Tongues Pt. 2 Dr. Mike Fogerson August 8th 2012
A Several weeks ago you learned there is a doctrine of “baptisms.” (Heb. 6.2)
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Heb 6:2 (KJV)
1 There at least three baptisms: position, pictorial, power.
a Position: Conversion, relational, transference.
b Pictorial: Water baptism, identifying with Him in His death, burial, resurrection.
c Power: The Holy Spirit is released to perform ministry, power, gifts, supernatural infilling.
2 Most Christians have the first two but they lack the “Power.”
a If they operated in the power baptism we’d have different church, Christians.
b Without the in filling of the Holy Spirit we operate with the flesh, mind.
B Just as important as understanding the doctrine of baptisms is the understanding of the gift and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (Much confusion, misunderstanding, caused division)
1 The gift of the Spirit to the church was given after the ascension and glorification of our Savior. 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:39 (NASB)
a The Holy Spirit had been the world (as we discovered last Wednesday) but when Jesus returned to heaven, the Holy Spirit began to move in a new & special way.
aa He came to live in the hearts of His people, Temple of the Holy Spirit.
bb 16 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper , that He may be with you forever;17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17 (NASB)
26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. John 14:26 (NASB)
cc He came to make a permanent dwelling place within us.
b Acts 2.38, The sinner is commanded to repent and then the Holy Spirit would be given to the repentant soul.
aa 38 Peter said to them, " Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 (NASB) italics mine
bb The word “gift” is singular; Acts 10.45, we see that the “gift” is given to non-Jews also.
45 All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. Acts 10:45 (NASB)
c At the moment you are saved, the gift of the Holy Spirit is given to you. (Gift is not gifts)
aa You have enough of the Holy Spirit to be saved, eternal salvation, eternal security, transferred from the dominion of darkness into the Kingdom of light.
bb Acts 2.38; 1 Cor. 12.13, You are baptized by the Holy Spirit: immersed in the Spirit and He in you.
38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 (NASB)
13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 1 Cor 12:13 (NASB)
2 Once you are saved and have the indwelling Spirit, then you may be filled with the Holy Spirit.
a The filling of the Spirit is God’s controlling presence in our lives: He only fills what we yield to Him.
aa Like Elijah & Widow’s oil container.
bb Whatever they brought the oil container would fill up (5 gal., 55 gal., 55,000 barrel)
b Once we have the oil of the Holy Spirit we may only bring Him the smallest portions of our lives to fill . . . but we have access to so much more: We may have the Spirit and fail to be filled with the Spirit.
B Once you are saved, have the GIFT of the Holy Spirit (Salvation) you have received the Comforter, Helper, Intercessor to save us, sustain us, and strengthen us. (Salvific)
1 The gift is Salvation, brought to us through the blood of Christ through the Holy Spirit.
2 The Holy Spirit doesn’t just have one GIFT, He is the bestower of GIFTS to the believer (1 Cor. 12.4, 11; Romans 12.6.)
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 1 Cor 12:4 (NASB)
6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; Romans 12:6 (NASB)
a The Holy Spirit gives us endowments of power from God, called GIFTS, so we might fulfill the calling of God on our lives.
b To understand the importance of these spiritual gifts, we must first understand the church as a living organism and not a rigid organization.
3 Paul describes & compares the unity/diversity of the human body to how spiritual gifts are to work in the Church of Jesus Christ.
C We learn three important truths from the symbolism of the gifts in the body of Christ to various parts of the human body.
1 They are divine gifts.
a All of the gifts come from the same source, The Triune God.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 1 Cor 12:4-6 (NASB)
b The gifts are sovereignly bestowed.
11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. 1 Cor 12:11 (NASB)
aa He not only is the owner/bestower of the gifts, but He is the decider of who gets what gift.
bb 1 Cor. 12.18, supports this by declaring that God sets the members into the church as it pleases Him.
18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 1 Cor 12:18 (NASB)
c Spiritual gifts are not talents, abilities that you were born with (Those are natural gifts, Spiritual gifts are the supernatural gifts of God.)
2 They are different gifts.
a 1 Cor. 12.4-6 (NIV), the word different is used three times.
aa 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 1 Cor 12:4-6 (NIV)
bb Three very important categories of gifts are listed: motivational gifts, ministry gifts, and manifestation gifts.
b At a later time I’ll teach more on the categories but the important thing to understand now is that different gifts are given to different people.
aa Just as every member of your body has its unique place, position, and purpose so it is with the church.
bb When the church understands that we are not all alike, and in that diversity we actually are best able to function as the body of Christ?
cc God has made/gifted us differently.
c Many quit the church because they can’t respond to the differences of others: everybody should be just like them.
3 They are dependent gifts.
a Christ’s body is unified but not uniform.
aa God has designed the human body that each member is necessary for it to function properly and each member is only valuable as long as it is attached to the body.
bb 1 Cor. 12.25-26, describes the dependence we ought to have on/care we are to show for each other.
25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored , all the members rejoice with it. 1 Cor 12:25-26 (NASB)
b IL. My stomach sends a message to my brain that I’m hungry.
aa My feet take me to the place my eyes & nose tell me there is food.
bb My hand grasps the fork & knife to cut the steak & lifts it not my ears, nose, but the convenient opening in the middle of my face called the mouth.
cc There enamel grinders (teeth) chew it up so I don’t choke to death.
dd Next, glands provide liquid so it can be conveyed safely to the stomach where the bloodstream will carry its nutrients to the rest of my body.
ee These body parts, members of my body, work in concert with one another (depending & caring) for one another.
c So it should be in the church.
aa We are the body of Christ, and He is our head.
bb We must move as He directs us: We are not to be divided but be together.
D Dangers Associated with the Gifts.
1 The neglect of spiritual gifts.
a God has given Spiritual gifts because He wants His church to grow.
b I believe the reason why the Western church has declined, anemic, impotent, and powerless is because very few churches operate on the basis of God’s gifting.
2 The fear of spiritual gifts.
a Especially the manifested gifts such as tongues, healing, and miracles.
b The fear is rooted in control: We don’t things to get out of our control.
aa Certainly, excesses can be dealt with in love, but the church must not fear the grace gifts of the Holy Spirit.
bb The answer for misuse is not disuse.
3 The clustering of like gifts.
a Many churches have incomplete ministries because they have attracted those with like gifts.
aa A pastor who is uniquely gifted in teaching will attract others with the teaching gift.
bb End up with a group of well-feed, well-studied teachers and other ministries go neglected.
cc What happens is that the ones who complain about not being “fed” may need to stop complaining & become teachers who need to be feeding others.
dd Babies need to be feed, mature Christians should be feeding themselves and feeding others.
b Churches suffer when they fail to embrace the gift of others.
4 The lack of balance in the body of Christ.
a Suppose my hand picked up a pencil & paper and wrote a note to my eye and wrote, “I’m cutting myself off. I am tired of you sitting up there in the head.”
aa It would mean the crippling of the body and the death of the hand.
bb The hand would die, the eye will continue on doing what it does, but the body is hurt/injured.
b There are some practical facts about the body of Christ that we learn from the physical body.
aa One part cannot function as the whole (1 Cor. 12.14).
14 For the body is not one member, but many. 1 Cor 12:14 (NASB)
bb The task of one cannot be give to another (1 Cor. 12.15-17).
15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 1 Cor 12:15-17 (NIV)
cc There are no self-made members (1 Cor. 12.18-20).
18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 1 Cor 12:18-20 (NIV)
dd All members are to be directed by the head & Christ is the head of the church.
Conclusion:
A A young man was cutting a piece of paneling where he worked and cut off three of his fingers.
1 As the ambulance arrived, they got the man stable and then asked, “Where are the fingers?”
a A man rushed back to the shop w/ a bowl of ice, and those fingers were rushed to the hospital along with the injured man.
b 19 hours of micro-surgery reattached those fingers.
aa Had the fingers been left in the sawdust of that shop, they would have been useless.
bb They were only good to the man if they were attached to his body.
2 That is why a Christian needs to be in a local body we call the church.
a He/she needs to be in his place exercising his gift to the glory of God.
b We all have our place to serve.
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Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
