At first our spiritual gifts might be rather foreign to us as a Christian at the early stage. But as we “open the gifts” (by utilizing them) we see they have three overall purposes—even for the primitive or new Christian.
The first purpose is found in Romans 12:1. It is to worship God. “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
Paul notes in the next the next few verses that in that this “spiritual act of worship” is accomplished through the function of our spiritual gifts. They are given to us, and we use them to WORSHIP the Lord.
“Worship” means to lift up God; to promote Him; to do what advances His reputation. We commonly think of worship as singing in church. But whether in singing or in the proper function of our spiritual gifts we promote the Lord Jesus Christ. Since giving glory to the Son has always been the primary ministry of the Holy Spirit - never to promote Himself but to honor the Son - it is only natural and appropriate that the first purpose of our spiritual gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit is to worship Him.
The second purpose of our spiritual gifts is CHANGE. It is explained in Ephesians 4:11-13.
“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, until (to the extent that) we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
As the Holy Spirit challenges and prods us to engage our spiritual gifts, we mature. Through their use we change. Maturity lies at the very heart of the Holy Spirit’s ministry to us. We are to grow, mature, advance in faith and change for the better. While it is possible to be passive and experience change, so much more dynamic and powerful is the change when we actively participate. The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts so that by their use we mature. By examining what we hold as life’s values we can measure our journey toward maturity.
Marylyn worked as an assistant manager in an insurance office. She worked hard, both in business and at home. When she was first divorced, she was overwhelmed by the double duty as a single parent to raise her daughter alone. SURVIVAL was all she could think about. Every day was a struggle. But when she started going to the church’s singles ministry she felt welcomed and supported as new friends reached out to help her.
As she realized she wasn’t alone, SURVIVAL mentality changed. She journeyed from a ME orientation to feel like she belonged to a group. As one of US, she soon volunteered in the church’s outreach events. It wasn’t about mere survival anymore. It was working with others to make a CONTRIBUTION.
It didn’t take long for her to kindly suggest some improvements in the organization of the ministry. Within a year she was the ministry’s lay director. Under Marylyn’s leadership she and the other leaders began teaching seminars at church conferences on successful singles’ ministry platforms. Her team volunteered their giftedness, experience and expertise even when it didn’t benefit them or their own local church ministry. She found herself speaking to larger and larger groups about the ministry, and entertained going into full time ministry herself for the sake of training others. She journeyed from ME to US to YOU. She was a leading INFLUENCE in shaping the world. By getting involved, she used her spiritual gifts, contributed to the needs of the body to equip those like her to change the world. She matured in a way that could be seen and measured.
Not surprising then that the third purpose of spiritual gifts is SERVICE. It is an aspect of maturity. Service to others is clearly stated as an overall purpose in 1 Corinthians 12.
The Corinthian church was a troubled church—they did everything wrong. They were full of zeal, but way off base. They were allowing gross and public sin to continue unchecked; their leadership was divided; there were apparently two men who were once in a Christian business together, now suing each other; their worship service was chaotic, full of confusion, not reflecting the Character of God, and therefore not honoring to God. It was a church speeding straight for a brick wall. Before they splattered their spiritual life all over the road, Paul wrote to arrest them.
Regarding the use of their spiritual gifts, he first confirms that they have received spiritual gifts, as have all Christians. But then Paul gives an overall governing principle for the use of these gifts. Two passages convey this same principle.
1 Corinthians 12:7
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
1 Corinthians 14:12
“Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the body.”
Notice again the phenomenon (which is another way to translate the Greek word for “manifestation”[1]) of the Spirit is given to each one—every individual is given some manifestation of the Spirit.
Now note carefully, the use of spiritual gifts is not primarily for the good of the one who possesses the gift, but for the common good. It isn’t for you to take and hide in your closet, or use while alone in your bedroom, but to be used out here—in the open; with others. The spiritual gifts are given to everyone individually, but for the good of everyone corporately. Inherent in the gifts is a transition from a ME orientation to an US and even YOU mindset.
Wouldn’t the following conversation be strange?
Primitive Believer: “The Lord has made it clear to me that I have the gift of teaching.”
Christian Ed Director: “Oh, that’s great. We could really use some help in our Sunday school classes. Would you consider going through our training program so you can teach in a Sunday school next quarter?”
Primitive: “No, not interested. You see, the Lord gave my gift so I can teach myself.”
If you think you have the gift of prayer, it is not so that you only pray for yourself, but for others. All spiritual gifts are given for the good of the body. They are not for ME, but for US and YOU.
By the time I had met Walt he had been retired for years. He had served the church well as a deacon fixing about every part of the church as they broke over the years. But now he frequently felt the aches and pains from years of labor. He continued to serve on the Missions Committee, but felt like his role making repairs would be best done by younger men. He only wondered briefly what the Lord would have him do, for he had always been burdened to pray more.
Walt invited a few friends to join him early Sunday morning and pray. Soon others were invited, and still others. After a couple of months there were consistently over 20 people meeting every Sunday morning to pray for the church, for the service, and for their missionaries. Although in his age Walt lost his ability to do physical things, the Lord developed and blessed his spiritual gift of prayer and encouragement.
Although the changes through aging may prevent us from utilizing many abilities, we don’t lose our spiritual gifts. Their purposes can still be fulfilled—we can still worship God, we can still mature and grow, and we can still serve others.
[1]The word “manifestation” is the Greek word didotai. Gordon Fee explains that this is a disclosure, not so much of the gifts themselves, but of God to the church community by the distribution of the gifts directed by the Holy Spirit. See New International Commentary of the New Testament, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987, p. 589, and footnote 30.
