Thriving In New Corinth Companion Guide:
Download this companion guide for use Sept 1-Nov 16, 2025. This guide is designed to supplement and deepen our Sunday sermon series entitled Thriving in New Corinth. Each week, you will study one of the big topics found within the book of 1 Corinthians in preparation for the upcoming sermon on that topic.
Imagine visiting a friend's church for the first time. Everything seems normal at first—songs, scripture, prayer, a sermon. But then you notice something strange. Maybe everyone's wearing orange wigs and 3D glasses except you. Or the pastor is smoking a cigar while preaching. Or every time someone says "Jesus," the entire congregation jumps to their feet shouting something unusual before sitting back down.
How much would these distractions prevent you from connecting with God during worship?
This wasn't just a hypothetical scenario for the church in ancient Corinth. They were using spiritual gifts in ways that caused confusion and created barriers to people encountering God. And the apostle Paul had to step in with both correction and clarity—not to shut down the gifts, but to redirect their purpose.
Before diving into the Corinthian problem, let's make sure we're all on the same page. A spiritual gift is simply a supernatural ability to do something for the good of the church and for God's glory.
It's important to distinguish spiritual gifts from natural talents:
The Bible discusses spiritual gifts in three main passages: 1 Corinthians 12-14, Romans 12, and 1 Peter 4. Interestingly, these passages don't all list the same gifts. For example, Romans mentions leadership, but that's not discussed in 1 Corinthians or 1 Peter. The gift of tongues is prominent in 1 Corinthians but isn't mentioned in the other two passages.
This tells us something important: God didn't give us an exhaustive menu of gifts to pick and choose from. The focus isn't meant to be on the gifts themselves—it's meant to be on the gift giver. God gives each believer the gifts He wants them to have for the good of others, and He spreads them out as He sees fit.
Spiritual gifts can generally be grouped into two categories:
1. Normative Gifts These are common, ongoing gifts like service, mercy, teaching, administration, and hospitality. These are gifts that believers use regularly in everyday church life.
2. Miraculous Gifts Sometimes called "sign gifts," these include miracles, healing, prophecy, discernment, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Christians disagree about whether these gifts continue today or ceased after the completion of Scripture. Some believe they ended when "the perfect comes" (referring to the completed Bible). Others believe these gifts continue but remain miraculous in nature.
Regardless of where you land on that debate, Paul's central point remains the same: all gifts, whether normative or miraculous, are given for the common good.
Since the Corinthian problem specifically involved tongues, let's define it clearly:
The gift of tongues is a supernatural ability to speak a foreign language you've never studied. Often, the speaker doesn't know what they're saying, but the listener understands perfectly in their native language.
We see this gift's introduction at Pentecost. The disciples, mostly from Galilee, suddenly began praising God in languages they'd never learned. The crowd gathered in Jerusalem for the feast heard these unlearned fishermen speaking in their various native languages, proclaiming the wonders of God.
A corresponding gift is interpretation—the ability to translate a tongue so everyone can understand, not just those who know the original language.
Prophecy means "to speak forth" and comes in two types:
Most biblical prophecy is actually forthtelling, not predicting the future.
Paul addresses the tongue situation not by condemning the gift but by affirming it while correcting its misuse. He writes: "I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others than 10,000 words in a tongue." (1 Corinthians 14:18-19)
Why? Because of the impact on unbelievers:
"If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all. He is called to account by all, and the secrets of his heart are disclosed. And so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you." (1 Corinthians 14:23-25)
That last phrase captures the heart of the matter: "God is really among you." When we use our spiritual gifts appropriately, seekers and unbelievers should encounter God's presence, not be confused by our displays.
If you've been following Paul's letter to the Corinthians, you've noticed a pattern. Over and over, Paul addresses different issues with the same conclusion:
And now with spiritual gifts: If your exercise of a gift creates a barrier between seekers and God, set it aside. God didn't give these gifts so you could look good or get attention. They're for the common good—to build up God's people and help others connect with Him.
Paul has an interesting habit in this letter. He starts addressing a topic, then seems to interrupt himself, before returning to the original subject. But his "interruptions" always illuminate the core issue.
In chapters 1-3, he addressed tribal divisions but interrupted with the gospel—because centering on Christ brings unity.
In chapters 8-10, he discussed meat sacrificed to idols but interrupted in chapter 9 to explain how he set aside his apostolic rights for others' sake.
Now, between chapters 12 and 14 about spiritual gifts, he interrupts with chapter 13—the famous "love chapter." And this interruption explains everything:
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-2)
The passage continues with those familiar words about love being patient and kind, not envying or boasting, not being arrogant or rude. It doesn't insist on its own way. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
And then the crescendo: "Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away... So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:8, 13)
God didn't give you spiritual gifts so you could feel good about yourself, prove your worth, or get attention. He gave you spiritual gifts to show His love for other people. Your actions, presence, and words become vessels through which God demonstrates His care for others.
This changes how we view every gift:
Whatever gift you have—miraculous or normative, fully understood or still being discovered—the key is love.
Many believers struggle to identify their spiritual gifts. Here are some practical tips:
1. Ask yourself: Do I really know Jesus? Spiritual gifts are given when you're "born again." If you're not yet a follower of Jesus, you won't have these gifts. Today could be the day you confess your sin, put your faith in Christ, and receive the Holy Spirit who empowers believers with gifts.
2. Just serve The best way to discover your gift is to jump in somewhere. Volunteer in the church. Serve at a local ministry. Help at a food pantry or pregnancy center. Sometimes when you start serving, you discover abilities you didn't know were there.
Many people never would have discovered their teaching gift if they hadn't said yes to helping with youth group or children's ministry. You won't know until you try.
3. Ask yourself: To what am I drawn? Are you naturally drawn to certain people—kids, elderly, immigrants, the poor? Do you feel energized by organizing events, or by sitting with hurting people? Your natural affinity might indicate where God wants to use you.
4. Ask others Ask trusted friends: "What do you see in me? How have I blessed you? What patterns do you notice?" Often others can see gifts in us that we haven't recognized ourselves. Encouragement from others who know, love, and will speak truth to you can be transformative.
5. Take a spiritual gifts assessment (with caution) If you're truly desperate to identify your gift, spiritual gift surveys exist. But use them carefully—it's easy to manipulate the results to get the answer you want. Far better to simply start serving and let God reveal your gifts over time through experience, Scripture, and feedback from others.
Here's a fascinating observation: we have no record of Jesus teaching about spiritual gifts in the Gospels. You can read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John cover to cover and won't find Him discussing them. This doesn't mean it wasn't important or that He never taught it—it just means that in God's sovereignty, He chose not to include it in the Gospel accounts.
Why? Because spiritual gifts aren't paramount. Jesus is.
But we do have extensive records of Jesus teaching about love. So even if you never discover what spiritual gift God has given you, you at least know what to do: love like Jesus loved and live like Jesus lived.
And how did Jesus love? He died for us. He gave Himself completely for us.
This is why the gospel is so central to everything. Jesus' death on the cross wasn't just a historical event—it was the ultimate expression of love. His sacrifice paid for all our sin, including our pride, our misuse of gifts, our self-centered pursuit of attention and affirmation.
When we come to the communion table, we remember this. The broken bread represents His body given for us. The cup represents His blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins. This isn't about performing a ritual—it's about remembering the One who gave everything so we could be freed from sin and enter into relationship with God.
God doesn't define you by whether you've discovered your spiritual gift. He doesn't define you by how well you use it. He defines you by the cross. You are loved, forgiven, and accepted because of what Christ has done, not because of what gifts you possess or how effectively you use them.
If you're a follower of Jesus, you have been gifted. God wants to use you for the good of His church. Your gift might be behind the scenes or up front. It might be visible or invisible. But it matters because it's one of the ways you live like Jesus and love like Jesus loved.
Don't get caught up in comparing your gift to others'. Don't pursue gifts for the attention they might bring you. Don't create barriers between seeking people and God by using your gifts in distracting ways.
Instead, center yourself on Jesus. Let love be your motivation. Serve the common good. And trust that as you faithfully use whatever gift God has given you, you're participating in something far greater than yourself—you're becoming part of how God shows His love to the world.
Because at the end of the day, faith, hope, and love will remain. But the greatest of these is love.
