How Do Other People Profit From My “Bad Gifts”?

[A question answered by Stephen Crook]

The giving of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 has grabbed my attention.

1Co 12:4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

1Co 12:7  But the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

Verse 7 really caught my interest: “…the manifestation of the Spirit…” in each of us. All that is given to us is for our good, both the “good” and “bad” gifts.

But we all are to profit from each other’s “Good gifts” and also from the “Bad gifts” each of us has: “…is given to every man to profit withal.”

The Lord hasn’t given me much memory of anything or clear sight of how to do things going forward.  This is a “gift” that I have been given so that all in the body may profit.

So my question I would like to explore is:

How do other people profit from my “Bad gifts”?

D____

Hi D____,

I oftentimes have thought about this topic, but I have thought it about it in slightly different terms other than “bad” or “good” gifts.

When we know God is working all things after the counsel of His own will, all things work together good. I encourage you to read all the context of what I am going to post so that the conversation I have been given to add will make sense to the question which has been posed. It is a doozy!

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Given what we just read in Romans 8, how is it then that Jesus Christ shows us the answer to the question, “How do other people profit from my “Bad gifts”?”

Did Jesus Christ have “bad gifts” which were used to show us profit, to show us gain? It may seem like a slippery slope, but I want to try and answer that question a bit with scripture, of course.

Since we know Jesus went before us as the firstborn of all creation, it makes sense then that we must go the same way as “a kind of firstfruit”.

Rom 11:16  For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect [teleios] gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Jas 1:18  Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

James 1:17 mentions good gifts and perfect gifts being from above. The Greek word for perfect is “telios” and can be found a few telling times throughout the new testament.

G5046
teleios
Total KJV Occurrences: 20

perfect, 17
Mat 5:48 (2), Mat 19:21, Rom 12:2, 1Co 2:6, 1Co 13:10, Eph 4:13, Phi 3:15, Col 1:28, Col 4:12, Heb 9:11, Jam 1:4 (2), Jam 1:17, Jam 1:25, Jam 3:2, 1Jo 4:18

age, 1
Heb 5:14
full, 1
Heb 5:14 (2)
men, 1
1Co 14:20

Here are a few verses that bare out what “perfect” means in this verse.

Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full [teleios] age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

1Co 14:20  Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men [teleios].

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Col 1:28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect [teleios] in Christ Jesus:
Col 1:29  Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

So, the word used here as ‘perfect’ is rather a ‘mature gift’, and that maturity comes by way of EXERCISE of our senses.

Here then, is an example of an exercise of what Jesus showed us to be true in Him, just as well as the things we must be exercised of, our bad gifts, in order to PROFIT others.

Isa 52:13  Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
Isa 52:14  As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
Isa 52:15  So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

Isa 53:1  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
Isa 53:2  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Just so we know that this is indeed talking about Jesus, let’s look at a few examples of this prophecy being about Jesus.

Act 8:30  And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
Act 8:31  And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
Act 8:32  The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
Act 8:33  In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
Act 8:34  And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
Act 8:35  Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

Then we have:

Joh 12:38  That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?

Rom 10:15  And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Rom 10:16  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

Joh 12:40  He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
Joh 12:41  These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
Joh 12:42  Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

So, what we see as a “bad gift” as compared to other “important” characters before Jesus Christ, is that many of them were “comely” and Jesus simply was not. This may seem like a small thing, but the contrast to be taken away from this is that there are gifts that God the Father bestows on some and not on others, even while dealing with Jesus.

As the body of the Christ, we should be exercising our minds and senses to discern that “good and evil” and “bad and good” have all been predestined for the good of all the rest of the body of believers. Jesus was not comely like others who had come before him, while others had the gift to be “easy on the eyes” [as Saul 1Sa 9:2] and therefore a little easier to listen to.

Even Paul was criticized for being “powerful in words” but weak in physical appearance.

2Co 10:8  For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed:
2Co 10:9  That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters.
2Co 10:10  For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.
2Co 10:11  Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.

“Let someone who thinks this way, think differently, in this way” …when we speak the words which are powerful and weighty, we will also be ‘this way IN DEED’ (in the physical) when we are present with you.

I mention all of this to point out that what the world values is obviously NOT what the Lord values. Whatever the gifts we are given, they are all gifts which are used of the Lord to GLORIFY Him, and His glory is in His inheritance.

Whatever those gifts are, good or bad from our perspective, they are used by the Lord for the BODY of Christ because that is the GLORY of the LORD.

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance IN THE SAINTS,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

Christ is seated at the right hand of the God the Father in the heavenly places, and that just so happens to be “in His people”, in the saints.

The “bad” gifts are used by the Lord to benefit the rest of the body, because God knows they will be used by Him to work good.

Paul Himself healed MANY people, but was not given the ability to heal Himself of the thorn in the flesh the Lord caused Him to have. Paul even petitioned the Lord to remove this thorn, but the answer of the Lord is the same to Paul as it is to us today when a thorn (bad gift) is not removed from us.

2Co 12:6  For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.
2Co 12:7  And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
2Co 12:8  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
2Co 12:9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Yes, even Paul had a “disease”. Here is the same word infirmity translated other places.

Act 28:8  And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.
Act 28:9  So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:

Joh 11:3  Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
Joh 11:4  When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

We know that the “sickness” that was happening to Lazarus did INDEED cause him to die, but Christ said he only slept. So any sickness we have, any bad gift we have, is something that will not lead to us ultimately being separated from God.

Joh 11:23  Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

This should illustrate to us that “weaknesses”, illnesses, infirmities, “bad gifts” are all used to eventually bring about good and to bring about LIFE.

Jesus was a simple carpenter. Today I am sure some see that as a weakness, in financial terms, as compared to the rest of the world and the standards of living that the patriarchs enjoyed. They were all wealthy people compared to a simple carpenter.

The conclusion is that the Lord uses ALL THINGS for His purpose, for His glory, and that is why He tells us to do all that we do to His glory. We are to look past our infirmities, whether physical or spiritual, and know that the Lord will give us deliverance as needed for us, or He will not give us deliverance if the body is to be benefited that way.

It is all in the Lord’s hands, and that personally gives me great joy and should to you as well. Here are a few more scriptures from the ESV version to meditate on, in relation to this topic:

Rom 3:1  Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? (“good gifts” given by God)
Rom 3:2  Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.
Rom 3:3  What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?
Rom 3:4  By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.”
Rom 3:5  But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)
Rom 3:6  By no means! For then how could God judge the world?
Rom 3:7  But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory (think bad gifts among other things), why am I still being condemned as a sinner?
Rom 3:8  And why not do evil that good may come?–as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.
Rom 3:9  What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,
Rom 3:10  as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
Rom 3:11  no one understands; no one seeks for God.
Rom 3:12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

We don’t say we need to do evil as some may claim we teach, but we do say that whatever evil is in us, whatever bad gift is in us, whatever missing of the mark is in us, we have it in us due to the Lord working it all, and it is up to the Lord to deliver us from it or not.

Your brother in the Christ,

Steven Crook