Scripture referenced 9 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Psalm 19:1 opened the service, heavens proclaiming the glory of God
1 The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork.
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Keep this verse
1 Corinthians 12:1-13
main passage for the sermon on spiritual gifts
1 Now concerning spiritual things, brothers, I don’t want you to be ignorant.
2 You know that when you were heathen, you were led away to those mute idols, however you might be led.
3 Therefore I make known to you that no man speaking by God’s Spirit says, “Jesus is accursed.” No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” but by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord.
6 There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all.
7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all.
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit;
9 to another faith, by the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, by the same Spirit;
10 and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; to another different kinds of languages; and to another the interpretation of languages.
11 But the one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing to each one separately as he desires.
12 For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all given to drink into one Spirit.
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1 Corinthians 12:7
central verse repeated throughout: manifestation of the spirit given to each one for the common good
7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all.
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1 Corinthians 12:8-10
list of spiritual gifts including wisdom, knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, tongues
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit;
9 to another faith, by the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, by the same Spirit;
10 and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; to another different kinds of languages; and to another the interpretation of languages.
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1 Corinthians 12:11
one Spirit distributing gifts to each one individually as he wills
11 But the one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing to each one separately as he desires.
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1 Corinthians 12:12
body is one and has many members, compared to E Pluribus Unum
12 For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.
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1 Corinthians 12:13
all baptized into one body, Jews and Greeks, slaves and free, made to drink into one Spirit
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all given to drink into one Spirit.
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Ephesians 4:11-12
pastors and teachers equipping the saints to do the ministry of the church
11 He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers;
12 for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ;
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Jude 24-25
benediction, God able to keep you from falling away, all glory to him alone
24:24 Now to him who is able to keep them from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory in great joy,
25:25 to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This message was the opening week of a multi-week study on spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. Pastor Ray worked through verses 1 through 13, taking it slowly and deliberately because, as he said plainly, this section of scripture has divided churches and he wanted to lay a careful foundation before getting into the harder questions. The single verse he kept coming back to was verse 7: the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the common good.
What was said
Pastor Ray started by noting that the word "gifts" in verse 1 is actually in italics in the New King James, meaning it was added by the translators. The original just says "spiritual things," and the reason "gifts" fits is that these things are given. That word, given, became the thread running through everything that followed. You did not earn a spiritual gift, you did not study your way into it, and you do not get to choose it. God gives it.
Verse 2 gets grammatically strange, and Pastor Ray was honest about that. Paul is saying something like: I don't know exactly how it was that you were being led away to those mute idols, but you were, and it was continuous. The point is that his audience could vouch for their own past. They had been Gentiles, outsiders, pulled away from God repeatedly, and they knew it. That shared experience of being lost is part of why what follows matters.
Verse 3 corrects the ignorance Paul has just named. No one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord and mean it except by the Holy Spirit. Pastor Ray connected the "Jesus is accursed" language to an early form of Gnosticism already showing up in Corinth, where people were splitting the human Jesus from the Spirit of Christ and dismissing the man who died on the cross. Paul's answer is that the Spirit does not do that. The Spirit is what draws people to confess Jesus as Lord in the first place.
Verses 4 through 6 introduce the diversity of gifts, ministries, and activities, and Pastor Ray pointed out the trinitarian structure: the same Spirit, the same Lord, the same God. He was careful to say he does not think the lists in this chapter, or anywhere else in Paul's letters, are exhaustive. They are representative. The Spirit gives many different things and the lists are examples, not a complete catalog.
Verse 7 is where Pastor Ray planted his flag for the whole series. The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the common good. He returned to it again when he reached verse 11, which says the same Spirit distributes to each one individually as He wills, and he colored both slides the same way in his notes on purpose. The repetition is Paul's repetition, not his, and he said the test of whether something is a genuine gift of the Spirit is whether it builds up the body of Christ. If it is dividing the church, something has gone wrong, either in the gift itself or in how it is being used.
He was candid that this church has people from Southern Baptist, Lutheran, Catholic, and charismatic backgrounds all sitting in the same room, and that this passage has historically been the place where those differences explode. He mentioned cessationists, continuationists, and full charismatic believers by name, and said he was not going to come down hard on any of those positions yet. What he wanted everyone to hold onto going into the harder weeks ahead is the frame: out of many, one body, and every gift distributed for the common good, not for personal glory, not for division.
He closed by naming a few people whose gifts were obvious, a musician, a man who quietly cleans and sets up the building without being asked, a regular caller whose gift he would simply call encouragement, and someone who recently wrote down a word of encouragement during a service rather than speaking it aloud because she was sensitive to what would be orderly in this setting. His point was that gifts look very different from one another, that the less visible ones are no less real, and that each person in the room has at least one. He asked the congregation to pray for him as he works through the next several weeks of this material.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Pastor Ray pointed out that Paul uses the word 'ignorant' to describe the Corinthians when it comes to spiritual things, and says he does not want them to stay that way. Where do you feel most ignorant when it comes to your own spiritual gifting, and what has kept you there?
- Pastor Ray said that when we were still 'tribal,' still with our allegiance somewhere else, we were continually being led away to things that were not God. Can you think of a time in your own life when you were being carried away like that, and what did it look like when the Holy Spirit began drawing you back?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Read the full transcript 12,496 words
0:00
Speaker 2Psalm nineteen one says, the heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day, they continue to speak. Night after night, they make him known. Let's make him known this morning.
0:14
Let's stand.
4:01
Speaker 1Amen and y'all can have a seat. So, y'all notice that there's a slightly different configuration this morning. This week and the second week of spring break, you can bet that it's going to be like this. There are going be some of us gone. Carl is traveling with Krista and the family this week and but we're glad that you're here and we're glad to be here.
4:19
So, we are gonna go for it. Welcome and announcements. Y'all are welcome. You got that part. The announcements are short this week.
4:26
There is an annual congregational meeting at about 12:15 after the second service on January 11, January 11. That's going to be a couple weeks from now and announced it a couple weeks ago but that's the annual congregational meeting. It's the normal thing that we do once a year. There'll be a few decisions and things that the elders and the board of trustees have gone over that'll be up for a vote to be ratified. So, that's annual congregational meeting two weeks from today at 12:15.
4:54
That's after the second service. Monday nights at first b are charging on. We skip Monday nights as often as we skip Sunday nights, okay? So, if you normally would bring your kids to Awana, there is not Awana. There's no Awana this week in this room where there normally would be because we are taking a wait taking a break for Christmas break with Awana.
5:15
But if you wanna bring the kids down the hall and we'll have Monday nights just like normal. Ryan will be leading the music and I'll be preaching for Carl since he's out of town. So that's Monday night and welcome. You're we're glad you're here. I don't think there's anything else and isn't that a change?
5:28
My goodness. Christmas. Whoo. We had a great Fiesta Navidenia here last Sunday night. If you all haven't heard about it or seen the pictures of the pinatas exploding, that was a lot of fun.
5:41
The food was great. Fellowship was great. Had over a 100 people and about half of those were Spanish speakers that came last Sunday night. Praise God and he is growing something and doing something here and we're excited about it. We also had two great choir special and I don't think I've ever heard this church sing as loud as at the 04:30 service on Christmas Eve.
6:01
That was great. So I'm glad would you all stand up and greet one another, and we'll bring you back together. We're all glad you
9:59
Speaker 2Lord, we do come before you and, and just proclaim that that that's that's who you are and that's what you've done for us, Lord. We, we stand before your throne in your righteousness alone, and and we we just thank you for that, Lord. And as we come out of a season of celebrating your birth, we just we just thank you again for for coming in and and saving the day, Lord. And we just pray that you would be with us as we worship your name this morning. Name we pray.
10:32
Amen. Amen. Let's sing about how great our God is. Amen, guys. You can be seated.
18:12
Speaker 1Amen. Would you all join me in a word of prayer for for the offering and just the Thanksgiving too for what God has done in this year. So, God, we do. Looking back at this time of year, we look back, we look forward, we make resolutions, we try to come up with things that we didn't do so well this year but lord, looking back, you did some amazing things. How great you are and we wanna sing about that greatness, lord and we just wanna thank you for a wonderful, wonderful year of opportunity that you set before us.
18:41
Lord, may we see every day just like that. A chance to show forth who you are and God, one of the ways that we can do that is right here during this offering time. Would you, lord, take these monies and do with them as you please. I thank you for the board of trustees and for the elders and for all the direction that you've given lord but we just want to be able to do what you want to have done. So, God, would you do that?
19:09
Thank you for all that you have given lord. We turn to you in Thanksgiving and recognition and we also turn to you for direction as we look into this next year. Use each one of us as you see fit lord. We come together for purpose and that's to glorify and lift you up. May that be the case from Sunday to Sunday all week long too.
19:29
In Jesus name, would you bless this offering lord to further your kingdom? Amen. I am going to start right here this morning. So, we're up to first Corinthians 12 and this, I've been kind of broadcasting for several weeks now. This is going to be about spiritual gifts, spiritual gifts, spiritual gifts.
19:44
It's coming up. It's coming soon and we skipped a couple of weeks for Christmas and there was a a children's pageant in there too. So, you might be a little bit out of sync of what's been going on in Corinthians for a while but this is the main points in different colors. These are the main points of the of the passage today. So, twelve seven.
20:04
It's right in the middle of our section twelve one through 13. If you have a bulletin, most of you in this service don't. But if you do have a bulletin on the back, it's got one through 31 and there's just too much there. So for somebody who did two chapters of Hebrews last week, this is just 13 verses today. But this is the main the main points that I hope come through.
20:25
The benefit but the manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for the common good. That's what we need to focus on because this next, let's see, chapter two chapters, three chapters almost is probably the thickest minefield that I have ever stepped through up here on this pulpit and I want for y'all to know that. There this passage divides people and it divides them, and I think it's kinda goes back to a few weeks ago when we were talking about, hey, resist is not necessarily heresy, it's a self chosen opinion. Once you've made up your mind on this subject, you tend to make up your mind and let it let that drive how you read this passage and I don't think it should. So, for the next few weeks, I'm going to try my best to avoid the pitfalls and to avoid the little landmines and just say what it says.
21:15
That's what we're, that's the goal at least and this one's a fairly short message to give you that so that we know the overarching purpose. We have a lot of different views in this church represented and I know that and what I've loved for the past three years actually seeing more and more is we have divergent views that are softening and people are moving towards the center and seeing that God loves us and that's the point and that he may need somebody on this side to reach somebody that this person cannot reach. So, we're working through this. This is it. The manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for the common good.
21:52
Now, he builds up to that and he'll come back to it over and over and over again. We'll see it come through. But since it's Christmas, I want to talk about gifts. Gifts. What do you think of when you just hear the word gifts?
22:05
Do you think of this? Little guy? This is this is Conway dressed up when we went Christmas, Caroline. And a lot of people when they think of Christmas, they think of gifts and they think of this jolly little man that's bringing lots of presents and that's a lot of fun, Conway. Thank you for doing that.
22:27
But this week, we're going to talk about spiritual gifts. In first Corinthians twelve one through 13 and I'm still getting used to that thing being up there. So, if it looks like I'm disconnected, I'm paying attention up there. We're working on that, alright? Just just know that I love you.
22:40
I'm just trying to figure this thing out. Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, brethren, I do not want for you to be ignorant. This is a new King James translation. That's the one that I typically carry with me and I almost always will use that unless it's just doesn't get the sense of the passage or or makes makes something I think is kind of weird. I'll almost always use New King James.
23:04
In this particular place, you see right there, I've mentioned it time and again that if you see a word that is in italics in the New King James or the King James or the New International or a bunch of different versions of the Bible, they've there's a convention. If you see an italics, it means that that word has been added to make sense. So, what this says is now concerning spiritual things could be because the word spiritual right there does have attached to it a noun but it is a neuter noun, a neutral noun. So, we always say spiritual gifts and there's a reason for that. It says, now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant or concerning spiritual things.
23:44
That which is spiritual would be a really good translation. Now, concerning that which is spiritual, I do not want for you to be ignorant. This is like the third time he's told them that he did not want for them to be ignorant. That's saying something. The the he thinks that they were being ignorant.
24:00
He thinks that they were going along just unknowing and that's what it is, not knowing. I don't want for you to keep on going the way that you've been going, not knowing this. So, when it comes to spiritual things or spiritual gifts and the reason that goes into gifts is because we'll see later on, he's giving them. They're being given. If they're being given in their things, what are they?
24:19
Gifts. Gifts. That's right. So, now concerning spiritual gifts or things, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant and brethren right there is for brothers and sisters. In fact, I'm going to try to give you the oh well, this is New King James still.
24:36
Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols. However, you were led. What does that mean to you? That second verse right there.
24:48
It's kind of weird. The grammar is kind of weird on it and so when I look at it, that's what I think. What does that mean? What does it mean? So, I went back and studied on that.
24:56
I checked a lot of different translations and for your benefit, I did the R McD version again. So, you'll see y'alls where y'all show up. Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not think it's limited just to men in this case. Brothers could mean brothers or it could mean brothers and sisters. If there's nothing else in the text that says, it's men only, then you need to go with brothers and sisters.
25:18
So, this is it. Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I don't want y'all to be ignorant. You all know that when y'all were still Gentiles, however, it was that y'all were being led away to those idols, y'all were continually being carried away to those mute idols. Does that make sense? He was saying, I don't know how.
25:36
I don't know exactly all about that but I do know that you are continually being led away and to the people who had been led away to mute idols, to other things that were not God, to other things that were not godly. They knew that they had been led astray. They knew that they had been led away. Have you all experienced that? Have you ever been led away or led astray by something that was not godly?
25:57
I think it still happens today. I think that that's something that is pretty normal. Y'all are continually being carried away to those mute idols. And Gentiles here, we kind of skip over that too because most of us are Gentiles. We figure I can take this one but you know that when y'all were still Gentiles, the word there is ethne, ethnicity comes from that, family, tribe comes from that.
26:26
So, it is variously translated. Gentiles, pagans, hiddens, when you were still pagans, when you were still unbelievers, when you were still hiddens, outsiders, when you were still tribal is a good way of putting that. When you were still tribal, however, it was you're being led away, y'all were continually being carried away. Therefore, I'm making known to all of you, to you all, to y'all, that no one speaking by the spirit of God calls Jesus accursed and that no one can say that Jesus is lord except by the Holy Spirit. So, he says in the first verse, I don't want you to be ignorant and you know that you were and now I'm going to tell you how not to be ignorant.
27:09
Does that make sense? That's the transition there. I know. Y'all were ignorant. You still are.
27:16
While you were, I don't know exactly how it was that you were led away but you know that you were led away. You can vouch for me. You can verify this fact. Can you not? Yes, we can, Paul.
27:27
Therefore, I'm going to make known to you that no one speaking by the spirit of God calls Jesus a curse. What does that mean? Probably in the church at Corinth, we see that there were some powerful leaders. There was an early form of gnosticism to know gnosticism really got its got its feet up under it towards the end of the first century but at this point, there was already kind of a start to this feeling and people were saying that Jesus, the man was just a man. Oh, but the spirit of Christ was upon him and the spirit, spirit, spirit, spirit.
28:00
This is what's going on. So, Jesus, he was cursed on a tree but the spirit of God is what raised him from the dead. Jesus lived that perfect life, did not deserve that death. So, our sin was cursed on that tree but Jesus is not a curse. Paul was making clear.
28:18
No, Jesus really did everything right. He's not a curse and no one can say that Jesus is lord except by the Holy Spirit. Maybe we should put a and mean it in there. People could say anything but nobody can say it and mean it that Jesus is lord except by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God is the one who draws.
28:38
He is the one that convinces of our own sin and convinces of God's righteousness and draws people to Jesus. So, no one can say that Jesus is lord and mean it except by the Holy Spirit. So, he's saying that if you're operating under the spirit, you will not curse Jesus and you will recognize that you can't call him lord without the Holy Spirit. It's a trinitarian sermon today. There's a lot of references in here to father, son, and Holy Spirit.
29:04
So, he's trying to dispel the ignorance by saying, this is the case. It's grounded in Jesus and his atonement. It's grounded there but the spirit of God is what draws people and makes you a believer and the spirit of the one God is the one who gives. I'll go back when we get further along. He goes from there and says, for there are diversities of gifts, many different gifts.
29:29
In fact, he gives a list here. He gives a list in Ephesians. He gives a list in several other places. Talk about that more in a few weeks but when he says diversities of gifts, I don't think that all of the ones we have named in the Bible are all of them. He's saying they're varied, variegated.
29:44
There are many, many, many different spiritual gifts. In fact, if I look around this room, I can look at you and some of them I can tell. Florine just went from the mandolin to the piano with flu this. Just complete fluidity. No problem.
29:58
Just change from one to the other and his spiritual gift is most certainly music. There's no doubt in anybody's mind in this room. Do you read music? Florian, where are you? He doesn't read music.
30:08
Yeah. Okay. He can read but he doesn't play what he reads. Yeah. Wouldn't that be great?
30:18
This is one of those things and I I say this is pitfalls and and little bombs because apparently, what was happening in Corinth is they were looking at somebody's gifts like that and going, that's what I want. That's what I want and they're envious of those gifts and we'll get into that further in a few weeks too. There are diversities of gifts but the same spirit. Next, it says, there are differences of ministries but the same lord and there are diversities of activities but it's the same God. When I'm playing the bass up here, that is not my spiritual gift.
30:49
If you listen real close, you'll know it. Okay? But it is a ministry. It is something that helps me to stay calm before I get up here to preach and it is a ministry to y'all. I hope too to just keep the bottom end held down but it's not that's not my spiritual gift.
31:03
That's that's not at all. There are diversities of activities. There are a lot of things that that we can do that are not necessarily from the center of our giftedness but it's the same God who works all in all and the all there, the all in all is all people. It's definitely a human thing. God is working all of these things in all of his people.
31:27
He's actively building bodies. He's actively building the body of Christ overall, the big capital c church, but he's also active in building this body and other bodies. He's active using this diversities of gifts, diversities of ministries, diversities of activities. Same spirit, same lord, same God. And then we come to the verse.
31:49
I said, what's going to be our main focuses but the manifestation of the spirit, God is unseen, right? God is spirit. No man has seen God. That's what Jesus said. The manifestation of the spirit.
32:03
How do you see that which is spirit? It must manifest itself in some way. The manifestation of the spirit God showing himself to an unbelieving world happens through him manifesting him his spirit. Now, he has done that in the birth of Jesus and we've talked about that a lot in the last month. He manifested himself in human flesh.
32:31
He lived life fully human, fully divine. But the manifestation of the spirit when we're backing away from Christmas and the manifestation of God the son. God the spirit. How does he manifest himself? It is given.
32:47
It's a gift. I actually like the word order better in in Greek and the English Standard Version says, now to each one is given for the profit of all, the manifestation of the spirit. I like the word order a little better than the other but this given, the manifestation of the spirit is given and I'm sorry, I'm going to embarrass Lorraine over and over probably but his was the most obvious one that I thought we could all agree on. Manifestation of the spirit, he does that. What did you do to receive that gift?
33:23
But you have a facility for it that that is above and beyond just normal studies, right? Yes, it is. It's given. It's given. If I were to study every single day for the rest of my life, I would never be able to just sit down and play like that.
33:40
I'm convinced of it. I've tried. It is something that God gives and he gives it like he gives everything else graciously. He gives it through no merit. It's not honor.
33:53
It's not because you deserve it. It's just that he gives it. That's what he does. The manifestation of the spirit is given to each one. The two each one is talking about individually.
34:07
You are given a gift, at least one. I think that you have a gift mix. I think that there are more than one. There are some people that believe you just have one that's spiritual. The rest is kind of natural talent or whatever.
34:18
To each one, talks about the individual individuality with which God deals with each of us. The manifestation of the spirit is given graciously to each one. But why? For the profit of all. And this is where I say, I want to ground ourselves in this before we go into some of the other sketchy territories, the stuff that people disagree on so vehemently.
34:44
This is what it's all about. The manifestations are give for the upbuilding of the kingdom, for the edification, for the profit of all. In fact, the profit of all, this this is the word right there and that actually the common good would be a really good translation of that. So, the manifestation of the spirit is given to each individual one for the common good. That's what it's, that's the major test of whether it is or is not a gift of the spirit.
35:14
Is it to build up the body of Christ? And if it's not building up the body of Christ, if it's dividing the body of Christ, then it's it's not being used appropriately at the very least and may not be a gift from God. It may actually be something from somewhere else, somebody else. If it's tearing down God's capital C church, then, it's not being used for the common good. So, the manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for the common good and if when we're going through this, we just will kind of come back to this verse twelve seven over and over.
35:51
We'll probably revisit this verse over the next two or three weeks, maybe a month. Then, eight through 10, these are, this is a list, kind of examples. Four to one individual is given the word of wisdom through the spirit. To another, the word of knowledge through the same spirit. What's the difference in wisdom and knowledge?
36:13
I think knowledge is probably applied wisdom but he may give to one the wisdom for figuring out and knowing and being able to articulate what it is that God's trying to say but then for somebody else to be able to, oh, yeah. You just helped me figure that out and now I'm going to do something about it. I'm going to apply that wisdom. That's knowledge to be able to apply wisdom. To another, faith by the same spirit, to another gifts of healing, by the same spirit, to another, the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another interpretation of tongues.
36:52
Now, most of these in this list are in what we would call the charismatic giftings and this is the big area that I'm talking about that has caused a lot of trouble over the years between peoples and I think that Paul's list right here probably points out the things that the Corinthians were lifting up as being the highest. Might not be. There's a possibility that it it might not be but I think that that's what he's saying. The word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, working with miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues but all of em given by the same spirit. So, he's saying there's a variety of gifts and he lists some of those, not all.
37:31
I don't think it's an exhaustive list. Definitely not because he list other ones in different places but they're given by the same spirit. He does not deny that any of these exist. Today, there are some folks who deny that some of those things still exist and he does not lift them up as being greater gifts. At least not right here, he does not.
37:55
But they're given by the same spirit and this he repeats over and over and over again to the point that you just have to say, this is what he's talking about. These things are given by the spirit for what? For the common good, for the lifting up of the name of Jesus and the body of Christ, his church. So, that's what they are to be used for. There's a diversity of gifts but a unity of spirit and if it's not promoting unity, then it's not from God because that's what he does.
38:26
So, we'll go on from there. Twelve eleven says, but one in the same spirit, capital S, underline that because that's the Holy Spirit, works all these things distributing to each one individually as he wills. What does that sound like? It sounds a whole lot like verse twelve seven. All these things again, it's things right there the same way as things, spiritual things in that first verse.
38:50
Paul is saying that God is the one who takes these spiritual things, these and he gives them or he distributes them or he manifest them. He gives them. They're gifts. All these things is the same as all these gifts. Distributing to each one individually as he wills.
39:09
This looks a lot like twelve seven. In fact, I colored them the same colors because it's saying the same thing again. This is the important point. He's saying, eventually, he'll say, don't be jealous of the other gifts and don't try to say, well, I'm not going have anything to do with anybody else because I'm not up there on the stage or I'm not able to play music or I'm not able to do whatever. No, to each one individually as God wills and we'll go into this again later on but why does he give them?
39:40
For the common good. I'm going to keep coming back to it. I'm going to keep coming back to it over and over because I think Paul does and that's his that's his point. I love that y'all all get along. This is really really good to see the body of Christ working like it ought to and as we go through this and we're trying to learn, I'm going to try to just go back to exactly what it says and not put in a whole lot of opinion.
40:03
I have pretty strong opinions in a lot of places but I'm trying to let the Bible bend me rather than me bend what it says. So, for as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body being many are one body. What does that sound like to you? This is what it sound like to me. E pluribus unum.
40:27
Out of many, one. That's the ideal. Is America really that? Oh my goodness. We've got so many divergent opinions on so many things and we are a split country right now.
40:37
There's the left and there's the right, never the 20 shall meet. But out of many, one, and they came together under under that, you know, found and document the constitution. Of course, some of us go back to the articles because of the confederation, but never mind. Anyway, no. I'm just I'm just kidding.
40:55
Out of many, one. It really is bringing together many things and and knowing that we are here for a common goal and if we can pull together like that, then the American ideal is realized in American stuff. The goal of the church is out of these many different things that God has given to come together for one purpose and that's to glorify him, loving God, and bring others into the faith, loving people. That's our motto here is with all we are, all we are, some of us are on this side, some of us are on that side, all we are. Loving God and loving people through Christ and that's the only way that it's possible to do it.
41:31
To know that it's happening, to see it happen, and is exciting. It's only possible through the atonement of Christ and the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our body. We should not bar him at the door. For as the body is one and as many members but all the members of that one body, being many are one body. So also is Christ, the body of Christ is like that.
41:59
Christ was not the least bit schizophrenic. Don't take this what that I'm going to say but did Christ say, he who is not for me is against me? Yes. Did Christ also say, he who is not against me is for me. He did.
42:16
He said both at different times. He did. That might be a surprise but it is. It's not a mistranslation. It depends on where you are, when you are.
42:25
I'm not saying there's a sliding scale for truth. I'm saying the truth of the moment makes a difference. Where he was, when he was, saying this, he was dead on right, where he was, when he was, he was dead on right about this. There are going to be some things about other Christians that make you uncomfortable and it is their spiritual gift. That's just the way that it is.
42:46
I know, I can see people calculating and going, oh my goodness, I can't believe he's going there. I'm not going there. I'm I'm not completely comfortable with everything that that I'm studying. So, also is Christ. Let's study this and take it for what it says together.
43:07
For the common good and y'all are going have to tell others because there are a lot of people that aren't here today. So, if we go into it later on in the month, I'm going to come back and probably re preach some of this again. It is for the common good. For by one spirit, we were all baptized into one body whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free. What did Jews and Greeks have to do with one another?
43:28
Nothing. Slaves and free, that's a big difference. Nothing. Socioeconomically, there was no other reason for the people who were in these churches to be together and Paul saw that it was a problem, socioeconomic problem and he was saying there needs to be unity. Rich folks, don't do what you're doing.
43:48
When you're celebrating the Lord's supper, you know, it's the last thing we covered. He says, you gotta wait for everybody and y'all who are down here, you gotta you gotta work together on this. You gotta come together. All have been made to drink into one spirit. That is a passive thing.
44:04
God has brought you into a family. You're not going to be completely comfortable with every one of your brothers and sisters but God is the one who's making us to drink from that one spirit, okay? Are we together? And then, I'm going to come back to that. The manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for the common good.
44:26
I think that's just the simplest way to put it. To each one of you, I ask a couple of you this week and you know, there are spiritual gifts, inventories, and studies that you can do. They're they're all over the internet. If you want to go and answer a few questions and it'll tell you what the possibilities are about what your spiritual gift is, Feel free. That's that's good.
44:45
We're not going to do that but y'all are welcome to do it but I ask a few of you this week what you're what you felt like your spiritual gift was and three of you said, I don't think I have one. Because you see folks like Florine playing any instrument he picks up or Carl with his rhythmic genius or Renzi with his youthful goofiness, whatever it is, that makes Renzi so the youth guy, you know, and they're both not here so I have to speak freely. You might look at other people's gifts and go, yeah, I don't think I have one because that one is so obvious. Somebody that's upfront is gonna be seen more often than somebody that's that's behind the scenes. I don't I don't see fairy here either but Francis Solomon, do you all know him?
45:35
Barry, cleans this church all the time, voluntarily. He shovels, walks, he comes in, he tears down these chairs, he puts them back up, and he just does it. His gift is service and he can't help it. He couldn't do anything else. He works two other jobs and he still does it.
45:50
It's because this is he knows that this is his gifting. It's not something that y'all see a lot. It's something I see all the time. It's given to him to be able to just do that mundane task and not be upset about it because he knows it's his gift and it was given to him for the common good. So, that's how he uses it.
46:12
I think we all ought to serve that way. Whatever our gift is. Now, we will help you try to figure out what it is and you see us plug people into places sometimes and we're trying to find what that gift is. That's my, it's one of my jobs. In fact, where he list them in Ephesians, he says, to some, it is this, some it is this, pastors and teachers, that's kind of my job and finding a place to equip the saints for the ministry of the church, to equip the saints to do the ministry church as part of our job.
46:39
So, I I want to look forward to this and not dread this. I want to look forward and not think, I'm throwing a hand grenade out in the middle of a crowd and we're going to split this church. It's for the common good, for the building up of the body and that's what we're going to work towards and I think that's the last slide. I'll invite Ryan and the rest of the guys up here but would y'all pray with me that we go through this and we come out other side a whole lot stronger than we are and knowing and being more comfortable with what God's spirit is doing amongst us and in us. In Jesus name, amen.
48:18
Speaker 2I come to the cross. Surrender my Jesus strong near to me you are my
49:58
Speaker 1Alright. And the benediction today is from Jude twenty four and twenty five says, now, all glory to God who is able to keep you from falling away and bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our savior, through Jesus Christ, our lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time and in the present and beyond all time and that is the God who gives to each one of you individually. Whatever it is he's given for the common good.
50:28
Amen. We are continuing our study in first Corinthians. So, we're back to the the the main thing I guess. I I've I've told y'all time and time again about how I like to just kind of preach through a book and and we'll go through. We're going in chronological order but I think where the books were, how they were written and so the theology of each is kind of compounding in some ways.
50:53
We're seeing more and more. We saw the life of Jesus. We saw the life of the early church and now we're going back and we're picking these things up. So, we're up to chapter 12 of first Corinthians and as we get to this chapter, I'm gonna start with this verse. This right in the middle of the passage we're covering today, we're going one through 13 even though your bulletin says one through 31 A.
51:17
That's what I had planned on doing. The more I looked at it, I thought, that's just too much. I want to get a good grounding first for how we're going to proceed through this whole section on spiritual gifts. Partially because spiritual gifts and this section of scripture has been historically one of the landmines that preachers walk through. There are so many different places where either we could fall into a pit or it could just blow up and we don't want that.
51:44
So, we're gonna take it a little bit slower especially at the beginning and pay attention to what it says. This, I think, these are the four main points of this passage but it's also the points of the passage for the next up to chapter 14 verse 40. So, we're going twelve, thirteen, and 14 are all about spiritual gifts and how they should be used but if you look at this in this different color coded little section, but the manifestation of the spirit, the showing forth of the spirit of the Holy Spirit, it's capital S, the showing of the spirit, the way that he is made known, shown, manifest of the spirit is given to each one for the common good. So, each one of those things has a different thought process. It's four actual words in Greek but the manifestation of the spirit, how God shows himself because God is spirit, right?
52:34
He is spirit. Jesus said, no man has seen the father at any time but if you see me, you seen the father. The spirit now that Jesus has come to Earth, has lived that perfect life, has made salvation available through his perfect sacrificial atonement, his perfect death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. The spirit is what he sent, the comforter, the Holy Spirit that would stay, that would remain in the hearts of those who believe. So, the manifestation of the spirit is given.
53:04
It's just like the way God gives. It's given. Graciously, he has done this to show himself and he did it to each one. We'll come back to each one of these points but to each person for the common good. Just think about that.
53:20
That's what we're dwelling on. This will probably come up for the next three or four weeks. We'll see this. The manifestation of spirit is given to each one for the common good. I might change the change the version next time.
53:31
I like the Greek word order better. It says, now to each one, it is given for the common good, the manifestation of the spirit. I like that. So, we might swap it. So, Christmas coming in.
53:44
Gifts, do you think about Christmas? Usually, one of the first things people think about is gifts and what do you think of when you think of gifts especially with an exclamation point? You think of this little guy? This is actually Conway. Conway has been calling me since we took that picture.
54:03
Every day, Conway calls me twice a day, every single day to tell me that he loves me. Every day, Conway, that guy calls just to tell me that he loves me every day. It's one the most encouraging things about being pastor here. He says, you're my favorite pastor and I like that other pastor too. Talking about Carl.
54:19
So, Conway is great and his gift, I would say, is encouragement. He is an amazing ability to just be able to to just tell you that he loves you and mean it and so very sincere, childlike love and faith that he has. So, that's Conway. Santa Claus gifts that kind of goes together but we're talking about spiritual gifts and actually spiritual gifts when you bring that up, people just say, oh yeah, that's chapter 12 starts in verse one and it does but if you look at verse one, this is what it says. It says, now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant.
54:55
This is a new King James version of the Bible. If you're wondering, I usually, that's my default. That's the one that I carry most of the time. So, now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant and I'm getting used to that screen being up there. If I start looking up, I'm not looking into the heavens.
55:10
I'm just looking up there to see what's going on but gifts right here, you see that's in italics? It's in italics which means that word was provided. It was added so that the passage makes more sense. The word spiritual up there is a neuter word. It's not a masculine or feminine.
55:28
It is neuter and typically, it would be translated like this. Now, concerning spiritual things, neutral. Now, concerning spiritual things, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant and ignorant is not knowing. I do not want you to be not knowing but what he's saying and saying that is, you're not knowing right now. You're ignorant right now but I don't want you to be ignorant.
55:49
God doesn't want you to be ignorant. So, concerning spiritual things, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant and ignorant. Like I said, it's just not knowing. It's not it's not stupid. It's not the same thing.
56:01
It's not dull. It means you just don't know this yet. From there, going into verse two, you know that you were Gentiles carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Does that make any sense to anybody? This is New King James like I said.
56:19
When you read this, now, you know that you were Gentiles carried away to these dumb idols however you're led. It kinda does. It carries the thought a little bit but on this one, I went back and checked every translation that I had available. Some of em were pretty good, pretty close, some of em are great but I decided to take it upon myself since there was a question right here as to exactly what this meant and how right here. I did their R McD version again.
56:42
This is the Ray McDaniel version. I just translated it so that I want to bring out the things there in pink that I think you need to see. Now, concerning spiritual things or gifts, brothers and sisters, if there's not a limiter within the verse or within the context that says, this is men only, then anytime that it says, brethren, typically, that's brothers and sisters. In Spanish, it works the same way. When you say, when you're speaking to Hermanos, Hermanos is brothers but it's brothers and sisters if it's a mixed group.
57:13
So, if it's not limited in the text, then, you can go with brothers and sisters. So, now, concerning spiritual things or gifts, brothers and sisters and I want to go back to gifts for a second. The reason we call it gifts is because it's obvious throughout the next three chapters that these are given to you. They're spiritual things that are given, abilities, manifestations of the spirit. Now, concerning these spiritual things, brothers and sisters, I don't want y'all to be ignorant and it is y'all.
57:40
It's multiple people. It's the second person plural. You all know that when y'all were still Gentiles, however it was that y'all were being led away to those idols, Y'all were continually being carried away to those mute idols. Whatever it was that did it, I'm not sure he's not trying to say it's it's exactly what it is but he's saying, however it was that you were led away, you were led away and it was continuous. It was a continuing action.
58:06
That's what happened typically. Now, I did, I said Gentiles the first time in that version. The word is ethnic. It's the same thing where we get in the great commission where you hear to every tribe, tongue, and nation. Ethnic is tribe.
58:20
It can also be translated family. If it has a negative connotation especially in the King James and the New King James, if there's any negative connotation whatsoever, it will usually say either Gentiles or pagans or hiddens. But tribes is what it means. Tribes is what it means. So, when you were, when your allegiance lay somewhere else, you are this way and you are led astray and it was repeated.
58:46
It was continual. You were always being led away and I don't really know exactly how it was but it was. That's what Paul's saying. So, in the first verse, he says, I don't want you to be ignorant but you know that you are or you at least that you were. You know that you were when you were still Gentiles, pagans, hiddens, tribal, when you were still in that mindset, you definitely were ignorant and then in verse three, he tries to clear it up.
59:10
He's saying, you, I don't want you to be ignorant but you are and so let's clear it up. Therefore, I am making known to you all, to y'all, that no one speaking by the spirit of God calls Jesus a curse and that no one can say that Jesus is lord except by the Holy Spirit. Now, this is one of those things where you go, what in the world does that mean? How how can why would anybody ever say that Jesus is a curse? One of the early heresies that got started in the church and it was probably already started in Corinth.
59:47
It definitely was in full swing by the time John and Revelation and a lot of the later written books were in the end of the first century but at this time, People were already starting to say that, yeah, Jesus as a man was cursed on that tree, he's cursed. It's the spirit of Christ and they were lifting up the spirit and putting it over Christ. They're putting it over Jesus, the man. They would divide the two as Jesus, the man, and the spirit of Christ was upon him which allowed him to walk the way that he walked and do what he did which in a way is true but he never did have sin as a human being. He never was there in any capacity at all.
1:00:27
He never had sinned and so his these people that were saying, Jesus is cursed. Oh, he died on tree. Everybody that died on tree is cursed. No doubt about it. And they teach or preach the spirit or they teach or preach something else.
1:00:43
Not Jesus Christ. God man, crucified for sin. They're teaching something else and he's saying that by the spirit of God, you cannot do that. That's not something that comes from God. So, by the spirit of God, you can't call Jesus a curse because he is the name that is above every name.
1:01:01
He's exalted and if you don't believe that, then you're not of the spirit of God. You're not a Christian. And no one can say that Jesus is lord and mean it. I'll add that because yeah, you can say, Jesus is lord, an actor could act it out and say it but the the sense of say in this is no one can profess, can mean it, and say that Jesus is lord except by the Holy Spirit because it is the spirit of God that draws us to God in the first place. The Holy Spirit's job as John wrote and Jesus said in chapter 15 is to convict of sin and to convince of the righteousness of God, to draw us to the father through Jesus Christ, his son.
1:01:43
That's the job of the comforter, the Holy Spirit. So, no one can say that Jesus is lord and mean it except by the Holy Spirit. This is a very trinitarian passage. There's the trinity is all over this first section of first Corinthians and continues throughout but if you'll pay attention, spirit of God, Christ, and God usually, they list that and call him God, the father. We'll come up time and again.
1:02:06
These first three verses, we've covered. Now, look at this. Four through six, there are diversities of gifts, variegated. They are varied in their in their in their just in their being of gifts. They're they're varied.
1:02:23
Diversities of gifts are lots of different ones and I would say that I don't think that this is an exhaustive list. I'm sure it's not because in a different place, in Ephesians, he list other gifts and in couple of other places, he list even other gifts. I don't think any of the list are exhausted. I don't think that they were meant to be to the complete one, the complete listing and these are only the spiritual gifts and you have one of these. I think that these are representative lifts but some people would disagree with that but most people think that they're not exhaustive, comprehensive list.
1:02:54
There are diversities of gifts but the same spirit. There are differences of ministries but the same lord. Now, he has just said, Jesus Christ is lord. So, this is spirit. This is son and then and there are diversities of activities but it's the same God.
1:03:12
So, he's pointing at the one that holds us all together as God and he makes it explicit by saying, who works all in all? The all there is something to refer to people. So, it's who works all in all people, all of his peoples. God is the one that's at work. Giving gifts through the spirit, appointing to ministries by Jesus, and diversities of activities by God.
1:03:38
All of it is held together. In fact, we'll get to that in just a minute. Let me skip a couple of slides here. Or maybe more. No, I'll go back.
1:03:47
Never mind. Who works all in all people. The manifestation of the spirit. There's a great book that DA Carson wrote, Don Carson wrote about this section of scripture and he's saying, showing the spirit is the job of the church, showing who God is and what he looks like is what the the job of the church is and to manifest God to people. Now, we've been talking about during the Christmas season that God made himself in human form in Jesus and that's good.
1:04:23
We celebrated the son. We've been celebrating Jesus and we should do that but the manifestation of the spirit. This is the continuing work of the church is to manifest who God is and what he looks like by using the gifts that he has given and the manifestation of that spirit showing his spirit is the job of the church. If we work out of the center of our giftedness, if all of us could work out of the center of our giftedness the way that the spirit has gifted us, then, it would be unbelievable what God could do in a place if we manifest his spiritual gifts that he's shown. He's given to us and then is given.
1:05:01
I say this because it is not something that you earned. It's a passive thing. You were given this gift. You were given this spiritual thing and if you were given a thing, what is it? It's a gift.
1:05:13
You didn't pay for it. In a lot of cases, you didn't study for it, you didn't try, you just were given this gift. Some of you have just found yourself in a position where, wow, I didn't know I could do this. I passed out in front of an English class in the ninth grade for sheer terror. I cannot stand to stand up in front of people.
1:05:31
It might look like I enjoy it. I do only by the spirit of God. That's the only thing. I stood in front of those people and I was doing a poem about insomnia and I was conscious of my right hand shaking. So, I put it behind my back and then I was shaking all over and he started asking me questions and I could see off of his bald, shiny, black head.
1:05:51
I couldn't see anything except for that shiny spot on his head and I started to do this and then I fell out and I took out the front row of desks. I'm I'm not joking. Ninth grade and if you had asked me in the ninth, tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grade, what I'd be doing, you know, twenty five years from now, it would not be standing up here doing this. I'm still not completely sure it's my spiritual gift but it is something where he's taking the fear away. He's completely taking the fear away.
1:06:16
So, it was given because it's not something I even asked for and he gave it and graciously, I will thank you lord and accept it and go on and try my best not to get upset about it or or start living because in the flesh, I'm scared to death to stand up in front of people. It by his spirit. If this is the way he wants to manifest himself in me, then, you're God and I'm not. Let's do this. But it was given.
1:06:44
I mentioned Florine. Y'all remember Florine? He's played a couple of times here lately and he can play the piano and he can play the guitar and he can play the mandolin. He can sing and he is just musical and I asked him this morning when he became a Christian and when he and the gift for music came when he became a Christian and he was been a Christian since he was a kid but it's obvious that it's a gift. Judy, do you study and study and study?
1:07:08
And and can you play like Florian can play? No. When I play the bass in the first service, that's not my spiritual gift. That's to keep me from being nervous before the sermon starts. I play and we are can be utility players and if you back back up and see, there are differences of ministries but the same lord.
1:07:28
A lot of us feel like we're utility players and we can do our part because there are differences in ministries. It's not necessarily giftedness. Most of this passage is about working out of your gifts but there are differences of ministries and diversities of activities but the same God. I think the underlying concept comes back to that verse seven again. The manifestation of the spirit is given to each one.
1:07:49
Now, this is another thing. This week, while I was even during the Christmas time, I was knowing that we're preaching about this this week. Take learning on this this week and so I asked several of you. I said, so, what do you think your spiritual gift is? Do you have a sense of it?
1:08:03
What has been affirmed by other people that your spiritual gift is? And I had about two or three people that said, I don't think I have one. That's sad because you do have one to not know what it is. That's a difficult thing because you're you're working at activities and ministries but you're not doing it out of the center of your giftedness. So, you feel like you you might not have one.
1:08:27
You have one. This is very explicit. It's even stronger in the original languages. The original language to each one, to every single one and it points back to all in all people. This to all and all of the people.
1:08:41
God is working us together and it says to each one and he means it. Individually, you've been given. Some people would say only one gift. I think that there's probably a gift mix. I I don't think that it's so certain that there's just one but to each one, to each person has been given this gift of the spirit to manifest God to the world and it's for the prophet of all.
1:09:04
That's one way of looking at it. Prophet of all meaning the whole body. The capital C church has all of the people in it right now. The mix of people that are that are required to get the job done that God wants to get done through the church. And this church right now has all of the people in it that God wants to do what he wants to do in this church.
1:09:26
We are not lacking. God says, that he will manifest himself by giving gifts to each one for the profit of all. This body and the bigger body and this is the word. I didn't go ahead and do the whole thing but it means with all for the common good. So, the way that the gifts are given, God has specially distributed and a portion exactly what he needs in any given place in order to do what he wants to do through this church.
1:09:54
Now, when I said that this is fraught with peril, with landmines, and and with pits all around, I'm walking a very delicate balance here. In the first service, I can look around and I can see. In fact, in this service, if I look around, I'll try not look at any of you right now but there are all kinds of backgrounds. There's Southern Baptist represented. There's Lutheran, there is Catholic, there are all kinds of different denominational backgrounds and I heard somebody say, after the first service, this has never been a problem.
1:10:20
I don't know why you were saying that there are pitfalls and landmines. In my church, we never had any problem with this. No. In each individual denomination, you usually don't because we've made up our minds what this means and we tend to congregate with people that agree with us especially about this passage but it's for the common good of the church as a whole, all of those who are called by his name and individually and this is a baptist church that is really an interdenominational Bible believing church. So, we're going to pay attention.
1:10:53
I hope every Sunday for as long as I'm ever here but we're going to pay attention to what it says and analyze that. So, for the common good, the manifestation of spirit is given to each one for the common good. That is the grounding upon which we'll look at the next three whole chapters of this Bible. Now, the eighth verse says, for to one is given the word of wisdom through the spirit. To another, the word of knowledge through the same spirit.
1:11:21
What's the difference in wisdom and knowledge? It's pretty close, isn't it? I would say knowledge is applied wisdom but have you ever been around somebody? I I I think of my college professors who are just wise people, incredibly wise. Doctor Larkin who passed on last year.
1:11:41
Doctor Bill Larkin was a little theologian about this tall and he had a tremendous capacity for understanding language and for understanding the sense of passages and he had a passion for sharing that with people especially people who are going on to the mission field. Now, he believed out of the center of his giftedness which he was a scholar through and through but he was a frail, little bitty man who did not go tons of places but the people that he taught went all over the world sharing what he taught them. I'm going cry. Wisdom is one thing but to apply that wisdom is knowledge. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom but knowledge is what works its way out but it's through the same spirit.
1:12:25
Doctor Larkin's ministry extended to all of those little tribes because of what he had taught and even this tribe right here, these Jacksonians. And to another, faith by the same spirit and to another gifts of healing by the same spirit. To another, the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another, different kinds of tongues, to another, interpretations of tongues. Now, these are the ones that are listed right here in verses eight through 10. So, this these are spiritual gifts that God does give.
1:12:58
Twelve eight through 10. Word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, the working of miracles, prophecy, discernment spirits, different kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Now, Paul says that all of these are the different the diversities of the gifts but they're given by the same spirit. So, his main thing here is there are a diversity of gifts but there's unity of the spirit and if we start valuing one of these over another one of these, then, we're going to get out of kilter. He'll go into that later on.
1:13:29
That's that's the next passage that we get to but they're given by the same spirit for the common good. God gives as he decides to give, right? And he does that for the need of the time and the place and he does that according to his own will the way that he wants to do it. Given by this, in fact, he goes into verse 11. He says the same thing but one and the same spirit, that's the Holy Spirit, capital S, works all these things, distributing to each one individually as he wills.
1:14:00
If there was any doubt about to each one in verse seven, he clears it up and says, to each one individually, every single one of you has a spiritual gift that God gives and he distributes it as he wills. It's up to him. So, Judy, you and I, I can study that base from now on and you can study piano and we probably won't ever hit how God has done it in someone else else's life. You still play beautifully. By the way, and there's something to be said for study in the cultivation of natural talents but when God gives something, it's to show himself and he does it.
1:14:35
There's a lot of genius that he gives. There's sometimes he does it in first nature. Unregenerate man can have the same thing but when he gives it as second nature when you're born again, it's amazing to see what God can do. One of the same spirit works all these things. Again, it's not specifically gifts but it points back to that first verse.
1:14:55
Concerning spiritual things, all these things and he's distributing them as gifts because he's the one giving them. He's the one that manifest himself. It's his work. One and the same spirit works. All these things distributed in each one individually as he wills but why does he do it?
1:15:17
We have to go back to verse seven again. It is for the common good, the building up of the church, the building up of the body. If you are practicing what you believe to be your spiritual gift and it is dividing the church, you are not practicing a spiritual gift. It is for the common good and the building up of the body. There is some question.
1:15:40
I know that there are people on both sides of this issue that go to church here and I'm glad that you're we're all here together and we're studying what it says. We're going to stay real close to what it says. When if you're a cessationist or if you're a continuationist or if you are complete full bore, charismatic, absolutely, over here. We're probably all needing to see that. You know what?
1:16:03
We in the bond of love and the one spirit that unites us, we need to come together for the common good. And as we go, we'll run into that more and more. Verse 12 says, for as the body is one, are we one body? Yes. If we are the body of Christ, we are one.
1:16:21
And has many members but all the members of that one body being many are one body. That's a Hebrewism right there where he says the same thing again twice in mirror image. What does that remind y'all of? This is what it reminds me of. E Pluribus Unum.
1:16:36
What does that mean? Out of many, one. From many, one. Now, that's the American ideal. Is it actual?
1:16:45
Have we realized this ideal? We have, we speak as Americans. We speak with more voices right now and we speak in more and more in polarized voices where it gets further and further and further out from the center of we come together for our common good. When tragedy strikes, united we stand. We bring it back together but then we get a little further and a little further and a little further.
1:17:07
Out of many, one is the American ideal. I don't think we practice it perfectly or completely but that's the idea and that's why it is our on our great seal. Actually, it never was adopted as our motto. Did you know that? This was never adopted as a motto and in 1956, they made in God we trust our motto.
1:17:26
So, that's only been been on the money since the fifties. It's only been something that was an official motto and this never actually even was. Out of many one. Well, so just like this is the is Christ, is body of Christ. As the body is one, it has many members.
1:17:44
All the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. There are going to be some things that we hit. Maybe we've already hit a couple of em that were uncomfortable for you. When you see that God has given these gifts and especially the charismatic giftings is what a lot of folks, a lot of us would call the charismatic giftings. Are they for today?
1:18:03
Are they not? Oh my goodness. The peril and the church splits that have happened over this. If we would pay attention about being one body and be careful about loving one another and to do what we do for the common good. I think we'd all be better off and we would definitely manifest and show God to the outside world because we can get along.
1:18:24
One of the things about the body of Christ is and and he'll, let me see if he gets to it in the next verse, he will. For by one spirit, we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free. What did Jews and Greeks have to do with one another? Squat.
1:18:39
Nothing. They would not have anything to do with one another except that they were both brought into one body. Whether slaves or free. What did slaves and free people have? Slaves served free people.
1:18:54
That's what they did. What did they have to do with one another before that? Nothing. They wouldn't have anything. They were separated by culture, socioeconomics, everything but Christ is calling out of all of those different places and out of many, he is making one.
1:19:12
And when he gives the gifts, he gives the gift for the upbuilding of the church. Whether slaves are free. I was thinking other night we had a Fiesta Navidenia here and that happened. It got on the calendar late. It didn't happen because at the beginning of the year, we thought we're going to budget in and we're going to have a Spanish speaking Christmas party here in the sanctuary just before Christmas but it it kind of got on there late.
1:19:38
We're riding a wave and we're seeing that there are five or six families that are coming now regularly that speak Spanish as their mother tongue and they agreed and we had between one hundred and ten and one hundred and twenty people here on last Sunday evening and there was nothing that would have brought this group of people together except that we're all members of one body, the body of Christ and we came together and had a ball. It was a big fun time for everybody and different languages spoken. There were people that were translating back and forth and we were here together because as it says up here, we have all been made to drink into one spirit. This is again, a passive action. God has brought us to this.
1:20:19
He has given us the gifts. He is bringing about his will and as he's doing this, he's making us to drink into this one spirit. Some of us have our mouth closed and we don't wanna drink into the spirit beyond a certain point. That's not to say that I'm charismatic. That's not to say that I'm cessationist.
1:20:37
I'm saying that what it says is what we need to pay attention to. So, we've all been made to drink into that one spirit. We are probably going to be uncomfortable like for somebody that was at this fiesta the other night. If they didn't speak any Spanish whatsoever, it could have been uncomfortable especially not being able to communicate. But there was love covering the whole event and people were coming together for the common good and just realizing this is awesome.
1:21:04
This is fun. This is what it's like. There's no other reason for me to be here except God. Period. So, they've all been made to drink into one spirit and this is what we're going to keep on coming back to.
1:21:19
The manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for the common good. And as we go forward, we're going to talk about a couple of different things. A few weeks ago, I got a written little piece of paper and it was something that somebody came in that is more of a charismatic bent and she had a word of encouragement and in chapter 14, we'll get to this again but she wrote it down. She didn't feel it was orderly. She didn't know if it was appropriate, didn't think that this was the normal thing here and so she wrote it down on a card and it was one of the most encouraging things that I have read in a in a while and it was while Rich was preaching.
1:22:00
I was out of town and Rich was preaching and it was a great word for brother Rich and just fantastic and I wanted to share it with him and it was what generally would be considered a charismatic thing to do was to prophesy or to speak. I I would call it encouragement but she wrote it down and I thought, praise God. That's something that was done for the building up of the church with a sensitivity that I thought was really really good and loving and it wasn't to glorify self at all. It's kind of anonymous. But I just saw that and thought, this is what that is.
1:22:33
God is manifesting himself. He's giving it to each one individually for the common good. Now, as we go forward from this, I do not have a plan to do spiritual gifts inventories which often accompanies this study but they're all over the place. They're on the internet. You can do that if you want to but as my job here as a pastor, teacher, part of that gift according to Ephesians four eleven and twelve is to equip the saints to do the ministry, the work of the church and so, plugging people into places and see when where they fit is kind of part of my job and I want to do that.
1:23:11
If you have something that you feel like you would be really good at because it's something that God has gifted you for, please let me know. Please let me know. Some of you are teachers. Some of you are not teachers. Some of you are singers.
1:23:22
Some of you are not singers. God gifts people and he expects for us to use what he's given. And so that's what we're going to keep on coming back to over the next few weeks. And I think I'm finished. Even if it is ten till, Dave.
1:23:37
Even if it's ten till, we're finished. So, I'm going to invite Judy back up to the front and as we go forward, would y'all promise to pray for me? I know some of you, that's your spiritual gift. You've got faith that God can move mountains and that's what you do. You pray for people, your intercessors and if that's you, please pray for me over these next few weeks because I want to come out of the backside of the spiritual gift study where people are firing on all cylinders and doing what it is that God has gifted them to do and not splitting the church.
1:24:07
So, praise
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