Beware of gifts without fruit

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1–3)

In Paul’s lengthy first letter to the Corinthian church, he lets them know that there is good news and bad news when it comes to the work of the Holy Spirit in their church. The good news, which he tells them in 1 Corinthians 1:7, is that they “do not lack any spiritual gift.” In fact, Paul will devote a few chapters of his letter to discussing spiritual gifts and the proper way to use them in the church. Clearly, this church is experiencing the supernatural work of the Spirit in many arenas, including prophecy and speaking in tongues (see chapter 14).
 
On the other hand, there is significant bad news about the work of the Spirit in their church, which is the main reason why this letter is so lengthy. In 1 Corinthians 3:1, Paul writes, “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.” Despite the abundance of spiritual gifting in the church, Paul warns them that the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Galatians 5:2-23) – is sorely lacking. Over the course of his letter, Paul will confront the Corinthians about many issues, including the divisions and factions in their church, their idolatry of church leaders rather than worship of Christ, blatant sexual immorality and incest, lawsuits among church members, abuse of the Lord’s Supper, denial of the bodily resurrection of Christ, and, yes, misuse of the very spiritual gifts about which Paul had initially praised them.

If you have been around the American church long enough, you know how easy it can be to elevate the gifts of the Spirit while ignoring or downplaying the fruit of the Spirit. There have been many charismatic pastors with the ability to draw a crowd through gifted preaching, worship leaders or musicians with incredible talent, and church leaders with God-given gifts of teaching, leadership, evangelism, prayer, and so on. But too often, platforms are given to gifted individuals who lack the character to match. And inevitably, the ministry, career, or life ends in a scandal which brings disrepute on the name of Jesus.

The truth is that the gifts of the Spirit may be more exciting and attractive – after all, who doesn’t like being seen as a gifted person – but growth in the fruit of the Spirit is the truest evidence of the work of God in the life of a person or a church. A person who can love even their enemies, exhibit joy and peace even in the midst of trials, live with self-control instead of giving in to every worldly desire, and so on, will reflect the character of God to the world around them.

I encourage you not to be wowed by the remarkable gifts of others, but to observe a person’s character to see whether they are truly worth following or emulating. And I encourage you to not only ask for and put to use the gifts of the Spirit, but to eagerly desire to be a person who richly displays the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit.