Spiritual Gifts: 1 Corinthians 13

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that

provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Have you ever been to a wedding where the pastor or a friend of the bride or

groom read from 1 Corinthians, chapter 13? This chapter, known as “the Love

Chapter,” is one of the most famous texts in the whole Bible. Even non-

Christians read it and comment on it. And why not, everyone wants and needs

selfless love.

But as a Village Church Planter, you have been taught to read the Scriptures in

their context. So it is important to understand the context of 1 Corinthians 13…

and its not about weddings!

The context of 1 Corinthians 13 is all about spiritual gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12,

the Apostle Paul teaches about speaking gifts and gifts that demonstrate great

faith. Then, in 1 Corinthians 14, he clarifies how prophecy and speaking in

tongues can best be used. But right in the middle of a long teaching about

spiritual gifts and how to exercise them, Paul writes the most beautiful

exposition on sacrificial love that has ever been written.

  He says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is

not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily

angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but

rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always

perseveres.”

But why? What does any of this have to do with spiritual gifts? The answer

comes in the first verses of 1 Corinthians 13:

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a

resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can

fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move

mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the

poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love,

I gain nothing.”

Do you notice all the references to spiritual gifts? Gifts like speaking in

tongues, prophecy, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, and giving?

These amazing supernatural gifts are meaningless without love; meaningless.

So if you want to use your gifts in a meaningful way, make sure you are filled

with love. If you want your spiritual gifts to bless hundreds and thousands of

 people, humble yourself and ask God to fill you with his love, the kind of love

that is moved to sacrifice and humility and lifting others up. Paul teaches that

if you exercise spiritual gifts without love for others, you gain nothing. But if

you exercise your spiritual gifts with the pure, self-giving love that comes only

from God, you gifts will bless oh so many people in oh so many ways.

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this

encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #SpiritualGifts