LifeWay Family Bible Series for June 27: God gave you to your church for a reason_61404

Posted: 6/11/04

LifeWay Family Bible Series for June 27

God gave you to your church for a reason

1 Corinthians 12:4-15; 20, 27

By Rodney McGlothlin

First Baptist Church, College Station

God has given his church everything it needs to be effective in ministry and service. This gifting of the church for ministry also has been the occasion of misunderstanding and division.

Spiritual gifts. Two words. “Spiritual” suggests the source of these gifts. They come from God, given by his Holy Spirit to his church. The word “gifts” has as its root the word “grace.” Spiritual gifts are grace gifts from God that equip his people for effective ministry in his world.

The Corinthian church loved their giftedness. They especially loved the showy gifts. To be able to mesmerize a crowd with an unknown tongue or an eloquent prophecy was highly esteemed.

One can only begin to imagine the Corinthian cacophony as all wanted the speaker's box at the same time. All talking and no listening makes Jack a confused Christian. The lost world must have thought it especially strange.

You have a gift

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). You are included in that phrase “each one.” Our salvation is never to privilege alone. It also is a calling to responsibility within the kingdom of God.

God chose Abraham, and he promised to bless him. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great” (Genesis 12:2). That is privilege. He also promised to use him. “And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). That is responsibility. C.S. Lewis said that God chooses some for the sake of those he has not yet chosen.

By the same Holy Spirit that brought us to Christ and the privilege of salvation, we also have been gifted for service and responsibility. You have a service gift.

Your church has ministry needs

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7).

Have you noticed that there are different lists of gifts in the Bible? Did Paul expect his readers to combine them into one exhaustive list that would contain all the possible spiritual gifts? Or did he offer them as suggestive lists within individual churches? The lists may have been different because the needs of the churches were different.

I have been to seminars and read books on spiritual gifts. They often seem to suggest that believers can discover their gifts in some sort of spiritual isolation booth. It seems to me that any attempt to discover spiritual giftedness apart from a prayerful look at the needs of the church always will result in selfish pride rather than selfless service.

Wasn't that the problem in Corinth in the first place? They were highly gifted. They also were terribly proud and selfish.

A discussion of spiritual gifts from the perspective of this text needs to be church-centered. If the Corinthians had focused their discussion of spiritual gifts on the needs of their church rather than on the desires of individual members, they would not have been so contentious about it.

The place to begin the discovery of your spiritual gift is with a realistic look at the needs of your church. If there is a need you can meet, you have found your gift. Paul says these gifts are “for the common good.” They certainly are not for the exaltation of one church member over another.

You are God's gift to your church

“And in the church God has appointed apostles … prophets … teachers … workers of miracles … those able to help others, those with gifts of administration and those speaking in different kinds of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:28).

In this passage, Paul does not merely say the Corinthians have gifts of prophecy, teaching, helping or preaching. He says they are apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, helpers and administrators. This is crucial to understanding Paul's theology of spiritual gifts.

It is correct to say all believers have a spiritual gift. It is more correct to say all believers are a spiritual gift. You, as a spiritually gifted individual, are God's gift to your church. What kind of gift are you?

When you give a gift to someone, you want it to be an expression of your love for them and something that will be useful to them. Spiritual gifts fulfill these two gift prerequisites. Spiritually gifted individuals should be seen as an expression of God's love for the church. They also equip the church to fulfill our Lord's mission for his church.

Does your church view you as a gift from God? Are you helping your church achieve its mission? Do you work in concert with other gifted individuals “for the common good”? Somehow, I think the answers to these questions are more important than our usual debates over the issue of spiritual gifts.

Questions for discussion

Are you convinced that you are spiritually gifted?

How will it change your service if you begin to think of yourself as a spiritual gift to your church?

How is a church affected by lack of service by members?