Revering the Word
1 Cor. 12 Are all believers anointed in the Holy Spirit supposed to speak in tongues?
Good morning, everyone. This morning, we are in 1 Corinthians 12. Recall where we are in Corinthians in the sense that the Apostle Paul spent a year and a half in this city. It was a very pagan city in which a church was planted and they had to live seeking to be the church of God in the midst of a corrupt city that had a temple to Aphrodite and Aphrodides, and a lot of sexual immorality in the city. In addition to the city, though, the church had its share of complications as well. They had a hard time. It very much appears to maintain a solid Christian witness and Paul had to challenge them in many areas of weakness in regards to sexual immorality, in regards to division in the church. But they also seem to want to plow ahead this church in moving forward in exercising the fullness of spiritual gifts. And you'd have to say, and I think what Paul is saying is, hey, that is really great, that you want to experience the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit. But yet, what would you say if this was an individual, if it was an immature believer who was struggling in their own sinfulness and yet wanted to advance and move forward in spiritual gifts, you'd have to say, hey, you're glad that they want to have the Spirit working in them. But I think you'd have to caution them to not go beyond really where they're even adding their faith and to be reasonable in their effort to exude the gifts of God, because they're still working out their own Christian steadfastness. And that's what we have here. We have a lot of teaching in the next three chapters. They really go together well, 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14. They're, I think, important to take in as much as you can together. So, you know, make sure you listen to all three of these podcasts on 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 and 14. But here we are. Let's go ahead and take it in now. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, so he's clearly talking about, I mean, this is what they were, but yet there are struggle to in their pagan society. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray by mute idols. However, however you were led. Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says Jesus is a cursed. And no one can say, Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. And I think in a general principle, what Paul is meaning there is, when you're listening to a preacher preach, you want to make sure that they have Jesus as their Lord, that you're confident that the one you're listening to is surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in their own life, because you're much better off than that they, the preacher, is going to be preaching from God when they themselves have submitted to Jesus as their Lord. All right, now into spiritual gifts. Now there are our varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. Now gifts are talents, gifts, things that God gives a believer that enables them to serve God in their own special and unique way. And God gives a variety of different gifts, but they all come from the same spirit. So the different ways that we are made in the way that we are gifted as people, and we'll go over some of those gifts today, is different, but it's the same God who gives each of the gifts. All right, and there are a variety of ministries and the same Lord. There are a variety of ways that we serve God, the way that we minister to God and to others. We do it differently and we do it not that it's not collective or working together in the body of Christ, but we all have a different skill set and gift to bring to ministry, to bring to others, to bring to the church, but it all comes from the one Lord Jesus Christ. There are a variety of effects, effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. So the way that the gifts of God appear in us and the things that they accomplish, all come from God and all of them come from God. And all of them are from God, yet all of them we exercise and it's not as though it came on our own. God gave it to us. That's what he's saying here. Verse seven, "But to each one is given the manifestation or appearance of the spirit for the common good." So these gifts and talents and skills that we've been given that we tend to naturally be good at because of the giftedness of God in us come from the spirit and it's for something profitable. It's for something beneficial to others, for beneficial to the church of God. It's for the common good of everyone. That's why he's giving us these special gifts, each one of us. Now, verse eight, "For to one is given the word of wisdom through the spirit and some people just seem to have extra wisdom from God, hallelujah, and that's from the spirit of God." And to another word of knowledge, some people really are able to gain greater understanding and have greater knowledge and even have a desire to increase in knowledge and sometimes seem to have knowledge that God is just gifting them with and it's according to the same spirit. So both the one who has wisdom and the one who has knowledge, it came from the same spirit. To another faith, some people just naturally believe. They're just filled with faith and they trust God and they believe God's going to help them not only in this life but in the life to come and they're gifted to have that faith. It comes easy for them by the same spirit and it comes from the same spirit and to another gifts of healing. So now this is talking about the fact that God heals and even though someone may have a gift and maybe even a confidence in God that he's going to heal, it's still God healing by the way. It's not the person healing, it's God healing but some people have a more natural inclination and giftedness to want to pray for people for healing and they believe that God can and does heal and perhaps even as a result of that they experience in their lives seeing God work in healing and other people but it's still from the same spirit. The same spirit who gave the one knowledge and faith and wisdom to one they have more of a gifted inclination in that area and to another the affecting of miracles. That's interesting. Someone who may trust in miracles, believe in miracles, pray for miracles and to another prophecy. Now that's an interesting word and prophecy can be foretelling meaning God gives you the knowledge of something that advanced before it happens but it also can be if you look up the word foretelling. In fact I'm going to pull that up real quick and let's take a look at it in so I want this is an important thing because sometimes we think of prophecy and we think of it as something that is only in the past in the Old Testament prophets so I want to give you a really good definition. I'm just going to read this from Blue Letter Bible. This is the word numbers g4394 and it's the word for profit or prophecy and here it says this. A discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God. So in this case look at it's not necessarily always foretelling the future but just declaring the purpose of God whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked or comforting the afflicted or revealing things hidden or by foretelling future events. So as you can see in that initial definition foretelling future events is one aspect of it but it could be reproving admonishing declaring the purposes of God. In some ways preaching is foretelling especially when it's inspired by the Holy Spirit. It's not always it's foretelling the things of God not necessarily predicting the future of God. It can mean that but it doesn't have to mean that. It's used in the New Testament of the utterance of Old Testament prophets. So sometimes we are talking about Old Testament prophets when we say prophecy but in the New Testament it can mean reproving, admonishing, comforting, revealing things hidden declaring the purposes of God. It does also mean Old Testament prophets who God gave divine inspiration to have an understanding of what would happen in the future that they put put down in writing. So that's all included in the word prophecy. So how you define it I think impacts how you understand what it means today if you think it's just something of the past or if it's something that can be used today the broader definition makes us helps us to understand that Paul was also talking about the gift of prophecy that's used today that isn't as much about foretelling the future. All right moving on and to another the distinguishing of spirits. So some people through the giftedness of God are going to be able to ascertain more easily what's of God what's evil maybe be able to discern better that there it could be an evil spirit present or amidst a person and just recognize that. And then it says this to another various kinds of tongues and this is talking about I believe and we'll see this as we go through 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 14 that tongue could be sometimes as it was in the book of Acts in the very beginning in Acts chapter 2 someone speaking a language that they didn't even know so they're speaking someone else's language in order that that person could hear the gospel and that's how it came about in the beginning in the book of Acts but all Paul also talks about a private prayer language that is about praying to God and it's not for outward manifestation it's not for outward thing in the church it's not really even for speaking and allowed in front of other people it's simply a means of praying to God and we'll see that as we move forward. Finally the interpretation of tongues someone's given that and if there was a tongue that was given that was like a language sometimes someone then if that were to be spoken out loud it's supposed to be interpreted otherwise the person who has the tongue to speak is supposed to be silent and one of the reasons Paul is going to bring all this stuff up is because you know the Corinthians with the problems they had they had problems of being out of whack in the gifts of God as well and Paul needed to correct them and hone in what they were doing because they were not doing things with good sound reason. All right verse uh verse 11 this is a very important verse in discussion of spiritual gifts but one in the same spirit works all these things distributing to each one individually just as he wills. That is a very important verse um a lot of people that are a part of say Pentecostal or Charismatic churches will take the book of Acts and say oh well when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you're anointed in the Holy Spirit that means you're going to speak in tongues and they'll take some passages from the book of Acts and they will misinterpret 1 Corinthians chapter 12 where it says God gives all things to all people and they will say that that means that God's going to give you every and all gift or that every believer who's anointed in the Holy Spirit is going to speak in tongues but when you look at 1 Corinthians 12 in its entirety you will see that that's definitely not the case in particular with this verse here it says but one in the same spirit works all these things distributing to each one individually just as he will. So the gifts of God are going to be given by God to people in a manner that he sees fit because he gives gifts individually as he wills that's really important so you'll have the gifts that God wants to give you. Now I would say that there I would say this that in the next two chapters and in particular chapter 14 Paul's going to say that we should eagerly desire spiritual gifts and I think sometimes due to lack of awareness lack of eagerness lack of exposure sometimes some of the more spiritual gifts like trusting in praying to God for healing or trusting in God to do a miracle or trusting God to speak forth through you that kind of prophecy I was talking about earlier or maybe it's speaking in tongues maybe it's having a private prayer language that people because they're not exposed and aren't eagerly desiring these gifts they may not experience them because of awareness and you can see that in the book of Acts sometimes people were believing in Jesus and he's like hey have you heard the Holy Spirit they're like no we don't really even understand about the Holy Spirit and then the apostle Paul would tell them about it and lay his hands on them and pray for them and then they would receive the Holy Spirit and some did in the book of Acts speak in tongues surely they did but not everyone who had the Holy Spirit spoke in tongues even in the book of Acts so it's not a gift that everyone's going to get and sometimes we make so much of tongues because it can be not as much today but it can be a controversial topic but it's really something that's on the back of the bus it's one of the least important gifts in the list of gifts we'll see that as we go through this chapter but nonetheless I think we should be open to whatever God wants to give us and again we keep listening to 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and 14 as we get into those chapters all right verse 12 for even as the body is one and yet has many members and all the members of the body though they are many are one body so also is Christ for by one spirit we were all baptized into one body whether Jews or Greeks slaves are free and we were all made to drink of one spirit so it's the same spirit in all of us and we all make up parts of the body in that I think it's really special when you look at it in this way you know there's some people that are really gifted at because not all the gifts are listed in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 you have to go to other parts of the Bible to see other gifts like the gift of serving and some people are just really good at serving the gift of encouragement some people are always good at having a word of encouragement the gift of I think it's a gift when some people work with their hands and they're just so good at working with their hands we have a lot of people in our church like that a lot of men in particular that are really good with their hands and they serve God by helping people and by doing projects around the church I do think that's a special gift there's people that are gifted in worship and music and that's not always listed as a gift but I believe it's a gift I definitely believe it's a gift when people have a beautiful voice or just music comes natural and easy for them and they use that and it isn't it great that we're not all the same in the church and that we're given different gifts and we are to use how God made us in order to serve the body we're one part of the body as though like I was an eye and you were you know a hand and someone else is a foot and all those parts of the body are important right to make up a whole body and just in the same way all of us with different gifts bring them to the church to use them to serve one another all right verse 14 for the body is not one member but many if the foot says because I am not a hand I am not part of the body it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body and that's the argument that Paul is making all the parts of our physical bodies are important they're all needed and so is everyone in the church is important and needed and that's why you know I talk a lot about people getting engaged and serving and being in Bible study so that you can use what God's given you to encourage the rest of the body that's what we're supposed to do and if the ear says because I am not I I am not part of the body it is not for this reason any less part of the body it wouldn't make sense if you've said oh well I can't do this so I'm not part of the body it doesn't even make sense because all all those parts of the body eye ear foot hand are all part of the body and we are all supposed to be part of the body of Christ verse 17 if the whole body were an eye where would the hearing be and it's good that we're not all the same is what Paul is saying there it's good that we're not all a preacher it's good that we're not all naturally that's all we do is serve because then where would the preacher be so like everyone's got different gifts we can minor in a lot of them by the way pastor j can serve other people can preach but with a lot of times we are going to you know exercise ourselves more in the areas that were gifted in if the whole if the whole we're hearing where would the sense of smell be but now God has placed the members each one of them in the body just as he desired just as God created our physical bodies and put everything where it's supposed to be he does that in the church too if they were all one member where would the body be but now there are many members but one body and now we are as a church are like a body we all make up a different part and the eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of you or again the head to the feet I have no need of you on the contrary it is much sure that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary and those members of the body which we deem less honorable on those we bestow more abundant honor and our less presentable members become much more presentable were as our more presentable members have no need of it but God has so composed the body giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked so that there may be no division in the body but that the members may have the same care for one another and if one member suffers all the members suffer with it and if one member is honored all the members rejoice with it we just are supposed to work together for the glory of God and when one part of our body is suffering it does impact the rest of our body meaning our personal individual bodies and in the same way when when we have people in our midst who are suffering we should be there to comfort them and come alongside of them with the gifts that we have in the body of Christ serving one another hallelujah and Paul is making a case because he's going to get back to spiritual gifts that all of them are important that you know we need to bring all of who God made us to be to the church now verse 27 now you are Christ body and individual members of it and God has appointed in the church first apostles second prophets now let me just stop there for a moment because it says that in a church there should be apostles now apostles with a capital A were people that were in the proximity of Jesus that Jesus ministered to in a few people like the apostle Paul who God Jesus paid a visit to and they were capital A I'll call them apostles who were special in God's kingdom and who wrote down God's words and those words became the New Testament and that is a a special unique office but the Bible does speak of a gift of apostleship and I believe the gift is different than the office meaning let's just say and I'm not saying I do or I don't I you know sometimes when I've done spiritual gifts tests it'll it'll come up as apostle and it's someone who's a divine leader someone who's been appointed to be a leader in the body of Christ using their gifts for the glory of God and sometimes overseeing things in the church preaching that kind of thing but in no way listen to me clearly in no way do I believe anyone today especially me and including me is on any kind of plane with the first 12 apostles and the few that became apostles after that they wrote the word of God I'm never going to write a new word of God I'm what I what I say I try to echo what God's word says so there are some movements that believe that there are still modern-day apostles on par with the apostles before and they really a lot of times are puffing themselves up and want everyone to look at them as though they're you know so special and I think that's a false thing I don't think we are to be claimed to be apostles like the original apostles but yet there are some strong leaders in the body of Christ that may have a gift of leadership apostleship but not the office like those guys were all right moving on second prophets so Paul's saying there's still prophets in the church that doesn't necessarily mean foretelling future events it can mean foretelling things of God we've talked about that definition earlier there's third teachers then miracles then gifts of healing helps see these are other some people are just good at coming alongside and helping other people there's gifts of administration I could think of uh you know our office manager at our church working in that capacity gifted in in organizing what a wonderful thing that is and various kinds of tongues so first of all notice in verse 28 there that the apostle Paul does give him a rank order and it's not that they're not all important but obviously you know apostles prophets teachers they're going to be towards the top of the list and at the very end of the list he puts various kinds of tongues he does that intentionally because of the error that was taking place in corn and how they were exercising the gift of speaking in tongues he's saying listen this is not even the most important thing it's the least actually but yet if God gives it to you praise God one of the things if you will listen to this teaching in first Corinthians not only 12 but 13 and 14 one of the cases is made that some gifts have ceased there's very little evidence for that biblically but there is some and it's going to come in the next chapter I don't believe it's ceased because then what else is ceased I believe God through the power of his Holy Spirit can still do anything that he wants today in his people but all of us should be humble beholders of anything that God gives us but I would never put a limit on what God can do and what God can even do in man I'm not gonna I'm not gonna say what God can and can't do so I consider myself a cautious continuationist it's called so there's kind of two camps I'll say I'm in a third camp but there's the continuationists and you can have charismatic continuationists that would say that all the gifts including healing in miracles it's all gonna happen tongues it's all gonna happen just as it did and as frequently is what it may appear to have happened in the Bible I think that's taking a little bit far I do think that the apostles of Jesus' day had a special gift that is different than today but yet that doesn't mean that today I don't believe that a gift of healing or a miracle or a tongue or a prophet prophet or can't happen today but I do think that those guys were given a special a special gifting that is different than what most or maybe all are going to have today anyways so a continuationist a radical continuationist would believe everything is exactly the same way it was a a a cessationist believes certain gifts have ceased they no longer exist today that's a cessationist and then I would put myself in a middle camp calling myself a cautious continuationist meaning I do believe God can do whatever he wants to do today but I'm gonna be very cautious about it and make sure now there can be error in that too because sometimes you can be so cautious that then you're still stifling the spirit of God and I don't want to do that but I also want to be careful to not be found in air but here's the thing anytime you're with people and anytime you're getting into gifts you're gonna experience some air because people are erroneous at times so if you want to control all air so that there's never an error you may then put the brakes on or even close off the movement of the spirit because you're you're being so cautious that you're not even willing to allow people to exude the gifts of the spirit of God so but I that's where I'm at not that I want to close it off but that I do want to be wise and discerning and cautious about it all right let's get into verse 29 because I think this gives these next several verses give an understanding that people that have reportedly said that all these gifts can be active in everybody today and I think they're they're wrong and let's look at verse 29 all are not apostles are they now what's the response that the apostle Paul is asking for he's he's asking you to say no is everyone an apostle and quick answers no all are not teachers are they mean all are all people gifted in teaching the answer is no are all workers of miracles are they uh and the answer is no all do not have gifts of healing do they does everyone have a gift of healing that God is using them to heal people no that's not the case all do not speak with tongues do they and here it's just crystal clear that the apostle is Paul is saying that not all are going to speak in tongues so the false belief that charismatic people will say that when you get anointed with the holy spirit you're going to speak in tongues that is totally refuted right there in verse 30 and also it's refuted as we talked about in verse 11 where he says that he gives distributes to each one individually as he wills not as we will so all do not speak in tongues do they the answer is no all do not interpret do they the answer is no he's looking for but he does say earnestly desire the greater gifts and you know I guess you can start at the top of the list and say that that was our greater and I will show you a still more excellent way and that's where he ends first Corinthians chapter 12 and he gets into 13 I would encourage you to listen to it I'll be recording it shortly I hope this helped in understanding the gifts of God as described in verse Corinthians 12 but please do keep on listening to the next couple of chapters God bless you all.