{"id":2147,"date":"2018-10-21T12:05:09","date_gmt":"2018-10-21T12:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/?p=2147"},"modified":"2018-10-21T12:05:16","modified_gmt":"2018-10-21T12:05:16","slug":"body-gifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/?p=2147","title":{"rendered":"Body Gifts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Selections from I Corinthians 12<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many years ago, Kathy decided that our church in Houston, which had not had a Vacation Bible School for many years, needed to have one. We had a small daughter of the age to go to VBS, and Kathy wanted her to have the experience she had as a child. Therefore, she organized the first VBS in our church in about a decade. She discovered she had the gift of leadership.\u00a0\u00a0About five years ago, she went to a Missions Conference and learned about a disciple-making program. She came home, began what is now Salt & Light, and discovered that she has the gift of evangelism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than forty years ago, a young associate pastor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a person recognized to be on the fast-track to a large church, began an evangelism program. Another Presbytery found out about the program. The other Presbytery asked him to found a new church in Memphis, Tennessee. He went and the church grew. My friend didn\u2019t know that he had the gift of apostleship, but he did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have a dear friend who, after years of Bible study, growing up in a Christian home, marrying a Christian husband, and raising a family, began to pray for people to be healed. Interestingly, a significant number of those people experienced healing. My friend discovered she had the gift of healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after the Second World War, a young soldier came home. After a few years, he began his own business. Over time, the business was able to support his family. He gave to the local church. He participated in stewardship, building campaigns, and other projects. When his church created something like our Family Ministry Center, he was a contributor. The choir of the inner city ministry sang at this funeral. He didn\u2019t know it, but he had the gift of generosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This morning, we are talking about spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are important to the Christian life, and it\u2019s important for us to have a handle on our spiritual giftedness.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Text and Prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Corinthians is one of the earlier letters of Paul. The Corinthian church was wealthy and charismatic. It was also undisciplined, self-centered, and unspiritual. Paul wrote\u00a0First Corinthians to instruct the church how to overcome some of its problems, including the misuse of spiritual gifts.\u00a0\u00a0First Corinthiansis a great text for churches in America, because we too are often wealthy and gifted, but self-centered and unspiritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our text is from chapter 12. I\u2019m not going to transcribe all of it, but only those portions that are pertinent to begin this blog. Hear the word of God as it comes to us through the Apostle Paul:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now about the gifts of the Spirit,\u00a0brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.\u00a0\u2026\u00a0<\/sup>There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit\u00a0distributes them.\u00a0There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.\u00a0There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone\u00a0it is the same God\u00a0at work.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom,\u00a0to another a message of knowledge\u00a0by means of the same Spirit,\u00a0to another faith\u00a0by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing\u00a0by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers,\u00a0to another prophecy,\u00a0to another distinguishing between spirits,\u00a0to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.\u00a0All these are the work of one and the same Spirit,\u00a0and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body,\u00a0so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized\u00a0byone Spirit\u00a0so as to form one body\u2014whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free\u2014and we were all given the one Spirit to drink<\/strong>\u00a0(I Cor. 12:1, 4-13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us Pray:\u00a0Eternal God, we thank you for the Spirit of Jesus that comes to us to save us, to perfect us, and to give us every perfect gift we need for the Christian life. Please come to us this morning and allow us to become ever more faithful children of the Father. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.<\/em>
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The Giver of the Gifts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to understand spiritual gifts, we should spend a few moments remembering that spiritual gifts are gifts of God. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, sent by the God the Father through God the Son. In other words, the Spirit is God present with us. The Spirit is not something sent from God or an emanation from God; it\u2019s God. The Spirit of God has always existed. It was brooding over the face of the deep before the world was created (Genesis 1:2) The Holy Spirit is the same spirit that inspired the Moses to write the Law, the Prophets to speak words of warning to people, David to be a good and faithful king, and Jesus to be born of Mary and to live his sinless life.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Secondly, in\u00a0First John we also learn that God is love (I John 4:8).\u00a0\u00a0The word used is \u201cAgape.\u201d In other words, the Spirit is the unselfish, self-giving love that Christ showed on the cross, the same love that is faithful and redeems his people even when they do not deserve his love. This is important! God is love and always works for the benefit and best interests of others. Therefore, we can be sure that the Holy Spirit always works for the best interest of God\u2019s people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\u00a0First John we learn that God is light (I John 1:5). In other words, God is full, complete and perfect wisdom, the same supernatural wisdom through which he created the heavens and the earth and by which all things are sustained even until today. Because the Spirit is the Spirit of the creator God, we can be sure that the spirit always works in wisdom and never works in confusion, over-emotionality, or self-centered behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We demean the Spirit if we make of the Spirit just a power, as people sometimes do. The Holy Spirit is powerful, but it\u2019s much more than power. The Spirit is the wholeness of God come to be with us, save us, perfect us, and empower us. Just as the Father and the Son are persons, the Spirit is the personal presence of God with us..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gifts of the Giver<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The precise gifts of the Spirit are another area in which there is often misunderstanding. In Romans 12, in First Corinthian\u2019s 12, and in Ephesians 4, there are lists of gifts of the Spirit. In various other books of the Bible there are references to gifts being given to the people of God (See for example, Exodus 31:1-6 and First Peter 4:10-11). Interestingly, the lists are completely not identical. In other words, all of the lists represent major some of the gifts given by the Holy Spirit. No list is exhaustive. There are gifts that some people recognize that are not listed. For example, the supernatural ability to create worship music or art in worship is a gift, but it\u2019s not in any of the lists.\u00a0[1]\u00a0<\/a>God gives many different\u00a0to his people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This morning I want to look at some of the major gifts our members might have found in today\u2019s passage and affirmed in other places in Scripture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n