The gifts of God (February 7, 2010)
By Rev. Steve Bagnall

In today’s Epistle Paul gives instructions about miraculous spiritual gifts that accompanied the Apostles’ preaching in the early days of the Church. You see, some of the people in Corinth were given the gift of speaking in tongues, that is, they received the miraculous ability to speak in languages they had never learned.

The gifts seem to have been the Holy Spirit’s stamp of approval. By giving the same gift He gave the Apostles on Pentecost the Holy Spirit was confirming the truth of the preaching in Corinth

But here Paul needs to remind the people that the gift isn’t about the recipient, and it certainly wasn’t only for the recipient’s benefit. The gifts of God were for the edification – that means “building up” – for the building up of the Church and the whole people of God.

Some of the Corinthians saw their gift as a chance to make themselves look extra holy – to lift their own standing in the congregation, or to use just for their own benefit. They were thinking and acting like individuals. Paul reminds them that a Christian is never only an individual – he or she is part of the family, part of the body of Christ.

The people of Corinth asked God for these miraculous gifts. You, too, ask God for many things. That’s good. God given us His powerful name so that we will call upon it in every trouble and need. And He answers us in countless ways. All we have and all we are come from God alone. We are the result of God’s merciful care and love.

So ask God – at all times pray, praise and give thanks. But do ask yourself this question – “Why are you asking for the things you request? Whom will they benefit? How?

God desires that you ask for the things you need in your life, your daily bread, so part of the answer should be, “I pray for me.” But is that all, or even mostly all? Do you mainly want for you? Or for others? For the Church? For all?

And let’s take that a step further. For whom do you live? First, of course, for God, but in this world. For whose benefit? Your own? Your family only? For whom is your life poured out.

Paul’s cautions us against receiving God’s gifts as individuals only, thinking that what I have is mine. We Christians have been called out of that selfish, worldly mindset. We’re freed to live more nobly, more completely. We’re freed from sin so we can have the blessed opportunity to live like Christ Jesus.

As Paul writes to the Philippian church , “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, . . . made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant. . . . He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)

The true Godly life is a life lived for others, a life of service and self sacrifice. It’s a life where we are much more than individuals, where we see the gifts of God not as personal possessions but as His love for all, blessings that we are privileged to deliver to one another.

At first this may seem foolish and naïve and our sinful mind wants to reject it immediately – out of fear and pride. But consider this. Most of us spend a great deal of time searching for that one person to spend life with. Those who have this blessing know how wonderful it is, and those who seek it know how separate we can feel when we’re alone. Even those who are blessed to feel complete without a companion know the desire for friends, for a family, for a church home.

We Americans believe strongly in individual responsibility and individual freedom and individual rights – and I do too. But we also all know deep inside that we humans are made to be part of something larger – a family, a tribe, a team, a nation. That’s how God made us, to be in relationship with Him and one another. Sin separates us, and we see and feel that effect in our lives and in our hearts.

So we see that this life of self-giving, that seemed so alien to us at first, is really, deep down, what we are made for. It is the return to perfection. In this kind of life we find real contentment and joy. To be free is to be like Jesus.

But we are not. Our lives are marked by selfishness in how we use our money and time, in how our words speak about others, how our minds think about others, how our hearts feel about others. God’s Word and Spirit call us to greater unity with Him and one another, but our sinful selves instead lead us to retreat, to hide away our goods and our hearts.

We need a life of perfect love. We have one – the only one. We have that life of Christ, lived from conception to and through resurrection only and always for others, giving all He had, His goods, His desires, His blood, His life, all for the sake of sinners, all for me, all for you. We have a perfect and self-giving life. It is Jesus’ to exchange for yours. He took your sins and ended them on the cross. He gives His perfect life to forgive you, to cleanse you, to transform you.

He has made you one with Him, and us one with one another. We can leave behind our selfish me-first attitudes. By His Spirit let’s move forward together, every day exploring this wonderful freedom of “us” together as one, together in Him.  Amen