36 What Are Spiritual Gifts? (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)

Krisan Marotta: Welcome back to Wednesday in the Word. I'm Krisan Marotta, and this is my podcast about what the Bible means and how we know. We're continuing in 1 Corinthians today. We'll be looking at chapter 12, verses 4 through 11. Today is the 36th talk in our series on 1 Corinthians. Lecture notes for today's talk are on the link below the podcast, so you can follow along there if you'd like, or you can find those notes on my website. Go to wednesdayintheword.com slash 1 Corinthians 3.6. And while you're on the website, check out all the Bible study information. There's no charge, no spam, no ads, only Bible study. Thanks for listening. In chapters 12 through 14 of 1 Corinthians, Paul's addressing a problem in the church in Corinth involving manifestations of the Spirit. And you'll recall this letter is a response to a verbal report Paul's received about what's happening in Corinth and to a letter they've written to him asking him a series of questions, and we're in the section of the letter where he's answering those questions. And these questions are not academic philosophy, but they are actual problems that are causing disagreements and division in their church, and they've written to Paul for help. In twelve one, he says now concerning manifestations of the Spirit, and that's the new topic he's addressing. And this is the situation I think he's addressing. In Corinth, there's a group that strongly emphasizes speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues has taken on great importance to them. They're influenced by their pagan background where they were used to seeing people go into trances and have these emotional expressions and experiences in idol worship. So they think that if you have a visible, obvious manifestation of the spirit, like tongues, then you must be a truly spiritual person because if you're speaking in tongues, it's obvious that the Spirit of God has overtaken you. Therefore, if you don't have this visible manifestation of the Spirit, like speaking in tongues, you're a second class citizen. You're lacking, and you know, we can't even know whether you're spiritual or not. So Paul is speaking to this group of believers who are grading and judging each other by this mark of tongues. They look at tongues and they say, Well, God is clearly working through him because he's speaking in tongues, but that other guy over there, well, we're not too sure he should be here at all. In the last podcast, we talked about Paul's first point, which was you've got this wrong. The mark of the Spirit of God at work in a person's life is not what kind of outward experience they have. The mark of the Spirit of God at work in someone's life is that they can say and mean in a profound way that Jesus is Lord. That's the spiritual person. The truly spiritual person embraces and follows Christ. The person who is not spiritual will reject Jesus. If you want to know what the mark of true spirituality is, that's it. The mark of God at work in someone's life is that they will say and mean that Jesus is Lord. So if you want to know what comes out of the mouth of a spiritual person, it's not tongues, it's that they can say and mean Jesus is Lord. So in today's podcast, we're going to study Paul's next point, which has to do with unity and diversity. I'm going to start in first Corinthians chapter twelve, verse four and read through seven. Now there are a variety of gifts, but the same spirit, and there are a variety of ministries and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things and all persons, but to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. Paul's starting a new section of his argument, and I've argued that chapters twelve through fourteen are one unit of thought, but along the way he has these different sub points, and we're going to try to take them subpoint by subpoint. So here he's comparing what has variety and what stays the same. So the contrast is between unity and diversity. Unity is what stays the same, diversity is what has variety. And this is a very important part of his argument. He says all God's people have the same spirit. Everyone who belongs to Christ and is a genuine believer has the same spirit of God at work in them. But that same spirit gives a variety of differing gifts to different people. Now why is that important to the Corinthians? Because some of the Corinthians are saying if you lack a particular gift, then you know you really aren't a spiritual person. Especially if the gift you're lacking is tongues, then we know you're not a person that has the Spirit of God at work in them. And Paul's saying it is God's intention to distribute different gifts to different people. God's purpose and plan is to make us different. This is the way God works among his people. I should expect to see genuine believers who do not have specific gifts. If I see a person who lacks tongues, that should come as no surprise to me because it is God's intention and part of his design to gift us differently. So the Corinthians who say that person over there is not spiritual because he's never spoken in tongues, they have misunderstood what God is doing in his church. God intends to create diversity among his people. God gives a variety of gifts through the same spirit. And Paul says three things here, and I think they are different angles of approaching the same point. So in twelve four, he talks about a variety of gifts or graces. He says, Now there are a variety of gifts but the same spirit. Then in twelve five, he talks about a variety of services or ministries, so ways in which the members of the body serve other members of the body. So that's and there are a variety of ministries and the same Lord. And then in twelve six, he talks about the results, the variety of effects and workings, that is the workings of God to bring about various things through his people. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things and all persons. And I think these three verses are parallel, and they're making the same point from a slightly different angle, and he's repeating it for emphasis. He's talking about a variety of manifestations of the Spirit, and He calls those things graces or gifts, services we're rendering by virtue of the Spirit at work in us, and the results or the changes we see where God accomplishes his purposes through us. And all of that is to say we're different. We should expect to see differences. So the first thing to notice though is the climax of this repetition or the punchline in twelve seven, which is that the spirit works in each of us so that we can serve each other. This is twelve seven again, but to each one is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. So we aren't given spiritual gifts so that we can do magic tricks or that we can have a claim to fame or we can have something that makes us special. The spirit works in us so that we can serve one another and God can use us to bring about his purposes and his plans. I would translate that last phrase as to bring about what is beneficial. The idea is basically that these are manifestations of the Spirit to bring about what is better. The Spirit is working in us to bring good to God's people. So the gifts are not intended for me to say, wow, look at me, look how spiritual I am, as the Corinthians are doing. They are intended to be a way for each of us believers to have a beneficial effect on each other. We see this same idea in First Peter. This is first Peter four ten. As each one has received a gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. I think that's the same idea Paul's talking about here. Manifold means multifaceted. God imparts his grace to us in various multifaceted ways, and each of us is to employ whatever grace he has shown us in serving one another. God is graciously giving each of us a role to play in his kingdom. He gives one role to that person and a different role to another person, and we are to play whatever role he gives us gratefully and humbly and serve one another. And Paul's point is the same. We've been given these roles, these gifts to be able to minister to each other and serve each other, not to judge each other and condemn each other as you Corinthians are doing. So there are a variety of ministries, there's a variety of services, there's a variety of effects and results that we perform, but there is only one master that we serve. We all belong to him and we serve others on his behalf. There are variety of effects or results or outcomes, but it is God who plans and purposes it all. So one person might have a role to play where they impact hundreds of thousands, and one person might have a role to play where their primary job is to influence one or two people. That's all up to God. There is one God who is working all these things out in his grand plan. Now Paul goes on, after saying there are a variety of manifestations of the spirit, he goes on to give us some examples of those manifestations. And before we look at the list, I want to make a point about the context. Often we approach a list like this as if it were a comprehensive official list. And we do this when we find lists of virtues, lists of fruit of the spirit, and so forth. We approach this list and the passage as if Paul's entire purpose was to give us the catalog so that we can figure out which one we have and which one applies to me. And I just want you to notice that's not Paul's purpose. That's not what he's doing here. Interestingly enough, Paul gives a list here and then he gives another list a little later on in the chapter. If you compare the two lists, you'll see they're not the same. Well, why is that? Because Paul's not giving the official list or catalog. He has a different purpose. He has just said one and the same spirit is at work in the world in a variety of ways to give a variety of gifts to a variety of people, and let me give you some examples. Here are a few of the ways the spirit works in the world. I don't think Paul means to be exhaustive. He's not explaining how the gifts are distributed or which ones are common and which ones are rare. He's not explaining any of that. That is not his purpose. His purpose is to say this one spirit does a variety of things and let me give you some examples. Now we do have to be careful here. The manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit have been of particular concern to the various charismatic branches of the church. In some denominations, several of the phrases that we encounter in these next few verses have become rather technical terms. Word of knowledge, for example. Some people have a very specific understanding of that term, and when they see that phrase, they would describe that as when someone stands up and says, Wait, I have a message from God. Someone here has recently lost a loved one and we need to pray for them right now. Something like that. They would call that a word of knowledge and think that's a very technical kind of thing that Paul has in mind. I would argue as you read through the flow of this argument and the context, that is not the sort of thing Paul has in mind. In fact, I don't see any reason in the context to see these phrases as technical terms at all. The Spirit gives people the right understanding such that they have the right words to say at the right time. And some have the opportunity, through the work of the Spirit in their lives, giving them understanding, to then speak that wisdom into their community. They can say something wise, something helpful, something beneficial that has value. They can impart knowledge, some accurate understanding of truth and what God's up to in the world. If we didn't have these branches of the church who've taken these phrases and made them technical terms over the years, I don't think we would come up with that as our preferred interpretation. All right, so let's look at twelve eight, for to one is given the word of wisdom through the spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same spirit. To be wise is to see things the way they are, to have God's perspective on the world. The wise person can see a greater hope in the tragedies of life and so forth. Wisdom has the most important things in mind so that we have the right perspective, and some people are given wisdom and understanding such that they can encourage, exhort, and edify others. Knowledge is very similar, but it emphasizes that there is truth to be known. God has made promises, God has revealed parts of his plan, God has said what is right and what is true, and we can know that. We can understand and know what is true and what the scriptures mean. And some people have been given clear and accurate understanding of truth such that they can encourage and correct others. Both of these are for the benefit of others. People have the opportunity to speak wisdom or knowledge so that the community can benefit. The idea here is that through the working of the Spirit in their lives, some people are given the opportunity to speak wisdom and knowledge to others. The Spirit has given them understanding and perspective and clarity such that they can speak to others in a beneficial way. And their job is to help the rest of the community by reminding others of the truth and so forth. twelve nine, to another faith by the same spirit and to another gifts of healing by the one spirit. Now this verse often confuses people because all of us who are God's children have saving faith. So how can faith be a gift of the Spirit? And people debate that. They have different ways of sorting it out. Remember in twelve one through three, Paul started this argument by saying no one can say that Jesus is Lord unless the Spirit has given him or her understanding. So all the children of God have saving faith because the Spirit of God has given it to them such that they can know and embrace the fact that Jesus is Lord and all that that implies. But now here we're in a paragraph where Paul is making distinctions. He's saying some people have wisdom, some people have knowledge, some people have faith. And the context suggests that Paul is talking about a kind of faith that is not given to everyone. That suggests that he is not talking about saving faith. He's not talking about the faith that says Jesus is Lord, but some other kind of faith that you might not have, but the person sitting next to you does. Well what would that be? He doesn't tell us, but I think he gives us a clue in chapter thirteen. In chapter thirteen two he says, If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. So in thirteen two he says, I might be a prophet through the work of the Spirit, I might have knowledge through the work of the Spirit, or I might have faith that moves mountains through the Spirit, but if I don't have love, I have nothing. And then he will conclude chapter thirteen by saying there are three things you must have faith, hope, and love. So we see this distinction. If you follow through his argument, he's talking about different kinds of faith. There is this faith in twelve nine, there's this faith that moved mountains in thirteen two, and there's the faith in thirteen thirteen that is paired with hope and love that everyone should have. But in twelve nine and thirteen two, he's talking about a kind of faith that not everyone has. And in thirteen two he gives us this phrase, this explanatory phrase of that faith that moves mountains. And I would argue that that faith that moves mountains and the faith in twelve nine are the same kind of thing, and then they differ from the kind of faith you have to have that saves you, and things like love and hope. I think the faith that everyone has is saving faith, and that's what he's talking about in 1313, but in these other two verses he's talking about something else. Every believer must have saving faith, but there's another kind of faith that moves mountains, which seems to be a particular sort of confidence that some people have and some don't. Okay, so what is that? What exactly would that look like? Well, Paul doesn't say, so I'm speculating here, but because he uses this language of faith that moves mountains, I suspect that he's talking about a kind of faith that is given to people who are called to face extraordinary trials. So the martyrs, for example, or Cory Tinboom who had to endure a Nazi concentration camp, or anyone who's called to live a life of persecution or intense suffering. It makes sense that if God calls someone to face that kind of a trial, he would also give them the confidence and the trust to persevere day by day through those circumstances. Or it could be the kind of thing given to people like the patriarchs or the prophets. How could Abraham be so willing and ready to offer Isaac as a sacrifice? I imagine he had this kind of faith. Or God tells Elijah that it won't rain until Elijah prays, and Elijah believes and trusts him. Or Jeremiah buys land in Israel right before the exile because he believed the word of God that the exile would end and that land would have value again. So I think he's describing a kind of faith that says, I believe when I say to this mountain, move, it will move, not just wishful thinking, but somehow I have been given to understand by the working of the Spirit of God that God intends to move this mountain, and it is utterly appropriate for me to believe it, and would be wrong for me not to believe it. So that's my best guess. We see examples in scripture and in history of people acting with utter confidence despite their outward circumstances. So everything around them looks one way, and yet they step out with utter confidence and say, No, God is doing this. I'm suspecting that's the kind of faith Paul's describing here. Something that not everyone is required to have, but those people who need it will be given it. Okay, back to 2 9 to another faith by the same spirit and to another gifts of healing by one spirit. What are gifts of healing? Well, there are two good options here. We see healing happening throughout the New Testament, and one option is that he is talking about that kind of gifts of healing. That is, I receive the gift of God using me to heal this person, and then maybe at a later time I receive another gift of God using me to heal another person. And I would understand it that way rather than as a kind of superpower that I can work miracles. So it's not that I've been given the power to heal on my own discretion, but that God has graciously allowed me to play that role when he heals people. Just like he allows a prophet to speak his word. The Spirit of God has graciously on various occasions let me be involved when he intends to heal someone. That's the option I lean toward, but other people have argued that he means the gift of healing in that I am no longer sick. I was sick, but I have been given the gift of now being made whole and well again by whatever means. That's another option. Remember, Paul's point here is to describe various ways that the Spirit works. His point is not to give us a catalog of gifts so that we can figure out which one we have. Moving on to twelve ten and to announce. Another the effecting of miracles and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. So I understand this next phrase, the effecting of miracles the same way as I see the healing. When God intends to perform a miracle for his purposes, he has graciously worked through me. Not that I have the power to decide to create a miracle or work a miracle at any specific moment, but when God intends to have a miracle in the world, he graciously allows me to be the one that brings it about. But it could also have the same nuance as healing in that I was the recipient of a miracle. Now do these gifts of healing and miracles exist today? There's a lot of debate about that, and I don't want to take time to go through it right now. My own conclusion is that the New Testament does not say one way or the other. There are only a few times in history where God seems to break through and we see a lot of supernatural activity. One was around the time of the Exodus, another was around the time of Elijah and Elisha, and then the other time we see a lot of supernatural activity is in the time of Jesus and the apostles. Most of the rest of the time he seems fairly quiet in terms of miracles and healings. The New Testament does teach that miracles are given as a sign to confirm and verify the authority of the one performing them. Since, in my opinion, we don't have apostles or prophets around today whose authority needs confirming, I wouldn't expect to see a whole lot or a preponderance of miracles like we did at the coming of Christ or during the ministries of the apostles. That said, God can do whatever he wants. I don't think the New Testament rules out miracles, but I don't think it rules them in either. So I wouldn't be worried if no one in my local church has performed a healing or a miracle. But if God thinks we need to see a miracle or a healing for some particular reason that he has in mind, then it'll happen. Okay, back to ten. To another the effecting of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, and to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. I want to postpone discussing what exactly he means by prophecy and tongues until later in the section. He's going to have a lot to say about it later, and I think it'll make more sense to talk about it then. Just briefly, you may be aware of the debate about this verse. The question really is when Paul speaks of prophecy, is he talking about the kind of speech that, say, Jeremiah or Ezekiel or Isaiah did, or the kind of speech that every pastor does on Sunday where they generally proclaim what scripture means? And it's the same kind of debate with tongues. Does he mean the specific gift we see in Acts 2, where people spoke in normal human languages that they didn't actually know, and other people hearing them understood those natural languages? Or does he mean the kind of thing we see in some churches today where people make noises with their mouths that is not necessarily a recognizable language and they may not even know what they're saying? What they're speaking is not recognizable as a language with grammar and syntax and so forth. Paul doesn't seem to be interested in answering those questions. He assumes the Corinthians know what he's talking about and he doesn't explain it, but we're going to get more into that debate later on. For now, I'll say that my conclusion is that by prophecy he means the general ability to explain God's word. So I think he means what we would call teaching today. Not the kind of teaching that says, thus says the Lord, like Jeremiah and Isaiah did, where they spoke brand new revelation, but the general proclaiming and explaining and teaching of past revelation. And by tongues, I think he means what we see in Acts, where people were speaking in a language that they hadn't been taught, and others who knew that language could understand them. But we're going to get into that debate in a later section. Distinguishing of spirits. Distinguish here means to sort out, to judge between, to kind of weigh the good and the bad. And in two other places where Paul talks about prophecy, he immediately talks about the need for people to judge or evaluate that prophecy, to distinguish it, to sort it out. It seems to have this idea of weighing and judging whether it's true or false. And it seems to me that he's saying whenever you have a situation where people are prophesying, some others are given the role of evaluating or weighing whether they speak rightly or not. That's one of the reasons I think he means general teaching here, because I'm not sure we have a role in say judging or evaluating prophets like Isaiah. But notice that we have a series of pairs here. In twelve eight, wisdom and knowledge are paired. In nine and ten healings and miracles are paired. Then we have prophecy and distinguishing as a pair, and tongues and interpretation as a pair, but there are nine. There's faith in the middle that has no pair. I don't know if that has a whole lot of significance, but it's interesting to me. It's a very typical kind of poetic structure that we see in Hebrew poetry, and Paul may just be following that as a literary style because he's a good writer. Now he sums up his point in twelve eleven, but one and the same spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as he wills. This is the heart of the point he's making. One and the same spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as he wills. The variety that we see among the people of God is part of God's design. Different people have these different graces or gifts on purpose. That's not a defect. The Spirit distributes to each one just as he wills the variety, the differences, thereby God's design. This is his plan. One spirit unites us, but distributes these graces or gifts differently on purpose. So you Corinthians are judging each other based on who has what gift, and that shows your lack of understanding. You have misunderstood what God is up to in the world. He doesn't call each of us to the same thing. We are different on purpose. This is part of his plan. We all play a different role among the people of God, and that's by design. Before going on with the passage, I want to talk about spiritual gifts and contrast the modern view with what I think Paul is teaching here. I mentioned in the last podcast that when we see the phrase spiritual gifts, we view it as a kind of technical term, and it's come to have an entire theology, or at least a popular understanding, that typically goes something like this. Spiritual gifts are God given supernatural abilities to accomplish some purpose of God. So these abilities or talents are given to each believer upon conversion by the Holy Spirit, and it's our job to discover which gifts we have and to use them. Typically, spiritual gifts are distinguished from natural talents or abilities. I might have several natural abilities or talents before conversion, but once coming to faith, I receive these extra supernatural spiritual abilities. These abilities don't result from hard work, they don't result from practice, but they are a special gift given to the person through the Holy Spirit by God. So before conversion, one person might be a naturally good teacher because maybe they worked and practiced and honed their speaking skills, but that's not the gift of teaching in this popular understanding. Most people think there's a fixed list of gifts and that believers have a mix of them, usually a primary gift and then some supporting gifts. The lists of what the gifts are comes from only two passages, 1 Corinthians twelve and Romans twelve. Those are the only places where we get lists, and interestingly, they're different. There is some overlap, but they differ. Most people think though that there is a fixed list of gifts which is derived from these two passages, and that all the gifts are distinguishable from each other, and we should be able to tell who has what. In practice, these gifts limit what a believer can do. I'm not sure if that's actually taught that your gift mix limits what the Holy Spirit will empower you to do, but in practice it puts boundaries on what God will call you to do. And you often hear people say something like, Oh, sorry, that's not my gift. I've run into people who won't even try something new or accept a responsibility because that opportunity doesn't square with the results of a spiritual gift test they took. The problem I have with that popular understanding is that in each of the passages where we have these lists, here in Corinthians and then in Romans, Paul has a different agenda. He is making some other point and talks about manifestations of the Spirit or ways in which the Spirits work and doesn't work to serve some other point. And these lists seem to be examples to make that larger point. As we've seen here in 1 Corinthians twelve, Paul does not set out to say, now here's the catalog of gifts and here's how you find yours and make sure you use it. That's not his point. He's speaking to a very different problem and a different question. And if we step back and we drop our modern understanding of spiritual gifts, I think a different picture emerges from Paul's teaching, and that is that each believer has a unique role to play in the kingdom of God, especially as we move on to the chapter and he starts to flesh out this metaphor of the body that he's going to use, we're going to see he's talking about roles and functions. So I think we should understand spiritual gifts more as opportunities, roles, responsibilities, not talents or abilities. And I would encourage us to understand our spiritual gifts not as supernaturally given talents, but as whatever opportunity or responsibility or role that God calls me to play in his kingdom. His whole analogy with the parts of the body that we're going to look at in the next podcasts suggests that these gifts are graces, are functions, their roles, their responsibilities that God gives each believer, and we're privileged to play them. They are gifts and that they are part of his grace to us. He doesn't have to use us at all to bring about his kingdom or accomplish his purposes, but in his loving kindness, he gives us each a role to play, and each of us has a unique opportunity to represent him and proclaim the gospel and reflect the love of Christ to our families, friends, and neighbors. I have a chart that I'm going to put on the website that contrasts what I think Paul is teaching here with the kind of popular understanding. There'll be a link to that chart in the lecture notes. There's a few differences. The first we talked about rather than seeing these as talents or abilities, I would see them as opportunities or roles or ways we can serve. Next, rather than a fixed list, I think the number of gifts are limitless. I would say it's more like we're all on the same team and we're all playing a different position. Or we're all members of the same orchestra, but we each have a unique part to play. So some of us may be playing the same instrument, but we're not playing it exactly the same way. So instead of thinking that I have the supernatural enabling to teach, I think God has graciously given me the opportunity to serve the body in this way. And there are potentially as many gifts as there are believers, because each believer has a unique opportunity to serve. And no two believers serve in exactly the same way, in exactly the same place geographically or in exactly the same point in history. No one else is wife to my husband, no one else is mother to my children, and so forth. Each of us is in this unique place and time in history with a particular calling and a place to serve, and that's our gift. Now yes, if God calls me to teach, He's also likely to give me the ability to teach or to speak, and I can wisely and obediently practice and study and improve my skills, but it's the role, the opportunity to teach that is the gift, not the supernatural ability. Now, I also think it's true that our roles and callings could very well be related to natural talents, natural interests and abilities, because those are also part of God's gift to us. It makes sense that in giving us opportunities to serve his kingdom, he would also equip us with the appropriate desires and skills to fulfill the task he's called us to do. So I don't think we need to put pressure on young believers to find and use their gifts. Rather, I would encourage young believers to explore, try something and see what happens. In fact, try lots of different things and see what happens. Rather than asking the question, what's my gift? Ask the question, how can I serve God here where I am? And then do it. You can serve without ever taking a spiritual gifts test. Understood this way, spiritual gifts, or we might say spiritual roles and responsibilities do not in any way limit the kinds of ways God could ask you to serve his kingdom. In fact, I think from my experience and studying scripture that your roles and opportunities will probably change. What you're called to do in your twenties may not be the same as what you're called to do in your fifties. So your position in the orchestra, your part on the team, your place in the body will more than likely give you the opportunity to serve one particular way more often than others, but that doesn't mean that God couldn't call you to do something else later on. Now it is true that some of the ways we serve the kingdom are more overtly supernatural than others. Paul's miracles were more obviously supernatural than his teachings in the synagogue, but both were gifts from God. Just because a gift or a grace is mundane and ordinary does not mean that it is any less a gift of God. What we often refer to as the sign gifts are more inherently supernatural, but all the gifts are from God and all are part of the ways we can serve His kingdom. Remember, God's purpose in giving us these roles is for believers to serve each other, to help each other. We are called to be part of a community of people who belong to Christ. We have membership in that community, and that community means something to us, and each of us has a role to play in supporting, encouraging, correcting, rebuking, and edifying that community of believers. Peter divides the gifts into two parts, teaching and serving. And Paul in Romans and Ephesians talks about teaching and serving, exhorting and giving, those gifts that build up the understanding and those gifts that build up the courage and faith of the body. It's only in 1 Corinthians where he includes things like tongues, and I think he does so because that's what the Corinthians were into. That's the abuse or the notion that Paul's trying to correct. So I would encourage you to view your gifts, your spiritual gifts, as the opportunities you have to be of service to other people. Don't think of them as a superpower that you have to find. Rather, ask what's my role? How and where can I serve right now? I think this modern emphasis on finding your gifts is out of balance. I would encourage you to find your role, find your place, not your superpower. Similarly, I think the modern church needs a reminder. We don't just join a church to be encouraged and to be fed. We join to serve. Our job is to encourage and edify each other, and there are lots and lots of ways to do that. But we tend to approach church with a consumer mentality of what do I get out of church and how can church serve me and how does church make me feel? And I think Paul would say, don't forget, you're meant to serve others. It's not just the pastor's job or the leader's job to serve everyone else in the congregation. It is our job as a community to serve and encourage and edify each other and to build each other up. On the flip side, neither is it the pastor's job or the leader's job to dictate how everyone in the church is going to serve and then slot people into spots so that the church's agenda and programs are carried out to the fullest. I have been in churches where they strongly encourage you to find your gift so that you could promote the church programs. And a lot of people have left organized churches because of that kind of top-down dictator model. That's not what Paul's talking about here. We have an obligation to serve each other as a community of believers, but we do not have an obligation to carry out the programs of an institution. We have an obligation to love the people of God, and we ought to be willing to find a way to help and serve each other through some kind of community, but that doesn't mean it's a top-down dictator model. It is gracious of God to give us roles to play in his kingdom. It is a wonderful thing that each one of us believers can say God has given me something meaningful to do in bringing about his kingdom. That is very comforting and humbling and inspiring. But primarily we're not meant to bless ourselves, we're meant to bless each other. To have a role to play in God's kingdom means I ought to be contributing to the lives of others in some way and I might need to put down my cell phone. In believing the gospel, we're called to be believers together. Now we don't have to join a commune or something, but we need to take seriously that our job is to help each other on this journey of faith. When someone falls down, our job as fellow believers is to help them back on their feet. When someone hurts, we hurt with them. When someone has a burden, we help them carry it. When someone rejoices, we rejoice with them. I think that's a better understanding of the metaphor of the body that Paul uses in this chapter, and we're going to explore that more in the next podcast. Thank you for listening to Wednesday in the Word, the podcast that shows you not only what a passage means, but how we figure it out. I really appreciate you listening to this podcast, and I have three favors to ask. Please subscribe to the podcast, leave a positive rating on your favorite podcast platform, and tell a friend. And if you can only do one thing, telling a friend is best. Our theme music is graciously provided by Reggie Coates. You can find his music and CDs on heartfeltmusic.org. I'm Krisan Marotta, and I'll see you next week at Wednesday in the Word.