Series: Unwrapping Your Spiritual Gift
#3: The Gifts of Spiritual Qualities - Love
1 Corinthians 13:1 – 14:1a and 1 Peter 4:7-11 (NRSV)
By John Gill ~ June 18, 2023
This morning, we are continuing our sermon series on the Spiritual Gifts. Two weeks ago, in our first sermon, we learned that all Christians have been given at least one gift, probably several gifts, by the Holy Spirit. We learned that our gifts are unique, custom tailored for each individual; and that each gift is essential for the well-being of the body of Christ – and the functioning of the church. We were each given a piece of a jigsaw puzzle to remind us that God's vision for our church will not be complete until all our members have discovered their gifts and use them for God's glory.
Last Sunday, we looked at what the Spiritual Gifts are, and what they are not. They are not the same thing as our inborn talents or developed skills. And, they are not the same as the “Fruit of the Spirit” listed in Galatians that describe the expectations of every Christian life. We learned that Spiritual Gifts are given to each individual in different measures, and yet, whatever the extent of our giftedness, each of us is responsible for applying our gifts so that they bear fruit for the Kingdom of God.
This morning, we will begin looking at the gifts themselves. The Bible names many gifts – although there is no definitive list that all agree on. The number of individual gifts ranges between 19 and 27. I will be preaching on most of the gifts one-by-one, however some of the gifts that are similar will be clustered together.
In trying to decide how to arrange my sermon series, I have made an attempt to organize the gifts in some logical way. As I studied the list, it seemed to me that they cluster around three categories: First, there are “Gifts of Spiritual Qualities” – Christian characteristics that all believers possess, to some degree – but some believers excel at. Next there are “Gifts of Spiritual Roles” – various “hats” we wear, functional gifts that help us carry out the mission of Christ in the world. And finally, ”Gifts of Spiritual Expressions” – the more “charismatic gifts,” ways we exhibit the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. As I mentioned last week, each of us has a unique gift-mix. As I have looked at these groupings, I suspect that each of us may have at least one gift in each of these three categories. By the end of this series, I hope you know your gift-mix.
Today, we will begin looking at the first grouping: “Gifts of Spiritual Qualities.” These include love, faith, knowledge and wisdom, generosity, encouragement and exhortation, hospitality, and mercy. Yes, they are very similar to the Fruit of the Spirit listed and Galatians chapter 5 verse 22, which are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Like the Fruit, the “Gifts of Spiritual Qualities” are expected of all Christians, to some degree. Yet they are clearly listed as “Gifts of the Spirit” along with all the rest. This morning we will begin with the first, and most important, of all these spiritual gifts: the Gift of LOVE.
There is some debate among experts as to whether there really is a Spiritual Gift of Love, because technically it is not listed as a gift. Those who say “no” argue that, by definition, spiritual gifts are given to some, but not to all. Love, they say, could not be a spiritual gift because it is given to every Christian. After all, aren't we all supposed to love? And of course, they have a point. We all are called to love.
But isn't that true of all those gifts listed as gifts of spiritual qualities? Aren't we all to be generous, hospitable, show mercy, and be encouraging of others? Don't we all have a measure of wisdom, and knowledge? Isn't it basic to the Christian life that we be people of faith?
As Christians, we share all these characteristics – at least to some extent! Yet the Bible lists all these others as gifts, meaning that the Holy Spirit gives to certain individuals an extra dose. That is why I have chosen to list love as a spiritual gift.
But even if love is not a spiritual gift, it should be included here. Why? Because, as we have heard from our scripture this morning, love is the prerequisite for all the gifts. Without love, all the other gifts are ineffectual and meaningless. That is why it is the first gift we are addressing in our series of sermons. Just as love is the first among the Fruit of the Spirit, it must also be first among the Gifts of the Spirit.
The main reason I consider love a spiritual gift is that the apostle Paul did. True, he doesn't list love among the gifts, but he dedicates an entire chapter to love when addressing the issue of spiritual gifts as he is writing to the Corinthian church.
You know, I am so thankful for the letters of Paul. Not just for the wonderful theological insights and advice, but for the glimpse we get of the early church. When we read Paul's letters, we are eaves-dropping on conversations. These letters were not written as scripture. They make no attempt to gloss over the troubles occurring in the churches. As we look at the mess WE have made of the church in our generation, it gives us hope to see just how messed up THEY were!
My favorite church in the New Testament is Corinth. Talk about a messed-up congregation! This church was really into spiritual gifts, and they thought they had it all together. And yet, instead of glorifying God and building up the body of Christ, the church was in disarray! Clicks of people who shared the same spiritual gifts vied for position in the church, each claiming theirs was the most important, most desirable gift, and passing judgment on others who did not share their gift. Paul wrote a strongly worded letter in order to set them straight.
Paul's words to the Corinthian church raise issues that we need to be aware of. As we begin the process of uncovering our gifts and putting them to use, we need to take heed that we don't fall into the same traps the Corinthians fell into. What lessons can we learn from their experience?
First, that spiritual gifts can be a source of pride.
Pride is the root cause of most sin! It also is the cause of most of the problems in churches. Pride puffs-up rather than builds-up. It points to itself rather than to God. Pride causes us “to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think,” to believe that “our way” is the best, or the only way, to believe. It results in an attitude of superiority and to think less of others. Pride leads to arrogance and intolerance and division.
When I was a young preacher, I turned on the TV and happened to listen to Jimmy Swaggart preaching at his church. I remember that he told his audience in the room or watching on television that, “If you attend a church that does not speak in tongues, you should leave that church!” What arrogance! Hasn't he read First Corinthians, chapters 12 through 14? In that section of the scriptures, it is written, “The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you... But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior members, that there may be no dissension within the body...” (1 Cor. 12:21,24-25). All the gifts are equally important, but not all have the same gift. And over-all, reigns the Gift of Love.
So, when it comes to our spiritual gifts, we must beware of pride!
Secondly, spiritual gifts can be a source of jealousy.
There is a danger in the church to lift-up and glorify certain gifts – those most prominent and visible, and to ignore the quieter, behind-the-scenes gifts. This can cause people to devalue their gift as not important, and cause them to covet the gifts others possess. In First Corinthians 12, Paul writes, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ… Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body... But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.”
So, if, in discerning your Spiritual Gifts, you should discover that you are a Helper, and that your best friend is an Apostle – rejoice in your gift, and celebrate the gift of your friend. Because both are equal in the sight of God.
Thirdly, spiritual gifts can be a source of contention.
First Corinthians 11:17-18 says, “Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and to some extent I believe it.”
Pride and jealousy breed division. Many of us have been in churches that were divided by conflict over the more charismatic gifts – factions that caused strife – based on pride, jealousy, and intolerance. In First Corinthians chapter 12 verse 25 it is written, “There should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.” (That’s certainly a prescient word for our denomination these days!)
With all the problems that Spiritual Gifts can cause, it's not surprising that many people in the churches have decided to forget them all together! That's too bad, because:
The Spiritual Gifts can be a source of unity. The secret ingredient is Love.
While all the other gifts can bring division and discord, the gift of love is always the source of unity and harmony. After all the reproving and warning, Paul changes gears. He shows them “a more excellent way” – the way of love.
It's important to notice that throughout these chapters, Paul never says that spiritual gifts are bad. In fact, he insists that they are vital to the Christian life and the church. Every spiritual gift is pleasing to God, but only when love abounds.
To demonstrate how important the spiritual gift of love is, Paul doesn't just mention it in passing, like so many of the other gifts. No, he devotes an entire chapter to it (1 Corinthians 13, aka “The Love Chapter”). And what a chapter it is! It is arguably the most beautiful description of love ever penned. In that chapter, Paul describes a spiritual gift that is the divine attribute given to us so that we might glorify God, and build up the body of Christ – God's church.
Love is the premier gift of the Holy Spirit. Do you think God has given you a special measure of this gift? Test yourself by the description that Paul gives in First Corinthians 13.
William Barclay, the great Bible commentator of the last century, lists 15 characteristics of this kind of love: agape Christ-like love. Based on 1 Corinthians 13, Barlay says that those with the gift of love possess a love that is: patient (in dealing with all people), kind (compassionate of heart), shows no envy (or covetousness or jealousy), is not boastful (but humble, not inflated with its own importance, acts graciously (with tact and courtesy), does not insist on its own rights (but willing to defer to the rights of others), never flies into a temper (showing self-control), does not store up memory of any wrong it has received (but instead, forgives), finds no pleasure in anything that is wrong (never delighting in sin), rejoices with the truth (preferring truthfulness, even if painful), can endure anything (is long-suffering, bearing any insult), is completely trusting (of God and fellow human beings), never ceases to hope (never gets discouraged enough to lose faith), love bears everything with triumphant fortitude (by seizing the ultimate victory).
So, how did you do? Thankfully, it isn’t a pass or fail test – it is a goal toward which we strive. But if your life demonstrates many of these qualities – you just might have the “Spiritual Gift of Love!” We all are to strive for this kind of agape Christ-like love! And for a few of us, hopefully many of us, the gift of love is one of our greatest spiritual gifts!
Do you have the gift of love? If so, how are you using it for God’s glory? Where would God have you use this special gift? Who might you love – who is unlovable?
© 2023 by John B. Gill, III