Sabbath: Spiritual Gifts
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 1st of August 2026
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study
1 Corinthians 12:1-31, Ephesians 4:11-13, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, 1 Peter 4:8-11, 1 Corinthians 14:27, Amos 3:7.
Memory Text:
“Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1, ESV).
Like a human body, the church is one but has many members, each with different roles, functions, and gifts. Practiced with love, these spiritual gifts promote a sense of unity that reflects the character of the triune God.
This week we will survey 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 and its teaching on spiritual gifts. This section is part of a slightly larger unit, where Paul deals with the expected Christian behavior in religious settings (1 Corinthians 11:1-34; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; 1 Corinthians 14:1-40). Paul’s primary concern has to do with the problem of disorderly gatherings. His answer to this problem is that the church is a body whose parts have different functions that contribute to “the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12, NKJV). In short, God gave the church spiritual gifts in order to promote unity through diversity.
Certainly, Paul still has in mind the factionalism problem addressed in the first four chapters of 1 Corinthians, where the answer to the lack of agreement among church members is unity in Christ. Now, he develops that idea by presenting his understanding of the role of spiritual gifts. According to Paul, unity in Christ and the Spirit is the only means of avoiding schisms.
Just to the north of where we live, Transport for NSW is completing a huge roadbuilding project. We will get 15 km of 4 lane motorway that will bypass the New England/Pacific Highway intersection and the mess of outdated bridges and local roads that have been a chokepoint for years. Apart from the joy of being able to cover this section at 110 km per hour instead of sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, the really good news is that this project is being completed a year ahead of schedule and under budget.
About 2500 people and nearly 150 contractors have been involved in this project; heavy machinery operators, surveyors, concrete workers, crane drivers, safety operators, logistics experts, and so on. Some of those workers have never been on site. They have been in offices working on computer screens. There are a couple of surprises = some of the heavy machine operators are women. Apparently they are more careful than the men and don’t show off.
The whole project is a testament to good logistics, careful programming and the ability to get people with different skills and temperaments to work together efficiently. Just as an aside, I wish that this would happen to some other government projects that have blown out of the water in both cost and completion date.
Churches are a bit like a construction project. We have God-given skills and we have a goal in mind. Sometimes we get embroiled in demarcation disputes about who should do what, and how and when parts of the project should be done. We would do well to take a leaf out of the road construction business, dedicate our skills to the glory of God and work together to spread the Gospel. We need to place ourselves under the direction of God’s logistic operator – the Holy Spirit.
Hi Maurice, I like your quote about “those who speak in languages they have never learned.” I believe that is truly a spiritual gift. Some people believe that the gift of tongues refers to people who can speak several languages. Well, if that is the case, many people who don’t believe in God can speak many languages. Happy Sabbath.
Hi Melvin, I don’t want to get into a long discussion about “speaking in tongues” at this stage, but I think the New Testament “speaking in tongues” is a bit more complicated than we like to admit. To answer your immediate question, I offer the observation that the miracle is not the multiple languages but the willingness to share the Gospel. Maybe that is a bit of an enigma, but I will leave it as something to think about.
Maurice, I absolutely love your reference to the Hexam bypass project that FINALLY got the green light. I well remember about 25 years ago “driving” in the parking lot that was the M1 (F3 back then) northbound. It was difficult to believe that the only major arterial road out of Australia’s most recognizable city ended in a roundabout.
I’m looking forward to its projected completion date which I believe has been revised to later this year! It goes to show you that when all the different parts work well together the objective can be completed sooner rather than later. I wonder if this approach could work in the church and what it would look like.
What are spiritual gifts? How different are they from talents or skills?
Spiritual gifts are abilities or enablements given by the Holy Spirit to believers for the service of God and for building up the church of God. In the first instance, they are given by God (1 Corinthians 12:11) to those who trust in Him for the good of the church and others (1 Peter 4:10). They are for service and God’s purpose. They are not for personal benefit or status.
On the other hand, talents are natural abilities or aptitude inherently in a person. They are inborn (inherited). They can be developed. They can be used for service and God’s purpose if they are well directed. God can use one’s natural abilities in spiritual service. For instance, God can use a natural teacher to be a Sabbath School teacher. Talents can be found in both believers and non-believers.
Finally, skills are abilities that are acquired through learning, practice and experience. They are more engineered by human efforts and determination. However, they can be facilitated or promoted by the inherent abilities (talents).
It is important to note that spiritual gifts do not represent spiritual maturity. For instance, the Corinthian church was in abundance of spiritual gifts, “you are not lacking in any spiritual gift” (1 Corinthians 1:7). But Paul referred to them as “spiritual infants” because they were tormented by many spiritual problems (divisions, jealousy, pride, lawsuits, sexual immorality, and disorder in worship). No amount of spiritual gifts can replace character.
“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Corinthians 13:1, NLT).
Well said !
I am looking forward to learning about the spiritual gifts given the church to benefit each other through their careful use. The lesson writer makes a comment that sounds a bit ‘odd’ to me. It is the use of the word ‘diversity’ in the context of promoting unity: “In short, God gave the church spiritual gifts in order to promote unity through ‘diversity’.”
‘Diversity’ – this word is used by certain people to promote the strengthening of the effectiveness of a group’s effort. They believe by establishing ‘diversity’, it will promote equity – fairness, opportunity, and inclusion, so securing unity among the individuals. But this is not God’s way to achieve the spiritual ‘unity’ He seeks. As I understand Paul’s teaching, he points out that unity is achieved by one Spirit and one body – the body of Jesus Christ which guides and guards the unity within the body of Christ – the Ecclesia.
It is though the authority vested in Jesus Christ by God’s Holy Spirit which brings about our unity. It is not by the ‘diversity of gifts and ministries’ by which we can consider ourselves as equals within the body of Christ – it is because of His Spirit which undergirds all the spiritual gifts and ministries.
Immediately following 1 Cor.12:1-31, Paul calls our attention to seeing gifts and ministries through the prism of Love – love for one another. We have been called to love God with all our heart. Employing our gifts and engaging in the ministries in the Spirit of Christ, we love and worship God – the source of all spiritual gifts and ministries – 1 Cor.13:1-10.
Dear Sister,
I feel that I should shed some light on your message about the word “diversity”.
I will let the various definitions of the word speak for itself. Also, we are all entitled to voice our opinion here in Sabbath School class, but we should be Very Careful to add (or influence) to the Word of God.
From https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diversity#dictionary-entry-1
“Diversity:
1a: the quality or condition of having or being composed of differing elements (such as forms, types, or ideas); example:
an island with great diversity in plant life
There’s a diversity of opinion on the matter.
1b: a group or collection of differing elements; example:
She has a diversity of interests.
saw a diversity of shorebirds at the park
2a: the state or practice of including people of different races (see race entry 1 sense 1a), cultures, etc. in a group or organization; example: promoting diversity in the workplace
2b: often used before another noun diversity; example: programs/efforts a diversity committee see also diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Also, it is my opinion, Paul was inspired to use the word “diversity” for a reason. As he was speaking mostly to the Gentile people, who had recently converted to Christianity, he wanted to make sure that they were included (or had a sense that they would be included), and that God will use Diversity (diversity of people, and diversity of spiritual gifts) to accomplish HIS Will.
Be blessed everyone!!
We talk of unity but are striving for it?
We all have a consciousness. But do we practice fellowship with the Infinite Spirit? Because when both are aligned, the chance that we choose what is right is much higher: we should all look for this unity inside. (1 Corinthians 2:11; Romans 8:16; Romans 9:1)