1 Corinthians 12b

Question:
What is the danger in having special talents?
    – We only use them for our own gratification.
    – We neglect to use them (and enjoy them).
    – Jealousy.
          – This is the type of problem
             that existed in the Corinthian church.
          – There was no unity.
          – Some were envious of the ones who had
            been given more visible talents. Instead
            of being grateful and enjoying the talent
            they had been given, they were making
            themselves miserable and creating problems
            within the church body.

1 CORINTHIANS 12:

VERSE 14:
Question:
Why would Paul say something like this?
    – He was going to make an analogy.

VERSE 15:
Question:
What is his analogy?
    – Some felt that because they did not have certain
       talents, they were inferior and not part of the church.
       Paul wanted them to understand that every believer
       is a part of the church; not one person is inferior to
       another; they all belong and are given their own
       special and unique talents to be used in serving
       God.

VERSE 16:
Question:
Why would they feel inferior?
    – They felt their talent was not as important
       as the ones others had been given.
    – They allowed jealousy to cause them
       to overlook what God had given them.
    – They had been given a less visible talent
       (they felt that visibility indicated importance;
        it might be that way in the world’s eyes,
        but God’s ways are not our ways).

Question:
Was their talent as important?
Why or why not?
    – Using Paul’s analogy, is an ear important?
       (it would be difficult to wear glasses if one is missing)

VERSE 17:
Question:
What is wrong with all members of the church
having the same talent?
    – There would be shortfalls in other areas
       needed for building up the church body.
    – There could be an unhealthy competition
       with all the members of the church.

Question:
What is the advantage of different members
having different talents?
    – God provides all of the needs of the church;
       none are omitted which is why the church can
       have a healthy increase in spiritual maturity.
       It gives people with one talent an
       opportunity to appreciate the contributions
       of those who have different talents.

Note:
    Paul’s illustration shows that no member
    of the body can perform the work of another.

Question:
Is this true with our talents?
Why or why not?
    – It is not only true; when we are attempting
       to use a talent that God has not given us, we
       will feel awkward and uncomfortable..and
       our efforts will not benefit the church body.

Question:
What have you heard about a blind person’s hearing ability?
    – We are told that their hearing
       is keener than those who have sight.
       Note:
           Their hearing may be better,
           but he or she still cannot see;
           they are still the same person.

Question:
How would this apply to our talents?
    – We should bloom where God has planted us.
       Regardless of the talent God has given us,
       we are still the same person (a sinner saved
       by God’s grace!).

Question:
If we envy someone else’s talent,
how is our own talent affected?
    – We are distracted and consequently, we are
       not giving adequate attention to our own talent,
       so we will not use it as effectively.

VERSE 18:
Question:
Where do the talents come from?
    – God; He places them in each person
       because He knows the potential we have.
       Think about that for a second (or longer).
       God considers everyone of us as important
       and a vital part of His earthly ministry.
       When we embrace that thought (along with
       the talent He gave us), why would we want
       to “spoil” our joy by being jealous of someone
       else?

Question:
How many talents come from God?
    – Every single one of them; there is no other
       source of our amazing talents (spiritual gifts).

Question:
Are all talents present in every church?
What do you think?

Question:
What determines who gets which talents?
    – As it pleases God. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
      God knows more about us and our capabilities
      than we even know about ourselves.

VERSE 19:
Paul says if the body had only one part,
it would not be a body.
It would not have the components required
to be classified as a body.

Imagine someone saying, “I’m going to start
working out and see if I can get my ear in shape.
I just weighed it this morning and it needs to lose
weight”.

Silly thought, right? But it is just as silly to think
that the church is not comprised of many unique
parts which are different, but all very important
for the overall health of the church body,

VERSE 20:
Paul says that just as the body has many parts,
so does the church.
We should be grateful and embrace this fact,
rather than allowing Satan to fill our minds
with negative thoughts like jealousy and envy.

VERSE 21:
Note:
    Independence is a common characteristic of people
    today. We don’t like to depend on anyone else,
    because we perceive this as a sign of weakness.
    Truth is, we all need each other if we expect to
    increase our spiritual health and maturity. Admitting
    that we are dependent on others (and especially God),
    shows a confident strength and honesty, not a weakness.

Question:
What is Paul really saying here?
    – We should not feel superior to others
       because of a special talent we have been given.
    – No talent is more important than the other.
    – We need to realize the importance of each gift
       and to embrace the one (or more) we have been
       given.

Question:
What happens to unused muscles?
    – They become weaker and develop atrophy
       (decrease in the size of a
        normally developed organ or tissue).

Question:
What happens to unused talents?
    – They become weaker and ineffective.
       Instead of having an impact on several
       others (as God intended), only a small
       number of people (maybe none) are
       blessed. If we are not actively using our
       “gift from God”, then we are standing in
       the way of God’s plans (that’s not a good
       place for a Christian to be).

VERSE 22:
Paul emphasizes that any talent which may appear to be
insignificant, is just as important as the most visible ones.

Question:
Can you think of some talents that may be
less visible but are certainly valuable in the church?
Note:
    There are many people in a church body who
    are actively using their gift(s) in a quiet way.
    Question:
    Where does their encouragement come from?
        – It comes from the satisfaction of knowing
           they are doing what God has called them to do.

VERSES 23-25:
Paul says we should bring the church body
into harmony (bring it into balance).
Look at how God balances the church body.
He gives enough honor to the seemingly
lesser parts (in the world’s eyes) to bring
them to the same level as the greater parts
(also in the eyes of the world).
God sees no gift as more important than another,
and neither should we.

Question:
How can we help the harmony of the church?
    – Honor the seemingly insignificant parts.
    – Play down the visible ones
      (in other words don’t glorify them any more
       than the less visible ones).
      Anytime someone is recognized for teaching
      or singing, etc. we should also recognize someone
      for something less visible (setting up tables,
      monitoring the lights, praying for others, etc.).
      When we recognize the less visible areas of
      service, it can encourage others to realize a
      gift that they might not have thought about.

Question:
Do we do a good job of that in our churches?

VERSE 26:
Question:
Why do we need harmony in the church?
    – When there is harmony;
    – There is sharing in suffering.
    – There is comforting for those hurting.
    – There is unity in rejoicing.
    – There is an absence of jealousy.
    – Overall, the ‘body’ with many parts,
       functions as one ‘body’.

VERSE 27:
Paul stresses that we all have certain talents,
and together we make up the body of Christ.
If any part is missing, or misused, the overall
body is impacted in a negative way.

Question:
What is the danger of being an individual?
    – We can become easily discouraged.
       (support from others can help us through
        difficult times).
    – We can fail in our efforts because others
       aren’t there to help us with our blind spots.

SUMMARY:
    – We should realize we are different,
       we should accept our differences, and we should
       allow God to use our differences to honor Him.

    – Each of us has special talents (gifts).

    – The talents we have were selected by God.

    – We should guard against feeling superior
       because of a special talent God has given us.

    – God’s desire is that we all work
       and worship together in harmony.

    – As parts of the same body,
       we should suffer together, rejoice together
       worship together, and support each other.

CHALLENGE:
    – Find an opportunity to rejoice with someone this week
      (with no feeling of jealousy).