Varieties of gifts, same Spirit.

John Farley
Pastor-Teacher
Sunday,
October 20, 2019

 

Church luncheon today after service

Grace Prison Ministries

www.graceprisons.org

Grace Prison Ministries works to change the lives of prisoners through evangelism and sound Bible teaching.

www.graceprisons.org

Prison conference October 25-26
Donations:
P.O. Box 171052
Nashville, TN 37217

 

 

GBC Pakistan has set a goal for this year to raise ,000.

200+ Grace Academy School “student packages” at each,
and 1,200 “village packages” at each, plus travel expense.

Make checks out to GBC Pakistan
Note “student package” or “village package”

Deadline for donations is December 1st

Variety of gifts, same Spirit

1Co 12:1-7

What does it mean to be spiritual?

How should believers exercise their spiritual gifts in the congregation?

The controversy centered on one particular gift: the ability to speak in tongues and interpret them.

1. Paul deals with the relationship of the gifts to each other in the body of Christ. (chapter 12).

2. Paul teaches about love (gifts are useless without it) and what endures (vs. what will fade away). (chapter 13)

3. Paul teaches that the gift of prophecy is superior to the gift of tongues. (14:1-25)

4. Paul gives specific directions about how the gifts are to be employed (orderly and edifying to all). (14:26-40)

a. What it means to be spiritual (12:1-3)
b. Many gifts, one Source (12:4-7)

c. The distribution of the gifts (12:8-11)
d. The analogy of the body (12:12-27)

e. God has established the order of the gifts. 12:28-30)

This church was filled with self-centered people, rivalries, and divisions.

And the biggest offenders were those who had the gift of tongues.

Those who were making themselves out to be super-spiritual were in fact the most fleshly of all!

1Co 12:1-3

The phrase “now concerning” was Paul’s way of marking material that came from their letter to him.

It literally says “concerning the spirituals”.

This could refer to spiritual men or to spiritual things (in context, gifts).

The Greek word for gifts here in chapter 12 is charismata. The root word is charis – grace.

These are gifts freely given, without regard to merit and with no strings attached.

But in fact they did not know the first thing about what it meant to be spiritual.
 

Yet they worshipped these dumb idols.

Paul is using the most extreme hypothetical to make his point.

Here’s what’s NOT spiritual. And everyone would nod in agreement about that.

Act 18:5-6

Everyone who declares that “Jesus is Lord” is enabled to do so by the Holy Spirit.

1Co 2:12-13

Anyone who has received the Spirit is spiritual!!

And each and every believer in Christ has received the Spirit.

2co 1:21-22

This is what it means to be spiritual. Each and every believer believes that Jesus is Lord – Yahweh, God.

2co 4:5

The essence of living as a Christian is to see that we are the Lord’s and we live for the Lord.

Rom 14:7-9

And anyone who says that Jesus is Lord is spiritual.

1co 12:4-7

Cut out verse 7 and paste it to the wall of your heart.

Each believer receives a spiritual gift.
All the gifts are necessary.

Source: God

Purpose: the common good.

All three members of the Trinity participate.
They are a team.

We are many. There are many gifts. But there is one God who distributes the gifts just as He desires.

There are four major lists of gifts in the New Testament, and each list is different.

The Corinthians thought only the spectacular manifestations were spiritual.

There is no gift given without a corresponding call to service.

The one God is at work in each one of us to achieve His purpose.

Eph 2:10

 

 


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