Spiritual Gifts Series # 2
Introduction
1. Illus...One word to describe the Corinthian Church and it is not charismatic, as some might think because of its emphasis on the gifts of the Spirit, but rather problematic.
a. Some of their problems were such things as: divisiveness, disorder, abuse at the Lord’s Supper, factions, disrespect for apostolic authority, disregard for weaker brothers / or sisters, marital problems, law suit among believers, immorality, ... just to name a few.
2. The answer that Paul gives can also be described in one word and that is charisma ( cari,sma ), meaning a gift of divine grace or a spiritual endowment. The root word is charis ( ca,ris) meaning the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life.
3. In simple terms they needed the Holy Spirit to be reflected in the life of the church and not their carnal flesh.
Trans...Paul begins by telling the Corinthians that its okay to use your head when it comes to spiritual gifts. As a pastor once said: “Even a woodpecker knows enough to use its head.”
I. Remember What You Came Out of. (vss 1-3)
A. “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.”
1. Be understanding or discerning of what is going on within your very community of believers.
2. Don’t be slothful! Be watchful, be discerning, be understanding. Use your heads.
B. Remember when you were pagans?
1. Do you remember the Hellenistic culture from which you came out of and how they practiced many religions, and worshipped many dumb idols (false gods)? My own paraphrase!
2. How easily you were led astray!
3. Some of those practices included estatic experiences, sensual pleasures, and what would seem to be the miraculous.
4. False experiences are not new on the scene.
5.The starting place of relativism is divorcing experience from any absolute truth. Putting more faith in the experience itself separate from God’s word.
6. Any experience must pass the test of sound doctrine based on God’s word.
7. Any spirit that does not produce holiness in our lives you don’t need it and the church certainly doesn’t.
8. Use your head! The Holy Spirit will make you holy.
9. Illus...Any person claiming to be a Christian and takes God’s name in vain isn’t connected with the Holy Spirit. Bad fruit is not produced by the True Vine.
10. Use your head and don’t be uninformed! The Holy Spirit will always work for the common good of the community of the saints.
Trans...Don’t be uninformed but realize there are a variety of gifts given for the common good.
II. Realize The Variety of God’s Gifts (vss 4-10)
A. There are varieties (KJV - diversities) of gifts
( carisma,twn) .
1. These are the spiritual endowments that places upon the heart and reflects outward into the Body of believers.
2. Paul lists them in vss 8-10. Word of wisdom; word of knowledge; faith; the gift of healing; the effecting of miracles; prophesy; discernment of spirits; the gift of languages and the ability to interpret languages.
B. There are varieties of ministries (diakoniw/n).
1. It could refer to an office or service opportunity.
2. Refer to Eph. 4:11
“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers....”
3. The reason for the different offices: “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;....”
C. There are varieties of effects ( evne,rghma energema {en-erg’-ay-mah}
1. The people who God has gifted with His grace working in God ordained offices within the Church will produce the effect of edification (building up) for the common good of the church.
Trans... Use your head, stay alert, don’t be uninformed and realize that it is one and the same Holy Spirit who (Vs 11) works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
III. Understand It Is One & The Same Spirit (Vs 11).
A. God has designed diversity for His church.
1. This passage of scripture tells me that God the Holy Spirit wants to be involved with us in the building up of His church.
2. That every Christian has been gifted by the Holy Spirit to operate in His plan and by His grace.
3. That He calls certain individuals to the legitimate offices within the church.
4. That if the people of God who are called together in an assembly will work within the economy of what God has designed, then he will not only work in and through us, but He will also be working on the other end producing an effect in the lives of those we are ministering too.
5. To fail at this juncture is to wind up working in the flesh and we will be no better off than what the Corinthians had.
Trans...But then, when we signed on for this cruise we said something to this effect, “not my will but Thine be done.”
Conclusion
1. Is it my gift, or His gift on loan? Is it my service or His? Is He the Head of the Church, or am I? Is it up to me to determine whether or not I will hold an office within the Church, or has He called me to it?
2. If things go badly do I take everything personally, or is there someOne with me to help?
3. If things go well do I remember that He is the One who equips, enables and empowers, or do I take the credit?
4. Remember Pauls words in Vs 11, “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”
5. And for what purpose? “...to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
