SERMON
The Giver of Gifts – June 21, 2026
Pastor Paul Georgulis
Imagine attending an orchestra where every musician wanted to play the same instrument. No violins. No cellos. No flutes. Only percussion. Instead of beautiful music, it would be chaos that no one else but other drummers would pay to listen to.
Yet sometimes we think the church should work that way. We compare ourselves with one another. We wish we had someone else's gifts. We even question what we have to contribute.
The Christians in Corinth were so focused on the gifts themselves and what people could do that they lost sight of the One who gave them. But the Apostle Paul’s response is surprising. Before he explains the instruments, he introduces the Conductor. Before he explains the gifts, he points us to the Spirit who gives, empowers, and works through them.
The church is made up of many people with different gifts, personalities, experiences, and callings. Every gift is different, and every person is important.
Regarding the Corinthian Christians, theologian N. T. Wright writes:
"Within the Christian orchestra, some considered themselves superior to others, and there was a danger that the whole symphony would be played out of balance and even out of tune."
Think about an orchestra for a moment. You have violins, trumpets, flutes, cellos, percussion, and a plethora of other instruments. None of them sound the same or play the same notes. But when they follow the same conductor and play the same piece of music, they create something beautiful together that none of them could create alone.
The church is like that.
We are different by design in that God never intended every Christian to be the same, but to work together as one. When one part tries to do everything, places itself above others, or is missing altogether, the music suffers. But when every person embraces the role God has given them and uses their gifts alongside others, the church becomes what God intended it to be.
That brings us back to 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul draws our attention to the gifts that make the church—the Body of Christ—function.
Spiritual gifts are more than natural talents, skills, or abilities. They are divine enablements for ministry given by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit works through our abilities and sometimes beyond them. In either case, the source of the ministry's effectiveness is not us but the Holy Spirit. Spiritual gifts are given so that Jesus can continue His ministry through His people and so that His love can be seen, heard, and experienced in the world.
Paul taught a lot about the gifts of the Spirit in several of his letters, including Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12-14, and Ephesians 4. The fact that these lists are not identical suggests that Paul was less interested in producing an exhaustive catalog of spiritual gifts than in helping the church understand the Spirit who gives and works through the gifts.
Now, there is certainly a time and place to study each of these gifts individually. But that is not Paul’s primary focus in this passage.
So let’s read together Paul’s teaching on these gifts in 1 Corinthians 12.
“4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to 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. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Passages like this naturally raise questions for us. Questions like “Why are these gifts different?” and “Where do they come from?”
Thankfully, Paul gives us the answers at the very beginning of this passage, and then again at the end.
“4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone, it is the same God at work.” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
And then, verse 11:
“11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit…” – 1 Corinthians 12:11
All of the gifts come from the Holy Spirit, which means spiritual gifts ultimately tell us more about the Spirit than they do about us.
The Greek word Paul uses for spiritual gifts is charismata. It comes from the word charis, which means grace. In other words, spiritual gifts are grace-gifts. They are not rewards that we earn or trophies for spiritual achievement. They are expressions of God's grace at work in our lives through the Holy Spirit.
That’s why Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:7:
“But to each one of us, grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
Spiritual gifts are not ultimately about our abilities; they are expressions of God’s grace at work in and through us.
Each gift is different, but the source is the same. The ministries are different, but the Lord is the same. The ways those gifts are expressed are different, but the God who works through them is the same.
One of the reasons Paul wrote these chapters was that the Corinthians had begun turning spiritual gifts into a competition. Some gifts were being elevated above others. Some people were becoming proud of what they could do. Rather than pointing people to the Holy Spirit, the Corinthians were using their gifts to draw attention to themselves.
Paul reminds them that every gift comes from the same Spirit, and if the gift is from Him, then the glory belongs to Him as well.
In 1 Corinthians 12:11, Paul said: "...he distributes them to each one, just as he determines."
The Holy Spirit does not distribute gifts randomly. He gives each gift intentionally, equipping God's people for the work He has called them to do.
The end of verse 11 says, “just as HE determines.” Not as we determine based on what we think would be the best gifts for ourselves. Not according to who is most talented. Not according to who gets the most attention. Not according to who seems most important. The Spirit gives gifts according to His wisdom and His purposes.
And this shouldn’t surprise us. As Pastor Sunil reminded us a few weeks ago, Ephesians 2:10 says that we are “…God’s workmanship—His masterpiece—created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”
God saves us with purpose and prepares good works for us to do, and one of the ways He equips us for those works is through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The “good works” Paul mentions in Ephesians 2:10 are not merely nice things we do for others. They are God’s works—His work being carried out through His people by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Think again about the orchestra. The conductor doesn’t hand out instruments randomly or ask every musician to play the same part. Instead, each person is given a role that contributes differently to the music.
The same is true in the church. God has a purpose for every follower of Jesus, and the gifts the Spirit gives are part of how He equips us to fulfill that purpose.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples, "...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses..."
Jesus didn’t say: “You will receive gifts so that you can feel special,” or “You will receive gifts so that people will admire you”? Instead, He said: “You will receive power.” Why? So that we will be His witnesses. In other words, so that our lives and words point people to Jesus and show them who He is.
This tells us that the gifts are not the end goal. The mission is. Ultimately, our purpose is to know God and make Him known. The Holy Spirit gives gifts because He wants Jesus to be seen, heard, and made known through His people.
1 Timothy 4:14 tells us: "Do not neglect your gift..."
To neglect something means to not care for, pay attention to, or use that thing. A gift sitting unused is pointless and blesses no one, just like an instrument sitting in its case contributes nothing to the symphony.
When we neglect the gifts God has given us, we rob ourselves, the church, and others of what the Holy Spirit desires to do through us.
Spiritual gifts are not private possessions to be admired, collected, or compared. They are tools the Holy Spirit uses to build up the Body of Christ. They are given for the common good.
The question is not merely, "What is my spiritual gift?" But "Am I making myself available to the Holy Spirit?"
Because spiritual gifts are not ultimately about us. They are about the Holy Spirit continuing the ministry of Jesus through ordinary people.
In an orchestra, the goal is not for the violin to draw attention to itself, or the trumpet to prove it is louder than everyone else, or the drummers to show off, which I can confirm is hard not to do. The goal is for the conductor’s vision to become music.
In the same way, the goal of spiritual gifts is not self-expression, recognition, or applause. The goal is that the Holy Spirit would work through us so that the love of Jesus can be seen, heard, and experienced in the world.
The greatest gift is not any individual spiritual gift. It's the presence of the Holy Spirit working in and through us. The Spirit gives, empowers, directs, and works through the gifts. So whatever gift the Holy Spirit has entrusted to you, don't neglect it.
Offer it back to Him, let the Conductor direct it and create something beautiful through it, and allow the Holy Spirit to play His music through your life.
Yet sometimes we think the church should work that way. We compare ourselves with one another. We wish we had someone else's gifts. We even question what we have to contribute.
The Christians in Corinth were so focused on the gifts themselves and what people could do that they lost sight of the One who gave them. But the Apostle Paul’s response is surprising. Before he explains the instruments, he introduces the Conductor. Before he explains the gifts, he points us to the Spirit who gives, empowers, and works through them.
The church is made up of many people with different gifts, personalities, experiences, and callings. Every gift is different, and every person is important.
Regarding the Corinthian Christians, theologian N. T. Wright writes:
"Within the Christian orchestra, some considered themselves superior to others, and there was a danger that the whole symphony would be played out of balance and even out of tune."
Think about an orchestra for a moment. You have violins, trumpets, flutes, cellos, percussion, and a plethora of other instruments. None of them sound the same or play the same notes. But when they follow the same conductor and play the same piece of music, they create something beautiful together that none of them could create alone.
The church is like that.
We are different by design in that God never intended every Christian to be the same, but to work together as one. When one part tries to do everything, places itself above others, or is missing altogether, the music suffers. But when every person embraces the role God has given them and uses their gifts alongside others, the church becomes what God intended it to be.
That brings us back to 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul draws our attention to the gifts that make the church—the Body of Christ—function.
Spiritual gifts are more than natural talents, skills, or abilities. They are divine enablements for ministry given by the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit works through our abilities and sometimes beyond them. In either case, the source of the ministry's effectiveness is not us but the Holy Spirit. Spiritual gifts are given so that Jesus can continue His ministry through His people and so that His love can be seen, heard, and experienced in the world.
Paul taught a lot about the gifts of the Spirit in several of his letters, including Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12-14, and Ephesians 4. The fact that these lists are not identical suggests that Paul was less interested in producing an exhaustive catalog of spiritual gifts than in helping the church understand the Spirit who gives and works through the gifts.
Now, there is certainly a time and place to study each of these gifts individually. But that is not Paul’s primary focus in this passage.
So let’s read together Paul’s teaching on these gifts in 1 Corinthians 12.
“4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to 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. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Passages like this naturally raise questions for us. Questions like “Why are these gifts different?” and “Where do they come from?”
Thankfully, Paul gives us the answers at the very beginning of this passage, and then again at the end.
“4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone, it is the same God at work.” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
And then, verse 11:
“11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit…” – 1 Corinthians 12:11
All of the gifts come from the Holy Spirit, which means spiritual gifts ultimately tell us more about the Spirit than they do about us.
The Greek word Paul uses for spiritual gifts is charismata. It comes from the word charis, which means grace. In other words, spiritual gifts are grace-gifts. They are not rewards that we earn or trophies for spiritual achievement. They are expressions of God's grace at work in our lives through the Holy Spirit.
That’s why Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:7:
“But to each one of us, grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
Spiritual gifts are not ultimately about our abilities; they are expressions of God’s grace at work in and through us.
Each gift is different, but the source is the same. The ministries are different, but the Lord is the same. The ways those gifts are expressed are different, but the God who works through them is the same.
One of the reasons Paul wrote these chapters was that the Corinthians had begun turning spiritual gifts into a competition. Some gifts were being elevated above others. Some people were becoming proud of what they could do. Rather than pointing people to the Holy Spirit, the Corinthians were using their gifts to draw attention to themselves.
Paul reminds them that every gift comes from the same Spirit, and if the gift is from Him, then the glory belongs to Him as well.
In 1 Corinthians 12:11, Paul said: "...he distributes them to each one, just as he determines."
The Holy Spirit does not distribute gifts randomly. He gives each gift intentionally, equipping God's people for the work He has called them to do.
The end of verse 11 says, “just as HE determines.” Not as we determine based on what we think would be the best gifts for ourselves. Not according to who is most talented. Not according to who gets the most attention. Not according to who seems most important. The Spirit gives gifts according to His wisdom and His purposes.
And this shouldn’t surprise us. As Pastor Sunil reminded us a few weeks ago, Ephesians 2:10 says that we are “…God’s workmanship—His masterpiece—created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”
God saves us with purpose and prepares good works for us to do, and one of the ways He equips us for those works is through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The “good works” Paul mentions in Ephesians 2:10 are not merely nice things we do for others. They are God’s works—His work being carried out through His people by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Think again about the orchestra. The conductor doesn’t hand out instruments randomly or ask every musician to play the same part. Instead, each person is given a role that contributes differently to the music.
The same is true in the church. God has a purpose for every follower of Jesus, and the gifts the Spirit gives are part of how He equips us to fulfill that purpose.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples, "...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses..."
Jesus didn’t say: “You will receive gifts so that you can feel special,” or “You will receive gifts so that people will admire you”? Instead, He said: “You will receive power.” Why? So that we will be His witnesses. In other words, so that our lives and words point people to Jesus and show them who He is.
This tells us that the gifts are not the end goal. The mission is. Ultimately, our purpose is to know God and make Him known. The Holy Spirit gives gifts because He wants Jesus to be seen, heard, and made known through His people.
1 Timothy 4:14 tells us: "Do not neglect your gift..."
To neglect something means to not care for, pay attention to, or use that thing. A gift sitting unused is pointless and blesses no one, just like an instrument sitting in its case contributes nothing to the symphony.
When we neglect the gifts God has given us, we rob ourselves, the church, and others of what the Holy Spirit desires to do through us.
Spiritual gifts are not private possessions to be admired, collected, or compared. They are tools the Holy Spirit uses to build up the Body of Christ. They are given for the common good.
The question is not merely, "What is my spiritual gift?" But "Am I making myself available to the Holy Spirit?"
Because spiritual gifts are not ultimately about us. They are about the Holy Spirit continuing the ministry of Jesus through ordinary people.
In an orchestra, the goal is not for the violin to draw attention to itself, or the trumpet to prove it is louder than everyone else, or the drummers to show off, which I can confirm is hard not to do. The goal is for the conductor’s vision to become music.
In the same way, the goal of spiritual gifts is not self-expression, recognition, or applause. The goal is that the Holy Spirit would work through us so that the love of Jesus can be seen, heard, and experienced in the world.
The greatest gift is not any individual spiritual gift. It's the presence of the Holy Spirit working in and through us. The Spirit gives, empowers, directs, and works through the gifts. So whatever gift the Holy Spirit has entrusted to you, don't neglect it.
Offer it back to Him, let the Conductor direct it and create something beautiful through it, and allow the Holy Spirit to play His music through your life.