Earnestly Desire Spiritual Gifts
2. How Do I Receive And Share Spiritual Gifts?
1 Corinthians 12-14
Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 12. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. 1 Corinthians 14 is on page 959 in the Bibles we are passing out.
We are taking two weeks during this time before Christmas to talk about spiritual gifts. And to show you why spiritual gifts are so important, let me tell you a story about my grandfather.
For many years my grandfather was a radio evangelist. He would broadcast from live services in Long Beach in Southern California. And here is what he said –
One time in Long Beach I stopped in the middle of the broadcast. And I said, “Someone, somewhere, is about ready to take his or her life.” And the following Wednesday came a special delivery letter from Indianapolis from a young woman who had turned from Christ, and she was starting to take some poison when that voice came out from over the radio, “Please stop. Jesus loves you. Kneel by your bed and give your heart to Christ.” And in the letter she said that she had been obedient, and thanked me for it.” (Daniel Fuller, Give The Winds A Mighty Voice, p.241).
Can you see why spiritual gifts are so important? And that’s the main reason we are taking two weeks to talk about spiritual gifts – because we are called to love each other, and spiritual gifts are a powerful way to love others, encourage others, and even bring others to faith in Christ.
Another reason is because this is a topic on which Bible-believing Christians have different opinions – and it’s important that you understand what the leadership here at Mercy Hill believes. And a third reason is because some of you might have troubling questions about spiritual gifts, or have had bad experiences with people who pursue spiritual gifts. And I’m hoping that these two weeks will help answer your questions, and to see that there is a wise, careful, biblical way to pursue spiritual gifts.
And this week I again want to start with the same question we started with last week – which is Why are spiritual gifts so important? To answer that look at what Paul writes in vv.7-11 –
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit [that’s when the Spirit gives you wisdom or knowledge to speak],
9 to another faith by the same Spirit [that is different from saving faith, and it means that Holy Spirit supernaturally gives you faith to know God is going to do something at that moment], to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit [that’s when God supernaturally heals someone],
10 to another the working of miracles [that’s any time God supercedes natural laws], to another prophecy [that’s when the Holy Spirit spontaneously brings to your mind something to say that brings great help to another person], to another the ability to distinguish between spirits [that’s when you can supernaturally tell when something is from the Holy Spirit or not], to another various kinds of tongues [that’s where you can speak in a language you have never known, which God uses to strengthen your own faith], to another the interpretation of tongues [that’s where the Spirit gives you the interpretation of what someone said in tongues].
11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
So did you see why spiritual gifts are so important? Paul tells us in v.7. Read it again --
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
So spiritual gifts are for the common good. The moment we turn to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior, Lord, and Treasure – we are forgiven for all of our sins, and our hearts are changed so that for Christ’s sake we want to do good for people. And spiritual gifts are one way to bring good to people.
Spiritual gifts are not ways to be noticed or to feel good about ourselves. Spiritual gifts are ways to bring good to others. So the reason we earnestly desire spiritual gifts is because we love each other and want to bring good to each other.
But some of you might wonder if supernatural spiritual gifts are still being given by God today. And last week we saw from 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 that spiritual gifts won’t stop until the perfect comes. Some people think the perfect refers to the completion of the New Testament. That was at around 70 AD. So if that’s what Paul meant, then supernatural spiritual gifts have already stopped.
But I tried to show you from the passage that the most natural understanding of the perfect coming is that it refers to the Second Coming of Christ which takes place at the end of history. Which would mean that supernatural spiritual gifts are still being given today.
But let me also give you some evidence from church history. Irenaeus was the Bishop of Lyons, France at around 200 AD. And here’s what he wrote about spiritual gifts –
Christ’s true disciples, having received grace from him, use it in his name for the benefit of the rest of men ... For some drive out demons with certainty and truth, so that often those who have themselves been cleansed from the evil spirits believe and are in the church, and some have foreknowledge of things to be, and visions and prophetic speech, and others cure the sick by the laying on of hands … And why should I say more? It is not possible to tell the number of the gifts which the church throughout the whole world … uses each day for the benefit of unbelievers. (edited for brevity and clarity, Ronald Kydd, Charismatic Gifts In The Early Church, p.44)
There is lots of evidence that gifts continued after the first century. And so it’s right that we earnestly desire spiritual gifts, because we love each other and want to bring good to each other, and one way God does that is through spiritual gifts.
To see an example, take a look at Acts 13:1-3 –
1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
Now the word “spiritual gifts” is not used here. But that’s what’s going on. We don’t know exactly how this happened. But probably, as these prophets and teachers were together worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit spontaneously brought into someone’s mind the thought – we should set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work to which God has called them.
And as they continued to pray, this was confirmed by others, and confirmed to Barnabas and Saul – so they laid their hands on them and prayed and sent them off.
So can you see the great good that came through this spiritual gift? Great good was brought to Barnabas and Saul, as they knew what God wanted them to do. And great good was brought to those to whom Barnabas and Saul took the Gospel – the proconsul on the island of Cyprus was saved, Gentiles in Pisidian Antioch were saved, many Jews and Gentiles in Iconium were saved, a crippled man in Lystra was saved and healed, many were saved in Derbe, and many churches were planted.
That’s why spiritual gifts are so important. But that raises another question -- How do I receive spiritual gifts? Some people teach that the moment you are saved you receive one or more spiritual gifts. And you will know what those gifts are, by seeing what you enjoy doing and what bears fruit in people’s lives. And so you should focus on using those spiritual gifts, and not worry about the others.
So when I was first a Christian, and looked at my life, I saw that I enjoyed teaching. So I thought my spiritual gift was teaching, because I saw that gift operating in my life. And so I thought I should focus on that gift, and not any others.
Now I think there is some truth to that model. But there are statements Paul makes in 1 Corinthians 14 that don’t fit that model.
Take 1 Corinthians 14:1, for example –
Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
Now why, if we’ve already received all the gifts we are going to receive, would Paul urge us to earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially prophecy?
If I’ve got my gift of teaching, why should I earnestly desire other gifts like prophecy or healing? It’s because right now God could give me a gift that I’ve never had before. It’s because spiritual gifts are not just given when you are first saved. God can give you any of the gifts at any time. So Paul wants you to desire all the gifts, because God could give you any of them at any time.
You can see that also in 1 Corinthians 14:13 –
Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret.
Again, why, if we’ve already received all the gifts we are going to receive, would Paul urge someone to pray for the power to interpret?
It must be because if you pray, God might give you that gift, and if you don’t pray, God might not. Which means it’s not just that God gives us gifts when we are first saved, but God also can give us different gifts all through our Christian lives.
John Wimber used to say it’s like God gives you an empty tool bag, and promises that as you desire more tools, and pray for more tools, he will put into that tool bag whatever tool you need for the situation that you are in. So you walk into your home group with your empty tool bag – but as you earnestly desire gifts and pray for gifts you can be confident that God will place within the tool bag whatever those in the home group need from you. He might put in teaching, or prophecy, or faith, or healing.
That can happen at home group, here on Sunday mornings during our spiritual gift time, or here on Sundays after the service as you are praying for someone. It can happen as you are talking with a neighbor out on the sidewalk, or as you are having lunch with a work associate.
So don’t assume that whatever gifts you have experienced are the only ones God has chosen to give you. That’s not what Paul says. We are to earnestly desire all the gifts and pray for all the gifts because God will give us gifts we’ve never experienced before.
So let’s say you are earnestly desiring spiritual gifts, and praying for spiritual gifts, and God spontaneously brings to your mind a word of prophecy – how should we share spiritual gifts with each other?
Let me give two biblical principles.
First -- gifts are for the benefit of other people. We already saw that in 1 Corinthians 12:7 --
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
So you want to share gifts in the way that will bring the greatest benefit. So if your gift is about someone’s personal life, don’t share it publicly, share it privately with them. Or if your gift is about a new direction the church should go, like maybe you sense we should start a ministry teaching English to non-English speakers, that would be better shared with the elders than on a Sunday morning. So, because gifts are for the benefit of other people, we should share them in the way that brings the most benefit.
The second biblical principle is that gifts come with varying levels of faith. You can see that in Romans 12:6 --
Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith …
I think what Paul is saying is that God can bring you a prophecy with varying levels of faith. You might have a thought come into your mind with a very strong sense of God’s presence, and with faith that it is surely from God. Or you might have a thought come into your mind with just a little sense of God’s presence, and with little faith that it is from God.
So you will want to share your gift in a way that fits how much faith you have. Not that you would ever say – “Thus saith the Lord.” Don’t ever use that language. That’s for only for Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles. But you could say – “I feel strongly that this is from the Lord.” Or you could say – “I’m not sure, but I think I might be getting this from the Lord.”
Questions?
Some of you have never earnestly desired and prayed for a spiritual gift. Maybe it’s because it scares you, or because you wouldn’t want to share one even if you received one.
But let me urge you. Spiritual gifts are all about loving people – your friends, your neighbors, your home group, your brothers and sisters here on Sunday morning. You want to bring good to those around you. And one way to bring them good is by earnestly desiring and praying for spiritual gifts.
So in every situation you are in, earnestly desire spiritual gifts, and pray for spiritual gifts, and watch how much more good God brings people through you.