I'll be here tonight. We're gonna pick up in 1 Corinthians again in chapter 12. Chapters 12, 13, and 14 are where Paul deals with the spiritual gifts. 13 being the focus on really the gift of love. Romans tells us that the love of God is poured abroad in our hearts, shed abroad in our hearts. And so even our capacity to love is the work of the Spirit, for the gift of the Spirit is love, that's the first characteristic of the Holy Spirit in our life, and we'll be dealing with that in a couple weeks. Since the working of the Spirit in our life and the gifts of the Spirit deal with spiritual realities. In fact, we're going to talk about that. The beginning of the chapter is now concerning spirituality. It really is what it says there. It's translated spiritual gifts, because it's interpreted that word, whether it's in the neuter or masculine, is the same form. So the context It leads us to believe that it's neuter, so it's spiritual things. And so, translators, because of the discussion that Paul has, insert the word gifts. But it takes us, we're living and functioning on a spiritual plane. Not just on a materialistic plane or a naturalistic plane, but we are born of the Spirit of God, and the Holy Spirit dwells in us, so it's a spiritual battle. Let's have a word of prayer, and then we want to get into our text, which will be 1 Corinthians chapter 12. We'll be looking at the first verses of this chapter. Father, we thank you for The truth of your word, we thank you, Father, for the reality of your son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Though the world on a whole rejects him, ridicules him, denies him, we thank you, Father, that you do reign from on high. And we thank you, Father, that you've given all authority in heaven and earth and under the earth to your son, the Lord Jesus. That in his resurrection, because he is alive, he came out of that tomb and he's ascended to your right hand, Father, that he's bringing all things in subjection of his feet. We'll see that later on in this letter in chapter 15. that Father, the rule of Christ, the reign of Christ is now in the hearts of every believer, in the reality of his enthronement and exaltation in your presence. And so Father, no matter how upside down, how dark this world seems, our hope is not in men, but our hope is in you. So Father, Work in us both to do your good pleasure. Transform us, Father, by your grace. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. So, Paul's moving on. He's dealing with issues that he became aware of by others that had contacted him and were asking questions. And one area that was being abused, misused, in some ways flaunted in the Church of Corinth was in these areas of spiritual gifts. And I'm always reminded that Paul admonishes them at the very beginning of this letter that they've been blessed with everything they need. Verse four of chapter one, I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him, in Christ, in all speech, in all knowledge, even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you are waiting for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship or the koinonia of his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. So Paul is admonishing them, reminding them, and I think this is true of every local body, that God supplies every need in individuals to be part of local bodies that are necessary of whatever ministry is being carried on. And so now he turns his attention. He just dealt with, as we saw in chapter 11, how they were abusing and disrespecting the Lord's Supper. And Paul basically rebukes them and reminds them of what he was given by instruction by the Lord Jesus on the focus of the Lord's Supper, the sacrifice of Christ to motivate us to serve him. And so now he says, now concerning the spirituality, the spiritual gifts, brothers. Now that's, again, another tender word. He's reminding them of who they are, brothers in Christ. He's not rejecting them as unbelievers, although I think some were unbelievers, because there's tears in every wheat field. Jesus talked about that, that when good seed is planted and wheat comes up, symbolizing those who are generally redeemed, Satan comes along and sows tears within that field or that body. The analogy Jesus also uses is sheep and goats. And the separation's gonna happen by the angels on the last day. When Jesus returns, there's gonna be that separating of the wheat and tares, the sheep and goats, those who are truly born again, those who are not, who are counterfeit. And so he's admonishing them as brothers. He's saying, part of what he's saying is you should know better because you were instructed. I taught among you and God gave you this understanding, this knowledge, but it's being abused and neglected. And so, now concerning spiritual things, spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. I don't want you to be without knowledge. That's the very word that we get our word agnostic from. And it means without understanding, without knowledge. And he said, I don't want you to be like that. I want to remind you of what you were taught and how I instructed you. You know that when you were pagans, Paul does this a lot. He reminds people what they were to contrast with what they are. He said, when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols. And this means idols that cannot speak, that cannot act, that cannot hear. In Old Testament, Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah speaks of that over and over again about these false idols that really are nothing. They're just images. They have no ability. We watched a movie last year, I think it was called The Centurion, about the centurion that was tasked by Pilate to find the body of Jesus. Now, this is a fictitious story, but it had some good moments in it. And one of the best moments, I thought, was that this centurion went back to his house, and he's got this little idol sitting on a shelf cut out in his wall, just this little shelf about this big, about that deep, and he's got this little idol sitting there. And he's talking to this idol, and The idol is just standing there, sitting there. Doesn't move, doesn't respond, doesn't talk, doesn't hear what he's saying, because it's just a piece of iron or metal, piece of wood. And Paul says, that's what you used to be as pagans. You were led around by these mute idols. However you were led, wherever you went, you bowed down to these things that are not gods at all. that have no power, cannot communicate to you, cannot change your life. And then later on in the scene in this movie is that he's taken by, I think it's Nathaniel Bartholomew, takes him to where Jesus is. And he doesn't see just the body of Jesus, he sees the resurrected Jesus, who is speaking, who can be touched, who can move, because he is alive, he is risen, just as he said. So here's his contrast to this little idol sitting on a dugout shelf in his wall. And he goes back to that. In fact, the first time he says, if you help me find the body, I'll build you a temple. Well, that idol didn't help him find the Bible. One of the disciples of Jesus took him to Jesus. Again, this is fictitious. This is somebody's imagination, but I think those realities are true in the sense, the contrast between a mute idol and the risen Lord. Okay? So Paul is saying that's how you used to be led, by a mute idol that has no power, no ability, nothing. Therefore, I want you to understand here in verse three, that no one speaking in the spirit of God ever says Jesus is a cursed, anathema. I think that's similar to what John says in 1 John when he's talking about the antichrist, that anyone that denies that Jesus come in the flesh is of the antichrist. Anyone that would say Jesus is a curse, anathema, is not led by the Spirit of God. And so it's kind of a negative statement. First he says, no one speaking in the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, will blaspheme the Lord Jesus Christ. and say Jesus is a curse. Now he has a positive statement, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, kurios, except in the Holy Spirit. Now the point he's making here is particularly proclaiming that Jesus is Lord is not just the words. Many people can say the words, But if there's no reality behind the words, then they're just words. They're not giving evidence of a true dynamic of the work of the Spirit. I'm trying to find my reference here. In Matthew 16, Not Matthew 16, where is it? Well, here it is. In Matthew 16, 13. Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked the disciples, who do people say that the Son of Man is? And they said, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. And he said, but to them, but who do you say that I am? And Peter replied, you are the Christ, the son of living God. And Jesus answered him and said, blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter and upon this rock I'll build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Upon what rock? Upon the rock of his deity. And so Peter could not have understood who Jesus is except by the revelation of God in his heart by the Holy Spirit. And Jesus said, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my father. So just saying, Lord, Jesus is Lord without evidence of transformation, without evidence of seeking to do the will of God. And what Jesus said to the crowd in front of him in John's gospel, when they asked him, what must we do to be doing the works of God? John 6. 28 he answered them. This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent Okay, and true belief in Christ through confession that Jesus is Lord Is evidenced by a transformed life So not every Jesus and not everybody says to me Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he does the will of my father the passage that we're familiar with in John 10. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you'll be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Scripture says everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame For there's no distinction between Jew and Greek the same Lord is Lord of all Bestowing his riches on all who call on him for everyone who calls On the name of the Lord will be saved. No, what's Paul saying there? And what's he saying here? No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit That's the work of the Holy Spirit in our heart to recognize who Jesus really is, that he is God of very God, that he is the God-man, he is God incarnate. He's the word that became flesh, what we just celebrated last month about the incarnation. The Holy Spirit illuminates our hearts and minds to understand who Jesus is, that he is Lord. And the Holy Spirit gives us that ability, the gift of faith, Ephesians 2, 8, 9, and 10, to confess that Jesus is Lord. We recognize who he is and we humble ourselves before him. And that he, we believe that he was raised from the dead, refers to, we believe that he accomplished salvation, redemption through his life, death, and resurrection. And we believe that he is alive, he came out of that tomb. And so this is the work of the spirit, the very beginning of our salvation experience is the work of the spirit. And if the spirit of God dwells in us, we would never say Jesus is a curse or say anathema, rejection of Christ. Now this may be a direct reference to some of the Jewish folks in the audience, who from Deuteronomy 21, 23, where God says, cursed is anyone who hangs on the tree. They would look at Jesus hanging on the cross as being cursed. And in reality, they are right. Jesus was cursed on the cross. He was cursed with my sin and your sin. He was, the wrath of God fell upon him. He was the sacrifice, the just for the unjust, the righteous for the unrighteous. And in some sense, he was cursed on the cross with my judgment and your judgment for our sins. But his resurrection tell us that he died for our sins because his resurrection reminds us that he was sinless when he went to the cross and he bore our sin. His resurrection tells us that his sacrifice was sufficient to pay our sin debt and to take our sins, the expiation aspect of propitiation, the removal of our sins as far as the east is from the west. And so that's I think Paul is emphasizing that's the beginning work of the Holy Spirit is conversion, is regeneration, is the heart cry of faith that we confess that Jesus is Lord. No one can do that with the reality of truth except by the working of the Holy Spirit. Just saying the words is not the point. It's what's behind those words. is I recognize that Jesus is God of very God, that He's the God-Man, and that I should, as His creation, I should humble myself before Him and acknowledge that He is Lord. See, that's the whole issue of sin. Adam rebelled against the authority of God, the Creator. And because of that rebellion, his fellowship, his relationship, his communion with the true and living God was severed. And it takes the second Adam, the second man, the last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, through his life, death, and resurrection to restore that relationship and to restore a mindset in us that God is God. What was Satan's lie? you'll be like God. He doesn't want you to eat of this tree because you'll be like God. You'll be number one. That's the lie. And the work of the Spirit brings us to the point that we realize, no, we're not to be in charge of our life. We are a created being and we owe allegiance to our creator, the maker of heaven and earth. We owe allegiance to him because he was working in his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to redeem us, to reconcile us back to himself into that proper relationship, which is Jesus is Lord. And what Paul says, I am a bondservant, I am a doulos, I am a servant. Even as we saw earlier, he said, I'm an underroar. I'm at the bottom of the ship. I'm the lowest of the low. Christ is exalted on high. So Paul says, when you were pagans, you were led around by a mute idol that was not a God at all. You were walking and stumbling and bumbling in darkness. But now, by the work of the Spirit, you're able to say Jesus is Lord, and really, to some degree, understand what that means, because the Spirit's working in you. Now, we've got our time here. I want to tell you, I feel better than I did last week, so we'll probably take up our full time tonight. Now, there are varieties of gifts but the same spirit. The Holy Spirit that brought us to Christ is the same one that is working in us and gifting us. In many ways, it's empowering us. There are varieties of service, but the same Lord. We're all serving the same Lord. One job is not more important than another job, in essence. because we're serving the same Lord, Jesus Christ. And that's the point. It's not what I'm doing, it's who I'm serving. That's Paul's point here. The gifts aren't something I produce. It is the working of the Spirit within me and you. And so we're dependent upon the Holy Spirit. We're dependent upon the empowering of the Holy Spirit. I can preach from morning till night, but if the Holy Spirit isn't working, then I know I'm convinced God's word doesn't return void to him, but my reward will be wood, hay, and stubble that will be consumed. I'm reminded of 1 Thessalonians 1. We give thanks to God always for all you, constantly mention you in our prayers, remembering before God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Not everybody who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father. So Paul's blessing these Thessalonians because of their work of faith, labor of love, steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. He says, there's evidence in you that you truly know that Jesus is Lord. For we know, brothers, loved by God, that he has chosen you because, here it is, what I'm getting to, our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit. and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake, and you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you Macedonian Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and here it is, how you turn to God from idols. Paul's saying to the Corinthians, when you were pagans, you were led around by these idols, these mute lifeless, dead, pieces of wood, hunks of metal, you were led around by them. He said, you've turned to God from these idols to serve the living, Jesus is risen, and true God, and to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath that comes. So, Now there are a variety of gifts, but the same spirit. The spirit is the one who empowers. The spirit is the one who enlightens. The spirit is the one who, if I want to say, engrafts in us these gifts. Sometimes I think God already created us with certain abilities and certain wiring in our hearts and minds that or enlivened by the Spirit of God when we're saved, and these things become our passion. One way to try to understand how an individual is gifted is what is your passion? Do you have a passion for evangelism? Then God's wired you that way and gifted you that way, and the Holy Spirit is present in you to empower you. to be effective. It might be teaching and preaching. That's your passion. That's been my passion since I was a young boy. But if the spirit does not empower me, it could just be words. Now again, God's word does not return void to him. But my reward would just be wood, hay, and stubble that'll be consumed. if they're not empowered by the Holy Spirit. Okay? There are a variety of gifts, but one, the same Spirit. He's the source of enlightenment, empowerment, and effectiveness of our gifts. Not us. It's not our charisma. It's not our intellect. It's not our prowess. It's not our articulation. It's the power of the Spirit. The empowering of the Spirit. And he says there's a variety of services that we do, but the same Lord, we're all serving the same Lord. And there are a variety of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in every one. So one, spiritual gifts, though in some ways they're individualistic, the main reality is they're corporate. That's why Paul will begin to use the analogy of the body. It's one body with one head, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's Lord, no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. There's one head of the body, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul emphasizes that in Ephesians. Ephesians 2, so then you're no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. That basically means the word of God. Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place by God, for God, by His Spirit. Back in his prayer in chapter one of Ephesians, For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened that ye may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead, and sees him at his right hand in the heavenly places. far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet, giving him and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all." Okay? So that's the picture. These gifts are, in a sense, individual. but they're to function corporately. A lot of times people kind of think in their head, well, nobody's going to miss me at church. I'm not that important. And that's a lie from Satan. You know, if my little finger was removed from my hand, I would miss it. It would be painful. And, or even just my fingernail here, if it was removed, I would miss it and it would be painful. Every individual in the body of Christ is important. And our presence together is very, very, very, very, very important for us to function properly as the body of Christ. to function in worship, to function in ministry, is very, very important. So it says, there's a variety of gifts, but the same spirit. There are a variety of services, but the same Lord. There are a variety of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. not just for ourselves. This is part of the abuse that was going on at Corinth. People were taking pride in how God had gifted them. And it wasn't of themselves, it was the work, it was the grace of God. But they began to be puffed up and then began to look down upon others. and others began to feel like they're not important. There began to be envying among the body, I think it's implied here in these chapters, of others. To one is given through the spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same spirit. To another, faith by the same spirit. You see, those that are strong in faith is not just for their own self. Being strong in faith is for the common good, to encourage others who are weak in faith, to be an example of others to be strong in faith. The same thing with wisdom or with knowledge and understanding. It's not to puff us up, but it's for the common good, to help others grow in wisdom, help others grow in knowledge, help others grow in faith. To another, gifts of healing by the same spirit. To another, 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. All these are empowered by one same spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills. Now I don't have time tonight to go into a discussion of all of these gifts per se and some that has caused great discussions within the body. particularly these power gifts of working in miracles, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues. I'll just say here right now that I'm basically a cessationist, cessationist, which I believe these power gifts have ceased to function in the body on a whole. I don't want to say that they would never function by God's grace and God's purpose, but generally, on a whole, they don't function. The type of tongues that you see on TV or you go somewhere and hear are, I don't believe they are what Paul's talking about here, They're not what happened in the book of Acts at Pentecost, and we don't have time to really talk about them. I might deal with that in greater detail next week or the week after, but the point is that the purpose of God gifting us is for the common good. Now, Paul gets in that discussion further on, in the rest of this chapter, in chapter 14. And he deals with it in chapter 13, that he says, let me just jump ahead there a little bit. If I speak in the tongues of men and angels and have not love, I'm a noising gong and a clanging cymbal. Let me say it this way, and I'll close with this. The fruit of the Spirit It's the evidence of spirituality, not the gifts of the spirit. If the fruit of the spirit is not being manifested through the gifts of the spirit, then there's a problem. So true evidence of spirituality is manifested in the working of Christ in our life and the demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit that is evident by the Holy Spirit's presence in our life. In Galatians 5, verse 22, but the fruit of the Spirit, that's singular because I think it's the person of Christ, the character of Christ, It's not the fruits of the spirit, it's the fruit, singular, because it's Christ, his character being manifested in us. And these nine characteristics aren't exhaustive, they're exemplary. We can draw from other passages to expand upon them, but he says the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such there is no law. Now if the gifts of the spirit aren't being exercised in the context of the fruit of the Spirit, being exercised with love, being exercised with joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, then what was happening in Corinth will happen in any body of believers. There'll be the abuse of the gifts of the Spirit because they're not being controlled by the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit, the character of Christ in us. And I'll just stop there. Our time is gone. So, no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. A true understanding of who he is, a true confession of faith in him in his life, death, and resurrection, evidenced by a transformed life. Evidence that our purpose is to serve God. Our purpose is to live under the authority of Christ and his word. To be empowered by the Holy Spirit. To use the gifts and talents God has given us for the common good of the body and for the propagation of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. Again, let me give you a short lesson. Where your passion is, that's probably where you're gifted. You have a passion to serve, you have the gift of service. You have the passion to evangelize, you have the gift of evangelism. If you have a passion for ordinance and administration, that's probably the way God gifted If you have a passion for the word of God, to know it and to proclaim it, then you've probably have been called into a teaching and preaching ministry. And so where your passion is, is probably the indication of where God has gifted you. Now that passion has to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. We have to turn that over to the Holy Spirit in the sense that we want to serve and we want to be busy doing the Lord's work by his grace and by his power for his glory. And that's how the body functions, okay? So I believe I'm gonna be preaching from Psalm 27 this Sunday. The Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom shall I be afraid? And we have Bible study at 9.30, morning worship at 10.45. Now the weather's gonna be a little bit tricky. It's gonna be possibly extremely cold. So we'll be looking at the weather and if we need to have consideration of that, we will. But if you have a church home, be faithful to your church home. You can join us later on Facebook or YouTube. And if we're a blessing to you, give us a like on Facebook. that just lets us know people appreciate our ministry and it's beneficial to them. So let's go to Lord in prayer. Father, thank you for your faithfulness, Father, to bring life to us, to bring salvation, to bring wisdom and understanding and truth to our hearts and minds. And Father, to work in us, to transform us, to serve you and to love you and to proclaim the gospel, to be salt and light in this world. So Father, I thank you that you provided us all that we need in your Son. There's no reason to look anywhere else except in your Son, the Lord Jesus, and the presence of your Holy Spirit in our life. So Father, help us, as Paul will admonish in this letter and in 2 Corinthians, to really examine our heart, to really understand if we call Jesus Lord, that Father, that's true, that's a reality, because our life has changed to follow Him and not be led astray by false gods and false idols. But we serve the true and living God. And Father, may that be evident in our lives. We ask these things in Jesus name, amen. Lord bless you and Lord willing, we'll see you next Wednesday.