The Way of Love | Expressions of Love - 1 Corinthians 12 | May 26

SCRIPTURE

“1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 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.

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 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. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

12 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. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

21 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.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.”

INTRO

Hey family. Good morning. Good morning.

I am very excited for today!

I am excited for many reasons, the main one being that this is a teaching I really need. And I know if I need this word from God, then I’m probably not alone. Generally speaking, from week to week, I can usually point to a specific part of each teaching and know this is what God is speaking to me. Sometimes I know it before Sunday, and sometimes it takes me a while to figure it out. For example, it wasn’t until Wednesday of this past week, after meditating and processing verbally, that I realized what God was impressing upon my heart. This week, I’m coming in knowing yet still expecting God to surprise me.

I’m excited because I believe there are some revolutionary thoughts here that will change your life. That will change your perspective – change the way you think about gifts. And if it’s nothing new for you, at least I hope it will remind you, encourage you, and challenge you as you utilize your giftings of what it’s really about.

As we heard from the reading, this is a chapter about spiritual gifts. But I’m not going to talk about tongues or prophecy. I’m not going to analyze each gift listed and elucidate some sort of best practice for you. Because as you may have guessed by now, it’s not really about the gifts. Here, let me give you a definition for spiritual gifts so you can see what I mean.

But first…

BEGINNING BENEDICTION

Let me just say thank you.

I’m really proud of the way that each one of you has latched onto this idea of family. The way you are moving into loving and caring for one another more fully, more completely. The way we are moving toward the realization that the gift of salvation from God is not to a private faith we keep to ourselves, but a faith that works for the faith of others. I know there’s still more fullness to be realized, but we are on our way.

Thank you to those who faithfully serve this body. I want to especially thank those who are on the support team, who show up week after week before anyone else to lift heavy things, to snap tiny buttons on a projector screen that seems to be utterly too small, to carry chairs, and to put those chairs out into nice neat rows knowing that I’m probably going to completely change all that meticulous work.

In many ways being part of the support team is not exactly an honorable position and the work may seem to go by unnoticed as others linger in their conversation. But Paul says, “on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor”. So I just want to honor your hard work and dedication and say thank you. You are valuable. You are needed. Your work is part of the healthy functioning of this body.

Thank you, to each one of you who gives so generously of your finances to keep this little expression of the global Church going here in Boone. It is such a God-honoring thing to give of our material resources and say here God, this has always been Yours, do something great with it. And so I just want to speak that blessing over you, that God would increase your ability to be generous 100 fold. That you who have been entrusted with a lot or a little will be given much more. That your cups would overflow.

Thank you for your love. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your sacrifice.

“God loves people who love to give. 8 God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others… He will increase what you have, so you can give even more… 11 You will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being generous. Then many people will thank God… 12 What you are doing is much more than a service that supplies God's people with what they need. It is something that will make many others thank God… this service will bring honor and praise to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:7-13, CEV)

Thank you.

DEFINITION: SPIRITUAL GIFTS

Now back to spiritual gifts. I want to give you a definition. As is usually the case, it is most helpful to have some sort of agreement of what we are talking about. And when people hear the words spiritual gifts, I think there can be a vast array of images which pop into their minds. So let’s gain some clarity.

While we could just as easily decipher this definition from our passage here in 1 Corinthians, there are other passages about spiritual gifts throughout the Bible.

And 1 Peter 4:10, 11 says, ”10 Each of you has been blessed with one of God's many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well (CEV)… —in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen (ESV).”

This is significant because it opens up spiritual gifts to extend beyond the far from exhaustive lists sprinkled throughout the Bible while at the same time really limiting what can be considered to be a spiritual gift. Operating out of your own natural ability, for example, which has indeed been given to you by God, is not to be considered a spiritual gift if used outside of this particular focus. So it broadens and at same time deepens what spiritual gifting can mean. It is much more than a talent.

“A spiritual gift is an ability given by the Holy Spirit to express our faith for the strengthening of someone else’s faith.”

“A spiritual gift is an expression of faith that aims to strengthen faith.”

A spiritual gift is an expression of the love of God for another person.

They are a vast diversity of things which have been given to each of you by the Spirit – it is not your own to boast in. It is exercised for the spiritual good of another – to serve the body. It points back to and honors the Spirit of God. And ultimately, it is an expression of love. Spiritual gifts are the way we love and serve the other members of the body.

This whole chapter, chapter 12 seems to be a reflection of and summarized in a way by what John says in his first letter, “11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit.”

God has given us His Spirit, to love one another well, and so make the invisible God manifest in this world.

“14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him” (1 John 4:11-16).

In our giftings, in the way that we love, we are confessing that Jesus is Lord of our lives, to the glory of the Father. A spiritual gift is a manifestation of the Spirit of God in the way that we love others. It is an expression of the love of God for another person.

YOU ARE GIFTED

You first have to understand that you have been gifted by God. Yes you. You have been apportioned by the Spirit to carry out God’s work of grace and love to bring about faith and sustain faith in other people. In all the ways that you can love, and care for, and support those in your family group or in this body, you have been gifted to do that. Those are your spiritual gifts. If there is a need in this family, and you think to yourself “I can probably do something to serve this person” you may be discovering one of your gifts. Yes, one of them. Because the truth is, whether you feel like it or not, you have each been given an abundance of gifts to glorify God and serve the people around you in love.

I know there are some of you who walk around with feelings of uselessness, thinking to yourself, “why am I here? What do I have to offer? I don’t see any value in what I have to give. I don’t even feel like I have anything to give!”

You’re wrong! You are wrong. Those are lies you have been speaking over yourself. If you are part of the body of Christ you are not useless but have been uniquely gifted to work for the good of the body and the faith of those outside the body. We need you.

Paul writes, “14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.” (1 Corinthians 12:14-20, ESV)

For the body of Christ to exist and function well, it depends on each and every member loving and serving in the particular way God has shaped you – in the unique manifestation of the Spirit within you. To say that you are useless dishonors the God who has given you value and purpose. To say that you are less gifted or less needed than another part of the body dishonors the body that relies on you to function.

You are essentially disagreeing with the Word of God to say that the body shouldn’t be a diverse array of cells all working together to function as a single organism, but rather it should only have a few members and I should be like a lot of others.

There are many members, but one body. That’s what it means to be a body. You are one member. You are gifted. You are a part of the body. You can’t be all of them. There are many members, but one body.

IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU

And your mistake is, it’s not about you.

It’s weird how in our feelings of uselessness as well as our feelings of pride we can end up making it all about ourselves. For just as Paul addresses those members of the body who would look at another and feel inadequate, he also addresses those who would look at another and feel self-sufficient.

“21 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.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.” (1 Corinthians 12:21-25, ESV)

You can’t separate and do your own thing, then you’re not part of the body. The body can’t function if you’re out doing your own thing. Not only that, but you can’t truly function in the way that you were meant to either. You may think you’ve got it all covered, you know how to do this, you’re good on your own, but you need us. You may think you’re serving the Lord but you’re really just kicking against the goads (Acts 26:14).

That’s the phrase Jesus charged against Paul during his conversion encounter on the road to Damascus. The ascended, transcendent Jesus told him, it’s difficult to kick against the goads. It’s more difficult to fight against Jesus than to go with Him. When we are all trying to do our own things, we are in disunity, and the body suffers. It is painful for the body.

There’s this thing called alien hand syndrome. Anyone heard of it? If you have some time you can watch some videos of people who have it. It’s wild! It’s this weird phenomenon usually associated with brain injury in which one of a person's limbs, such as their left arm, will begin to move seemingly on its own volition. It’s also been referred to as “the stranger’s hand sign” because it no longer feels like it’s your hand. People who have it will find their one hand taking pens out of their other for no reason. In some cases, the rogue hand will actually start choking them and they can’t stop it.

You are part of the body. You can’t do it on your own. It’s actually harming the body as a whole and not just yourself, but yourself as well, to try to do it on your own. Being a Christian means that you have been saved to a family. Your salvation is not just for you, it’s for all of us.

You are dishonoring the God who made us to function in unity and not self-sufficiency.

IT’S ABOUT THE SPIRIT

It’s not about you. It’s about the Spirit of the living God empowering us, apportioning, and constructing this body and being manifested by the way that we function together.

What I think is important for us to understand in this definition of a spiritual gift as a manifestation of the Spirit of God in the way that we love – as an expression of the love of God for other people, is that the Spirit is the gifter as well as the object of the glory.

Whatever way you have been gifted, it is from the Lord so you have no opportunity to boast. And whatever you do with that gift, it is for the Lord, so you have no opportunity to boast.

At the beginning of this letter Paul wrote these words, “30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31, ESV)

It’s about the Spirit.

And so, if the Spirit’s not in it, it’s not a spiritual gift. Many unbelievers have great abilities bestowed upon them by the God they don’t believe in. And although these are God-given they cannot be spiritual gifts because the Spirit is not being manifest through them.

“No matter what gifts we have, if we are not relying on God and not aiming to help others rely on Him then it’s not a spiritual gift.”

“It’s not spiritual because the Holy Spirit is not flowing through it from faith to faith.” If it’s not an act of your faith stirring up faith in another, then it may be a gift or talent that you have, but it’s not a spiritual gift. If it’s under your own power and authority or ability you’re not operating in your gifting.

It seems to me, this is why Paul was so adamant about boasting only in his weaknesses, because that’s when the Spirit was most on display.

In Paul’s follow up letter to the Corinthians, he goes on this long rant where he writes about a vision he had where he was called up to the third heaven as he says it and he writes, “5 That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. 6 If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:5-10)

Which teaches us another lesson, Just because you’re not gifted in a certain way, such as to hospitality, or evangelism, or teaching, or to words of affirmation, or whatever doesn’t mean that God isn’t calling you to operate outside your gifting. We are called to step outside of our gift – because at the end of the day it’s not about the gift.

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE GIFT

It’s not about the gift.

I know we’ve probably all taken these gift assessments where it tells you what your top three giftings are. If I can remember correctly my top four, because there was a tie somewhere, were teaching, leadership, prophecy, and faith. Something like that. And while that may be helpful in some way, it’s ultimately placing a focus on the wrong thing. It’s not about the gift.

This is a problem I have with people who read the book “The Five Love Languages”. You know that book. Have you read that book? As you may imagine, I haven’t. I told a guy a couple weeks ago, I’m not going to read your book. That might have been rude. I don’t know.

Let me be clear. I don’t have a problem with the book “The Five Love Languages”. At least I don’t think I do. But here’s the problem I have. Some people will read that book and it will utterly change their life. And it will finally dawn on them. This is why I don’t feel loved by you, my love language is words of affirmation and your love language is works of service. Are those two of them?

And so the conclusion they take away from that revelation is, you need to show me love in the way that I receive it best. And while that is true, the focus should be inwardly focused and not outwardly focused. The application shouldn’t be you need to do this. It should be I need to learn to accept love in more ways. I need to see how you are loving me. I need to love you in ways that resonate most with you. It can’t be you need to do this for me. Which I believe is how the author perhaps intended the message to be received.

So too with gifts, we must not get hung up on naming our gifts. We can’t fit ourselves into a nice box and say this is who I am and so this is how I can contribute. God is going to call us outside of our gifting, and that’s okay. “The thing to get hung up on is are we doing what we can to strengthen the faith of the people around us?”

So our problem is not that we don’t know our gift, because it’s not about the gift. The problem is more often not desiring to strengthen the faith of those around us. Because a spiritual gift is an expression of the love of God for another person. It’s about the spiritual good of another.

We must desire to strengthen others' faith.

IT’S ABOUT LOVE: LOVING AND SERVING THE BODY

It’s about love. It’s about loving and serving the body.

I love this. In Romans 1:10-12 Paul writes, “10 One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. 11 For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. 12 When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.” (NLT)

Paul prays for the opportunity to visit Rome that he might bring them a spiritual gift. Not something physical to be shared or for him to help them figure out their giftings, but a gift of his to serve them with and to encourage faith within them. “I long to see you so that I may use my gifts to strengthen you.”

It’s not about the gift. It’s about loving and serving the body. It’s about being mutually encouraged by the manifestation of the Spirit in one another’s life so that our faith might be strengthened. Serve the body in love and you may discover your gifting probably in a more helpful way because then it is placed in its proper context.

It is about the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good of the body.

OUTRO

“4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7).

It is about the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good of the body. A Spiritual gift is an expression of God’s love in and through you for the faith of another.

It’s the way of love. It’s all about love.

In a couple weeks we’ll read the beginning of chapter 14, “1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts.” (1 Corinthians 14:1, ESV)

We pursue love. The object of our focus is on the Who of love and making the Spirit manifest in the way that we love. We earnestly desire spiritual gifts, not because we believe we are lacking when compared to another, not because we want to stand out over another, not because it’s about us, and not because it’s about the gift at all, but because it’s about God and making Him manifest in the way that we love and serve the body. And the result is unity.

“God has so composed the body… 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1 Corinthians 12:24-26, ESV)

We are so connected, like the cells and neurons in our own body, that we celebrate over each other when honor is bestowed, we don’t think why not me, we celebrate with one another. We don’t say when someone suffers, I’m glad that’s not me. It is us. We are one body. When you hurt I hurt. When you are shown honor I rejoice. We are one. We need each other.

As the music team comes up, here’s how I want to challenge you. If you’ll do it, I have cards, stamps, and envelopes. If words of affirmation are in your gifting that’s great. If they’re not, it doesn’t matter. Take some cards, some envelopes, some stamps and write a letter encouraging a member of the body. Strengthen their faith. Take them and write them this week to send out and strengthen our body.