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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
August 9, 2026
* Spiritual Gifts & Ministry
Romans 12:1-8; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12
Introduction
I trust that last week’s sermon in preparation for the ceremony of parents publically dedicating themselves to raising their child in the nurture and admonition was an encouragement to you. I had some very positive comments after the sermon, and I have had additional interest in the next ceremony which will probably be in September depending on the schedules of the families involved. If you would be interested in participating, pick up the information and application on Baby / Parent Dedication in the literature rack and let me know so I can include you in the planning. (https://www.gracebibleny.org/committed-to-godly-parenting-selected-scriptures)
This morning we will continue in our series on the nature and purpose of the church by examining the issues of spiritual gifts and ministry. *We have summarized the purpose of the church in our statement, Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ, which is based on the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. *There are four major aspects to accomplishing that purpose beginning with Communicating New life in Christ. Christians must go out to tell others about the good news of Jesus Christ, the gospel of redemption and sins forgiven by God’s grace through faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. *Next is Caring for New Life in Christ which encompasses true Christian fellowship in carrying out all the one another commands – love, honor, edify, care, be kind, comfort, serve, be patient, forebear, admonish, pray for, etc. This is practical Christianity being lived out in church body life. *Next is Cultivating New Life in Christ which encompasses all the means by which we help each other grow in the knowledge of God and spiritual maturity. For that reason, this aspect focuses a lot on teaching and mentoring ministries, but there is overlap with fellowship. *The final aspect is Celebrating New Life in Christ which is worship both individually and corporately. Worship is also the pinnacle of everything else for worship of God is the purpose of our existence in both the present time and throughout eternity. The more people that become Christians, the more God is glorified. The more Christians become like Christ, the more God is glorified.
*Spiritual gifts and ministry tie all of these pieces together for they mark the specific ways God has designed, equipped and empowered His people to carry out His will in serving Him. And please make careful note of and highlight that statement. God has designed, equipped and empowered you to serve Him. *The local church is a manifestation of the Body of Christ in which Christians serve Him. A healthy church provides the context for Christians to serve the Lord and one another in keeping with God’s commands. A church is to be a congregation of servants who will be characterized by their desire to give of themselves. Problems are tackled without grumbling and disputing because the mutual goal is finding the God honoring solution. The quest of teaching and fellowship is knowing God and walking with Him and one another in holiness. Success is defined by faithfulness in the pursuit of God and godliness.
*Too many churches are following man centered business models which results in congregations of customers to be satisfied. Customers are characterized by their desire to receive. Grumbling and disputing arise when the customers are not satisfied, and since problems aggravate the customers, they are to be avoided and squelched as quickly as possible. The quest of teaching and socialization is good times, happiness and esteem. Success is defined by worldly metrics of attendance, fame and the flow of money.
Today we will look at the three major scriptures passages which address the issue of spiritual gifts and ministry – Romans 12:1-8; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12-14. I have preached on all of these in the past and some of them multiple times. I will be expanding on certain sections of these passages in the future in an upcoming sermon on church structure and function. Today will be an overview of them and stressing the fact that it is God’s design to equip and empower the redeemed to serve Him.
*Saved to Serve – Ephesians 2:8-10
Before I get to those passages, look at Ephesians 2:8-10. We use verses 8-9 a lot in evangelism, but verse 10 points to a purpose in salvation. 8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” *While there are multiple reasons for God to save people from their sin, among them is to have them walk in the good works He has prepared beforehand. In other words, it is by God’s design that salvation is to result in the believer doing good works. That order is important. Good works follow salvation as evidence of the reality of it. They do not precede salvation as a means to procure it. As Titus 3:5 states, 5 “He saved us, not by works which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom. He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
*What good works? Certainly those that are to be done in such a way that they may be seen by men in order that God will be glorified by them as Jesus stated in Matthew 5:16. Also included are all those things that demonstrate a true godly character (Col. 1:10; 1 Tim. 2:10; Titus 2:7-8; etc.). There are also the good deeds that occur as part of church body life with Hebrews 10:24 exhorting the Christian “to consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” which is a reason it is so important to be faithful in meeting together. (See: Saved by God’s Grace – Eph. 2:4-10)
Yes, redemption and justification by faith in Christ saves you from eternal damnation and that is important. However, it is also vitally important to recognize that salvation rescues you from the domain of darkness and slavery to sin and transfers you to the kingdom of Christ in the present time so that you might walk in newness of life and holiness. *Salvation is not a fire insurance policy. It is a whole life policy radically changing you from being spiritually dead to being alive. Christians are citizens of heaven and should live accordingly.
*Transformed to be Holy, Humble & Serve – Romans 12:1–8
Turn now to Romans 12:1–8. Paul has presented the theological underpinning of salvation from sin in chapters 1-8 and the faithfulness of God in chapters 9-11. We can trust God to keep all of His promises. In Romans 12 Paul begins to make practical application of these truths to life. He begins with the radical but logical changes that are to occur in the Christian as a result of being saved and then moves on to the importance of being humble and thinking rightly in using your spiritual gifts within the body of Christ.
1 “Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me I say to each one among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound thinking, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another, 6 but having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: whether prophecy, in agreement with the faith; 7 or service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with generosity; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”
I want to stress three simple points from this passage without getting into all the detail. You can go to the nine sermons I have on this passage for a more in depth understanding (See https://www.gracebibleny.org/category/sermons/romans/page/3).
*First, being a living sacrifice means death to self will in the pursuit of God’s will. It is a radically different life in which worldliness is shunned in favor of the pursuit of holiness and serving the Lord. It is the logical consequence of being saved from sin. Becoming a true Christian should invariably result in a life transformed due to the changes in belief about sin, self & the Savior.
*Second, arising out of being transformed is living in humility and trust of God. A life lived for the Savior instead of self is humble because it seeks His glory instead of self glory. Trusting in God for eternal salvation results in trusting Him in the present to equip, guide and empower you to serve Him in just the way, place and means He desires. I will expand on this in 1 Corinthians.
*Third, this is the first place that Paul uses the analogy of a body to describe the relationship of Christians to one another. We are many members of one body. The gifts God has bestowed differ among each member, but all of them work in harmony so that the one body can function. *In this passage Paul points out seven examples of the gifts God gives according to the measure of His grace – serving, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading, and mercy – and he encourages their proper use. Whatever spiritual gift or gifts God has bestowed upon you are to be used with diligence and the proper attitude. As we shall see, proper usage is more important than the gift itself.
*Equipped to Serve & Mature – Ephesians 4:11–16
The second passage I want to quickly look at is Ephesians 4:11-16. This passage arises out Paul’s exhorting / imploring / beseeching believers to walk in a manner worthy of their calling by the Lord which will bring about unity within their church. Christians are of one body, one Spirit, one calling and hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, with the one God and Father of all over them. As they deal with each other in humility, gentleness, and patience showing tolerance for one another in love, they will preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Starting in verse 11 Paul points out God’s design for the church to learn to minister and grow in maturity.
11 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”
There are several points I want to stress from this passage. *First, from verses 11-12, God has given men with particular gifts and positions to equip the saints for the work of ministry. The apostles and prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit to write down the Word of God so that we have it in the Bible. Evangelists are especially gifted to train others to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Certainly they do this themselves, but their main task is to train others. That is what our minister of evangelism, Dominic Bonasio, does for us with the evangelism training classes, taking people out to the streets of Beacon, Poughkeepsie, the Walkway over the Hudson and running evangelism booths at fairs and town days. The listing of pastors and teachers refers to the same person for the major way a pastor fulfills his responsibility in equipping the saints for the work of ministry is teaching them the holy Scriptures and their application to life. If the pastor is doing all of the ministry, then he is failing to carry out his actual purpose within the body.
*Second, from verses 12-13, it is all the saints that are to carry out the work of ministry with the purpose of building up the body of Christ, the church. The passage does not talk about numerical growth, though that would be the natural result of evangelism, but rather about spiritual growth resulting in maturity reflecting the increasing conformity to the image of Christ.
*Third, verses 14-15 point out that this increasing maturity in individuals and the whole body provides protection from deceitful doctrine and false teachers. Involvement in a local church is critical for this reason. We must heed Paul’s warning in 1 Timothy 4 about people falling away from the faith and paying attention to the deceitful spirits and the doctrine of demons manifested in false piety, and also the warning in 2 Timothy 4 about people who “will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” A good church is like a fort in this respect as the people band together to protect themselves from the attacks of the enemy while training to be able to go out and take the battle to the enemy. Truth is essential to both of these endeavors, and for Christians, truth is spoken in love for the sake of the Savior and one another.
*Fourth, in verses 15-16, the body analogy is used to describe the interconnection of each believer within the body with Christ being the head of it. Paul’s description emphasizes the need of each individual part working properly and being fitted to the other parts for the whole body to be held together which in turn will cause “the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” *This love, ajgavph / agape, is essential in spiritual maturity for this love seeks out the best interest of others at its own sacrifice which is a characteristic of true Christians. Jesus states this in John 13:35, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Again, you can follow the links on the website to my previous five sermons on this passage for a detailed analysis of it. (See: https://www.gracebibleny.org/category/sermons/ephesians/page/5 ) My point this morning is simply to stress the true nature of the church which includes the means by which Christ wants His followers to be unified and properly equipped for ministry by which the church will grow and mature. *The reason so many churches remain spiritually immature and the people lack both the heart and skills to minister is because these truths are not being followed. This includes those churches in which the pastor strives to be the minister who does it all instead of training others to do ministry. It also includes those churches following business and marketing models which may enable them to increase attendance, but will fail to increase maturity. They end up with large assemblies of people who are consumers of ministry provided to them instead of a body of believers using their gifts to minister to one another and reaching the community with the gospel of conversion and transformation of sinners into saints.
*True Spirituality & a Healthy Church Body – 1 Cor. 12-14
1 Corinthians 12-14 is our final Scripture passage today. These three chapters are one section in which Paul addresses the topic of true spirituality, and in the process also describes the nature of church and the relationship and interactions of those who are part of it.
*Paul introduces the subject in 1 Cor. 12:1-3 by pointing out the failure of the Corinthians to be spiritually mature despite their claims to be spiritual. He begins in verse 1 with most English translations stating something like, “Now concerning spiritual [gifts], brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.” The word “gifts” should be in italics or brackets because it is added by the translator, however, the word here, pneumatikw:n / pnumatikon, would be better translated as spiritual things, spiritual manifestations or spiritualities. The term referring to spiritual gifts, carismavtwn / charismat n, from which we get the word “charismatic” and means “gift of grace,” does not occur until verse 4.
*Though Paul stated they “were not lacking in any gift” back in 1:7, they were ignorant about true spirituality. As pointed out in verses 2-3. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were being led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. They were confusing their former practices in paganism with being spiritual as Christians. This included speaking in ecstatic languages – unknown tongues – which was viewed as the god or goddess taking over the person and speaking through them. It was so bad that Paul had to point out that the Holy Spirit would not cause someone to say that “Jesus is accursed.”
*In verses 4-7 Paul points out the origin of all spiritual gifts, ministries and empowerment. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 And there are varieties of workings, but the same God who works everything in everyone. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable. There are two important points to stress here.
*First, the origin of all of these things is God and not man. The gifts, ministries and empowerment for those ministries will vary from person to person, but their origin is from the same Spirit, same Lord, same God who is at work in every individual.
*Second, any of the gifts mentioned is a manifestation of the Spirit and its purpose is for the good, the profitability, of the whole body as is expressed in the rest of this passage. The Spirit manifests Himself in a wide variety of gifts, so those that try to restrict this to any particular gift are contradicting the Scriptures.
*In verses 8-10 Paul gives the first list of examples of spiritual gifts. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to someone else faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the workings of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to someone else various kinds of tongues, and to another the translation of tongues.
*This list is different from a second list that Paul gives in verses 28-30. It is also different from lists given in other passages such as Romans 12 which we looked at earlier. Because of these differences I do not believe there is an intention to list all the possible spiritual gifts or the ministries in which they could be used. I also do not believe Christians are limited to one spiritual gift, but rather are equipped by God with whatever combination of gifts He wants that person to have in order to serve Him and benefit the body.
*What the gifts listed in verses 8-10 have in common is that each is something that will attract the attention of others and therefore easily feed pride, which was a problem among the Corinthians. Several are similar to things that occurred in their previous paganism. These gifts can be divided into three categories. 1) Those related to knowledge in vs. 8 – word of wisdom and word of knowledge. 2) Those related to faith in vs. 9-10 – faith, gifts of healing, effecting of miracles, prophecy and distinguishing of spirits. 3) Those related to communication in vs. 11 – tongues and interpretation of tongues.
*In verse 11 Paul again stresses the origin of all these gifts. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. This truth should not only make the Christian humble since the origin of what he has and can do is the Spirit and not himself, but because it is the Spirit at work in and through him, it should also make him confident. He is not left to his own abilities and devices. God is at work.
*In verse 12 Paul begins an extensive use of the body analogy to describe the relationships and dynamics that should exist between those who make up the church. 12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For also by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For also the body is not one member, but many. That is the same point as in Romans 12. *The church is one body, the body of Christ, but it is made up of many different members. Note verse 13 that entrance into this body for every Christian is by the Spirit baptizing you into it. This is the baptism of the Spirit that John the Baptist said Jesus would bring (John 1:33). This contradicts the baptism of the spirit advocated by pentecostals and charismatics which only comes upon some Christians at some time after salvation.
*Starting in verse 15 Paul begins showing the absurdity of anyone thinking either he or his gift is superior to others. Every part of the body is needed for the body to be healthy and function properly. *Dropping down to verse 18 notice that Paul again stresses your position in the body is determined by God – 18 But now God has appointed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. *Paul continues this line of argument in verses 19-24 but now emphasizes that what people usually think of as the weaker, less important gifts and ministries are actually necessary. The people up front in a church service get plenty of attention and honor, but it is those doing ministry behind the scenes that are to be honored – those who clean the church, work in the nursery, teach the children, prepare our fellowships, go out and evangelize, handle the administrative tasks, are ministers of mercy to those in need. You give a lot of attention to the outward physical aspects of your body such as your hair and face, but it is the hidden, inward body parts such as the liver and kidneys that are crucial to life and health.
*Paul concludes this teaching in verses 24-27, But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.
*Paul gives a second list of gifts in verse 28 – And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. Only four of these occur in the first list, and helps and administrations are behind the scene ministries. In verse 29 Paul rhetorically points out that no gift is universal to all Christians.
*Verse 31 is the transition to the nature of true spirituality. But you earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I will yet show you a more excellent way.
*In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Paul points out that even the most prestigious spiritual gifts used without love are worthless or even detrimental. *In verses 4-7 Paul gives a description of the love Christians are to have for one another – 4 Love is patient, love is kind, is not jealous, does not brag, is not puffed up; 5 it does not act unbecomingly, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered; 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails, but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. *However, this is a corrective description because the Corinthians were lacking in or doing the opposite of each description. *Verse 8 emphasizes the superiority of love to spiritual gifts because it continues and never fails, and in verse 13 that it is the greatest among faith, hope and love. True spirituality is demonstrated in true sacrificial love.
*Summarizing 1 Corinthians 14, Paul contrasts prophecy and the gift of tongues to show the difference in a spiritual gift being used in love to edify others and a gift used improperly for selfish purposes. These same truths still apply today.
Again, you can follow the links on the webpage to my previous four sermons which explain the detail of these chapters. (See: https://www.gracebibleny.org/category/sermons/true_spirituality My purpose today is simply to point you to the absolute need for every Christian to use their spiritual gift.
*Figuring Out & Using Your Spiritual Gift(s)
If you are a Christian, God has given you a spiritual gift or gifts by which you are to serve Him. He gives the gift. He gives the ministry. He gives the empowerment. That should keep you humble because it means your service to God is about doing His will and glorifying Him and not you doing your will to glorify yourself. It should also give you confidence to step out and try things in discerning what He wants you to do. You are simply looking for the ways in which God will work through you to accomplish His will in glorifying Him and building up other Christians. You can also expect it to be beyond any natural ability even if its starts there. But how do you figure all that out?
*A good place to begin is the Spiritual Gifts Inventory. I have placed copies in the back of the church. This is a series of questions designed to find out what you already like to do and are comfortable doing. It can give you an idea of what your gifts may be, but it does not determine what they are. I can meet with anyone that will fill out the forms and go over possible ministries that would be good to try.
*Another good place to start is simply getting involved in a ministry in which you have an interest and see if God will bless your efforts there. Often your gifts and ministry will be something you like to do. However, your gifts may lie in an area which you had not considered before, so be willing to try a ministry outside your comfort zone. Perhaps someone will ask or challenge you to try it, or perhaps you see a need and want to try to meet it, or you are just curious.
*Next, evaluate whether God is working through you in that ministry. That will most often be seen in the response of others to your ministry in being built up in Christ in some way by it. That spiritual component is the evidence it is God at work through you. Alongside this there should also be a personal sense of doing something you know the Lord wants you to do even if you are still uncomfortable in doing it. You may even be full of fear and trepidation. It will be the conviction you are doing what God wants you to do that will push you forward and not how much you like doing it or not. The joy arises from knowing you are pleasing God.
*Next, have those you respect as spiritually mature also evaluate whether God is using you in that ministry. They will be able to give a more objective evaluation that is needed, because pride can often blind you to whether God is in it or not. You don’t want to be like the Corinthians in either claiming to have a gift you don’t actually have, or having a gift but using it improperly without the love for God and others that is to be the hallmark of godly ministry.
*Keep in mind that the same spiritual gift can be used in a wide variety of particular ministries, and the empowerment God gives for its breadth and depth will also vary. So don’t be afraid to try different ministries using your spiritual gift(s), and be sure to rejoice that God is using you whether that ministry is large or small, public or private.
*Finally, remember that all spiritual gifts, ministries and empowerment are about glorifying God – not self – and are for the purpose of building up the body of Christ. They are other centered, not self centered. That building up includes others ministering to you in the process of making you more like Christ. *Spiritual gifts and the one another commands have a lot of overlap. You may not have the particular gift for a ministry and yet are commanded to do it. Every Christian has responsibilities to evangelize, teach others, be merciful, help, encourage, and even do some administration. It is those who have the spiritual gifts in those areas that equip others who have the same or similar gifts to get better at it, but they also equip those who do not have those gifts to be able to function well enough to fulfill their responsibilities in those areas.
*Included in the bulletin today is an insert that lists not only suggestions on ways that God can use you, but also specific ministry opportunities related to Grace Bible Church along with the contact person. Give prayerful consideration to what God would have you do in serving Him. It may be in continuing what you are already doing or expanding in those areas, or perhaps trying something new to see how God will use you. While need may not constitute call, it may be what initiates trying to fulfill it to see if God is calling you to serve in that area. The tear off slip can be used today or anytime in the future, or simply talk to the contact person listed.
Sermon Notes – 8/9/2026
Spiritual Gifts & Ministry – Rom. 12:1-8; Eph. 4:11-16; 1 Cor. 12-14
INTRODUCTION
Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ – Evangelism, Fellowship, Edification, Worship
Spiritual gifts & ministry tie all of these pieces together by God’s ___________to have His people serve Him
Local churches are ________________of the Body of Christ providing the context for living the Christian life
Churches following non-Biblical models will define success by __________metrics, not Biblical ones
Saved to Serve – Ephesians 2:8-10
A purpose in God saving you is so that you will walk in the ________ __________He prepared beforehand
Good works to glorify God (Mt. 5:16), demonstrate godliness (Col. 1:10), as part of ________life (Heb 10:24)
Salvation is not a fire insurance policy, it is a _____ _______policy radically changing you from death to life
Transformed to be Holy, Humble & Serve – Romans 12:1–8
A living sacrifice is dead to ___________ and alive to God’s will
A transformed life lives in ____________& trust of God seeking His glory instead of self glory
The analogy of a body describes the _____________of Christians to one another – many members of one body
Paul gives _____________ of 7 different gifts & encourages their usage with diligence & the proper attitude
Equipped to Serve & Mature – Ephesians 4:11–16
God has given men with particular gifts and positions to ______the saints for the work of ministry (vs. 11-12)
_________are to carry out the work of ministry with the purpose of building up the body of Christ, the church
Increasing maturity of the whole body provides _______________from deceitful doctrine and false teachers
The body analogy describes the ________________of each believer within the body with Christ being its head
_______, ajgavph / agape, is essential for that is what marks those who are true followers of Christ (Jn 13:33)
Churches remain immature & lacking heart & skills to minister because they __________________this model
True Spirituality & a Healthy Church Body – 1 Cor. 12-14
The subject of 1 Cor. 12-14 is true _____________- pneumatikw:n / pnumatikon – 12:1
The Corinthians had every spiritual _____(carismavtwn / charismat n), they had pagan ideas about spirituality
12:4-7 – the origin of all spiritual gifts, ministries & empowerment is _________
____spiritual gift is a manifestation of the Spirit & its purpose is for the good / profitability of the whole body
12:8-10. The lists of spiritual gifts ____a lot from each other. There is no comprehensive list nor limit on them
All the gifts listed in vs. 8-10 will attract public and therefore easily feed _______- a Corinthian problem
12:11 – Paul stresses the origin of all gifts, ministries & empowerment is just as the __________wills
The Christian is to be ___________because it all comes from God, but also ___________for the same reason
12:12 – The church is one body with many members with ________baptized into it by the Spirit at salvation
12:13-15 – it is absurd for anyone to think he or his gift is superior in the body – ________body part is needed!
12:18 – God _____________each member in the body according to His own desire
12:19-24 – The gifts & ministries people usually think of as the weaker or less important are actually _______
12:24-27 –
12:28-29 – this list is different from the first, and Paul rhetorically points out that no gift is ___________
12:31 transitions to the more excellent way of true _______________
13:1-3 – Without _________, even prestigious spiritual gifts are worthless or even detrimental
13:4-7 – This is a ____________description of love because they lacked in all of them
13:8-13 – Love is ____________to gifts because it never fails and demonstrates true spirituality.
1 Cor. 14 – Paul __________prophecy which is used to edify with the gift of tongues which was used selfishly
Figuring Out & Using Your Spiritual Gift(s)
God gifts every Christian to __________Him, our quest is to find out how He will do that through us
The Spiritual Gifts Inventory can indicate current comfortable areas of ____________interest
____________ministries to see how God may use you in it – including those outside your comfort zone
Evaluate whether ________are being built up in Christ by it – that is the evidence of God at work through you
Have ____________Christians evaluate whether God is using you in that ministry
The same spiritual gift can be used in a wide ____________of ministries, so don’t be afraid to try them out
The purpose of all spiritual gifts, ministries & empowerment for them is to glorify God & _________the body
Spiritual gifts & the one another commands overlap with the gifted enabling ________to mature in those areas
_______the Opportunity Sheet & give prayerful consideration to what God would have you do in serving Him
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Count how many times the word “gift” is said. 2) Discuss with your parents what you learned today about spiritual gifts and ministry.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. How does a healthy church provide the context for Christians to serve the Lord and one another in keeping with God’s commands? How do such churches define success? How do churches following business models define success? According to Ephesians 2:10, what is a purpose of your salvation? Is salvation a fire insurance policy against Hell or something more? Explain. Concerning Romans 12:1-8: What does it mean to be a living sacrifice? What does it mean to have sound thinking about yourself ? What is the main point of the body analogy for the church? Why is proper use of a spiritual gift more important than the gift itself? Who does God give to the church to equip the saints for the work of ministry? Who then is to do the work of ministry? How does increasing maturity in a church protect it? Why is Christian love essential to spiritual maturity? Were the Corinthians spiritually mature? Explain. What is the origin of all spiritual gifts, ministries and empowerment? What gifts are a manifestation of the Spirit? Why do the lists of spiritual gifts vary so much from each other? What conclusions can you make from this? What do the gifts listed in 1 Cor. 12:8-10 have in common with each other that Paul is correcting? What is the importance of the Spirit baptizing each believer into the body of Christ? Why is it absurd for anyone to think he or his gift is superior to others in the body? Why should honor be given to the member which lacks it (vs. 24-27)? How do the lists of gifts in 1 Cor. 12:8-10 & 12:28 differ from each other? Why are spiritual gifts used without love worthless or even detrimental? How is love superior to spiritual gifts? Why does Paul contrast prophecy with speaking in tongues in 1 Cor. 14? How can you figure out your spiritual gift(s) and what ministries you should be involved? How do you think the Lord has gifted you? How are you serving Him?
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