Bible Passage: 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: September 10, 2023

Bulletin September 10, 2023

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

Have any of you ever had to wear a uniform?  Maybe it was a team uniform.  Maybe as part of your vocation you wore, or wear, a uniform, maybe a soldier’s uniform, or medical scrubs, or a shirt with a company logo.  Did you know there is a lot of psychology that lies behind the wearing of uniforms?  Uniforms are to make a person simultaneously different and the same.  Here’s what that means.  Whenever you see a uniformed person by themselves, you immediately see them as different.  Have you ever been in a grocery store and you see someone there in a military uniform?  They stand out; they are different.  However, a uniformed person standing with other uniformed people is “the same.”  Take our friend from the grocery store.  He looks so different in the grocery store.  But put him in formation with a thousand other soldiers wearing the same uniform and they all look the same.  Individual identity is gone; they are lost in a sea of “sameness.”  All that is seen is one, larger body.

You, dear Christian, wear a uniform.  The world cannot see it on you when you go to the grocery store.  But you know it is there.  You are clothed in Christ.  This is the uniform of the Christian, the uniform of the Church.   It simultaneously communicates sameness and diversity.   That is what Paul emphasizes in our text this morning.  To the Church uniformed in Christ, Paul writes of Our Varied Gifts United.

“United.”  That is a one-ness.  A same-ness.  Paul writes to us about the one-ness, the same-ness we have.  Listen to the words Paul uses to emphasize this:  …the same Spirit…the same Lord…the same God. (v. 4, 5, 6)  Notice this bunch of three.  These are the three persons of the Holy Trinity.  The Holy Spirit.  The Lord Jesus.  God the Father.  Paul is impressing on us that we have the SAME God.

Let’s just appreciate that for a moment, can we?  Some of you present this morning were baptized 80 years ago.  Some 70, 60, 50, and so on.  Some were baptized this very year.  Though years and miles separate my baptism from yours, they are the same.  You were baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  We share a “baptism identity.”  In Baptism the Holy Spirit connected you to the life, death and resurrection of the Father’s beloved Son, Jesus!

When we gather for worship each Sunday in this house, all of us – “uniformed” in Christ at the font – begin our worship with the same sanctifying words:  “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  The circle has been drawn around this gathering; we are here for the same reason…to worship the Triune God!

We confess our sins.  A preacher turns to you.  The sign of the cross traced in the air.  Forgiveness is spoken through that cross to you…”in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  We have the same forgiveness, you and me, in the name of our shared God!

We stand.  Heads held high.  Not in pride, but in boldness.  Making eye-contact with the world.  We confess.  “I believe in God the Father almighty…I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord…I believe in the Holy Spirit.” (The Apostles’ Creed)  We have the same hope, the same center, the same orbit, you and me! It is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We pray.  We do not go to separate corners.  I do not start my prayer, “My Father in heaven,” and you start your prayer, “My Father in heaven.”  We speak in unison because that is what united people do, “OUR Father in heaven.” (The Lord’s Prayer)  We are members of the same family talking to the same Father.

We are united.  The same soundtrack is on “repeat” in our lives:  “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  Again and again.  Yet this unity, this sameness does not lobotomize us. Paul speaks of the blessed variety in the Church:  There are various kinds of gifts…there are various kinds of service…there are various kinds of activity (v. 4, 5, 6)  There is a variety of gifts!  The gifts of which Paul speaks are the gifts given by the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit gives gifts like being able to preach and teach God’s Word.  Gifts of being a good spiritual encourager.  Gifts of being generous to those in need.  Gifts of being very merciful to those who need mercy shown.  The Bible tells us each and every Christian is gifted by the Spirit!

And there are a variety of ministries, Paul says.  The gift of teaching can be used in a Bible class, in Sunday School, at a Seminary, in your home.  The gift of leadership can be used on council, or as a Synod president.  Encouraging can take place over coffee in our fellowship hall or in a prison cell shared by two Christians facing execution for their faith in Jesus.  Mercy can be shown in a hospital room, or a living room.  Generosity can be shown to a neighbor across your backyard fence or to someone you’ve never met across the globe.  Gifts can be used as part of the public ministry of a congregation, like Lord of Love, or in the personal ministry that each one of you carries out each day in your vocations.  That is the beauty of the Church that reflects the love of Jesus.

You just sang it, but let’s say it again to finish:

We all are one in mission; we all are one in call,

Our varied gifts united, by Christ, the Lord of all.

A single great commission, compels us from above

To plan and work together, that all may know Christ’s love. (CW 566:1)

Amen.