SPIRITUAL GIFTS
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
KNOW YOUR GIFTS
V:1. " Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not
want you to be ignorant."
A. One of the
benefits of accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior is the giving of spiritual
Gifts.
1. The Holy
Spirit is the giver of these gifts.
2. Once in
Jesus, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
B. Because we were
new to the faith after accepting Jesus, we were ignorant of these
gifts.
1. Ignorant does
not mean dumb, it describes a state of unawareness.
2. Once a
Christian has been in the faith for a while, he/she will witness the spiritual
gifs of others in action.
a. The
question is; do you know your spiritual gifts?
b. There are
a number of tests you can take to help you determine your gifts.
c. I really
think that all you need is a wiliness
to serve in any capacity in the
church.
d. Once you
get active serving the Lord, you will discover your spiritual gifts.
e. Your spiritual gifts may be foreign to
you until you start serving the Lord.
f. You may
find out that your spiritual gifts has nothing to do with what you
are
accustomed to doing.
PROOF OF BEING UNSAVED
V:2. " You know that when you were pagans, somehow or
other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols."
A. The world does not have any spiritual gifts.
1. We all have
skills and talents that we have acquired over the years.
2. A spiritual
Gift is God given and not something learned or acquired.
B. Before we came to Christ, our worship was for ourselves,
others or something
else.
1. You can worship
your job, house, cars or other people.
2. None of these
thing bring lasting joy or benefit the soul.
C. Without Jesus in your life, the world is the major
influence in your life.
1. When there is
no foundation for truth, you can be led in any direction that
seems
reasonable.
2. True wisdom,
which is in the Word is foolish to the world.
1 Cor 2:14
V: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.
A. There can be no
Christian religion without Divine Inspiration.
1. The Word of God
is foolish to the world.
2. Only a believer
can know that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.
B. The concept of a
man dying and being resurrected to be Lord
over all
creation, both heaven
and earth is foreign to the world.
1. The concept of
one man's blood shed on the cross covering the sins of the entire
world, past,
present and future is foreign to the world.
2. The Sadducees,
a leading group in the Jewish community doing Jesus time did not
believe in
the resurrection.
3. The entire
Jewish community, except for a few renegades, rejected Jesus as Lord
and Savior.
C. Only a few renegades empowered by the Holy
Spirit excepted Jesus as Lord and
Savior.
1. Jesus asked
Peter; who do you say that I am? Peter replied, you are the Christ.
a. Jesus
replied, that flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father
in Heaven.
2. It is the
Spirit that convicts us when we study and meditate on God's Word.
a. The world will get no conviction
studying God's Word. John 16:14
b. The world
will not be enlighten by the body of
truth, which is God's Word.
D. Man under the
influence of the Holy Spirit cannot curse Jesus.
1. Under the
influence of the Holy Spirit, man can only proclaim Jesus as Lord
and Savior.
2. The world,
hearing the proclamation that Jesus is Lord, will not accept it
or believe in
Jesus.
ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF BEING SAVED
V:4. "There are different kinds of gifts but the same
Spirit."
A. There are a
variety of Gifts each different from the other.
1. The Holy
Spirit is the giver of divine gifts.
2. God gives
Spiritual Gifts according to His Will.
Heb 2:4
3. The Father
, the Son and the Spirit jointly gives gifts of the Spirit. Eph 4:8
B. Each gift is
uniquely given to each believer for the edification of the body. 1
Cor 14:12
1. Every
believer was chosen for God's specific purposes.
2. We never
know who will meet along the way that will need to be blessed by the
gifts God
has given us.
ALL SPIRITUAL GIFTS COME FROM THE LORD
V:5. " There are different kinds of service, but the
same Lord."
A. There are various
offices in the Church.
1. The early
Church had Apostles.
a. These
were the eye witnesses to the teaching and miracles of Jesus.
b. These
were the 11 original disciples of Jesus, plus the replacement for
Judas
and the Apostle Paul.
c. The
Apostles of the early Church had the power to do miracles including
instant
healing and the resurrection of the dead. Acts 5:10 ,
Acts 9:40 , Acts 20:9
2. The early
church had prophets and teachers.
3. The early
church had the office of bishop, or presbyter.
4. The early
church had pastors and deacons.
B. God the Father
gives each believer the power to exercise his/her gift.
1. Spiritual
gifts are given by only the one true and living God.
2. All spiritual
gifts are given by one source, God the Father, God the Son and God the
Holy Spirit.
3. All of the
offices of the Church were ordained by the one true and living God.
V:6. " There are
different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men."
A. God is the power behind all the works we do for the
Church.
1. Without Jesus,
we can accomplish nothing. John 15:5
2. Jesus is the
true vine and we are the branches
3. Apart from the
vine, the branches cannot produce any fruit.
B. The Holy Spirit works in all who possess spiritual gifts.
1. Each believer is
given the ministry of reconciliation. 2
Cor 5:18
2. This ministry
may take the form of encouragement, teaching, preaching, serving
in any capacity
in the Church or community and proclaiming Jesus
as Lord and
Savior.
3. God will put in
our mist those who can benefit from our gifts.
4. God will prepare
the hearts of those He puts in our mist to receive His Word
from us.
THE PURPOSE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS
V:7. " Now to
each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good."
A. Spiritual gifts
are not given for our personal edification.
1. Spiritual
gifts are given so that entire body of Christ is uplifted and
built up to
give God the glory.
2. We are to
use our gifts so that God can cause an increase in the body of Christ.
B. All believers were
given the indwelling of the Holy Spirit for the common good
of the body of
Christ.
1. Spiritual
gifts were not given to promote ourselves but so the Church can prosper.
2. Spiritual
gifts are not given so we look good, but so the Church can become the
common good
of the community.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS IDENTIFIED
V:8. " To one
there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message
of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,"
A. Wisdom is insight
to God's Word.
1. The fear of
the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
2. When we study
God's Word we gain insight to His wisdom.
3. When we study
God's Word we gain insight to who He is, His power and
glory and
how He works in our lives.
B. Knowledge is the ability to apply God's Word to our life.
1. Every
situation is an opportunity to apply God's Word to our lives.
2. When we live
according to God's Word our faith in Him will grow.
3. Jesus said; if
you love me, keep my commandments.
V:9. "To another faith by the same Spirit, to another
gifts of healing by that one Spirit,"
A. In relying on
God's Word in every aspect our lives, our Faith grows.
1. God gives
each believer a measure of faith. Rom
12:3
2. The Word
says that if you have the faith of a mustard seed, you can move
mountains.
a. We must exercise our faith daily
for it to growth.
B. The Word says
that , if anyone is sick, let him call the elders to pray for him
and he will
recover. James 5:14
1. The Word
also says the prayers of the righteous man are power and effective .
James 5:16.
2. It is faith
in the Word of God that activates our Spiritual Gifts.
V:10. " To
another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing
between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to
still another the interpretation of tongues."
A. Throughout the Old and the New Testament, God performed
miracles through the
mouths of
faithful believers.
1. God is still in
the miracle business.
2. I have personally
seen God perform miracles in the my life and the lives of others.
a. The
miracles of God are activated through the prayers of faithful believers.
b. The Word says,
pray without ceasing.
B. Throughout the Old
and New Testament, God gave His message to faithful men
about future
events,
1. Most of
prophecies of the Old and New testament have been fulfilled.
2. There still
some prophecies yet to be fulfilled.
a. The second
coming of Jesus is yet to be fulfilled.
b. The new
heaven and new earth is yet to be fulfilled
3. The Bible is
closed. There are no new revelations. Rev 22:19
a. Men are
enlighten by the Holy Spirit of what has already has been
revealed in God's Word.
b. You can
say based on the Word that if someone continues in a certain
behavior that there is a resulting outcome.
C. There are evil
spirits and the Holy Spirit.
1. The Devil
and his demons are evil spirits.
2. Each believer has the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit.
3. If a person
denies Jesus as Lord and Savior, he is under the influence of
an evil
spirit.
b. No one can
confess Jesus as Lord and Savior unless he is under the influence
of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor 12:3
D. I think one of
the most controversial Spiritual gifts
is the gift of tongues.
1. We have taken
the word tongue to mean some spiritual language which it is not.
2. The Greek
word for tongue is "glossa" which means a language naturally
un-acquired.
a. The gift
of tongues is the ability to speak in a foreign language that
you did
not study. (See Acts 2:1-16)
3. The Apostle
Paul states the tongues was given for a sign for unbelievers
and not for
believers. 1 Cor 14:22
THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
V:11 " All these are the work of one and the same
Spirit, and he gives them to each one,
just as he
determines. "
A. There are no
superior gifts.
1. All Spiritual
gifts were given by God for the edification of the body of Christ.
2. Every
Spiritual gift is equal in it's importance to the body of Christ.
B. Every believer
has been given Spiritual gifts whether they are used or not.
1. No one should
be envious of anyone Spiritual gifts.
2. They were not
naturally acquired and no one can claim any glory for them.
C. We were chosen by God to be in the body of Christ.
1. Upon our
confession of faith, we were given gifts to accomplish God's
will for our
lives.
2. One of the
proofs that you are in the body of Christ is the naturally
un-acquired
gifts from God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy
Spirit.
D. All spiritual
gifts are the work of the Holy Spirit.
1. Any believer
using a Spiritual Gift is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
2. No one can
boast of his/her gift.
3. No one can
claim superiority as a result of their Spiritual Gift.
4. All boasting
belong to the Lord...
SEEK TO KNOW YOUR GIFTS AND USED THEM TO THE GLORY OF GOD
Rev M. Mitchell, Asst
Pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist
Church
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