January 18, 2004
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.
At Great Valley Public Schools, our children were always being tested for giftedness. It started very early in their school life. We would get a note home informing us that tomorrow your child will be taking some tests. “Make sure the child goes to bed early and have a good breakfast in the morning before school.” Then at an appointed time, a report is issued to determine whether your child has gotten into the “gifted program.” I can still remember these were scary times because if your child doesn’t get into the gifted program, it was almost like we, the parents have failed! We want to believe that our genetic materials contain genius abilities. Let me say that one of our two children got into the gifted program but I’m not going to tell you which one. But as you can see, they both turned out to be okay.
We watch for signs of giftedness—academic, athletic, artistic, musical—evidence that our child will be unique and exceptional in some way. Then we can tell our friends! We can’t help ourselves that when it comes to our own kids, we’re all talent scouts. The idea of giftedness is hardly unfamiliar to us. But when we speak about spiritual gifts, there is a difference.
Gifted
When it comes to spiritual gifts, Paul said, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit.” Every Christian has a gift—not just certain believers—not just certain kids are given unique and special gifts. Every Christian has a gift and therefore every person is exceptional and valuable in the community of faith.
The purpose of spiritual gifts is not to set some individuals apart. It is not to grant celebrity status on a few, but rather the gifts of the Holy Spirit build up the community. Paul said, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Gifted people in the church are known not for how much better they are at something but for how much good they are doing using the gift they have for the community.
In our culture, we tend to think that only children have gifts that need to be identified. With spiritual gifts, no age group is overlooked; no person is ignored. Listen to Paul again, “To each means all of us is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” One of the most exciting things about the church is that it is a place where people of all ages and all generations discover gifts they never knew they had.
While human talent leads us to think that gifts can be developed based on the hard work of our abilities, spiritual gifts begin with Jesus Christ. Spiritual gifts focus our attention on God’s goodness, God’s power, and God’s love.
Gifted people are inspired and humbled at the same time; their joy is the opportunity to use their gifts. Their delight is in the fact that it is Lord Jesus who has called them to use their gifts.
What Are Spiritual Gifts
In the New Testament there are four lists of spiritual gifts. Among the four lists of gifts found in Romans 12, First Corinthians 12 and more listed at the end of the chapter and Ephesians 4, there are a total of 20 gifts. Some are mentioned in more than one list, and some are exclusive to only one.
The gifts are not listed in any hierarchical order to not suggest that some gifts are more important than others. Every gift is needed and every gift is given by the same God.
In our passage this morning, 1 Corinthians 12, nine of the twenty gifts are mentioned. Do you have one of these? If you hear a gift that’s unfamiliar, it just may be a gift that is waiting to be discovered. Or think about the people you know who have these gifts and how they are making a difference in the life of our community.
The first gift is wisdom. Wisdom is not necessarily depended on age and experience. But you can recognize the gift of wisdom when there is the ability to apply a spiritual truth to a concrete situation in such a way that others recognize immediately that truth has been spoken. People with this gift are somewhat quiet and even self-debasing. They are unaware of the high regard in which they are held by others. And if you have a burden weighing heavily on your heart, this person is the one you call first.
Just as important is the gift of knowledge. Knowledge here does not mean knowing a lot. Instead the spiritual gift is specifically about insight: insight into Scripture, insight into a person, insight into a world event, insight into the church. They pay attention to the details of their tasks as well as to the larger vision of the church. We’d call this person first for an insight or an answer to a situation. But he or she is also known on occasion to say, “I don’t know.”
The third gift is faith. We would think that everyone in the church should possess this gift. In the Corinthian church as well as ours, there are certain people whose faith is incredibly strong. We need to be surrounded by faith-filled people. That’s one of the reasons why we come to church on Sundays. We are involved in the church because these people with the gift of faith remind us why we believe in God in the first place. These people don’t always use religious language, but if you have any doubts, you would call on this person for his or her strong faith.
Next is healing. For the gift of healing, we think about a person in prayer. Whether or not the healing occurred, the person with the gift of healing is an instrument of grace and God’s own healing.
The fifth gift is the working of miracles. It’s not that the person with this gift can turn water into wine. The truth is that the spectacular things this person accomplishes seem only in retrospect. When you think of the person who gets things done—this is the one with the gift of miracle-working. Retrofitting and renovating our church building, for example, was nothing short of a miracle.
Next is the gift of prophecy. A person with this gift believes that the church is where God’s word is proclaimed. Modern day prophets stand up and speak God’s word in their workplaces, at school, in the community. People with the gift of prophecy know that when the truth is burning inside of them, it needs to be expressed. God uses passionate people to do this, people whose convictions and courage reflect Christ’s.
The seventh gift is discernment—the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood in order that the church may stay true to its course, and in order that the members of the church may grow in their faith. The person with this gift is known by her honesty and open-mindedness; the person is known for his spiritual compass and groundedness. This is the person you would want to talk to for a second opinion about the direction of your life or the direction of the church’s life.
The last two gifts are known as “ecstatic” gifts: speaking in tongues and the interpretation of tongues. These two gifts deserve their own sermons in the future. While speaking in tongues may not be part of our own tradition, neither do we have to dismiss what we don’t understand. In the final analysis, all the spiritual gifts are mysterious. They are more divine than human. We might think that we are not charismatic, yet according to the Scriptures—when we use our gifts, charismatic is exactly what we are.
Divided Corinthian Church
We don’t know too much about why Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians. But by the points made by Paul, this was a bitterly divided congregation. Apparently they were being told that something was wrong in the church because different people have different gifts. Perhaps they thought that once you’re in the church, we all have to look alike; all dressed alike; all think alike; all act alike. How boring!
So Paul assures them that things are exactly as they should be. It is not a sign that God is absent but that God is truly at work. In fact, the point is made that even in God’s personhood; there is so much diversity that God has to be described in three ways. It’s not just God, God, and God. It’s God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Listen to Paul:
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord;
and there are varieties of activities but it is the same God who activates
all of them in everyone.
Our Trinitarian view of God tells us that God doesn’t like conformity. If God can get along without conformity, why can’t we?
One of the strengths at FCBC is our diversity. We tell visitors that if they want to more closely reflect God’s kingdom in the world then you come to FCBC and become open to learn and journey and serve with people with a variety of gifts who come from a variety of backgrounds. It’s not going to be easy because some people will be talking in a foreign language from your own. Other people would hold different viewpoints from your own. Still others will have different interests and hobbies and passions from your own. But without a doubt, all of us believe in the same Spirit, the same Lord, and the same God who activates all of the variety of gifts, services, and activities in each one of us.
And no doubt being human beings as we are, we will have disagreements because of our diversity. When conflict comes, it’s not all bad. Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:19 said, “There have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine.”
Conflict is not bad. It may be the occasion for revealing faithfulness as well as an opportunity for clarifying commitments, recognizing the reality around us, and learning something new. Ultimately, even in the midst of differences, we believe the spirit of Christ unifies us and helps us to work in harmony.
Common Good
Each one of us is given only one spiritual gift. No one is left out. Bryce Smith has a gift. And if you still feel that you haven’t discovered your unique gift yet, it will be revealed to you in God’s time. There’s a story of someone who saw “P.C.” flash across the sky and he interpreted it to mean “Preach Christ.” But this person may discover that it actually meant, “Plant Corn,” or “Peel Carrots,” or “Program Computers.”
When it comes to our spiritual gifts, we tend to be just as confused and bumbling as we are with everything else. That’s not the fault of God the Giver but of us. God is tolerant and patient with us to discover our unique gift for the kingdom.
The gift that each of us has is not for our own personal satisfaction or enrichment. The gift is for the common good. It is to edify the church and to under gird and build up the community of believers. When the gifts of some are minimized or ignored, the individual suffers, but the church suffers even more. When a member refuses to use the gift for the common good whatever gift he or she has received, everyone suffers as well.
With only one gift given to each one of us, our commitment is to use our unique gifts in partnership with each other. Everyone has a place to contribute. Spiritual gifts are always meant for the community. Just imagine what it would be like when all twenty and more spiritual gifts are all working in harmony with each other for the common purpose of praising God and advancing God’s kingdom plans on earth. It’s what God had in mind.
Tomorrow is holiday that we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an American Baptist minister who used his gift of prophecy to tell the church and the world the word of God. Dr. King stood up and spoke the truth of God that was burning inside of him.
And in so doing he worked to free all people from the slavery of prejudice, discrimination, defacto segregation and hate. When Dr. King was fighting for civil rights, he saw that black people, brown people, yellow people, red people, people of color, and all people were denied the biblical fact that God gives each one of us a spiritual gift. No one is inferior to someone else. No one must be seen as unworthy and dispensable when God has given each a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Unity in Our Diversity
Later on this year, we have plans to emphasize the importance of discovering your spiritual gifts. I hope that you would enthusiastically participate. I hope that you would rededicate yourself by using your gift for edifying the church and the common good of our church community. When you are not participating not only do you suffer by not using what God has given to you but we all suffer from not having received the beauty of your gift.
What would happen if we all claimed the gifts of the Holy Spirit has given us? What would happen if we made it a point of identifying those gifts in each other? We would have unity in our diversity.
Over the front door entrance of our church are bronze Chinese characters of our church name given by the generosity of the Emmanuel Family Group in celebration of their 40th anniversary. When Gary Eng and I were standing outside watching the worker install each character, I noticed something amazing. It was an Epiphany—a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. The characters say, First Chinese Baptist Church. On the left side is the character One—To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit. It might mean “first,” but it also conveys that each one of us is invited to come. Right at the center of the characters is People—all of us, not just the students in the gifted program or those who are smarter or younger or older, but all people. And then at the far right, we have the character Organization or Church—what we do here is that each one of us has come having given a spiritual gift from God to share with one another and in this divine task of becoming God’s people, we are God’s church.
Wendy Luo taught me that the character for Organization also means “can do.” For example, “I can draw pictures.” or “We can build houses.” When we use our God-given spiritual gifts, we can make things happen for God!
Use your spiritual gifts and build up the church because there is unity in Jesus Christ our Lord in the rich diversity in which God has blessed us.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, in our baptism you gave us the Holy Spirit and the gift of the Spirit. Enable us to discover the gifts of the Spirit within ourselves and others. Grant us the ability to see and to affirm the spiritual gifts of others, to celebrate the rich diversity of gifts among us, and to use all of our gifts for the edification of your Body, the church, and the salvation of the world. Amen.