Finding Your Place

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FINDING YOUR PLACE AT CANADIAN VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH
"SERIES ON SPIRITUAL GIFTS"

PASTOR KEVIN KELLOGG STUDY GUIDE FOR LESSON ONE “WHAT ARE SPIRITUAL GIFTS”

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 "For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. "

1 Corinthians 12:14 "For the body is not one member, but many. " 1 Corinthians 12:26 "And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. " 1 Corinthians 12:28 "And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. "

Remember those mornings at Christmas time? The anticipation of what was under the Christmas tree. To find a present or two with your name on it. The excitement of unwrapping the gift to find the present on the inside. Given with plenty of thought and preparation just for you. God has since the beginning of time planned and prepared for this moment when you would begin to discover, comprehend, and employ the gifts He has designed especially for you. Today we are going to define Spiritual gifts, declare their role from scripture, and prescribe for every believer of CVBC what God has said about ones Spiritual gifts.

First of all one must note that these gifts that God has give his children are spiritual in nature. They are from the Father for his purposes to edify the church and carry out his purposes. God designed each part of one’s physical body with a specific function and an equally important role within that body. So also, God has a gift or purpose for every member of the body of Christ that is to be fulfilled in a specifically designed place in the body of Christ. This is certainly clear when Paul points out to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 12:12, 13 “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many , are on e body: so also is Christ. For the body is not one member, but many.”

Paul used at times an idiomatic phrase containing the verb “αγνοέω" or to be ignorant. Every time he interjected this thought, it was to introduce an extremely important subject. He used it at moments when he wanted his readers to pay special attention to a critical truth.

Every Believer Should Be Made Aware Of Spiritual Gifts. He used it in his second writing to the Corinthians urging them to be aware of their enemy, the devil, and his strategies against them.[1] Secondly, about the Second Coming of Christ, he wrote to the Thessalonians repeating the same phrase pleading with his brethren not to be ignorant and grieve as those without any hope.[2] In Romans 1:13 he uses this figure of speech to get the Church of Rome to be aware of his love he had for them and the trouble that comes to life along the way. Finally, in 1 Corinthians 12:1 he says to his Corinthian brethren “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you to be ignorant.” God has given us gifts. One would be foolish to think that if the gifts were so important to the Church of Corinth they must be equally important to other churches and believers as well. Church growth specialist and noted author Peter Wagner speaking of spiritual gifts said, “Despite a widespread renewal of interest in the Holy Spirit and His ministry in our day,… the world still remains ignorant of this tremendous God-given dynamic for church vitality and growth just waiting to be released.”[3] He goes on to say this, “Ignorance of spiritual gifts may be the chief cause of retarded church growth today.”[4]

Every believer need be aware of these gifts the Apostle Paul sought to lay out before us in such a brilliant manner that they were not only spiritual in nature but they were supernatural in nature.

Here the writer of 1 Corinthians is calling our attention to an imperative of utmost importance. It is a call to every believer to discover his or her own gift or gifts and employ them in the work of the Lord. In his commentary of 1 Corinthians John MacArthur said on this same verse, “The church cannot function, and it certainly cannot mature, without properly and faithfully using the gifts God gives his people for ministry.”[5] The candidate agrees with this assessment of this text as well. Just as Paul’s use of the phrase mentioned earlier, “αγνοέω, not to be ignorant, did not want there to be any doubt on anyone’s mind on this subject so it would do every believer and church well to pay close consideration to Paul’s plea. John MacArthur notes,

“Paul wants to make sure that the Corinthians have a clear and complete understanding of their spiritual gifts, the special equipment for ministry that the Holy Spirit gives in some measure to all believers and that are to be wholly under his control and used for Christ’s glory.[6]

Paul’s emphasis here is that the believer and the church understand that it is God’s desire for each child of God to know his or her gifts and employ them in the body of Christ.

Paul’s teaching about spiritual gifts is found in his letters to the Romans in Romans 12, to the church of Ephesus in Ephesians 4, and finally to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 12-14. Paul’s desire was for each Christian to discover his own each unique spiritual gift and then employ them in the body of Christ.

When Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:1 "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren…" He is writing that these gifts that are divinely given are of the Spirit of God. These gifts are spiritual or “πνευματικων.” They are God’s spiritual gifts to His children. They are not material, but spiritual in nature. One cannot purchase them at any store. They are gifts that are given by God.

Note a description of these spiritual gifts. Since God gives these gifts, they are also supernatural in nature. 1 Corinthians 1:3 says, “…that no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” Therefore, the same Holy Spirit that was there at the beginning of creation with the Holy Trinity is of the same essence that God imparts to believers in these divine spiritual gifts.[7] They are not just a gift as we know of gifts, but they are supernatural gifts. These gifts have an important purpose as well. They are gifts given for service.

These gifts are for service. Paul wrote in Romans 12:7 that these gifts are given to each believer for the benefit of all believers in the body of Christ. The Lord gives to each believer a gift to carry out the task he has set for him. Paul makes this point to the Corinthians in his first letter to them in chapter twelve and verse thirteen. Peter also drew special attention to this when he wrote in 1 Peter 4:10, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” The gifts have been given for a purpose. They are not toys to enjoy but tools to employ.

Paul writes on to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 1:7, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” These gifts are spiritual, supernatural, and they are
given for service as well. They are tools not toys. Nor are they just for enjoyment, but they are for our employment in the body of Christ.

In his commentary on 1 Corinthians Charles Kingsley Barrett concludes on this verse that, “Gifts are not occasions for boasting, but opportunities for service.”[8] Spiritual gifts are to be used not misused or unused, but used for the Kingdom and glory of God. Paul shares with us also about these gifts that they are gifts that are given by God.

Spiritual gifts are salvation gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:13 teaches that these divine endowments are given at the point of salvation. When a person calls upon the name of the Lord through repentance and faith at that time scripture teaches that he is baptized by God the Holy Spirit and given a spiritual gifts to serve at a special place in God’s Kingdom.

These gifts are sovereign gifts. Romans 12:11 shares with us that these gifts are given as God wills them. Therefore, it is up to God and in his design that we are given these gifts.

In 1 Corinthians 1:11, Paul writes, “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” Spiritual gifts are sovereign gifts as noted here in scripture. God chooses your gift. A Sovereign God gives them as He wills and chooses. Just like we are saved by grace these gifts are given to each believer undeserved and unmerited.

Paul shares in verse thirteen of this same chapter, “For by one Spirit are 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.” Here he notes that there is one Spirit, one Baptism, and one Body. Therefore, Paul teaches these gifts by nature are salvation gifts. One receives them when he is saved. The very next verse here in 1 Corinthians Paul shares that these gifts are supportive gifts.

Paul wrote again to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 12:14-26 that we are all members of one body. Christ is the head and we are members of that body with each of us with our own special functions for the good of that body. God made us all different that we might be one.

1 Corinthians 1:14, “For the body is not one member but many.” Paul goes on here in this passage through verse twenty-six to describe the important role of each member of the body. He in doing so points out that one is not more important than another. It’s imperative to remember here that the essence of the diversities of these gifts is that God has made us and gifted us all differently so that we might all by one in the body of Christ. One could note especially here in this chapter in verses eight through ten Paul lists nine of the spiritual gifts in Romans 12:6-8 Paul lists another five gifts along with a prescription for discovering them in verses one through three of this same chapter in Romans, which will be covered in detail in chapter three of this dissertation.

Finally, the last important passage concerning gifts that Paul mentions was in his letter to the church of Ephesus. In Ephesians 4:11-12, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:.” Clearly, one can see the overwhelming evidence given from scripture that for believers to be operating in the supernatural they need to be operating in the realm of spiritual giftedness that God has given them. Furthermore, scripture demands that we operate as a local church in the realm of God’s Power. We short-circuit the power of God in the church when we fail to exercise the spiritual gifts God has given to the believer.

Paul laid out in Ephesians 4:12 three practical applications for these spiritual gifts: “for the perfecting of the saints, the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

The candidate’s project assumes that all Christians must have an understanding of Spiritual Gifts and discover their own gift or gifts in order to have a full and fruitful life in Christ. Evidence from both the Old and New Testaments has been considered here: and having reflected upon it theologically, the candidate is now able to say with confidence that his assumption is defensible. A church with its believer not operating in the Spirit of God, serving with the gifts of God, and as the body of Christ is a dysfunctional church.

Finally, as Peter wrote in his first letter, “As every man, hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.[9] One of the favorite songs this Pastor remembers as he was growing up was “I’m in the Lord’s Army.” Yes, one is in the Lord’s Army whenever he or she becomes a Christian according to Acts 1:8 and Ephesians 2:10. Our Chief Commander and Creator have equipped us for battle with our spiritual gifts and now we have a divine calling upon our life to fulfill that calling. That’s God’s plan for the Great Commission Given in Matthew 28. We are to make, baptize, and disciple believers with the gifts God has equipped us with.

[1] 2 Corinthians 2:11

[2] 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

[3]C. Peter Wagner, Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow (Regal Books: Ventura, CA.) 23-24.

[4]Ibid.

[5]John MacArthur, First Corinthians, in The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984) p. 282.

[6]Ibid.

[7]Roy L. Laurin, First Corinthians: Where Life Matures (Grand Rapids: Kreger Publications, 1987), 202.

[8]Charles Kingsley Barrett, First Epistle to the Corinthians (New York: Harper and Row, 1968), 284.

[9]1 Peter 4:10

SPIRITUAL GIFT INVENTORY...
(Please note: when finished with spiritual gift inventory print out your results so you will have them to keep)