2. What test does he give to be able to correctly identify those who speak with the Spirit of God? (verse 3)

Transcription

1 1 Corinthians Personal Preparation Day 1 1 Corinthians 12 Read 1 Corinthians 12 In verse 1, the NIV translation says spiritual gifts. However, the word gifts does not appear in the original, just the word spiritual. So it could mean spiritual gifts (as normally translated), or spiritual men (as in 3:1). So while Paul is clearly dealing with spiritual gifts (as he spends the next 3 chapters on it), he s got his eye on more than one target. He s also lining up those who consider themselves spiritual. 1. What Paul writes in the next 3 chapters, he writes so that the Corinthians aren t ignorant (verse 1). What is he worried that they re ignorant about? Why does he suggest they do not understand these things? 2. What test does he give to be able to correctly identify those who speak with the Spirit of God? (verse 3) 3. It s interesting to see how Paul exemplifies diversity and unity, in verses 4-6. What three differences does he identify, and what are the similarities? v.4 Different v.5 v.6 Same 4. In verse 7, the purpose of the Spirit s gifts is clearly stated. Who are the gifts for? 5. List the gifts that Paul mentions, in verses Where does each gift come from, according to verse 11? 7. Paul s analogy between the church and a human body is brilliantly clear. Write what you think the main point of his analogy is: 8. In verses 25-26, what does he say our attitude should be to each other? page 1 of 5

2 Personal Preparation Day 2 1 Corinthians 13 Read 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13 1. Before you start reminiscing and getting up to put on some Barry Manilow, think - how does the context provided by 12:27-31 save chapter 13 from being just a nice sentimental passage to read at weddings? 2. Linking 12:31 and 13:1 with the rest of chapter 13, what will the greater gifts involve? 3. How do verses 1-3 put into perspective the gifts mentioned in chapter 11? 4. Fill in the details for the verses below: v.4: Love is v.4: Love does not v.5: Love is not v.5-6: Love does not v.6: Love rejoices with v.7: Love always v.8: Love never 5. According to verses 8-12, a number of things the Corinthians seem to value will pass away when we re finally in heaven. What are they, and why will they be gone? The key to understanding chapters is to follow Paul s train of thought: 12:31 Eagerly desire the greater gifts now I will show you the most excellent way. 13:13 These three remain faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 14:1 Follow the way of love, and eagerly desire spiritual gifts. 6. Paul has lain all the ground-work for what he s going to say in chapter 14. Without having read any of that chapter, what sort of gifts do you expect him to encourage the Corinthians to specialise in? Personal Preparation Day 3 1 Corinthians 14 Read 1 Corinthians 14 (Keep a note of issues or questions that come to mind as you read) 1. According to verses 1-5, prophecy is a greater gift than speaking in tongues. Why? 2. One way to understand what prophecy IS, is to look at what prophecy DOES. What are the effects of prophecy according to these verses: v.3: v.4: v.24: v.31: 3. From verses 6-17, what is Paul saying about the importance of meaning? What problem do you thing the use of tongues has caused in Corinth (verses 11-12)? page 2 of 5

3 4. From verses 18-25, how should the gift of tongues be exercised, and to what end? 5. Paul sets out some ground rules in verses What limits does he place on prophets and speaking in tongues? 6. While this passage raises many difficult questions, what is the overall goal that Paul is encouraging the church to reach towards? (The end of verse 26 may help!) page 3 of 5

4 Group Discussion Questions This is a huge passage today - not only in length, but in the issues it deals with. So we re going to do things a little bit differently in this study. First though, read through 1 Corinthians as a group. It s long but these are some important passages. 1. Spend 10 minutes (only!), raising questions you had about what you ve read in this passage. Don t worry if you don t come up with answers hopefully things will become clearer as we go through the study. This entire section is often misunderstood, and misused. It s not written to provide a definitive list of spiritual gifts, nor was it written so that we d have something to read at weddings. It was written as a rebuke and a reminder of what is actually important, as opposed to what they thought was important. Therefore, we re going to start off by looking at 1 Corinthians 13. Then we ll see how this middle chapter informs and shapes what Paul says in the surrounding chapters. For 1 Corinthians From this passage, what does Paul say love looks like, and what it doesn t look like? 2. In what way is love the most excellent way, compared to the other gifts Paul describes? 3. Of the three that remain faith, hope and love why is the love the greatest? (verse 13) THINK: What would a church look like where there was no love present? With this centrepiece of love in mind, let s turn our attention to the two surrounding chapters. For 1 Corinthians From verses 1-11, what is the point of spiritual gifts within the church? How are they supposed to be used? 5. Looking at verses 4-6, how does the Trinity show us the way in which the church should work? How do we see this revealed to us in the Bible? 6. From verses 12-31, what do we learn about the church from Paul s analogy using the body? 7. How does this discussion of the church as a body relate to the discussion that follows on about love? THINK: Do you think of mpc as a body of which you are a part? What responsibility does that place on you? page 4 of 5

5 For 1 Corinthians 14 Now we get to one of the most controversial chapters in the New Testament. But while we ve got lots of questions, let s make sure we let the Bible set the agenda. Try to keep in mind what Paul has just said in 1 Corinthians 13, and try to understand why he says what he does. 8. From verses 1-17, why is prophecy a greater gift than speaking in tongues? (For those who did the prep, you might want to let others know what the passage means by prophecy.) 9. How is the gift of tongues supposed to be exercised, from verses 18-25? 10. How and why are the Corinthians supposed to exercise their gifts, according to verses 26-40? What is their overarching purpose? 11. From this chapter, how does love interact with spiritual gifts, and with gatherings of Christians? THINK: Regarding the questions you raised at the start of the study, how many of them are questions that Paul is trying to answer in these chapters? Can you see how 1 Corinthians 13 affects the issues that are raised and answered in these chapters? It s difficult to come to grips with everything that s raised in this passage. But we need to continually place it in the context of Paul s stated purpose for Christians - that the body of Christ is made up of all Christians, and that body is meant to care for, support and build each other up in a loving way. Whatever the gift, whatever your position, whatever you status the question must be the same. How can I build up the body of Christ? This is a question we should pray that God would put on our hearts. Coming Up... - Playgroup Mum s movie night, 20 June - Family mpc, 22 June For Prayer... - Pray that we would be people characterised and motivated by love. page 5 of 5