"Spiritual Things"

1 Corinthians 12:1–11 CSB

Now concerning spiritual gifts: brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you used to be enticed and led astray by mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God works all of them in each person. A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good: to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of tongues, to another, interpretation of tongues. One and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as he wills.

In the churches that I grew up in, the Holy Spirit was rarely mentioned. The impression I had from my experiences was the Holy Spirit actively operated on earth until the Bible was complete, and then His work was done.

In those churches (or brotherhood), one of the worst things that could be said of you was that you were, “Charismatic!”Consequently, we were a bit hush-hush about the Third member of the Trinity!

They were not against the Holy Spirit, but that no one was clear on what He did. It was more of a non-theology of the Holy Spirit—He is here, only we’re not quite sure what He does.

Added to this reluctance to speak about the Holy Spirit, the behaviors and practices of churches that had what I consider an overemphasis on the Spirit were sometimes so wild and crazy, that they fulfilled Paul’s warning in (1 Corinthians 14:23) – “…will they not say that you are out of your minds?”

1 Corinthians 14:23 CSB

If, therefore, the whole church assembles together and all are speaking in tongues and people who are outsiders or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds?

Even today, in this church, we talk about God, Jesus, and the Bible all the time, but rarely do we deal with or talk about the Holy Spirit of God!

(1 Corinthians 12:1) – “Now concerning spiritual gifts [fr. πνευματικῶν – ‘spiritual things’]brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware.”

Our passage is about much more than just spiritual gifts! – (vv.4-6) – “gifts, ministries, activities” – ALL of which come through the Holy Spirit, and ALL of us are involved!

The Holy Spirit is at work in EACH ONE OF US! – (v.7)

1 Corinthians 12:7 CSB

A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good:

Yet, it seems that many believers in Jesus Christ are indeed “unaware,” or as in some translations, “ignorant” (which is a lack of knowledge or understanding) of WHO the Spirit is, and WHAT He does!

SO, BEFORE WE TACKLE (1 Corinthians 12-14), I want us to take some time to see what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit—to have a clear understanding of this sometimes forgotten; often misunderstood member of the Trinity!

LET’S GO BACK to the beginning…

Genesis 1:26 – You and I are created in the image of God—which means that just as God is three in One (Father, Son, Spirit), so you and I have a body, soul, & spirit!

Genesis 1:26 CSB

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:23) – “…And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1. Just as there is a PHYSICAL realm to creation, so to we are given a PHYSICAL BODY with which so we can relate with one another [and God is very concerned how we do in this area]!

Our physical bodies are a manifestation of who we are. It is the part of us that people can see, hear, and touch.

2. As there is a SPIRITUAL realm in creation, God has also given us a SPIRIT with which we relate to non-physical realm!

It is through our spirits that we interact with God! More importantly, it is through our spirits that God interacts with US!

Romans 8:16 CSB

The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children,

(Romans 8:16) – “The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we God’s children.”

Sometimes there is an ‘overflow’! While we cannot see the invisible, we can on another level “perceive” the spiritual realm, or even a person’s spirit.

Have you ever made, or heard, the comment, “So and so has such a sweet spirit; or gentle, or mean, or critical (it’s not always positive).”

People will often comment that they sense the Spirit of God [or not] in a worship service.

3. Man has also been created with a SOUL [ψυχή].

In classic Greek this word means, ‘breath’ or ‘breath of life’.

In the Septuagint (Greek translation of the O.T.) it is used 900 times for ‘breath, person, soul.’

Genesis 2:7 CSB

Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.

(Genesis 2:7) – “Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground, and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being [ψυχὴν ζῶσαν].”

In the NT, ψυχή is often translated, “life.”

Matthew 6:25 CSB

“Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?

(Matthew 6:25) – “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life [ψυχή], what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life [ψυχή] more than food and the body more than clothing?”

Matthew 20:28 CSB

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

(Matthew 20:28) – “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life [ψυχή] as a ransom for many.”

o The soul [ψυχή] is the center of intellectual activity and mental processes (thought/reason).

o The soul is the origin of basic inner drives (both good and bad).

o Moreover, the soul is the place of the third function of human personality—the will.

One author writes, “…the soul remains a bridge between the other two parts [body and spirit].”

It is man’s SOUL that Jesus died to SAVE and to REGENERATE/SANCTIFY!

SO, we are created in the image of God with a physical body to relate to the physical world, and we have a spirit, with which we can relate to God. Our soul (life) is the place where the two meet.

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO “SPIRITUAL THINGS?”

(Colossians 1:15) – “He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

(1 Timothy 1:17) – “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

(Hebrews 11:27) – “By faith he [Moses] left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees him who is invisible.”

WE BELIEVE & SERVE A GOD WHO IS INVISIBLE!

Q: How do you have a relationship with One whom we cannot see?

A: Through the Holy Spirit!

Dr. David Jeremiah (God In You):“One day it hit me all at once that just about everything we count important to us in doctrine and practice is rooted in some aspect of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.”

As I reflected on those words, I concluded that Dr. Jeremiah was right on! In fact, I would like to share with you this morning an amazing series of “cant’s” relating to the Holy Spirit and believers.

Consider this…

1. You Can’t Be SAVED Without the Holy Spirit – (John 3:3-8) (Titus 3:3-7) (1 Corinthians 12:3)

2. You Can’t Have ASSURANCE Without the Holy Spirit – (Romans 8:16) (Ephesians 1:13-14)

3. You Can’t BECOME HOLY Without the Holy Spirit – (Romans 8:13) (Galatians 5:16, 22-25)

4. You Can’t UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE Without the Holy Spirit – (1 Corinthians 2:9-16) (John 16:13)

5. You Can’t PRAY Without the Holy Spirit – (Romans 8:26)

6. You Can’t WITNESS Without the Holy Spirit – (Acts 1:8)

7. You Can’t SERVE GOD Without the Holy Spirit – (1 Corinthians 12:5-7)

Folks, we need the Holy Spirit of God!

CONCLUSION

IN CLOSING, I would like to admonish you to do several things with what you’ve learned today:

1. Don’t be ARAID of the Holy Spirit! – (1 John 4:18) – “…perfect love drives out fear…”

2. Don’t be IGNORANT of the Holy Spirit! – Take time and read (John 14:25-26; 15:26-16:15)

3. Don’t be INDIFFERENT to the Holy Spirit! – (Romans 8:14)

4. Don’t “…STIFLE [quench] the Spirit” – (1 Thessalonians 5:19)