FBC Message: “To Build Others’ Up” (Part B)

1 Cor 12:1-31 (Rom. 12:6-8)

 

We’re talking about our place in the body, contributing and doing our part, with the gifts God has given us. We are at our healthiest, our strongest, when we are functioning as a body, with Jesus as the head.

  1. Exploring the gifts
    1. There are 3 places in the New Testament that speak to gifts[1]:(Rom. 12:3-8; here in 1 Cor. 12; and Eph. 4:11-13), and the purpose of these gifts is for the building up and the equipping of the body of Christ[2].
    2. The gifts Paul notes here in 1 Cor. 12 are only representative of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives to the church.
    3. God in giving gifts, whatever they are, to people, gives them special ability in particular areas for the benefit of his church.
    4. Spiritual gifts are not rewards, or natural talents, are not age specific, or a specialty ministry. Every person is specially and uniquely gifted for purposes of God’s choosing.
  1. Explaining the gifts
    1. There are nine gifts noted in verses 8-10…Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith, Healing, Miracles, Prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, Tongues, Interpretation of tongues
    2. ….and four in verse 28….Apostolic gifting, teaching, Helps, Administration
    3. A brief overview of 5 of the gifts

 

Faith

This is a special measure of faith that God can work miracles (see also 13:2).

Gifts of healings

Gifts of healings (the Greek is plural) refer to supernatural cures of illnesses/conditions.

Prophecy

In the NT (cf. Acts 2:18), all believers are potential prophets, but not all believers will have the gift of prophecy. It is more an occasion where an individual, inspired by God will speak to the church for “…strengthening, encouraging and comfort”– as per 1 Cor. 14:3. Prophecy is a “gift of communicating and enforcing revealed truth”[3] Prophecy should always be scrutinised against the truth of scripture. If it doesn’t measure up to scripture, it’s unlikely to be from God.

Tongues

Tongues are a gift for today, as are the other gifts represented in Paul’s teaching. For me it’s more a question of how the gift is used in the church, as Paul is simply regulating the use of tongues, not dismissing its use.  And how it is used comes through a combination of correctly interpreting scripture, understanding order in worship and reaching unity and agreement on its use in the church.

“Interpreting” tongues

Publically, interpreting tongues works in tandem with the gift of tongues; one interprets the other, and is required to encourage the church.  This gift is for communicating an otherwise unintelligible message into words that can be understood by the gathered church.

 

  1. TAKEAWAYS
  • Become familiar with your gift/s (Take the Test!)
  • Study scripture to learn more about your gift. E.g. Learn from Paul about appropriate use…
  • Spend time with others (perhaps more mature Christians) who have the same/similar gifts.
  • Begin to put your gift to use in the context of our meetings.

 

God has placed you and I here for such a time as this. Can I encourage you, let’s not be spiritual spectators, can we discover what our gifts are, can we say we will serve the Lord, and let’s be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us to build others up and bring Glory and Honour to God.

Your gift matters to this church; your gift is needed by the church.

 

[1] Ministry Gifts, Spiritual Gifts and Motivation or Team Gifts

[2] Ministry Gifts Are (Eph. 4:11-13; 1 Cor.12:28): Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher, Worker of Miracles, Healing, Helper, Administrator, Tongues, Motivation (or Team) Gifts (Rom. 12:3-8) Prophet, Teaching, Serving, Encouraging, Giving, Administration, Mercy

[3] Bible Hub