“The Holy Spirit Discriminately Distributes Divine Gifts”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Dear blessed ones to whom the Holy Spirit has given divine gifts,
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord
[Amen.]
“Praise we the Father and the Son,
And Holy Spirit, with them One,
And may the Son on us bestow
The gifts that from the Spirit flow.”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
498:7)
Epistle
Reading............................................................... 1
Corinthians 12:1-11 (esp. 11)
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each
one individually as he wills.
Prologue: We generally dislike discrimination … and for good and
valid reasons. In fact, our American society and culture take a dim view of
discrimination, even though many people still discriminate.
Well, would it surprise you, perhaps even cause you some minor or
major heartache, to learn that God deals with us in a discriminating way?
Doesn’t that contradict the Scriptural teaching that God is impartial? If
so, then get ready with that aspirin or antacid tablet because in our sermon
text for today Saint Paul revealed that …
“The Holy Spirit Discriminately Distributes Divine Gifts.”
When Sally’s and my children were very young and we were still
living in Wichita Falls, Texas, Christmas morning was an exciting time
around our house. Among our many traditions was the distribution of the
Christmas gifts under the beautifully-decorated live (but dying) tree. With
my Santa cap perched on my head, I would select one gift at a time; read the
name of its recipient; and hand it, slide it, or throw it to that person. I
would proceed to another gift only after that person had opened it and Sally
had recorded to whom, from whom, and what it was. It was a painstakingly
slow … and discriminating … process. You see, each person received only the
gifts that had his or her name on them; not everyone received the same
gifts.
The Lutheran Study Bible tells us that the purpose of Saint Paul’s
First Letter to the Corinthians was “To explain that Jesus Christ
crucified—who embodies the Gospel—creates the Church’s unity, service, and
hope.” That purpose was significant then even as it still is today because
“The cosmopolitan markets at Corinth supplied a diverse population of
settlers, travelers, and slaves. The interests and differences between
these groups influenced the divisions in the house churches at Roman
Corinth. Paul’s Letter provided detailed instructions about these dividing
issues and directed the Corinthians to what he taught them before—Christ
crucified unites all who believe.” (The Lutheran Study Bible. E. A.
Engelbrecht, Gen. Ed. Copyright © 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St.
Louis, MO. Page 1944.)
Unity, service, and hope are only three of the many wonderful
gifts that the Holy Spirit gives believers in Jesus Christ. So it is that
He simultaneously gives some gifts to all Christians and other gifts He
gives discriminately to some but not to everyone.
One of the gifts that all Christians receive is the fact that …
I. The Holy Spirit Empowers Us to Confess Jesus as Lord. (1-3)
1Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be
uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute
idols, however you were led. 3Therefore I want you to understand that no
one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one
can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
Gifts that Jesus Himself gained for all people but the benefit of
which only believers in Him receive are forgiveness of sins, salvation, and
eternal life. A key catechetical question and answer pertaining to that is:
“To whom does God eternal life? God gives eternal life to me and all
believers in Christ.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Copyright
© 1986, 1991 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 170.) Saint
Paul stated in his Letter to the Romans: “If you confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the
dead, you will be saved.” (Rom 10:9 ESV) Directly related to it is what he
told the Christians in Ephesus: “By grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of
works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph 2:8-9 ESV)
Material gifts that we received for birthdays, graduations,
weddings, and other special celebrative occasions were bought with
hard-earned money by the givers of those gifts. They may last awhile but
eventually they will rot and waste away. The spiritual gifts of
forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life that God gave us at our Baptism
were bought “not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the
precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1
Peter 1:18-19 ESV) and guaranteed to last forever by His majestic
resurrection from the dead. The Holy Spirit graciously and generously
reassures us of those gifts through the reading and hearing of God’s Holy
Word, the public and private declaration of Holy Absolution, and the
sanctified partaking of Christ’s body and blood in Holy Communion. So it is
that, by the Holy Spirit’s power alone, believers join together both locally
and remotely in confessing the one true Christian faith when we speak the
Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds; when we pray The Lord’s Prayer;
when we sing the church’s hymns; and when we partake of Christ’s true body
and blood in the Blessed Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.
On the other hand, Saint Paul also informs us that …
II. There Is Only One Holy Spirit But a Variety of Spirit-Given Gifts.
(4-10)
4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are
varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of
activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7To
each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8To one
is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the
utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by
the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another
the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to
distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another
the interpretation of tongues.
The various gifts that the Holy Spirit discriminately gives are
not given according to the merit or worthiness of the persons receiving them
or for bragging rights. Rather, He gives certain gifts to some and other
gifts to others according to His good and gracious will to unify and build
up His Church. They are not meant to be items for competition but blessings
for completion, even as husbands and wives in marriage each bring unique
knowledge, skills, and abilities into the relationship for the God-ordained
purpose of completion, not competition.
Because we are sinful and unclean we often find it easy and even
delightful to use our God-given gifts to compete with one another and
thereby separate ourselves from each another instead of using our God-given
gifts to unite with and build up one another in the mystical body of Christ.
After all, that’s Satan’s ultimate goal, namely, to separate Christians from
one another and, eventually, from God as well. The devil, who is the father
of lies and the great deceiver, strives to confuse and disrupt
believers-in-Christ regarding their knowledge of and faith in the Redeemer.
Whereas “[God] desires all people to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4 ESV), Satan seeks to distort that truth
which is finally that “there is salvation in no one else [than Jesus
Christ], for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we
must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 ESV) He does so by means of various heresies
that mix truth with error, that promote partial truth, and that elevate
unbiblical perceptions and assumptions above divine truth. Perhaps the most
effective of those heresies is that it’s not necessary to be an ongoing
student of God’s Holy Word through daily personal and family devotions; to
join together with fellow Christians in the reading and study of the Bible;
and, of course, to faithfully rather than haphazardly participate in divine
service worship wherein God serves us His holy gifts of (here they are
again) forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. The more we neglect those
associations with God the more vulnerable we become to Satan’s deceptions;
and the more faithful we are in those associations with God the more
equipped we become to recognize and avoid Satan’s deceptions.
Nevertheless, in His never-ending nature of mercy and grace God
provided for us sinful mortals to receive a new and most wonderful identity.
That glorious identity was described in today’s Old Testament Reading when
Isaiah told the Israelites then and by baptismal extension us today as well:
“You shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem
in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your
land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is
in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land
shall be married.” (Isaiah 62:2b-4 ESV)
Well, by now you’ve probably noticed with maybe even a little
frustration that I did not address individually the various so-called
“spiritual gifts” that are identified in this text. The reason for that is
simple: They themselves are not the point of the text. The point of the
text is the purpose for which they’re given, that being the unity of the
church, the common good of all Christians, and the glory of almighty God as
the ongoing Epiphany Gradual says: “Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol
him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the
faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due
his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!” (Ps 117:1-2a; 96:8
ESV)
In much the same way, the various particulars leading up to and
following after Jesus’ first miracle of instantly changing water into the
finest wine as described in today’s Gospel Reading are not the important
item of that account. Rather, the important item is the revealing of His
divine nature as Saint John recorded: “This, the first of his signs, Jesus
did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples
believed in him.” (St John 2:11 ESV) In fact, today’s Introit further
explained that ultimate importance as it further made known our Savior’s
identity: “How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of
mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the
abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your
delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see
light.” (Ps 36:7-9 ESV)
Yes it’s true that …
“The Holy Spirit Discriminately Distributes Divine Gifts.”
But the reason for those gifts is what’s really important—not the
gifts themselves. So first of all, remember that those and other such gifts
are given to lead us to realize that …
I. The Holy Spirit Empowers Us to Confess Jesus as Lord. (1-3)
At the same time, also remember that …
II. There Is Only One Holy Spirit But a Variety of Spirit-Given Gifts.
(4-10)
With all that in our minds and hearts, let’s continually speak
into God’s divine ears the petition of today’s Collect: “Mercifully hear the
prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace through all our days.”
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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