1 Corinthians 12:1-11
April 17, 2007
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 accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties 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. 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, 10to 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.
ESV from: ebible.com
April 24, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Well, I’ll start and see if anyone else has some thoughts they want to share. Angie brought up a good point of how do we use our gifts for service in the church as well as for those around us that are unsaved. I think this passage is very specific in that it is directed to believers, and is instructing them in how to serve the body with their spiritual gifts. More specifically, it was written to a church whose gatherings were becoming more chaotic and disorderly as individual members sought to use their gifts without any instruction. Outside of the church, these gifts would more than likely not be understood or be seen as foolish.
I think a better place to look at how to interact with unbelievers is found in Galatians 5:22-23 where it talks of the Fruit of the Spirit. Show me someone who doesn’t know Christ that wouldn’t like some patience, kindness, goodness, or faithfulness to come their way. This is how we are a living witness to those outside the body since they do not have the Spirit, and would not be able receive the Gifts mentioned by Paul in Corinthians.
On another point, we as believers may also have another relationship to the church and the world through an office Christ may have given us. Ephesians 4:11-12 tells us that there are and will be those among us that have a specific calling as prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (I do not believe there are apostles today as there were after Christ’s earthly ministry). I think a good illustration of this is Mark Cahill. He is one of those people that can just naturally get people to want to talk about Jesus. I don’t have that same ability. It is something that Cahill has been blessed in. That does not get me off the hook as far as always being ready to share Christ with those I interact with (1 Pet 3:15), it just means that I have not been called an evangelist.
Anyway, those are the thoughts that I came away with after Sunday. Anybody want to talk?
April 25, 2007 at 8:00 am
Good morning! I’ve never posted on here before, but after some encouragement from a “little voice”, I decided to give it a go. I appreciated the discussion Sunday and wasn’t sure if we would go back and revisit that passage again, so I had some questions. Forgive me if these aren’t theologically sound or void of the wit and intelligence I’ve witnessed on here…..
In regards to 1 Cor. 12, what are your thoughts about the gifts of healing and miraculous powers? I ask about these since I know tongues and prophesy will come up in ch. 14. Don’t you think thanks to Benny Hinn and such that the church has swung to the opposite end of the spectrum to underestimate the roles of these gifts? I’m just trying to figure out what these look like when used by the Holy Spirit in a biblical manner……..
April 25, 2007 at 8:07 am
[...] 25th, 2007 A few of us discussed the Holy Spirit and gifts in the halls last Sunday, Mac and Angie have posted some good comments. A friend of mine has a post about about why you believe what you [...]
April 25, 2007 at 8:55 am
I like what Mac said about the fruit of the Spirit. I think it fits excellently with our discussion on Sunday. I think as we look at the gifts in I Cor. 12 many of them would probably have looked wierd to those outside the church, but as I look at the list of gifts in other parallel passages I see some gifts that, with the help of the spirit and coupled with the fruit of the Spirit, could be applied outside the church.
In Romans 12:7 it talks about the gift of service and of encouraging, and giving. I personally think gifts like these can be used in the spirit of love, kindness, and goodness to help those outside the church.
Maybe my exegetical method wasn’t the best trying to apply the ideas of spiritual gifts to someone who isn’t part of the body of Christ, but I think Mac has made an important connection.
A question about preaching and teaching. Preaching and teaching are spiritual gifts and the scripture says the foolishness of preaching is how God works. Is Preaching and teaching to those outside the body of Christ not effective? or should those that have those gifts use them? Can a teacher teach Biblical truths to a person who is neading teaching and do it in a way that will help them even though they may not be part of the Body of Christ?
Sorry for my run on sentences and poor punctuation. I hope any English majors reading this will forgive me.
April 25, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Are all of the gifts mentioned in I Corinthians 12 still for today? I would say yes based on how Paul goes on to talk of tongues and prophecy in chapter 14. It would not make any sense for these gifts to be applicable to only specific people, since, in verse 5 Paul says he wishes all in the church had the use of these gifts. Now, in my opinion the “use” of these gifts as seen today in many instances in not only inappropriate, but false (i.e. Benny Hinn and pretty much anybody on TBN). The entire gist of the passages in Corinthians dealing with their use points to them as being something that is either God glorifying or edifying to the body. I have seen, or been involved in, very few instances where this was the case. It seems to me that in many circles where the “gifts” are used they end up bringing more attention to the individuals than to the Lord. I think the picture Paul gives us is one of an assembly of believers who are open to the Spirit’s movement (which may not follow a schedule), but realize there is a specific way those movements are handled so that God is the one glorified.
I have heard stories of churches in other countries that supposedly have had incredible showings of the power of God. People having injured limbs restored, being healed of blindness, and things that sound like they are straight out of the new testament. However, it was always in the context of someone who told someone, and never anybody who was actually a witness to it. With that said, if I am to stay consistent, then I have to believe that all of the gifts, not just the ones I have seen, are still present.
As far as preaching and teaching to those outside the Church, I think we just need to keep it in perspective. It will not be our arguments or great teaching that saves anybody. It is God’s calling that does that (Rom 8:30), but He uses our proclamation of the Gospel to get it done (Rom 10:17). So, I guess what I am trying to say is that I think preaching and teaching can be used for those outside the Church if it is the Gospel that is being proclaimed and taught. On the other side, I don’t think that an unbeliever would glean a whole lot from what is taught to the body for edification, since they do not have the Holy Spirit. A kind of example would be an unbeliever reading everything I have just written. Without knowing Christ, what sense would any of this make to them?
Wow, it is late and I need to go to bed. Take care all.