Sunday 01/16/22 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “What Are Your Spiritual Gifts?” (“1 Corinthians” Series: Part 1 of 5)
Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 62:1-5
New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Gospel Lesson: John 2:1-11
This morning, I am beginning a
five-week sermon series on the New Testament Book of 1 Corinthians. For the
next six-weeks, one of our scripture readings every Sunday will be from 1 Corinthians,
and for two Sundays after that one of our Sunday scripture readings will be
from 2 Corinthians.
While I could have preached on our Sunday
scriptures from 1 and 2 Corinthians for the next eight weeks, I decided to just
preach for five-weeks on our first five Sunday readings from 1 Corinthians. I
did this, as to not make a sermon series for two whole months, but instead just
for five-weeks. We will also have a few Sunday morning readings from 1 or 2
Corinthians through March and April, but again, I wanted to focus on our 1 Corinthians
Sunday morning readings for the next five-weeks. The big reason for this is
that there is a lot of good stuff in these readings.
My first sermon for this morning, in
this first installment of this five-week series focuses on our reading for this
morning from 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. The big focus of this scripture reading,
which is what my sermon title is about, is spiritual gifts.
Before diving into this scripture
reading however, I want to give us all some background information on 1
Corinthians. Has anyone here, by the way, ever read the whole book of 1
Corinthians? It is a terrific book of scripture. Here is some background information
on 1 Corinthians, which is actually a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the
church in Corinth. Corinth is in the European country of Greece. Here is the
background information:
“The
city of Corinth, perched like a one-eyed Titan astride the narrow isthmus
connecting the Greek mainland with the Peloponnese, was one of the dominant
commercial centers of the Mediterranean world as early as the eighth century
b.c.”
“No
city in Greece was more favorably situated for land and sea trade. With a high,
strong citadel at its back, it lay between the Saronic Gulf and the Ionian Sea,
with ports at Lechaion and Cenchrea. A diolkos, or stone road for
the overland transport of ships, linked the two seas. Crowning the Acrocorinth
was the temple of Aphrodite, served, according to Strabo, by more than 1,000
pagan priestess-prostitutes”.
“By
the time the gospel reached Corinth in the spring of a.d. 52, the city had a
proud history of leadership in the Achaian League, and a spirit of revived
Hellenism under Roman domination after 44 b.c. following the destruction of the
city by Mummius in 146 b.c.”
“Paul's lengthy stay in Corinth brought him directly in contact with the major monuments of the agora, many of which still survive. The fountain-house of the spring Peirene, the temple of Apollo, the macellum or meat market (1Co 10:25) and the theater, the bema (Ac 18:12), and the unimpressive synagogue all played a part in the experience of the apostle. An inscription from the theater names the city official Erastus, probably the friend of Paul mentioned in Ro 16:23 (see note there) (https://www.biblestudytools.com/1-corinthians/).”
So, the city of Ancient
Corinth in the Peloponnese region of the country of Greece is where the Apostle
writes both his 1 and 2 letters to the church or the Christians in the city of
Corinth. The present-day city of Corinth in Greece is not exactly where the
Apostle Paul traveled and sent his two letters too, but close. Even in the
present day, People from Corinth are called Corinthians. This is why the Apostle
Paul wrote 1 and 2 Corinthians, as the Christians living in Corinth were and are
Corinthians.
In the first 10-20 years of the
Christian faith, most Christians however, centered in and around Jerusalem or
somewhere in Israel. The Apostle Paul then took the gospel, the Christian faith
to many new places. Most of these new places were not Jewish, or if they had
some Jews, Jews were not the majority.
Further, just because Paul went to Corinth,
why does Paul write this first of two letters to the Corinthians? Meaning, why
did the Apostle Paul send a first and then a second letter to the church in Corinth,
or the Corinthians. Well, the short answer in his first letter, is that there were
problems with Christian conduct in the church, and Paul was writing to encourage
and correct any bad behavior. So, some of 1 Corinthians is Paul telling the
church in Corinth to behave better and differently, but much of it is also instructive
and encouraging. The Apostle Paul wrote 1 Corinthians about 50-55 AD, which was
about 20-25 years after Jesus rose from the dead. The church was well
established in Jerusalem, but virtually non-existent outside of Israel.
The Apostle Paul, often called “The
Apostle to the Gentiles” was called by God to bring the good news of Jesus
Christ beyond Jerusalem, beyond Israel, and beyond Judaism. He was called the
bring the gospel to non-Jews.
Where the narrative or the story of
the Apostle Paul’s communication picks up this morning in chapter 12:1-11 is
with the Apostle Paul teaching and instructing the church in Corinth or the Corinthians
about spiritual gifts. Remember to that on the whole, the Apostle Paul wrote 1
Corinthians to be instructive and to be encouraging. So once again, let us look
at what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth in 12:1-11. This is
what it say once again:
“12 Now concerning
spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be
uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were
enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3 Therefore
I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says
“Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy
Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:1-3, NRSV).
In 12:1-3 the Apostle Paul is writing
to the Christians in Corinth, who have not been Christians that long. These
people might have been Christians for only a few years at this point. As a result,
the Apostle Paul is instructing the church members in Corinth. The Apostle Paul
wants to tell and teach the Corinthians about spiritual gifts, which again is
the topic of my sermon for this morning.
The Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians
that when they were pagans and worshiping idols that there was no power in these
objects of wood, stone, and metal. To have the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of
God in you then, is to have the love, the peace, the joy, and the hope of Christ.
If you have this in you the Apostle Paul says, you will never curse Jesus. If
you did not have the power of the Holy Spirit in you however, then you will
never really understand Jesus.
What the Apostle Paul then continues
on saying for this morning, which is where I get my sermon title for this morning,
is “What Are Your Spiritual Gifts?” Here is where the reading picks in 12:4 this
morning:
“4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses” (1 Cor. 12:4-11, NRSV).
So, the Apostle Paul is
telling the Corinthians here that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, can fill
us and gift us. These gifts may be lying dormant in us, may be undeveloped
within us, or the Holy Spirit can activate or give us a gift from God. What are
the types of these gifts? The Apostle Paul talks about gifts of service to
others, and gifts for activities or doing things for others. The Apostle Paul tells
us that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God gifts us for service and to care for
each other, and for the common good of everyone.
What are these gifts? These gifts are
wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working miracles, prophecy, discerning the
spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues. The Apostle Paul also
lists in his letter to the church in Rome, or the Book of Romans, the spiritual
gifts of serving, teaching, encouragement or exhortation, and leadership, and
mercy (Rom. 12:6-8, NRSV).
As my sermon title says than “What Are
Your Spiritual Gifts?” Has God given you wisdom, knowledge, deeper faith, the
ability to heal and love others, the gift of working miracles, the gift of
seeing what will be and what can be in the future, the ability to discern the deeper
truths of God, speaking in tongues, and the spiritual gift of interpreting tongues?
Also, as I said, the Apostle Paul says in his letter to the church in Rome, or
the Romans, there are the spiritual gifts of serving, teaching, encouragement
or exhortation, leadership, and mercy.
All of these spiritual gifts have
value, and among the church, they distributed throughout the congregation. There
are some spiritual gifts that I have, and some that I do not have. So, “What
Are Your Spiritual Gifts?”
In
looking at some readings from 1 Corinthians over the next five-weeks, we have some
real amazing scriptures that can cause us think, reflect, and discern how we
can grow, and how we can continue to become all that God has called us to be.
So, friends, “What Are Your Spiritual
Gifts?” Further, how can you use your spiritual gifts, as the Apostle Paul
said, for the common good, for the building up of God’s kingdom on earth? Next
week we will be talking more about the body of Christ, the church, and how we all
have gifts, but yet how we all come together as the body of Christ. Christ is
the head of the church, but we all have gifts, graces, and roles to play in the
community of faith, and the church and world as a whole.
In briefly looking at our gospel
reading from the gospel of John for this morning, we have Jesus’ first recorded
miracle on earth. What is Jesus’ first recorded miracle on earth? Well Jesus
and his mother, and maybe some others were at wedding in Cana of Galilee, which
is a place in modern day Israel. Jewish weddings in the ancient world were also
longer than a day. Sometimes they went on for a full week. There would be
eating, drinking, and merriment (Jn. 2:1-11, NRSV).
The problem at the Wedding at Cana though,
is that early on at the Wedding in Cana of Galilee they ran out of wine. As a
result, Jesus told the servants present to take six large empty stone jars,
which each held about 20-30 gallons of water. Jesus told the servants to fill
up these jars with water, and then miraculously Jesus turned between 120-180
gallons of water into wine. This was the best wine, and often times the best
wine would be served first such weddings, followed by the cheaper wine. Yet
Jesus kept the best for last. In his first miracle Jesus is telling us that
with him, through God, the end of things will be the best, as will all things.
Stick with Jesus, and the ending will be good. Further the whole time with
Jesus will be good.
As far gifts and spiritual gifts, do I have the gift of turning water to wine? No, but
some of my friends have tried to see if I could do this. We all have gifts, graces, talents,
and resources, and we all have spiritual gifts whether we realize it or not. So “What Are
Your Spiritual Gifts,” and how are you or can you use them to God’s glory? Amen.
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