The Spirit is Given for the Common Good

Soldiers serve the common good of their country. Many soldiers make up the armed forces of the United States. Some soldiers are mechanics, police, nurses, cooks, intel specialists, gunners, pilots, infantry, etc. All these positions serve a different purpose but come together to serve the overarching common good of protecting their country. Some soldiers give their lives serving in the armed forces. This Memorial Day weekend, we remember and given thanks for them and their families.

This weekend is also the church festival of Pentecost. The term comes from the Greek word for ‘fiftieth,’ since it has been fifty days since Easter. In our Old Testament reading from Acts 2, we heard what happened on the first Pentecost. The disciples had changed drastically from fifty days before on the first Easter. On the third day, the disciples were huddled together behind closed doors afraid that they would face the same fate as Jesus. Then, with Jesus’ resurrection and his many appearances, and his encouragement on Ascension that we heard about last week, the disciples were filled with joy worshipping God at the temple waiting for the promised Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, Jesus’ made good on his promise as we hear in Acts 2, “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” The apostles and those with them were given the Holy Spirit and allowed to share the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. Many heard the message as we keep reading in Acts 2, 5 “Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.” Peter explained to the crowd that this had been predicted hundreds of years earlier by the Old Testament prophet Joel and was a miracle from God as he quoted Joel 2, 17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people… 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” On the first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit allowed his people to share what our Lord Jesus did to save the world. We continue to celebrate Pentecost as it is the turning point from the Old Testament church to the New Testament church, and the spread of the gospel of Jesus’ forgiveness to all people.

More than twenty years after the first Pentecost, the Christians in the Greek city of Corinth had questions about the Holy Spirit’s power. In our New Testament reading from 1 Corinthians 12, Paul addressed their question about the gifts of the Spirit as we read the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 12, 1 “Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.” Paul began his informative answer on gifts of the Spirit by reminding the Corinthians who they were before they had the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit, they were lost in unbelief; they wandered from lifeless idol to lifeless idol asking life’s most important questions without getting answers. Now with the Holy Spirit, they had faith which brought the answers all people need about life, purpose, God and where we go after this life. Although the Corinthians were filled with the Spirit, we learn from other sections of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that the Corinthians were splintered into cliques. They selfishly compared themselves to one another taking pride in what they saw as greater gifts of the Spirit. This culture emptied Spirit’s gifts of the love they were meant to be filled with and wrongly crushed the spirits of others. It also put them in danger of losing the Spirit altogether.

Seeking your own self-interests leads you away from the Spirit. Now, this is not about avoiding things that will improve your health, education, employment, relationships, income, parenting, etc. This temptation of seeking things for your own self-interest deals with your heart. When you are motivated by fear like worrying others will forget how good you are or about your worth in general, worrying others will get credit for your work or your efforts will not being as good as or will not produce the same results as others, you have a heart problem. When you compare yourself to others or make sure you stay in with the right group despite making compromises on what is Biblically good, right, kind, etc. you have a heart problem. Improving things about yourself or your situation is not inherently wrong, but your prideful, selfish, cliquey attitude is sinful. It is also sinful to abandon your identity in Christ to be negatively influenced by prideful, selfish cliques whose comparisons are uninformed.

In response to sinful attitudes and those under the influence of the selfishly uninformed, Paul wrote, 3 Therefore I want you to know that 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. By the power of God himself, you are able to say with confidence that Jesus is your Lord. In our Gospel reading for today from John 7, Jesus tells you what the Holy Spirit does for you, 37 … “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Jesus compared the Holy Spirit to living water. Living water like the water of a well both gives life and allows someone to live. You have the Holy Spirit. He has given you life through faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. He has given you a new identity not based on your efforts or achievements, but on Jesus’ living up to the highest standard, that of God himself of absolute good, right love. Your thirst for identity, contentment, being acceptable and good enough is found only in Jesus. All your constant working and worrying to be more or the most successful in school, sports, your job, dating, marriage, parenting, income, etc. were nailed to the cross, so that you have rest in Jesus. You are already the best in the eyes of God through your Savior. Whether you are prone to working to quench your own thirst or you are thirsty from failure, both leave you thirsty. Jesus has done the work to get you water, and he has given you living water to satisfy your thirst forever.

You have the Holy Spirit. With the new life you have by the power of the Holy Spirit working in your heart, you are free from sin and death. By the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith, you have eternal life in heaven. The Holy Spirit’s gift of life also means that you are living a new life. Paul went on to explain the one who is behind the unique gifts of each believer, 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. The Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus and God the Father are all working in you, for you and through you. Paul then shares the reason for the Holy Spirit’s distribution of gifts, 7 “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” These gifts are meant to be brought together. The gifts of all believers are meant to be used together for mutual benefit. Interdependence is the work of the Spirit, not independence. God made us to live and work together. This gives him glory as the good we do for one another points back to his power to give us life through our Savior and lives worth living as we share the love of God in various ways. With the Holy Spirit living inside your heart, pride, selfishness and boasting, all those sinful attitudes, are put to death. In their place, the Holy Spirit gives you a humble, considerate and thankful heart. There is no room for comparisons, pride or feelings of inadequacy because you are not the one who manifests or fails at manifesting your gifts as Paul wrote, 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. You have the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is your Lord and Savior. You have gifts. You have been given life to benefit the common good. You benefit others when you show them the love of Jesus and tell them about his love for them in his sacrifice on the cross to give them life and a secure home in the kingdom of heaven.

Many soldiers with many different skills in many different positions make up the armed forces of the United States. All these different soldiers come together to serve the common good of protecting their country. Some soldiers give their lives serving in the armed forces. This Memorial Day weekend, we remember and given thanks for them and their families. Our Savior Jesus gave his life for the common good to save the world. He sent the Holy Spirit to give you the gift of faith so that you call Jesus your Lord trusting in his forgiveness and looking forward to eternal life in heaven. The Holy Spirit has also given you gifts to be put to use, to live life with purpose above the critiques of others, gifts of equal value and with everlasting impact. Today we celebrate because the Spirit is given for the common good. Amen.