Over Memorial Day weekend, 2020, we built Jackson and Carter a treehouse. 

Jackson had been asking for one for years. When he first asked, I knew we were moving from Cartersville and so it didn’t make sense to build one at our home there. But he didn’t forget. Even before we had finalized the purchase of our cabin in North Carolina at the end of 2019, Jackson was asking for a treehouse. 

And so we built one. My father in law and I put it up in two days with strong assists from Jackson who put in many screws himself. It was a gift of epic proportions: a labor of love for Jackson from Henry and I who were exhausted and totally sore afterwards. 

That’s what fathers, and grandfathers, do, labor in love for their children, giving them gifts just because we love them. Those gifts come, or should come, with no expectation of return. We just give because we love. And we love our children, and grandchildren, simply for being who they are.

If we do this for our children, how much more so does our Heavenly Father provide gifts for his children? One of the ways we see and talk about those gifts are as spiritual gifts, given to us out of God’s love through the activation of the Holy Spirit. God gives us wonderful and amazing gifts out of God’s love for us to use for the common good.

But what are those gifts? Are they supernatural only? How do we know how we are spiritually gifted? 

Those are the same questions the members of the church in Corinth are asking of Paul.

So, on this Pentecost Sunday, let’s hear Paul’s answer in his first letter to the church in Corinth.

Scripture

Speaking in tongues. 

That’s the controversy driving Paul’s response here. The people in Corinth wonder if they’re all supposed to speak in tongues to show that they’re actually saved. 

It’s funny how some controversies never die. Churches today continue to have this same debate.

The church in Corinth knows about the speaking of tongues on the day of Pentecost. That’s today, Pentecost Sunday, when we remember and celebrate the arrival of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus ascended back to heaven, he said the Spirit would come and empower the disciples to do ministry. And that’s exactly what the Holy Spirit does on the day of Pentecost, where everyone speaks his or her own language and everyone can understand every language that’s being spoken; a moment of speaking in tongues.

And from there, through the empowerment of the same Spirit, the disciples are able to offer their gifts to the world: Peter through preaching, Paul through traveling, others through healing and prophesying, and yes, some in speaking in tongues.

The Holy Spirit comes in power, to activate the gifts of the people to serve God and love each other. That’s what Paul tells the church in Corinth as he writes them this letter. They, and we still today, have the power of God within us, motivating us and calling us to action; giving and empowering the gifts God has given us to use for God’s glory.

So does this mean that everyone who is of Christ should be supernaturally gifted?

Their gifts are what we might first think of when we hear the phrase spiritual gifts. For such supernatural experiences are what we might expect. The Holy Spirit is after all a supernatural being, so it would make sense that we would receive supernatural powers when the Holy Spirit comes upon us at baptism. Perhaps some of us have had supernatural experiences. I have from time to time myself, and certainly we can testify that the Spirit is powerful, moving among us, inspiring our hearts and labor. 

But sometimes, the expectation in Christian circles is we all are supposed to have such supernatural gifts or experiences; things like speaking in tongues, healing with the laying on of hands, prophesying, and the like.

That’s the expectation at the church in Corinth. There are church members among them who have supernatural gifts and others, many others, who believe themselves to be saved but show no supernatural gift. The speakers of tongues accuse the non-speakers of not really being saved. This offends the non-speakers and a huge division erupts in the church in Corinth, threatening to undo their witness. 

It’s funny how some controversies never die. Churches today have the same disputes. Pentecostals broke away from us Methodists because of a difference on just this fact. Whether or not you can speak in tongues, or can demonstrate supernatural giftedness, continues to divide churches and serve as a point of controversy. Just as it was in Corinth as this baby church experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in their midst.

We, like the church in Corinth, know of examples of folks who are gifted in supernatural ways. We hear stories of spectacular spiritual events through one or a handful of people. We have relationship with people who seem to be gifted with supernatural gifts. Some of us are gifted in just this way.

So what about those run of the mill folks, who have no supernatural or spectacular spiritual gifts? Have we yet to discover what those are? Do we need to become more spiritual to tap into them? Are we too sinful to realize them? 

Are we all supposed to be supernaturally gifted? 

Think of someone who has blessed you richly. Consider their impact on your life. I am always so appreciative of people who have the gift of encouragement. They are balm for my weary soul and often come to me with words of encouragement at just the right time, when I need them the most. Then, there are people I know I can rely upon; folks who will get things done, who are hard workers and know how to follow-through. I am grateful for their behind-the-scenes leadership. Then, there are people who have uncommon wisdom. When I go to them for advice, I feel as though I am hearing God speaking to me, giving me what I need for my journey. It’s beautiful the way God has gifted some of us to be encouragers, reliable hard-workers, and wise counsel. 

These are a few examples of the way I encounter folks in my life who have blessed me richly; people whose spiritual gifts show and are being put to use to serve the church. I’m sure you can think of many examples yourself. 

They are not gifted supernaturally, so far as I know. And yet, through their love for me and for God, when they put their gifts for use for the common good, the result is spectacular. 

And this is Paul’s answer to the church in Corinth. Hear verse 7 again: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

In other words, spiritual gifts do not have to be supernatural or spectacular. Spiritual gifts are the Spirit’s activation of what God has given us to be used for the common good.

When we were knit together by God in our mother’s womb, we were gifted, waiting for the Holy Spirit to activate that gift for use in the body of Christ for the common good; in other words, to build up the Kingdom of God. 

And when we put our natural gifts to use for the body of Christ, the result is spectacular. 

Consider people you know who can love on you like no other. Consider people in your life who can labor like no other. Consider people who lead with excellence, inspiring others to follow. These are not supernatural gifts. And yet, we would all say that these are spectacular people; people whose lives are an incredible presence in our life. They are gifted in these ways and, in examples I’m sure we can all think of, they put those gifts to use through the church for the common good.

Sometimes, spiritual gifts are supernatural but, more often, they are normal things like administration, listening, encouragement, intellectual prowess, or financial skill. Normal things, and yet we all know that when someone gifted in one of these non-supernatural ways uses them to great effect, the result is spectacular. 

That’s the activation of the Holy Spirit, putting our gifts to use, no matter how spectacular or normal they are, for the common good; the building up of the Kingdom of God.

We all have gifts. We probably know ourselves well enough to know what we’re naturally good at. Paul’s question to the church in Corinth and to us today is this: are you putting those gifts you have to work for Jesus Christ? Are your gifts serving the common good? 

That’s what Paul wants the people in Corinth to ask. Not whether or not they’re supernaturally gifted. Not whether or not they’re supposed to be supernaturally gifted. And certainly not if you must have supernatural gifts to be saved. Yes, he gives a list of some gifts, but it wasn’t meant to be an exhaustive list. No, Paul says each person is gifted by God to build up the kingdom, for the common good, empowered by the Holy Spirit. 

Paul uses the body metaphor here to say that everyone is of equal importance, no matter the role they play. In other words, he says the pinky toe is just as important as the eyes which is just as important as the knee which is equally important to the lymphatic system which is just as important as the appendix, and so on. And consider, if you’ve ever broken a toe, you know it’s essential to your body! 

No one’s spiritual gifts are more important than someone else’s; regardless of whether they’re supernatural or not. The gifts that are more noticeable and receive more praise are not more important than those that go unnoticed and receive little praise. In God’s economy, everyone is equal. In God’s design of our selfhood, everyone is equal in their differences. In God’s implanting of gifts to each of us, we are all equally endowed. 

Some are gifted in ways that show out more than others, like gifts that put people front and center through speaking or leading. Others are gifted in ways that go unnoticed: the behind-the-scenes servant or the financial guru or the encourager. 

It’s human nature to put those folks who get noticed on a pedestal and think their gifts are more valuable than ours. But that’s not how God sees it. The hidden gifts are just as valuable as those that are seen. 

Here at the church, we have so many people who are serving behind the scenes, putting their gifts to work for the church, the kingdom, and the common good. We would not function without them. There are those who help with the financial ministry of the church, those who put together district and conference reports, those who always come early and stay late to help set up and clean, those who donate every time there’s a cause, those who decorate, those who serve at Macon Outreach, those who write cards, those who check in on others, those who visit nursing homes and hospitals, and so many others. 

And indeed, churches themselves are gifted by the Holy Spirit to live out who God has made them to be. We at Mulberry are particularly gifted. This past Monday, I shared that I believe God has given us gifts of hospitality, history, service, learning, tenderheartedness, and lay leadership. We are putting those gifts to use for the benefit of the communities we serve: downtown Macon and South Georgia Methodism. Together, we will write the next chapter by further putting those gifts to use to foster healing for the broken places of life. God has equipped us to do that; it’s part of our giftedness as a church, because just as individuals are gifted, so churches are also gifted by the Holy Spirit. 

God has gifted Mulberry to foster healing for the broken places of life within the communities we serve. We will live that out for the common good in spectacular ways.

That’s how God has designed spiritual gifts: ways that God has designed us, both as individuals and as a church, to work for the common good, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

So the question this morning is this: how are you putting your gifts to work for the common good? 

Too often, we have misread this chapter to think that we must all be supernaturally gifted. Paul’s point is the opposite: our gifts have supernatural impact. And that impact is spectacular for those around us if we are giving of our gifts for the common good. That’s why this chapter is the prelude to Paul’s famous chapter on love in 1 Corinthians 13. These gifts, he says, no matter how mundane or spectacular they are, matter not if we don’t act in love. What matters most is the common good, or, in other words, love. What matters most is that our gifts are given in love and done to build others up. 

That’s why I opened with the example of the treehouse. We used many mundane gifts to build that treehouse: carpentry skills, spatial-reasoning skills, and the gift of hard-work. But it was done in love, to build up my children and Henry’s grandchildren. This is how the Holy Spirit gifts us: things that may seem rather unspectacular but, when put to use for others out of love for God, the result is alway spectacular. 

How are you putting your gifts to work for the common good?

A great way to live this out is our upcoming service Sunday on June 11. We have a variety of activities scheduled such that there is opportunity for you no matter how you are gifted. And if you’re not sure how you’re gifted, come and serve and find out. One of the best ways to know how God has gifted us, how the Holy Spirit is empowering us, is experience.  

And come talk to us in the office. If you feel pulled in a particular direction, you feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit, come tell us about that. Let’s resource together what living that out might look like. Here’s my experience: very often, when someone comes to me with an idea, it dovetails with something that’s already happening. That’s how the Holy Spirit works: raising up people whose gifts lend themselves to do the work God is calling the church to do. I’ve had that experience even just this week, as someone right after the meeting on Monday brought me an idea that absolutely dovetails with something we were already working on in the office. The Holy Spirit is amazing and powerful like that. The Holy Spirit is supernatural like that. 

What Paul wants the church in Corinth to hear, and what God wants us to hear today, is this: everyone is gifted, everyone’s gifts are of vital importance to the Kingdom, for we are the body of Christ. None of us are the full body; not even Jesus Christ is the full body. He is the head, we, the church, are the rest. Whatever we are, however we are gifted, we are to embody that gift, put it to use, for the common good; to do our part to build the Kingdom of God. 

And that goes for any age, for at every stage of life, we have something to contribute; a gift of ourselves to give into the world: from babies who inspire our hearts and children whose confidence and unlimited visions inspire us to see what’s possible, to the elderly among us who encourage and inspire with their service and love for our church family and community, and everyone in between. God has gifted us no matter our age, our station, our reach, or our influence. We are all able to live out our giftedness for the common good, both as individuals and here at Mulberry, as we share the heart of God from the heart of downtown Macon by fostering healing for the broken places of life.

We are all gifted. And the call on our lives is to put those gifts to use for the common good; to build up the Kingdom of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit. When we put our gifts to work for the common good, out of love for God, the result is spectacular. This morning consider: how are you gifted? And then, how are you putting the gifts God has given you to service for the church and the common good? 

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Amen.