Do you know that you have
spiritual gifts from God?
That’s
right. Each and every one of us has spiritual gifts from God. These gifts come
in many different forms. Some are greater than others, but they are equally
important. Each gift is essential for the benefit of all believers. The danger
is that someone who possesses a public and “impressive” gift might lord it over
the one who possesses a private gift of service. Those who have the gift of
helping others rarely seek recognition or attention. Their instincts are to
reach out and serve other without reward or recognition.
The
theme of Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians is unity. The church in Corinth
had many issues, but the greatest problem was the lack of unity within the
church. In the section of First Corinthians that is just before the reading we
heard today, the diversity of the body illustrated the diversity of the gifts
within the body of believers. In this section of the Letter, attention is cast
on the fact that many members are required to make up one body.
The
church today sometimes finds itself in a similar situation. Sometimes there is
fighting about who is most important in the church body. This wastes time that
would be better spent demonstrating unity and unity to a world that needs a
model of genuine community and unity.
One
sign of unity is when all members equally care for one another.
Spiritual gifts are not just a matter of figuring out what one is good at so
he/she can be satisfied in serving. Spiritual gifts are intended to promote
unity and working together to share the Good News.
One
example of spiritual gifts is the gift of prophecy. Prophets in Old Testament
times were those who proclaimed the very words of God before there was a
written text. A prophet today is one who proclaims the very words of God as
revealed in the Scriptures. Paul listed apostles first and speaking in tongues
last. The Corinthians were putting speaking in tongues first and casting
aspersions on the apostles, especially since the apostles were acting in a
similar manner to Old Testament prophets.
Some
believers have the gift of preaching while others have the gift of leadership.
Not everyone has the same gift, and not everything we do will satisfy us 100%
of the time. Not all roles or gifts are equally exciting, but they are equally
important. Everyone works together and they are firmly planted on the
foundation of their faith in God. In the children’s talk you will hear in a few
minutes, I compare the church to a human body. Being a Christian is like being
a part of a human body. Each Christian is unique, but each Christian is part of
something bigger, namely, the Body of Christ. If we aren’t connected to the
church, we won’t know the purpose of our lives. We won’t know our role or our
function. We won’t know our value or our meaning. We need to be in
relationships with other people. We have to learn from others if we want to
fulfill our potential and our role within the Body of Christ.
God
creates people to carry out specific kinds of work in order to meet human
needs. God uniquely designs each of us. He fits each of us for certain tasks.
He distributes skills, abilities, interests and personalities among us so that
we can carry out his work in the world. That work includes spiritual tasks and
secular tasks such as health, education, business, law and so on.
In
light of what has gone before within the Corinthian church, Paul’s exhortation
to desire the best gifts may seem contradictory. As the following verses will
reveal, what Paul considers the best gifts will be quite different from that
the Corinthians had been pursuing. The best gifts are those that glorify God
the most.
The
church is the body of Christ. Every believer is part of that body, so every
believer should make the church a priority. When church isn’t a priority,
believers deprive themselves and fellow believers. That foundation helps us
work together, especially when one member is suffering. Believer are encouraged
to come together to help fellow believers when they suffer. The best way to
help is for each believer to use his/her gifts. When we use our gifts to do
God’s work, we strengthen each other and the Church as a whole.
We
need to be connected to a church family so that we can fulfill our calling to
serve other believers in practical ways. We need the church and the church
needs us. There are no insignificant roles to play in either the church or the
body of believers. Every role is of equal importance, because all of the roles
are connected. This is something for us to seriously consider at this time of
year. It is time for church and parish annual meetings, and during these
meetings people are elected to various positions of leadership within a church
or the parish. If you are asked to consider running for a position, it means
that the people who are asking you think that you have gifts that are
especially suitable for the position.
Most
of us will never be in a position to influence a lot of people. When we act or
speak, only those who are close to us will notice, but our actions will ripple
outward to affect an entire community. When we serve God and others, we steady
the whole body as we support each other. We must always look for needs that God
can meet through us. We don’t have to depend on our own personality or powers
of persuasion. Christ will work through us. We are his eyes, ears, hands and
feet in the world.
The
measure of a Christian worker is not the ability to speak or the worker’s
personality. It is the enduring work which he/she accomplishes. That work won’t
be manifest or completely recognized until Jesus returns. Only Jesus can truly
judge the merits of our efforts.
Some
people are multi-talented and well-rounded, but they rarely commit to doing one
thing well. They are spread so thing that their impact is minimal. All
Christian workers need to stay focused on what they are good at. Here’s a good
example of why we need to stay focused.
A
sea captain and his chief engineer argued as to which one of them was more
important to the ship. They couldn’t agree, so they decided to switch roles.
The Chief Engineer came to the bridge and the Captain went to the engine room.
After a couple of hours, the Captain come on the deck. He was covered in oil.
He waved a monkey wrench at the Chief Engineer and shouted, “Chief, you’ll have
to come down here. I can’t make the ship go.”
The
Chief Engineer replied, “Of course you can’t. We’ve run aground!”
We
must not allow our gifts to be greater than the fruit of the Spirit. When our
gifts are greater than the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, our lives will
crumble. When we grow in faith, God’s power will work in us to make us more
Christ-like.
Bibliography
1.
Jeremiah,
David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood,
TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 1588)
5.
Pastor Rick
Warren, “Where Do You Believe God Can Use You?” Retrieved from connect@newsletter.purposedriven.com
8.
Dr. Jack
Graham, “How to Maximize Your Kingdom Impact in 2015.” Retrieved from www.jackgraham.org
15. Rick Warren, “You Learn Your Purpose Through
Relationships.” Retrieved from connect@newsletter.purposedriven.com
16. Rick Warren, “God Created You to Need Other People.”
Retrieved from connect@newsletter.purposedriven.com
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