1 CORINTHIANS 12

The Corinthians had a problem:
    – The spiritual gifts were splitting the church,
       instead of building it up.
      Question:
      Why were they disrupting the church instead of unifying it?
          – Because they were misusing God’s special gift to them.
          – They didn’t understand the value of what He had given them.
          – They personalized their gift,
            which diluted God’s presence and purpose for their gifts.
          – The spiritual gifts had become symbols of power.
          – Rivalries had developed because some felt they were
            more spiritual than others due to their gifts from God.
          – Their spiritual gifts were being misused.

Note:
    We can become “divisive” (creating a lack of unity,
    including partisan and contentious quarreling), if we use
    our gift without any concern of how it will impact others.

Note:
    We have a responsibility to avoid:
        – Being too proud of our abilities.
        – Comparing ourselves and our gifts to those of others.
        – Thinking things like
          “I have nothing to contribute to the body of believers”.

1 CORINTHIANS 12 (verses 1-11, 28-31):
Note:
    This is not an exhaustive list of all the spiritual gifts.

Question:
Who has spiritual gifts?
    – All believers (Verses 6-7); it is a valuable gift from God.
      Question:
      Why would God give us anything?
           – God created us, He loves us, and He gives us
              gifts to bless us…AND…for us to use in blessing others,

Question:
From where do we receive our spiritual gifts?
    – They are given to us by God when we are saved.
      Note:
          Not only does He provide them, but He also guides us
          in using our gifts; and He provides us with the energy
          needed to put them into action, in the right way
          (which means allowing God to work through us)
          (Verse 6)

          Question:
          What does that mean to us?
              – It means that God considers every believer as an
                equal and valuable contributor to His purpose.
                (none is ranked higher or more important
                 than anyone else).
              – It means that God is depending on,
                and expecting us to use what He has given us.
              – It means that God is confident (and knows of)
                our abilities even if we are not aware of them.
              – It means that God is giving us an opportunity to
                surrender our will to His will, which proves our
                faith in Him.
              – It means that when we are actively using our gift,
                we are breathing life into the church body by
                encouraging others to use their gifts as well.

Question:
Wonder how many Christians
are aware they have a spiritual gift?

Question:
Are you aware that you, as a Christian, have a spiritual gift?
    Question:
    Do you know the spiritual gift God has given you?
    Do you have any interest in knowing your spiritual gift?
    How would it affect you if you felt
    that God had not given you a spiritual gift?

Question:
What does it mean to a Christian
when he or she realizes they have a spiritual gift?
    – Hopefully, we realize that it is one of the ways
      God encourages us to get involved in His ministry;
      and, when we do, our spiritual maturity increases.
    – It should create in us the realization that God has
      blessed us in a special way, and we have a responsibility
      to use what He has given, to be a blessing to others.
      Example:
          Imagine that God has given you the spiritual gift of
          encouragement (Romans 12:8).
          Like all the other gifts, this is an important gift,
          but only when it is being used.
          God may want you to encourage many other people
          who are involved in His work, but, what if there is
          only ONE PERSON God wants you to encourage.
          If you fail to use your gift, then you have disappointed
          someone who desperately needed encouragement, you
          have disappointed God (who depended on you), and you
          have disappointed yourself (because you know you have
          failed God and have missed out on receiving His blessings).
          Who is going to encourage that ONE PERSON?
          God may have that ‘one’ person in a position to reach
          ‘many’ others. He or she may be discouraged for whatever
          reason, and God gave you the opportunity to lift his or
          her spirits (which would renew their enthusiasm to point
          others to the Lord).
          When you use the spiritual gift God has given you, it means
          that you were also a contributor to reaching many others.
          Encouraging someone else may seem like a less important
          gift, but it is not! Every spiritual gift given by God is of
          equal importance!!

Question:
Do you think we live our own lives
as though we know all Christians have gifts?

Question:
How are gifts being used in the churches today?
What if some are not using the their gifts – how
would that impact the church?

Question:
What gifts are mentioned?
    – Wisdom
    – Knowledge
    – Faith
    – Healing
    – Miraculous powers
    – Prophecy
    – Apostles
    – Distinguishing between spirits
    – Speaking in tongues
    – Interpretation of tongues
    – Prophets
    – Teachers
    – Workers of miracles
    – Able to help others
    – Administration

Question:
Do we have only one gift?
    – Not necessarily, God may give some more than one gift.
      “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while
      every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will
      be even more fruitful.” (John 15:2)
      Question:
      Did you catch that? When we ‘bear fruit’ (use our spiritual
      gift), we can be even more fruitful. Using one gift may be
      our preparation for receiving additional gifts.

Question:
Do we have all gifts?
    – No.
      God fits all individual gifts together to create the church body.
      When we fail to use our gift, we negatively impact the body of
      God (the church).

Question:
What is the advantage of each of us having different gifts?
    – Together we become one body by covering all the areas
      of God’s earthy ministry. If we all had the same gift,
      then we would be strong in that one area, but the other
      areas would not be strengthened, because they would not
      exist. Those who need the missing gifts would remain
      hungering and thirsting.
      For instance, what if no one had the gift of prophecy
      (which is not predicting the future, but it refers to one
      who receives God’s message and transmits it to others).
      It is points to preachers, teachers, and missionaries.
      If no one is given that gift, then what would Sunday
      morning in church look like?

Question:
What is the benefit of one person having more than one gift?
    – It is a question that God would have to answer
      because He is the giver of spiritual gifts.

Question:
If you could choose one gift,
which one would you want and why?

Question:
Why are we given gifts?
    – To build up the church. (Verse 5)
    – For service; allowing God to permeate the church body.
      (Verse 6)
    – For the good of all. (Verse 7)

Question:
How do some respond
when another Christian is honored?
    – Are we glad to see them recognized for their efforts,
      or do we allow Satan to give us twinges of jealousy?
    – Do we feel a conviction to use our own spiritual gifts?

Question:
How do some respond
when another Christian is suffering?
    – Do we suffer with them, or do we allow Satan to
      convince us that ‘someone else’ needs to minister to them?

Question:
Are we encouraging each other?
    – If we are not, then why not?
    – If we are not encouraging,
      then are we by default discouraging each other?
    – We can be discouraging to others without saying a word.
       How? We can fail to listen to them. We can be rude and
       listen to others when someone is speaking directly to us.
       We can interrupt others when they are speaking because
       we feel what we have to say is more important than what
       they are saying (sometimes we may be afraid that we will
       forget what we want to say if we wait – but when we
       interrupt, how have we affected the other person, and their
       memory of what they were saying)? How many times have
       you heard someone say after being interrupted,
        “What was I saying?”.
       We can walk away when someone is talking directly to us.
       What does that communicate to the other person? Isn’t it
       saying that either we are not interested in what they are
       are saying, or it is not important to us. That is an example
       of selfishness.
       We can exclude others when we are having conversations
        with those within our own clique. If we ask them questions
       about themselves or whatever we are talking about, it will
       make them feel more comfortable interacting with the group.
       We never know what might be going on in another person’s
       life, and how much a little encouragement can lift their
       spirit.

Note:
    We need to guard against isolating ourselves totally
    in our relationship with God (similar to monks).
    It is important for us to be involved in the body
    of believers.

Question:
What are some examples where believers
have misused the gift that was given to them?
    – Televangelists (prophecy, shepherd, pastor).
    – Politicians (leadership).
    – Condescending (omitting love when using our gift).
       It is what some may refer to as a “holier than thou”
       attitude.
    – Manipulation (having hidden selfish agendas).

Question:
How can the gifts mentioned in the scriptures
be used for the good of the church?
    – Wisdom (guidance; advice; making decisions)
    – Knowledge (bible teaching; different programs)
    – Faith (encourager; unifying the church)
    – Healing (spirits healed)
    – Distinguishing between spirits
      (knowing what is of God and what isn’t)

Question:
How can we cultivate our gifts?
    – Discover them; pray about them; use them.

Write down what you think is a gift of yours.
Note:
    To help in your thinking:
        – What are some things you like to do?
        – What are some things you think you would like to do?
        – What are some dominant areas of your personality?

Question:
What are some ways you can use this gift in the church?
How will it enhance the church as a body,
or possibly even one individual?

Question:
How could this gift be misunderstood?
What would you need to guard against in order to
effectively use this gift to build up the church, and
not to cause problems within the church?

SUMMARY:
    – God gives His special gifts to us in order to benefit the church.

    – The variety of gifts all come from the same source;
      they are orchestrated by God for a purpose.

    – All believers have one or more gifts.

    – The words we speak,
       testify whether or not they are inspired by God.

    – We can’t use our gifts until we discover what they are.

    – Since we all have gifts, we are all expected (and blessed)
      to be involved in His ministry.

    – When we use the spiritual gift God has given us,
      we have a closer connection with Him.
      Question:
      Why?
           – Because we realize that we need Him in order to
             effectively use the gift He has given is.

Note:
From a personal standpoint, I was “rocking along”
attending church on regular basis, reading the bible,
praying, tithing, and singing in the choir. Don’t laugh
but I actually had a mini-concert where I shared 3-4
of the songs the Lord had given me (I am not a song
writer, but He wrote them for me). I even taught a
Sunday School class for 10 year-old boys;
that was when I discovered that teaching
was definitely NOT my spiritual gift.

At any rate, one Sunday morning our former Minister
of Education (Bobby Bragg) caught me after church
and asked if I would be interested in teaching a class
which was going to lose their current teacher. In panic
mode (and remembering my experience with the boys),
I used the “Let me pray about it” delay to end the
conversation. True to my word, I prayed about it a few
times and then forgot about it.

Then, about 3 months later, Bobby caught me again after
church and asked if I had made a decision about teaching
the class. Of course I responded with, “Not yet, but let me
pray about it some more”. For the next three months I was
in a perpetual restless state, and I thought that maybe it was
God asking me to teach – through Bobby.

So I caught Bobby after church and told him that I would
“give it a try”. At that point Bobby started smiling a big smile.
When I asked why he was smiling, he said,
“Do you remember six months ago when I asked you about
teaching the class?”
With embarrassment I said, “Yes I do”.

Bobby then told me that after he asked the first time, he met
with the class and told them that I would be the next teacher
and they had been praying for the entire six months. Bobby
and I have a running joke about how he “strong-armed” me
into teaching a class, but of course we both know that God
was in control of it all.

I never thought about teaching as my spiritual gift and before
the first Sunday for me to teach, I felt excitement, confusion,
ineptness, and fear. But God proved to me that He was there
with me on the very first day, and every day after that.

There have been times when I would wonder what we will
cover the next time we meet, and He has always provided.
Sometimes He takes me into areas which can make me feel
awkward and uncomfortable, but again, God always helps
me through any controversial topics.

To be honest, I planned to teach for 6-12 months and then
step aside and let someone else take over. That was almost
40 years ago, and I cannot imagine that span of time without
teaching and enjoying the blessings of using my spiritual gift.

I have learned so much, not only from the bible, but from
the discussions we have had in the class. I could start the
class with some preconceived ideas about a topic and
through the comments of some in the class, God would
show me new perspectives.

It didn’t take long to discover those who had the gift of
encouragement, and how valuable that gift is to the
church. I also found out how Satan attacks those who
are trying to use their gifts. He is very creative in his
efforts to discourage those who are serving the Lord.

Does this gift set me apart from anyone else? Of course not! In
fact, those who are given less visible gifts will always have my
admiration. For instance, there are prayer warriors (I know one
very well) who are lifting up others “behind the scenes”. They
may not get the immediate feedback that a pastor does, but they
are still committed to using their gift to serve God, and they are
enjoying His blessings for their efforts.

Do I still fail the Lord in many ways? Unfortunately, I do. Any
spiritual gift does not eliminate the challenges of being a Christian.
In fact I believe Satan increases his effort to cause failure in those
using their spiritual gifts.

Too often I can relate to Paul’s confession,
For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is,
in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is
good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good
I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep
on doing. (Romans 7:18-19)

….and his solution to his problem,
Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ
our Lord! (Romans 7:25)

Failure can be devastating, but God tells us
that He can turn what could be bad, into something good.
And we know that in all things God works for the good
of those who love Him, who have been called according
to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

God changes Satan’s attempts to discourage me, into a way
of teaching me humility. It is humbling to know that I cannot
defeat Satan in my own strength; I need God to be with me
and help me in order to be victorious. It is a great lesson and
a constant reminder of the equal importance of all spiritual
gifts; not one is greater than the others.

If I had only one wish for every believer, it would be that
they would discover their spiritual gift, that they would
embrace the opportunity to use their gift, and that they
would enjoy the blessings of serving the Lord as a type
of verification of their faith.

CHALLENGE:
    – Discover your spiritual gift and pray for opportunities to use it.