Jordan Byrd
Ordered - Serve the need however God’s gifted you (1 Corinthians 12)
If you’ve ever had this cereal with marshmallows in it, you know the temptation is to pick and eat the marshmallows, and not the oat cereal. The taste and colors of the marshmallows can be more appealing than the more bland looking and tasting oat cereal. If we pull out just the marshmallows, we end up loosing most of the nutrients available in the box of cereal: the whole grains, vitamins, and protein. We’re tempted to see the marshmallows as the more important than the oat cereal. While the marshmallows could be eaten and enjoyed by themself, the oat cereal enhances the cereal nutritionally. The oat cereal and the marshmallows can be enjoyed separately, but each is enhanced when eaten together.
My wife Julia works Monday afternoons, and doesn’t usually get home until after our typical family dinner time. Julia is a way better cook than me. She can make almost anything from scratch. She knows how long to cook dishes. She knows how to prepare foods better than me. She knows the tips and tricks that good cooks and bakers know. Julia is gifted in cooking and baking, and I am not. So, it’s either going to be cereal for dinner, or, I wait until she gets home from work, so she can cook dinner. I am not gifted in cooking and baking, so I usually make our kids wait an hour longer than usual, so that Julia, the gifted cook and baker can make dinner, after she’s worked all afternoon.
I’m not gifted in leadership. I’m not gifted in administration. I’m not gifted in handling kids. I’m not gifted in speaking. I’m not gifted in singing. I’m not gifted in teaching. I’m not gifted in maintenance. We’re shaped to believe that certain tasks and needs can only be met by people – gifted to address those tasks and needs. Our world is filled with needs that go unserved because of this belief. Our world is filled with unmet needs, because we are tempted and deceived into believing that needs can only be met by gifted people – by people better, more natural at meeting those needs. We’re tempted and deceived to believe that we can’t meet a need, if we’re not gifted a certain way.
In 1 Corinthians 12, God’s word reveals a different perspective. God’s word reveals a different belief. In 1 Corinthians 12, we encounter that God can meet the needs around us through any person, regardless of how we’re gifted – regardless of how God’s gifted us. First Corinthians 12 shows that the need is more important than a person’s gifting. First Corinthians 12 shows that God can meet needs through any kind of contribution – through any kind of service. First Corinthians 12 highlights that: Needs are met by service; and service is enhanced by gifting.
First Corinthians 12 highlights that willingness to serve is more important than one’s gifting. We see this in the life of Jesus. Jesus was indeed enhanced in ability by his divine nature. But, he first lived out of a willingness to serve, before reaching for his enhanced abilities. We see this in Philippians 2:5-7, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of servant…..” (Philippians 2:5-7)
The good news of 1 Corinthians 12 is two fold: the first aspect of good news is that God doesn’t need us to be gifted a certain way for him to meet needs around us. God simply needs us to be willing to serve. The second aspect of good news is that God has uniquely gifted each of his followers to support and enhance our service to needs around us.
In 1 Corinthians 12, God’s word calls us to respond to this good news by serving the need however God’s gifted you. Serve the need however God’s gifted you.
Paul’s letter to the first-century church in Corinth is overall addressing an issue of disunity among the followers of Jesus in Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 11, we reflected on disunity as a result of wealthy followers of Jesus excluding poor followers of Jesus when they gathered for workship and remembered the broken body and shed blood of Jesus during the Lord’s Supper (or what we more normally call, communion).
Here, in 1 Corinthians 12, we see a disunity among the Corinthian followers of Jesus, based on comparison of spiritual gifts given to the members of the church from God. There is a sense in which certain spiritual giftings – certain manifestations of God’s presence in the life of believers is viewed as better than others.
Overall, Paul is addressing a temptation the Corinthian believers have to believe that certain giftings are more important or better than others. To correct this false belief that certain manifestations of God’s presence – that certain spiritual giftings – are better than others by bringing the Corinthian followers of Jesus back to the source of the issue. Paul is calling them to remember what these manifestations of God’s Spirit are in the first place. They are gifts; and gifts from God. They are freely given by God. They are not earned by believers. They are not hand-picked by believers from a heavenly prize-box. They are gifted according to God’s: goodness, good will, and wisdom. And as gifts, they are not something that can be flaunted over another’s gifts. Because no believer had anything to do with the gift they received. There is nothing of a believer’s doing to rightly flex their gift as more important than another’s gift.
In 12:1-3, Paul re-grounds the Corinthian followers of Jesus in Jesus. Paul presents this contrast of what is of the Spirit of Jesus; and what is not of the Spirit of Jesus. And what Paul highlights by the Corinthians attitude about their spiritual gifts, is that they’re being tempted and deceived by a spirit other than Jesus. The evidence of this is their boasting about their unearned gifts – as this does not reflect a life surrendered to Jesus as Lord – surrendered to Jesus as the authority over all things, especially the gifts he gave to individuals believers. It’s hard to say, let alone, live with Jesus as your Lord, when you’re acting like a lord yourself toward others. “This boasting does not reflect the way of our Lord Jesus.”
In 12:4-11, Paul expands this thought to highlight the reason for follower of Jesus being given different gifts from God. We can see this in 12:6-7, that: The reason for the gifts is so that God’s work can be diversely expressed through his followers for the common good.
To this, Paul brings his thought back to the disunity of the Corinthian church. In 12:4-11, Paul highlights how the gifts are uniquely different, and how they’re dispersed among the people of God’s church, and how they’re designed to function together, and not superior to one another.
Paul highlights the diverse interdependence of the spiritual gifts. The gifts God gives are diverse. Not all are given the same gift. Rather, one is given wisdom, another knowledge, another faith, and many others. Based on other lists of spiritual gifts that Paul lists in other letters in the Bible, this is not necessarily an exhaustive list of gifts that God gives to believers. But, they give a sens of the diversity of God’s enhancing gifts. Not all thave the same gift, but each gift functions together as a conduit for God’s work to be made know in the world.
This past week, my kids created a playdough character with multiple eyes and ears. This visually illustrates Paul’s analogy in 12:17-20, “If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?” … “If they were all one part, where would the body be?” (1 Corinthians 12:17, 19)
If everyone was gifted similar, we would be absent of a lot of aspects of God’s Spiritual presence among us. We might have a lot of knowledge, but lack Spiritual wisdom to use that knowledge. Or, we might have a lot of prophetic truth, without Spiritual faith to live into it. The body of Christ, would look a lot like the playdough figure my kids made. Collectively, the gifts enhance God’s mission to redeem the world from death to abundant life – from separation from God’s presence, to experience of God’s presence. And this experience happens, when God’s gifts are lived-out in community – in the life of the church. Together, there is an interdependence of believer’s giftings – to make God’s life, revealed in Jesus, known more fully to the world.
In 12:12-31, Paul uses the imagery of the body to illustrate the diverse interdependence of the spiritual gifts operation within the community of Jesus followers. The body is a singular unit of diverse parts operating in relation to each other. The body is a living illustration of diverse interdependence. Head moving left or right, so that he eyes can see further. Core muscles contracting to lean down and raise back up. According to my chiropractor, there are little to no muscles in fingers, so, the fingers are dependent on arm muscles. Each part has a distinct function, but each is internally connected to other functions. And as a whole, function as a human body.
I’ve been continuing to deal with some back pain over the past many months. As I’ve been learning how to stretch and build-up the muscles that are causing the pain, I’m noticing more and more, how interconnected the parts of my body are. The pain in my back is connected to core muscles on the front of my body. Pain in my back is connected to muscles on the side of my hip. Pain in my back is connected to hamstrings on my legs. Pain in my back is connected to a lot more than just one muscle. Rather, when one part is suffering, the others respond to the pain as well. Causing me to lean to one sid or the other. Causing my foot to bear more weight. Causing my arm to reach back for my back – to hold it. Causing my brain to focus on the pain. Etc. Etc. Etc. The interesting thing about this response to the pain in my back, is that while the pain may be in my back, my other body parts respond to the need for pain relief in their the way they can, EVEN IF THEY AREN’T MEETING ACTUAL PAINED AREA. my other body parts serve the need however they can. They serve the need however they’re gifted. They serve the need however they’re gifted.
Paul references this in 12:26, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:26)
Paul has distinguished that each follower of Jesus is gifted a unique spiritual gifting, and he also distinguished that, although uniquely gifted, the gifts support each other. But, what 12:26 highlights, is that: Spiritual gifts aren’t ordered from important to unimportant. Rther, spiritual gifts are ordered to address whatever need is present. Even, if that need isn’t directly addressed by a specific gift. The important reality is that each person’s willingness to serve the need, will result in the various giftings supporting each other to meet the need. The various giftings aren’t needed to address the need, but they enhance how the need is met.
If you cut your finger, the applied pressure from your other hand to the cut, is probably the most gifted and enhanced action that can stop the bleeding. But do the other parts of the body do nothing in that moment. No. They all respond as they’re able, regardless of having the most direct impact to the wound. The same is true with the body of Christ. Every need my be more directly served by one person’s gifting. But every person can still serve the need, and allow they’re gifting to lift-up other’s giftings in that moment of need. We can serve the need however God’s gifted us – directly or indirectly.
Earlier, I told you that on Mondays, I wait until my wife, Julia, gets home from work, so she can cook dinner. Actually, that’s not what I do. It is true that she is gifted in cooking and baking, more than me. But, even though she is more gifted at cooking and baking, doesn’t mean that I can’t serve the need of my kids hunger with the gifting I do have. My gifting may not be in cooking and baking, but, my willingness to serve the need is more important than how well I get it done. My kids may eat a basic dinner some Mondays, but they eat. But, on the nights when Julia does cook and bake, those meals are all the more betters because her gifting to cook and bake enhances the meal. God has gifted me with other abilities. And I try to use those to the benefit of our family as well. But, my gifting or Julia’s gifting isn’t more important than willingness to serve the need that arises.
We initiate serving needs all the time, regardless if we’re gifted for them or not. We’ve been trying to figure out how to trim a tree that overshades our driveway. The best way to trim it would be to hire someone with lots of equipment. The need would be met, and in an enhanced and empowered way. But, when we don’t have the money for access to that enhanced method of tree trimming, we will sought to meet the need, with what we already have available. So, through some borrowed tools, and a lot of sore muscles, and anxiety about not falling off a ladder the tree is trimmed. Because the need was more important than the gifting. The gifting would definitely make it easier. But the willingness to address the need, with what we had, was what ultimately mattered. In the end, the tools of others enhanced our limited abilities to trim the tree. And that’s what the spiritual gifts would do. They aren’t needed to start serving the needs, but they are needed to support and collectively finish meeting the need.
What needs are you aware of right now? And what is your reaction to those needs? Is it a reaction of something like, I’m not gifted in leadership. I’m not gifted in administration. I’m not gifted in handling kids. I’m not gifted in speaking. I’m not gifted in singing. I’m not gifted in teaching. I’m not gifted in maintenance. While those gifts would definitely make addressing a need easier, and with less effort, it doesn’t mean that God can meet the need with just your willingness to serve as you’re able. That is more important. It’s more important, because it’s the underlying motivation for how Jesus lived. It also doesn’t mean that God can’t incorporate the gift he’s given you to help meet the need as well.
Often our imaginations are narrow on how God could incorporate our administrative skills into children’s ministry. Or how God could incorporate our maintenance skills in leadership. Or how God could incorporate our limited knowledge in teaching. Or how God could incorporate our lack of mobility with discipling others to follow Jesus. The spiritual gifting you and I have, is a gift from God. It’s his to do with as he directs. We don’t control the gift we’re given, but we do control our willingness to serve however we’ve been gifted. Serve the need however God’s gifted you.
Be part of the work that God is doing to redeem and renew the world.
Today, if you’ve never surrendered you’re life to God, by placing faith in Jesus, I invite you to step that abundant life. The abundant life of God, who is already seeking to meet the needs of the world through the service of his people, and the supernatural giftings, he’s blessed us with. Be part of the work that God is doing to redeem and renew the world. Please reach out to me, or another trusted follower of Jesus, to help discern taking a step of faith toward life in Jesus, being united to the life of Jesus, through faith, under the water of baptism.
What need has God positioned you to serve right now?
If you’ve already surrendered your life to God through faith in Jesus, what needs has God positioned you near right now? What needs is God calling you to serve however you’ve been gifted?
Some practical places to consider this are: the areas of service still needed for the upcoming Kids Summer Extravaganza – An MC, Kids group leaders and helpers, and game guide. You might be believing, I’m not gifted to guide kids to abundant life in Jesus. And you may be right, that may not be your gifting. But, you are in a position to serve the need somehow, however you’ve been gifted by God. If this is you: will you trust that God can use your gifting or lack of gifting in a specific area to help guide kids to abundant life in Jesus during the Kids Summer Extravaganza, or Little Impact with the PreK-1st graders each Sunday, or Big Impact 1st-5th graders each Sunday, or youth group activities, or Mountainview Christian Camp staff, or help with an overwhelmed mom or dad each Sunday or during the week.
Another practical place to consider this is, in helping to clean the CCC building before the Kids Summer Extravaganza. You might be believing, I’m not gifted in cleaning. And you may be right, but, you are in a position to serve the need somehow, however you’ve been gifted. Will you trust that God can use your gifting or lack of gifting in a specific area to help care for, and steward the building God has entrusted to our care for worship and witness to our community?
Some other practical ways to consider this are in serving the need for: apprentices to be the next financial secretary of CCC, or next treasurer of CCC, or next Trustee, or next Elder, or maybe next staff person, or maybe next mission partner advocate.
What need has God positioned you to serve right now? And how is God calling you to serve the need however God’s gifted you? Serve the need however God’s gifted you.