Empowered: Living in the Spirit

“Scriptural and Practical Guidelines”

Empowered: Scriptural and Practical Guidelines

We continue our series entitled: Empowered.

Last week we looked at spiritual gifts as given to each believer by the Holy Spirit.

We also discussed steps we can take to discover and develop our gift(s).

Today, I want to begin part 1 of our study in 1 Corinthians chapter 14.

Recall with me that the apostle Paul is writing to the church in Corinth for the sake of encouraging them in their pursuit of spiritual gifts. We saw last week the list of gifts Paul provided in 1 Corinthians 12.

Also, we have discussed that 1 Corinthians 13, known as the love chapter, establishes the foundational thoughts for the manifestation of the gifts in the corporate setting.

Paul places a strong emphasis on “covering each other with the love of Christ.” We are all learning and growing together, and it will take much love as we at times will make mistakes.

As mistakes happen, we will receive correction and teaching in order to learn and continue to grow in our ability to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our services.

For some, the thought of spiritual gifts in operation during services stirs up a sense of dread. Often, a prior experience which was bad or maybe even manipulative, shapes this perspective. As a result, many Pentecostal pastors have chosen to pull away from their foundational legacy in order to avoid misuse of the gifts in a service where guests are in attendance.

Is the answer for misuse disuse?

In order to accommodate a Pentecostal doctrine, some have chosen to limit the ministry of spiritual gifts to either a private setting, or a specified “believer’s” service where guests will not attend. Their fear prevents them from inviting the presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Sunday morning corporate gathering. This however is not our approach.

**We must always remember, the Holy Spirit will never motivate any gift that will drive people away from Christ.

A fear based on the belief that non-believer’s will be turned off by the gifts of the Spirit in operation lacks an understanding as to the Spirit’s motivation and purpose. As stated in previous sermons, the Holy Spirit always leads us to Christ and never away from Him.

As we bring our series on the Holy Spirit to a close, I want to provide practical guidelines which will serve to lead our pursuit of the Holy Spirit.

[1Co 14:1-5 NIV] 1 “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. 4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.”

Let’s begin with some opening observations:

Paul re-emphasizes the need to “pursue love” and encourages the believers to “earnestly desire spiritual gifts” before he enters into the teaching.

Paul places a special emphasis on prophecy.

Paul makes a distinction between prophecy and tongues.

He states that prophecy benefits everyone, but tongues without interpretation benefits only the individual.

Finally, Paul encourages the believers to “strive to excel in building up the church.”

One question that must be addressed before we continue is: “are prophecy and tongues with interpretation still for us today?

This has been a debated topic of discussion throughout the centuries.

Many today believe that prophecy and tongues cessed with the passing of the original disciples.

The belief is that these gifts of the Holy Spirit were needed to enable the first century church to get started, but once the cannon of Scripture was formalized, these spiritual gifts were no longer needed.

What do we believe as a Pentecostal church?

First, we see no indication in Scripture that the gifts of prophecy and tongues stopped with the original disciples.

It is our firm belief that these gifts, as well as all other gifts listed in Scripture, are fully functional today.

We need the gifts of the Spirit as much today as the disciples did in the first century.

As we work to spread His gospel message around the world, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are absolutely needed and required to accomplish the task.

Secondly, we see a continuation of the Holy Spirit’s gifts throughout history after the passing of the original disciples.

Church history records accounts of all the gifts of the Spirit continuing to work.

There were times throughout history where the gifts were not as active as others, but we can still see occasions where different individuals and groups of people experienced the gifts of the Holy Spirit in action.

Third, we see the continuation of the Holy Spirit’s gifts today.

Congregations around the globe are receiving the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in their congregations.

[1Co 14:4-5 NIV] 4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.”

What is prophecy?

Often, when people hear the word “prophecy” they think of the individuals listed in the Old Testament.

The image that tends to come to mind is of one standing with fire blazing in their eyes as they announce judgement upon a group of people.

The greek word for prophecy means: “to speak forth by divine inspirations”

In the “speaking forth,” Paul indicates there are three primary characteristics of prophecy as it is spoken to the Church:

Edification (upbuilding)

the act of one who promotes another's growth in Christian wisdom, piety, happiness, holiness

Exhortation (encouragement)

exhortation, admonition, encouragement

Consolation:

made for the purpose of persuading, or of arousing and stimulating, or of calming and consoling

The primary consideration to keep in mind pertaining to prophecy is to build up the church through encouragement.

[1Co 14:26, 31-33, 40 NIV] 26 “What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. ... 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace--as in all the congregations of the Lord's people. ... 40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.”

Much of what happens in a service that would produce a sense of disorder has to do with timing.

Paul began his practical instruction with the statement: “when you come together.”

This simple statement indicates that the teaching to following is designated for the corporate setting. We must understand and acknowledge that there are principles which apply to the corporate setting which differ from what an individual does in their private time of prayer and devotion.

The primary statement, and therefore primary principle, is found in Paul’s next statement: “Let all things be done for building up.” With the corporate setting in view, Paul indicates that what is done as we gather together must be for the purpose of building up the group as a whole as opposed to what benefits only the individual.

A good pastor friend and mentor of mine says it this way; “the gift is for the church, the church is not for the gift.”

Secondly, Paul teaches that when the gift of tongues is given in the corporate setting, it must be interpreted.

Without the interpretation, the gift of tongues only benefits the individual.

Once again, we clearly see the emphasis placed on the necessity to build up the believers as a whole. Paul even states that if no one is present to interpret, then the one who has the gift of tongues should remain quiet.

We have the ability to control the timing.

This is not an act of disobedience or of quenching the Spirit, it is an act of recognizing God’s order for the corporate setting. The heart of the Father is for those who seek Him to be rewarded. There is no “reward” for the congregation as a whole if someone speaks in tongues without the benefit of interpretation for the body.

A third practical guideline provided in our text is: “let the prophet speak, and let the others weigh what is said.”

This clearly indicates that what is shared should not be readily accepted but must be tested. The way we test is always based on Scripture. We do not test by whether or not something feels right. We must always turn to Scripture to test and verify what is being said.

I believe a word of caution is needed at this point.

If the Holy Spirit has not spoken to you prior to a word being given, be careful how you receive the word as from the Lord. This is not to say that the Holy Spirit cannot speak a word of warning or instruction without prior preparation, but it is to suggest that many people have received what has been said to them as from the Lord and then proceeded to make life altering decisions based on what they were told without first testing the word.

It is my belief that through the confirmation of Scripture and the preparation of heart, the Spirit tests and verifies His message for us.

The final portion of our text that we will take into consideration is Paul’s statement: “let everything be done decently and in order.”

The word “decent” simply means: “in a proper manner.” And the word “order” indicates both “arrangement and authority.” The aspect of arrangement would suggest a proper sequence of events, but authority has to do with one’s character, resources, and experience. An example of this for the corporate setting when operating in the gift of prophesy would indicate that the pastor who has been placed in authority for the congregation bears the responsibility to test and verify the prophetic word. This is why we ask that those who sense a word from the Holy Spirit simply approach the pastor and share the word prior to delivering the prophetic utterance to the congregation.

In some instances, I have been approached by individuals wanting to share a word with the congregation on their first Sunday in attendance. Due to the fact that we have no relationship with them to determine their level of character, we ask that they hold their word until a later time at which we have had the opportunity to get to know them and their walk with the Lord. I have had conversations with these individuals which have led to an accusation of “quenching the Spirit” because they were not allowed to share, and often they leave never to return again. When a spirit of this nature is revealed, it only serves to verify that their character is not in a proper place. If or when there is a lack of humility and submission, the motive can be questioned.

We truly desire the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s gifts to be in operation in our corporate gatherings. The way in which we will pursue this fullness is through the guidelines of Scripture and spiritual authority. To do less would willingly submit ourselves to the attempt of the enemy to “steal, kill, and destroy” through acts of confusion and disorder.

Summary: