Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Now Concerning Spiritual Gifts

God's People Must Be United and Growing in Holiness

1 Corinthians 12:1-11[1]

As preached at Rolling Hills Church on Sunday, June 10th, 2012

Scriptures

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.

2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.

3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit.

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;

5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;

6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.

7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Any spiritual activity in the church should bring gospel integrity, praise to God alone, and unifying goodness to the church. Let's pray…

1.Gospel Integrity: the Spirit of God only does or says what brings praise to God and gospel truth to the church. Verses 1-3.

No form of ecstatic, emotional, or even trance-like speaking can ever be used in worship of God in any way except to speak truth and bring glory to God.Though some will use speech gifts in the public worship, no speech from God will be blasphemous of Jesus, nor be contradictory as to who He is and what He has done.No one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!". No one can say, "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit. I don't believe Paul uses a literal "Jesus is Lord" wording to mean that it is impossible to say these words without the Holy Spirit (Lord, Lord, Matt 7), but rather to mean the truth of who Jesus is comes only from God, and will be consistently right about Jesus.
2. Praise to God alone: singularity and Diversity: One God gives, controls, and uses many gifts, services, and activities in HIs church for the good of His people. Verses 4-11.

There is singularity of source, management, and purpose. Only God gives the gifts. He is the source of all that the church needs and has. What is implied here is that since God gives them, man should not exalt himself over the use of them. The Holy Spirit is the source of the gifts. He also manages them alone – He doesn't need our help or interference. We can't step up and pretend to give out gifts to the body – this is God's work. There is a diversity of gifts, services, and activities; but they are Spirit-given, Spirit-powered, Spirit-controlled.


3. Unifying goodness to the church: true gifts from God are meant only to bless the church. "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good", Paul writes. They were not intended to be (as evidently they were in Corinth) yet another means of division and categorizing of people.

Permanent or temporary – all gifts, messages, or words are submitted to inspired Scriptures. Hebrews 1:1-2 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

This is the concern that leads some people to seriously limit any speech gift operation.

4. A quick look at the gifts: let us consider the gifts mentioned in this passage.

Utterance of wisdom and knowledge. This is either supernatural insight given to speak into a situation, or more natural gifts for that purpose. These words occur nowhere else in Scripture, so it's hard to know much about them.

Faith. Probably a special endowment of faith for accomplishing a specific purpose for God. It is not the straightforward saving faith that all Christians have.

Gifts of Healing. Simply put, this gift enables people to heal others.

Working of miracles. Scripturally this mainly consists of healings and raising from the dead.

Prophecy. Throughout this book this word has a sense of one receiving a thought, word, or a message from God spontaneously, on the spot. It suddenly comes to mind and it must be spoken in an orderly, submitted manner, and it must be judged as to it's accuracy (1 Cor 14). It would make the utterance of wisdom and knowledge to seem to fit more effectively into a more 'natural use' kind of category.

Distinguishing of Spirits. Ability to see or tell the difference between the Spirit of God and demonic spirits as spiritual powers are manifested. Going back to verse 1-3 might show us the need for such a gift in the church.

Various kinds of Tongues. This is a different language in which God is either speaking to the church or that person is given to praise God with.

Interpretation of Tongues. The gift of tongues has no ability to build up or bless the church when the church doesn't understand what is being said.

As we move on through this three-chapter section about the gifts, we will continue to delve deeper into what gifts we should expect to see today. For now, let us learn this simple truth today from this passage. It is critical to grasping the rest of the truths about gifts:

Any spiritual activity in the church should bring gospel integrity, praise to God alone, and unifying goodness to the church.

Let's pray.



[1] All Scriptures, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (via E-Sword Software) © 2001 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved. I paste them in red for distinction.

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