THE HOLY SPIRIT’S GIFTS | Pastor Matthew Johnson

"You don't receive a gift. It's way better than that. You receive the spirit of God." — Pastor Matthew Johnson

Pastor Matthew Johnson continued The Tree Church's series on the Holy Spirit this week with a message on the gifts of the Spirit. Teaching from 1 Corinthians 12, he worked to remove the confusion and hesitation many Christians feel around this topic, showing instead how good and personal these gifts truly are.

Pastor Matthew opened with a story from 2011, the year he became lead pastor. He shared that his very first planned sermon series was about the Holy Spirit, and he was excited to teach it. What surprised him was the most common response he received when he announced it. People asked if the church was going to become weird.

He explained that this fear made sense. In his experience, many groups that emphasize the Holy Spirit have done so in ways that felt chaotic or strange rather than biblical. Pastor Matthew was clear that his goal has always been the opposite. He wants believers to see the gifts of the Spirit as normal, personal, and good, not something loud or out of control.

To set up the passage, Pastor Matthew gave background on the Apostle Paul and his relationship with the church in Corinth. Paul had once opposed Christianity entirely before encountering the resurrected Jesus and becoming a missionary who planted churches across the region. The believers in Corinth wrote to Paul with questions about their faith, including questions about the Holy Spirit, and Paul's letter was written in response.

He pointed out that in 1 Corinthians 12:1, Paul is not simply teaching about spiritual gifts as a category. He is addressing a broader question the church asked about what it means to have the Spirit of God living in them. Pastor Matthew also highlighted verse 3, where Paul gives a simple test. Anyone truly led by the Holy Spirit will always honor Jesus, never dishonor Him.

Moving into verses 4 through 11, Pastor Matthew unpacked the original language behind the word gifts, explaining that it comes from a term meaning grace gifts. He said this matters because it removes a common misunderstanding, the idea that spiritual gifts are only for people who are especially disciplined, mature, or in leadership. Instead, these gifts flow from the same grace that saves every believer.

He also challenged a common way people talk about spiritual gifts, saying things like I have the gift of healing or I have the gift of prophecy. Pastor Matthew said this actually undersells what a believer has. He put it directly. You don't receive a gift. It's way better than that. You receive the spirit of God.

To illustrate this, he used the image of a Swiss Army knife and a Leatherman multi tool, both of which contain many different functions in one tool. He explained that saying you have the gift of one specific thing is like holding a multi tool and only claiming the pliers. What a believer actually has is the full presence of the Holy Spirit, who chooses to work through them in different ways as needed.

Pastor Matthew then began walking through five of the nine gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, describing these as the speaking gifts. The first was wisdom, defined as the Holy Spirit supernaturally showing someone what to do. He referenced James 1:5, which encourages believers to ask God for wisdom in faith. He also pointed to Acts chapter 6, where the early church sought wisdom together to solve a practical problem, and Acts chapter 15, where church leaders sought wisdom on how to guide new Gentile believers. In both cases, the church prayed, discussed, and moved forward with confidence because of the wisdom God gave them.

The second gift, knowledge, was defined as the Holy Spirit supernaturally showing someone something they could not have otherwise known. Pastor Matthew pointed to two moments in the ministry of Jesus, His conversation with the woman at the well in John 4, and His response to unspoken thoughts at a dinner in Luke 7. In both stories, Jesus knew something only the Holy Spirit could have revealed. Pastor Matthew also shared a personal example, describing a moment years earlier when he sensed the Spirit warning him ahead of a difficult meeting, which prepared his heart before it happened.

The third gift, prophecy, was defined as the Holy Spirit supernaturally speaking to someone or through someone. Pastor Matthew explained that prophecy in scripture can be predictive, corrective, or encouraging, and gave biblical examples of each, including Agabus predicting a famine in Acts 11 and the encouragement given through prophecy in Acts 15. He also shared several personal stories, including prophetic words given to couples in the church who were struggling to conceive, both of whom later had children.
He also shared a more difficult story about a time God prompted him to check on a friend during what felt like an ordinary day. He reached out by text and then in person, even though at the time nothing seemed obviously wrong. Months later, that friend told him they had been in a very dark place and that his message had arrived at the exact moment they needed it most. Pastor Matthew shared this story to show how the Holy Spirit can use a believer to remind someone else that they are seen and loved by God.

The fourth and fifth gifts, tongues and the interpretation of tongues, were addressed together. Pastor Matthew explained that tongues in scripture appear in three forms, a known language unknown to the speaker, an unknown language meant to be interpreted for the church, and a private prayer language between a believer and God. He shared the biblical example of Pentecost in Acts 2, along with several personal stories, including a well known story from Pastor Jack Hayford about singing in tongues to a stranger on an airplane, his own experience receiving this gift at age 13, and a lighthearted family story about his mother praying in tongues while trying to catch the family dog.

He explained interpretation of tongues as God enabling someone to communicate the meaning of what was spoken, sharing that he grew up in a church where this happened regularly and that it shaped his early understanding that God genuinely wants to speak to His people.

Pastor Matthew closed the message with a simple but challenging thought. When God speaks to you, it builds your faith. When God speaks through you, it builds someone else's faith. He encouraged the church to ask God to speak to them personally through prayer and scripture, but also to ask Him to speak through them to someone else. He gave a practical example, encouraging believers that if someone comes to mind unexpectedly, a simple text or call letting that person know they were prayed for can make a real difference. The message closed in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to work through the church for good purposes in their families, relationships, and everyday lives.

Whether you are new to faith or looking for a church home in Lancaster or Logan, The Tree Church invites you to join us. Our Lancaster campus meets at 721 N. Memorial Drive, Lancaster, OH 43130, and our Logan campus meets at 36 Hocking Mall, Logan, OH 43138. Sunday services at both campuses are held at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM. We would love to have you with us.