Spiritual Gifts (1)
A Sermon on Romans 12:6
Originally preached Feb. 11, 1966
Scripture
6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
Sermon Description
In this sermon on Romans 12:6 titled “Spiritual Gifts (1),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones encourages a look at the nature of spiritual gifts. God decides which gift to provide to each Christian but they all work in and through the very same Spirit. He reminds that there is a “diversity of operations, but the same God that worketh all in all.” Why and how are Christians to “covet” and “desire” the best gifts? How ought they seek these gifts? The listener is encouraged to learn to love the spiritual gifts and to be filled with love. Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes and explains the doctrine of the body, love, and contentment. Can one “claim” a gift? Listen as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones looks more directly at the gift of tongues, pastoring, and missions and shows the importance of understanding that gifts cannot be “claimed” or imparted by others. Some people proclaim that “the need is the call,” but this simply shows an ignorance of the doctrine concerning the call of the Spirit. Dr. Lloyd-Jones touches on baptism with the Holy Spirit, how gifts differ, and His call to the particular service. God decides the gifts, calls the Christian to a certain gift, and equips them to the service to which each of His children have been called.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is dealing with the practical outworking and application of principles he has laid down in the first 11 chapters of Romans.
- Paul tells us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice and be transformed by renewing our minds to prove God's will.
- We are not to think too highly of ourselves but think soberly according to the measure of faith God has given us.
- The gifts we have are according to the grace given to us by God. They are spiritual gifts given to believers to benefit the church.
- God, through the Holy Spirit, decides which gifts to give to each person. We are to covet the best gifts, meaning those that benefit the church the most.
- We should have an intense desire to serve and benefit the church. But we must do so through love and while understanding we are all part of the body of Christ.
- We should be content with whatever gift God gives us and not complain if we do not receive the gift we desire. God is sovereign over which gifts are given.
- No one is meant to have any single gift. We have different gifts according to God's grace. We are not all meant to have the same gift.
- We cannot claim or produce spiritual gifts ourselves. They are given by the Holy Spirit alone according to His will.
- We should not feel ashamed if we do not have a particular gift like preaching or missionary work. We all have a gift and role to play as part of the body of Christ.
- The story of David illustrates this. Those who stayed behind with the supplies still received an equal share of the spoils. They had an equally important role, even if not on the front lines.
- No one should go into ministry or missions unless they are sure they have been called and gifted by God. Zeal or perceiving a need is not enough. God calls and equips those He chooses.
Sermon Q&A
Understanding Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Spiritual Gifts in Romans 12:6
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say about the distribution of spiritual gifts according to Romans 12:6?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, spiritual gifts are distributed by the Holy Spirit according to His will, not our own preferences. He emphasizes that "the gifts that the apostle is dealing with are gifts that are only given to those who belong to the body. In other words, they're only given to those who are born again." Lloyd-Jones quotes 1 Corinthians 12:11 where it states that the Spirit distributes gifts "dividing to every man severally as he will." This sovereignty of the Spirit in gift distribution is a foundational principle in understanding spiritual gifts.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones reconcile the tension between God's sovereignty in distributing gifts and Paul's command to "covet earnestly the best gifts"?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains this apparent contradiction by comparing it to salvation: salvation is God's sovereign gift, yet Scripture exhorts us to seek it. He concludes there's no essential contradiction between desiring to serve and God's sovereignty in distributing gifts. He suggests three principles to resolve this tension:
- It's right to desire to be of value in the body of Christ within the terms of church doctrine
- Our coveting must be governed by love, not self-promotion
- While coveting the better gifts, we must be content with whatever gift God gives us
As Lloyd-Jones puts it: "If you find that you're not given one of these, which you must regard as better gifts, but are given some very ordinary gift... don't grumble and grouse and say, I'm not being dealt with fairly."
What errors does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify regarding how people approach spiritual gifts today?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies several serious errors:
- Claiming gifts: "You must never talk about claiming a gift. There's no such thing as claiming a gift."
- Thinking all should have one particular gift: "All are obviously and clearly not meant to have any one gift."
- Attempting to manufacture gifts: "You and I must never do anything in any way to try to produce this gift, either in ourselves or in anybody else."
- Methods to induce gifts: He specifically criticizes practices where people are told to "surrender your jaw" or "utter any sound," calling these approaches "entirely contrary to and a contradiction of the teaching of the New Testament."
- Using "the need is the call" approach: He rejects the idea that need alone constitutes a call to service, saying this is "completely unscriptural."
What is Dr. Lloyd-Jones' interpretation of 1 Corinthians 12:31 regarding "a more excellent way"?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones challenges the common interpretation that Paul was telling Christians to forget about gifts and focus only on love. He argues this interpretation is based on a mistranslation. The correct translation is not "a more excellent way" but "a way according to excellence" or "an excellent way."
He explains: "What the apostle is saying is this: I will show you the way par excellence to obtain these better gifts." Love is not a replacement for gifts but the proper context for them. "The man who is filled with love is the man whom God can trust most safely with the better gifts."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones teach about equality of value among different functions in the body of Christ?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones uses David's principle in 1 Samuel 30:22-25, where those who stayed with the supplies received the same share as those who went to battle. He applies this to ministry, saying that Christians shouldn't feel ashamed if they're not foreign missionaries or full-time ministers.
He states powerfully: "The man who's watching the stuff at home is as essential and as vital as the man in the front line." He emphasizes that "what is important is that you be a member of the body of Christ, that you have your gift. You exercise that wholly to the glory of God. You don't care what it is, but you're a part of the whole enterprise, and you will get your reward."
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.