Sermon Tone Analysis

*       WHAT ARE SPIRITUAL GIFTS?*

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In two weeks we are going to launch a new ministry called *“The NetWork”* which will involve every member of our assembly.

It will be a means of ministry to the body of believers here at DBC.

In preparation for *“The NetWork”*, we must understand ‘spiritual gifts’ that are given to every believer by the Holy Spirit.

We is critical that we understand what they are, why they are given to every believer, and the purpose of them to the body of Christ.

By definition, spiritual gifts are simply the Holy Spirit’s way of manifesting Himself through the believer for the good of the whole body of believers-church.

Spiritual gifts were greatly misunderstood and misused in the first century and this has continued to the present day.

It will be difficult not to interpret the excesses and error associated with spiritual gifts from our 21st century understanding.

Obviously, the first century had no understanding of our present issues with Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement of our day.

One of the churches in the first century that misunderstood spiritual gifts was the Corinthian church.

It is important that you and I understand the first century issues and then apply the principles to the issues of our own day.

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*The Spirit’s Influence – 1-3*

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*1 Corinthians 12:1-3** \\ 1 **Now concerning spiritual /gifts,/ brethren, I do not want you to be unaware (*without understanding)*.** 2 **You know that when you were pagans (*/you didn’t believe Jesus to be God in the flesh)/*, /you were /led astray to the mute (*/voiceless/*) idols, however you were led (*/you were led by a spirit which we was not the Holy Spirit/*).**

3 **Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed” (*/condemned/*); and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.*

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*The Spirit’s Evidence – 4-11*

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*1 Corinthians 12:4-**6* \\ *4 **Now there are varieties (*/distributions/*) of gifts, but the same Spirit.**

5 **And there are varieties of ministries (*/services/*), and the same Lord.**

6 **There are varieties of effects (*/activities)/*, but the same God who works all things in all /persons./

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*Romans 12:6* \\ *Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, /each of us is to exercise them accordingly:/ if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;*

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*1 Corinthians 12:7-11*

*7 **But to each one is given the manifestation (*/setting forth plainly/*) of the Spirit for the common good (*/not for self/*).**

8 **For to one is given the word (*/speaking gifts/*) of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit (*/these are speaking gifts/*);** 9 **to another faith (*/ability to encourage others to believe what God can do/*) by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit (*/not common, clusters/*),** 10 **and to another the effecting of miracles (*/not common; contrary to nature; only Jesus walked on water, turned water to wine/*), and to another prophecy (*/proclaiming publicly not predictive in the future until the middle ages/*), and to another the distinguishing of spirits (*/enablement to determine deceptions and doctrinal error/*), to another /various/ kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues (*/the enablement to speak in a foreign language unknown to the speaker and the ability to interpret that language/*).**

11 **But one and the same Spirit works (*/granting the ability to do/*) all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills (*/implies planning and purpose/*).*

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*Summarize: *Spiritual gifts are enablements given by the Holy Spirit to each individual believer to minister for the common good of the body.

These spiritual gifts are unlimited!!

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*The Spirit’s Teachings – 12-31*

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*        The Analogy (*/similarity between the human body and   the body of believers-the church/*) – 12-26*

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*1 Corinthians 12:12-26** \\ 12 **For even as the body is one (*/we are not two bodies/*) and /yet /has (*/body has/*) many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

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*13 **For** by one Spirit (*/not many spirits; there is only one true spirit – the Holy Spirit/*) we were all baptized (*/immersed)/* into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit (*/be influenced thoroughly/*).

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*Romans 8:9*

*However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.

But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.*

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*14 **For the body is not one member, but many (*/members/*).**

15 **If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not /a part /of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less /a part /of the body.**

16**And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not /a part /of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less /a part /of the body.**

17**If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?

If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? *

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*18 **But now** God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.

(*/you don’t choose where you want to place your child’s feet, head, arms, etc; neither do you chose your spiritual gift or gifts)/*) *

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*19 **If they** were all one member (*/an arm?)/*, where would the body be?** 20 **But now there are many members, but one body.**

21 **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.”** 22 **On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;** 23 **and those /members /of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable,** 24 **whereas 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, **25 **so that there may be no division in the body, but /that /the members may have the same care (*/our word for anxiety/*) for one another.**

26 **And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if /one /member is honored, all the members rejoice with it (*/call for unity and mutual love for one another/*).*

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*        The Challenge – 27-31*

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*1 Corinthians 12:27-31** \\ 27 **Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.**

28 **And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, /various /kinds of tongues.**

29 **All are not apostles, are they?

All are not prophets, are they?

All are not teachers, are they?

All are not /workers of /miracles, are they?** 30 **All do not have gifts of healings, do they?

All do not speak with tongues, do they?

All do not interpret, do they?** 31 **But earnestly desire the greater gifts (*/greater regarding the whole church because these gifts presented the Word and the Corinthians were down playing the Word for the showy gifts/*).

And I show you a still more excellent way (*/this will be the way of love/*).*

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Now, you may be thinking as a believer, “What is my spiritual gift?”

In other words, you are asking, “How does the Holy Spirit evidence Himself in my life for the good of the whole body?”

How can I be a vital part of *“The NetWork”*?*

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*1 Peter 4:10-11** \\ 10 **As each one has received a /special /gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.** 11 **Whoever speaks, /is to do so /as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves /is to do so/ as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen.*

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*How?*

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*Being controlled by the Holy Spirit is responding in obedience to the instructions of the Scriptures.*

In preparation for “The NetWork” begin praying each day, *“Holy Spirit, please reveal to me anything that may be hindering me from knowing and exercising the spiritual gift you gave me.

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*“Holy Spirit, please reveal to me the gift that you have given me to exercise for the common good of the body of Christ.”**

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