What it Means to Be Spiritual
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Truth Taught- The Holy Spirit gives gifts to believers for the good of the Church and for the glory of God.
From Chapter 8 through the end of Chapter 14, Paul is addressing the Corinthians and their worship. He taught them the danger of taking part in the sacred pagan meals and then approaching their own Christian sacred meal. Next, he addresses three abuses in the realm of their worship. Women praying and acting like men. The abuse of the Lord’s Supper and now today, we will look at the third abuse. Here the abuse of Spiritual gifts will be in focus through Chapter 14.
What does it mean to be Spiritual? This is the question Paul will answer in the next few Chapters. He is still answering their questions that he had received from them in a letter. Now, he will move on to the next topic…Spiritual Gifts.
The Corinthians did not understand Spiritual Gifts properly. To reconstruct the situation by using Paul’s argument is to see that to be Spiritual to the Corinthians was to speak in tongues. To them, that was the highest rung on the Spiritual ladder that one could climb.
Many today fall into the same camp. They too have elevated speaking in tongues to a way higher place than it deserves. Some say that unless you speak in tongues, you’re not really even a Christian. Others simply accept it without any question.
It’s important to see that the gift of tongues appears in every list of gifts that Paul gives. In Chapter 13 where he says that tongues will cease, he does so from the perspective of the perfect appearing. The Perfect appearing means that Christ has returned the Perfect appears and we are given perfect bodies. In that day, our sin is gone and we are glorified and we behold Christ the perfect, then tongues will cease.
I really want to say that because we have the final canon of Scripture which is God’s full and final Word that tongues have since stopped but I also am not in the position to tell God what He is allowed to do with His creation. I do think that because we have the complete canon of Scripture there will be no new revelations from God but…here we are looking at a NT Church and tongues has found its way in the list of Spiritual gifts.
I think our minds can be set more at ease when we follow Paul’s logic through his argument. They thought tongues was the pinnacle of gifts and what it really meant to be Spiritual. Paul teaches that’s not the case. Within the course of worship intelligible speech (prophecy or preaching) holds sway over unintelligible speech (tongues). He also is teaching that God has given the Church a diversity of gifts and that are all very important to the life of the Church.
I once new an elderly lady who prayed almost her entire life that God would give her the gift of speaking in tongues. It’s as if she was sad and depressed because she could not speak in tongues. I asked her one time, what would she say if she could speak in tongues? She said, I would tell people about Jesus and His love for them. My response was, while you’re waiting for the gift of tongues, why don’t you begin telling people in English?
So, whatever your view, we will learn together the importance of Spiritual Gifts and how they are to be viewed and used within the Church.
Please Stand…
1 Corinthians 12:1–11 (ESV)
12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
1. Being Spiritual is Affirming the Lordship of Jesus (12:1-3)
12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
Here we see in verse 1, the Apostle focuses our attention upon what is most accurately interpreted manifestations of the Spirit or things coming from the Spirit. This is the Holy Spirit’s activity within the gathered Church setting. He wants to help the Corinthians to differentiate between true work of the Holy Spirit within the Church and the work of prideful people and also the work of demons.
Paul writes a very interesting sentence that really has great impact in our current discussion. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.
How is it that when they were pagans, they were led astray by mute idols? How can something that’s mute speak? This takes us back to his earlier point that while their former idols are nothing there is something spiritual working, namely, demons.
I say demons because common to their past pagan worship before they were Christians was their practice of ecstatic speech. Many of the pagan cults practiced what they called inspired utterance. The dynamic was that a demon would enter a worshipper and the pagan worshipper would speak for the idol by demonic power. Sometimes their speech was intelligible and other times unintelligible. This is what was being brought in to the Church.
2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.
Remember what Paul spoke about their former idols and being mute but then went on to explain that they while being themselves mute and motionless were actually fueled by demons who could speak through a host.
Paul’s concern is that their former practices were making their way into the gathered Church. In their attempt to show superiority over others with the gift of tongues being the most sought-after gift because it was sought after in their former paganism, they were opening themselves and the Church up to demonic practices.
His goal is not so much new information concerning pneumatika charisata (Gifts of the Spirit) but more of a corrective to their abuses and misunderstandings concerning these manifestations of the Spirit. I do not want you to be uninformed.
So, what is the definition of being spiritual? Your actions are being led by or manifestations not of demons but the Holy Spirit who resides within believers. Here we see the contrast being led by demons who have taken up residence within a person or being led by the Spirit who lives within all believers. Being spiritual is being led by the Holy Spirit.
3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
Here the point made is that speaking in tongues in and of itself is not automatically to be taken as a manifestation or a work of the Holy Spirit but, in fact, can also be the manifestation and work of the demonic which is also spiritual.
In the pagan utterances which are demonic were curse formulas. These curse formulas were used in their former worship even to curse Jesus Christ. It could be that some lost demon-controlled person assembled with the gathered Church uttered such a curse against Jesus. However, there may or may not have been an interpreter present. So, Jesus could be cursed within the gathered Church’s worship and no one would know anything about it because the speech was unintelligible and there was no interpreter.
Paul gives the second criteria for the work of the Holy Spirit verses the work of demons… no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
The person led by the Spirit will only promote and honor Christ and His reining Lordship over all things.
The Spiritual are being led by the Holy Spirit and promoting/endorsing the full Lordship of Jesus Christ.
So, I want to make sure we understand so far… an unintelligible utterance within the gathered Church is NOT da manifestation of the Holy Spirit and it could be a work of the other spirit, a demonic spirit because if no one can understand the saying, Jesus could be being cursed without anyone else knowing it. A true manifestation of the Spirit is intelligible declaration of Christ’s Lordship.
So, what should a Church do in this case? If someone stands up and begins an unintelligible utterance then the pastor should ask someone else to interpret and if no one can then the person speaking in tongues should told to sit down and be quiet or be escorted out of the assembly because who knows what they said and in fact Jesus could have just been cursed unknowingly to everyone else.
I’m afraid that today there may be many demons at work even within the walls of the gathered Church. Who is to know? If the people speak words no one can understand and those words are assumed to be from the Holy Spirit and they are not then what is really going on is that within the gathered Church, demons are being worshipped not Christ.
2. Being Spiritual Means Using Your Gift for the Common Good (12:4-11)
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Paul is telling them that rather than being so focused on a particular gift such as speaking in tongues, the Corinthians should seek to be led into whatever gift God has for them. There is a great need within the Church for a diversity of gifts…not everyone is a tongue, so to speak.
Diversity within unity is a wonderful picture of the Godhead where each Person of the Trinity being in complete unity has diversity as well. The Father is not the Son nor is the Son the Spirit and each has their own function. This is the approach Paul uses to explain the gifts.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
There are a variety of gifts but whatever gift it is has been given by the Holy Spirit.
Because the Godhead exhibits diversity within Unity, so to, as Paul teaches the Holy Spirit gives a diversity of gifts for the common good of the Church. Because He gives gifts according to His will and they are different in nature.
Gifts given by God come in different varieties. Some are in the realm of service. Some are preaching and teaching. Some are caring for others. Some are used in evangelism. Others are behind the scenes type gifts. So, his point is that gifts are all important and all given by God but they are all different.
Whatever gift the Christian has been given, it must be used for the good of the Church and the glory of Christ.
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Here is what some of the gifts given by the Holy Spirit look like…
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
This takes us back to the beginning of the epistle when Paul addresses their human wisdom. They were all about doing things based on man’s wisdom and not God’s. Here he tells them that some within the Church have been given the gift of wisdom and for the most part they were not utilizing the gift because man’s wisdom and God’s wisdom are not the same. This person has the ability to understand some of the deeper mysteries of God and could help the rest of the Church understand as well.
He goes on to describe a gift that is in the realm of knowledge. Here the one endowed with this gift has a special ability to understand and handle God’s Word. But again the Corinthians were probably missing out because they wanted man’s knowledge and to be like the famous orators.
He mentions faith as a gift. He will acknowledge that saving faith does come from the Holy Spirit but here the language depicts more of a faith given to overcome difficult situations within the Church. It’s like Joshua’s faith while others were saying it can’t be done and we look like grasshoppers in their eyes, Joshua was saying lets go now. God has given us the land let’s take it.
He goes on to list a multitude of gifts that come from the Holy Spirit.
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Conclusion…
The point is that God gives believers the Holy Spirit. When a believer is given the Holy Spirit, the Spirit will manifest Himself in various ways for the good of the gathered Church. Not all gifts are the same but they are all important. Not all gifts are available to every Christian. The Holy Spirit gives gifts as he wills.
Once the Church received the full canon of Scripture and the Bible is being translated into many languages fewer people would be given the gift of tongues etc.
With the gifts must also come caution.
The overarching point here is, use the gift God has given you for the good of the Church and for the glory of Christ.
Resources Used:
1 Corinthians by Gordon Fee
1 Corinthians by Um
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