Be Like Spider-man
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Tell me when you feel like you’ve heard this story before. A young man struggles to fit in, maybe isn’t the coolest but feels that his life has a special purpose.
Somewhere in his journey, he discovers that he has a special ability or gift. Perhaps even something supernatural. Inevitably at some point, tragedy strikes. The young man is left with a decision. Will he allow his anger and bitterness to motivate him to use his gift for bad or use the gift inside of him for good?
Well, this might feel like a familiar hero origin story; this could just as easily be a villain’s backstory. I could be telling you the story of Spider-Man, but also this could be the backstory of the villain, Mr. Freeze.
There is great importance in how we use our Spiritual Gifts!
In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul is writing to the church that is divided about yet another thing. People are arguing over whose gifts are most important. Whose giftings should be honored most. And which spiritual gifts are good for the church.
As we begin to understand this, I think it’s important to define spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are God-given abilities designed to help believers, fulfill their purpose, and serve others.
Paul clearly teaches that everyone has them, but they’re not everyone’s are the same. The source of these gifts is the Holy Spirit living inside of us. The purpose of these gifts is to build up the church and love one another. The praise for spiritual gifts should always go to God, the Father.
It’s vitally important that we understand spiritual gifts. This is not just an afterthought. If we want to be the church that we are called to be, we need to know how to discern and exercise spiritual gifts.
Believe that one reason why young people get frustrated with the church is that they are not given the opportunities to express their spiritual gifts and begin to serve others. We teach them that church is about consuming, not about giving. We see clearly here with the church at Corinth that the church gets messy when we neglect using our spiritual gifts to build up the church.
When it comes to our gifts, I want to challenge us to be like Spider-Man. Paul says in first Corinthians 12:7, “A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person.”
This means you have great power. Followers of Jesus, we are a people with great power. Jesus promised this in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
It’s clear that we all have different gifts. In Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul compares the church to a body. Just as your body has arms, organs, and cells. The church is made up of different parts with different roles.
In order to be the church that God has called us to be, we have to recognize that we have a part to play. There are no clarifications in this. Every person. There’s no one too young or too old to serve Jesus and build the church with their gifts.
If we have these gifts or powers, it’s important that we discover them. We do that in one of a few ways. First, pray and ask God to reveal them to us. Study in Scripture where the gifts are given and ask for discernment and wisdom in understanding your part to play in serving the church.
Second, you can take a helpful test like the one you can find at www.harrodsburg.church/serve that will help you discover the unique ways God has gifted you.
Understand this: you have no power if you don’t know the power you have. So recognizing and discovering our gifts is paramount as we seek to serve the church in the unique way that God has called us to.
With this great power of spiritual gifts, we have a great responsibility. Paul continues in 1 Corinthians 12:7, “…for the common good:”
The power of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of God’s Spirit come with the responsibility of using them to serve others and build up the church. Spiritual gifts are not about us. They shouldn’t lead us to self-righteousness. They shouldn’t lead us to pride.
The point of serving isn’t comparison; the point of serving is faithfulness. And the church gets messy when we start to compare our gifts instead of just loving and serving each other with them.
As we discover the gifting that God has given us, this should motivate us to serve others. Think if Spider-Man only used his webs to grab chips from the counter after he had sat down on the couch. That would be such a waste of his power. It would be obvious to see that Spider-Man is ignoring the fact that there are people to help in a city to save.
Brothers and sisters, this is true for us too; we have people to help. We have a city to save. How can we sit back in comfort while the power that God has given us lies dormant?
The body needs your gift. If you’re a follower of Jesus and you’re not actively serving others in the church, the church is hurting. No, we do not all have the same role or the same responsibility, but we all have a part to play.
Don’t wait. You have an incredible power in you, uniquely given to you by the god of the universe for the purpose of building up and serving your brothers and sisters in Christ, and we need you.
