Bible Question #33 - The Gifts of the Spirit

Good evening, brethren. Welcome to another Wednesday night Bible study. We begin again this evening with our Bible literacy Bible study questions. We are on now question number 33. Gifts of the spirit is how this question is put to us. gifts of the spirit. Where do we find this question? Well, we find it in 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

So, I'm going to begin there as we do with our with our study typically speaking and just pick up here in verse one of 1 Corinthians chap 12. And again, we're going to be asking ourselves, why is this important? What do we need to know about it? Why is it important for us to understand? So, let's go over here to 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

We'll just begin with the ver the first verse. It says, "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant." Okay. So Paul begins by telling us a couple of things right away. First, this is clearly an active issue in the church in Corinthian in in in Corenth, excuse me. And Paul definitely wants to uh to deal with this.

It's not random, you know, he's clearly, remember, he was brought letters, he was brought testimony from people who had come to him from this congregation and he was dealing with issues that were raised with him. So, he raises this not because it's something, you know, he just randomly picked out a thin hair. It's a problem.

So, he says, "I do not want you to be ignorant." Now, that word means uninformed. It means unaware. It means lacking proper understanding. Obviously, in other words, this isn't just a minor topic. a little hiccup that's going on. This is a pretty big deal. It affects how this congregation was functioning. A few verses later, he makes the scope of the issue much clearer. Let's notice verse 7 here.

So again, we're in 1 Corinthians 12. Now in verse 7 says, "But the manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for the profit of all." Now, this obviously gives us a much bigger scope of what he's trying to deal with. Because whatever Paul is about to explain, this is clearly not a theoretical problem.

It's a real problem and it affects each one as we just read as we just read each one for the profit of all. So it's dealing with an individual situation. Individuals are struggling with something that they should be doing dealing with that is to benefit everyone and they're clearly not. So here is the real question that we need to ask.

Why did Paul have to correct the Corinthians about this at all? Why does this matter that we understand spiritual gifts correctly? Because if we misunderstand this subject, we're going to misunderstand how God designed his church to function. And that's not just a first century issue. That's a present day issue as well.

Before we can talk about gifts and how they operate, we have to begin where Paul began with the foundation. When Paul says, "Now concerning spiritual gifts," we need to pause and acts and ask what exactly is he talking about? The Greek term for gifts is a word you're famil with in the English language. The Greek word is charisma. Now, in English, we think of that um as having a very different meaning than what Paul intended.

Today, when we say someone has charisma, we usually mean that they're a dynamic person. Maybe they have a magnetic personality personality or they're very impressive in some way or maybe they're just very persuasive. It suggests personality appeal though, doesn't it? Something that draws attention to the individual.

That is not how Paul is using the term in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. The Greek word for charisma comes from the root word caris which means grace something freely given. It's unearned. It's undeserved. The ending m a or ma forming the word charisma. That ending ma indicates the result of that grace. So literally charisma means a grace gift something given as the result of grace.

Now that matters because that means that the gift a grace gift comes from God. The emphasis is not on the person who has the gift but on the God who gave it. Paul makes this unmistakably clear in verse four where he says there are diversities of gifts but the same spirit different gifts same spirit.

That means the origin of every legitimate spiritual function in the church is the spirit of God. It isn't about personalities. It isn't about ambition. It isn't confidence or training. It's what God has decided and given to his church. Now the Corinthians had begun attaching value to certain visible gifts. Some functions were admired, others, let's just say less.

So Paul dismantles that idea completely by shifting attention away from the individual back to the source. He continues verses five and six. There are differences of ministries but the same Lord. There are diversities of activities but it is the same God who works all in all. So notice the repetition. Same spirit, same Lord, same God.

Paul is grounding this subject in God's function within it as the source. Gifts are different, roles are different, activities are different within the church, but the source behind them all is unified and singular. He then says something even more direct in verse 11. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills.

This phrase as he wills, that removes any idea that we assign ourselves our spiritual role. God distributes, God decides, God assigns. This corrects two common misunderstandings. The first one, gifts are not self-generated. They're not discovered deep inside as expressions of personal identity. They're entrusted by God for a purpose he is working out in his church.

Second, gifts are not self- selected. It's not that there's a a smorgus board of optional gifts and you just go and pick the one that you want. God distributes according to his will. meaning according to his understanding of what the body needs. Many commentators point out that the verb distributing carries the idea of aortioning deliberately.

It's intentional placement. It's not some random ability. And Paul makes this clear when he says as he wills. It's God's choice. It's God's decision. Paul reinforces this later in verse 18. He says, "But now God has set the members, each one of them in the body just as he pleased." The word set means to arrange or position.

It's like placing parts in a body. The church is not a collection of self-directed individuals. It is arrang It is an arranged body. God places members where they are meant to function. And here's why this matters. If we think we are the source of our gift, well, that's naturally going to lead to pride, isn't it? If we think others, meaning other humans, are somehow the source of our placement within the body, within the congregation, then we're naturally going to let or have our suffer with resentment if we don't feel that we're being utilized. If we understand though

that God is the source of both the gift we are given and our placement within the congregation, then humility and trust can grow instead. We can literally sit back and say, "I serve at God's pleasure." This also means something practical. Natural ability alone is not the same as spiritual gifting.

You can have natural abilities and not necessarily have a gift by of God that is in that ability. Maybe someplace different. A person may have a skill for example, but the spiritual effectiveness of that skill depends on whether God is energizing that skill within the body for a purpose. Paul says plainly that it is God who works all in all.

That means the power behind our usefulness is not our personalities. It's what God is doing. So before we ask what our gift is or how it should be used, we have to settle this foundation. A grace gift from God is not about self-expression. It's about God expressing his grace through a person. The source is not the individual.

The source is God. [snorts] And once that foundation is clear, we're ready to ask the next question. If God is the one who distributes and arranges these grace gifts in his church, well, then why does he do it the way that he does? Let's notice verse 7 of Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 12. He says here, "But the manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.

" This word manifestation means making visible. In other words, when a grace gift operates properly, it is evidence that God is actively working. It's not to showcase the individual. It's to reveal what God's doing through his spirit. Notice the purpose for the profit of all. That's not for personal fulfillment.

It's not for individual recognition. It's not to help you figure out your spiritual identity. It's for the profit of all. The word profit carries the idea of advantage, of benefit. It means the entire body should be better off because that gift is functioning properly. This is where the Corinthians went wrong.

They had begun measuring gifts by how impressive they appeared rather than how beneficial they were. Some gifts are naturally going to draw attention, but others work quietly. It's human nature that gravitates towards what looks powerful, awesome, incredible. beautiful gift. Paul corrects that by introducing one of the most practical illustrations in scripture.

He compares the church to a human body. In verse 12, he says, "For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body being many, are one body." So also is Christ. Body has different parts because different functions are required. Eyes, see, hands, handle, feet, walk, ears, hear. None of these parts of the bodies do the same functions, do they? And none of them exist for themselves.

A hand that exists exists only to admire itself is useless. An eye that refuses to cooperate with the rest of the body. Well, that's dangerous. Actually, Paul makes that even more pointed in verse 21. He says, "And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you, as though I am sufficient for the whole body.

" In Corinth, certain members were acting as though some roles were unnecessary. And Paul says that is impossible in a healthy body. Then he adds something that would have surprised them. Verse 22, he says, "No, much rather those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary." Necessary, not optional.

They're not somehow just decorative to the body. They're absolutely necessary for the proper functioning of the body. This is where we need to think carefully about how we evaluate usefulness of gifts today. Human beings tend to assume visible roles are what's important. But God says some of the least visible functions are the most essential.

Think about how the human body works. internal organs are unseen, but without them, can the body function? Well, the same is true of the church. You know, that quiet service that isn't visible, it's happening. It's not out front. Maybe it's consistent encouragement or it's a steady administration or maybe it's just patient teaching.

They may not draw attention to the whole body, but without them, the body cannot function properly. God distributes gifts the way he does because the church needs balance. It needs stability. It needs interdependence. Paul explains this arrangement prevents division. Verse 25 that there when he says that that this is a concluding statement a a reason is being given that why is this being done this way? He says that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.

The word schism means what you think it does. It means division, tearing apart. When gifts are misunderstood or misused, division is what follows. When one role is exalted above other roles, imbalances be the result. But when each member understands that their function exists for the benefit of the whole, well then unity can grow in the church.

>> Distributes gifts deliberately so that no one can function independently of the rest within the body. You cannot have a body made entirely of eyes. You cannot have a body made entirely of hands. Diversity is not weakness. It's God's design within his church. This also answers something practical for us.

If God gave everyone the same visible ability, the church just right. Everyone, if everyone taught, then who would organize? And if everyone organized, who would shepherd? If everyone spoke publicly, who would listen and help privately? The distribution itself protects the church. And here's something else to notice. Paul does not say find your gift and pursue it for your personal development.

He says the manifestation of the spirit that it becomes visible. Your gift becoming visible within the congregation that is given for the profit of all. That means the measure of a gift is not how it makes me feel but it's how it is useful to everyone else. When a gift is used properly, then the body is going to grow.

Stability is naturally going to increase throughout a congregation. Members are going to care for one another and unity is going to develop more broadly. But when a gift is misused, well then competition is going to grow. Envy is natural. division is what's going to follow. So God distributes his grace gifts the way he does because the church is not built on personalities.

It's built on interdependence between God's people. No member is self-sufficient and no member is unnecessary. No member exists for themselves. And that leads us naturally to the next layer of Paul's correction. If gifts exist for the profit of all then how are they exercised that well that matters just as much as what they are.

So our third point here deals with the maturity that's required in dealing with spiritual gifts. To this point, Paul has established that grace gifts come from God and are given for the benefit of the whole body. But he does not stop there because distribution and purpose alone do not guarantee a healthy church.

A gift can be genuine and still be misused. It can come from the spirit and still create confusion if it's not exercised with maturity. This is why Paul does something that at first seems unexpected because right after chapter 12, he moves into chapter 13, what we call the love chapter, but he doesn't change subjects. He deepens the subject.

But before correcting how certain gifts were being exercised publicly, he addresses the character that must govern all of them. Notice chapter 13 and verse one. You're going to see very clearly he does not change the subject. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, a gift, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging symbol.

Paul chooses one of the most visible gifts in Corenth and says that without love, it becomes noise. It's not partially effective. It's it's not something that has a reduced impact. He calls it noise. It's very strong language. It tells us that spiritual ability, no matter how dramatic, has no value if it is not directed by godly concern for others.

The word Paul uses for love here is agape. Now, that refers to deliberate, selfless commitment to the good of another. It's not an emotion. It's not about preference. It's a choice to act in ways that build and protect others. Well, that means a grace gift, even when genuine, can be exercised selfishly if there's no love.

Verse two of chapter 13 says, "And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing." So see the shift here. In verse one, the gift becomes noise. In verse two, the person becomes nothing.

That doesn't mean that they lose their identity. It means the exercise of the gift has no spiritual value if it is disconnected from love. The Corinthians had begun to equate visible ability with spiritual maturity. And Paul absolutely dismantles that assumption. Love in Paul's argument is not an optional addition to spiritual gifts.

It's the governing principle. He describes it as patient, kind, not envious, not self-seeking, not easily provoked. In other words, the opposite of the attitudes that were surfacing in Corenth. Their misuse of gifts revealed not a lack of power, but a lack of maturity. This explains why Paul later emphasizes order in chapter 14.

Notice chapter 14 now and verse 33. Chapter 14 and:e 33 he says for God is not the author of confusion but of peace as in all the churches of the saints. The issue in Corenth was whether the exercise of gifts reflected God's character. Confusion, competition, and disorder are not signs of spiritual strength.

They are signs that something is wrong. Paul's correction shows us something critical for the body today. Spiritual gifts do not operate in isolation from character. They're meant to function within a framework of restraint and humility and concern for others. When love governs, our grace gifts strengthen the body. When selfish uh when self-interest governs, well then those same grace gifts divide the body.

He makes this even clearer near the end of his instructions in verse 40. He says, "Let all things be done decently and in order." The phrase decently and in order refers to proper arrangement, disciplined conduct. Paul is ensuring that what happens reflects the nature of God. God's spirit does not produce chaos.

It produces clarity, peace, and mutual strengthening. This principle reaches beyond the church at Corenth. In every generation, there's a temptation to measure spirituality by visibility and intensity. What gifts do you have? But Paul teaches that the true measure of spiritual health is whether love governs the expression of every gift God gives us.

Without that, God's grace gifts become harmful to the church. So this point reminds us that gifts are not the ultimate evidence of maturity. Character is. A congregation may have many abilities that are present. But if patience and kindness and self-restraint are absent, then those abilities, those gifts are not going to produce the unity that God intends.

Paul's flow is deliberate. First, God distributes. Second, the gifts he distributes exist for the body. Third, they have to be used under love in order. Without that progression, the church would either become stagnant or divided. So that prepares us for the final issue that Paul teaches. Even when gifts are understood, when they're distributed properly and governed by love, there are times when members feel overlooked or unused. That's not a new problem.

It's part of what Paul addresses through his body analogy. Let's notice again back in 1 Corinthians 12 15 and 16. It says, "If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I am not of the body. Is it therefore not of the body?" If the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body." Is it therefore not of the body? So you see what's happening.

The foot is not denying the existence of the body. It's questioning its own value within the body. The ear comparing itself to the eye and concluding it must not matter as much. Paul says that's not the correct thinking. So each of us when we look at our role at at the gifts that God gives to us, they may not be openly visible to anyone.

That doesn't make them any less valuable in the body any more than the internal organs are less valuable because we can't see them. But it's this kind of comparison that we can fall trapped to if we allow ourselves to be thinking of ourselves instead of the body. What are the needs of the body? Don't I have a role in fulfilling the needs of the body? The answer is yes, you do.

Every member of God's church has a role in the body. But when we compare our function to someone else's, we naturally measure visibility instead of necessity. The eye may be more noticeable than the ear, but that does not make it more essential. Each part serves a role the others cannot replace. Paul strengthens the point in verse 18.

But now God has set the members each one of them in the body just as he pleased. That verse has to guide our thinking. If God arranges the body as he pleases, then our first response should be trust. Trust does not mean we never grow. It does not mean we never develop. It means we accept that God sees the whole picture when all we can see is a tiny piece of it.

Sometimes a gift may feel unused. It may actually be unused because maybe it's still being formed by God. A person may sense ability before they are ready for responsibility. And that happens naturally in somebody who's younger. Of course, God often develops character before expanding the role someone may fulfill.

If love and maturity are foundational, then preparation may be taking place even when visibility is not there. Other times, gifts are present but not recognized immediately. You know, leadership is human. Congregations are limited in size and need. Not every ability can operate at full capacity at all times.

That doesn't mean the gift is invalid. It means that timing and need have to align with each other. There's also the danger of withdrawing when we feel unnoticed. Paul's body analogy shows that withdrawal weakens the whole. A hand that refuses to function because it envies the eye. Well, that harms the whole body.

The same is true spiritually. Faithfulness in small opportunities often reveals larger wants later. Paul addresses the opposite problem as well. Verse 21. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you. Nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. So on the one hand, Paul says you may feel your gift isn't being used or you may not even realize how it could be used and you're questioning your value.

The opposite problem could be that we question the value of somebody else because they don't have our gift which is the problem that was being suffered in Corenth. This corrects those who are visible or who lead. No member has the right to dismiss another member. Every part contributes stability.

If someone feels overlooked, that is not something to ignore or treat lightly. It's a signal that communication and awareness may be needed. So what should someone do if they believe their grace gift is not being utilized or may be fully utilized? The first step is honest self-examination. Is the desire to serve rooted in love for the body or in a desire to be seen? That question is not meant to be an accusation.

It's a chance to do a personal reality check because our motivation matters. A second step is quiet faithfulness. Can we serve where opportunity exists and maybe if it's doesn't exist for us to serve where our gifts are to be okay with that? Can we contribute in ways that strengthen others regardless even if those ways are not visible? Many gifts become evident through steady service rather than through some kind of formal assignment.

The third step may involve respectful conversation. There's nothing wrong with expressing willingness to help. It's not self-promotion to say if this would be helpful, I'm available. Because done in humility, that honors both the gift and the body. But ultimately the controlling principle must remain what Paul established earlier. God arranges the body.

If we believe that then resentment has no place to grow. Now frustrations may arise but that shouldn't lead to bitterness. A grace gift from God is not validated by how often it is used publicly. It's validated by the fact that God entrusted it in the first place. Timing, opportunity, and need, those things can fluctuate.

But God's awareness of who has what gift that he has given, that never changes. When each member trusts God's placement, serves faithfully where possible, and allows love to govern motivation, something steady in the congregation forms. The body becomes healthier, comparison goes away, cooperation builds, and that brings us full circle.

Paul did not write 1 Corinthians 12 to elevate certain individuals. He wrote it to protect the church from division and confusion. When grace gifts are understood properly, the body functions with humility, with order, and with care, one for another. This is what we need to understand about gifts in the church of God today.