Pentecost | 1 Corinthians 12:3-13

1 The Spirit Gives Salvation (3)

Our world is eternally searching for one thing in everything. Everyone you know and interact with on a daily basis is looking for one thing – the same thing as you and me, and they will look for it in everything and anything. Sometimes something will provide it for a moment, and then, as time passes and the comfort it offers grows, it slowly disappears, and we begin the journey again. We are united in our looking and often lost in our wondering, that is, until we find our rest on a firm foundation. When we are in that searching stage, it often feels like we are moving and making progress; it might even feel like we can do it on our own strength in those moments that we think we have arrived, and then we get hit by the unseen or unexpected. We feel as hopeless as we did before – even if we don’t want to admit it.

1.1 The Fulfilment of What was Foretold

The beauty of Pentecost is that it marks the day that searching has ended because Salvation has come, and that is what Paul is getting at right at the beginning of our passage today! What is it we are all searching for, even if we don’t realise it – Identity, purpose and peace. In a world that shakes, we move through it looking for something solid. Pentecost marks the day that peace can truly be known by all people, not peace in the passive sense of a lack of conflict, but peace in the active sense, in an eternally secure foundation, and a life full of purpose that has eternal significance. Yet, what makes it even more profound here is the beauty of what Paul points out here – it is the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the people of God that makes the secure foundation of Salvation possible for each of us. There is beauty in the truth that Paul points out here, but there is also a warning; do you notice it, JB Philips puts it helpfully?

” Now I want you to understand, as Christians, that no one speaking by the Spirit of God could call Jesus accursed, and no one could say that he is the Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.”

Three truths from one Sentence and all are as a reality of the presence of (or lack) of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. Truth one: If the Holy Spirit is present in the life of an individual, then they will never be one to curse Jesus. Meaning if someone claims to be a follower of Jesus, and they speak of Jesus in a way that is anathema, literally hated, avoided, or empty – then they are not walking with God because the Spirit would not allow such things to flow from our heart. Thus, the way someone speaks about the Son of God and the people of God is evidence of God’s presence in their lives. Our lives are evidence of what our hearts beat for. Now, that is not to say that we have to be perfect, or that if we express doubts about Jesus, it is a sign of a lack of the Spirit; it’s something deeper. The second truth that we are reminded of as an outworking of the Spirit is that wonderful reality – it is the Spirit of God who makes real in us this gift of Salvation: Jesus made a relationship with God possible because of his work on the Cross, and the Spirit coming at Pentecost is what makes our relationship with God real in our hearts and lives, and sustains it. Pentecost is the moment salvation becomes possible, and is the sign that salvation has been recieved by faith in the life of a disciple as the fulfilment of what the prophet Joel spoke so beautifully about:

” I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions…. There will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

1.2 Salvation and the Holy Spirit

The coming of the Spirit and Salvation are something that go hand in hand. On this Pentecost Sunday, we don’t just celebrate the birth of the Church, we give thanks that what Christ began on the Cross, the Spirit has realised in our lives by faith through Grace. We can’t miss that point – no one can call upon the name of the Lord without the Spirit of God. We cannot know the Beauty of Salvation without being filled with the Holy Spirit, and we cannot know salvation without the Spirit of God working in our lives to enable us to respond to what God is offering. “No one can call Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit,” is the simple reminder that without the help of God, we cannot even know the Grace of God in our lives – that is how helpless we are.

That brings us to the final truth that both the positive and the negative teach us here: we cannot know the wonder of life with God without the presence of God in our lives. To put it another way, even the very gift of being Able to declare Jesus as Lord and know the beauty of the forgiveness of sin in our lives is a gift of Grace. There is nothing of us in salvation “no one could say that he is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit,” means that there is none of us in the fact that we can respond to God’s offer of Grace by faith, its not because we are somehow wiser than someone else, or have a better morality that allows us to responds, its not because we where born of the right tribe, or that God has been pleased wiht how we have lived up until that point: Forgiveness comes by Grace through Faith, and it is by Grace that God enables us to have faith by the work of the Holy Spirt to enable our hearts to receive him, and our minds to know him, and our lives to show him. Thus, if there is nothing of us in Salvation, no wisdom in our choice and no fruit from our effort and we can grasp and delight in this, we see just how beautiful Grace is for us, and how humbling it is when we go into the world to do the work of God because if our own coming to faith is a gift of Grace, then fruit on the mission field will come from the work of the Spirit, not from our effort. Why is it important to remember that our very Salvation is a gift of Grace? It keeps us humble and grounded before God. With one another, the Holy Spirit might come upon us individually to enable our hearts to receive salvation. Still, he brings us together as the Body for our life together, in our call to mission together, and, remembering that we have no effect in our walk with God, helps us walk well with God in life and mission together. The Spirit of God does not just give salvation to the individual; he gives life to the church, making his life known in the world by uniting saved individuals under Christ.

2 The Spirit Gives Life to the Church (4-6)

Do you notice how, when it comes to the Holy Spirit, Paul moves quickly from the individual to the body and its life and mission? We live in a world that is so individualistic, we are obsessed with ourselves, our preferences, and our own desires – even when it comes to matters of faith. Yet, when it comes to the Holy Spirit and what the Bible teaches us about his presence in our lives, it is more often than not taught from the perspective of the benefit and good of the wider body and our life and mission together. Here is no different, notice how Paul teaches that it is only by the Holy Spirit that the individual can declare Jesus as Lord, and then immediately goes on to teach about the life the Spirit gives to the church, but the unity that comes from the Spirit.

2.1 Nothing of Us in the Work of the Kingdom

We do not give life to the church, or make the church alive by our efforts or schemes, or desires; we don’t even really get to define what the church looks like or does. All life comes from the Holy Spirit of God, who brings us together, places us in our roles, and then moves us along the road towards the purposes and plans God has for us. The Spirit is our life, power, purpose, and unity, even though there will be differences in the Body of Christ. Difference is not disunity; it is simply the Spirit using us as God has made us and empowering us in unique ways for our common life together in worship and mission. None of us is gifted in the Kingdom of God in the same way, but we have unity because it is the same Holy Spirit that gives life to these gifts in each of us. Additionally, all of us will serve in different ways, but that does not mean some are more important than others, nor better. It is simply an outworking of our gifts, because different gifts will be used in different ways: we use a hammer to drive nails in and take them out, but it would be stupid to try to put a screw in place with the hammer.

2.2 Life In the Body

Life in the body is no different; some will be gifted to preach, teach, in hospitality, and evangelism; and God has given those gifts for his common purpose, thus it would be stupid after a few months to think that the person who hates public speaking but loves welcoming people needs to spend a few months teaching and preaching just because. The Spirit gives us the gifts and then moves us into the place to use them for the good of the body and for God’s mission. Thus, “there are different ways of serving God, but it is the same Lord who is served” Our unity is not by doing the same things in service, nor moving between roles, but in the one we serve and by the Spirit we are empowered. Why? Because we might be different in gifts and roles, but in our unity, it is one cause as God works in us and through us to achieve his purposes, and that is what verse 6 means when it concludes: “There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” We might confess Christ as Lord as a gift of Grace as an individual, but our true life is found in the life of the Spirit together. Thus, in any church, the minister might preach, and others might welcome or serve in the administrative background, but “in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”

2.3 The Same God At Work

Even though some will have different roles with different responsibilities and different levels of visibility, in the end, it is all “the same God at work” and from the gifts that “the same spirit distributes” among each of us as we ”Serve the same lord.” God gives us the gift of Salvation by the coming of the Spirit in Pentecost that we might join in his body that is the church and our life and purpose together – to make known the Lordship of Christ! Pentecost is not just a day when something begins, it is the very essence of what the church is called to in the everyday and our normal – Pentecost is our ongoing life together to make known the Lordship of Christ where God has placed us. Think about it: the Spirit came upon those gathered in the upper room, and what happened? Did they stay for a while to think about what had happened? No, they were immediately moved out into the streets by the Spirit to make known what Pentecost had begun. We are called not just to give thanks for the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, but to continue to live out the call and way of Pentecost each day wherever God has placed us in our lives together. Salvation is not an idle abiding with God; it is an active living that makes our life known as God gifts us, moves us to service, and works in each of us for His glory because that is good for all people.

3 The Spirit’s Motivation (7)

3.1 That We Might Bring Glory to God

The Spirit’s motivation is the Glory of God, and that is what is good for all people. We do things in life because something has motivated us towards them, and our life in the Kingdom is no different. The Spirit does not enable us to declare Christ as Lord, nor does he give us gifts as he moves us into service without motivation. Yet, whereas our motivation can be selfish or short-sighted when it comes to choices that we might make in life, the Spirit of God is only good, and his motivation is only good. Thus, Paul brings all this together by telling us the why behind the what. That is the reason behind the Spirit gifting the individual to declare Jesus as Lord, and the gifts, service and work that come through us as the Body. Eugene Peterson paraphrases it that “Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits” as there is a unity in our gifting and the spirit at work in us, there is a unity in the motivation and the outcome, the Spirit of God is at work for the “common good” as the NIV puts it, by the manifestation (the spirit illumination and the enabling of the Holy Spirit (AMP)) we are moved towards one aim and one common Good.

3.2The Gospel Outlived in the Life of the Church

The same word is used seventeen times throughout the New Testament: better, helpful, together, benefit; and we are to get the sense not just in the unity of our gifting, but the outcome of our working; that which the Spirit gives us should bring us together for something good. The gifts the Spirits give us in our service with the body will never divide us if we use them rightly. They will show who God is, and as we get in on it, everyone in the body will benefit. That is the beauty of our life together, the Spirit gives each of us gifts, but not so that we ourselves are exalted or edified, but that all may benefit in our work in the Kingdom to the Glory of God. Thus, if we are moving in ways that are divisive, disruptive, or against the good of someone, then it may be that we are not working out of our Spiritual gifting, service or call – it may be that we are working out of our own flesh.

The Spirit gifts us for the Common Good and from that God will be glorified. At Pentecost, the Spirit came upon all the apostles. Yet, there were a few who took centre stage at that moment. Still, by the end of the day no one cared who was doing what, because all who where there benefited by being moved to repent of sin and confess Christ as Lord and then join in the work of the Kingdom, that is the common good that Paul is talking about here, and our common good is in the Glory of God.

4 How the Spirit Gives Life to the Church (8-11)

4.1 The Holy Spirit is the Life of the Church

Paul has been helping the Church in Corinth understand the outworking of Pentecost in their time and place. In a church that has become individualistic and obsessed with showing off gifts in ways that have led to disunity and elevation, Paul has reminded them that the Spirit humbles us because, without him, we cannot confess Christ as Lord and have no ability to live in the Kingdom. Furthermore, Paul reminds them that an outworking of Pentecost is a unity from our gifts because they all come from one Source – the Holy Spirit – are used to one cause – the service of God; and from them it is the same person at work in each of us – God; all to his Glory, and our common Good – that which benefits all people. Thus, the life that Pentecost brings and that we are living this day does not separate us or create disorder; it brings unity in love through service and the common good together. Thus, Paul, having established our humility from Pentecost, our unity from Pentecost, our service in the way of Pentecost, and our Pentecost aim as the Glory of God and the common good of the Body, now moves to help the church understand the different gifts that are given individually but work in unity. Like a clock that has many parts that work in unison to both keep the time and tell it, so does the body of Christ have many gifts that flow form pentecost and work in unison to keep the common good and tell of the goodness of God as Paul teaches about some of the different gifts that where given on pentecost and how they work towards the common good in the service of the Kingdom for the Glory of God.

4.2 The Beauty of Different Gifts for One Cause

Eugene Peterson phrases it that the variety is wonderful, as through the Spirit some are given:

• the ability to give wise counsel (ability to give wise advice),
• to another clear understanding (a message of knowledge),
• simple trust (the gift of faith),
• healing the sick (the gift of healing),
• miraculous acts (the power to perform miracles),
• proclamation (the ability to prophesy)
• distinguishing between spirits (discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or another Spirit),
• tongues (the ability to speak in unknown languages),
• interpretation of tongues (while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said).
  

All of theese gifts the Holy Spirit gives to the life of the Church, form pentecost and as we continue to live out pentecost cost today in our place and time for “the common good” or as the NLT puts it “a spiritual gift is given to each of us so that we can help each other” – the primary purpose of our spiritual gifting is to the benefit of the Body. At the same time, we work to the Glory of God. Pentecost is not a moment that happened two thousand years ago that we look back to wiht no relation to, it was the beginning of what we should be continuing today in our time and place; it might look different in some ways but it will be the same in essence because it is the same spirit at work in each of us who has gifted us to serve the same Lord even though he works through us in different ways individually, and even different ways contextually to other churches we can be sure it is the same God at work in us as we live out our Kingdom call together in unity and love for our common Good.

The gifts that came with Pentecost were not simple for Pentecost or an age of the church long ago; they must be for part of our life together as we recognise how God has gifted each of us differently but in unity for our service of him, as he works through us to his aims and cause, of which a fruit is goodness in our common life together. That means, as individuals, we are humbled to know that our relationship and standing with Christ are a gift of God by the Spirit. In our life together we seek to grow in the gifts, purposes, and service God has given us as we allow him to do the work through us for his purposes, and strive together in love for the common good of all in the body. We must be a people who seek in humility to practice the presence of the Spirit in our lives and service together as we continue in our Pentecost movement in this city to see others confess Christ as Lord and join our Body, all while striving to remain humble in those gifts as we intentionally serve one another so that we may help each other in pursuit of the common good. That means the words of knowledge we might seek to speak should be helpful to all; the understanding God might give us should be for the common good, not to elevate ourselves; and it means we are grounded in our humility.

4.3 All for His Glory

Think back to verse 5: God gives the church these ministries of the spirit to strengthen us so that we can accomplish his will in our place. Verses 8 to 11 are an extension of the ministries described previously as tangible acts of service toward others, as believers use their gifts. The gifts of the Spirit are never for us to boast in but to use towards our single purpose of the Glory of God and the common good of his body. All the gifts are amazing and different; some may appear more powerful or useful than others. Yet, all are given by the Spirits own wisdom to each for God’s outworking and our common good, and the good being common among us. God’s purposes being acheieved together in teh diversity of our unity or spirit and purpose is a sing that the church is alive and well.

5 A Sign of the Spirits Life in the Church: Unity (12-14)

5.1 Common Life together for the Greater Good

This is where Paul brings everything together for the church in Corinth and for us as the church today, because the Spirit who enables us to confess that Jesus is Lord is the Spirit who gives gifts, and is the Spirit who moves us into service for the common good: He is the same Spirit who makes us one body in Christ. I love how Paul says it, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ!,” Could there be a simpler illustration, yet in its simplicity deeply challenging because we all know what a body is: we all know that a body is not one flat thing with every part doing the same job, but a living thing made up of different parts, different functions, different strengths, different weaknesses, all working together because they belong together. If we are the body parts then the Spirit is the blood that flows through us and keeps us as the hand is not the foot, the eye is not the ear; yet each belongs to the one body, and each matters to the life of the body because we could not function fully or at all without our different parts: so it is with the church of Jesus Christ, we need everyone living their spiritual gifts for the Glory of God and our common good. The Spirit does not make us one by making us all the same, and he does not bring unity by ironing out our differences! Rather, he takes different people, with different stories, different gifts, different backgrounds, different temperaments, different ages, different experiences of life, and different ways of seeing the world and joins us together under the Lordship of Christ so that our differences become a sign of his life among us rather than a threat to our life together.

5.2 Unity as Our Witness

That matters for us as a church, and it matters in the city where God has placed us, because we do not serve Christ in some abstract place or some imaginary version of church life or memory of the past: we serve him Here and now, and in the here and now he has given us the people we need and the gifts we need to continue the work of Pentecost in our place. We, these people, in this body, in this community, and in this city with all its beauty, brokenness, division, history, hope, and need, are what God will use to advance His Kingdom as we live out the Spirit’s common Good. The Spirit does not call us to be a gathering of disconnected individuals who happen to sit in the same building for an hour on a Sunday, nor has he called us to be a religious club where we quietly protect our own preferences and tolerate one another with safety while longing for someone long pasted – our common good is so much more beautiful and mindful of those yet to join us. God has baptised us by one Spirit into one body, which means we belong to Christ and therefore to one another. The minister cannot say to the person who quietly welcomes at the door, “I do not need you;” The person who has been here for decades cannot say to the person who has only recently come among us, “I do not need you;” And, the person with visible gifts cannot say to the person who serves unseen, “I do not need you.” Nor can the younger cannot dismiss the older, the older cannot despise the younger, the confident cannot overlook the fragile, or the fragile think they count least because in the body of Christ there is no useless member, no accidental person, no unnecessary gift, and no life that the Spirit cannot use for the glory of God and the common good of his people.

5.3 Making Known the Lordship of Christ

So let’s be clear about one thing, the sign of life in the church is not noise, excitement, impressive activity on its own, nor empty routine and religion the sign of Church that is alive is not numerical, nor finical it is the fruit of the spirit being lived out as God works in us and through us as we serve by his gifts and live for out his common good. There may well be joy and energy and movement wherever the Spirit is at work and that is something to celebrate. Still, it is not thee thing, the sign of the Spirit’s life is a people who confess Jesus as Lord, receive their gifts with humility, use them in love, serve one another for the common good, and live as one body in a divided world to bring Glory to God’s name so that other sinners might confess Christ as lord and join in his church. That is, Pentecost worked out in ordinary church life in our time and place; it might look different today than it did 20 years ago, and different than 2000 years ago, but it is the God at work in each of us as we serve and use our gifts for his glory. That is the miracle of Pentecost and its beauty that the Spirit who came in the upper room upon the apostles is the same Spirit among all who gather as the people of God as we pray, worship, serve, forgive, bear with one another, make room for one another, and witness together in the place where God has put us. In a city and world that knows division, we, the church, should be a living sign of another kingdom, not because we are naturally better, wiser, kinder, or more united than anyone else, but because the Spirit of God has taken us in all our differences and joined us to Christ and to one another. We are many members, one body: Many gifts, one Spirit: Many stories, one Lord. Then, in that gospel, beautiful and united Pentecost is not simply something we remember today; it is something we are called to live today, as the Spirit gives life to the church, so that through the church the Lordship of Jesus might be made known.