Well, if you will remain standing and take your Bibles and turn to the book of First Corinthians. First Corinthians, chapter 12, this morning. First Corinthians, chapter 12, and the lesson will be from verse one to verse 11. This is the word of the Lord. Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the spirit of God ever says Jesus is a curse, and no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit. Now, there are a variety of gifts but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties 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. For 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, to another, gifts of healing by the one spirit, another, the working of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another, various kinds of tongues, to another, the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. This is God's word. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this day and for the gift of your scripture and the gathering of your people. And now, Father, we ask that you stamp with your own seal of approval and blessing on the reading and the preaching of your infallible word. Amen. Please be seated. Well, the Apostle Paul has had to straighten out several issues within the Corinthian church in the preceding chapters. He had received letters from Corinth which outlined the issues and the struggles of the church. And he had heard from travelers from the city of Corinth describing the problems with which the believers in that church were besieged. Today and in the coming weeks, we are going to see how the Apostle Paul addresses the concern of spiritual gifts. Evidently, there were those in the Corinthian church who were misusing and even abusing spiritual gifts. And so, as Paul writes, he says, I do not want you to be uninformed. And so it is for us today. We want to be informed about the truth. the truth that the Holy Spirit provides to his people. It is a tragedy of the church that gifts from God would be the centerpiece for division within the church and among fellow believers. I think of the gifts of the ordinances of baptism in the Lord's Supper. Whole denominations have sprung up over differences in the meaning, the efficacy, and the method for each of the ordinances. even Christians, killing Christians and defending their interpretations of the instructions and the gifts that Christ has given us. It is a terrible thing, a horrible thing, that spiritual gifts have become in our time, not necessarily just in Paul's time, but in our time, such a device of division between Christians. of all things to be used as a tool of disunion, of things that have been mangled and twisted by Christians themselves, these are the very things that God has given to his people, things that are bestowed upon believers by the Holy Spirit himself. In our time, in our own age, We had divided the body of Christ over the meaning and the application of the Holy Spirit and the manifestations of his gifts. And these very gifts of the Holy Spirit, gifts intended for strengthening the body of the church, for building it up, edifying it and unifying it, instead are being used by the church as a means to rip itself apart into small pieces. The Corinthian church in our passage today was manifesting the same quarrels and disagreements over spiritual gifts. It must have become a topic of real tension among the church members, and Paul takes up the issue to straighten out the misunderstandings that were present. But there was also a cultural element at work here. In the pagan culture of the Greeks, The presence of ecstatic behavior in a person was evidence that they were experiencing the presence of some kind of influence from the spirit world. Conversely, if a person remained in control of himself, the less the person was considered to be under any sort of divine inspiration. Greeks and many Jews even, in some of the Jewish cults, agreed about this. Even Plato made statements that support this point of view. Plato wrote, we reach the highest state of good through frenzy. And he also wrote, no man in full possession of his senses can be touched by the divine inspiration. So the Greeks of Corinth were predisposed to this kind of extra-dimensional thinking. that the more you were taken over by spiritual influence, the more that erratic, ecstatic behavior would be evident in your life. The same ideas often circulate in modern Christian circles. But back in the first century, Paul wants his readers to know that such kinds of thinking are essentially worldly, not sent from God. And this is not what gospel spirituality is all about. True spirituality builds on the shape of the cross. Its focus is self-sacrificing love that builds up others. It's no accident that the most excellent way, taught in chapter 13, the love chapter, describes that without love, all spiritual gifts combined come to nothing. And then chapter 14 will demonstrate later on that love requires that we speak intelligibly in the church and have orderly worship services and meetings so that other Christians can be built up in their faith. The measure of true greatness of any spiritual gift is not its impressiveness or its degree of miraculous nature. Instead, It is the usefulness in building up the Church of Christ in love and in truth. Well, let's return to our text for today. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, beginning in verse 1. 1 through 3 to get started. Paul writes, Now concerning spiritual guests, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols. However, you were led. Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the spirit of God ever says Jesus is a curse and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except in the Holy Spirit. Now, Paul opens up this chapter, as he does in several other sections of first Corinthians. He seems to frequently use the introduction, now concerning. Now concerning. He says elsewhere, now concerning matters which he wrote. In chapter 7 verse 1. Now as a concession, not a command. Chapter 7 verse 6. Now concerning the betrothed. Chapter 7 verse 25. Now concerning food offers to idols. Chapter 8, verse 1. Now I commend you because you remember me. You remember these things as we've gone through these chapters. In chapter 15, he begins, now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preach to you. And then the last chapter of the book, chapter 16, he begins, now concerning the collection for the saints. You see, it may seem to be a little helter skelter. what Paul is doing, but he has a pattern here and he has a purpose for the pattern. He wants the readers of the letter to focus on the topic at hand. He is setting the topic because they have been misguided in their agenda. These things have been brought up as an issue for the church in Corinth, and he wants to get to the matter quickly and say what he has to say. And beginning in chapter 12, And continuing through chapter 14, the subject is spiritual gifts. And on this subject, he wants them to be informed. Paul has in view that most of the Corinthians have very recently come out of paganism. And with all that was the worship of the deaf and dumb idols of wood and stone. And Paul knows that such worship is epitomized by a subversion of the mind and a concentration on human passions and emotions. In particular, the Corinthian temples were big on mystical experiences, ecstatic states of mind, trances, visions, accompanied by plenty of noise and over-the-top excitement. And among all this activity, which by the way is not unlike many modern charismatic churches, at the center of it all was the lifeless gods who were never able to communicate any messages. Absolutely nothing of value was produced. See, because the gods they worshipped were silent and lifeless, the worshippers themselves had to supply the baseless teachings, the man-made religion, all with great emotion and over-the-top sensationalism. But these false prophecies, these ecstatic languages and miracle potions did not and could not lead to a knowledge of and relationship with the Creator of the universe. Paul taught that the Spirit of the Lord was not mute, like the false pagan gods. The Spirit of God speaks with great clarity, and his declaration is that Jesus Christ is Lord. That is how genuine Christians come to recognize the one true and the living God, and in turn to recognize each other. Now to verses four through six. Here's what it says. Now, there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. There are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in every one. There you have the Trinity right there, don't you? The Spirit, the Lord and God. Now throughout chapter 11 we see the twin themes of unity and diversity. Our words like universe and university express the concept of unity amid diversity and seem to meld each other together despite being apparently opposites. But we should note that the diversity is always to be found within the basic framework of the unity. Because of that principle, Paul can say that there are a variety of gifts, but the gifts are of the same spirit. There are many means, many ways to render service, but true service is to be performed in the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there are various necessary and vital activities that the activities find their value, their worth in God the Father. The gifts, the spiritual gifts, are to be used, listen to me now, this is important, the gifts that are given by the Spirit of God are to be used in service to perform various activities that are produced by the triunity of the divine persons of the Godhead. And in doing so, They provide us a perfect model for unity and functional diversity. If we as Christians are part of this body, we must reflect the unity of God in the way we relate to one another in our different functions, gifts, and ministries. Another way of understanding this relationship with God and each other is by asking the question, what is God doing through the church? in his world. The principal answer is that he is bringing men and women to see and live out the law that Jesus is Lord. This is the gracious purpose of the Father and constant work of the Spirit. Yet there is a tremendous variety of means employed by the Spirit to bring people to Christ's rule. Now before we examine this variety of means, We must acknowledge that the purpose of the gifts of service and activities is not to draw attention to any human effort, but solely to honor Christ as King. First, the varieties of gifts. These are called charismata in the Greek, or gifts of grace. These gifts are freely and generously given by the Spirit, with different provisions for different individuals. Some of the gifts are listed here in the opening and ending of chapter 12, but they are also to be found in other books of Scripture, like Romans, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians and 1 Peter, and probably countless others that are not found in Scripture, but are at work every moment. Second is the varieties of service. These are called diakonia in the Greek, and they refer to the way in which God-given abilities are to be used. The emphasis is on serving others regardless of the cost, not ingratiating ourselves to others' praise and and adulation. Third, the varieties of activities. These are called Energimata in the Greek, stressing that it is God's energy or power that is at work. We accept our differences as God-given. Again, unity amid diversity. We accept those differences and thank Him that we are not merely clones of each other. The gifts, services, and activities are energized by our common acknowledgment of Jesus as Savior and Lord and are expressed through an incredibly wonderful variety of individual and corporate ministries. And now verse 7. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. This is the key verse really to our passage this morning. To each means every believer has at least one gift or manifestation of the Spirit. Some believers may have several gifts. And because each Christian has a spiritual gift, the Holy Spirit expects the possessor of that gift will be using it to strengthen others. These gifts are made to be given to others, to minister to others and not to be hoarded. The gifts are given so that we might strengthen others specifically, but not in physical strength. But listen to me. This is key to this passage. in strength of faith. The idea is to strengthen the faith of other people with your spiritual gifts. In 1 Thessalonians 3, verse 2, Paul says, We sent Timothy, our brother and God's co-worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen, establish, and exhort you in your faith. To strengthen someone by way of a spiritual gift means to help their faith not give way easily when trouble enters their life. And we all have trouble, don't we? We all have trouble at certain times. This is the purpose of people in God's church with exercising their spiritual gift, to strengthen by faith who you are during your time of need. We have spiritual gifts to help other people keep the faith, even in very rough times. And we need not get hung up on what our gift is. I think we spend too much time this way, taking surveys, quizzing each other, doing all kinds of strange things trying to discover our gift. How do you discover your gift? You get out and work and build up people in the strength of their faith. So we need not get hung up on our gifts or how many we think we might have. Have you ever been around somebody who says, well, I think I have at least a dozen or so? I have. It's somewhat disturbing. They're usually the grumpiest people in the church, not building up anybody. Yeah, I'm not sure it even warrants a name. The point is this, are we doing what we can to strengthen the faith of the people around us? Or are we a detriment to their faith? We also see that the gifts, the services and the activities are all, it says, for the common good, for the common good, for the body of believers. Just as the Holy Spirit indwells every believer, so also the Spirit will reveal himself to be present. and will appear in a variety of ways for the common good. That is why, listen to me, I've heard this and you have too many times, I'm sure. That is why it is problematic that a person can say that they're just going to stay home and watch their favorite TV ministers on their screen instead of going to church. In fact, they might even say that they really don't need to be part of a church in order to worship. And that may be true, but it's also true that they are missing out on one of the key components of what it means to be a Christian. If every Christian has at least one spiritual gift, and they do, and we are called to use that gift in God's power for him, for his creation, and we are, then in order to utilize the gift that has been given, A person must be plugged into a local church of believers, because spiritual gifts are for the common good. Now verses 8 through 10. For 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, To another, gifts of healing by the One Spirit. To another, the working of miracles. To another, prophecy. To another, the ability to distinguish between spirits. To another, various kinds of tongues. To another, the interpretation of tongues. And so wherever God's people are using their gifts, whatever the gift, and serving out of love for God for their neighbors and expressing that Jesus is Lord, there the Holy Spirit will be in whatever form the service might take. We say at this point that the list of spiritual gifts in these verses were the ones that the apostle intended for the Corinthian church. These are addressing the problems of the Corinthian church. And by example, they are applicable to us, but maybe not specifically. The strengths and weaknesses of the spiritual gifts of the Corinthian fellowship are most likely not like gifts of other congregations during their time or ours. So if you read this group of verses as being normative for all churches, for all believers, you most likely will be mistaken. Verse 11 says this, our final verse, all these are empowered by one and the same spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills. So among the believers, there should be no cause for a complaint if we are upset with the gifts that we have or don't have or with the ones that others have or don't have. Paul wants us to know that our argument is with God and not with him. It is the Spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills. So if the distribution of spiritual gifts generates any rivalry or division, this is the mark of a childish immaturity. The true intent of the gifts are to unite. to build up and to promote harmony among Christians who gather together for the common good under the leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ. To splinter the body over gifts of God's grace is a tragedy and a scandal. For instance, to divide a congregation into two groups, one with a gift of tongues, and the other group without the gift of tongues. In the same congregation, such a division based on spiritual gifts is a travesty and an insult to the Spirit. And it indicates that the lifestyle of the world, with all its striving for status and prominence, prestige and fulfillment, has won out over the cross of Christ. Brothers and sisters, let me conclude by saying this. And as I said earlier, I think there are more sisters here than brothers this morning. But ladies, your husbands are coming back and it'll be mid afternoon or so. In any case. This is designed to be a short introduction to you about the subject of spiritual gifts. We have many more things to say about that as we proceed into Chapter 12 and then on through Chapter 14. But I'm trying to convey to you some general principles about how I think we need to approach the topic of spiritual gifts and what the scriptures demand that we say about it. The next few Sundays, we'll continue talking about the Apostle Paul's teaching in this area. And let me close by reading you a statement by John Piper that I particularly like concerning the subject of spiritual gifts, especially as they relate to grace and faith. And here's what he says. Listen to this, quote, We are recipients of grace. And it is our duty to disperse the grace to others. The vehicle by which we make these disbursements is our spiritual gift. They are the abilities by which we receive the grace of God and disperse that grace to others. And please listen carefully to the rest of this. It's just a few sentences. Faith is what the house owner wants in all his stewards. And grace is the only currency that can purchase faith. Faith feeds on grace and is strengthened by grace. God gives us his grace in Christ. And then we, in the exercise of our spiritual gifts, disperse that grace to others and thus feed their faith. It is the free and precious grace that strengthens the heart in faith." And so let us pray. Our Lord and our God, you have honored us by calling us through the proclamation of the gospel, not by human wisdom or reasoning, but by your power, your power and your grace. Remind us that all that we are and will be is tied to the reality and the truth of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Help us to run our race that is set before us, that we might be worthy to claim the prize that is imperishable, and that we might recognize and respond to the spiritual gifts that you have given us and that you expect us to use for a service of grace to each other. We ask that you make us more like Jesus. Give us courage for the coming days of trial and mold us and make us into the people and the church that you intend us to be. Help us all to be prepared for our calling to share the gospel with everyone we encounter. Be our sword and our shield in the authority of Christ we pray. Amen.