1 Corinthians chapter twelve begins a new subject with Paul answering another question that he had received from the Corinthians. A quick survey of this letter to remind us of what has been covered so far will be helpful.
Two occasions warranted the writing of 1 Corinthians. First of all, Paul had received a report of divisions:
1 Corinthians 1:11 (NKJV) "For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions [or divisions] among you."
Secondly, three men from Corinth had visited Paul and had brought a letter with questions according to 1 Corinthians 16:17.
1 Corinthians 7:1 (NKJV) "Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman."
Paul used a helpful key phrase whenever he began to answer a new question he introduced it with the words "now concerning."
What did Paul hope to accomplish by this letter? First of all, he wanted to repair their contentions and bring unity to the church. He attempted to do this in the first six chapters by dealing with several things: divisions, immorality, and believers suing each other. These were all symptoms of their carnality, and he strongly rebuked them for it.
After Paul dealt with the disunity in the church, he answered their questions beginning in 1 Corinthians 7:1. Paul dealt with marriage and virgins (7:25); Christian liberty (8:1); male authority and female submission (11:2); the Lord's Supper (11:17); spiritual gifts (12:1); giving (16:1).
Paul developed his letter in three main sections. 1. In chapters 1-6 he dealt with problems in the church that he had heard about. 2. In chapters 7-14 he answered questions he had received from the Corinthians. 3. In chapter 15 he dealt with the doctrine of the resurrection. Chapter 16 is a conclusion.
This morning we come to the section that focuses on spiritual gifts (chapters 12-14). The Corinthian church, like much of the church today, was seriously affected by misunderstanding and misuse of spiritual gifts. We do not know the exact questions the Corinthians asked Paul. All we know is that they wanted him to comment on spiritual gifts.
1 Corinthians 12:1 (NKJV) "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:"
The Greek adjective pneumatikon (spiritual) appears alone in the original text; the translators have added the word "gifts". The Greek word pneumatikon is a compound of pnuma, which means spirit, and ikon which means characterized by, or controlled by. Vine says that "pnumatikos always connotes the ideas of invisibility and of power. It does not occur in the Septuagint nor in the Gospels, it is in fact an after Pentecost word." The term pneumatikon may be either masculine or neuter, referring to either "men" or "things" with the context determining the gender. Here it is best understood as neuter, denoting "spiritual gifts" as the use of charismata (gift) in verse four makes clear. The Greek word charismata means "gift of grace" or "free gift." Paul is dealing with the subject of spiritual gifts.
A definition of spiritual gifts is necessary to understand this passage. A spiritual gift is a God-given capacity through which the Holy Spirit supernaturally ministers to the church. Spiritual gifts are the Lord's primary means of making Christians become Christ in the world, His visible and manifest body. Spiritual gifts are characteristics of Jesus Christ that are to be manifest through the body corporate just as they were manifested through the body Incarnate.
Paul told the Corinthians, "I do not want you to be ignorant" about spiritual gifts. The Greek word that is translated ignorant is agnoeo which means not to know through lack of information or intelligence. Obviously the Corinthians were ignorant about spiritual gifts. Instead of using them for the benefit of fellow believers, some Corinthians displayed these gifts as badges of superiority. Instead of building up the body, spiritual gifts were a major source of division.
Paul could have easily written this to the twentieth century American church. The parallels between the squabbling among the Corinthian Christians and contemporary debates over spiritual gifts are surprisingly close. The issue of the whether or not all of the spiritual gifts are for today has caused much debate and strife in the body of Christ. Some biblically based groups say that if you do speak in tongues, then you are under demonic control and are not saved. On the other hand, some groups who say that if you do not speak in tongues then you are not saved. Both sides use scripture to support their position. We are as ignorant about spiritual gifts as were the Corinthians.
A little history may help our understanding of what was happening in Corinth. The ancient prophets had predicted that the Messianic period would be attended by a remarkable effusion of the Holy Spirit.
Joel 2:28-29 (NKJV) "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days."
After the Lord's resurrection he said to his disciples:
Mark 16:17-18 (NKJV) "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
On the day of Pentecost, these promises and prophecies were literally fulfilled. They were not confined to any one class of the people, but extended to all classes; male and female, young and old. No wonder the Corinthians were puzzled and no wonder some responded in unfortunate ways. Under circumstances so extraordinary it was unavoidable that many disorders should arise. Some men who were deluded or impostors would claim to be organs of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians was one of the earliest written epistles of the New Testament. The believers then couldn't go to their Bibles as we can to check the validity of what was being said. How were they to know what was really of the Spirit and what was not? Paul told them in next two verses. He said that the Spirit always exalts the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:2 (NKJV) "You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led."
The Greek word for Gentiles is ethne, which was commonly used to represent all non-Jews. But in the New Testament the term also is sometimes used, as it is here, to refer specifically to non-Christians. One of the chief characteristics of most pagan religions was idolatry. Notice the Apostle says that idolatry involves a process of being led astray, which suggests a control factor, a power to which the pagans were subject.
The words "carried away" are the Greek word apago which was often used of prisoners being taken under armed guard to prison or execution. Paul implies that the Corinthians had experienced the effects of evil spirits in their former pagan worship. The practice of "ecstatic utterances" was very common in the worship of various Greek gods and goddesses. The implication is that they were still being carried away.
Paul contrasted the idols, which cannot speak to the living God who "speaks" in the believer by his Spirit. How were they to tell the difference between the ecstatic utterances of their pagan worship and the true spiritual gifts of God? Paul told them in verse 3: the source and content of an utterance are all-important, rather than the fact of its inspiration. He knew that the phenomena of glossolaia and prophecy could be paralleled in paganism.
1 Corinthians 12:3 (NKJV) "Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit."
Paul began his discussion of spiritual gifts by highlighting the basic criterion for distinguishing the work of the Holy Spirit from that of other spirits. He gave two tests, one negative and the other positive. First the negative, "No one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed." This should have been obvious, but the Corinthians had come to judge the nature and use of the gifts on the basis of experience rather than content. The first test he gave them was doctrinal: what is the Christology? If a person holds an unbiblical view of Christ, then what he says is not of God. No one who speaks by the Spirit of God ever demeans or in any way diminishes the centrality of Christ in the Christian life or in the Christian faith. The Person and the work of Jesus are always central.
The word accursed is the Greek word anathema, which means devoted to destruction. I doubt that many would actually say that Jesus is accursed, except maybe for the Pharisees of that day, but you do not have to say those words to be accursed. Anyone, for instance, who says that Jesus Christ is only a mere man is saying "Jesus is accursed" because according to the teaching of the Bible the whole race is cursed; the curse of Adam's sin has come upon us all, causing us all to be born in sin and therefore under the curse.
Romans 5:12 (NKJV) "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned;"
Then Paul gave the positive test which is simply the flip side of the negative. It also is doctrinal: "And no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit." The word "Lord" is the Greek word Kurios, which is the Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew JHVH (Jehovah). "Jesus is Lord" therefore means that the baby who was born of the virgin Mary is the Jehovah of the Old Testament. It is saying that Jesus is God.
Lord means "in charge of all human events." We Christians oftentimes subconsciously live less than Christian lives in this regard. We think of Jesus as Lord in the future when he returns to rule and reign in triumph over the earth and every knee shall bow and every tongue proclaim that he is Lord. But the truth that the Scripture sets forth, and the truth that the Holy Spirit always undergirds, is that Jesus is Lord; he is in charge now of all human events; he is the One who controls history. Everything reported in our papers today is moving toward a single point in history that he controls.
Peter declared Jesus' Lordship to the assembled multitudes on the Day of Pentecost: "Him whom you crucified, God has made both Lord and Christ." This knowledge made the early Christians fearless. Their thoughts may have been something like this: "Jesus is Lord; he is already in charge of these people who are giving us trouble, and he will see how far they go and determine what they do with us, therefore we don't need to be afraid. Jesus is Lord." The Holy Spirit manifests this attitude in believers everywhere.
It should be obvious to us that confession and belief are necessary, not just pronouncing some theologically correct words. A parrot could be taught to pronounce the words. Jesus warned that at the judgement he would reject many people who had said "Lord, Lord." These people either did not know the significance of the words or they were hypocrites by reason of unbelief. To avoid God's condemnation, one must both understand the intellectual content of the words and believe them.
No one can believe and confess that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh unless he is enlightened by the Spirit of God. This is what our Lord said when Peter confessed him to be the Son of God.
Matthew 16:17 (NKJV) "Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."
This same thing is echoed by John:
1 John 4:2-3 (NKJV) "By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world."
Jesus made the same point in Matthew 7 when He said, "By their fruit you shall know them." This passage is usually misunderstood to refer to actions, but the passage is talking about words.
Matthew 7:15-20 (NKJV) "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 17 "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 "Therefore by their fruits you will know them."
These false prophets do not give themselves away by their external behavior because they look like sheep. The fruits of the false prophet have nothing to do with lifestyle, but with their words. This becomes clear when we compare this passage with a passage in Matthew.
Matthew 12:33-35 (NKJV) "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 "Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things."
Both passages employ the same imagery and Matthew 12 clarifies the meaning of Matthew 7. A false prophet must be tested by his message. A person's beliefs about Jesus Christ are the test of whether or not his teachings and actions are through the Holy Spirit. Where the Spirit is at work, Christ will be glorified. Jesus said,
John 16:13-14 (NKJV) "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you."
Therefore, a group that makes much of the Spirit is not emphasizing Christian truth. It is the group that makes much of Jesus and exalts him and sees that everything is focused and centered on him that will manifest the power of the Spirit of God.
In verses 4-7 Paul stressed the essential unity of the Church. Since there was division in the Corinthian church, Paul began with an emphasis on the oneness of the church. The Church is the Body of Christ and the characteristic of a healthy body is that every part in it performs its own function for the good of the whole.
1 Corinthians 12:4 (NKJV) "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit."
The word gifts is from the Greek word charisma, which means "gift of grace" or "free gift." A spiritual gift is a God-given capacity through which the Holy Spirit supernaturally ministers to the church. Paul said that there are "diversities of gifts;" the Greek word translated diversities is diairesis which means a distinction or variety or difference. There are many different kinds of spiritual gifts but they all come from the same Spirit. There is unity in diversity. If we all had the same gifts the body wouldn't function very well. A football team is successful because they have a diversity of players who all have the same purpose.
In this chapter Paul noted examples of 13 gifts; in verses 8-10 he mentioned nine of them: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, prophecy, faith, healing, miracles, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues. In verses 28-29 he lists four additional gifts: apostles, teachers, helps, and governments. In Romans 12 Paul listed five additional gifts: ministry, exhorting, giving, ruling, and mercy. In Ephesians 4 Paul mentioned two additional gifts: evangelist and Pastor-teacher. Altogether, Paul listed 20 various gifts in his writings. The purpose of all of the gifts is to build up the body of Christ.
Should we restrict the gifts to only those listed in Scripture? C. Peter Wagner opts for an open ended approach. "I do not doubt that there are even more than 27 of them. Some might want to add the gift of music and make it 28. Or craftsmanship and make it 29. I ran into another gift recently which might be called the "gift of names."" Where does it end? Could I have the gift of sarcasm? Or maybe my wife has the gift of cleaning. Where does it stop? I think we should stop with 20 spiritual gifts as the Scriptures do. Let's keep our emphasis on the Word of God rather than the individual. The Word of God must be our sole court of appeal in dealing with experience.
William Barclay says, "the mason, the carpenter, the electrician, the painter, the engineer, the plumber all have their special gifts, which are from God and can be used for him." Spiritual gifts are not natural abilities or talents. Natural abilities and talents are shared by believer and unbeliever alike. An unbeliever can be a great musician, or have a good memory for names, but spiritual gifts come only as a result of salvation. Spiritual gifts are supernatural enablements given by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of ministry.****************************************************************************
These 20 spiritual gifts fall into different categories. Let me make several distinctions here.
1. There is a distinction between the Gifts and the Gifted. Some of the gifts are personified; some refer to gifts and some to gifted men. Generally, 1 Corinthians 12 speaks in terms of gifts, while Ephesians 4 speaks in terms of gifted men. Spiritual gifts refer to the supernatural powers possessed by individuals, while gifted men refers to the sovereign placement of gifted men in the church for the purpose of ministering to the body. (We'll study this next week)
2. There is a distinction between Permanent Edifying Gifts and Temporary Foundational and Sign gifts. The Bible does not explicitly say there are temporary gifts and permanent gifts, but I think this can be deduced from Scripture. It would end all debate if there was such a verse.
Some believers would argue that since there is no verse defining temporary gifts, then there are no temporary gifts. But we do not have an explicit verse for everything that the Bible teaches. For instance, we have no text on the "trinity;" it is induced from many other passages. The idea that some of the gifts are temporary should not to be ruled out because there is not an explicit text. The Word of God seems to hint that certain gifts were temporary.
1 Corinthians 13:8 (NKJV) "Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away."
Hebrews 2:3-4 (NKJV) "how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?"
History and experience seem to confirm these hints that we have in the Word. But remember the temporary nature of gifts is based on an assumption. Please understand this and use loving caution. I spoke in tongues for several years early in my Christian experience. During that time I heard a local preacher say that "tongues are of the devil." I was hurt and confused by that statement because I loved the Lord, but this preacher said that my actions were of the devil. Remember the purpose of spiritual gifts is to build up the body of Christ, not tear it down or divide it. Good men differ, but if we differ, let's differ in love and kindness.
Let me share with you how I think these gifts should be categorized. There are foundational temporary gifts which include Apostles and prophets, the word of wisdom and knowledge and discerning of spirits. There are sign gifts which include miracles, healing, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. There are permanent edifying gifts which include teacher, faith, helps, governments, mercy, ministry, exhortation, giving, ruling. Two of the permanent edifying gifts are given as gifted men: evangelist and Pastor-teacher. There are 11 permanent edifying gifts. I believe that your gift is a combination of one or more of these gifts.
After listing the gifts, Paul went on to say,
1 Corinthians 12:5 (NKJV) "There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord."
The word differences is from the Greek same word as in verse 4. And the word ministries is from the Greek word diakonia which means to serve, service. This is the word from which we get "deacon," and it refers to the opportunity to use the gifts. The Spirit gives the gifts; the Lord Jesus opens the opportunities. Even Christians with the same basic gift may manifest that gift in different ways. Someone with the gift of teaching may use it from the pulpit as I am, or he may teach a children's Sunday school class. Not only are there different gifts, but there are different ways to use the gifts.
1 Corinthians 12:6 (NKJV) "And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all."
The word activities is the Greek word energema which means an effect, operation, working. It means what is worked out or energized. The gifts are energized supernaturally; a believer cannot exercise them in his own power. The gifts are controlled by the Spirit, given by grace from God, used to serve the body and empowered by the Lord. The expression "all in all" means "all the gifts in all the persons who possess them."
There is a Trinitarian emphasis here: "the same Spirit... the same Lord.... the same God." There is also an emphasis on diversities which seems to imply that the Corinthians thought that the more dramatic gifts were the only gifts worth having.
Who gets a spiritual gift? Every believer.
1 Corinthians 12:7 (NKJV) "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:"
Manifestation is from the Greek word phanerosis, and has the basic idea of making known, clear, or evident. A spiritual gift is a manifestation of the spirit rather than normal, natural abilities; a spiritual gift is a supernatural function. The gifts are given to "each one." This idea is repeated in verse 11: "All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills." In other words, no one is left out. Every believer has a spiritual gift through which he is to minister to the body.
1 Peter 4:10 (NKJV) "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
You have at least one spiritual gift, probably more. God has an infinite variety of combinations of gifts to give and he chooses one combination just to suit you, for your personality. He puts you right where he wants you to use it, not only in the church among the other believers, but out in the world as well, and no one is left out. Some of us have, like myself, marvelous musical ability, and it was given to us at birth! Some of us have athletic ability; some of us have the ability to paint and to draw, and others have ability to lead and excel in various functions of life. Those abilities are given to people all over the world, whether they are believers or not. Like the rain, they come upon the just and the unjust alike. But spiritual gifts are given only to Christians, and they are something you never had before you became a Christian.
These spiritual gifts are given for "the common good." They are not for our own enjoyment or blessing, though we will enjoy using them. Its purpose is to serve others by building and edifying them. You are going to need others' spiritual gifts just as they are going to need yours.
Spiritual gifts are not earned. They are given on the basis of grace rather than maturity. The Corinthians were anything but mature, but they had spiritual gifts.
1 Corinthians 1:7 (NKJV) "so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,"
The spiritual gifts are not a result of education; they are not learned, they are a supernatural ability. They are not a result of prayer; there is no Scriptural support at all for an individual praying for a gift. We do not choose our gifts. They are given to us by the sovereign choice of God. He alone decides what we need for ministry.
1 Corinthians 12:11 (NKJV) "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills."
The verb used for "given" in verse 7 reinforces the sovereign nature of the giving. It denotes a free gift, stressing its gratuitous character. Our gifts are given to us at salvation. Since every believer has a spiritual gift, they must come at salvation or a believer could be without one.
Understanding the gifts will help us avoid attitudes of pride, or an attitude of superiority, and inferiority. David J. DePlessis, an ecumenical charismatic leader, said, "A Pentecostalist is a person who thinks he's arrived because he speaks in tongues." There is no room for spiritual pride over the gifts we have because in order for a body to function properly it needs every part. Richard Baxter put it this way: "Each of us is just a pen in the hand of God, and what honor is there in a pen? While we recognize this we shall be saved from all self-consciousness, egotism, and elation, we shall lie in the dust at His blessed feet, hidden and empty vessels, in the place where He can use us best."
1 Corinthians 4:6-7 (NKJV) "Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. 7 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?"
Spiritual gifts are neither earned nor deserved: they are the sovereign choosing of God.
The second attitude to avoid is one of inferiority. The "I can't do anything, I'm of no use" mentality. There are no useless members or organs in the body and there are no useless members in the body of Christ. You have a gift and you are to use it for the edification of Christ's body.
How can we know what our spiritual gifts are?
1. Start by knowing what the spiritual gifts are and how they are manifest. That's what we will attempt to do in this study.
2. Walk in the Spirit and look behind you. If you are walking in the Spirit He will be using your gift to minister to others.
3. As you walk in the Spirit your desire will be toward your gift. If you have the gift of teaching you will have a desire to teach, although the fact that you have a desire doesn't mean you have the gift.
4. Conformation of others: if I'm the only one who thinks I have the gift of teaching then I should question whether I really have it. Be careful because Christians are not always honest. Don't encourage someone in an area he is not gifted in.
Every one of you has a gift. Do you know what your gift is? Are you using yours for the glory of God? How are you being used by God to build up the body of Christ? Because of sin and laziness most Christians are not using their gifts and the body is crippled because of it. God has especially gifted each of us to minister to his body, my we use them for His glory.
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