The following message was delivered
on Sunday morning, July 11, 1999, in the Adult Sunday School class
at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now let me take just a moment
to explain what I'm doing standing here in front of you in this
adult class and not Pastor Lamar. Most of you know that he is completing
this weekend several weeks of vacation with his family. God
willing, he will be returning tomorrow and his wife and the
girls will be staying on for a couple of weeks with relatives
there in the Atlanta area and returning in two weeks' time.
And we judge that with him away, it would be unwise for any one
of us to try to pick up the study in the London Confession in which
he is leading us. And so I have been assigned the
class for these two Lord's Days and judged that it would be good
to engage in a guided discussion on what I personally believe
is a very vital subject, always a vital subject, but particularly
for our assembly at this point in our life together. And let
me take just a few moments to review how I lead a guided discussion
in this adult class the subject matter we are wrestling with,
a brief overview of where we went last week, and then we will
pick up and continue that guided discussion. In these guided discussions,
when I ask a question, it's not a rhetorical question, it's a
bona fide classroom question, and so you are encouraged to
raise your hand to be recognized to respond to that question.
We do request that members only respond And not because we suspect
if you're not a member that you would have something to say that
would be embarrassing to you and contrary to what we believe. But I will be able to recognize
you by name. And it does give that honor to
the members and an opportunity to contribute in their class. And then if you have contributed
and another question is asked, please pause for a moment. Some
of you have quicker minds than others and in honor prefer one
another in love and give others of your brothers and sisters
opportunities to respond. And we do regard it appropriate
in the responses that you women should feel free to respond as
well as the men. Now, the subject for these two
classes, your spiritual gift and its employment in the life
of the church. I tried to make it very personal,
not spiritual gifts. and their employment in the church,
but your spiritual gift or gifts and its or their employment in
the life of the church. And I take up this subject realizing
that in two guided discussions in an adult class, we cannot
approach being exhaustive, but I hope to sow some seeds that
will germinate in the area of reflection earnest study of the
Word of God, provoke discussion among yourselves and study, and
perhaps in days to come, several messages that may address this
matter in a more formal way. Well then, with that introduction
and review of what we're doing and how we pursue it, let me
review what we took up last week. Question number one was, what
are the four major passages dealing with the subject of spiritual
gifts in the epistles of the New Testament? Passing over the
Gospels, what are the four major passages in the epistles? And
you as a class did identify those four passages. They're found
in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 to 14, Ephesians chapter 4, and
1 Peter chapter 4. Question number two was this.
After giving a brief overview of those passages, we took up
this question. What dominant concept is present
in three of those four major passages on spiritual gifts? And again, you as a class identified
that dominant concept is the concept of the church as body. In three of the four passages,
the three Pauline passages, he does not address the subject
of spiritual gifts without setting front and center the concept
that the church is constituted a body in its union with Christ
and in sharing the very life of Christ the head. Then question
number three was, what is the central issue involved in this
concept of body? And we had many strands of input
from you. And then I suggested that this
might well collate that input and the major biblical teaching
with this statement. A body is a diversified, multifunctional,
but unified organism. There is diversity. There is
multiplicity of function, but there is unity, and it is not
mechanical, it is organic, living unity. And then we were working
through question number four when we ran out of time. Question
number four was, what are the leading principles in these four
passages? And starting in the Romans passage,
you as a class came up with the first three. Number one, each
member of the body has received some gift or gifts. And this
was clearly established from Romans 12, 3a and 3c, Romans
12, 6a, 1st Corinthians 12, 7 and 12, 17. And then also from Ephesians
4, 16 and 1st Peter 4, 10. God puts no paralyzed parts in
his body and God puts no luxury parts in his body. So every member
placed in the body by the sovereign activity of God, placing his
spirit within that person to make him or her a living member
of his body, he puts no paralyzed parts into his body, no non-functional
parts, and he puts no luxury parts in his body. All the parts
have function as they share in the life of Christ the head.
Then the second major principle we saw in these passages was
this, that each member in the body has a personal obligation
to engage in sober self-assessment concerning the identification
of his or her gift or gifts. And Romans 12.3 is the watershed
text that teaches that. I say to everyone among you not
to think of himself more highly as he ought to think, but to
think so as to think soberly according as God hath dealt to
each man a measure of faith and then he launches into identifying
some of the gifts which God confers upon his people and which are
to be recognized by sober self-assessment. And then we had occasion to note
that the two great quality controls upon accurate self-assessment
are humility in the heart not to think more highly than we
ought to think, and the quality control of the body of Christ. The mandate to self-assessment
does not come to lone range of Christians, who are out on a
mountain somewhere, gazing at the stars, having ecstatic communion
with God, and by prayer and fasting, discovering their gift, they
come down from the mountain and say, lucky church, lucky world,
here I am! No, it's in the context of a
living relationship with the body that we are to engage in
sober self-assessment. And you see, the concept of body
so closely aligned to the treatment of gifts is crucial. And as I
said last week, I want to repeat again this morning, it is a blight
on the Church when people think they can engage in sober self-assessment,
cut off both from humility in the heart and the quality control
of the body of Christ. God never intended it should
be that way. Then the third principle we saw
in those passages was that each member is to give himself to
a love-motivated, Bible-regulated, spirit-empowered employment of
his gifts for the good of the body, and we looked at the major
passages. It is to be love-motivated. 1
Corinthians 13 is tucked right in the middle of those two major
passages on spiritual gifts, indicating that apart from love
being the motive, we are nothing. Should we speak with the tongues
of men and of angels, have faith to make mountains play leapfrog
with one another, without love, we are nothing. They are to be
Bible regulated, 1 Corinthians 14. Here are the gifts of prophecy
and the gifts of tongues and people at Corinth saying, when
the Holy Ghost comes on me and I have this gift, I can't do
anything but give then to it. Paul said, no, no, no, no. You've
got a zoo there at Corinth. Unbelievers come among you and
they'll think they've walked into a loony bin. They'll think
you're mad. Let's sort this out. So many
prophets each time you gather. And the prophets must be male
prophets. Women are not to be speaking
the authoritative word of God. Tongue speakers must check to
see if interpreters are present. They are to be Bible regulated
in all of their use. And then they are to be spirit
empowered. That's the emphasis of 1 Corinthians
12, 4 to 11. By the spirit, by the spirit,
by the spirit. Peter says it this way, the gifts
are to be exercised in the strength which God supplies and then it
is all to be for the good of the body. Ephesians 4.16 speaks
of the body making increase of itself through that which every
joint supplies an increase made in love. Now that's a review
of about 50 minutes of our wrestling together in guided discussion.
I did encourage input, and I'm thankful for those of you who
either spoke to me personally, spoke to me on the phone. One
case, a letter was sent to me this week giving some input,
and I'd like to add to that third principle this little phrase
suggested by one of the sisters who wrote to me this week. Each
member is to give himself to a love-motivated, Bible-regulated,
spirit-empowered employment of his gifts for the good of the
body, I'd like to add the phrase that this sister suggested, and
ultimately to the glory of God. And then she pointed out that
this is the emphasis in the first Peter passage. Now let's turn
there. I've been running through this review in the interest of
time. I've not asked you to turn to any of the passages, but please
turn to first Peter chapter four, verse 10, according as each has
received a gift. ministering it among yourselves
as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speaks,
speaking as it were oracles of God. If any man ministers or
serves, ministering as of the strength which God supplies,
to what end? Here's a purpose clause. In order
that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,
whose is the glory and the dominion forever and ever. So that third
principle, some of you taking notes, may I encourage you to
add that little phrase. Each member is to give himself
to a love-motivated, Bible-regulated, spirit-empowered employment of
his gifts for the good of the body and for the glory of God
through Jesus Christ. For those of you that did your
homework assignment and tried to see in these four major passages
any other major principles relative to spiritual gifts, did you see
one, two, or three, or more major principles that ought to be put
in this list? Yes, Cliff? All right, and where did you
get the concept that we must, what did you say, must improve? Give it back again. All right. All right. And he gave some to
the apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some
pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints. It's the responsibility of those
that have the gifts of prophets and evangelists and pastors to
exercise their gifts. And then it's our responsibility
as members of the body to be perfected through the exercise
of the gifts of the Brethren on our behalf. Yes, and if we
read verse 12 in a way that reflects greater sensitivity, the original,
it is for the perfecting of the saints unto service work or work
or works. I'm not sure I don't have my.
a Greek text in front of me, works of service, so the perfecting
of the saints is unto their work of service within the body. So
the concept then of each believer giving himself to the ongoing
cultivation and development of his gifts for the good of the
body, that's very helpful, Cliff. That's not one that I have in
my list. That's why we have a guided discussion.
The teacher learns as well. All right. Someone else. We saw something that you thought
was a major principle. We'll hold off and see where
we can fit that in the list of things. All right, one more that
I had in my notes last week, and then another one that in
working back through the material, I saw, I think it's a major principle. Major principle number four is
that each member is to appreciate and encourage the recognition
and exercise of the gifts of the other members of the body. Each member is to appreciate
and encourage the recognition and exercise of the gifts of
the other members of the body. There's no copping out of the
body because of diversity, and there is to be no exemption of
ourselves from exercising our gifts because of that diversity. This seems to me to be the emphasis
of 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Let's turn there for a moment,
one of the major sections in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. While I am still not sure precisely
what the apostle is driving at, when after establishing that
in one spirit, verse 12, we are all baptized into one body, made
to drink of one spirit, verse 14, the body is not one member,
but many. I'm not quite sure what he's
driving at in this next session. If the foot shall say, because
I'm not the hand, I'm not of the body. Is it not therefore
not of the body? If someone says, well, I am not
that person with this particular function, does the mere saying
of it change reality? That much is clear. And the obvious
and the answer to that rhetorical question is obvious. If suddenly
my hand could think and speak and say, I'm a hand, I'm not
a nose. Therefore, because I am this,
in the identity of this living organism, because I'm not that,
I'm not of the organism, my hand merely saying it doesn't determine
reality. Reality is, my hand is my hand. Now, how that fits into the whole
scheme of things, I've pondered this passage and prayed over
it, and I'm not quite sure, at this juncture, precisely what
the apostle is emphasizing. But it is clear what he's emphasizing
when we come to verse 21. The eye cannot say to the hand,
I don't need you. The eye is functioning beautifully.
It's seeing accurately. The optic nerve is sending signals
to the brain. And it says then to the hand,
whoo, I'm doing great here all by myself seeing reality. I don't
need you. Well, what happens when the hand
sees that an object is flying toward the face and needs protection? Suddenly the eye knows it needs
the hand. It may go a period of time without
any conscious need of the hand, but its immediate and present
consciousness doesn't determine reality. The eye needs the hand. The eye sees that the child is
falling and the parent wants to rescue it from danger. It
needs both hands attached to active arms desperately and immediately. So Paul enlarges on that concept. Let's look at it there. But now
they are many members but one body. The eye cannot say to the
hand, I have no need of you. Or again, the head to the feet,
I have no need of you. I can think without toenails. Yes, but when the brain thinks,
danger is behind you. Feet, move! Feet, move fast! Suddenly the head knows it needs
the feet. This is the imagery Paul is using. And then he goes
on to say, nay, much rather, those members of the body which
seem to be more feeble are necessary, and those parts of the body which
we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant
honor, and our uncommonly parts have more abundant comeliness,
whereas our comely parts have no need. But God tempered the
body together, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked,
that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members
should have the same care one for another. And then he seems
to move into an emphasis not so much upon the exercise of
gifts, but upon the sympathy of all the members as they relate
one to another, each one seeking to keep the other in optimum
health so that there may be the efficient exercise of each of
its distinct parts. So the concept then, that I've
tried to capture in this principle, each member is to appreciate
and encourage the recognition and exercise of the gifts of
the other members of the body. And surely that is true in the
Ephesians 4 passage, as Cliff has quoted it, pastors, teachers,
and with the apostolic influence being embodied in the scriptures,
as well as that of the prophets. Evangelist is a moot question.
Are there still evangelists? I'm not about to go into that,
but these gifts are given for what purpose? For the perfecting
of the saints. Well, that means the saints will
recognize those gifts as they are deposited in those people
who possess them, and they will recognize and encourage the exercise
of those gifts for their own benefit, for the benefit of others,
just as those who have gifts of teaching and pastoring will
recognize the gifts that Christ has deposited in the other members
of the body and will encourage the recognition and exercise
of those gifts within the body. This is part of Hebrews 10.24.
We are to provoke one another unto love and good works, and
certainly one channel of good works is the recognition and
the exercise of our God-given gifts. All right, then question
on that principle that I've tried to isolate as number four. All right, then principle number
five. It's one that stands on the face
of the Romans 12 passage, the 1st Corinthians 12 passage, particularly
verses 7 to 11, and Ephesians 4, the beginning of the subject
of the gifts. There's one other major principle
that I think it's so obvious we assume it, but it's good to
recognize it and to identify it and to state it as a major
principle in this whole subject of spiritual gifts. Anyone have
an idea what we might be fishing for Ron. All right. Pastors and teachers
have a unique responsibility in what respect. OK. All right. So in terms of the
body. functioning in a healthy way, those in places of pastoral
leadership have an unusual responsibility upon them? Is that what you're
saying, Rob? All right? Certainly a vital principle.
It's not the one I'm fishing for. I'm not saying it's irrelevant.
All right? It's a principle we've not yet
identified, and it's crucial in this whole subject. Let's
see if I can tease it out of you by reading, particularly
from 1 Corinthians 12, in the interest of time. Verse 7, But
to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal. Verse 11, But all these work
the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally,
even as he will. Verse 28, And God has set some
in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets. Got a clue as to what I'm fishing
for? Alright, Paul? Yes, and he distributed them
how? According to what we think he
ought to do, or we might like him to do, or according to his
own sovereign will. Alright, it's the latter or the
last. Yes, so this is the way I put the principle down on my
notes. Each member is to recognize the
absolute sovereignty of God in the distribution of gifts within
the body. Each member is to recognize the
absolute sovereignty of God in the distribution of the gifts
within the body. We go back to the Romans 12 passage
as well. I say, through the grace given
to me to every man among you, not to think of himself more
highly than he ought to think, but think soberly according as
God has dealt to each man a measure of faith. And again, in verse
6a, having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to
us, Now, if this is a deep, settled perspective, not a theological
concept to which we point and say, yeah, I believe that, big
deal, let's get on to more important things. But if within the body,
as individual believers, in a context of humility, with the quality
control of the body of Christ giving its input, each member
seeking to discern cultivate, exercise his gift, motivated
by love, regulated by scripture, empowered by the spirit, to the
motive of the good of the body and the glory of God, recognizing
the gifts of his brethren, what practical effect will this principle
have if it is more than mere theological concepts, or if it
is more than a mere theological concept? this principle that
the absolute sovereignty of God is operative in the distribution
of gifts. What practical effect will that
have? All right, it'll cut the nerve of
pride. It'll feed the springs of contentment. with what God
has given, rather than having carnal ambition for something
God has not given? Now, how will it cut the nerve
of pride? Can you think of a text that
addresses that head-on? It's in Corinthians. Anyone think of it yet? What
have you that you have not received? Why do you glory or both as though
you had not received it. What do you have. First Corinthians
4 7. Who makes you to differ. What
do you have that you did not receive. Now the answer to the
first two questions all of you know every believer knows who
makes you to differ. God does. What do you have that
you didn't receive nothing. But if you received it. Why are
you glorying as if you had not received it? Why are you acting
as though it's something you've generated, and you've created,
and you can look at your creations and say, ain't that great? You
see, it cuts the nerve of pride in terms of any gift or gifts
that God gives. And it will also feed the springs
of holy contentment. Now, we do know that 1 Corinthians
14 says we are to desire spiritual gifts. It is right to pray that
God might increase our giftedness. It is right to plead that God
will enable us to cultivate certain gifts. But at the end of the
day, there must be a sense of contentment with who and what
God has made us and our particular function within the body. And
then it'll also be a death blow to another wretched sin, which
if it is not kept dead by the power of Christ's cross can wreak
havoc in any congregation. Yes, Lynn. That's it. Envy. That green-eyed monster. What is envy? Envy is the inability
to rejoice in what another has until I have it. I can't be content. And what is generally joined
to envy? is an evil spirit resulting in evil words and attitudes to
the one who has the thing I want. If I can only bring them down,
that's the language of envy. Envy is never content to be a
disposition stewing in the heart. It breaks out in an effort to
deal negatively with the person possessing that which I envy,
his position, his gifts, whatever else it may be. So this is critical
then within the body of Christ to recognize the absolute sovereignty
of God in the distribution of the gifts within the body. The
Ephesians four passage underscores that as well. When he ascended
on high Christ, that is, he gave gifts unto men and he gave some
apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. All right
now, oh boy, time is getting on with us. Several last questions
that had to do with what I've tried to reduce to this vital
question, what is the nature of a spiritual gift as we're
talking about it in this class and as we see them identified
in the scriptures? What is the nature of a spiritual
gift? Would anyone want to venture,
not a formal definition, but at least a poor man's layman,
laywoman's A description. What is a spiritual gift? Got your thinking caps on? No
one's bold enough yet to venture. Yes, Ethan? Alright, any? Any talent or what
was the other term you used? All right. Okay, so that any
gift or talent which if used will help others to be more conformed
to Christ, that's a spiritual gift. You want to agree with
Ethan? You want to disagree? You want to add or subtract to
that venture? to identify spiritual gifts.
Yes? I'd like to ask a question. Would the gift be something that
the person themselves would have to learn to hold that gift? Mm-hmm. Yeah, the question is,
is it something that they would have to learn? You mean to acquire
it or to cultivate it? I think, like, if it was a book,
a given gift, maybe it's something that person, maybe, would make,
begin, and then they learn how to All right, but I think I know
where you're going and that fits in with what I've got here on
my notes is as one aspect of that. So that's that's that's
helpful. All right, someone else ready
to stick your neck out. I mean, stick your tongue out
after you've raised your head and not your tongue at me, but
your tongue to form words. All right, let let me throw out
what I hope will be helpful that In one sense, we can look at
certain of these passages and say this, that a spiritual gift
is a supernatural endowment of an ability or function in no
way necessarily related to natural endowments. A spiritual gift
is a supernatural endowment of an ability or function in no
way necessarily related to natural endowments. Now can you think
of some of the gifts lifted in Corinthians and Romans and again
in Ephesians 4 that are supernatural endowments of ability or function
in no way necessarily related to natural endowments. What gifts
would fit that? How about the gift of prophecy?
The gift of prophecy is an endowment from God in which the prophet
becomes an organ of revelation. He receives revelation, he communicates
it. Now God can give that gift even
to a dumb donkey. And he did. Balaam's donkey became
a prophet, spoke the word of God to the mad prophet. Saul was among the prophets,
prophesying the Spirit of God came upon him, had no necessary
relationship to his character, let alone to any fitness for
the prophetic office and function. It's a supernatural endowment
of an ability or function in no way necessarily related to
natural endowments, the gift of tongues. On the day of Pentecost,
when the Spirit of God came, they all spoke in other languages
as the Spirit gave them utterance. God didn't stop and say, now
let's do a test here to see which of you has unusual facility in
languages. Some of us have a more native
facility in the acquisition of languages. God didn't do that.
The Spirit of God came upon them and they all spoke in languages.
that they had not necessarily acquired in the ordinary way,
with no obvious, nothing in the text indicate that there was
any reference to natural endowment. Gifts of healings is mentioned
in 1 Corinthians 12, the working of miracles. Certain spiritual
gifts recorded in the New Testament were supernatural endowments
of ability or function in no way necessarily related to natural
endowments. Now, they may have been related.
A man may have had a native gift of gab, and the Spirit of God
came upon him, possessed it, sublimated it, and made him a
prophet. But he may not have. I say, if
God can make a donkey speak his words, God can take someone naturally
a stutterer, Can he do that? Yes, he can. All right, so that's
one form of spiritual gifts. Now, we are using the term here,
and we find it used in the scriptures, in some of the explicit passages,
as we'll see, as well as the analogy of faith, the general
teaching of scripture. Here's the sense in which we're
using the term spiritual gift. It is a gift of natural endowment
enhanced and empowered by the Holy Spirit. A gift of natural
endowment enhanced and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Listen to
the questions submitted by one of the members. This was the
one submitted by one of the sisters. This is one question I'd like
to have answered. In the Romans 12 passage, Paul
sets forth several gifts that seem to me to apply to everyone
in the church. Now let's look at them. Romans
chapter 12. Let's have the passage in front of us. Romans chapter
12 Paul seems to set forth several gifts that seem to me to apply
to everyone in the church specifically exhortation look at verse 8 he
that exhorted to his exhortation and this note from this member
says well in Hebrews 313 exhortation is mandate of all believers We
are to exhort one another day by day, lest any of you be hardened
through the deceitfulness of sin. Notice, giving, in verse
8, he that gives, let him do it with liberality, and at the
end of the verse, he that shows mercy. And in this note, this
member notes that all Christians are under obligation to give.
And all Christians are under obligation to show mercy. And
the point that this sister makes is that most of the others listed
in Romans and in First Corinthians and Ephesians are definitely
present in some Christians, not all. My conclusion regarding
the three I mentioned is that Christians who are said to have
those gifts have a heightened ability over others in performing
exhortation, giving, showing mercy. I'd appreciate your comments
on this, Pastor. Well, my comments are that I
believe this is an accurate perception of what the Bible sets before
us. A spiritual gift is any ability or capacity, however acquired. Now, here's where we come to
the more formal definition. A spiritual gift is any ability
or capacity, however acquired, by which the biblical warrant
to serve the Church and promote the fulfillment of its God-ordained
functions is accomplished. A spiritual gift is any ability
or capacity, however acquired. Some may be acquired primarily
by a divine endowment. I can think right now, and the
man's face comes before me, a man who by temperament was very retiring,
very shy, in any social situation he was the foot shuffler with
his face down and mumbling almost into his shoes. Very reticent,
very socially retiring, almost painfully socially awkward. But
when the Spirit of God came upon him and endowed him with a gift
of utterance, and I shall never forget when I first saw this,
seeing this guy stand in the street corner with me in Stamford,
Connecticut, all of the shuffling was gone, all of the face down
and the shoes was gone, all of the mumbling and almost incoherent
speech was gone, and he stood erect bold as a lion with a fluency
of utterance that anyone who appreciates what preaching is
would covet. That did not come by painful,
slow cultivation. It didn't come by natural acquisition,
taking Rhetoric 101 and Speech 102, it was a divine endowment. The Spirit of God came upon a
man and loosed him to preach the Word. However, I know of
others who went from the shuffling, mumbling stage by painfully slow
degrees to where they have become competent communicators in general
and of the Word of God in particular. Now, which one is more gift-packed? Well, neither. You see, if we
take this definition, a spiritual gift is any ability or capacity,
however acquired, and in whatever combination of acquisition. It
may be 90% divine endowment and 10% prayer and pains in practice. I like that. I better write that
down. Prayer and pain in practice. It wasn't in my notes. It may
be 90% prayer and pain in practice and 10% endowment. And at the
end of the day, it doesn't make a bit of difference. If it is
a gift, a capacity that within the boundary of the Word of God
can serve the Church and promote the fulfillment of the God-ordained
functions of the Church, its own edification and its own propagation
and its own advancement in evangelism, that's a gift. And we don't need
to sit around saying, well, I don't know whether this is something
that came 80% when I was scrambled together in my mama's womb and
10% in my development. You don't need to sit around
trying to figure out the percentages. Stoberly assessed, do you have
a gift? Then it's to be exercised. Motivated
by love, in the power of the Holy Spirit, according to the
teaching of Scripture, unto the good of the church and unto the
glory of God. A spiritual gift is any ability
or capacity, however required, by which, with biblical warrant,
we can serve the church and promote the fulfillment of its God-ordained
function. And I encourage you to go back
on your own and put that definition to the test with the list of
gifts in Romans, Corinthians, and in Ephesians. And I think
you'll find that, for the most part, it fits. As I've gone back
over the passages, I'm satisfied that though this may not satisfy
the technical theologian, I hope it's a helpful working concept
for you as God's people. Now, let's look at an example. Here's a man who, when he was
scrambled in his mother's womb, was given by predisposition of
sovereignly arranged genetic composition, good eye-to-hand
coordination, and a temperament that from the time his mama can
remember, he had an inclination to love Lego sets and things
mechanical. So God put him together with
very strong predisposition to be interested in and capable
in the area of mechanics and all the things that go together.
So as he developed, his interests were cultivated in that area.
And by the time he's 20 years old, he's the first great mechanic.
He advances in his career and at age 28, God is pleased to
save him. And he's incorporated into a
biblical church. And he begins to understand that
he's not only there to get blessed and to grow, but he's there to
serve. And now he says, Lord, how can I serve? And it's like
the Lord says to him, as he said to Moses, what is that in your
hand? Well, I got a set of mechanics tools. And what is around? Brothers and sisters in need.
They can't trust the mechanics that they go to, or maybe they
can't afford to pay first rate. He's not looking to, he's not
encouraging people to think that because he's a brother that they
can get their mechanical services for free, but in his spare time,
what does he want to do? He wants to serve Christ and
his people. So he makes known to the deacons, says, look, if
there are people you're aware of that are financially pressed
and have needs, listen, nothing I'd love more than to take part
of my day off on Saturday and give them a break job. to put
a new tie rod on the front end, to replace their struts or their
shock absorbers. And what does he do? He takes
this naturally inquired, genetically programmed combination of things
and he lays them out for the service of Christ and his church.
Can we find a biblical identification for that precise gift? You'll
nowhere find it. Mechanic is a gift. You might
want to subsume it under gifts of helps, but that's questionable.
But you see, that becomes a gift with which he can serve the body
of Christ. He may seek to use that as a
bridge of evangelistic contact with neighbors. It is a gift. It is an endowment. and now a
spiritual gift because he's a spiritual person indwelt by the spirit
motivated by love to serve God's people to their good and to God's
glory and there is nothing in the scriptures that would say
that such an avenue of service contradicts any biblical principles
now the problem is here's someone whose predisposition The way
they were put together in their mother's womb, in their early
days of development, they became obsessed with ballet. And all her life she
dreamed of being a ballet dancer. Someday being able to perform
on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, when one of the major
ballet companies comes during the off-season from the operas
that are performed there. They do perform ballets at the
Met. So I think I'm not mixing my forms of art. Now, this person gets wonderfully
converted, comes into the church, and says, well, the only gift
I have is standing up on my toes in a tutu. And I desperately
want to serve God's people. And so she comes to the elders
and says, can I start ballet classes for all the girls in
the church? Now, we've got a problem here.
because we've said that a spiritual gift is any ability or capacity,
however required, by which we can, with biblical warrant, serve
the Church. Then we have to sit down and
perhaps help instruct this woman that the disciplines of ballet
would be helpful to pass on to the young girls in the Church,
the sense of aesthetics and sensitivity, but do we want to encourage the
promotion of the immodesty? the preoccupation with thinness,
and I know what I'm talking about. This is not something I've conjured
up in my own mind. The obsession with the thinness
makes bulimia and anorexia epidemic among ballet dancers. So then
we have to ask, you see, is this a natural endowment with acquired
abilities? Now this person, we've got to
ask, does it have a biblical framework for its expression? You see, here you've got a guy
that he's a bar bouncer. He gets saved. And he wants to
use his bar-bouncing ability to the glory of God and the good
of God's people. We can't tell him, you go around
punching out people in the name of the Lord. It doesn't work.
So, you see, this whole concept, once you open the door and say,
well, a spiritual gift in the sense in which we are speaking
of it in this broadest sense, any ability or capacity, however
required, it's crucial that we qualify by which we can with
biblical warrant. serve the church, and promote
the fulfillment of its God-ordained functions. Well, we've got about
five to six minutes left. I've tried to throw out that
teaser definition to make you think and wrestle with this. Now, interaction. Additions or
corrections to the Secretary's report. Questions growing out
of this, or comments. Yes. Yes, that's where we come back
to the matter of body. And within the body, the commitment
to seek to cultivate meaningful interpersonal relationships that
we get close enough to say, look, it's clear to me as I've interacted
with you and I've observed you. that you seem to have an unusual
facility in this area. Now, Mary, Harriet, John, Peter,
have you ever thought that God may be giving you some peculiar
endowment in that area in order to, and that way we can help
provoke one another to love and to good works, especially if
people are clothed with humility. They're not pushing themselves
forward. There are times when they need
a gracious, sanctified nudge. Proud people are always running
out ahead of the pack, wondering when in the world is the rest
of the world going to recognize all my gifts. Humble people often
are like Moses. When God came and said, look,
you're going to deliver my people, he didn't say, Lord, I wondered
when in the world you're going to wake up with reality. I've
been on the backside of the desert here, convinced for years I'm
the man. And God, I'm so glad you finally
wised up. That isn't what Moses said. He
said, you got the wrong guy. I can't talk. And God had to,
he got cheeky with God until God finally said, okay, I'll
use Aaron as your mouthpiece, but you're still going to be
the one to deliver me. And generally speaking, when you find God calling
people to peculiar service or to service of peculiar responsibility,
they didn't run forward and say, God, I'm so glad you finally
woke up to this marvelous gift waiting in the wings for his
curtain call. They want to run. They want to
run. Whether it was Jeremiah, Isaiah
falls down upon his face and said, you know, I'm a man of
unclean lips. And yet. Filled with the vision
of God, when God takes the initiative, as whom shall we send? Who will
go for us? Here am I. Take the likes of
me if you can use me. So that's a very good point,
Linda, that in our interaction with one another, that there
needs to be sufficient personal exposure that we see one another
in these varying relationships to encourage one another, not
to play prophet and say, thou hast the gift of, and I tell
you in the name of the Lord. No, I say to each man among you,
or each one, not to think of himself more highly, but to think
soberly. The onus is eventually on each
one of us to seek to discern our particular gift. But thank
you for that contribution. Other questions or comments?
Yes, Mike? I think it speaks to the necessity
of following through with what you're saying here in the first
one and two. It says, ìI am the true life,
and my father is the body flesh. Every branch in me that does
not bear fruit, he takes away.î That's the message that I would
bring out. If we don't find out what spiritual
gifts and our ways of bearing fruit, we can suffer removal
from the body. Yes, John 15, 1 and 2. Let me
very quickly, in the couple minutes that remain, because these were
some other questions submitted, and let me at least give a token
response so the questioner will not think I overlooked them.
The question was, is the exercise of our gifts optional? And I'm
confident that if we had time, you would come up with the right
answer. No. Romans 12 makes it clear, having
discerned the gift, He that teaches, give himself to his teaching.
He that exhorts to his exhortation. He that shows mercy with cheerfulness. And 1 Peter 4, as each has received
a gift, ministering it among yourselves. No thought that any
gift is given to be put on the shelf. So the exercise of gifts
is not optional. The question was asked, how does
one accurately assess one's gifts? I would suggest prayer or the
spirit of humility, seeking counsel of wise and discerning men and
women, seeking the input of one's overseers. What if our assessment
conflicts with others? Well, that could be a complicated
thing, but at the end of the day, these principles will resolve
the issue. If our personal assessment conflicts
with others, then we can't intrude ourselves into a sphere of exercising
that gift if others do not recognize it. There would be the place
for additional prayer, discussion, searching of the scriptures.
But I would encourage each of you in reflecting on this whole
subject to seek some time, if not today, throughout the week
to go back to those two parables. Remember, I said we weren't going
to consider the parables in looking at some of the basic principles,
but I would encourage you in the light of the things we've
wrestled with to consider the parable of the talents in Matthew
25 14 and following and the parable of the pounds in Luke 19 11 and
following and consider very seriously this truth that when the Lord
Jesus returns the gifts given and the opportunities afforded
will meet us in the way of sober accountability. And I would urge
each of you, while this has only been seminal, I hope it's opened
up enough of the biblical data that your own conscience will
be increasingly sensitive to this matter. And as we seek more
and more as a body of Christ to function as a body, that each
of us will recognize the day is coming when our returning
Lord will call us to account for both the talents and for
the pounds, whatever they are. concept of accountability for
the stewardship of gift and opportunity will meet us in the last day.
Well, our time is gone. Let's pray and ask God's help
in the days to come. Our Father, we thank you again
for this time together. We thank you for your word. We
thank you for your goodness in constituting us a body and how
we pray that more and more we may understand what it is to
function as a body with each member, understanding and fully
implementing the gifts that you have given. Whether those gifts
have come primarily by divine endowment or by genetic predisposition,
long and painful cultivation, Lord, we express again that whatever
we have, you have given and we desire to see it exercised for
the good of our brothers and sisters, for the advancement
of your gospel, and all to your glory. Thank you for the privilege
of having this time together. Continue with us throughout this
Lord's Day to our good and to your praise. We ask through Christ
our Lord. Amen.