lord.
Are you a part of God's family? Can you say that you are a child of God? You cannot say that unless you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. We give you that opportunity now to come and profess your faith in Him and ask Him to be the Lord of your life. Won’t you come?
