What I've Been Given and What It's For - 1 Corinthians 12:1-31

Sermon Series: Confused?

Do you remember “The Jetsons” cartoon? It was a cartoon that came on several years ago about a family that lived and worked in outer space some time in the future. I used to love that cartoon as a kid! The thing I found so intriguing about the cartoon were the robots that essentially did all the work for the people. There were robots that cooked dinner, robots that cleaned, and robots that would even change your clothes and get you ready for bed. As a husband and father of four, my wife and I would love to just have one or two of those cool robots to help us out around our house.

So imagine that I decided today to make my own robot. I would have to gather a lot of pieces and wiring. I would need a video camera or two so that the robot could see; I would need some moving parts that could serve as joints; I would probably need some sturdy pipes to serve as the ‘skeletal’ frame; and I would need a lot of wiring to carry the electricity.

Now, if all I purchased was a bunch of wiring would I have a robot? No! If all I purchased was a bunch of video cameras would I have a robot? Of course not! Why? Because I would not be able to create a robot by using parts that were all the same – I would need a variety of different parts. So what if I bought a variety of parts that I needed and then laid all of those parts out on the floor of the garage? Would I have a robot then? No, not even then would I have a robot. I would have the parts of the robot, but it would not be a robot because those parts had not been assembled together so that together they could carry out the work of a robot. If I was going to have a robot that would help out with some of the work around the house I would need a variety of different parts that were assembled together and performing their functions in cooperation with the other parts. Then I would have a functioning robot that was useful for helping out around the house.

As we examine the NT we won’t find that God designed and created a bunch of robots to proclaim the good news of Jesus and to make disciples. He did however design and assemble the church, which He also refers to as “the body of Christ.” So as we examine this week’s text we are going to discover that in order to do this well the church has been given a variety of different gifts and abilities and that we must all be using the gifts and abilities we have been given so that the body of Christ can function effectively.

This week we begin the third of three concerns which Paul had concerning the church of Corinth and misuses and abuses of their rights and freedoms within the context of their public worship gatherings. The first concern (11:2-16) was with women who were exercising their rights and freedoms to come to public worship without wearing head coverings. In those verses we noted that the principle being taught dealt with behaviors and actions that would dishonor Christ or one another in public worship. The second concern (11:17-34) dealt with the wealthy believers in Christ exercising their rights to eat extravagant meals with other well-to-do believers in Christ as part of their participation in the Lord’s Supper while their less fortunate brothers and sisters in Christ were having to eat in separate locations and were not receiving the same quantities or quality of food. Paul said that for the wealthy to distinguish themselves from the ‘have-nots’ was to make a distinction that was no longer a reality in Christ and that it was humiliating those who were not as fortunate financially. The principle Paul taught was that in Christ (and as symbolized in their partaking of the same loaf of bread in the Lord’s Supper) they were one body. Therefore they needed to guard against making sociological or socio-economic distinctions within the body of Christ and make sure that the manner in which they participated in the Lord’s Supper was an accurate portrayal of what was true of them individually (i.e. that Christ had given His body in their place and shed His blood in their place) and corporately (i.e. that in Christ they were all part of the same body – the body of Christ - and that sociological and socio-economic distinctions were no longer a part of their identity). In chapters 12-14 Paul turned his attention to the misuse and abuse of some who were a part of the church at Corinth in regards to how they were practicing spiritual gifts (in particular the gift of tongues) within the context of public worship. In these chapters Paul was not instructing the church at Corinth in regards to spiritual gifts (i.e. putting together a comprehensive list of spiritual gifts and offering an explanation of each one), he was correcting their misunderstandings so that they might not continue to misuse the gifts which God had given to them. In chapter 12 Paul would clarify what had been given to believers in Christ and why they had been given. In chapter 13 Paul would clarify the only context in which the gifts of chapter 12 were to be practiced. And in chapter 14 Paul would challenge those who were a part of the church at Corinth by speaking specifically to the one gift that was being misused and abused more than the others.

Chapter 12 begins this way, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” (verses 1-3). From these opening few verses we learn that Paul wanted to address those who were believers in Corinth regarding spiritual things (specifically spiritual gifts) and to set in contrast their past experiences as worshippers of idols to their present reality as followers of Christ. Those who were now believers in Christ had at one time worshiped one or more of the false gods – gods who were in fact ‘mute’ because they weren’t able to speak to individuals in the way that God (through the Holy Spirit) could. Still they had been led astray – some perhaps by the “spiritual utterances” of those who were followers of that particular god. Yet while those who made those “spiritual utterances” might have claimed to have been ‘inspired,’ their utterances were probably neither ‘intelligible’ nor ‘Christ-exalting.’ Perhaps some who were now believers in Christ had experienced in a pagan worship gathering at a time prior to their conversion an individual who was being led by a spirit or under the influence of a spirit proclaim, “Jesus is accursed!” Paul explained that while that individual may have been under the influence of a demonic spirit, he or she was certainly not under the influence of the Holy Spirit, because no one speaking under the influence of God’s Spirit would ever proclaim, “Jesus is accursed!” Some of these new believers in Christ needed to be reminded that words which were ‘inspired’ (i.e. spiritual utterances / tongues) were not by definition evidence of being led by God’s Spirit. Words inspired by God’s Spirit would always be Christ-exalting, which is why Paul went on to say, “no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” Make sure you take into consideration context here! Our first response is, “Of course someone can say 'Jesus is Lord' without being led by the Holy Spirit." However, that’s thinking that has been shaped by growing up in a free, democratic country where followers of Christ aren’t persecuted or threatened for their faith. In our country a majority of people would probably profess to be ‘Christians’ and would feel comfortable saying, “Jesus is Lord” because it is still somewhat culturally acceptable and saying something along those lines isn’t going to bring any harm or trouble upon the one who says it. However, for first century Christians, that was not the case. To confess Jesus as Lord was to open oneself up for great persecution. They were living under the rule of the Roman Empire, where the emperor was considered god-like (some even claimed to possess deity). So to confess Jesus as Lord was to set Him apart as one’s greatest authority and was to submit oneself completely and totally to His rule and reign. It was a treason-like act that opened oneself up to persecution of the greatest degree.

In the United States we are surrounded by people who would make the claim that, “Jesus is Lord.” However, most of these people acknowledge Jesus’ lordship in the same way that we acknowledge that Elizabeth II is queen of England. We understand that she was born into the royal family, that she has inherited the throne, and that she is England’s queen. So most of us in the United States would openly profess that Elizabeth II is queen. However, we also understand that we are not subject to her reign because she rules in a distant country. We love our democracy, we love our freedom, and we love the ability we have to (in many ways) govern our own lives. And while we might profess that Elizabeth II is queen, what we really mean is that she is a queen. Many of us tend to practically look at Jesus the same way. In the United States, while many people would say that Jesus is Lord, we tend to think of Him as a lord of a distant country. We are willing to acknowledge that His rightful title is Lord, but many also tend to believe that He is far away and that His rule doesn’t really impact our lives. We believe that we can acknowledge His title but still govern and rule over our own lives. That’s not the kind of profession that Paul was talking about in verse 3. Paul was saying that the only way a person would acknowledge that Jesus was the ruling and reigning Lord of his or her life and that he or she was submitting himself or herself completely and entirely to Jesus was if that individual had been moved by the Holy Spirit to do so. That is the kind of utterance and profession that would designate one as a believer in Christ – not just any kind of sound, and especially not the profession that “Jesus is accursed.”

We are going to see in this chapter and especially in chapter 14 that the Corinthians had placed a very high value on the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. They seemed to believe that it was the one sign that set an individual apart as under the Spirit’s influence. As a result, some in the church at Corinth were treating the gift of tongues as if it was the only manifestation of the spirit that mattered. But Paul sought to correct that misunderstanding in verses 4-11 and to remind the church at Corinth that God had given their church more than just the gift of tongues – He had given them a variety of different spiritual gifts:

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.”

The emphasis in these verses was that of diversity and variety within the church. Paul reminded them that within the church there were supposed to be a variety of spiritual gifts, a variety of ways in which the church served, and a variety of workings that were the effects of those spiritual gifts and activities. He also emphasized that the root of this diversity and variety within the church was God, Himself. The various spiritual gifts were not from various spirits, the various services were not from various lords, and the various works that had resulted were not from various gods. It was the same Holy Spirit, the same Lord (Jesus), and the same God who had worked and empowered this diversity within the church. Paul went on to say that each and every believer in Christ had in fact been given a manifestation of the Holy Spirit and further that the manifestation of the Spirit which they had been given was for the common good of the church.

According to Merriam-Webster.com, the word ‘manifest’ means “readily perceived by the senses and especially by the sense of sight.” This is what is given to each of us as believers – “the manifestation of the Spirit” (vs. 7). In other words, each and every believer in Christ is given something which they previously did not possess so that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit might be readily perceived by those around us. Furthermore, that gift wasn’t intended to be kept to ourselves, but was given to serve, edify, and build others up – particular those who are a part of the church! In verses 8-10 Paul actually listed some of those manifestations as examples. For some Paul said it was the utterance of wisdom. That meant that some had the ability to more clearly articulate to others that salvation came through faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection as the only means of reconciliation with God the Father. Paul had earlier recognized that the truth of that message was a stumbling block for many, but that it was the true “wisdom of God” (1:21-25). To others the manifestation of the Spirit was the utterance of knowledge. That meant that some had a unique ability to understand the truth of Scripture and to teach it to others. To others the manifestation of the Spirit was faith. That meant that some had a unique size faith that enabled them to believe and to see extraordinary things take place. To others the manifestation of the Spirit was gifts of healing. The language here suggests that this wasn’t a gift that one was always in possession of (i.e. one couldn’t just go around healing anything and everything one touched), but that at particular times these individuals could bring healing to those who were sick and hurting. To others the manifestation of the Spirit was workings of miracles. Like the “gifts of healing” the language here also suggests that this wasn’t a gift that one was always in possession of, but that at particular times those who possessed it could perform miraculous things. Given that the ‘gifts of healing’ immediately preceded this gift the reference probably isn’t to miracles of healing, but probably to miraculous events such as exorcisms and other forms of miraculous events that did not deal directly with the healing of those who were sick or hurting. To others the manifestation of the Spirit was prophecy. That meant that some were given spontaneous, Spirit-inspired, intelligible messages from the Holy Spirit that were meant for a gathered group, and which were intended to edify, encourage, or challenge the gathered group. To others the manifestation of the Spirit was the ability to distinguish between spirits. The early church did not have the NT so some revelation came to them through prophecy. Because there was no NT there was nothing to check the “prophet’s” words against. And if there was no NT to check the prophet’s words against, how could the church know if the words being spoken were truly from God. That is where this manifestation of the Spirit came into play. There were those within the church who had the ability to discern if those who claimed to have been given a revelation from the Spirit and were speaking a word of prophecy were really under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit or if the message was not a genuine word from the Holy Spirit. The last two manifestations of the Spirit that Paul mentioned in these verses were various kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. To some believers was given a Spirit-inspired utterance that was unintelligible both to the one speaking it and to any who might have heard it. Its purpose was to enable the one to speak to God (see 14:2) by means of the Spirit. However, because the utterance was unintelligible it also required one who had the manifestation of the Spirit which allowed him or her to interpret what was being said.

Paul’s list in these verses was not a comprehensive one, but rather one which represented the diversity of the Spirit. He concluded with verse 11 saying that these were all various manifestations of the Spirit and that the one Spirit had empowered them all. Individuals did not have the ability to pick and to choose which manifestations of the Spirit they possessed, but the Holy Spirit distributed them as He willed. Paul was reminding them that while God wanted unity in the church, His intentions were never that there be uniformity in the church. So He gave a variety of manifestations in order to ensure diversity.

In verses 12-14 Paul quickly demonstrated how the various gifts and diversity among the church were to function together. “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.” We can’t miss the point that Paul was making here. Paul’s emphasis in these verses was not unity – it was diversity. He had already established and made the point that the church was one body (we saw that last week in 11:17-34, and earlier in 10:16-17). As a body, Paul argued that we must have a diversity of gifts, and various ways of serving and loving. If everything is uniform there is no body – there is just a collection of the same kind of members. Paul expounded on this more through two illustrations. The first illustration came in verses 15-20. In those verses Paul personified different members of the body and gave them a voice. He asked the question, “What if a foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ or an ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body?’ Would that be true? Would the foot and the ear not be a part of the body?” The answer is “Of course they would still be a part of the body!” Do they have different abilities and different functions? Absolutely! But isn’t it also true that their unique abilities and functions are necessary for the body as a whole to function as it should? And again the answer is ‘yes!’ In His divine wisdom God understood that if everyone in the church possessed the same manifestation of the Spirit then there would be no body at all – there would only be a bunch of hands (verse 19). So not only did God determine what gifts to give, but he also determined to whom He was going to give those gifts and then played a role in arranging those individuals in local church bodies so that their unique gifts and abilities would compliment one another and allow the church to be a functioning and effective body of Christ (verse 18). “As it is” Paul said, “there are many parts” (verse 20). A diversity of gifts is a necessity for a healthy church – and this is what Paul was emphasizing to a church body that seemed only interested in one particular manifestation.

The second illustration came in verses 21-26. In those verses Paul again personified different members of the body and gave them a voice. This time the emphasis was on certain parts of the body believing that they could do without other parts. He said, “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’” (verse 21). It just isn’t true that one part of the body alone can carry out the work of the entire body. One part of the body cannot become so arrogant and prideful as to believe it is all that is necessary. Paul further illustrated that even in our own physical bodies we can see how God has arranged things so that the weaker and less honorable parts can still continue to carry out their roles. Our bodies have certain parts that from a ‘toughness’ point of view just aren’t as strong and durable as others. Our hearts and lungs, for example, aren’t as strong and as durable as our shoulders. When I was a cheerleader I would often have a teammate standing on my shoulders – sometimes bouncing up and down and other times catching another girl that was tossed up to her. My shoulders were strong enough and durable enough to endure that. I imagine that wouldn’t have worked out so well for my heart or lungs. If my partner had the opportunity to stand right on my heart or my lungs, bouncing up and down and catching another girl who was tossed to her, what would have happened? Both my heart and my lungs would have been crushed, right? But just because those parts are weaker doesn’t mean that they are less valuable. In fact, God has divinely placed those parts of our bodies inside a protective cage (our rib cage) because they are “indispensable,’ and within that protective area they can continue to carry out their necessary functions. We have other parts of the body that we have deemed less honorable and which aren’t appropriate for others to see. Are their functions still necessary for the body to work right? Yes, they are. So what do we do with those body parts? We cover them up. That way they can continue to function without being offensive to others. Then Paul concluded this second illustration with an important word, “. . . God has so composed the body . . . that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.” In the same way that God has designed our bodies by crafting them out of many different parts that all work and function together, God has also designed our local churches, crafting them out of many different people with a variety of different abilities and gifts so that they might work and function together to be the body of Christ. Our responsibility is to understand what God has gifted us with or enabled us to do, and to faithfully use that gift or ability so that we (1) manifest the Spirit’s presence in our lives, (2) build up the other believers in Christ who are a part of our church, and (3) help the body of Christ to function as God designed it. We aren’t to feel excluded because we don’t possess a certain gift or ability, nor are we to become prideful in the gift or ability we posses and act as if we don’t have a need for others. We have to faithfully use that which we have been given and do so as we love and care for those God has joined us with in our churches.

Chapter 12 concludes with verses 27-31. We had sensed where Paul was going with the illustration of the body which he used in the previous verses, but in verse 27 he removed any doubt. “Now you [the church] are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” The local gathering of believers (the church) is by God’s design the body of Christ. The individual members of the church are like the individual parts of the body - on their own they have different abilities which function differently from the abilities of others in the church, so that together they might become a functioning and effective body. That is why God has appointed different abilities and gifts within the church, which Paul went on again to list a few examples. Apostles were those had encountered the resurrected Christ and had been commissioned by Jesus to go out in His authority to proclaim the good news of Jesus and plant churches. Prophets were those who had been given the ability to hear a word from the Holy Spirit and to proclaim it to the gathered church or to those around them. This was essential in the days of the early church as their was no NT and God was giving instructions regarding the church (which had not existed in the OT days). Teachers were those who had been given the ability to understand and articulate the Scriptures in a way that would help others to know and understand them well. Paul actually ranked these first three, as these first three played a crucial role in the establishment of the church. The gifts and abilities he named after these were not ranked (as it was not his intention to rank them). Miracles, gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues were just further examples of some of the various gifts which God had given as manifestations of the Spirit to those who had believed in Christ and so that the church collectively might be made up of various members composing a single body. Not everyone in the church was an apostle. Not everyone in the church was prophet. Not everyone in the church was a teacher, etc. This was by God’s design!

So rather than all desiring the gift of tongues, Paul encouraged those who were a part of the church to desire the “higher gifts.” What were the “higher gifts?” 14:1 provides our best clue, “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.” The gift of tongues was an unintelligible gift. Without an interpreter it made no sense to the one speaking in tongues or to any of those who might have heard it. So Paul seemed to have suggested that the intelligible gifts (i.e. the ones that would edify and build others up) were the higher gifts that one was to desire. But before going on to talk about these gifts, Paul turned to address the context in which these gifts were to be practiced in chapter 13 to which we will turn our attention next time.

If you have placed your faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection as the only means of your salvation then Scripture teaches that you have been reconciled to God and that the third person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit, is residing in you. That gift is one that God never intended that we would keep to ourselves – He gave us the Holy Spirit and also gave us a manifestation(s) of the Spirit so that others would be able to perceive that the Holy Spirit is residing in us. So it’s not a question of whether or not you possess a manifestation of the Spirit – if you are a believer in Christ you do! The question is “What are you doing with the manifestation of the Spirit that you have been given?” Have you hidden it away so that no one else would be able to see it? Have you resented the manifestation you have been given because you would prefer to have another manifestation? Have you isolated yourself from other believers in Christ so that your manifestation is unable to be used in cooperation with other manifestations of the Spirit? Or are you plugged into a church, faithfully using your manifestation of the Spirit, so that the church might be a complete and working body, functioning as God designed it to function? Too often our churches look like a garage floor with several pieces of a robot scattered across it. All of the pieces are there! All the pieces have a specific role and function! But the pieces aren’t coming together! They aren’t performing their roles! And as a result, the work of the Gospel is going undone! Those of us who make up the church need to understand that God wants to use us; that He has given us a unique gift or ability that He wants us to use in cooperation with other believers in Christ; and we need to strive to faithfully use the gift so that the church can effectively reach the world with the good news of the Gospel.

Are you plugged into a church? Are you faithfully using the gift that God has given to you? If not, what steps can you begin to take to change that and to connect with a local body of believers to reach those around you with the good news of the Gospel?