The 9 gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Cor 12:1-11 are not the only spiritual gifts Paul talks about. Other lists are given in:

• Eph 4:11-12
• 1 Cor 14
• Mark 16:15-18
• 1 Cor 12:28-29
• Rom 12:6-8

These gifts are from the Holy Spirit (‘pneumatikon’) and all of grace (‘charismata’, hence the label ‘charismatic’ to describe those who believe these gifts are still functioning today.) Nine gifts are listed:

• Message of wisdom
• Message of knowledge
• Faith
• Gifts of healings
• Miraculous powers
• Prophecy
• Distinguishing between spirits
• Speaking in different kinds of tongues/ languages
• Interpretation of tongues

These are connected with the power of speech (tongues, interpretation and prophecy), the power to know (messages of wisdom, knowledge and the ability to distinguish or discern between spirits) and the power to do miraculous, supernatural things (faith, healings, ‘workings of power.’) All gifts are given ‘for the common good’ (1 Cor 12:7), not to make us feel superior: ‘Spiritual gifts are given to edify the whole church; they are not for individual enjoyment, but for corporate employment. Gifts should not be used to promote ourselves but to prosper the church. When we accept our gifts with humility, then we use them to promote harmony, and this helps the whole church.’ (Warren Wiersbe, ‘Be Wise’, P 137)

By their very nature, spiritual gifts are more than human knowledge, wisdom or power. There are numerous examples of these gifts in action in the Bible (see, for example, 1 Kings 17 and Acts 20:9-11 as examples of the dead being raised, healings in 2 Kings 5 and Acts 3, or words of knowledge in 2 Sam 12:7-13 or Acts 5).

We are called to be ambassadors for Christ, urging people to be reconciled to God (2 Cor 5:20). Ambassadors are to be clothed with God’s power and character (Luke 24:49, Col 3:12-14), carrying a message from the King (hence the emphasis on oral gifts such as tongues, interpretation and prophecy) and doing the same things that Jesus did on earth. Mark Tanner, in his book ‘The Introvert Charismatic’, says “Charismatics are those who take Jesus’ instructions on seeing the works of the kingdom seriously and get on and make space for them”, reminding us “We are all different, but we have a common call to do as Jesus did, and this goes beyond any of us.” (P79) The good news is that we’re not required to fulfil God’s commission in our own strength, but can receive His grace gifts to help us demonstrate the truth of the kingdom of God so that faith rests not on human wisdom but on God’s power. (1 Cor 2:5)

Ignorance is bliss, according to the world, but Paul would not agree, telling the Corinthians he did not want them to be uninformed or ignorant about spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:1). This subject has proved contentious over the years, and even today there are branches of Christianity which believe that the gifts of the Spirit were only needed to ‘start’ the church and are not needed today. Obviously, as a Pentecostal church, we don’t agree with that! Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8) and He promised His disciples they would do even greater works than He had (see John 14:12). The coming of the Holy Spirit in fresh power and anointing on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) saw the real start of the global mission Jesus had commanded (Matt 28:18-20) and that mission continues today, with the gifts of the Spirit needed just as much today as ever if we are to fulfil the mandate to go and make disciples of all the world!

Paul makes it clear in 1 Cor 12:1-11 that there are different gifts but one Spirit and it is up to Him how these gifts are distributed (1 Cor 12:4-5, 11). God’s generosity and loving kindness are key themes in the Bible, but sometimes it is hard for us to grasp this, for we are so used to the idea of reward and punishment. (Parents do great harm when they make Christmas presents a ‘reward’ for good behaviour; rewards are not the same as gifts at all.) The whole concept of a gift is that it is unearned; it simply has to be received in gratitude from one who loves us and wants to bless us. Paul reminds the Galatians (Gal 3:2-6) that grace and faith are the key concepts in the Christian life; living with fear of punishment is not for God’s children (see 1 John 4:16-18).

To demonstrate something of ‘grace gifts’, we opened presents ‘tailored’ to suit us:

We don’t have to be afraid that God will give us something that will harm us (see Matt 7:9-11, Luke 11:11-13) or that His gifts will disappoint, as some human presents do! Instead, because God knows us inside out (Ps 139:1-5) and loves us eternally, He simply loves to pour out ‘grace gifts’ (‘charismata’) on His children. George Canty says, “Exactly as eternal life is gained without trying to curry favour with God, so the charismata come to us, unrelated to any good impression we can make on God. They are not achievements, but ‘all of grace’; not induced, but freely given.” (The Practice of Pentecost, P96) All we have to do is believe and receive!

Don’t forget the special Easter events and services coming up this weekend!

On Good Friday we will be holding a service at 6 p.m. to remember, reflect and celebrate! As we said last week, ‘Christ crucified’ is the epicentre of the gospel and we want to take time out of our busy schedules to meditate on all that the cross means to us: rescue, revelation and conquest!

On Easter Saturday, we will have our coffee morning as usual from 10 a.m. and will also be involved in the ‘Churches Together’ March of Hope around Goldthorpe. In addition to singing songs of Christ’s triumph, we’ll be giving out goody bags containing Easter treats and leaflets:

We’ll be leaving church at 10.15 a.m. and returning for a family lunch after the march, so do come along and join us if you’re able!

On Easter Sunday, services will be at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Come along to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Saviour. As Aaron Shust’s new song ‘It Is Finished‘ says

Your ending was our beginning
Your last breath be came our first
Your suffering be came our healing
You were the way
When no way could be found
You were the way
When no way could be found

Every thing has been done
The cross is the proof we have won
For ever Your power over comes
Your life has defeated death
It is finished!

Our future out hope is found in
The promise we’re in your hands
Our rescue, you’ve paid our ransom
You were the way
When no way could be found
You were the way
When no way could be found

All that you started, you have completed
All that you promised, you have fulfilled
All that you challenged, God you have conquered
As it is written; it is finished
All that you started, you have completed
All that you promised, you have fulfilled
All that you challenged, God you have conquered
As it is written; it is finished.’ (‘It Is Finished’, Aaron Shust)

Tonight’s Bible study will be looking at 1 Cor 12:1-11, a passage where Paul talks about the gifts of the Spirit:

Come along at 7:30 p.m. to find out more and maybe even get your own present!

I’ve been considering gifts a lot lately, having just celebrated my 50th birthday and received lots of lovely gifts and cards. Gifts express love and affection and are often chosen with great care. People who know us well often know what to buy without even having to ask us and are adept at giving us things that really bless us. I love flowers and was blessed to receive lots which my friend artistically arranged for me:

Family decorated my house for me and chose photographs  to be displayed:

Others baked for me:

… and in addition I received lots of lovely presents and enjoyed a holiday away! I’m so grateful for the love and affection of family and friends, but what is even more amazing is the fact that God is the most generous giver of all! James tells us ‘Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.’ (Js 1:17) Luke reminds us ‘If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’ (Luke 11:13) We need to understand the lavish, extravagant, giving heart of God if we are to receive the spiritual gifts He longs to pour out on His church.

Thanks to Gemma’s cake-making skills, people enjoyed birthday cake tonight!

After the top layer was eaten, the bottom layer was left:

Then there was another cake to tackle!

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the cakes didn’t last past the evening… but hopefully, people will provide more food for the ‘Churches Together’ lunch on Saturday!

In the third of our alphabet series, ‘The A-Z of Christian Faith’, we looked at the letter C and concluded (from 1 Cor 1:18-25, 1 Cor 2:1-5 and 1 Cor 15:1-8) that ‘C is for Christ Crucified’. Paul makes it clear that this is the absolute essential element of the gospel; as Simon Ponsonby (pastor of theology at St Aldate’s, Oxford) says, in an open letter to the church published in the February issue of ‘Christianity’ magazine, ‘Drop the cross; lose the plot.’  He says, ‘If we drop the cross we lose the plot, and we cannot blossom and bless, only wither and die… We have a gospel. We have the breath-taking, heart-racing, life-changing, epic story of God who loves us and has come for us. This story of stories presents God in Christ entering the world to rewrite our fractured story, to rescue the drowning, to find the lost, to free the bound, to comfort the broken, to restore the fallen, to enlighten the confused, to create community, to transform society, to recreate creation.’  

In John 12:12-16, we read about Jesus’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, how the crowd heard that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem and took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!’ Matthew also tells us about this moment, explaining how Jesus came to be entering riding on a young colt and how this was recognised as the fulfilment of Zechariah’s prophecy about the Messiah (Matt 21:1-11, Zech 9:9) Excitement was high; the crowds ‘spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.’ (Matt 21:8) Everyone fully expected Jesus to be the kind of political King they were all longing for; but the events of the rest of Holy Week remind us that God tends to act in ways that surprise us and in ways that cannot be predicted.

The final week of Jesus’ life on earth is detailed in all gospels: Jesus teaching His disciples about the kind of kingdom He would usher in, the last supper with disciples, the loneliness of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, His betrayal, arrest, trial and finally crucifixion. If anyone had told the disciples on Good Friday that ‘Christ crucified’ would be described as the ‘power of God for salvation’ (Rom 1:16), they would have thought you were mad. Not only was Jesus dead, He was dead by the most horrific form of execution possible and to Jews, crucifixion was particularly vile, for it reminded them of Deut 21:23 (‘cursed is anyone who is hung on a pole.’) We are used to the idea that the cross represents something wonderful and powerful: the means of salvation. That was not the case then. Jews saw this as a despicable form of death, not at all what they expected would happen to God’s Messiah.

Why did God choose crucifixion as the means of salvation?

1. Because He loves to confound or destroy the wisdom of the wise and frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent. God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Is 55:8-9). We simply cannot grasp His wisdom, but must all stumble over the ‘scandalon’ Christ crucified presents to us (see 1 Pet 2:8). A crucified Saviour makes no rational sense, but paradox is involved; it doesn’t seem to make sense to us in either a religious or a rational way, but it is the way God has chosen to work to save people from their sins and we need to accept that He knows far more than we do when it comes to saving!
2. Because He wants our faith to rest not on human wisdom but on God’s power (1 Cor 2:5). Only faith that rests on God’s power and God’s way of doing things will achieve anything spiritual and lasting.
3. Christ crucified is the means of salvation, revelation and conquest. John Stott says ‘What God in Christ has done through the cross is to rescue us, disclose himself and overcome evil.’ (‘The Cross of Christ’, P 167) Christ dealt with the problem of sin on the cross by sacrificing Himself for our sins (2 Cor 5:21), revealing God’s love for all mankind (John 3:16) and defeated sin and the power of the devil by rising from the dead (Heb 2:14-15).

In dying for us, Jesus has ushered in a new age, ‘the day of salvation’ (2 Cor 6:2) and given us new life, new hope and new purpose. Some of the benefits of Christ crucified lie ahead in the future, but we have the present assurance that nothing can now separate us from His love and that we are now reconciled to God: ‘But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.’ (Col 1:22) We can be whole and holy before God through the crucifixion of Christ.