The Man Is the Gift
The sermon emphasizes that the man, not his gifts, is the true focus of spiritual significance.
G.W. North emphasizes that the true gift in the spiritual realm is not the gifts themselves but the person who possesses them. He argues that the focus should be on the individual, as the spiritual quality of a person defines the effectiveness of the gifts they receive from God. North highlights that spiritual gifts are meant to be used by spiritual individuals, and it is the character and life of the person that make the gifts meaningful. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a deeper understanding of the relationship between the individual and their spiritual gifts, asserting that the man is the gift.
Text
Upon consideration it may therefore be better to omit from the translation all additional words, and read as follows: 'Now concerning the spiritual, brethren, I would not have you ignorant'. Because the masculine or feminine gender is absent from the Greek text, it may not be strictly correct to imply this meaning, but inferentially the whole epistle supports this view. If this be allowed, it will be found to place the emphasis upon brethren, where it ought to be, and not on gifts, however gifted those brethren may be.
This may well be the better way, for such a rendering is in harmony with the wording of the challenge laid down at the end of chapter 14, which reads 'if any man think himself to be spiritual', and not 'if any man is sufficiently spiritually gifted'; in the final analysis the man is the gift, not the gifts the man has. Be that as it may, we must understand that spiritual gifts are provided by God to be used by spiritual persons only. But although this is so, we must not think that gifts make a person spiritual: on the contrary it is rather to be understood that it is the person who makes the gift spiritual. The gift
is given to him to be: (1) an instrument of God's power, (2) a declaration of the spiritual quality of his own life, and (3) for the extension of his ministerial usefulness,
Sermon Outline
- The Emphasis of Spiritual Gifts
- The Challenge of Spiritual Gifts
- The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts
- To be an instrument of God's power
- To declare the spiritual quality of one's life
- For the extension of ministerial usefulness
Key Quotes
“The man is the gift, not the gifts the man has.” — G.W. North
“It is the person who makes the gift spiritual, not the other way around.” — G.W. North
Application Points
- Recognize that your spiritual gifts are a means to an end, not the end itself.
- Understand that your spiritual quality is what makes your gifts truly spiritual.
- Use your gifts to extend your ministerial usefulness and serve others.