Study Guide: "It's What's Inside that Counts"

Text: 1 Corinthians 12:1, 12-26

OPEN:

Are you watching the TV series on Sunday evening's "A.D. The Bible Continues"?  I am recording them and intend to watch. It is a portrayal of the early church. I will be interested to see how they deal with the many challenges faced by the early followers of Christ.

What I intend to consider over the next six weeks is the New Testament's teaching on spiritual gifts and how it applies to each individual and the church collectively. "Unwrapping Spiritual Gifts."

Foundational Statement: “Ministering as a disciple of Christ calls for us to know our spiritual gifts because spiritual gifts are the basis for all ministry in the local church.” (Fowlkes)

I. A Biblical Understanding of Spiritual Gifts (v.1)

The apostle Paul makes it clear in verse one that spiritual gifts is something that we should know.

1. The gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost fulfilled Old Testament prophecies concerning the Spirit and Jesus' promises to give the Spirit to His disciples. (Joel 2:28-32; Lk. 3:16; 11:13)

God gives His Holy Spirit to His people, so the Spirit Himself is the ultimate spiritual gift.

2. What God began in the unique event of Pentecost has continued throughout the life of the church - all Christians receive the Spirit.

     a) Evangelical Christians want to examine the Word of God for its perspective on everything that affects us.  We want to be firmly attached to the Word so that we do not get off into false teaching.

     b) There are three main passages that deal with spiritual gifts: 

Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, 28; and Ephesians 4;11-16.

 3. Paul refers to gifts in Greek as charismata (plural form of gifts; charisma is the singular). The root on which this word is built is charis - grace.

     a) All gifts are graciously given by God.  They are completely undeserved.  

     b) God is the source of the gifts; they are to be used for His service and for His glory alone.

        

Richard Baxter: "Each of us is just a pen in the hand of God, and what honor is there in a pen?"

II. In Christ, All Belong to One Body (vv.12-26).

    1. An unmistakable comparison is drawn between the church and the human body with its many members.

          a) This, then, is the clearest biblical portrayal of how a New Testament church is intended to function:

- These members have different functions, but they work in harmony so that the body can function as a unit. 

- In Christ we need each other because there is only one body.

- The pastor is not the body; chairman is not the body; church committee is not the body!  We need the entire family of God.

          b) These gifts are given to us by grace (v.6).

- God in His great wisdom knows what is needed and also gives His gifts to His servants.

- Understanding spiritual gifts is essential to the health of the body.

        c) Every person is a gifted person (v.7).  

- In contrast to the Spirit's work in the Old Testament, in the church the Holy Spirit is present with each of God's people.

- The Spirit always brings one or more spiritual gifts to the Christian's life.

    2. These gifts are spiritual endowments which equip the person to serve Christ.

A.B. Simpson: "This blessed enduement is not for apostles, prophets, miracle workers, teachers, special officials, merely, but for every member of the Church of God."

  a) Gifts vary from person to person (vv.8,11).

- This led to the problem at Corinth.  God intends His people to have a variety of gifts, but the diversity of gifts are for unity and should never cause division in the church (vv.4-6).

          b) The various gifts should unite the church.  

- Christians are given gifts so they can serve one another (1 Peter 4:10,11).

- Anyone who uses a gift to create disunity among God's people is misguided. The idea of 'going rogue'--placing individual desires above the benefit of the body -- is unthinkable.

- Gifts are for building-up the entire church, not for making one person feel proud and another left out.

- All gifts come from the Spirit to individuals for the church's well being. Each one can show that the Spirit is working in a believer's life, but no one of them is to be used as a test of a believer's spirituality as long as love uses the gift in ministry.

CLOSE:

“Ministering as a disciple of Christ calls for us to know our spiritual gifts because spiritual gifts are the basis for all ministry in the local church.”

Requires each of us to discern and use our gifts for the good of the church.

Requires us to recognize the giftedness in each other. 

(Dr. Dane Fowlkes)