Spiritual Gifts, Not Possessions
Romans 12: 1 – 8.
Introduction.
Are you familiar with the concept of “re-gifting?” This is what you do with the gifts you receive that you can’t do anything with. For example, has anyone ever given you an article of clothing that you knew immediately that you would never wear? What are you going to do with it? I suppose you could try to return it to the store and get something you would wear. OR…You could wrap it up and re-gift it to someone who will wear it.
A friend of mine got married at a time when all of her friends were also getting married. She needed to give a wedding gift to another friend, but being a newlywed, she and her husband couldn’t afford much. Then, she realized that they had a lot of wedding gifts that were duplicates. She could re-wrap one of their duplicate wedding gifts and “re-gift” it.
She went through the duplicate wedding gifts and found the perfect gift. It was a silver or silver plated vase. It was still in the box, and they had at least one more just like it.
She got out the wrapping paper and started wrapping the box. Then, she realized that it if is silver or silver plated, she might need to polish it before re-gifting. She opened the box to polish the vase and was horrified to discover that it was engraved, “David and Mary” with their wedding date underneath.
If you are a re-gifter, I am not here to judge you. In fact, I think re-gifting is ALMOST a good idea. It’s a good idea for the re-gifter, because it can save time and money. It’s a good idea for the person receiving the gift, because they never have to know. The only person who doesn’t think it is a good idea is the person who gave the original gift. Most of us want to know that other people truly appreciate the gifts we give them.
I believe that God actually wants us to be re-gifters. That doesn’t mean you should open your birthday and Christmas gifts only to begin thinking about when and to whom you will re-gift. But, I do believe God gives each of us gifts with the purpose that we will give to others what God has given us.
Spiritual gifts fall into this category. God gives every Christian gifts. God does not intend for us to hold on to these gifts. They are not our possessions to hold on to. They are gifts, given for the purpose that we would give them away to others.
In fact, I think we can make a good argument that when we stop giving God’s gifts away, God stops giving to us. We are not supposed to be reservoirs of God’s grace. We are to be more like a pipeline or a conduit of grace—from God, through us, to other people.
There are several places where the Bible teaches us about spiritual gifts…
Read Romans 12: 1 – 8.
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship.
2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
(NIV)
The Book of Romans is similar to Paul’s other writings because it can be neatly divided into two sections. Paul begins with a theological section and ends with an ethical section. Another way to describe this is to say that Paul begins with theory—this is what we believe about God and why we believe it. Then he moves into a practical section—since we believe thus about God, this is how we ought to live our lives.
Romans 12 is sort of the bridge between these two sections. Romans chapters 1 – 11 contain Paul’s theology and why he believes as he does. Romans 13 – 16 contain Paul’s practical advice on how Christians ought to live in light of what God has done for us in Christ. Romans 12 is the bridge between the two sections…
In my interpretation of this chapter, there are three natural divisions. Verses 1 and 2 make up the first division…Verses 3 – 8 make up the second division…Verses 9 – 21 make up the third division… I came to this interpretation based on the way Paul uses the word Body or Bodies in the chapter.
Read Romans 12: 1...Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship.
Offer your Bodies as living sacrifices…Notice how Paul uses the plural form of the word Body. This plural form tells me that Paul is speaking to a group of people but he is giving us individual advice. In other words, Romans 12: 1 – 2 describes something that every man and every woman must do for himself or herself…Give your life to God daily as a sacrifice that God can use for his purposes in the world…
Read Romans 12: 4 – 5… j
ust as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Just as each of us has one Body with many members…In Christ we who are many form one Body…Notice how Paul uses the singular form of the word Body…
By using the same word in each of these sections, I think Paul was trying to communicate that Christians are supposed to have both an INDIVIDUAL life with Christ as well as a CORPORATE life with Christ’s people.
How can we satisfy the command that Paul gave us earlier—Offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God? I believe it is very simple. Paul is saying…Take your individual BODY and become a part of the corporate BODY of Christ. In other words, Take your BODY to church.
Individual Christian Life.
The individual Christian life is something I like to call Discipleship. Romans 12 describes discipleship in two ways…Let God transform your Spiritual Body…Then present all that you are to God as a Living and Daily sacrifice…
Discipleship begins when we make a profession of faith in Jesus. As I told you last week, this is not “rocket surgery.” It is a simple expression of faith.
We begin by recognizing that there is a God, and God loves us. No one will ever be good enough to earn or deserve God’s love. In fact, it is just the opposite. God loves us even though we are sinners who rebel against God’s plan for our lives. God’s plan is described in the Laws of the Bible. The more we read the Bible, the more we realize that we will never be able to live up to God’s expectations.
We admit that we are sinners. We will never be good enough to earn or deserve eternal life in the presence of God. Again, the opposite is true. Because we are not good enough to solve our own sin problem, God sent his Son, Jesus, to live as our example, to die as our sacrifice, and to live as our hope of eternal salvation.
Then, we must accept God’s gift of eternal salvation. The only way to do this is through faith. To believe Jesus really is who the Bible says Jesus is—the crucified and resurrected Son of God. To believe that Jesus is the only one who can give you salvation—forgiving your past, present and future sins, and offering you a transformed life on earth as well as an eternal life in the presence of God.
However, discipleship does not end when we express our initial faith in Jesus as the crucified and resurrected Son of God. This is only the beginning. As long as we live, we will face a daily, hourly, minute by minute process of sacrificing our desires to God’s desires for our lives.
Corporate Christian Life.
American Christians do a terrible disservice to the biblical teachings about the Christian life. We are very comfortable talking about the individual side of faith. But, we are uncomfortable talking about the corporate side. We prefer to think and talk about faith as something that is individual, personal and private. That is only half of what the Bible teaches us. Yes, faith is a personal decision. But, faith should not be private. Faith is supposed to affect us in very public ways. Faith in Jesus changes the ways we live our lives. And, faith in Jesus compels us to be involved with other believers.
There is just one GRACE…But there are numerous GIFTS…
Paul lists only seven gifts in this passage…Prophesying…Serving… Teaching…Encouraging…Contributing to the Needs of Others…Leadership… Showing Mercy…
This is not a complete list…He lists other gifts in two other places:
1 Corinthians 12: 7 – 11
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
(NIV)
Wisdom…Knowledge…Faith…Healing…Miracles…Prophecy…Distinguishing Spirits…Tongues…Interpretation of Tongues…
Ephesians 4: 11 – 13
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
(NIV)
Apostles…Prophets…Evangelists…Pastor-Teachers…
How can we know what is a spiritual gift and what is not?…Easy… Spiritual gifts have two things in common…
1. Given to all Christians… It is something you are ABLE to do and something you are PASSIONATE about doing. Think about the singers who go on the first few episodes of American Idol. Many of these singers are PASSIONATE about singing, but they are horrible singers. They don’t have the gift of music / singing. The same thing is true about spiritual gifts. If you are PASSIONATE about something, but no one thinks you are very good at it, then that is not your gift
2. To Be Used in the Church (Body of Christ)…
This makes God’s gifts different from the gifts that we give each other. When God gives a gift, he expects you to re-gift it. God wants you to give your gifts back to him by using them in the church—the Body of Christ.
There is a difference between a GIFT and a POSSESSION…The spiritual gifts that God has given us are not ours to possess…They are ours to give back to God and his church…
This corporate side of the Christian life means that God wants us to go to church. But, going to church is not enough. God doesn’t want you to sit here and occupy space on Sundays and Wednesdays. God wants you to use your gifts in the Ministry of the Body of Christ. Let God transform your Spiritual Body, then use your Body to benefit others in the Body of Christ…
There are two sides to the Christian life…Discipleship and Ministry…We are all called to be Disciples of Christ and Ministers in the Church…
Max DePree is the former CEO of the Herman Miller Company—an innovative furniture company that produces high tech furnishings for home, business and health care providers. DePree’s father (D.J. DePree) was the founder of Herman Miller in the 1920’s.
When the company first began, the factory operated just like all other furniture factories did in the 1920’s. Electricity was not as common as it is today, so the factories relied on a system of wheels and pulleys that were operated by a central drive shaft. This drive shaft was run by a steam engine that got its steam from a boiler in the basement of the factory. They discovered early on that they could operate the boiler by burning the sawdust and waste materials from the factory floor. It was a wonderful cycle of interdependence—each area of the factory made an important contribution and each area depended on the others. It was very close to the image of “The Body” that the Apostle Paul used to describe the church.
In this cycle, there was one man who worked behind the scenes watching over every little detail—the Millwright. The Millwright was a very important person. Even though few people ever saw the Millwright or even knew his name, he was an integral part of the cycle because he was the only one who actually understood how the wheels and pulleys and drive shaft and boiler all worked together.
One day, the Millwright died.
D.J. DePree recognized what a tremendous loss this was to the company and knew that he should do something for the Millwright’s family, but wasn’t sure what to do. He decided to visit the Millwright’s family in their home and express his concern for them in their loss. He went to the home and was invited to join the family in the living room.
After several minutes of awkward silence and difficult conversation, the Millwright’s wife asked Mr. DePree if it would be all right for her to read some poetry. He agreed and the woman went into another room and returned with a bound book of poetry. She read several selections of beautiful words. When she finished, Mr. DePree asked who had written the beautiful poetry. She replied that it was her husband…the Millwright.
Mr. DePree was changed that day. He left that house with a nagging question about the Millwright…Was he a poet who did millwright work, or was he a Millwright who wrote poetry? Nobody knew.
Nobody knew, because nobody asked…And the Millwright kept it a secret…
I think we have the same thing happening in our church right now. There are some of you who have gifts that you have managed to keep secret for one, two, five, ten, twenty or more years.
I believe Paul’s words are very simple to us today…If God has given you a gift, you need to use that gift in the church…If God has given you a gift that you refuse to offer to the church, then you cannot hold onto what God has given you…Perhaps we can say the same thing about spiritual gifts that fitness experts say about our muscles…“Use it or Lose it”…
If you keep your spiritual gift hidden from the church, then you are guilty of sin…You have failed to contribute to the overall health and growth of the Body of Christ…
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