What's this about Gifts- Diversity within Spiritual Gifts

As you are well aware of, we have been studying the significant section of Spiritual gifts. The reason for Paul’s writing of this subject is at least two fold. Reason number one has to do with the likelihood that this was a question raised to Paul about Spiritual gifts. Ever since chapter 7, Paul has been addressing key questions the Corinthian church has raised him. He usually begins each new answer with the phrase now concerning… as he does here in chapter 12 concerning spiritual gifts. The second reason he writes to them about spiritual gifts and perhaps a better understanding as to why he saved this most important topic for this late in the letter has to do with how it connects so significantly with his previous admonition. Sure, Paul could’ve began the question and answer time with Spiritual gifts because they are soooo essential for living godly and correct church life, but they fit sooo well after talking about the issues related to the Lord’s table. Remember with me again, what was wrong with the way the Corinthians were conducting themselves around the Lord’s table? Going back to vs. 17-22… we see that the church was loaded with selfish, sinful people acting in their fleshly way, thinking only for themselves, indulging themselves on the food meant for the poor and even beyond that, in a larger sense where dividing themselves all while yet taking communion and recognizing the sacrifice of the Lord. Paul gives them very harsh rebuke of their treatment of the Communion and how they acted in ways to their fellow brethren that did not line up with the Lord they claim to remember in Communion. It was a huge issue of selfishness rather than unity.

So Paul, being the wise apostle that God granted Him to be, chose to pick up his pen and write them a most important matter in the Spiritual sense that with proper understanding and practice would bring them true unity in the Lord, Spiritual Gifts.

I. Unity within Spiritual Gifts (v.1-11)

In verse 1-4, we saw how far off there were from understanding truly what a spiritual gift was. As you may recall from a few weeks back, the church in Corinth allowed men to say in front of the church that Jesus was accursed because that man spoke “in the Spirit”. They didn’t question his words because they truly believed he was using some sort of special gift from God to speak these words. They did not understand the gifts so Paul set out to set them straight. As we say in the last three weeks. There is unity in the Spiritual gifts as we share certain bonds.

-We Confess the Same Lord

-We Depend on the Same God

-We Minister to the Same Body

-We Experience the Same Baptism

There is unity when we properly understand the purpose of the Spiritual Gifts.

1 Corinthians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Importance of Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual gifts are divine enablements for ministry, characteristics of Jesus Christ that are to be manifested through the body corporate just as they were manifested through the body incarnate.

Now this week, we will look at the diversity within the Spiritual Gifts and see how it truly is for the good of the church and for us.

II. Diversity within Spiritual Gifts (v.12-31)

Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

1 Corinthians 12:12–31 ESV

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 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. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 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. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

A. Unity in Diversity (v.12-14)

Why would Paul chose to write on Diversity? Is it that important? After listing the some the spiritual gifts in verses 8-11, perhaps some of the Corinthians were feeling that unity is impossible with so much diversity. I mean, it’s hard enough to get along with someone we are kind of like, let along someone who is totally different than ourselves. And that is exactly why, Paul will now direct they minds in these next verses especially the next 3 verses how diversity and unity can and should be viewed as compatible and in fact complimentary. They work together!

Again as we read verses 12-14, we notice that the word one is used 7 times and the words many and members and the concept of it is used at least 3-4 times.

So how does Paul relate the concept of unity and diversity so that we can comprehend the 2 working cohesively.

He Illustrates it.

1. Illustration of our Unity

The illustration Paul gives is that of our human bodies and the individual members of it. What does he mean by members. The greek word simply gives us the idea portrayed as a “part of the body, a limb”. What’s amazing to me is the wonder of God’s creation. How everything He creates has meaning and expresses His divine plan. Not only are our bodies fearfully and wonderfully made but they function in a way and were made in such a way to bring us further learning and understanding to the created order that God expects within His church. This was not an after the fact thing. Paul didn’t first create the human body then later think, oooohhh, what a perfect analogy of how the church is supposed to function. Let’s use the human body as a great metaphor. God does not work like that. He is sovereign, supreme, His ways are so much higher, and all He does is perfect and cohesive. What an amazing thought to ponder that the things that cause us so much excitement and are brilliantly construed together, are all just part of who God is and how He operates. Unity and Function of the church needs to be exactly like the unity and the function of a human body. One body, but many different parts all working at different tasks to cause the entire body to be efficient and effective. Will address this in more detail in a minute, but be sure to catch the important word in these verses. “For just as the body is one and has many members, and ALL the members of the body, though many, are one body....” It is all.

2. Person of our Unity

1 Corinthians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Unified in One Body

Paul is so intent on driving home the point of oneness in the church that he refers to Christ as the church: so also is Christ. We can no more separate Christ from His church than we can separate a body from its head. When Christ is referred to as the head of the church it is always in the sense of mind, spirit, and control. When a body loses its mind and spirit it ceases to be a body and becomes a corpse. It still has structure but it does not have life. It is still organized but it is no longer a living organism.

Through another figure for the church Jesus tells us the same truth. “I am the vine, you are the branches,” He said. “He who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). A severed branch not only is an unproductive branch but a lifeless branch.

It is for that reason that the New Testament speaks of our being in Christ and of Christ’s being in us. He is more than simply with His church; He is in His church and His church is in Him. They are totally identified. The church is an organic whole, the living manifestation of Jesus Christ that pulses with the eternal life of God. The common denominator of all believers is that they possess the very life of God. Jesus said, “Because I live, you shall live also” (John 14:19). “He who has the Son has the life” (1 John 5:12), because “the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Cor. 6:17).

The church is one body because so also is Christ. This same Christ life is possessed by every believer, and every believer therefore is part of Christ, a part of His Body, the church. That is why we have verses like Matthew 18:5

Matthew 18:5 ESV

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,

You could also see that played out in Matthew 25: 31-46.

The beauty of this then is seen in how He Jesus forms the body of Christ. Jesus baptized us with the Holy Spirit and made us one with Him. That is how He forms the church. He literally immerses us with the divine God-head. We all drink of One Spirit the Holy Spirit himself.

1 Corinthians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Forming of the Body

One Spirit baptism establishes one church. There are no partial Christians, no partial members of Christ’s Body. The Lord has no halfway houses for His children, no limbo or purgatory. All of His children are born into His household and will forever remain in His household.

That also means that just as there are no partially saved Christians there are no partially indwelt Christians. The Spirit of God is not parceled out to us in installments. God gives the “spirit without measure” (John 3:34).

Romans 8:9 ESV

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

1 Corinthians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Filling of the Body

A person who does not have the Holy Spirit does not have eternal life, because eternal life is the life of the Spirit.

Some have taught that you need a second working of Grace.... second blessing.

According to some Christian traditions, mainly in some Methodist teaching and Pentacostal teaching, a second work of grace (also second blessing) is a transforming interaction with God which may occur in the life of an individual Christian. The defining characteristics of the second work of grace are that it is separate from and subsequent to the New Birth (the first work of grace), and that it brings about significant changes in the life of the believer.

In other words, after one is saved, forgiven from sin, a new believer works in his salvation to receive the Holy Spirit to become entirely holy and purified, to complete his sanctification. It was an instantaneous experience.

1 Corinthians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (The Filling of the Body)

The idea of the second blessing probably originated in the Middle Ages with the teaching that a person is saved when baptized, even though as an infant, and later receives the Holy Spirit at confirmation after coming of age. Sincere and otherwise biblical evangelicals (men like John Wesley) modified the idea as a means for trying to enliven lifeless Christians. Because the church was lethargic, carnal, worldly, and fruitless, they sought to infuse vitality by encouraging believers to seek an additional work of God. But the problem has never been the insufficiency or incompleteness of God’s work. Christ gives no salvation but perfect salvation. And it is tragic that so many are seeking some “triumphalistic experience” of “deeper life,” some formulized key to instant spirituality, when the Lord calls for obedience and trust in what has been given in His perfect work of salvation (Heb. 10:14).

The beauty of us becoming one in Christ is that it unites us all in Him. It doesn’t matter what you are or what you’re social status is. Because of Christ, we are all one. Diversified yet unified under the one head. It is Christ that makes us unified!

But what is the purpose of this diversity?

B. Purpose in Diversity (v.15-26)

Paul returning to the illustration of the human body writes that the purpose of diversity can be found in that it helps create....

1. Creates Belonging (v.15-20)

Pretty straight forward language here. A part of our body cannot say they are not part of the body and it be so, the same is true of the church and it’s members. So how would this likely relate to something we might say or think. It might come out in words like this. I am not the Pastor, or I am not a deacon, or I’m not even a member of this church, First Baptist, or I don’t look like so and so, or act like so and so, so I must not be a part of the body of Christ. Some would like to claim or think they should claim because a feeling of inferiority. Maybe they came to this conclusion because they have been mistreated by the church. But truth of the matter is, it doesn’t matter who said what. Christ’s voice is the only voice that matters on this subject, and He has said that whoever is saved, that has been immersed with the Spirit by Christ’s baptism at the moment of salvation, is part of His body which He has perfectly built and protects for His purpose. It’s His church. There’s no room for self-pity and no room for favoritism. It’s not a social club. It’s a body that the perfect designer has put together and that you have divinely placed there as part of His plan.

So in ever sense, you as a child of God, belong. It’s where you were meant to be. It’s where you were meant to function. You are not gonna look the same as everybody else or even completely act the same as everybody else because your function is different than the others, but you’re still part of the body. An understanding that we all belong, brings unity in our diversity.

So, not only does diversity create belonging, but it also creates as we have already alluded to, it creates necessity....

2. Creates Necessity (v.21-22)

The Corinthian church had a problem. Some that had these flashy gifts, especially those of perhaps the miraculous or the wonder gifts… that dazzled and amazed… like that of tongues or the like… felt that their gifts were far superior. They were the public gifts. The gifts that everyone saw. They are illustrated as the eye and the head. But Paul says that in the body, the head and eye maybe what people first see and what they gravitate towards, but they cannot operate without the others. They need them in fact.

We like to feel wanted. But it is also good to feel that we add value. We don’t want to be just liked, but we want to know we have purpose here. That is what Paul shares in his analogy again. Ever part of the body has been put there for a reason and every part of the body is essential for the body to work effectively. Your toes are small and never seen because we often wear shoes. They are kinda stinky and not that appealing to look at but without your toes you would fall flat on your face. They are essential. Even the head or eye would be no good without the rest of the body. It might be the flashy one and the one most noticed but it is useless without the others. That is why Paul says that even the parts that seem weaker and indispensible. I think he is really leveling the playing field here isn’t he!

The body of Christ is not complete unless all the parts of the body work in tandem to each other. We are unable to be all that God calls us to be as a church unless each part of the body is doing it’s job. If we aren’t doing our part, it may well be holding the other parts back. The hand can only do so much, it relies on the arm and the shoulders, and the torso to take it where it needs to go to be effective. So that begs us to ask the question, who are we holding up? And secondly, it begs us to ask, who are we looking down on, thinking that we are superior to?

One final thought on the necessity and belonging that we receive because of diversity. Least we do become jealous and think that we should ought to have a different gift… Paul reminds us sandwiched between all this… vs.18-

1 Corinthians 12:18 ESV

But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

Why do you belong, why are you necessary because God arranged it this way. Why do we get these gifts and they get those… because the master designer planned it this way, and he never makes a mistake or fails.

We have seen that diversity creates belonging, it creates necessity, but it also creates honor.

3. Creates Honor (v.23-24)

How does it create honor. Well let’s go back to the analogy that Paul has been using, the body. He says.... on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require.

What is Paul speaking on when we talks about the less honorable parts and the unpresentable parts?

Less honorable parts probably refers to the parts of the body that are not particularly attractive. Could be the old dad bod that we now rock. Not ripping the sweet abs anymore. But have a bit more flab than used to be there. What do we do to those parts. We cover them up. The word bestow literally means to put around. It suggests the idea of clothing the body in general. We spend far more time and money clothing the parts of our body that are less attractive that we do that ones more presentable such as our hands, hands, arms, legs.

The unpresentable parts (unseemly) -aschemon means shameful, indescent parts. These are the parts of the body that are considered private. It is not that these parts are unseemly and shameful, it is the display of them which has been deemed shameful. That’s why most crucifixions and executions were done to nearly naked people. It was the shame of being seen that way. So what does the hands do to make these parts more decent. They clothe them.

Think about that for a second. Our hands do the work. They make the uncomely parts dressed up. They give time and energy and investment towards other parts of the body so the whole body might look good. They hardly do anything to dress themselves up but give “honor” as this passage says to the other members.

1 Corinthians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Believers’ Proper Relationships)

It is from a warped sense of values that a Christian, well known because of a prominent gift, looks down on other Christians who possess no obvious gift and seeks great honor for his own. That attitude is a direct contradiction of the principle of concern that characterizes a body. It is far more consistent with self-preservation that members of the body that have greater outward beauty and more functional abilities devote themselves to the well-being of those parts that are not so well equipped but are essential to life. Every sensible person is more concerned (should be) with his heart than his hair.

And that point brings us to what diversity should also do...

it creates...

4. Creates Care

As the last point made abundantly clear… we often dress up the outward to the neglect of the inward, but without care to the inward.... we eventually die. The parts that may not be glamorous or seen and often the parts that are most important. We cannot neglect them. The arm may be extremely healthy but if the kidney is failing so is the rest of the body. So to is it or should it be with the church. If one member suffers, all should suffer together.

1 Corinthians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Believers’ Proper Relationships)

In our eyes, as in God’s eyes, every believer should be of the highest importance and every ministry of the highest importance (cf. Phil. 2:1–4). In a mature and spiritual congregation, church members will have the same care for one another. We should care as much for the nursery teacher as for the pastor, as much for the janitor as for the Sunday school teachers.In the obedient and loving church that God has planned for His children, if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Only that sort of mutual love and concern can prevent or heal division and preserve unity. The one who is hurt is consoled and the one who is blessed is rejoiced with. There is no disdain for one another, no rivalry or competition, no envy or malice, no inferiority or superiority, but only love—love that is patient, kind, and not jealous, boastful, or arrogant; love that does not act unbecomingly or seek its own and is not easily provoked; love that never rejoices in unrighteousness but always rejoices in the truth (1 Cor. 13:4–6).

Diversity leads to disunity when the members compete with one another, but diversity leads to unity when the members care for one another.

Rewards in heaven will be very much based on how we live this in our lives. Jesus said that those who seek to be first in this life will be last in the next (Matt. 19:30), and that spiritual greatness is determined by the spirit of servanthood not by high position or impressive achievements (Matt. 20:27). Jesus’ response to the request of the mother of James and John reveals that suffering is more related to reward than is success (Matt. 20:20–23).

1 Corinthians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Believers’ Proper Relationships

It is clear from what Paul says in the present text that heavenly reward will be based not only on what we do with our own gifts and ministries but on our attitudes toward and support of the gifts and ministries of other believers.

I hope that we are asking ourselves how we are doing in this area. Diversity is important. It’s purpose is great. And if we truly live unified in our diversity, we will see God use this church in a great way, but it requires that we give each member the belonging, the need, the honor, and the care that each deserve.

But there is still yet one more final thing we need to speak on in the matter of diversity and that is the priority in diversity.

C. Priority in Diversity (v.27-31)

As we come to this last point, Paul believed it to be really important that the Corinthian church be re-prioritized in their thinking. Remember that they had loved the glamorous awe inspired gifts… such as tongues and healing… will see that more in chapter 14. Paul was concerned for that because although each gift is vitally important and each member is as well there is a sort of priority list still when it comes to gifts. Just like the human body, some organs are essential like our hearts, lungs, etc… we cannot go without them and live, but we can live without a limb though perhaps not as hindered some degree or another.

That is why we Paul comes to this final statement in verse 31.

1 Corinthians 12:31 ESV

But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

The word for higher or some translations say best gifts literally in greek means “better” gifts. Now I am going to tell you that this a particularly challenging verse. As I stated a few weeks back, this is one of the verses I use in my believe that more gifts can be added to a person’s life after they are saved. This and the verses about Timothy receiving a gift in connection with his ordination. But I will tell you that not all share that believe. It is a divided thing. That’s what makes the Bible so magnificent and the God it is written about so amazing and vast. It takes a person willing to study and dig into its treasure of knowledge to know the truth. We can be lazy students and know the Word. I think of the song all that thrills my soul is Jesus. His wonderful knowledge is without compare. Mysteries make for good entertainment. We love watching them on TV and Movies. But the mysteries we see there could never compare with the mysteries of God. So though not all will agree, it doesn’t cause us to be discouraged, but more enamored with the AWE of God and His Word.

The reason this subject is divided is because we simply don’t have enough text written for us in scripture to make the answer so concrete. We know for certain that all believers, at every point of their saved life, possesses a gift from the Holy Spirit to be used to equip and edify the body of Christ. And that no one person possesses all the gifts (we see that in these verses), but when we receive all our gifts is not certain.

So if you don’t believe that you receive gifts at salvation, how are you to look at this verse? Why should we earnestly desire the greater gifts if God won’t grant them to us later?

Yes, the gifts are characteristics of God for us in service. Giver, exhortation, mercy, evangelism, etc. So we might say we are to earnestly desire those aspects of the gifts since most of the gifts are also commands. 2 thoughts to that statement that I think yield it to be incorrect. Paul clearly says earnestly desire the gifts (spiritual gifts) not just the character traits of these gifts. Second, I think it would be good here to show the difference in what a gift is and what a fruit of the spirit is, and see that they are not the same.

Gifts

-Have to do with service

-Are the means to an end

What a man has

Given from without

In Plural

All gifts not possessed by every believer

Will cease

Fruit

-Have to do with character (love, joy, peace,etc: Gal. 5:22-23)

-Is the end (Rom. 1:11-13)

-What a man is

-Produced from within

-In singular

-Every variety of fruit should be in every believer

-Permanent (1 Cor. 13:8-10)

So then how to you view this verse (31) if you don’t believe you get additional gifts throughout your life. Well, I will admit, one way that makes good sense is viewing this verse not as a command to ask God for additional gifts but to earnestly desire the service of these “better” gifts.

Which begs the question, what are these better gifts. It shouldn’t take us long to see it because it is listed right in the proceeding verses. Looking at verse 28, you see another list of spiritual gifts, very similiar to the one earlier in the chapter and very similiar to the other list passages such as Romans 12. What is different about this listing is the Paul gives numberal values to the gifts. Why does he say first… apostles… second prophets… etc. You don’t see that in the other listings. Well it is because there is a priority. And the way the Corinthians prioritized the gifts was wrong.

They prioritized the flashy gifts, Paul as well as God, prioritized the gifts that revolve around the word of God.

Remember back to 1 Corinthians 1:18

1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The Corinthians resembled more of the world on this point. They preferred the “miraculous” gifts over the teaching gifts, and that makes perfect sense to how they could have allowed a man to speak in their church with such false teaching. That Jesus is accursed. Anyone right minded Christian that understood the Word would never believe such a lie because the Word is our life without it we would be lost.

The church was founded on the preaching and the teaching of the word. See Eph. 4 on that. It was founded on the Apostles teaching. But church must continue on these as well. Preach the Word. How will they hear without a preacher. The preaching and teaching of the Word is paramount. It is the life blood of the church. The church cannot survive without going to the Word of God. The preaching is the heart. So we are to prioritize our thinking on gifts towards those that exalt the Word of God because it truly keeps us alive.

Conclusion:

In closing, I want to take you again to 1 Peter 4 this morning,

1 Peter 4:10–11 ESV

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The aim of our spiritual gifts is evident. “that in everything God might be glorified through Jesus Christ” (verse 11). This means that God’s aim in giving us gifts, and in giving us the faith to exercise them, is that his glory might be displayed. He wants us and the world to marvel at him and to think he is fantastic.

The stupendous reality of God is all-encompassing. “For from him and through him and to him are all things” (Romans 11:36). And there is nothing more thrilling, more joyful, more meaningful, more satisfying than to find our niche in the eternal unfolding of God’s glory. Our gift may look small, but as a part of the revelation of God’s infinite glory it takes on stupendous proportions.

John Piper

Let us all use of gifts in a way that brings glory to him, but next time we return to 1 Corinthians, we will look at still a more excellent way than that of spiritual gifts.

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