Sunday 24th May – Those Grace Gifts – Pastor Adrian Kitson

24-05-2026, pastor adrian kitson, Pentecost Day, Those Grace-gifts

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ²You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to dumb idols.

³Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

⁷Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

¹²Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³For we were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

It can be hard to cope with other people’s brilliance. We can find ourselves viewing ourselves to be inferior to this giftedness. On the other hand, we might join this person and enjoy the shared superiority.

It is like being in a sports team when a new guy turns up and is brilliant! Pretty soon a few team members start befriending and emulating him. That’s fine. But then there can come a shift. This new ‘gifted group begin to dismiss and even denigrate the rest of the team who are not so gifted. The rest of the once unified team mates now feel inferior. All of sudden we have conflict and disunity All of a sudden, the team is not doing so well. All of a sudden people are getting hurt and angry.

This is what is going on in Corinth. There is disunity, but not about natural skills and talent, but around how to live with the many gifts of the Holy Spirit at work in different people in this new community.

From this stunning pouring out of the gift of the Holy Spirit on so many in the city, Luke goes on tell us how the Spirit gifted the church into existence in quick time across the Mediterranean world.

The Spirit used Paul to create a church in southern Greece – in the port-city of Corinth.

Christians in this community seemed to receive a lot of these gifts of the Spirit. And they were proud of their gifts…. They were proud of a lot of things.

The city was famous for something not so good. Like a lot of port cities in history, Corinth was famous for its ‘interesting moral’ fabric. It did not have any!

Julius Caesar founded it as a Roman colony in 44BC and ever since, the people were very proud of their “Romanness’. The Forum, a shrine to the empire, was built a little higher than temples to Aphrodite (god of love, lust, pleasure and passion – thus the interesting morals!), Poseidon (god of the sea and of earthquakes – important to keep him happy in this narrow isthmus sided by sea), Apollo (the big cheese) and the healing god named Asclepius.

Roman freed slaves on their way up in the world and business owners out to make a quid made up a significant part of the population. As in all Roman cities, there was a big gap between the have and the have-nots.

Even though the Synagogue ruler, Crispus, followed Jesus, usual hostilities begun. This time the general charge against Paul from the Jewish community was that:

¹³‘This man,’ … ‘is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.’ (Acts 18:13)

Paul would stay in Corinth for about 18 months, teaching across the way from the Synagogue. He would then write at least two or maybe even four letters to the Corinthians community.

Spiritual pride is probably the worse kind of human pride, and it seems, the Corinthian community had plenty of it.

This is not surprising. For at least two reasons: One: Roman society was obsessed with status and competitiveness. This grading of superiority and inferiority was everywhere in everything.

Two: As we have said, it can be hard to cope with giftedness of others. You can either get really competitive to try ad match or outdo them or give up, opt out and discount your own giftedness. What a shame!

Here in this church this pride concerning spiritual giftedness was threatening to tear them apart.

Comparing ourselves with others, other churches, other people’s gifts by diminishing some people and their gifts while exalting other people and their gifts only ever leads to one place – factions.

¹¹My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹²What I mean is this: one of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’

Paul is doing his utmost to call these Christians back to one thing – everything everyone ever has is gift. There is no superiority in the church. Faith, hope and love are how we roll and love is everything all the time (1 Corinthains 13).

Paul hits them with two truths that fire a torpedo into any prideful superiority bubble.

ONE: God’s amazing gifts at work among them are not because of their greatness!

²You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to dumb idols.

Luther agrees:

“Recall, all of you,” Paul would say, “your manner of life before you came to Christ. What were you? Mere darkened heathen, having no knowledge of God but suffering yourselves blindly to be led by anyone…. All your devotion was but a discordant worship. Each one– even the child in the cradle….. must find his own idol wherever he might turn.”

“In return for your devotion you obtained only the privilege of being a blind, wretched, divided, miserable people, unable to fortify yourselves against any error, and allowing yourselves to be distracted by the advocate of any doctrine. You were like a flock of helpless sheep scattered by wolves. “

10 th. SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 1 CORINTHIANS 12-1-11.(martinlutherpostil.com)

Thud!

TWO: Who the gifts proclaim is more important than what the gifts do.

³Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.

You are gifted – by a gracious God. The Corinthians had used the word pneumatika when they raised this question with Paul. It means ‘spiritual things’. Paul uses a different word for these things – charismata, which means grace-gifts.

Message? All that they are experiencing and marvelling at are shows of grace from the same Lord, not mere ‘things’ from them or some other source.

So, lost sinners gifted the Spirit’s grace gifts avoid any sense of inferiority or superiority by trusting that these grace-gifts are not the main thing. It is what they say that is the main thing.

God’s greatest gift in giving his spiritual gifts of grace is not the gifts, but the grace! They proclaim the King of grace – the Lord Jesus Christ.

But how do you tell? By what they say. They either affirm that Jesus is Lord of us all, or they proclaim someone or something else is.

Paul tells them to always look for what is said not only the power that is shown.

It is a two-way street.

If you feel uncomfortable in the presence of a person speaking in tongues or interpreting tongues or offering a word of knowledge or sharing a prophetic vision, and the person is proclaiming that the Jesus is Lord and gets the glory for any good, then the Holy Spirit is at work because no one can even say ‘Jesus is Lord’, unless the Spirit enables that person. So, it is time to listen and commit the message and experience to the Lord and test it against what you already hear in the Bible.

On the other hand, if there is no clear proclaiming that this is all about faith in Jesus’ word or giving glory to the crucified Jesus and furthering his work in people’s lives, then it is time to desist and move on, even if it seems so powerful and feels so good.

It is what the gift says, not how the gifts show that counts, according to Paul.

What about us. How are we going with the grace-gifts of God? Do we have trouble with believing we are superior or inferior? Maybe.

We are safe. Lutherans don’t go for that so called ‘happy clappy’ exuberance. We are in no danger of being led astray to follow the parties of Apollos, Peter or Jesus because we keep away from these risky gifts! Any superiority there? Probably.

Are we inferior or superior to the shiny bright very wealthy and ‘success’ driven version of Christianity that is part of our Western culture – as in Joel Olsteen?
What about the glorious days of the past with huge Sunday schools and youth groups and packed worship spaces and holding them up as ‘superior’ then to inferior now?
What about ‘the church down the road’ who has loads of families and children and young people – are we inferior to them?
What about this whole ‘God-within’ kind of preoccupation often espoused by people who identify as Christians – Like Oprah?
What about the view from some parts of the Christian world that God is mostly concerned about spreading the goodness of democracy and freedom or economic prosperity around the world by use of military, economic and political might?

Maybe we are also able to have an inferiority or superiority complex too!

We know the Holy Spirit’s will is to bring all glory to this crucified and risen and ruling King Jesus (John 16:14). It is easy to judge things according to our own need or experience or view of what is better and best. But what may seem so superior to us can turn out to be a ‘noisy gong or clanging cymbal’ (1 Corinthians 13).

There is a better way to enjoy the gifts of grace without fear.

Paul says the most important thing to know and trust is Jesus. He tells them that all he decided to know among them is: “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2)? Forget the comparing and inferiority and superiority! Not needed and not helpful.

Better to simply welcome the gifts the Spirit chooses to grace us with. They are part of the church from the very beginning. As we do, we are always listening for what is said about the crucified Jesus in however the grace-gift shows up.

I cautiously welcome the gifts of tongues, healing, words of knowledge, prophetic words whenever they appear and am just as keen to include all the other gifts like leadership, helps, teaching, mercy, wisdom….. They all go together. Our challenge is to look for what they say rather tyring to control how God says things.

One thing is for certain today on Pentecost Sunday – we are grace-gifted people of the Holy Spirit.

“But now you have been turned from that manifold idolatry to the one true worship and have been enlightened by God’s Word. More than that, in Christ have been bestowed upon you great and glorious gifts– discerning of the Scriptures, diversities of tongues, power to work miracles– things impossible to the world.

All praise to King Jesus for his grace gifts!

MORE REFLECTION: Those Grace-Gifts

We explore 1 Corinthians 12:1-13 and the Spirit’s grace-gifts, the confession that Jesus is Lord, and God’s purpose of building his people up together. Use it to reflect honestly, listen well, and encourage one another in faith, humility, and love.

Main idea: The Holy Spirit gives different grace-gifts to different people, but every gift comes from the same God, points to Jesus as Lord, and is given for the common good.

Opening

What is one gift, strength, or encouragement you have received from someone else in the church?
When have you felt tempted to compare yourself with others?
What do you hope God might show you through this passage tonight?

Observe the Text

Why does Paul begin by reminding the Corinthians of their past life before Christ?
According to verse 3, what is the clearest sign of the Holy Spirit’s work?
What words are repeated in verses 4-6, and what do they show about unity and diversity in the church?
What does Paul say is the purpose of the Spirit’s manifestation in verse 7?
What stands out to you in the list of gifts in verses 8-10?
According to verse 11, who decides how gifts are distributed?
How does the image of one body in verses 12-13 help us understand life together in Christ?

Apply It

Do you tend to struggle more with spiritual inferiority or spiritual superiority? Why?
How can we make sure we value gifts because they honour Jesus, rather than because they look impressive?
Where do you see the temptation to compare churches, ministries, or people in unhealthy ways?
What grace-gifts do you see God using in this group or congregation right now?
How can you use your gifts more intentionally for the common good this week?
What would it look like for our church to be less competitive and more thankful?
How does this passage call us to greater humility, confidence, and love?

Prayer

Thank Jesus for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Thank God that every believer is welcomed into one body through Christ.
Ask for freedom from pride, comparison, and insecurity.
Ask the Spirit to help your group recognise and use God’s gifts wisely and humbly.
Pray that everything in your church would clearly confess that Jesus is Lord.
Pray for the building up of the congregation and for love to shape every gift and every act of service.

Lord Jesus, thank you for pouring out your Holy Spirit on your church. Thank you that your gifts are gifts of grace, not badges of superiority. Keep us from envy, pride, and fear. Teach us to confess you as Lord, to honour one another, and to use whatever you give us for the good of your people. Build us into one body, full of truth, humility, courage, and love. Amen.