Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 0-252 (Sermon)

TRANSFORMING POWER (John 2:1-11; 1 Cor 12:1-11)

by Andy Campbell

What did you get for Christmas? Were you happy with your gifts? Were there any that you would have liked to exchange?

When it comes to our own gifts and talents, are we satisfied, or do we sometimes envy the skills and talents of other people whom we judge as more gifted than ourselves? Is there anyone whom you greatly admire? Think about your reasons for doing so.

1 Cor. 12 : 1 – 11

The members of the Church at Corinth had a problem. They had become obsessed with what they considered “Special Gifts” of the Spirit, especially the Gift of speaking in tongues. A “Class System” had developed which was promoting dissension within the fellowship. Feelings of superiority on one hand and inferiority on the other were the cause of great discontent. Paul admonished them, saying that they had gone overboard in such a manner as to bring the Church into ridicule.

He is at pains to impress on them that it is the Lord who gives the gifts, through the agency of the Holy Spirit. One gift is not to be valued over another, as all are given by God. Each individual gift is given for the good of the Church, not to allow one person to lord it over another. This foolish competition is harmful to the fellowship of the Church.

Just as there are many different people of different backgrounds in the church, so it is with the gifts given to those persons. No gift is to be despised, but rather, recognised for what it is, a gift of God, to be used in his service. All who can say with conviction that “Jesus is Lord” can only do so in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul goes on to outline some of the gifts and how they are to be used in the Church. The most amazing transformation, he points out is that they were once, a short time ago, idol worshipping pagans, without hope of salvation. Now, by the grace of God, they had believed in Jesus Christ and had received the Holy Spirit, whose power had transformed their lives. This should be cause of great joy and thankfulness, not a cause of division among them.

Unfortunately, the same problem still exists today when Christians value one gift over another. From my own experience, I have seen a family spilt because one member believes that unless you can speak in tongues, you are not saved. This is exactly the type of problem which Paul was attempting to correct.

John 2 : 1 – 11

Here we have the story of the marriage at Cana. Is this story unrelated to what we have been considering from 1 Cor. 12? I think not – let’s look at what happened.

Jesus and his new followers are guests at a wedding, a very important social event in his time and culture, even more so than it is in ours today. A terrible thing has happened, a social blunder of immense magnitude has occurred. The host has run out of wine for the guests. The shame of this would dog the family for generations.

It may have been that Mary was somehow connected with the family concerned; anyway she shows compassion for their plight, and goes directly to Jesus with the problem: “They have no more wine”. Jesus appears to be put on the spot as he seems to say “what do you expect me to do about it?” Being a mother carries some influence and Mary says to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Jesus sees six stone water jars standing nearby, and tells the servants to fill them with water, which John tells us they did with gusto. Maybe they thought the whole thing was a joke, so that they filled each jar (about 25 gallons or 115 litres) right to the brim.

I wonder at their reaction when he told them to draw some out and take it to the Master of Ceremonies to taste, especially when the M.C. called the Bridegroom aside to comment on the superior quality of this wine. The “good stuff” usually comes first, and then when palettes are sated, the inferior wine is normally used. This was a new thing to keep the best wine to the last.

Let us look at the generosity of the Lord, not only quantity but also quality. What a gift to the families. No fear of a social blot on their copy book, but rather a memory of a wedding in which good wine was available in enormous quantities, right up to the end of festivities.

John tells us that this was the first of the miraculous signs which Jesus performed. Throughout John’s Gospel there is a theme of seven, which the Jews believed was the sacred number. John’s main object in writing his Gospel is to show the reader that Jesus is indeed the Son Of God. Therefore, he tells of seven miraculous signs, and seven “I AM” statements of Jesus, such as “I AM the bread of Life” or “I AM the Good Shepherd”. In the instance of the turning of water into wine, John says its effect on his followers was for them to put their faith in him.

C.S.Lewis, in his book on Miracles, states that Jesus does not perform “magic” but merely speeds up a natural process – after all God is constantly turning water into wine by the seasonal cycle of grape growing, watering, harvesting and pressing.

From these two passages of scripture, we see that God is generous with his gifts. We are also made aware of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Can you think of any person whose life has been transformed through an encounter with the Holy Spirit? Christian history is really the story of countless thousands of men and women, whose lives have been transformed through an encounter with Jesus Christ. The shelves of Christian bookshops contain book after book, telling modern day stories of such lives.

But not all transformed lives are spectacular. There is the comment by C.S.Lewis in his book “The Four Loves” regarding a rather sharp Christian Lady who was feared for her caustic tongue. People commented that she was not really a good example but, said Lewis, think how much worse she would be, if it wasn’t for her relationship with Christ.

Just as the Corinthians needed to recognise God-given gifts in people, and not concentrate on the spectacular, so must we learn to look for and encourage God-given gifts in those around us. The church needs people who can lead, preach, and teach, but just as surely there is a need for those who can administer, organise, care, show hospitality, sing, be musicians and any number of functions required to maintain a vital fellowship.

There is no such thing as a no-talent person. We all can make our contribution to the life of the Christian community and by so doing make a healthy contribution to the community we live in. Throughout history, civilisation has needed people of integrity, and certainly the present age is no exception. We need to celebrate the gifts which the Lord has bestowed on us, and give thanks for them.

You never know how your faith and action may act on another person like the Lord’s action at Cana. You could be the agent by whom another person finds faith in Jesus Christ, and let us not forget that someone was responsible for us finding our faith. I am reasonably sure that somewhere in your lifetime, you were influenced by the life and actions, if not the words, of a Christian person, who had a major bearing on your personal decision to follow Jesus Christ.

The wonderful thing is that we are all ambassadors for Christ, may we always strive to give our best for Him. As he gave His best for us.

– Andy Campbell <>