Chapters 12-14 of 1 Corinthians are somewhat spectacular. These chapters deal with spiritual gifts in the early church, which were indeed spectacular. The problem in Corinth was that many of these gifts had become a spectacle, a show, a means of calling attention to oneself.

However, the essential role of the Holy Spirit must always be kept in mind because spiritual gifts are not the Spirit’s ultimate goal.

The Apostle Paul states in 12:3, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” This is the beginning and the end of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Whatever else is said about spiritual gifts given by the Spirit, we must remember the ultimate goal of God’s Spirit in our church and our lives: It is to declare that Jesus is Lord! Everything else is subservient to that. Everything else is a subset of that.

Jesus said of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you” (John 16:14). The Holy Spirit does not draw attention to Himself. This is why we must be wary of the spectacular. Anything the Spirit does is to glorify Jesus as Lord, not calling attention to Himself, and not calling attention to ourselves.

Spectacular spiritual gifts aside, the most important ministry of the Holy Spirit is His day-to-day presence in our lives, glorifying Christ by making us more like Him. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Gal 5:22-23). This takes time and is not always that spectacular. The fruit of the Spirit is often born in secret, out of the limelight, behind closed doors when no one sees.

If you look closely at this fruit, you can see a portrait come into view—a picture of what Jesus Christ was like as He lived on this earth. These are how He revealed Himself. These should be the goal of our lives as we seek to be like Him. There is no mention in the fruit of the Spirit about a public and spectacular show. Instead, these are personal character traits that are developed over time in various ways.

This is where the rubber meets the road with the Holy Spirit. He is always making Christ known by making us like Christ. This is the process of sanctification to make us holy. And the Holy Spirit uses various means in this endeavor. The means may seem ordinary, but they are God’s means: His Word, repentance, obedience, suffering and trials, worship, fellowship, the Lord’s Supper, prayer, and our individual service through spiritual gifts. As we immerse ourselves in the “ordinary” means of sanctification, the Holy Spirit supernaturally transforms us into the likeness of Christ.

These “ordinary” means become the contact points of the Holy Spirit. When these are consistently present in our lives, there is more surface area in which the Holy Spirit makes contact with our souls. He has something to work with. But when we neglect or forsake these simple means of grace, we have less connection with the Spirit who indwells us. When that happens, we lose contact with Him and fall into sin. When we fall into sin, His ministry changes to convicting, correction, and discipline.

In the fruit of the Spirit, there is no mention of the spectacular. But people desire and are drawn to the spectacular. Our world and culture are built on the sensational (watch the news or been to a movie lately?). And that’s why the showy gifts of 1 Corinthians 12-14 have been sensationalized and sought after by so many. But the ordinary work of the Holy Spirit is, in the end, much more spectacular. What could be more spectacular than becoming like Jesus Christ through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit?