Explore the Bible Lesson Preview April 15, 2018 Serving God s People Background: 1 Corinthians 12: 1-31 Lesson: 1 Corinthians 12: 4-12, 21-26 Motivation: At Christmas or on our birthdays, we love to open gifts! God s Word clearly teaches that each Believer receives at the point of conversion one or more Spiritual gifts. In this study, we ll define, explore and explain spiritual gifts and their purpose. I. Learn About Spiritual Gifts (1-3) Now concerning what comes from the Spirit: brothers, I do not want you to be unaware. (1) A. What is the Definition of Spiritual Gifts? 1. What they are not: a. They are not talents/abilities, temperaments or inherited traits. These benefit all and come at human birth. b. They are not the fruit of the Spirit. 1) The fruit of the Spirit may be momentary (may come and go). The gifts of the Spirit are permanent. 1 / 17
2) The fruit of the Spirit comes from within. The gifts of the Spirit come from without. 3) The fruit of the Spirit will demonstrate all of its forms. All the gifts of the Spirit will never be present in any one believer. 2. What they are: Definition: (Thayer, Bible Dictionary) Extraordinary powers given Christians, enabling them to serve the Church. The Greek word used for spiritual gift is charisma which is also the same word used as the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23). Charism a is used at least fifteen times in the New Testament including four listings of Spiritual Gifts. Some notable Bible scholars interpret the terms used in Ephesians 4:11 as offices or designations rather than gifts; however, several offices overlap with gifts, and one would assume a need for a gift to perform an office function, such as teacher. B. How is Christian Empowerment Different from that of Pagans? idols Holy Spirit (2-3) HCSB, p. 1978: 12:1-3 Allegiance to Jesus as exclusive Lord is made possible only through the working of the Holy Spirit. Pagan Gentiles led off to the idols in ceremonial procession could profess Jesus as one of many deities or else curse Him as a fraud, but never could they abandon their false gods and devote themselves to Jesus unless the Spirit of God made it possible. 2 / 17
II. Diverse 4 Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are different activities, but the same God activates each gift in each person. (4-6) A. Remember the Giver Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit (4) 1. I Cor. 12:11 But one and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as He wills. 2. Hebrews 2:4:... and distribution of gifts from the Holy Spirit, according to His will. 3. Romans 12:6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts. B. Unity through Diversity different gifts same Spirit, different ministries same Lord, different activities same God. Evidently the exercise of spiritual gifts within the Corinthian church resulted in dissension rather than unity. In much the same manner as he wrote to the Ephesians ( one Lord, one faith, one baptism 4:5), Paul pointed the Corinthians back to their source, the Lord Jesus Christ. HCSB, p. 1978: 12:7 Each demonstration of the Spirit in a believer is given by God for the mutual benefit of the whole body of believers (cp. Vv. 12-31). Demonstration of the Spirit refers to gifts, ministries, and activities made possible by the Spirit s enabling power. Similar 3 / 17
lists of spiritual gifts are given in verse 28; Rm 12:6-8; Eph 4:11; and 1 Pt 4:10-11. III. Specific A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial: 8 t o one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, 9 to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of languages, to another, interpretation of languages. (7-10) A. What Are the Purposes of Spiritual Gifts? A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial. (7) - Larry Gilbert in his excellent book, Team Ministry, suggests nine reasons we are given gifts: 1. A spiritual gift is the primary channel by which the Holy Spirit can minister through the believer. 2. A spiritual gift is a supernatural capacity, an enabling for the future. 3. A spiritual gift is a supernatural desire (I Timothy 3:1 - first requirement for service) 4. Spiritual gifts are the tools for doing the work of the ministry. 4 / 17
5. A Spiritual gift is the source of joy in your Christian life. a. Doma (Luke 11:13; Ephesians 4:8 a present, to build, a gift. b. Charisma (Romans 12:6, I Cor. 12:4, 9, 28, 30, 31) a divine gratuity, a spiritual endowment, a religious qualification, a free gift. A form of the word Charis. c. Charis - usually translated grace. Char joy happiness, fulfillment. 6. A spiritual gift is a divine motivator. 7. A spiritual gift divinely influences one s motives. 8. A spiritual gift is a divine calling and responsibility. (I Cor. 1:26) 9. Spiritual gifts are the building blocks of the church. B. Where Do We Identify Spiritual Gifts in Scripture? to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit. (8) Bel iever s Study Bible (p. 1636) Provides the following reference and gift lists: 5 / 17
(of Biblical New Illustrator, Testament p. 76) Lists of Spiritual Gifts Romans 12:6-8 I Corinthians 12:8-10 1 Corinthians 12:28-30 Ephesians 4:11 I Peter 4:9-11 Prophecy Word of Wisdom Apostleship Apostleship Speaking 6 / 17
Serving Word of Knowledge Prophecy Prophecy Serving Teaching Faith Teaching Evangelism Exhortation 7 / 17
Healings Miracles Pastor/Teacher Giving Miracles Healing Leading Prophecy 8 / 17
Helping Showing Mercy Discerning of Spirits Administrating Tongues Tongues 9 / 17
Interpretation of Tongues Interpretation of Tongues Notice that the Holy Spirit emphasizes the serving gifts everywhere but to the Corinthians. In interpreting this passage, we must keep in mind that Paul was addressing problems and gift abuses as we shall see in chapters 13 & 14. Certain gifts necessary for the first century church are no longer in existence. IV. Intentional But one and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as He 10 / 17
wills. For as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body so also is Christ. (11-12) A. Same Spirit - HCSB, p. 1978: 12:11 The phrase one and the same Spirit is active in all these refers to the Spirit s supernatural working through a diversity of gifted people to produce one cohesive relationship (cp. V.7, what is beneficial ). B. Same Body - Big We, little i - unity with diversity. The church is one body with many members. HCSB, p. 1978: 12:12 Christ is compressed language for t he body of Christ, the church (cp. Vv. 27-28). V. Related Matters (13-20) A. One Baptism, Many Fillings (13) - Believer s Study Bible, p. 1637-38: 12:13 At conversion, the believer is born again by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-6). He is also baptized by the Holy Spirit, which unites him to the body of Christ, the church, and to Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. Rom. 6:3-5... Baptism by the Spirit must be distinguished from the filling with the Spirit: the baptism is never commanded; the filling is (Eph. 5:18). After Pentecost (cf. also Acts 8:14-17) the baptism is once and for all at conversion, while the filling needs to be repeated (Acts 2:4, 4:31). The baptism is positional; the filling is experiential. The baptism does not bestow power, but the filling does (Acts 4:31). Confusion arises because on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4) the baptism of the Spirit (Christ s ascension gift) and the filling with the Spirit happened almost simultaneously. B. No Member Unnecessary (12:15-17) If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I don t belong to the body, in spite of this it still belongs to the body. 1. Our Sense of Worth Should Come from God s Word, Not from Our Feelings 11 / 17
Just because the foot doesn t feel as important as a hand, doesn t make the foot any less important to the Body. Our feelings should not be the final arbitrators of our worth! The Bible says we are children of the King, heirs and joint-heirs with Christ! (Romans 8:17) Fact is fueled by faith which is sometimes followed by feelings. 2. Our Sense of Usefulness Should come from God s Power, Not from Our Resources Our emphasis too often is upon what we can do rather than whose we are! The Holy Spirit gifted us and empowered us to do exactly what He wants us to do. (I Cor. 10:31) 3. Our Sense of Belonging Should Come from God s People, Not from Our Circumstances As a Believer, we belong in the Body. There are no second-class citizens in God s Kingdom. Just because we may not be as visible or as vocal as another member does not mean that we are not just as vitally connected. C. Each Member Placed by God (12:18-20) But now God has placed each one of the parts in one body just as He wanted. (18) 1. Every Christian receives at least one spiritual gift at conversion; God equips you for service in some area. (I Corinthians 12:7,11; I Peter 4:10) As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another. 2. A spiritual gift is a divinely empowered ability in a specific area to accomplish more than would be humanly possible. (Romans 12:6-8) God decides who gets what. 3. All spiritual gifts are given for the purpose of building up God s Kingdom. (Ephesians 4:11-12; I Timothy 3:1) Ministry should not be limited to your gift(s). For example, all Christians are commanded to: 12 / 17
Evangelize - Mark 16:15 3:23-24 Serve - Galatians 5:13; Col Prophesy (forthtelling not foretelling)- I Cor.14:1 Shepherd - Romans 15:1 Exhort - Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:25 3:12 Show Mercy - Luke 10:37; Col. Administrate - I Tim. 3:4; Proverbs 16:32, 17:2 Teach - Colossians 3:16 Give - II Corinthians 9:7 VI. Intentional (part 2) So the eye cannot say to the hand, I don t need you! Or again, the head can t say to the feet, I don t need you! 22 But even more, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those parts of the body that we think to be less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unpresentable parts have a better presentation. 24 But our presentable parts have no need of clothing. Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, 25 so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. 26 So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. (21-26) 13 / 17
A. Spiritual Gift Abuses Larry Gilbert (Team Training) suggests six abuses of the doctrine of spiritual gifts that can be generally suggested by this chapter: 1. Gift Ignorance - perhaps the most widespread abuse among Christians: ignoring the fact that they are gifted. (12:1) 2. Gift Blindness - this is not so much ignoring the doctrine as to being blind to God s desire for them to use the gift(s) (12:7-11) 3. Gift Gravitation - the desire to be like someone else (12:12-17) 4. Gift Imposing - suggesting that everyone should have your gift or suggesting that a Believer is not needed because they don t have a particular gift. (18-24) 5. Gift Colonization - forming parties in the church around particular gifts. (25) B. Spiritual Gift Benefits 1. Interdependence (21) Because no one possesses even a majority of the gifts, we need each other. 2. Humility (22-26) HCSB, p. 1979, 12:23-26 We clothe unpresentable parts (private areas) of the human body, which we regard as less honorable, thus according them greater honor 14 / 17
. Similarly, God has arranged the body of Christ in such a way that the less honorable members are accorded greater honor. Humility is a pinnacle value in the kingdom of God (Mt 18:3). VII. Spiritual Offices (12:27-31) A. Body Life Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it. (27) H CSB, p. 1979: 12:27 Individual members (Gk ek merous ; part by part ) becomes key in chapter 13 (cp. Ek merous, translated in part at 13:9; partial at 13:10; in part at 13:12). It occurs nowhere else in the NT. B. Body Functions And God has placed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, next miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, managing, various kinds of languages. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all do miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in other languages? Do all interpret? (28-30) HCSB, p. 1979: 12:28 Church here refers not just to the local body of believers at Corinth but to the universal church, composed of all believers everywhere and from every age. God has placed emphasizes that no one can justly appoint themselves to positions within the body. The appointments are God s prerogative alone. 15 / 17
First second third gives us a glimpse at the priority of roles during the early church era. All members are equal, but no church would ever have been founded apart from the Lord s appointed apostles. C. Body Priority And I will show You an even better way. (31) In the context of spiritual gifts, Paul emphasized the priority of love. Application 1. Spiritual gifts should be based on clearly presented truth. 2. Spiritual gifts should promote unity. 3. Spiritual gifts should edify the Body and magnify God. Leader Pack: Item 3: Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:20; Item 8: Handout: Paul s List of Spiritual Gifts ; No Illustrator Article Notes: **You may access David s Lesson Preview in MP3 format at: www.hfbcbiblestudy.or g ; Dates: 4/15 LBS Spring Luncheon; 4/20 KSBJ Passion Worship event; 4/21 Blended & Blessed Conference; 4/21 First HOPE and ISM Counseling; 4/26-28 16 / 17
Spring Weekend of Choir; 5/1 All Staff @ Sienna; 5/4 MYA Block Party; 5/5 Men:Serve; 5/12 IMPACT Crawfish Boil @ Hunt; 5/12 - SoFA Recitals; 5/12 CBS Graduation; 5/13 Mother s Day event SPF; 5/17 VBS Director/Teacher training; 5/18-20 Summit Spring Retreat; 5/20 - Parent Commitment; 5/20 First Grade Bible Presentation; 5/23 HCHS Graduation Rehearsal; 5/24 FBA 8 th Grade Graduation; 5/25 HCHS Graduation; 5/28 Memorial Day offices closed; 6/1 - Family Night @ Typhoon Texas; 6/8-9 Life of a Single Mom Conf; 6/10 Timothy Ateek. 17 / 17