10th Sunday after Trinity, 2012
Rev.
Stephen E. Stults
St.
Barnabas Anglican Church
August
12, 2012
1Co 12: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren,
I would not have you ignorant.”
Good morning, dearly beloved in the Lord. This morning we are indeed privileged to hear
the Word of God, freely in a free country.
We are indeed privileged to hear this from the pen of St. Paul, as he
begins teaching us with a very characteristic phrase: “…brethren, I would not
have you ignorant.” When the Apostle Paul begins one of his epistle segments
thus, we know that we about to receive some orthodox doctrine of Christianity.
While this sermon is not about the Apostle Paul,
but rather the message he brings us from God, we Christians owe an inestimable
debt of gratitude to this Apostle.
Without St. Paul’s selfless ministry, would Christianity be what it is
today? Without St. Paul’s prodigious labors, Christianity might not be the
worldwide force that it is, because Paul could be considered the greatest
evangelist and teacher in Christian history, aside from Christ Himself. Thus,
we are extremely thankful for him. We are thankful that God did raise up
Saul, later Paul, for our edification and instruction in righteousness. Thank
God that He did.
The epistle begins with a statement recalling the
Corinthians’ former state, that of Gentiles (the Goyim), separated from God, drawn away to pagan idols and to a
religion made from the imagination of man’s mind. The classical world, that of Rome and Greece
On the surface, I say, because the reality of
Classical life was far more violent and brutal.
A book on evangelism, called Missionary Methods: St. Paul
The slaves’ masters, in turn, hated those above
them, had envy for those in higher places of authority and constantly plotted
against them. Soldiers in general, often
hated their pay and their postings, the artisan class hated the Patrician
class, and so on through every level of society. Again, beneath it all were the
slaves, who made it all run, the hidden “machinery”, so to speak, of the
ancient world. In general, except as
noted, they were seen as mere property and without humanity. In general, it was
a dark picture, indeed.
Into this dark picture came a man, a Jew, who
brought a message of love. He spoke about one God, who looked on men with love
and not contempt. He spoke of a God who
offered up His only Son in order that all mankind might enjoy eternal life and
fellowship with Him. He brought a
message that said God loves mankind. Is
it any wonder, then, that St. Paul’s message about hope and light and life took
hold? Here was a man preaching “Christ,
and Him crucified”[1].
Here was a man preaching forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God, and the
free gracious gift of eternal life. He
told people to come to God as they were; for example, were they called as
slaves? Seek not to be freed. Were they called as freedmen? Look kindly on their slaves. Were they called
as soldiers? Be content with their
pay. In short, come to God as you are
and receive the Good News.
What is this good news? Recall 1 John
1:5: “This is the message which we have heard from Him
and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” That is, through Paul’s preaching, the light
of Christ had come to a very dark world.
For many, many people, this was very good news indeed. Rather than spend
a lifetime toiling and fighting, only to end up in some shadowy land over the
river Styx, now one could look forward to a land of light, peace, plenty and
joy. What a difference!
The church at Corinth
evidently had received the Good News with gusto. As we learn in St. Paul
It also had spiritual gifts in
abundance. This is why St. Paul
Corinthians 12:3: “Therefore
I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus
accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” This statement appears simple on the surface,
yet when considered thoughtfully, is actually quite profound. First, “no one speaking by the Spirit of God
calls Jesus accursed”; well, personally, I’ve never heard anyone call Jesus
“accursed”, but I sure have heard plenty use his Name taken in vain. Haven’t
you? Most people admire Jesus, even pagans; they just won’t (or can’t) affirm
his Lordship. They certainly can
blaspheme quite easily as well, using the Name of Christ as a mere
exclamation. On the other hand, no one
can say, “Jesus is Lord!” without the Holy Spirit. Saying it another way, on
the one hand, an absence of the Holy Spirit allows one to use Jesus’ name as a
curse or a violent exclamation, whereas the presence of the Holy Spirit allows
one to affirm Jesus’ true state, that of the Son of God, our King and Lord; thus,
“… one can’t say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”
There was a time in my own
spiritual journey when I really wondered if the Holy Spirit was with me,
especially when I was much younger. I asked, did I “have” the Holy Spirit? What did it “feel like” to have the Holy
Ghost? How come I don’t “feel”
differently if I supposed to be a dwelling place of the Spirit and how come I
wasn’t holy all at once; other such questions occurred to me as well. Well, I
confess that this verse gave me a great deal of comfort; when I first read that
“no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” Just the fact
that we can affirm this simple Christian truth means that the Spirit is
striving within us as a gift giving us grace to affirm and accept Christ.
After all, faith is not about
feelings. Faith is about knowing. Faith knows. Thus, through faith, we know
that we have a loving God who gave His only Son to redeem us from an otherwise utterly
hideous eternity. Of course, I am
talking about an eternity without God, with is too unthinkable to consider. Faith also knows that, despite our own innate
sinfulness, we are saved through Christ, and only by Him. Finally, faith knows that we have a God that
gives us gifts, even undeserving as we are….
Gifts are exactly what St.
Paul is speaking about in this epistle selection. He tells that there are 1 Corinthians
12:4-5 “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of
ministries, but the same Lord.” That is,
the Holy Spirit grants various types of spiritual gifts, but the Spirit who
grants them is the common source. Also, there are various ways to offer service
to God, i.e. ministry, but it is always the same God. While this may seem patently obvious, St.
Paul brings the point to a close by saying, Corinthians 12:6-7 6”And there are diversities of
activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:”
Here then, is the point. God the Holy Spirit grants us spiritual gifts
to bring edification to the Body, not glory to the individual Christian. Thus, if one is blessed with a specific gift,
it is not a cause for self-exultation, but rather of thanksgiving. The real question becomes, how can I offer my
spiritual gift to the Body, and thus to God in such a way as to magnify
Him? How can I glorify God by offering
back to Him the gift He has so freely given me?
To help us in this question,
St. Paul lists several spiritual gifts: the word of wisdom, the word of
knowledge, the gift of faith, the gift of healing, the working of miracles, the
utterance of prophecy, the discernment of spirits, the gift of tongues, and
finally, the interpretation of tongues.
All of these gifts are still extant, to some degree or another, in
different parts of the Church. It must
be noted that in lesser “civilized” parts of the world, we may see more
spiritual gifts. Evidently, when man becomes more civilized, he also reasons
himself into a less spiritual state. I think it must also be noted that some
gifts were given to the early Church for its edification and growth.
If we are indeed committed
Christians, as this group certainly is, demonstrated by our desire to preserve
the orthodox faith once delivered to the saints, we all should have a desire to
grow in Christ.
Let us see Christianity as a
“religion of growth.” The most important
growth I can think of concerns grace and our personal journey in
sanctification. This is exactly what St. Paul
Thus, I would ask you to
consider these spiritual “steps for growth”.
First, pray for discernment of your own personal spiritual gift. We who love Christ all have them. Thus, I humbly urge you to pray that the Holy
Spirit will reveal your gift to you, if you don’t already know. Knowledge is the first step towards spiritual
“self-actualization”. Next, consider, meditate, ponder, and cogitate, etc., as
to how you can offer your gift to the Church and to the world. Pray earnestly that God open opportunities
for you in this regard. Finally, just
use it. Use your spiritual gift to edify
us, the Church, and to bring joy to you, the giver. Greater joy is impossible when one knows that
he or she is truly serving the Lord.
Earnest prayer, leading to
discernment, leading to knowledge, leading to action is the key to a joyful
Christian life. I humbly pray that all of us may grow in Christ to such an
extent that we, too, may discern, know and do, thus making our cup of joy full
to overflowing.
In the words of Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, “Freely you have received, freely give.”[2]
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost.
Amen.
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