Serve the Lord with the gifts He gives you.

 

Sermon for Trinity 9, August 2, 2026

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

1 Corinthians 12:1-7, 28-31  Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.  ²You know that when you were pagans, you were deceived and somehow led away to mute idols.  ³Therefore I am informing you that no one speaking by God’s Spirit says, “A curse be upon Jesus,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.  ⁴There are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  ⁵There are various kinds of service, and yet the same Lord.  ⁶There are various kinds of activity, but the same God, who produces all of them in everyone.  ⁷Each person is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. …  ²⁸And God appointed in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then miracles, healing gifts, helpful acts, leadership abilities, kinds of tongues.  ²⁹Are all apostles?  Are all prophets?  Are all teachers?  Are all miracle workers?  ³⁰Do all have healing gifts?  Do all speak in tongues?  Do all interpret?  ³¹But eagerly seek the greater gifts.  And now, I am going to show you a more excellent way. (EHV)

Serve the Lord with the gifts He gives you.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            Last Sunday, we spoke about the Office of the Keys and how the Church is given the keys to heaven through the proclamation of the gospel and the forgiveness of sins.  Sometimes, however, it is imagined that this work is solely the responsibility of the pastors of the Church.  In our text, Paul demonstrates that the Office of the Keys is part and parcel of every believer’s call, though certainly we do have different aspects to the work depending on the gifts, talents, and calling given to each of us individually.  Therefore, we will say, Serve the Lord with the gifts He gives you.

It is apparent from this letter to the congregation in Corinth that much division had crept into the picture.  Different factions had developed that were tending to pull the congregation apart.  This type of divisive attitude has certainly afflicted Christianity to this day with so many divisions among what should be one Christian Church.  Still, even at a local congregational level, hierarchies and cliques can become a cancerous problem.  At Corinth, some had grown conceited concerning certain gifts of the Spirit with which they had been endowed.  There is evidence of such arrogance in our day as well.

Paul introduced this section by saying, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.  You know that when you were pagans, you were deceived and somehow led away to mute idols.”  Paul identified the problem in our sinful nature.  By nature, we don’t have gifts of the Holy Spirit.  By nature, we are lost and condemned creatures who serve only our selfish selves and the kidnapper who misled mankind into sin.  Therefore, not knowing God, man tried to satisfy that need for God with human inventions, but we were all deceived by the devil’s lies.

Then, while speaking to the believers in Corinth, Paul could rightly conclude that the Spirit had been at work there in the preaching about Jesus they had heard.  However, some of those Corinthians had arrogantly assumed to have made those decisions themselves, while others claimed allegiance to one teacher or another as more profitable for the soul.  Speaking on behalf of fellow pastors, we each certainly have our strengths and weaknesses that some may find attractive or annoying.  Yet, no one is ever brought into the Christian faith by the person speaking.  Rather, it is the Holy Spirit, who indeed has sent these various men, who has the power to rescue sinners from their condemnation.

Paul wrote, Therefore I am informing you that no one speaking by God’s Spirit says, “A curse be upon Jesus,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.  There are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  We believe that the Holy Spirit places His servants into congregations to serve those congregations to the best of the abilities He gives, but also that the congregations should recognize the power behind the called servants.  Now, ideally, none of us frail human pastors would ever do anything that would cause offense, but we too are sinners who need forgiveness for our faults, weaknesses, and imperfections.

Thus, the first main point of our text is to recognize that it is the Holy Spirit who gives the gifts, talents, and especially the call to serve.  We indeed must repent of our sins whenever we might assume to question the Spirit’s decisions.

Now, right along with this arrogant tendency to view one man as better than another, there is another weakness that can afflict us into thinking we either have no gift of service to share with others or that there is no need for the service we could give.  For such false imaginations we must also repent.  When the Holy Spirit draws us by faith into the congregation of the Christian Church, He also blesses us with some part in the assembly.  The Church is often described in the Scriptures as one body of Christ.  And just like your physical body, each part has its own function and responsibility.

We read again, “There are various kinds of service, and yet the same Lord.  There are various kinds of activity, but the same God, who produces all of them in everyone.  Each person is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”  Obviously, the office of the keys is not limited to just the pastors, or to just the pastors, apostles, and teachers.  Every individual believer has a part in the body of Christ which God uses to reach out to the lost souls of earth.  This is where we each must look inwardly and diagnose whether we have served faithfully according to the riches of God’s grace in ourselves.  Have we applied ourselves diligently to the roles the Holy Spirit has given us?  Have we answered the call when He assigns us a part in the proclamation of the Gospel and forgiving others?

Paul then asks a series of rhetorical questions designed to teach us that every good gift comes from the Holy Spirit and is intended to be a blessing for the Church at large.  In the Greek, each of the following questions is actually a negative question implying that the expected answer is emphatically no!  Paul wrote, “God appointed in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then miracles, healing gifts, helpful acts, leadership abilities, kinds of tongues.  Are all apostles?  Are all prophets?  Are all teachers?  Are all miracle workers?  Do all have healing gifts?  Do all speak in tongues?  Do all interpret?”  The point is that all of these things and people are a gift of God to the church, but does that make one better or more useful than another?  No!  Not in the kingdom of heaven for in Christ’s kingdom each part makes its perfect contribution.

Compare it to the physical body.  A toe would make a terrible eye, and an eye would be a lousy finger, but while doing the part they are created to do, they each serve marvelously.  The same is true for you and me in the Church.  If we desire to serve the Church only in ways we might assume more honorable, we likely will serve far less faithfully than the Spirit plans.  Likewise, if we consider one or another type of service more highly than others around us, we dishonor the Spirit who has called each of us into the Church of our Savior, Jesus.  None of us does everything well.  However, the Holy Spirit can and does use each of us for the purpose He intends in reaching the lost with the Holy Gospel.  Therefore, Paul explains, “Though we are many, we are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.  We have different gifts, according to the grace God has given us.  If the gift is prophecy, do it in complete agreement with the faith.  If it is serving, then serve.  If it is teaching, then teach.  If it is encouraging, then encourage.  If it is contributing, be generous.  If it is leadership, be diligent.  If it is showing mercy, do it cheerfully.” (Romans 12:5-8)

Paul then encourages each of us to “eagerly seek the greater gifts.”  What are the greater gifts?  Well, I believe that the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit is the faith that believes in Jesus Christ as Savior and Redeemer of the world.  Another greater gift is the Word of our God.  We should therefore seek to learn and understand it more and more.  An incomparable gift given to us is the forgiveness of sins, and how awesome it is that we are gifted the opportunities to share that forgiveness with others.

Our theme this morning is Serve the Lord with the gifts He gives you.  As we examine ourselves rightly against the demands of the law, we see how far short of perfection we fall.  At the same time, we have the gift of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.  Jesus alone lived perfect service to God and to His Church.  Jesus alone suffered and died for the sins of the world.  Only Jesus came down from heaven perfectly holy and in line with the will of the Father above, so only Jesus could bear our sins and failures to the cross. 

However, Jesus has already accomplished this for you and me.  Our Lord and Savior has now called, invited, and encouraged us to proclaim His peace to the world.  Not all of us are pastors.  Not all of us will be missionaries or teachers.  Yet, as members of the body of Christ Jesus here on earth, we each can and should faithfully employ the gifts the Spirit gives us.  Thank God the Spirit enables those He calls with the gifts needed for our individual calls.

Dear friends, Jesus suffered and died to give you life.  On that cross of shame, Jesus delivered you from prosecution for any sin you may have ever committed.  At the same time, by covering you with His righteousness in the cleansing water and Word of Baptism, Jesus has presented you to His Father in heaven as a workman of righteousness.  Likewise, with His body and blood in the bread and wine of the Supper, Jesus feeds and empowers you with the forgiveness of sins, thus confirming for you that you have the key that opens heaven.

Do not be afraid.  Do not be ashamed of the gospel.  Its power gives you life and hope.  God’s grace makes that message of forgiveness and peace an unlimited resource for you to give life and hope to others.  Sometimes, we do that personally face to face.  Sometimes, we use our gifts to uphold the efforts of others who serve.  Often, that means we do the little things: changing the diapers, growing the crops, shoveling the snow, cleaning the floors, offering a friendly smile or greeting, caring for the poor, or opening up our treasure store so that the Word may be spread.  Always, God uses us, who hope in His love against all opposition, as shining lights to the world, making us beacons of hope to draw the meek and sorrowful out of this world’s darkness of death into the Light of our Savior. 

May God be with you who Serve the Lord with the gifts He gives you.  Amen.

Now, may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with you all.  Amen.