PROPHECY: A SUPERIOR GIFT
1 CORINTHIANS 14
1 Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. 2 For the person who speaks in a tongue is not speaking to people but to God, since no one understands him; he speaks mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the person who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement, and consolation. 4 The person who speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 I wish all of you spoke in tongues, but even more that you prophesied. The person who prophesies is greater than the person who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be built up.

• Two divisive spiritual gifts are compared to one another by Paul.
• Tongues allows a person to address God in an unknown language or linguistic configuration of syllables, but the speaker him/herself does not necessarily know what they are saying, and certainly others do not.
• Whereas prophecy, the proclamation of God’s Word in a message directly given by God to an individual, with or without advance preparation, speaks intelligibly to address a whole wide variety of possible human recipients.
• “Tongues edify [oneself],” build up one’s own assurance that God is with one and working in and through one and can bring a great sense of peace and encouragement and love on the part of God’s Spirit, especially in troubled times, especially when, as Rom 8 talks about it, we don’t even know with what words we should pray, and the Spirit prays for us.
• Whereas prophecy immediately edifies others, if the message is truly from God, to encourage, even perhaps to rebuke in a positive way, to communicate important information, to show God’s love and justice and all the other range of His revelatory activities.[1]

6 So now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you with a revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 Even lifeless instruments that produce sounds—whether flute or harp—if they don’t make a distinction in the notes, how will what is played on the flute or harp be recognized? 8 In fact, if the bugle makes an unclear sound, who will prepare for battle? 9 In the same way, unless you use your tongue for intelligible speech, how will what is spoken be known? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different kinds of languages in the world, none is without meaning. 11 Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker will be a foreigner to me. 12 So also you—since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to excel in building up the church.
13 Therefore the person who speaks in a tongue should pray that he can interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with my understanding. I will sing praise with the spirit, and I will also sing praise with my understanding.

• Pray and sing with their mind so that they are benefited with understanding as well as a good feeling.[2]

16 Otherwise, if you praise with the spirit, how will the outsider say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may very well be giving thanks, but the other person is not being built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; 19 yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

• This is the only time in Paul’s writings that he even hints at speaking in tongues personally.

20 Brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your thinking, but be infants in regard to evil and adult in your thinking.

• In your thinking, function as adults.
• With respect to evil or wickedness, be like children, innocent, at least of certain characteristic adult sins,
• But be fully mature in one’s understanding.[3]

21 It is written in the law,
I will speak to this people
by people of other tongues
and by the lips of foreigners,
and even then, they will not listen to me,,
says the Lord.

• Paul then goes on to quote Isa 28:11–12, which is a context in which foreigners and their unknown languages, the languages that the Israelites do not understand, are a sign of God’s judgment—in context, referring to the Assyrians from the north who are going to invade Israel.[4]

22 Speaking in tongues, then, is intended as a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers.

• This is totally backwards from what Paul was previously saying in verses 1-19.
• But in light of “judgment by God” which is in reference to the verse quoted out of Isaiah…
• Unbelievers won’t be able to speak in tongues.
• Believers will be able to understand prophecy.
• The Corinthians, as we’ve seen throughout this letter, had an unfortunately smug attitude toward numerous issues of Christian growth and maturity and behavior.
• And just as Isaiah had to catch Israel’s attention, so Paul uses the same text, the same principles, the same dynamic to try to shock the Corinthians into attending to these concerns.[5]

23 If, therefore, the whole church assembles together and all are speaking in tongues and people who are outsiders or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all are prophesying and some unbeliever or outsider comes in, he is convicted by all and is called to account by all. 25 The secrets of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is really among you.” [6]

• Here at Leavener, we have personally tried to remove all the obstacles that would keep nonbelievers from being turned off by religion.
• We meet in a pub.
• Not interested in putting on a show. (no smoke machines or countdown clocks and every minute planned, no pipe and drape)
• Dress casual.
• No hierarchy of leadership
• And no offering
• We don’t do this as a marketing ploy.
• We don’t do this to boast either.
• We just don’t see this as necessary.
• But what we will do every week, is teach from the Word of God for the sake of the believer.
• I’ve always believed that if this community can be real with who they are… and the struggles we have… that outsiders (nonbelievers) would be captivated by the difference we are to the rest of the world.
• The nonbelievers could show up here on a Sunday morning without marketing towards them hear the Good News that is being taught and lived out through this people who are perfect in Christ yet struggle through living in these flesh suits.

 

• Some pastor once defined love as this: “Love is the unconditional giving of the very best we have on behalf of another, regardless of response.”
• And each of those four key parts is crucial.
• We give ourselves unconditionally to others.
• That doesn’t mean we give ourselves to others approving of everything they do, but there is nothing they can do, there are no conditions that we put on our commitment to them.
• And we commit to them the very best we have.
• It’s other-centered and not self-centered; we’re not doing it for some hidden agenda of our own.
• And we continue that self-giving even when it is rejected, even if it’s thrown back in our face; it’s regardless of response.

 

• Using Our Gifts to Build Others Up
• In that spirit of love, how do we use our spiritual gifts?
• Do we go to church?
• Do we participate in Christian gatherings with the goal and the priority of using our gifts to encourage and build others up?
• Or do we go asking what we can get out of the situation?
• Our modern world that does so much church hopping and shopping suggests that way too many people are in it for what they can get out of it, first of all, rather than how they can find a place to best use their gifts.[7]
• Here is the real struggle for newbies to our community:
• You will not be entertained here and provided with a bunch of programming for you to get involved.
• Neither can you ask the question, “How can I get involved and used my spiritual gifts?”
• You might initially become a part of this community because you discovered us in the midst of a crisis.
• This group of people will definitely help people in crisis.
• But at the same time, there is an investment of your own spiritual gifts.
• Have you been checked on lately? I can’t answer that.
• How much checking on have you done of others?
• In this community, you are probably going to get out of it what you put into it… most of the time.
• There will be times when this community does not meet your expectations.
• One of the best areas of ministry with this group is the lack of expectations they have placed on me as the pastor.
• They have discovered they have the same Spirit in them that I have in me.
• They are able to visit, check on, do things for those in need just as well as I can.
• I’m not the only one in here that does weddings and funerals.
• The purpose of the spiritual gifts is to edify and build up the community known as the Church.
• A true Christian is not in it merely for the fire insurance, merely for whatever positive, touchy-feely experiences she or he can get from God, but seeks to identify their spiritual gifts, seeks to exercise them in love, and does so for the building up of the Christian church for the work of God in the world.[8]​

[1] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[3] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[5] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 14:1–25). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[8] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

-Today, in this room, we have many situations, many feelings and emotions and much truth.
- I pray that God will give you faith enough to hear His message for you today.
CHRISTMAS STORY
LUKE 2:1-20
1 At that time a decree was issued by Augustus Caesar: a census was to be taken of the whole world. 2(This was the first census, before the one when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3So everyone set off to be registered, each to their own town. 4Joseph too, who belonged to the house and family of David, went from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judaea, David’s city, 5to be registered with his fiancée Mary, who was pregnant.
6So that’s where they were when the time came for her to give birth; 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.

• Think about this… who is the only person in the whole world that absolutely knows that Mary was a virgin… Mary.
• Sounds like a great story… but come on…
• Mary was a teenager… was she questioning there was another way to become pregnant? Drinking the water… just time together… ha… even the power sin probably messed with Mary.
• But she knew! She knew Jesus was special.
• Mark 3:20-21 - Jesus entered a house, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him, because they said, “He’s out of his mind.”[1]

She wrapped him up and put him to rest in a feeding-trough, because there was no room for them in the normal living quarters.
8There were shepherds in that region, out in the open, keeping a night watch around their flock. 9An angel of the Lord stood in front of them. The glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10‘Don’t be afraid,’ the angel said to them.

• Fear: is projecting into the future something negative that has not occurred yet.
• Fear (the idea of fear) is a real thing.
• Fear is a feeling/emotion.
• Feelings and emotions aren’t always true.
• Think about past fears:
• Cold War – Nuclear Bombs – Bomb Shelters
• UFO’s & Aliens
• NASA’s Space Station crashing to earth
• Killer bees – Murder Hornets
• Y2K – Computers
• 911 – TSA Changes – More paperwork - Time
• Think about McDonald’s commercials in the past few years… Where is Ronald? Clowns – The great clown purge
• Drone Armies
• Phobias - A phobia is an irrational fear of something that’s unlikely to cause harm. The word itself comes from the Greek word phobos, which means fear or horror.
• Some phobias…
• Alektorophobia, fear of chickens
• Onomatophobia, fear of names
• Pogonophobia, fear of beards
• Nephophobia, fear of clouds
• Cryophobia, fear of ice or cold
• Octophobia, fear of the figure 8
• Ephebiphobia, fear of teenagers
• Panaphobia? Fear of pandemics
  
  
• There was no fear in creation
• Fear immediately occurred in Genesis 3
• It was never intended here on earth
• Bible verses about fear:
• Isaiah 41:10 – Do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.[2]+

• Matthew 14:25-27 -  Jesus came toward them walking on the sea very early in the morning. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and they cried out in fear.
• Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”[3]
• Mark 5:36 – When Jesus overheard what was said, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.”[4]
• Luke 12:6-7 - Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. 7 Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. [5]
• John 14:27-29 - “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful. 28 You have heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens so that when it does happen you may believe.[6]
• Romans 8:37-39 – No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.[7]
• Fear is not going away
• How do you deal with fear?
• If fear is not going away, how do you deal with it?
• This is the real Christmas gift.

‘Look: I’ve got good news for you, news which will make everybody very happy. 11Today a saviour has been born for you—the Messiah, the Lord!—in David’s town. 12This will be the sign for you: you’ll find the baby wrapped up, and lying in a feeding-trough.’
13Suddenly, with the angel, there was a crowd of the heavenly armies. They were praising God, saying,
14‘Glory to God in the highest,
and peace upon earth among those in his favour.’
15So when the angels had gone away again into heaven, the shepherds said to each other, ‘Well then; let’s go to Bethlehem and see what it’s all about, all this that the Lord has told us.’
16So they hurried off, and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the feeding-trough. 17When they saw it, they told them what had been said to them about this child. 18And all the people who heard it were amazed at the things the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured all these things and mused over them in her heart.
20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them.[8]

• 17When they saw it, they told them what had been said to them about this child.
• Think about the transition of emotions at this point.
• The angel said “do not fear” – yah… right
• The whole journey there was full of fear and doubt.
• But that moment… the shepherds laid on eyes on baby Jesus, the Savior of the World… all fear was gone.
• Their emotions immediately changed from fear to complete joy.
• How do you deal with fear… if it is not going away?
• Fear is met head on in the head.
• Set your feelings to the side and trust what you know.
• Let your knowledge impact your feelings.
• Don’t let your feelings impact your knowledge.
• Knowing > Feelings
• Think about it this week… I am not asking you to dismiss your feelings… because you can’t.
• But think about it this week when you catch yourself saying, “I feel like…”
• Can you actually say, “I know…”

 
Believe

• We teach our kids from an early age to believe in a man that can fly through the sky with 8 tiny reindeer and packages enough for all the kids in the world.
• Then this man makes it to every home all over the world in one night, shimming down chimneys and eating cookies and milk at every stop.

 

• What if we teach them to believe in a man who came to save the whole world but he was born outside in a feeding trough.
• This same man walked on water, healed the sick, turned water into wine and raised people from the dead.
• This same man became a sacrifice for all of our sins so that we might have an abundant life in world of chaos.
• The same man who died and rose again so the Spirit could come here and reside within our mortal bodies.

 
 Residence

• On Facebook, I share about this building… how it has basically been given to us for the last 12.5 years.
• God provided a place for us to gather… free of charge.
• That night in Bethlehem, God provided a feeding trough for the Savior of the World to be born… His very own Son… assuming it was free of charge.
• Today, God has provided a place for His Spirit to dwell. It didn’t cost you a dime… but it cost Him His only Son.
• You my friend, have become the dwelling place for the Spirit of God here on earth.
• There is no greater gift this Christmas.

 

• Today we celebrate Christmas and Easter as we do every day.

 
Lord’s Supper
Jesus said something like this, “When you gather… remember what I did for you.”

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mk 3:20–21). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Is 41:10). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 14:24–27). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mk 5:36). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Lk 12:5–7). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Jn 14:27–29). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 8:37–39). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Lk 2:1–20). London: SPCK.

• The main evidence of maturity in the Christian life is a growing love for God and for God’s people, as well as a love for lost souls.
• Few chapters in the Bible have suffered more misinterpretation and misapplication than 1 Corinthians 13.
• Divorced from its context, it becomes “a hymn to love” or a sentimental sermon on Christian brotherhood.
• Many people fail to see that Paul was still dealing with the Corinthians’ problems when he wrote these words: the abuse of the gift of tongues, division in the church, envy of others’ gifts, selfishness (remember the lawsuits?), impatience with one another in the public meetings, and behavior that was disgracing the Lord.[1]

Review:

• 1 Corinthians 12:31 - But desire the greater gifts. And I will show you an even better way.[2]
  
  

LOVE: THE SUPERIOR WAY
1 CORINTHIANS 13
1 If I speak human or angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

• In reference to the spiritual gift of tongues mentioned in Chapter 12.
• Tongues apart from love is just a lot of noise!
• It is love that enriches the gift and that gives it value.
• Ministry without love cheapens both the minister and those who are touched by it; but ministry with love enriches the whole church.[3]

2 If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.

• The gifts of prophecy, knowledge and faith

3 And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give over my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

• The gift of giving.
• Without love… these 5 gifts are worthless.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:9 - About brotherly love: You don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.[4]
• 1 John 4:19 - We love because he first loved us.[5]
• John 13:34-35 - “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”[6]
• Romans 5:5 - This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.[7]
• Ephesians 4:15 - But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ.[8]
• Truth does not equal our opinion.
• Opinions can be based on a combination of things… Truth, misinformation, experience, feelings, the processing of thoughts in our head.
• I don’t always have to express my opinions… especially if it is not loving.
• Then you have to ask yourself the question, “I might think this is loving, but will it be received as a loving expression?”
• I don’t always have to share my opinion.
• But at the same time, I might be led by the Spirit to speak Truth (in love) which still hurts when it clashes with others “opinions.”
• The intent of Paul is to remind the Church that the Spiritual Gifts should be wrapped in love for the “enriching” of the Church body.
  ​
  
• In the next 4 verses Paul emphasizes the purpose of love in the Church body is to “edify”.
• 1 Corinthians 8:1 - We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.[9]

4 Love is patient, love is kind.

• Corinthians were impatient and rude with each other.
• 1 Corinthians 14:29-33 - Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate. 30 But if something has been revealed to another person sitting there, the first prophet should be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may learn and everyone may be encouraged. 32 And the prophets’ spirits are subject to the prophets, 33 since God is not a God of disorder but of peace.[10]

Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs.

• Knowledge is not puffed up.
• Let the “love feast” be based upon love… not eating.
• 1 Corinthians 4:6 - Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying: “Nothing beyond what is written.” The purpose is that none of you will be arrogant, favoring one person over another.[11]
• Romans 12:10-18 - Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another. 11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit;, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. 13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.[12]
• Compare verses 4-7 with Galatians 5:22-23
• Galatians 5:22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.[13]

6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

• This means we must not think of ourselves, but of others; and this demands love.[14]

8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end.

• The gifts of the Church are necessary for the enrichment and edifying of the Church.
• But some day they will become less important until they are no longer needed.
• But “love” will always “endure”.

11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things.

• Christmas gifts… As a child, you make your Christmas list. As an adult, you end up saying, “I don’t really need anything.”

12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known.

• In those days, it was a polished piece of silver or bronze that they looked at their reflection.
• Face to face… so much clearer.

13 Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.[15]

• The extent to which faith refers to “the conviction of things unseen,” as Heb 11:1 puts it so powerfully.
• Hope refers to that which one believes is going to happen but does not have the conclusive evidence to demonstrate that it will, in the eternal state the evidence will be conclusive.
• But love, in all of its interpersonal, self-giving nature, will continue throughout all eternity.[16]

 
12:31 - But now I want to lay out a far better way for you.
The Way of Love
1 CORINTHIANS 13 (The Message)
1       If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.
2       If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.
3–7     If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
        Love never gives up.
        Love cares more for others than for self.
        Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
        Love doesn’t strut,
        Doesn’t have a swelled head,
        Doesn’t force itself on others,
        Isn’t always “me first,”
        Doesn’t fly off the handle,
        Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
        Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
        Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
        Puts up with anything,
        Trusts God always,
        Always looks for the best,
        Never looks back,
        But keeps going to the end.
8–10    Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.
11      When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.
12      We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
13      But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.[17]

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 610). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 12:31). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 610). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Th 4:9). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Jn 4:19). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Jn 13:34–35). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 5:5). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Eph 4:15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 8:1). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 14:29–33). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 4:6). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[12] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 12:10–18). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[13] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ga 5:22–23). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[14] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 611). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[15] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 13:1–13). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[16] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[17] Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (1 Co 12:31–13:13). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.

I inadvertently used the New Living Translation on this message. I normally use the Christian Standard Bible.

​Review:

• We started Chapter 11 two weeks ago with Matt Tully talking about covering your head and submission.
• I talked about the practice of the Lord’s Supper in relation to the Church.
• It is this section that Paul is referring to practices of public worship… when they come together.
• There was obvious division in the Church.
  
  

SPIRITUAL GIFTS
1 CORINTHIANS 12
1 Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. 2 You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. 3 So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.

• Special abilities – gifts
• Paul describes here the difference between believers and non-believers.
• Believers won’t curse Jesus
• Non-believers won’t say “Jesus is Lord”
• Paul wants to make clear at the outset that simply because something appears to be a manifestation of the Spirit of Christ, of the Spirit of the living God, it may not necessarily be so.
• One has to observe it, one has to test and evaluate it, and then make an assessment.
• it is an important foundational reminder that one’s fundamental allegiance must be seen and known to be of Jesus.[1]

4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

• Paul can three times say, there are diverse gifts, but one Lord, one God, one Spirit.[2]

7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

• The gifts given by God were intended to benefit the Church as a whole and as individuals.
• They are gifts given by God and directed by God.
• Spiritual gifts are for the common good of the Church.
• The gifts are given for the good of the whole church.
• They are not for individual enjoyment, but for corporate employment.[3]

8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.

• Wisdom and knowledge are two different things.
• Knowledge is book or experience smart.
• Wisdom comes from God and is used for applying knowledge to life.

9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another,

• Two types of faith:
• 1) Faith to say, “I need you God” – salvation.
• This faith comes from you.
• 2) Faith that comes from God to believe in Him beyond what the normal person believes.
• This is where trust for the unknown or unseen comes into play.
• This faith comes from God.

and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles,

• An interesting difference of these two gifts from the rest of the list is it they are not the kind of thing that people necessarily have as ongoing abilities or responsibilities but require the Spirit’s choice to work in a particular moment in a way that He doesn’t necessarily in every single instance.[4]
• Do I believe in the gift of healing and miracles today?
• You better believe I do.
• I’ve seen it… I’ve seen massive tumors disappear yet the hole where the tumor was… still was there.
• I’ve seen many marriages that had divorce papers written completely healed.
• I’ve seen people who were told they were never going to walk again… walk.
• People who were told they were going to die… live far beyond predictions or expectations.
• I’ve seen emotional wounds and scars disappear.
• I am praying for an absolute miracle of healing for my friend Randy in Tulsa right now.
• I believe.

and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit.

• Speaking a word that came from God however long a person may have meditated on it or prepared how to say it, or however spontaneous it may have been given, and the gifts of discerning, prophecy determining its origin:
• Is this from the Lord, is this of human manufacture, or something worse?[5]

Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.

• It is the most problematic gift at Corinth, and so he perhaps deliberately waits and puts it at the end.
• “Tongues,” a Greek word that again has a very broad semantic range and can mean everything from the literal part of one’s anatomy fit in one’s mouth to any human utterance in some linguistic configuration, known, unknown, or a collection of syllables that God uses to provide meaning to someone in a particular context.[6]
• I grew up in the charismatic capital of the world, Tulsa, OK.
• It is still problematic and Paul will talk about this issue later.

11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

• No spiritual gift was ever intended to be the gift of every single Christian.
• And any Christian context that claims believers have to have a certain one or a certain combination of the gifts, either to be saved or even simply to reflect a certain level of Christian maturity, is contradicting what Paul says here in 1 Corinthians 12.[7]
  ​

ONE BODY WITH MANY PARTS
12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

• In this very room, we could be divided many ways.
• Fishers, Carmel, Indianapolis, Westfield, etc.
• Children, teens, adults, senior adults
• Wealthy, median or poor
• Hoosier born or transplants
• Employed or unemployed
• Former Catholic, former Baptist, etc
• Men or women, republican or democrat, conservative or liberal, etc.
• So many ways to divide
• But Paul is saying we have one unifying factor… Jesus.
• We have been baptized into one body…
• Baptism being our identifier of what we believe… Jesus.
• The baptism of the Spirit occurs at conversion when the Spirit enters the believing sinner, gives him new life, and makes his body the temple of God.
• All believers have experienced this once-for-all baptism.
• Nowhere does the Scripture command us to seek this baptism, because we have already experienced it and it need not be repeated.[8]
• You can fight for unity and make that your stance.
• Or you can keep your eyes on Jesus and unity will be a byproduct.

14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part!

• Paul was hardly the first in the history of the world to liken a community of people to the members of a body.
• In the Roman world, armies were often thought to be like a body, every individual soldier needing to work together under the various commanding officers themselves, under the top military general, and yet each having a distinctive role to play.[9]
• But think about the diversity in this room.
• The capabilities in this room.
• What if we all did the same thing?
• What if we were all alike?
• But that is not the way it works.
• We seek each other for wisdom.
• We lean on each other in times of need.
• We share what is ours with one another.

20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

• POS – Power of sin
• POS begins to work here… one person is more important than the other.
• It is easy for me to get recognition over my wife.
• Michelle does just as much for this body as I do, if not more.
• During pandemic, she has been less present on Sundays… it hasn’t changed her importance to the body.
• Luke is a loud personality and everyone knows Luke. He is role-model in this community.
• Matt and Keith teach often from this stage. They are recognized as leaders.
• My set up crew… faithful every week and you don’t even know who they are.
• Wanda Pontius, one of the most important people to our body and she has been home since the quarantine.
• I don’t even know the whole chair pusher group after the service.
• I don’t know half the stuff that happens on a weekly occasion.

27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 28 Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:
first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.
29 Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? 30 Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! 31 So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.

• Rhetorical questions
• He wants the recipients of the letter to think… to process.
• The roles inside the body are important.
• We are not going to know everything that happens.
• But each of you are important to this body.
• How so? Don’t ask me… ask the Spirit.
• I’m not going to do any spiritual gifts tests or try to assign you to ministry opportunity.
• Just go do what the Spirit leads you to do.
• If you tell me about a great idea you have for this ministry… I’m going to tell you… “Sounds like the Spirit is leading you…”

But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all. [10]

• Did you see the IU win over Wisconsin yesterday?
• Did you see the after game interview on the field with Coach Tom Allen?
• Go look at that video
• https://twitter.com/i/status/1335375688313004041
• This is what Paul is about to jump into next week.

LEO

[1] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 608). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[5] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[6] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[7] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[8] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 608–609). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[9] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[10] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (1 Co 12). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.