Jeremy Hoover

Gifts Can Create Competition
Have you ever been part of a church or Christian group that always seemed to be fighting? Where disagreements were at the center of many gatherings? Where disagreements weren't over doctrinal points but over who did what, who wanted to do what, and which areas of service were "better" or "more important"?

If so, you're not alone--the early church struggled with this same problem of valuing each person and each way of service as unique and valuable for its own sake.

Many churches (and Christians) overvalue the gifts of those who serve in public worship, especially those who serve in teaching or leading worship. This is understandable, due to the attention and focus we place on our public worship. I've been told before by well-meaning believers that they wished they could teach or preach and really add value to our common worship. I've also seen different men push to lead worship or teach because of the perceived importance they received when seen using these gifts.

Both these perspectives are wrong. The first attitude overvalues one way of serving and undervalues that person's own unique way of serving that God has given to them. The second is attitude is wrong because it focuses on pride and overvalues some gifts at the expense of others. It's the kind of thing the Corinthian Christians were arguing over that caused Paul to correct them in his first letter to them. They competed with each other to see who could acquire the better, more spiritual gifts of speaking in tongues and prophecy (as they perceived them). Their competition was wrong, and made the church look bad in front of unbelievers.

Gifts are Ways of Serving and Working
In 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, which is the beginning of a long section of teaching running through the end of chapter 14, Paul begins his teaching about spiritual gifts, their purpose, and how they should be used.

Spiritual gifts are given by God for the common good (12:7). Spiritual gifts ensure that the community is taken care of (1 Cor. 12:11-12) and God is worshiped in order and peaceably (1 Cor. 14:33). The guiding gift is love, and love for others should be our main aim in serving with our gift.

Spiritual gifts aren't just about "abilities" or "talents," either. In fact, the word "gift" doesn't appear in Greek until 12:4, even though many translations put in 12:1--"Now about the gifts of the Spirit..." (TNIV). In fact, "gifts" might better be understood as modes of working or serving instead of "abilities" or "talents."

Gifts are Manifestations of the Spirit
Paul offers a breakdown along these lines in 12:4-6, where he mentions different kinds of gifts, service, and working. He probably doesn't intend for these to be identified as three different things, because he links each one with a member of the Godhead: the same Spirit, the same Lord, and the same God are behind all three. They are simply three ways of communicating the same thing--God is active in his church, gracing people with the resources they need to build up the church and function as one body--the body of Christ (which also happens to be the point of his teaching in 12:12-31).

A better way to understand what Paul means by this terminology is to look at how Paul communicates this in 12:7--he calls these things "manifestations of the Spirit." And they're given for the common good. He summarizes his teaching in 12:11 this way: "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines."

So these manifestations are given, not by our ability to learn and grow and acquire, but by the Spirit, as he decides. He does this for the common good.

Gifts are for the Common Good
Isn't that interesting? Your ability to serve in an area, or your interest in a particular work, is given to you by the Spirit so you can contribute to the common good.

The different kinds of manifestations are not as important as the manifester and his purpose. It's this lesson--not a lesson about what type of gifts we have or which gifts even exist--that the Corinthian Christians and contemporary Christians need to learn.

The Corinthians were competing with each other. They thought that competition for the "more spiritual" gifts, and the pride that resulted from such competition, was a good thing. This is why Paul interrupts his teaching to discuss love (see 13:1; 14:12). Without love, the practice of spiritual manifestations is empty and does no good.

We are not supposed to compete for the common good, but to cooperate together as one body for Christ's benefit, and to contribute to the common good by serving or working in whatever place the Spirit has placed us. The Spirit gives us ways of serving and working and we simply need to be obedient. This is how we work for the common good, and the result is that everyone is served, the church is built up, and Christ is honored and glorified.

How do we know whether we're cooperating for or contributing to the common good, rather than competing for it? By our ability to look within ourselves and assure others that we are honoring Jesus. This is what Paul means when he says, "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" (12:3). If your work or service is causing division and competition and is tearing people apart, you are not operating under the Lordship of Jesus.

This is an audio recap (approx. 6 minutes long) of our adult bible study from Sunday, January 10, 2010. The text we studied was 1 Timothy 1:1-7.

Studying 1 Timothy in our adult bible study on Sunday mornings will bring out many points for discussion, among them church leadership and women's role. I've been reading a commentary on 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus by N.T. Wright (NTW) as I've been studying 1 Timothy.

This morning, I anxiously read NTW's commentary on 1 Timothy 2:8-15. I really struggle with this passage because of how limiting it seems towards women.

NTW, however, pitches it in the context of the removal of gender stereotypes. He points to the existence of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (which is also where Timothy ministered). Artemis was a female deity, and she was ministered to in her temple by an all-women ensemble. Every priest of Artemis was female; all leadership in this religion was female.

This is the context NTW speculates is behind Paul's instructions to Timothy in this passage (1 Tim. 2:8-15). He says 2:8-10 is about the removal of gender stereotypes--men are to become men of prayer instead of the typical angry, argumentative husband. Women are not to adorn themselves like the flashy priestesses of Artemis, calling attention to themselves for how they look, but are to focus on good deeds, the building up of the community.

Then we come to 2:11-15, the passage used by many insincerely to hold women down, but also used sincerely as good Christians struggle with its interpretation.

NTW points out, correctly, that the bible typically holds women up in good ways: they were the first witnesses to Jesus' resurrection (therefore the first apostles?); women are possibly (likely?) mentioned in Romans 16 as apostles and deacons; women are expected to pray and prophesy in the worship assembly (1 Cor. 11).

Therefore, according to NTW, this passage should be seen as a corrective to the perspective that many women in Ephesus would have had--women were not to muscle their way into leadership and teaching roles in the church, but neither were they to be held down, separated from the men, and unable to learn.

Rather, women "must be allowed to study undisturbed, in full submission to God" (2:11; NTW's translation). He points out, correctly, I think, that even though the direct object of "full submission" is not mentioned in the text, it should be understood as God. That is, women need to be in full submission to God as they learn.

We've typically understood that, at least in the Church of Christ, to refer to women's submission to men. NTW's perspective makes more sense to me. Part of the submitting to God is to "learn" in "quietness," without assuming leadership and teaching roles.

Where I'm not so sure about NTW's perspective is in where he goes next. As he continues to translate this passage, he writes, "I'm not saying that women should teach men, or try to dictate to them; rather, that they should be left undisturbed" (2:12). His argument for this translation is that Paul did not intend to be understood the way we have understood him, but that Paul means women shouldn't be rushed into teaching and leadership roles; they should be allowed to learn at their own pace and in their own way.

Now, I completely agree with this last idea. Too often, men, especially those in "leadership," think they know best and can dictate to women how they are to learn. This is seen most often when men in leadership try to dictate or control how and when a women's class can meet, what the topic of the class can be, or who may teach such a class. The worst of this is seen when men expect a women's class to be taught by another man!

However, I really struggle with the first part of his argument. As much as I'd like to follow this interpretation, I just don't see it. I looked at several translations, even going back and doing a rough translation from Greek of my own. And I don't see it. At best, I see Paul correcting the abuses of the Artemis-religion and saying, "The church isn't to be like that."

Leaving aside the questions of 2:13-15, and whether this is Paul's opinion only (since he says "I do not permit," not "God does not permit"), a straightforward reading implies that the public teaching role in the church is to be led by men. But women should not be prevented in any way from learning. If they are, we have a problem.

As much as I'd like to go along with NTW on this point, textually, I can't. Your thoughts?

God established Jesus as the True King and the True Servant in Jesus' baptism (with reference to promises from the First Covenant). Likewise, in our baptisms, we covenant with God to submit to Jesus' authority, to live like him as a servant, even in suffering, and to follow him into ministry.

Watch a slideshow presentation of Sunday's sermon, or listen to or download just the sermon audio below.

Study notes for this sermon are available here.

Download these notes (PDF).

As everything can't, and shouldn't, be crammed into a sermon, here are some additional study notes for you to reflect on ahead of, and after, Sunday's sermon.

Introduction (Luke 3:15-20)
We're studying Jesus' baptism and the implications of it as reported in the Gospel of Luke 3:21-23. John the Baptist has been preaching and leading people to be ready for Jesus, but a misunderstanding has arisen and some are wondering if John himself might be the Messiah!

John corrects this in Luke 3:15-17 by proclaiming that one "more powerful" than himself is coming. The difference between the two is in their baptisms--John is a baptizer in water, the Coming One will baptize with the "Holy Spirit and fire." This is simply a biblical way of saying that the Coming One's baptism will judge-and-purify the repentant one being baptized and will also unite that one with God through the Spirit. (Many biblical references testify to the power of the Spirit to guarantee our salvation with God; for example, Ephesians 1:14; Acts 2:38-39.)

Although the Gospel of Luke reports that John's "fire and brimstone"-style of preaching is "good news," the downside to John's testimony is that he suffers imprisonment that eventually leads to his murder. Sometimes being on the front lines for Jesus means taking on risk that you won't be accepted...or worse. Yet, Jesus still calls us to remain faithful to him.

Jesus' Baptism (Luke 3:21-22)
Jesus' baptism itself is presented to us differently in Luke than in Matthew or Mark, where the emphasis is on the new age being brought into place in Jesus (Mark) or on who is doing the baptism and what this means (Matthew). In Luke, the Gospel neither tells us who or how Jesus was baptized. But we learn that Jesus prayed after his baptism, and that during that time heaven opened--which is another biblical way of telling us God was doing something new and important in Jesus--and a voice speaks!

The voice is not directly attributed to God the Father, though the language used makes clear it is this God who is claiming Jesus as his own beloved Son. This language is interesting also for what it tells us about Jesus and his relationship to God and role as the Messiah, God's anointed one who would save the world.

Psalm 2:7
There are two aspects to God's speech that tie in to Old Testament promises. First, God calls Jesus his "Son." Specifically, the voice says, "You are my Son." This is a direct quote from Psalm 2:7, in which God is speaking to the king of Israel. God calls the king his son and tells the king that he--God--has become his father. The function of the psalm was to bestow legitimacy upon the king as an agent of God, rather than that agency wresting solely among the priests. Yet, it took on a messianic function as well, and was used by Jews to think about the coming new age when God would restore their fortunes. The Messiah would be God's Son. And here, in Luke 3:22, God claims his Son, the King--Jesus.

Isaiah and the Servant Songs
Secondly, God claims about Jesus that he loves him and is well pleased with him. This phrase is connected to Isaiah 42, and to the set of hymns in Isaiah that are known as the Servant Songs. In these Songs, a representative of Israel is set up who will suffer to atone for the sins of Israel (in this way, the representative serves Israel). These songs became messianic prophecies, and here, in Luke 3:22, God claims Jesus as his suffering servant, foreshadowing the ministry (and death) Jesus would have.

The language from Luke 3:22 is specifically linked to Isaiah 42:1, in which God says, "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, / my chosen one in whom I delight; / I will put my Spirit upon him...." Of course, Jesus receives God's Spirit in Luke 3:21, and this concept is picked up again in Luke 4:14-30 (which references a different of the Servant Songs).

Summary
One last thing to note in Luke 3:21 is that nothing special occurred around Jesus' baptism (only after). In fact, Luke clearly tells us that Jesus was one of many who were being baptized. This is important because it relates to us Jesus' common humanity with us. He is not different or "above" us--he is one of us. As Hebrews says, we are Jesus' brothers and sisters (Heb. 2:11).

Yet, in sharing a commonality with us, Jesus is distinguished in being our representative as well. ("Servant" [cf. Isaiah 42:1] often carried the notion of being someone's "trusted envoy" in ancient near eastern culture.) Yet he is also our King (Psalm 2:7). In leading us, he represents us, and suffers for us, so that we can be made whole before God and rescued.

Is it too much to submit to our king's authority and to live like him?

Do you ever wonder how speakers put their talks together? As a preacher, do you struggle with lesson preparation? Do you want a system that can help you prepare lessons that connect with people? If you answer yes to any of these questions, either or both of these books will be helpful and useful to you.

Last year I read World Class Speaking by Craig Valentine and Mitch Meyerson. Meyerson provides some information about marketing yourself as a speaker and building an online system for doing such, but the meat of the book is Valentine's instruction about the nuts-and-bolts of speaking.

Craig Valentine is a "world champion of public speaking" through Toastmasters and has identified a clear system that can help any speaker create an idea and move it forward to a full-blown keynote speech. He lays this system out in his book. The book is organized around three parts that focus on building your speech, generating leads, and building an information business through your speaking.

The heart of the book, for me, is Part I, "How to Master the Art of Public Speaking." In four chapters, Craig covers general speaking tips, speech-structure, content development, and stage presence and delivery. His chapters are well-written and filled with examples that illustrate his point and hints to help you put these concepts into practice in your own speaking.

The final two Parts have more to do with marketing and business and are probably more useful for professional speakers than preachers, though I was able to apply some of the concepts to my blog and social media strategies.

I'm using Craig's 9 Step Structure Model to develop my sermons and have been rewarded with several comments about the clarity of these lessons. It's a useful approach and well worth investing about $15 in for the book.

Craig is also a contributor to The Speaker's Edge, along with four other full-time speakers (Mark Brown, Darren LaCroix, Patricia Fripp, and Ed Tate). Although the book appears to be a promotion for their World Champions EDGE speaking program, it provides short, simple, clear, useful chapters about speaking.

Also organized around three parts, this book covers "Platform Presence," "Content Excellence," and "Winning Techniques." The chapters are short and provide just enough information to help you understand the concept. The contributors obviously want you to seek more information from their membership website, but if the information is as good as Craig's World Class Speaking book, the membership site will be worth the monthly fee ($29.95).

These are two good books for presenters and speakers of all stripes. Of the two, World Class Speaking is better, but both are helpful and useful, and I recommend both of them.

In this audio introduction to 1 Timothy, I lay out the uniqueness of this letter from Paul, the major themes of this letter, and the problems Paul desires to correct with the power of the gospel.

After listening to the introduction, think about and meditate on the study questions for chapter 1. Please leave some input, either about the introduction or your answers to the study questions.

1. What is the goal of Paul's command (1:3, 5)? How do the sub-elements listed in 1:5 relate to each other and to Paul's goal? How do you relate to these?

2. What is the purpose of the law (1:8-11)? Who is the law for?

3. How is a Christian to live (1:10-11)? What is the general concept of "sound doctrine" (1:11)?

4. What was the purpose for God showing mercy to Paul (1:12-17)?

5. How will Timothy be able to "fight the battle well" (1:18-20)? How do these two elements relate to each other?

Paul urges Timothy to teach the church to watch their lives and doctrine closely, staying pure.