1 Corinthians 12:7

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not that you would be ignorant... Now there are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit... But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man for the profit of all... For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12)

Every believer has been gifted by the Spirit—the question is whether we will step out by faith and use what God has given for His glory and the building up of His body.

Palm Sunday and the Promise of the Spirit

This is an important day, as we observe and remember Jesus' triumphant entry. We call it Palm Sunday—that day when Jesus, with His disciples and multitudes from all over Israel, came down the Mount of Olives, through the Kidron Valley, and up into the temple precincts in Jerusalem, as people praised God, singing from Psalm 118, "Hosanna, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord."

That triumphant entry began the week leading to His betrayal, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Daily Jesus was in the temple teaching and being examined by the religious establishment. During that week, He began with real clarity to tell His disciples that He was about to depart. In John 14 He comforts them: "Let not your heart be troubled... In my Father's house are many mansions... I go to prepare a place for you." When Thomas said they did not know where He was going, Jesus answered, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me."

Because they were concerned about His soon departure, Jesus spoke to them three times—in John 14, 15, and 16—of One who would come to them from God: the Holy Spirit. "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth... I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you." In John 15 He said the Comforter would testify of Him. In John 16 He said, "It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the comforter will not come to you... when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth... he shall glorify me."

So Jesus gave His disciples the promise of the coming Holy Spirit. In John 20:21, after His resurrection, He breathed on them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit." With the Spirit would come enabling power to do the work He called them to—to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth.

Gifts Given by Grace, Not Earned

We are the recipients of the Holy Spirit. If we have received Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, we have also received the Holy Spirit, baptized into one Spirit and one body. And all of this, as we've seen in 1 Corinthians 12, is ultimately for the profit of the body of Christ.

Spiritual gifts are given by God's grace to all believers for the benefit of the body. The gifting of the Spirit is not earned or deserved—just like salvation. Therefore, salvation and the gifting of the Spirit cannot be boasted about. Paul asks the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 4:7, "Who makes you different from one another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did receive it, why do you boast, as if you had not received it?" Likewise Ephesians 2:8: "For by grace are you saved, through faith... it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

God has gifted individuals within the body of Christ, gifting certain ones to fill offices, to exercise their gifts within the church, to equip members and build them up, that we all may work in the ministry to the edification of the body. The question is: are we doing this? Are we using the gifts God has given for His glory and the edification of His body?

What a Spiritual Gift Is—and Is Not

There are four listings of gifts in the New Testament—Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4—identifying about twenty gifts. But before we look at them, recognize that these lists are not exhaustive. There are more spiritual gifts given by God's grace than are listed in these four passages.

A spiritual gift is any ability the Spirit gives a Christian to express his faith in order to strengthen another's faith. One author called it "a God-given capacity through which the Holy Spirit supernaturally ministers to the body." Some gifts—miracles, tongues, healing, prophecy—are supernatural in origin. Others—teaching, administration, helps—are God-given abilities to perform particular roles. Non-believers may have abilities to administer or lead through God's common grace, but they do not function under the Holy Spirit's direction. When a Christian is gifted, the Spirit takes these abilities and uses them for His purposes to bless and build up the body and glorify God.

A spiritual gift is something every believer has to some extent (1 Corinthians 12:7), and it is given for the profit of the body. It is from God—all gifts ultimately come from Him, for "every good and perfect gift" comes from God (James 1:17). But a spiritual gift is not the same as a natural talent. You do not have the spiritual gift of snowboarding, cooking, or photography. Those talents come from God by His common grace, and they should be used for His glory—"whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31)—but they are not spiritual gifts.

A spiritual gift is not a sign of spirituality. Someone apparently gifted is not necessarily walking in the Spirit. We can fail to walk in the Spirit and still exercise apparent giftedness, because the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable. The Corinthians are a perfect picture: they were "not lacking in any spiritual gift" (1 Corinthians 1:7), yet they were also carnal and worldly (3:3).

A spiritual gift is not an end in itself. The Corinthians boasted about giftedness as if the gift were the whole focus. But the gift is given to glorify God and edify the body. As I've said the last two weeks, a spiritual gift is not a toy to be played with, a trifle to be passed over, or a trophy to parade around—it is a tool to be employed by the believer for God's glory and the edification of His body. Finally, a spiritual gift is not something to be envied, but to be desired. "Desire earnestly the best gifts" (12:31)—which could be translated "the most useful gifts." And "pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts" (14:1). We should desire that God work through us, but never envy the gifts others have.

The Gift of Prophecy

The first gift we'll consider is prophecy. Romans 12:6 says, "having then gifts according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy." Not everyone has this gift—Paul asks, "Are all prophets?" (12:29), and the answer is no. Ephesians 4:11 says Jesus ordained prophets within the body.

Whenever we talk about prophecy, our minds go immediately to foretelling the future. In our day, many claim to be prophets, predicting the end of the world—some say May 21st, others December 2012. We'll find out soon enough. If they truly believe they are foretelling the future, perhaps we should apply the Old Testament rules: if they say "Thus saith the Lord" and it doesn't come to pass, they were to be stoned with stones—not marijuana, stones. Clearly we don't do that.

It's important to recognize that the gift of prophecy is not only foretelling the future—that is a very small aspect of it. Prophecy is primarily forth-telling God's word. If you study the major and minor prophets from Isaiah to Malachi, the majority of what they said was forth-telling God's word and calling people to repent and follow the Lord, far more than foretelling the future. In my years of ministry, at least two people have told me, "I am a prophet," with a "Thus saith the Lord" for me that did not come to pass. They were not prophets.

Forth-telling God's word is an important aspect of the ministry of the pastor-teacher. What takes place from this pulpit week in and week out is, in some ways, the use of the gift of prophecy—providing a word from God to a specific group of people, exposing the Scriptures. And it should always be in accord with God's written word. If someone says, "Thus saith the Lord," and it cannot be substantiated by Scripture, it is to be rejected. The Bible is our final authority. I believe the gift of prophecy is still in use today.

The Gift of Service

Second is the gift of service, called "ministry" in Romans 12:7. The Greek word is diakonia, from which we get our English word deacon—the ability to identify and care for the physical needs of the body. It is my opinion that every disciple of Christ can and should exhibit this gift in some way, because at the base level we are all called to be servants, and God empowers us by His Spirit to serve.

We may employ natural talents or learned abilities to do that service. Some in our church have technical ability—they look at that soundboard and know what all those knobs do, while most of us would wonder if one is a self-destruct button. They use their God-given abilities to serve on the worship team, in the children's ministry, or teaching God's word to a third grader—which requires gifting.

You may say you don't know if you have the gift of service. It's very likely that you do, and the only way to find out is to step out by faith and see if God meets you there with power to do it. It will become evident very quickly—to you and to the third graders—within a few weeks. Sometimes we conclude through stepping out that we are not gifted in an area, and that's not a bad thing. You'd be better off not serving where you're not gifted, and seeking where the Lord would have you serve. You'll continually frustrate yourself and others trying to do something God hasn't gifted or called you to.

Over the years I've learned a number of things I'm not gifted or called to do, and that's helpful, because it lets me actually say no—which I have a hard time doing. A non-gifted person can occupy a work God hasn't called them to and keep someone who is gifted from functioning in that capacity. So it's important to come to the place where we recognize what the Lord has and hasn't gifted us for. Most, if not all believers, are gifted in some capacity for service.

The Gift of Teaching

Third is the gift of teaching. Romans 12:7 says, "he that teaches, on teaching." First Corinthians 12:28 says God set in the church "first apostles, second prophets, third teachers," and then asks, "Are all teachers?"—the answer being no. Teaching is the ability to clearly explain and effectively apply the truths of God's word so others will learn. It requires the capacity to accurately interpret Scripture, which God enables, but it is also something that needs to be developed. You don't instantly know how to rightly parse or exegete the Scriptures; some of that takes development.

I recognize that one of the gifts God has given me is teaching, and through it I've learned several things. First, it is clearly a God-given gift. As a junior in high school, I sensed God calling me to teach His word, so I took speech class, thinking it would help. What I found was that I was not naturally talented as a public speaker—my mom can testify to that. I was scared to death every time I had to stand up.

About that same time, our church offered a class on expository teaching, led by Pastor Pat. You had to prepare a Bible study and teach it before the elders. Again I found that in my own strength I could not effectively teach. But a month after I came on staff as an intern in 1999, Pastor Tony asked me to take over the junior high. I was apprehensive and wanted to say no. I said I'd pray about it—the Christian equivalent of no—but I reluctantly agreed. On February 14th, 1999, I began teaching the junior high. The moment I stepped out by faith to do what God was calling me to, He met me with the gift and power to fulfill it.

Still, in my own strength I am weak. When I approach an unfamiliar or difficult text, I quickly become timid and wonder how I'll possibly study it. Thankfully, God is faithful and will lead and direct us. God's giftings are also miraculous. Years ago, a man from our church who taught public speaking professionally came up after a service and asked, "Miles, who taught you how to speak?" I thought it could go either way. I told him I'd never had formal training, and he said, "What you did this morning is exactly what we teach speakers to do—you followed perfectly the classic Greek rules of rhetoric: logos, pathos, and ethos." At the time I had no idea what he meant. It's a miraculous gift God enables.

But many of God's gifts, like teaching, must be developed by exercise. You've got to use them if they're to become strong and effective. If you don't use them, you can squander, hide, or atrophy them. This is why Paul told Timothy to "stir up the gift" given to him—to take that coal about to go out and breathe on it until it's vibrant again.

The Gift of Exhortation

Fourth is the gift of exhortation. Romans 12:8 says, "he that exhorts, on exhortation"—the ability to motivate others to respond to truth by providing timely words of counsel, encouragement, consolation, or even rebuke; using the right word, in the right way, at the right time, to produce the right response. The Greek word is parakaleo—para, "with," and kaleo, "a call"—the idea of coming alongside and calling someone along to admonish, instruct, exhort, and comfort.

This gift is often used during a teaching, especially calling people to action. By God's common grace, some non-believers are gifted in exhortation, but if it isn't used by God's Spirit for His glory and the body's edification, it isn't functioning as a gift of the Spirit. You can usually find a person with this gift because they're the one who encourages, exhorts, and challenges you to step out of your comfort zone. A number of people in our body have it—one of the clearest examples I see regularly is Pastor Josh.

The Gift of Giving

Fifth is the gift of giving. Romans 12:8 says, "he that gives, let him do it with simplicity." But before we consider this gift, we need to recognize that all believers are to give—whether apparently gifted with it or not. You can never say, "I'm not gifted with giving, so I ought not to give," any more than you can say, "I don't have the gift of mercy, so I'm not merciful," or, "I have the gift of judgment"—no, God is the judge. There are gifts every individual ought to use whether especially gifted or not. The same is true of evangelism: Paul told Timothy to "do the work of an evangelist," and every believer ought to share his faith, gifted or not.

Giving is the ability to contribute resources with generosity and cheerfulness for the benefit of others and the glory of God. Christians with this gift don't need to be wealthy. I know a number of people in our church with the gift of giving who are constantly frustrated because they lack the means to give financially. This exposes something important: the gift of giving is not only monetary. It also means giving our time and talents to serve and do the work of the ministry. All believers are called to give sacrificially, cheerfully, and willingly, but some have a supernatural ability to give liberally and abundantly.

Acts 4 gives us a perfect picture in Barnabas, a Levite from Cyprus, who sold a parcel of land and laid the money at the apostles' feet—no strings attached. He had the gift of giving. But this sparked something in Acts 5: Ananias and Sapphira also sold land and brought money, but claimed they were giving everything when they weren't. They feigned the gift of giving for their own glorification, seeing the notoriety Barnabas received—though he never sought it. They did not have the gift, and they were judged for their hypocrisy. This reveals that some pretend to be gifted where they are not, for their own building up—and such people will be exposed. It's important to function within the gifting God has given, and to do so heartily, as unto the Lord.

The Gift of Leadership

Sixth and finally for today is the gift of leadership. Romans 12:8 says, "he that rules, with diligence"—the ability to discern God's purpose for a group, set and communicate appropriate goals, motivate others to work together to fulfill the service of God, and oversee that task.

The gift of leadership often works in concert with other gifts—administration, which we'll look at in a couple of weeks, and exhortation. A person with this gift often uses several gifts together. It's often easy to identify because the person is able and willing to delegate tasks and responsibilities to others. Delegation is one of the key signs.

We often point to charismatic, one-man-show leaders and say they have the gift of leadership. Not so. What generally happens is that person burns out or dies, and the work dies with them—it doesn't continue. That person wasn't as good a leader as we first thought. True spiritual leadership shows itself in the ability to delegate to other gifted people the tasks they can do, so the work goes forward and flourishes.

Step Out by Faith

As we close, recognize that all believers are gifted by God in some capacity to do the work of the ministry. We are all part of one body. As 1 Corinthians 12:12 says, "as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body." We are joined together, each with specific tasks, so the body corporately can effectively do the work God has called us to. Some gifts are more visible, but every believer connected to the body through the baptism of the Holy Spirit is gifted and called to serve. As we discover those gifts, we ought to minister them as good stewards—good managers—of what God has graciously given.

You may say you haven't identified yourself in these first six gifts, and that you don't know what you're gifted with. The best way to find out is to step out by faith, out of your comfort zone, to do something you may not feel like doing, and see if God has gifted you for it. Another way: you may have a talent and there's a need in the body you can fill.

Acts 6 gives a perfect picture. A problem arose in the early church—a group not being ministered to, a need greater than the apostles could meet. So the apostles told the church to choose seven men full of the Holy Spirit and of good report, and appoint them to the task. Among them were Philip and Stephen. As they served, God opened new doors. Philip had the gift of evangelism, and God used him as an evangelist. Stephen had a prophetic gift, and God used him to speak to the people of his day. New doors of opportunity opened where they could function more fully—but only because they stepped forward and said, "Lord, here am I, send me."

I believe we're in this passage for a reason right now—not arbitrarily. God wants to do a work through us as a church that is much bigger than what we can currently undertake. The vision of what God has called us to is larger than any one person can do. But as every joint supplies the need, God works through us to do what would be impossible if left to us individually. My prayer is that we would discover God has gifted and called every one of us, and that we would step out by faith—sink or swim—to see how God might work through us. Amen?

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You for Your word, and for the gifting and empowering of Your Spirit. Lord, You have saved us, called us forth, and gifted us. We pray You would stir up within each of us the gifts You've given, that we might use them for Your glorification and for the edification of the body. Work in and through Your church here at Calvary Chapel of Escondido. Stretch us outside of our comfort zone, into areas where we don't feel like going, that we might see You move in a powerful, miraculous way. When we take a step without perfectly seeing how that foot will land, support us as we walk by faith and not by sight.

Lord, we pray for the resurrection services next week at the Center for the Arts. This week, give us opportunity and stir us up to share with our friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Perhaps they wouldn't come into a church building, but maybe they'd come there—and in coming, be touched by Your Spirit, by the worship and praise of the one true God, and by Your word as it goes forth. Transform lives in our community, and continue to bring into the body and into the kingdom those You have gifted and called, that we would fulfill the work whereunto You've called us. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.