As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. - 1 Peter 4:10
Welcome to Calvary Baptist Church! It is great to be with you in the Lord’s house again this Sunday. Before we begin this morning’s message, let’s quickly review some of the main themes we’ve talked about in 1 Corinthians so far:
A healthy church is not divided by various, competing factions within its congregation.
A healthy church follows the wisdom of God rather than the wisdom of man.
A healthy church relies on the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
A healthy church is not indifferent to blatant, open sinfulness within its congregation.
A healthy church has a proper understanding of sexual immorality and the use of the body.
A healthy church respects and promotes a Biblical understanding of marriage.
A healthy church and its members practice Christian Liberty in a mutually edifying way.
A healthy church respects and adheres to God’s creative order.
A healthy church observes the Lord’s Supper in a reverent and courteous manner.
This morning, and for the next few weeks, we are going to be discussing spiritual gifts. This is the main topic of chapters 12-14. So open your Bibles and let’s get started…
I. THE NEED FOR SOUND TEACHING (1 Cor. 12:1-3)
Paul introduced the next major point of emphasis in his letter - namely, spiritual gifts. Apparently there was confusion, ignorance, and even misuse of spiritual gifts being promoted and practiced by some within the church at Corinth. Paul stated that he didn’t want the Corinthians to be unaware of or lack a proper understanding of this critical topic.
Paul acknowledged that the Corinthians had come from a pagan background. They had grown up worshiping idols. Though their idols couldn’t speak, still they were led astray by them. This being the case, it was all the more understandable how they could be easily led astray by the charismatic utterances of false prophets. This is why Paul needed to give them sound teaching.
Just because their leaders claimed to be speaking by the Spirit of God didn’t necessarily mean that they were. Those who “cursed” Jesus by questioning His character, undermining His authority, and/or contradicting His commands were not speaking by the Holy Spirit. Those who truly speak by the Spirit submit themselves to the lordship of Christ in both word and deed.
II. SOME BASIC INFORMATION (1 Cor. 12:4-7,11)
Paul explained that there are a variety of spiritual gifts, yet they all are given by the same Spirit. In the same way, there were a variety of Christian ministries, yet all in service of the same Lord. The varied spiritual gifts enabled Christians to serve in differing ways, yet God empowered their work and results. All 3 Persons of the Trinity are present in this process - the Holy Spirit gifts Christians for ministry, Jesus calls Christians into and then leads them in ministry, and God the Father strengthens and sustains Christians for and during ministry.
When a person places their faith in Jesus Christ and receives salvation, the Holy Spirit of God takes up residence within them. Among other things, the Spirit gives them 1 or more spiritual gifts to be used for Christian service. Each believer is uniquely and individually gifted and equipped for their particular calling. The various manifestations of the Spirit are given for the common good. They are to be used in humble submission to Christ for the edification of His church and its ministry to the world.
III. A PARTIAL LIST OF GIFTS (1 Cor. 12:8-10)
In this passage, Paul listed 9 distinct spiritual gifts. Just so you know, there are other spiritual gifts mentioned elsewhere in the Bible besides these. There is no single, all-inclusive list of the spiritual gifts found anywhere in Scripture. Thus, many different spiritual gift inventories have been developed and put forward over the years. Some include differing gifts and/or numbers of gifts than others. I have found several of them to be quite credible and useful. For the sake of this message, let’s deal with only those gifts specifically named in this chapter.
Wisdom - A deep level of understanding and/or insight which enables a person to perceive and speak to situations from a godly perspective.
Knowledge - A heightened ability to comprehend and remember the revealed truths of God as recorded in the Bible.
Faith - A strong, unshakable confidence in God as it applies to everyday living. While all Christians have “saving faith”, the gift of faith pertains to a freedom from worry and anxiety on earth.
Healing - A miraculous ability to physically heal another person instantaneously.
Miracles - A miraculous ability to perform supernatural feats.
Prophecy - An ability to declare God’s truth, proclaim His will, and interpret His purposes in a compelling and influential manner.
Distinguishing of Spirits - An intuitive ability to rightly discern the truth (that is of God) from lies or deceptions (that are of Satan).
Speaking in Tongues - A miraculous ability to speak in a language that is previously unknown to the speaker.
Interpretation of Tongues - A miraculous ability to understand a language that is previously unknown to the listener.
CONCLUSION
If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit has endowed you with at least 1 spiritual gift. Your gift or gifts uniquely enable you to fulfill the ministry or purpose that God has called you to. Have you ever taken the time to seriously pray about and identify your spiritual gifts? How has God individually equipped and designed you for His service? Are you using your gifts to reach the potential that God has for your life, or are they being wasted? Do you recognize and value the spiritual gifts of others who are different from you and understand the complementary nature of these gifts?
Beloved, we are all called to serve the Lord. To that end, each of us is gifted to serve Him by the generous bestowing of the Holy Spirit. When we discover and serve God in a manner that is consistent with our own unique giftedness, we often find greater contentment, satisfaction, and success. So, what are your spiritual gifts?
Welcome to Calvary Baptist Church! It is great to be with you in the Lord’s house again this Sunday. Before we begin this morning’s message, let’s quickly review some of the main themes we’ve talked about in 1 Corinthians so far:
A healthy church is not divided by various, competing factions within its congregation.
A healthy church follows the wisdom of God rather than the wisdom of man.
A healthy church relies on the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
A healthy church is not indifferent to blatant, open sinfulness within its congregation.
A healthy church has a proper understanding of sexual immorality and the use of the body.
A healthy church respects and promotes a Biblical understanding of marriage.
A healthy church and its members practice Christian Liberty in a mutually edifying way.
A healthy church respects and adheres to God’s creative order.
A healthy church observes the Lord’s Supper in a reverent and courteous manner.
This morning, and for the next few weeks, we are going to be discussing spiritual gifts. This is the main topic of chapters 12-14. So open your Bibles and let’s get started…
I. THE NEED FOR SOUND TEACHING (1 Cor. 12:1-3)
Paul introduced the next major point of emphasis in his letter - namely, spiritual gifts. Apparently there was confusion, ignorance, and even misuse of spiritual gifts being promoted and practiced by some within the church at Corinth. Paul stated that he didn’t want the Corinthians to be unaware of or lack a proper understanding of this critical topic.
Paul acknowledged that the Corinthians had come from a pagan background. They had grown up worshiping idols. Though their idols couldn’t speak, still they were led astray by them. This being the case, it was all the more understandable how they could be easily led astray by the charismatic utterances of false prophets. This is why Paul needed to give them sound teaching.
Just because their leaders claimed to be speaking by the Spirit of God didn’t necessarily mean that they were. Those who “cursed” Jesus by questioning His character, undermining His authority, and/or contradicting His commands were not speaking by the Holy Spirit. Those who truly speak by the Spirit submit themselves to the lordship of Christ in both word and deed.
II. SOME BASIC INFORMATION (1 Cor. 12:4-7,11)
Paul explained that there are a variety of spiritual gifts, yet they all are given by the same Spirit. In the same way, there were a variety of Christian ministries, yet all in service of the same Lord. The varied spiritual gifts enabled Christians to serve in differing ways, yet God empowered their work and results. All 3 Persons of the Trinity are present in this process - the Holy Spirit gifts Christians for ministry, Jesus calls Christians into and then leads them in ministry, and God the Father strengthens and sustains Christians for and during ministry.
When a person places their faith in Jesus Christ and receives salvation, the Holy Spirit of God takes up residence within them. Among other things, the Spirit gives them 1 or more spiritual gifts to be used for Christian service. Each believer is uniquely and individually gifted and equipped for their particular calling. The various manifestations of the Spirit are given for the common good. They are to be used in humble submission to Christ for the edification of His church and its ministry to the world.
III. A PARTIAL LIST OF GIFTS (1 Cor. 12:8-10)
In this passage, Paul listed 9 distinct spiritual gifts. Just so you know, there are other spiritual gifts mentioned elsewhere in the Bible besides these. There is no single, all-inclusive list of the spiritual gifts found anywhere in Scripture. Thus, many different spiritual gift inventories have been developed and put forward over the years. Some include differing gifts and/or numbers of gifts than others. I have found several of them to be quite credible and useful. For the sake of this message, let’s deal with only those gifts specifically named in this chapter.
Wisdom - A deep level of understanding and/or insight which enables a person to perceive and speak to situations from a godly perspective.
Knowledge - A heightened ability to comprehend and remember the revealed truths of God as recorded in the Bible.
Faith - A strong, unshakable confidence in God as it applies to everyday living. While all Christians have “saving faith”, the gift of faith pertains to a freedom from worry and anxiety on earth.
Healing - A miraculous ability to physically heal another person instantaneously.
Miracles - A miraculous ability to perform supernatural feats.
Prophecy - An ability to declare God’s truth, proclaim His will, and interpret His purposes in a compelling and influential manner.
Distinguishing of Spirits - An intuitive ability to rightly discern the truth (that is of God) from lies or deceptions (that are of Satan).
Speaking in Tongues - A miraculous ability to speak in a language that is previously unknown to the speaker.
Interpretation of Tongues - A miraculous ability to understand a language that is previously unknown to the listener.
CONCLUSION
If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit has endowed you with at least 1 spiritual gift. Your gift or gifts uniquely enable you to fulfill the ministry or purpose that God has called you to. Have you ever taken the time to seriously pray about and identify your spiritual gifts? How has God individually equipped and designed you for His service? Are you using your gifts to reach the potential that God has for your life, or are they being wasted? Do you recognize and value the spiritual gifts of others who are different from you and understand the complementary nature of these gifts?
Beloved, we are all called to serve the Lord. To that end, each of us is gifted to serve Him by the generous bestowing of the Holy Spirit. When we discover and serve God in a manner that is consistent with our own unique giftedness, we often find greater contentment, satisfaction, and success. So, what are your spiritual gifts?