Spiritual Gifts- The Source Series

It's primarily those kind of people that I want to guard our church family against.

If any type of manifestation of the Holy Spirit occurs in our church I want it to be just that - the Holy Spirit because then Jesus and the Father are glorified in the midst of it.

In everything in our lives and in our church- the Glory of God has to be our primary aim and focus.

And that brings us to our last point for this morning-

How do we know if what is being manifested, spoken, or done in God’s name is actually God?

In fact, it's one of the objections of those who are cessationist is that people who practice voodoo or some primitive religions can speak in tongues and therefore if a Christian speaks in tongues we must be manifesting the same type of evil spirit.

Fortunately, Paul addresses this right off the bat and gives us a criteria to use. You may have wondered why I didn’t address these verses earlier- but it was because I wanted this point to be the last one we talk about-

Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

Isn't it interesting that the Bible, written thousands of years ago, can speak to an objection being leveled today?

Let's break down what the Bible is saying here-

It's overly simplistic to use this as a litmus test to see if what is being manifested is from God or from Satan. What I mean is a demon is not under any obligation to tell you the truth. Even if you asked a person under the influence of a demon if Jesus is Lord they will respond yes and they would be telling the truth.

Really what Paul is trying to explain to us here is where the person manifesting the gift or power pointing you toward.

If he or she is pointing you toward them or their (quote) gifts, they are in essence cursing Jesus in trying to set themselves above HIM as your functional savior.

A functional savior is someone that is substituted for the real one, and performs a certain role that brings you a sense of peace or safety.

A person who is truly manifesting God’s gifts according to God’s nature and God’s will, then they will always point you back to God in your praise.

That is how you discern true spirituality and use of the spiritual gifts.

And that leads us to the conclusion of today’s message, and gives us a preview of next week-

1 Cor 12:7

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

Whatever talent, gifting, or ability that God gives you is meant to be used for the good of others, particularly within the church.

Here is a personal example-

For a long time, I wondered why I had such a high level of resiliency. If you don’t recognize the term, resiliency is the psychological ability to witness or experience trauma and still be able to function at a high level.