Gifted to Serve

I think shot blocking is often overrated, especially by high school basketball players. I don't know if any of you played basketball in high school, but I did. And of course, shot blocking has its place. A team can be really helped by a good shot blocker. But so many kids just want the oohs and the aahs of the crowd. So they try to block every shot. They wind up biting on every pump fake, and they foul the person. Or else they miss. They don't block the shot, and then they're out of position for the defensive rebound. Or even if they do block it. it usually just goes out of bounds and then the same team gets the ball back and they have an inbounds under their own basket, which is a great way to score. And it's not like there's a shot clock in high school, so it doesn't really accomplish that much. And yet, so often, high school basketball players are just trying to block shots. And a question I would want to press on them is this, is your goal to impress the fans and build up your stat line? Or is your goal for your team to win the game? Of course, there's great variety on a basketball team. Some are taller, some are faster, some are stronger. Some are better shooters, some are better passers, some are better dribblers. But the goal really shouldn't be to try to distinguish yourself from your teammates by getting the best stats. The goal should be to use whatever abilities you have to best help your team win the game. And as we turn to 1 Corinthians 12 this morning, I'd suggest to you that Paul wants to help the Corinthian church think more like a team. He wants to help them understand that God has gifted them all in various ways. They need to learn to use their gifts for the right goal. for the good of the whole. They need to learn to value gifts, not for self-promotion or even primarily for self-edification, but for the edification of the church. That's the goal they should have. Now, before we dive into our text, let me remind us a little bit about where we've been in this book of 1 Corinthians. This is a letter that was written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth. which is a church that Paul had founded during his second missionary journey. You can read about that in Acts chapter 18. And Paul later writes this letter to the Corinthians from Ephesus, where he was staying for some period of time. And while he was in Ephesus, he had both received at least one letter from the Corinthians, as well as received some visitors from the Corinthian church. These are referred to as Chloe's people in chapter one. And then in this letter of 1 Corinthians, Paul is responding to various issues that have come up from both of those. So he's responding to some issues related to the reports he's heard from Chloe's people, and then he's also responding to this letter that the Corinthians had sent him. And the book of 1 Corinthians can be roughly divided into two parts. In chapters 1 through 6, Paul's responding primarily to the reports he's heard, and then In chapter 7 through 16, he's primarily responding to the Corinthians letter. And as we've worked our way through, we've seen a wide variety of issues. In chapters 1 through 4, Paul deals with an issue of disunity in the church. In chapter 5, there's an issue where there's a man sleeping with his stepmother, and Paul calls for church discipline. In chapter 6, we find there are lawsuits going on between members of the church, and then there's also an issue of presumably members of the church visiting prostitutes, so Paul has to deal with that. In chapter 7, Paul deals with issues pertaining to marriage and divorce and singleness. In chapters 8 through 10, he addresses the matter of food sacrificed to idols. And then in chapters 11 through 14, Paul addresses three issues related to the public gatherings of the church. And these are the matter of head coverings, the Lord's Supper, and spiritual gifts. And this issue of spiritual gifts picks up in chapter 12, verse 1. And as you read chapters 12 through 14, it appears that the main problem, at least in terms of concrete behavior, has to do with the Corinthians' use and misuse of the gift of tongues or languages in the gathered assembly. It seems as if they're sort of overrating this gift because they don't really understand what it's for. And specifically, some are speaking in tongues with no interpreter. So no one can understand what they're saying. And Paul has an issue with that because he argues that apart from intelligibility, it's not edifying. It's not actually building up the church. He says it may build up yourself, but it's not helping the church be built up. And yet, as Paul often does, he doesn't begin this section by just going straight to that specific issue. He seems to recognize that this is just a symptom of a much deeper, broader issue and a more general misunderstanding of the work of the Spirit and the purpose of the gifts themselves. So that's where he starts. Now as we saw last week in verses one through three, Paul begins by providing a criterion for distinguishing a genuine work of the Spirit of God. And he basically says, remember, There are many ways to be led astray after mute idols, but the Spirit of God always works to build up the church in the truth that Jesus is Lord. There are demonic spirits that lead people to curse Jesus and worship mute idols, and there's the Holy Spirit who leads people to confess Jesus's Lordship and worship the living God. And this means that it doesn't ultimately matter how moving your spiritual experience is or how impressive or even miraculous your spiritual gift is. What matters ultimately is who are those experiences leading us to worship? And is the church being built up in the truth that Jesus is Lord? Because that's what the spirit of God is all about and that's what he wants, that's what he works in us to do. Now today, I think the focus shifts to the question of, well, how does the Spirit do that? How does the Spirit go about building up the church in the truth that Jesus is Lord? And this is where Paul brings in spiritual gifts. And he says that the Spirit gifts us with abilities that enable us to be a part of what the Spirit is doing in the church. Now I don't think Paul is arguing here that the only way the Spirit builds up the church is through spiritual gifts. But he is saying that an important way that the Spirit does so is by gifting the people of God so that we can work for the building up of the church. And I think the main idea, if you're taking notes, you might want to write this down, the main idea of 1 Corinthians 12, verses 4 through 11 is this. The same Spirit gifts us in various ways for the common good. The same Spirit gifts us in various ways for the common good. I think we see that stated in verses four through seven. Paul says, now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all and everyone to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. So the same Spirit gives us in various ways for the common good. And then, I think we see that same thing illustrated with examples in verses eight through 11. Paul continues, for, so now he's grounding, this is sort of supporting what he just said, for, to one is given through the spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another, the utterance of knowledge according to the same spirit, to another, faith by the same spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one spirit, to another, the working of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another, various kinds of tongues, to another, the interpretation of tongues, All these are empowered by one and the same spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills. So this one and the same spirit gives this wide variety of gifts, not according to the desires of the individual, but according to his own will, to accomplish his own purpose, which is the common good of the church by being built up in the truth that Jesus is Lord. Now as we dig into this text more deeply this morning, I want to do so by concentrating on each of the three elements of Paul's main point. Number one, we're gifted by the same spirit. Number two, we're gifted in various ways. And number three, we're gifted for the common good. So we'll look at each of those in turn, which means that we won't be working through this text in a strictly sequential way, but we will cover all of the verses. So point one, we're gifted by the same spirit. Now perhaps even as I read the text, you already noticed the repetition of the word same. Paul repeats it from beginning to end. In just eight verses, Paul speaks of the same God, or the same Lord, or the same Spirit, six times. And then he mentions the one Spirit two more times. So just as you look through it, it's again and again, from the very beginning he repeats it, you get to verse 11 at the end, and he sums it up, all these are empowered by one and the same Spirit. So there's this emphasis on sameness. Now, why does Paul want to emphasize that? And I think the reason is because this is a church that's already wracked by division. And much like my basketball team example, this is a church that is plagued by a pride that leads some members to be more concerned with how they can be distinguished from others in the church, rather than how they can be united with them. As we saw back in chapter 1, they were dividing over preachers. They're saying, I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow Cephas, I follow Christ. And Paul has to tell them, let no one boast in men. Likewise in chapter 8, there was some sort of conflict in the church over food sacrificed to idols. And rather than pursuing unity and surrendering rights for the good of the whole, we have the knowers that Paul has to warn that, look, knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And I think Paul's concerned that a similar attitude is undergirding the Corinthians' view of spiritual gifts. He's concerned that they're valuing gifts for the sake of self-promotion or personal distinction. And they're actually using them in a way that could encourage division. So he's emphasizing that you need to first see they all come from the same spirit. He says, all these are empowered by one in the same spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills. Right, so the same spirit empowers them, the same spirit apportions them, and the same spirit apportions them according to his own will. So it's the very same wisdom of God that determines who gets which gifts. And of course, this means that it's utterly ridiculous to boast in your gifts as if they elevated you above other Christians, because they're gifts given and empowered by God. You know, so if you received it as a gift, why would you boast as if you did not receive it? It would also be equally ridiculous to be envious of someone else's gifts, because the very same wisdom of God that gave those gifts to them gave your gifts to you. They've been apportioned according to God's own will. And then most importantly, this means that it would be tragic for these gifts to become an occasion for distinguishing ourselves from one another or creating division in the body because they're all given by one and the same spirit. As I wrestled with how to illustrate this, once again, I want you to think about a basketball team and specifically think of the jerseys. Because every player has a unique number on his back. But only someone blinded by pride is more concerned with the uniqueness of the number on the back of his jersey than with the fact that he's wearing the same jersey as all of his teammates. And in a similar way, I think Paul's saying that there's something wrong if we're more focused on how our particular gifts distinguish us from other believers than with how the fact that we're all gifted by the same spirit actually unites us with them. It's almost like we're all wearing the same jersey. We're all on the same team. We've all been given the same spirit that has united us into one body. In fact, if you look ahead to verse 13, look at what Paul says there. He says, for in one spirit, we were all baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one spirit. So the first thing we need to realize isn't how different our gifts are, that they're all spiritual gifts. They're from the very same spirit of God intended to make us one. Now in light of this, here are a few application questions that we could ask ourselves. Are you quicker to compare your gifts with someone else's or to feel an immediate bond with that person because they're gifted by the same spirit you are? The most important thing about our identity is not what gifts we have, but who we are in Christ. We should feel that immediate sense of unity with other believers. Second, do you praise God for how he's gifted others Or do you envy others for their gifts? You know, this is really the question. Are you more focused on yourself or on the team? Envy comes when we take our eyes off of the fact that we're all gifted by the same spirit, that we're all serving the same Lord, that we're all on the same team, if you will, that we all have the same goal of bringing glory to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How wrong we are if we begin to envy what someone else has and lack gratitude for what God has given us. And then a third question, as others exercise their spiritual gifts, do you see God at work in them? Or do you just see the other people? I want you to notice in verse seven that Paul calls the gifts a manifestation of the Spirit. So these gifts are all from the same spirit, and they also all show the same spirit. That they are manifestations of the presence and the work of God. And the question is, do we see that? Do we recognize the hand of God at work in and through his people? Because I think if we see it, the more naturally that we see the same spirit of God working in all the different people, that will just naturally bring us together. So we take our eyes off of that and we just start seeing them as these other people that are doing their own thing that we can become subject to envy and division. So point one, we're gifted by the same spirit. Number two, we're gifted in various ways. And Paul both states that fact in verses four through six and then illustrates it with examples in verses eight through 10. Just to look again at verse four through six, Paul says, now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit, and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities or works, but it is the same God who empowers them all and everyone. And then in verse eight he says, four, to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit. And he goes on to list nine examples of these various gifts bestowed by the same Spirit. Now before we look at the gifts themselves, I want you to notice what Paul says here about God. Did you notice in verses four through six the reference to the Trinity? That Paul mentions the Spirit in verse four? that he mentions the Lord, which is Jesus, the Son, in verse five, and then God, which is a reference to the Father, in verse six. And isn't it interesting that in this context where Paul's talking about variety and yet sameness, you know, manyness and oneness, that he just sort of naturally mentions the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. And I think Paul's at least hinting at the idea that one of the reasons why this one and the same spirit would gift us in such varied ways is because God himself is a triune God. God himself is one in three and three in one. He's not a unitary God. He's a triune God. And therefore, this God doesn't create a world or a church of uniformity. but of unity in diversity. He creates a church with varieties of gifts given by the same spirit, varieties of ministries for the same Lord, and varieties of activities all empowered by the same God. Now, as we think about gifts, services, and activities, I think it's natural to ask, what exactly is a spiritual gift? And how does it relate to these services and activities that Paul mentions here? And I think that defining spiritual gifts is actually pretty tricky because of how varied they are. The New Testament gives us four lists of them. One is right here that we've already read. A second is later in this same chapter. So if you look ahead to verse 28, you'll see that it says, and God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. A third list is in Romans chapter 12, verses six through eight. where Paul writes, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them. If prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. And then the fourth list is in Ephesians chapter four. Where Paul writes, therefore it says, when he, that is Jesus, ascended on high, he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. And as you read through these lists, I think what stands out is just how varied these gifts really are. I mean, some seem more visible, dramatic, and obviously supernatural, like miracles and tongues. Others seem more like a heightening of something we'd otherwise think of as a natural ability, like being skilled at administration or leadership. Some sound more like an office, you know, apostle or pastor, Some are obviously things that every Christian should have or do to some extent, like faith, financial giving, showing mercy, serving, and yet some are apparently specially gifted in these ways. Some obviously need cultivation, like teaching, whereas others, at least at times, are very sudden, like when people just spontaneously begin speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost. And some seem more like an ability, obviously working miracles, whereas others almost seem more like a willingness, like giving generously or serving. So it's hard, I think, to define these gifts any more specifically than just saying they're abilities, or perhaps even in some cases, willingness, granted by the Spirit to aid in the ministry of the church. And at the end of the day, I think the whole point Paul's trying to make here is just that there is tremendous variety, right? There are varieties of gifts, varieties of service, varieties of activities. I don't think scripture or Paul intends to give us a complete list of all the possible spiritual gifts. Nor do I even think that we can take the gifts that are mentioned and fit all of them into neat, precise, mutually exclusive categories that can all be carefully defined. There seems to be some overlap and fluidity between them. In fact, I don't even necessarily think you need to know whether something you have is a spiritual gift or a natural ability. I think far more important than that is just whatever it is, use it for God. You know, take musical talent, for example. You know, we read about how the Spirit gifted Bezalel in the Old Testament for, you know, artistic service. So, you know, maybe that's a spiritual gift in the New Testament, but it's not listed explicitly. But I don't think we need to lose sleep over whether or not it's a spiritual gift. The fact is it's a wonderful way to serve the Lord. It's an activity of the church, right? And so whatever it is, we should use it for the Lord, and we need to understand that all of it is empowered by God. Now, all this is really just a sampling of the variety of things that are listed as spiritual gifts in the New Testament, but for today, let's just take a brief look at the nine gifts listed here in verses eight through 10. Paul begins in verse 8 with the gifts of the utterance of wisdom and the utterance of knowledge. And these both seem to entail some sort of special insight granted by the Spirit to know certain things or to be able to share words of wisdom. They could be more revelatory, like, knowing something you otherwise couldn't know, and the Spirit is just revealing this knowledge to you in that way. Or I think it's possible that they could be more ordinary, like just having exceptional discernment or exceptional aptitude for learning that allows you to speak timely words of knowledge or wisdom in a given situation. Or some have argued that they're closely connected with the gift of teaching. Because this is actually the only list of gifts where teaching isn't mentioned. And so this wisdom or knowledge could have to do with spirit-aided insight into the truth of scripture. I think it's hard to be sure, but one piece of support for that last interpretation is Paul's discussion of wisdom in chapters one and two. Because there he talks about how the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. And then he says, Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. And in the context, the spiritual words of wisdom that Paul is saying that he imparts is the message of the cross. So perhaps this words of wisdom is really the wisdom to preach Christ and Him crucified. But however you take these gifts, what seems clear is that while Paul distinguishes them, there's also a significant overlap between them. They both have to do with building up God's people through some sort of understanding that's enabled by the Spirit of God. The next gifts mentioned are faith, healing, and the working of miracles. And like wisdom and knowledge, these three seem closely related as well. Healing throughout the book of Acts generally seems like a subset of miracles because the healings themselves are miraculous. So perhaps here, Paul, when he says miracles, particularly has in mind things like nature miracles or exercising demons. But both miracles and healing also seem closely related to the gift of faith. And that's because Paul actually mentions this gift of faith again in chapter 13 verse 2. There Paul says, if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. So there Paul's connecting the gift of faith with the miraculous power to move a mountain. Also in James 5, we read about the prayer of faith that saves the one who is sick. And God will raise him up. So their faith and healing are connected. Also, more generally, we should keep in mind that in the Gospels, it says that Jesus didn't do many healings or miracles in Nazareth because of their unbelief. So I think scripture would lead us to say that a lack of faith, just in general, can be a reason why God might withhold healing or miracles at times. Last week I said that we shouldn't need to see miracles to trust God. And we shouldn't just assume that there's supposed to be this abundance of miracles all the time. But I think it's still true that sometimes, perhaps we miss out on things that God would do if we only believed Him enough to ask in faith. As Jesus says in Matthew 21, truly I say to you, If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, be taken up and thrown into the sea, it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive if you have faith. And so especially in view of Paul's reference to this in chapter 13, I think the gift of faith could be the spirit enabling someone to pray in faith. in the kind of way that God says he answers. Perhaps sort of like Elijah, when he prays for rain from the top of Carmel, he prays seven times with this bold confidence that God will answer. So the gift of faith may be the spirit of God granting this extraordinary conviction that God will do a particular thing in a particular situation. And that enables the kind of believing prayer that God answers. But I think the gift of faith could also include those who are models of faith in times when they don't know what God's intended outcome will be. I think, for example, of Jonathan in the Old Testament when he sees his father Saul floundering in the fight against the Philistines. And he says to his armor bearer, why don't just the two of us go against the whole Philistine garrison? And then his rationale is, It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few. You see, it wasn't so much faith in a particular outcome as it was faith in God himself. And it led him to the recognition that military strategy really has nothing to do with the outcome. So why don't we just be faithful? Because God can deliver. And I think in the church, the spirit gives some to have that similar kind of bold confidence in God. And maybe persecution begins to ramp up and many of us are fearful and we're unsure what to do. Then that brother or sister stands up and says, whether they arrest us, whether they sentence us to death, I'm coming for worship because that's what Christ tells us to do. And he's the Lord of all. Right, I'm not worried about the outcome because I know my Lord and Savior. What an example of faith that is. And so, praise God that he gifts some to be examples of faith in the life of the church. The next gift mentioned here is prophecy, which I defined last time as the spirit granting new or spontaneous revelation so that the prophet can proclaim the very words of God. Next Paul mentions the ability to distinguish between spirits, which may refer to the weighing of prophecies that Paul mentions in chapter 14. The terms weigh and distinguish are similar. And I think it likely includes that, but I think it's probably broader. One example that comes to mind is Acts chapter 16, where Paul is followed by this servant girl who's crying out, these men are servants of the most high God who proclaim to you the way of salvation. And of course we know the story, so to us it's just obvious, oh yeah, of course she's demon possessed. But how did Paul know that? I mean, what she actually said was exactly right. I mean, these were servants of the Most High God proclaiming the way of salvation. You know, if it were me, I might have just sort of foolishly thought, oh, well, maybe the Spirit is working in her heart. I don't know, but Paul accurately distinguishes, no, this is an evil spirit, and he casts it out. And whatever you think of that story, I mean, the fact is, Satan often masquerades as an angel of light. I mean, we can all easily be deceived. So praise God for some who are especially good at recognizing the work of the evil one. Who can sort of sniff out false teaching when it's sort of cloaked and many of us don't recognize it. He gifts some with this ability to distinguish between spirits. And then finally, Paul mentions the gifts of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. Of course, we'll talk much more about this in chapter 14, but as I argued last time, I think tongues is the spirit granting the ability to speak another language that you've never studied. And then interpretation is the spirit granting someone the ability to understand it. So the person speaking in tongues may not even know what he's saying. And that's why Paul says in chapter 14, if you have the gift of tongues, you should pray that God would also give you the gift of interpretation so that you can understand it. Now, of course, there's so much more that we could say about these gifts. There's also so much that we just don't know about them. As I mentioned last time, some of these gifts, many of us just don't see very often or perhaps not even at all. And last week, I tried to provide some context and explain a bit why that might be. But the real focus here isn't on these particular gifts. I mean, these are really just a sampling of some of the gifts that the Corinthians had seen or experienced that Paul is using to illustrate to them his point that one and the same spirit bestows this great variety of gifts in the church. And the whole point is we shouldn't be focused on trying to have the gifts that other people do, but focused on using the gifts that God has given us in the way God intends. So he concludes it all by reminding us that the spirit apportions these gifts according to his will. And so the great question is, how can I, how can we best use the gifts and the opportunities that God has given us? And that brings us to our third point. So number one, we're gifted by the same spirit. Number two, we're gifted in these various ways. And number three, we're gifted for the common good. We're gifted for the common good. Look again at verse seven. Paul says, to each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. That's the purpose statement. Everything else in this whole section is explanation about various gifts from one spirit But the purpose of it all is right there. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. Not for your individual good, but for the common good of the church. In fact, the Greek word for common good here is a term from which we get the word symphony. And I think that actually gives us a great illustration of this. That the Spirit gifts us all in these unique and varied ways so that together, as a church family, we might be a symphony. Not with a bunch of musical identical instruments playing identical notes, but with a great variety of instruments playing a variety of parts in perfect harmony. under the same director and for the same composer. We're to use our gifts for the edification and the common good of the whole, that we might all be built up together in the glorious truth that Jesus is Lord. Now I wanna spend some time here and just meditate on some applications of this. First, because our gifts are for the common good, Your spiritual gifts aren't about you. And I think one of the ways that we slide into a me-centered view of spiritual gifts is by assuming that our gifts are supposed to bring us personal fulfillment or gratification. And I think it's easy to do that because many times they do. You know, many times someone is gifted in a certain way and they really enjoy doing that thing. And it's just wonderful that one person loves teaching, there's this other person that loves organizing, there's someone else who loves serving with children, but if they were to swap roles, they'd all be miserable. So it's wonderful that God gifts us differently and we really can do things that we sort of more enjoy. But on the other hand, I think we should beware of assuming that our spiritual gifts are always things we enjoy. I mean, Jeremiah was given the gift of prophecy, but he didn't seem to want it, right? I mean, his response is, ah, Lord God, behold, I do not know how to speak. I'm only a youth. Moses was called upon to lead the Exodus and given miraculous powers to do it, but he didn't want to go. You know, so I think you might be gifted in things that you're not particularly excited about, but it's not about you. It's about God and his glory and it's about the common good of the church. And I think related to all this, we need to sort of check our hearts to ask the question, where or from what am I seeking fulfillment and gratification in the first place? Is it in our gifts themselves? As if me exercising this gift is going to sort of gratify me and satisfy me? Or are we ultimately seeking that in the glorification of God and the building up of the church? Because we find our satisfaction there, then we can be doing things that in and of themselves we do not enjoy. But we know it is building up the body and there is tremendous satisfaction in that. So number one, your spiritual gifts aren't about you. Number two, beware of expecting the church to provide a platform for your gifts. Beware of expecting the church to provide a platform for your gifts. I think sometimes we get off track when we sort of say, these are my gifts, now how is the church going to provide me with an opportunity to use my gifts? And almost without realizing it, we can sort of become very me-centered. And actually what we're almost expecting is that a whole lot of other people should sort of be pulled away from using their gifts to try to enable me to be able to use my gifts by creating this platform for it. But I think if we focus on the idea that our gifts are for the common good, I think that should encourage us to actually start with the church. What does the church need? What ministries is the church already invested in? What activities is the church already doing? And how can I come alongside my church and use my gifts or just even things you don't think you're particularly gifted at, just any ability you have whatsoever to help with that. Now that's not to say that we should never start new ministries or that churches don't at times do a poor job enabling people to use their gifts. But we need to remember that it's not just about me and my gifts, as if feeling like my gifts are being fully utilized were the main thing. It's about the church and the common good. It's about working together for the glory of God, and sometimes that means we will find ourselves doing things that we never dreamed we would ever do. Things that we don't think, we never thought we were particularly good at or would ever want to do, and yet we find ourselves being used by God in surprising ways. Because it's for the common good. A third point application here. The church needs you. The church needs you. Now I say that cautiously because God will provide and he will accomplish his purpose with or without any of us. But my point here is that you're not expendable or interchangeable in the life of the church. You and I must not sit back as church members and think, if I don't do it, someone else will. Or, what do I have to offer in the life of the church? Because Paul says here, to each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. And verse 11, all these are empowered by one and the same spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills. And the point is, the spirit of God has individually gifted you. And there is some way that you are uniquely equipped to aid in the common good of this church. And there's not somebody else who can just sort of interchangeably slide in and just fulfill your role. I mean, you have been gifted by God himself to serve this church in some way. And if you don't do it, the church will be less because of it. Every single one of us matters in the life of the church. We are codependent as a body. So we should be looking to use our gifts. We should be looking to think, how can I be used for the mutual edification of the body? I also think this is why it's important that we look for ways to encourage others in their gifts. I think a lot of people don't realize how useful they could be. And words of encouragement can go a long way toward helping them realize how they really could benefit the common good. And maybe they look at themselves and they think, I couldn't do that, I couldn't do that, but they're just missing ways that the Spirit of God has gifted them and they could be a wonderful benefit in building up the body. So we should be looking for ways to encourage people. Maybe we see their compassionate heart. And we could encourage them in how that encourages you. Or maybe you heard a Wednesday devotional and just sharing one way that that young man's preaching edified you. That could go a long way towards spurring him on. Or maybe just you heard a sister pray and just the way she prayed or something she prayed for, that really impacted you. What a way to encourage just her presence and participation in our prayer meeting. So look for ways to encourage others in how you see God using them to build up the body. A fourth application, consider how you can use your gifts to spur others on in the things you're gifted at. And what I'm getting at here is the purpose of the gift of faith is not so you can believe God so others don't have to. The purpose of the gift of contribution is not you give financially so other people don't have to. The purpose of the gift of serving isn't for you to serve so others don't have to. I think all of these things are at least in part gifts that God gives to some that they might be models and examples that actually spur on the whole church in those areas. I think modeling and leading by example is part of how your gifts serve the common good. In other words, our gifts aren't just task-oriented. It's not just about giving money to meet the budget. It's not just about serving to keep a program going. It's about the spiritual edification of the body and about changing and growing the very hearts of God's people. So how could you exercise your gift in a way that encourages others to emulate and follow? How could we exercise our gifts in a way that we would sort of have this contagious enthusiasm that would sort of build up the whole church to greater faithfulness in that area? And then fifth and finally, remember, as we think about how do I use my gifts for the common good, remember that the goal of it all, is to build up the church in the truth that Jesus is Lord. As we saw last week, that is what the spirit of God is ultimately all about. That is what he has gifted us for, that we might be built up in this common good of the whole church being built up in the truth that Jesus is Lord. Right, it's not just about what makes a bigger church, a livelier church, or a happier church. But what would make for a church that's more firmly rooted in the word of God and more firmly built up in this glorious gospel of Jesus Christ? You know, just a few minutes ago, I used the analogy of a symphony. And it's as if this is a reminder of which song it is we're called to play. You know, we can think about gifts and think about, wow, the Spirit is empowering us. And so we are strong and we begin to think it's sort of about our strength and our victory and how we can impress the world and win the world through all that we can do. But that's not what it's all about. It's not about our strength or our victory. It's about working together to sort of play this song that's actually all about our weakness. without acknowledging our failure, our sin, and yet singing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the one who died on the cross for our sins, the one who rose again for our justification, and the one who reigns for us now in heaven and is coming again. And friend, if you're here this morning and you're not a believer, what I hope stands out to you as you see this community and observe our worship is not, wow, those people seem really gifted. You know, wow, those people seem really strong, or those people really seem to have it all together. I hope what stands out to you is those people really love their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I mean, those people have this simple faith in Him. These people are very honest about their sin and their weakness and their faltering, but they trust Christ alone for salvation, and they live for Him. And friend, we hope and pray that even today, you might trust in the Savior. That like us, you would realize that you have sinned before a holy God. And that you cannot be good enough to earn your salvation before Him, but that God has provided a Savior in Jesus Christ. And if you would only repent and trust in Him, that you will be forgiven and you will have the hope of eternal life. And we would love for you to seek baptism and join us, that you may be a part of this body. gifted by the Spirit like us to serve our common Lord. And as we close, may those of us who have trusted in Christ take heart that He has gifted us, that He has sent forth His Spirit to equip and empower us for all the work that He has given us to do. He has given us this great privilege of being involved in the work that He is doing in the world. And the one and the same spirit has gifted all of us in these various ways and equipped us for these various ministries and these various activities so that we might use our gifts for the common good. And so that all of us together might be built up more and more in this glorious confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. So may God give us grace to do so. Amen. Let's pray. Oh, Father, how good it is to be able to proclaim together that Jesus is Lord, that he is our Savior. How grateful we are that we have the privilege of serving you. Thank you that you gift us and equip us. Help us to learn to recognize our gifts and to use them faithfully. Help us to use them not for ourselves, but for the common good. that this church may be built up in faith in Christ and that we may bring glory and honor to your name. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.