Spiritual Gifts and Giving

Rev. Stephen E. Stults

St. Barnabas Anglican Church

The Tenth Sunday after Trinity, 2013

August 4, 2013

Spiritual Gifts and Giving

1Co 12:1-2  Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.

Our Epistle selection is another one of those wonderful, yet potentially frustrating sections of the letters of St. Paul.  It is wonderful, because it tells us that God has bestowed spiritual gifts on His children.  At the same time, it can be frustrating if one is stymied as to what one’s spiritual gift is, or if one is coveting a spiritual gift that may not be extant anymore, or else is not meant for that specific Christian. More on that in a moment…

St.Paul begins this particular lesson by reminding the Corinthians of their former Gentile past.  They were, in fact, pagans, “carried away unto these dumb (speechless) idols”.  They engaged in various pagan festivals and rites, which usually included a great deal of wine consumption, as well as vigorous activity among the genders in an intimate way.  In short, they engaged in bacchanalia, as well as idolatrous worship.   They did this, not out of maliciousness or wickeness per se, but out of ignorance and tradition.  But with the advent of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, everything changed for the Corinthians.

St. Paul is reminding the Corinthians that their lives have a new dimension to them now. In the past, their pagan lives were riotous, active, but ultimately empty. They had no true spiritual grounding. Recall that in the latter stages of the ancient Greek and Roman world, many people were beginning to doubt the validity of the pantheon of gods and goddesses.  They probably sensed that that was something more than just worshipping marble statues and honoring ancient myths.  Their had to be something more. Then, in the fullness of God’ mercy, the Gospel came through Jesus Christ and St. Paul, bringing with it one of the penultimate themes of the New Testament, salvation by grace. 

St. Paul, in bringing forth the message of Christ, told the Corinthians that even though they were formerly pagans and idolaters, through the munificence of God grace has been poured out on them by the Holy Ghost.  This grace had mainly taken the form of various manifestations of the Holy Spirit and because of this, Paul took pains to point out that the origin of these gifts was divine. Thus, it could not be a source of arrogance or pride.  Furthermore, Paul told them (and us) that no can speak ill of Christ if he is under the Spirit, just as one cannot affirm that Christ is Lord without the influence of the Holy Spirit.  Similarly, enemies of Christ cannot be under the Spirit, just as believers cannot praise Jesus as Lord without the Holy Spirit indwelling them.

This is both comforting and dangerous.  It is comforting for those who perhaps look with doubt or uncertainty in their own souls for the presence of the Holy Spirit, as this priest once did as a young man.  It is comforting to know that when one says the Creed with conviction, it is by the power of the Holy Ghost, or when one says, “Jesus is Lord”, it is with spiritual impetus.  Perhaps a committed atheist or agnostic might be able, physically, to say “Jesus is Lord” if one used coercive force, but it would never happen spontaneously or freely, as when a Christian praises God. In short, being able to affirm, with love and force, that Jesus Christ is Lord takes something beyond oneself.  It takes the glorious grace of God, which has taken root in the believer’s soul.

In first-century Corinth, something was the matter, so much so that St. Paul found it necessary to instruct the church as to the origin and uses of spiritual gifts.  First, he tells them that there are many types of gifts, but it is the same Spirit of God giving them. Also, there are various types of service (ministries) that these gifts encourage, but it is still the same Lord providing all of them.  Finally, there are different kinds of ways these gifts are worked out, but it is the same God “working all things in all.”[1]

 St. Paul’s point is plain:  no matter the diverse types of gifts given to man, or how they are ministered to the Church, or even how they actually are presented, it is all God.  He provides them to the Body for encouragement, for teaching, and most importantly, for a testimony to His Glory.

Let us make a point here. Over-emphasis on spiritual gifts can also be dangerous or even destructive to the Church.  Just as in Corinth, as some became “puffed up” because of their own particular receipt of spiritual gifts, so it is in some parts of the Church today.  Some Christian groups still regard glossothalia, or the speaking in tongues, as being the sign of a “real” spirit-filled Christian.  In their mind, there are two types of Christians: those who exhibit spiritual phenomena and those who don’t.  Those who don’t just aren’t as “spirit-filled” as those who do.  They are, in some sense, second-class Christians. 

Without going any further, one can see how destructive this can be.  It is even more dangerous when one considers that many scholars and commentators, including most Anglicans, think that the marvelous deeds done in Acts and referenced in today’s Epistle were outpourings of the Spirit meant specifically for the first-century Church.  One commentator says, “What these gifts were is at large told us in the body of the chapter; namely, extraordinary offices and powers, bestowed on ministers and Christians in the first ages, for conviction of unbelievers, and propagation of the gospel.”[2]  They are gifts that are not in great abundance today in precisely the same form as when they appeared in the first century.  For that very reason, to discriminate against or denigrate those who do not exhibit these specific gifts is erroneous, uncharitable and unkind.

Now, let us return to the hopeful and positive aspects of this lesson in righteousness.  The fact is, all of us have spiritual gifts born of the Holy Spirit.  The very fact we are all gathered here today is evidence of that, for without the gift of faith, we wouldn’t be here at all. We would be doing something else. For example, for many the golf course beckons, or the Sunday paper, or just relaxing at home. Yet, there is something that draws us here to worship.  That willingness to be drawn by the Spirit here and to do something that we know our souls need is a gift in itself. 

Instead of being lost sheep, wandering among the various “wolves” of this life, we are led each Sunday to be fed by Jesus our Shepherd, and to lie down in the green, restful pastures of worship with Him. This is also a wonderful gift.

All of us have other gifts as well. It may be the gift of wisdom; it may be the gift of helping, or it may be the gift of knowledge. It may be the gift of a current or former occupation, now yielding fruit to the Church. In every way, for all of us, our gifts are merely the things God has given us and now we seek to return them to the Church in whatever way we can, but always for the purpose of God’s Glory, never for our own self-magnification.

Thus, continue to ask God how you can use your own gifts for His Glory.  Pray for discernment, meditate on it, give thanks for every gift, and then pray for direction.  As you do this, our Lord will direct you, support you and empower you to give back what He has given you.  In the end, we find that our giving to Him does not diminish or deplete us, but instead is magnified and multiplied. We simply cannot out-give God.

Above all, as you consider your own individual gifts and calling of God, pray for one more thing. Pray that you may be gifted with joy in everything that you do. Pray that all you do is done joyfully, cheerfully, and with a glad heart.  As you go about giving of yourself to the World and most importantly, to God, you may find that this is the greatest gift of all. AMEN.

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[1] I Cor, 12:6 (MKJV)

[2] Henry, op.cit.