Spiritual Gifts: Unity in Diversity

“Spiritual Gifts: Unity in Diversity”

(1 Corinthians 12:4-11)

 Series: Chaos & Correction (1 Corinthians)

Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD

Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson

•Take your Bibles and join me in 1 Corinthians, chapter 12 (page 773 ; YouVersion).

While you are finding that, I want to remind you that there are folks in our prayer room this morning praying for us. We’re always grateful for the prayer ministry of the church and that folks are praying while we are hearing the Word.

The first verse of chapter 12 tells us that Paul is addressing a new concern in the church. He writes, “Now concerning spiritual gifts,” or, “the spiritual ones” who are using their gifts in the church.

And we noted last time we were together that each Christian in the church has been uniquely gifted—empowered and enabled—with a gift to be used in the body of Christ. We also learned that no one gift makes the one gifted more or less spiritual than another. There is to be no “spiritual elitism” in the body of Christ.

In a moment we’ll be reading verses 4-11 and we’ll note that there are a number of different gifts listed here, but not all gifts are listed. The New Testament writers never provide an exhaustive list of spiritual gifts. So there will be some gifts that people have that are not listed in the New Testament. The same Holy Spirit gives the gifts whether they are mentioned specifically in the New Testament or not. Paul is addressing abuses of some of the gifts in Corinth and is therefore writing about the gifts with which the Corinthians were most familiar.

But there are many other gifts that God gives Christians that are not mentioned in lists such as this list we are reading this morning. For example, in a church someone may use his hands to build things, or paint, or do plumbing, or sewing, or crafting. Some are gifted to play musical instruments, sing in the choir, welcome people, show hospitality, usher, make coffee, drink coffee—that’s mine, how many of you have that spiritual gift?!

But there are many gifts, many more gifts than the nine listed in our text this morning. Listen for those nine gifts and listen for what you think Paul is teaching about these gifts as I read this passage and invite you to follow along.

•Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.

4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

•Pray.

Introduction:

So I looked up a cake recipe, a recipe for a rich chocolate layer cake. Here’s what I found:

1 box devil’s food cake mix, such as Betty Crocker
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup mayonnaise, such as Hellmann’s
3 large eggs
1 cup water
2 container(s) (16 ounces each) chocolate frosting
1/4 cup(s) sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

You mix all that stuff together and put it in the oven and you bake it and you’ve got a cake.

And I was thinking about this and it occurred to me that if you left out one of those ingredients you wouldn’t have the cake as it was intended to be. Or if you overemphasized one of those individual ingredients and put in too much of one then you wouldn’t have the cake as it was intended to be. Or what if you just ate some of the ingredients, like just the cake mix, or the vanilla extract, or the 3 raw eggs—gross! I mean, you’ve got to put it all the individual ingredients together in order to make it right.

God changes individuals through the power of the Gospel and places them in a church body where they each use their individual gift in such a way as to build up the church, to make it right. The use of spiritual gifts is not for the glory of the individual member, but for the good of the entire membership.

By the way, some times as helpful to talk about preaching during preaching. If I were a hip and trendy preacher, I would have opened the sermon with props—kitchen table, mixing bowl, oven, etc.—and I would have talked through the illustration and “baked a cake.” But why do that if the same point can be made in less than a minute? Why waste 10-15 minutes doing something that folks might remember more than the actual point? I could have done that and many of you would have remembered only that “Brother Todd baked a cake that day—that was cool!” Someone asks, “What was he preaching?” Response: “Uh, I don’t remember, but he baked that cake and that was cool!!” So we want to take care to spend the greater balance of our time on actual exposition of the Bible. As our mission statement begins: we “Cherish the Word.”

So, God has given the church spiritual gifts to be used in the church until Christ returns. Look back at the first chapter, chapter 1 and verse 7. Take a moment and find that. I want to remind you of what Paul says in verse 7 of chapter 1. He says, 1 Corinthians 1:7, “…you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now, God has given the church spiritual gifts to be used to build up the church until Christ returns. We’ll note this truth again later in chapter 13 where Paul, referring to the return of Christ says, “When the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away (1 Corinthians 13:10).”

The imperfect gifts about which Paul was writing in the preceding verses will pass away with Christ’s return. That is, Christ’s return, “the perfect,” is far greater than temporary gifts, temporary gifts which are “imperfect.”

So these gifts we are studying are a foretaste of something far greater when Christ returns. Gifts of healings, for example, will be replaced by a state where there is no more sickness. Gifts of knowledge and wisdom will be replaced by a state of fuller knowledge and understanding. Though we now see as through a darkened glass, when Christ returns we will see more clearly, then “we will know even as we also are known (1 Corinthians 13:12).”

Here are some truths we must know as we study the Spirit, a word occurring more than half a dozen times in this passage, and about spiritual gifts. First point, jot this down:

I. The Unity of the Godhead is expressed in the Church (4-6)

Now that may be a mouthful for some of us. Maybe you’re not used to using the word “Godhead.” The Godhead is simply a way of referring to God, noting He is Triune and that there is a unity of the Trinity. Our God is Triune. He is One in Three. Note this as I read again verses 4-6:

Verses 4-6 a reference to the Trinity, working backwards from verse 6—God, the usual designation for God the Father, verse 5—Lord, God the Son, and then verse 4—Spirit, God the Holy Spirit.

God is one in three persons. Paul teaches then, that just as there is diversity within the Godhead so is there diversity in the church. While there is one God and that one God is equally three persons with different roles, so there is one church, one body of Christ, and that one body is equally many members with different gifts—and yet with so much diversity, there is unity!

So the unity of the Godhead is expressed or echoed in the church. Just as in marriage, where a husband and wife relate to one another the way God relates to Himself within the persons of the Trinity, so also in the church—members relate to one another they way God relates to Himself. The church mirrors God. People should look at the church and catch a glimpse of God.

This is the same point Paul is making in Ephesians 4:3-13. We won’t take time to turn there this morning, but I think you’ll find the same teaching there where Paul introduces the topic of spiritual gifts in that passage by writing about the church’s, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” and he goes on to write about “one Spirit,” and, “one Lord,” and, “one God.” The diversity of the persons of the trinity is reflected in the church. In the church there is diversity of giftedness within the unity of the body of Christ.

So this is a helpful reminder to us that the church is a beautiful picture of the inter-workings of God! Unity of the Godhead expressed in the church. Number two:

II. The Diversity of Gifts are to edify the Church (7-10)

That is, the whole point of these nine gifts listed here in verses 7-10 is to edify or build up the church. This truth will be especially clearer as we study chapter 14 where Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:12, “Since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.”

But we note the same truth here in our passage, verse 7:

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

That is, God has given spiritual gifts to individuals in the congregation for the profit, for the benefit, for the building up, or edification of all.

Like individual ingredients of a cake, we are who were are meant to be when we “mix it up” with everyone else, using our gifts for the benefit of all, for the profit of all, and the glory of God.

Here’s yet another text in the New Testament to answer the groundless objection of a non-church member who says, “I don’t need the church. I can worship God in nature all by myself.” Well, I should hope every person can worship God in nature. He is the Creator God of beauty and order, but Christians are meant to be active members in the local church. It’s not about your personal profit, it is about, “the profit of all.” It’s about your using your gifts to the benefit of others and the glory of God.

So let’s look now at these nine gifts. Verse 8:

8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,

These two gifts, “word of wisdom” and “word of knowledge” occur only here. They are nowhere else recorded in Scripture. So all we know about these two gifts is verse 8. “Word of wisdom” likely refers to an individual who is especially wise. When this person speaks, he or she speaks wisdom. We all know people like this, people who, because they often commune with God, are known for speaking the wisdom of God.

Similarly, the person who has the second gift in verse 8, “the word of knowledge” is likely a person who has the ability to speak with knowledge about a particular situation. He or she knows what to do in a particular situation and can speak knowledge to the matter.

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,

The spiritual gift of “faith” mentioned here is not faith in the ordinary sense of objective Christian faith, faith common to all believers. This is not the faith for example, mentioned in Ephesians 2:8, “for by grace you have been saved through faith.”

The spiritual gift of faith is something different. The spiritual gift of faith seems to be a special blessing of God to empower a person to accomplish a great task for the Lord. Paul writes, for example, in the next chapter of a faith that is able to “remove mountains (1 Corinthians 13:2).” And so, it seems there are some folks who have this unique gifting of faith to truly believe that God will work through their prayers to overcome insurmountable odds.

Verse 9 also mentions “gifts of healings.” We have taught on this before and time does not permit a full and systematic teaching on this spiritual gift. For now, suffice to say that this is a gift that means just what it says: healings. There are occasions when those who are sick are healed by the grace of God and there are different gifts of healings for different kinds of sicknesses.

Of course, in a general sense, all healing is owing to the grace of God. Even the healing of a headache by way of an Advil is the workings of God’s common grace in this fallen world. The “Good Physician” is ultimately the One behind every dose of medicine, every doctor’s care, every hip replacement, and so on.

At the same time, however, there are unique occasions wherein God specially gifts certain ones with the ability to—especially through prayer—be used of God to bring about healing in a remarkably supernatural way.

James 5:13-15, for example, teaches how church elders are to gather around one who is sick and that they are to “pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord” and how “the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.”

Now again, we don’t have time to treat this gift exhaustively, and it’s not Paul’s point to do so here, so our remaining questions about “gifts of healings” will have to go unanswered at the present.

10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

The “working of miracles” in verse 10 builds on the “gifts of healings” and includes things such as the many exorcisms we read about in the New Testament. The apostles and other early Christians were empowered to perform powerful miracles that authenticated the Gospel message they proclaimed. I do think this gift is still operable today. Again, I find the miraculous especially evident in the early years of the church, but know of no good reason why we would not expect the gift to continue to be operable today. But again, this is not Paul’s greater point here and so we read on in verse 10.

The next gift is “prophecy.” We’ll be treating this gift more fully in the coming weeks so for now, suffice to say that the gift of prophecy is the speaking of a truth that God spontaneously brings to the mind of the one speaking. God reveals the truth to the Christian and the Christian speaks that truth in human words.

So, unlike the way many think of the word today, thinking of it in its predictive role, predicting the future, the spiritual gift of prophecy is not so much the “foretelling” of information as it is about the “telling forth” of information. It is the proclaiming of truth that has been revealed to a speaker in order to build up the church.

Verse 10 also mentions the gift of “discerning of spirits.” This would be “a special ability to distinguish between the influence of the Holy Spirit and the influence of demonic spirits in a person’s life (ESV Study Bible).” The Bible calls for our “testing of the spirits” in 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 and 1 John 4:1-3, for example. Even in the more immediate context, we will note in chapter 14 how the church is gifted with the ability to test certain prophecies uttered in the congregation. Paul writes, in 1 Corinthians 14:29, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.”

The eighth spiritual gift and ninth spiritual gift mentioned in verse 10 are “different kinds of tongues” and “the interpretation of tongues.”

We will certainly be treating these two gifts much more fully in the weeks to come, especially in chapter 14. For now, know that “speaking in tongues” refers to the ability of a person to speak in a language that the speaker himself or herself does not know. It is a gift used in order to pray to God, to praise God, and also to build up the church. The one who has the gift of “interpretation of tongues” interprets the utterances so that the church may be edified.

Now again, we’ll be treating those two gifts much more fully in the coming weeks. Because the gifts of prophecy, and tongues were used chaotically in Corinth, Paul writes more about them than any of the other gifts so we’ll be studying them more fully in the future.

For now, let’s remember this second point: the diversity of spiritual gifts is meant to edify the church. God has given spiritual gifts to individuals in the congregation not to draw attention to the individuals, but for the profit of all, for building up or the edification of all.

By the way, there’s a popular focus in the evangelical church about having one’s personal preferences met. Something to think about: “If you insist on having all of your personal preferences met, what does that say about who you are worshiping?” Something to think about.

Here’s the third and final point from verse 11:

III. The Sovereignty of God equips the Church (11)

Remember: God’s sovereignty means that God has the right, wisdom, and power to do all that He pleases. That teaching is embodied in verse 11:

11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

God determines who gets which gift. If you have a spiritual gift or gifts, it is because God in His infinite wisdom and for His good pleasure has gifted you with that individual gift. He has given you with one gift and not another gift because He knows what is best for you and what brings greater glory to Him. Whichever gifts each person has, the gift does not make the person “super spiritual.”

This is an important point that the Corinthians needed to hear. Remember that there was this notion of spiritual elitism in the church. The Corinthian Christians were especially enamored with the gift of speaking in tongues and placed “tongue speakers” in a high category. So Paul is teaching in these chapters that, first of all, tongues is just one of many other gifts and, furthermore, should not be placed as highly as it is. And rather than folks all wishing they had this gift, Paul is like, “Look, ultimately, it is God who sovereignly chooses which gifts to give to which persons.”

Conclusion:
God has given spiritual gifts to the church for the building up of all. Each person is unique and uniquely gifted to use his or her gift in such a way as to build up the church.

It’s like snowflakes. Snowflakes are unique, aren’t they? There are no two alike. I find that absolutely unbelievably amazing. Only God can pull that off! Millions and billions and gazillions of individual snowflakes and no two alike. Wow. Each is unique.

And each flake by itself is not particularly useful, right? But when those flakes come together, and you have a bunch of snow, man! When you’ve got snow you can ski on it, you can build a snowman, you can build a snow fort and make snow balls.

And in the church is made up of millions and billions and gazillions of unique individuals. There are no two alike. And each of us has at least one spiritual gift. And when each of us uses our spiritual gift we can do great things together. We can accomplish things together that we could not accomplish individually. God uses us and uses our gifts to build up the church for His glory.

More about that next time!  •Stand for prayer.

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