Sermon Notes

Talk about spiritual gifts in church and you'll get a mix of reactions: some people shrug, some light up, and some would rather skip the subject altogether. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul writes to a church that had turned God's gifts into a ranking system, and he brings them back to something simple. Every follower of Jesus has been given a grace-given ability from the Holy Spirit, and it's meant to build up other people. David Leventhal walks through where our gifts come from, who they're really for, why love has to hold them together, and what happens to the whole body when one part sits on the sidelines. If you've ever wondered whether you really matter in the life of the church, this message is worth your time.

Key Takeaways

Your gift is chosen by God. Paul says the Spirit gives gifts "to each one individually as he wills." You didn't apply or interview for yours, and the word for "gift" comes from the same root as grace. The foot has no reason to be ashamed, and the eye has no reason to be proud.
Your gift is for someone else. Gifts are given "for the common good." It's like opening a present on Christmas morning and finding someone else's name on the tag. The gift is for others, the glory is for God, and we're just the ones carrying the package.
Your gift is governed by love. Paul put the love chapter right between two chapters about spiritual gifts, and he did it on purpose. Without love, even the most impressive gift is just a clanging cymbal. Any gift minus love equals zero.
Your gift is meant to be used. Paul told Timothy to "fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you." A gift can sit smoldering for years without doing anyone any good. When one part of the body holds back, the whole body feels it.
Discussion Questions

When the topic of spiritual gifts comes up, some people are unsure, some are excited, and some are wary. Which reaction is closest to yours, and why?
Paul says the Spirit gives gifts "as he wills," so there's no varsity or JV team in the body of Christ. Are you more tempted by the foot's voice ("I don't really matter here") or the eye's voice ("they need me more than I need them")?
1 Peter 4 sorts gifts into two groups: whoever speaks and whoever serves. Which one fits you better, and where have you seen God use you to build up someone else?
Paul says that without love, even our best gifts add up to nothing. When you serve, give, or lead, who is it really for?
David named three things that keep people from using their gifts: not knowing what their gift is, fear, and assuming the church is fine without them. Which of these has held you back most?
Paul tells Timothy to "fan into flame" a gift that had cooled off. Is there a gift in your life that has been smoldering, and what would it take to stir it up?

This Week's Challenge

Take the spiritual gifts assessment on the CityBridge website, then raise your hand for one place to serve without waiting for a perfect answer.

Transcript

One Eye, Whole Body

As a lifelong two-eye guy, I never appreciated how much one eye matters until I couldn't use it. When I had to wear that eye patch, my depth perception was a mess, my balance was affected, and I ran into the door jamb on my left more times than I can count. One tiny part of my body stopped working, and my whole body was thrown off.

We're in week two of our series, What Are We Missing? Last week Brad talked about the Holy Spirit, the presence we ignore. This week we're talking about what the Spirit gives: our spiritual gifts.

Two Ditches

Historically, the church has landed in one of two ditches. The first is to ignore spiritual gifts. "That's what we pay the pastors for." Over time you end up with a handful of people up front doing the ministry while everyone else watches from their seat.

The second ditch is to idolize them. Gifts become a scorecard for how spiritual you are, with a varsity team and a JV team. That road always leads to division, which is exactly the mess Paul was writing to clean up in Corinth.

What Is a Spiritual Gift?

A spiritual gift is a grace-given ability from the Holy Spirit to build up others. It's God's grace in your hands, for someone else's good.

The New Testament gives us four lists of gifts, and no two are identical. Paul and Peter are giving us a sampling, a picture of the Spirit's creativity, not a final, exhaustive list. So the way God has gifted you might not have a neat label, and that's okay. Ask yourself: Is God using it to build up others? Am I doing it in His strength? Does it point people to Jesus? Do the people around me affirm it?

Open but Cautious

People land in different places on whether gifts like tongues, healing, and prophecy are still active today. Here at CityBridge, we use the term open but cautious. Scripture stays on top, and any modern "word" has to be tested. There's no spiritual hierarchy and no JV and varsity in the kingdom of God. Order matters. And we're open to the miraculous gifts without making them the center of church life. We'll dig into these questions more when we start our series in 1 Corinthians in early 2027.

Your Gift Is Chosen by God

Paul says the Spirit "apportions to each one individually as he wills." As he wills. You didn't apply or interview for your gift. The Greek word for gift is charisma, rooted in charis, which means grace. It's the same word in Romans 6:23: "the free gift of God is eternal life." You didn't earn either one.

That corrects two voices. The foot says, "I'm not up front, so I don't really matter." The eye says, "They need me more than I need them." But "God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose." The foot has no reason to be ashamed, and the eye has no reason to be proud.

Your Gift Is for Someone Else

Verse 7 says gifts are given "for the common good." It's like opening a present on Christmas morning and finding someone else's name on the tag. God hands it to you, but it's for someone else.

If you're a talker, your words should be anchored in God's words, so people hear what He has to say, not what you have to say. If you're a doer, you serve in God's strength. You're not the power source. You're the delivery system. The gift is for others. The glory is for God.

Equipped for the Work of Ministry

Ephesians 4 says pastors and teachers are given "to equip the saints for the work of ministry." If you follow Jesus, Paul's talking about you. You are not meant to be a spectator. In the church, everybody has a role.

And that work extends beyond these walls. Your gift of hospitality might be the reason your neighbor hears the gospel for the first time. Your gift of mercy might be the first time a coworker sees what Jesus is actually like.

Your Gift Is Governed by Love

1 Corinthians 13 gets read at pretty much every wedding, but Paul wrote it to a church fighting about spiritual gifts. Chapters 12 and 14 are about gifts, and Paul parks the love chapter right in the middle, on purpose.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." Paul's math is: any gift minus love equals zero. Love isn't on any gift list. It's a fruit the Spirit grows in every one of us. The same act can be a Christ-exalting gift or a clanging cymbal. The only difference is love.

Your Gift Is Meant to Be Used

Paul tells Timothy, "Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you." Think about the morning campfire. It looks out, but the embers are still warm. You might warm your hands, but you for sure ain't cooking anything. A gift can sit smoldering for years. So stir it up.

Some of us hold back because we don't know our gift, but you usually discover it by serving, not by sitting and thinking. Some of us are afraid, but "God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." And some of us assume they're doing fine without us.

Running on One Eye

When my retina tore, it wasn't just my eye that suffered. My balance got worse, and my right eye got weary carrying the load. That's what Paul means: "If one member suffers, all suffer together."

A lot of churches are running on one eye, with 20% of the people doing 80% of the work. It's not because people don't love Jesus. Usually they don't think they're needed or don't know how to get started. Being part of the body isn't like a gym membership you pay for and never use. You are needed.

Before Any Other Gift

Scripture's goal isn't to weigh you down with more boxes to check. Before God ever handed you a gift to use, He handed you the gift of His Son. If you're in Christ, you didn't earn your place in this body, and you don't lose it in hard seasons. You belong, not on probation, but as a beloved member of the family.

And if you're feeling overworked, think sniper, not shotgun. Focus your serving on how God has gifted you. It's okay to change the places you serve.

The Power We Avoid