The Motivation in Pursuing Spiritual Gifts

Sunday, April 13, 2025

Start with Application Testimony

[Give people an opportunity to share a testimony from last week’s exhortation]

Last week’s exhortation: Ask the Lord to empower you with the gifts He has for you and to give you an appreciation for the gifts He has given to others.

INTRO

We are going verse-by-verse, in a topical study through I & II Corinthians

Current Topic: Living by the Spirit - Exploring how to live as a Christian

We are talking about Spiritual Gifts, and in the last lesson we learned that Spiritual Gifts are given to empower us to do the work of the Gospel and are designed to promote unity and diversity in the Church.

In this next lesson, we will learn what our motivation should be for the way we pursue and use Spiritual Gifts.

READ

1 Corinthians 14:1–25 CSB

1 Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy. 2 For the person who speaks in a tongue is not speaking to people but to God, since no one understands him; he speaks mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the person who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement, and consolation. 4 The person who speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 I wish all of you spoke in tongues, but even more that you prophesied. The person who prophesies is greater than the person who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be built up. 6 So now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you with a revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 Even lifeless instruments that produce sounds—whether flute or harp—if they don’t make a distinction in the notes, how will what is played on the flute or harp be recognized? 8 In fact, if the bugle makes an unclear sound, who will prepare for battle? 9 In the same way, unless you use your tongue for intelligible speech, how will what is spoken be known? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different kinds of languages in the world, none is without meaning. 11 Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker will be a foreigner to me. 12 So also you—since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to excel in building up the church. 13 Therefore the person who speaks in a tongue should pray that he can interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with my understanding. I will sing praise with the spirit, and I will also sing praise with my understanding. 16 Otherwise, if you praise with the spirit, how will the outsider say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may very well be giving thanks, but the other person is not being built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you; 19 yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue. 20 Brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your thinking, but be infants in regard to evil and adult in your thinking. 21 It is written in the law, I will speak to this people by people of other tongues and by the lips of foreigners, and even then, they will not listen to me, says the Lord. 22 Speaking in tongues, then, is intended as a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 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? 24 But if all are prophesying and some unbeliever or outsider comes in, he is convicted by all and is called to account by all. 25 The secrets of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is really among you.”

EXAMINE

#1 | Ministering to others must be what drives our pursuit and use of Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual Gifts are given to each of us for the benefit of the whole church.

We read back in 1 Corinthians 12:7 that the “...manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good”

Spiritual Gifts bless us personally, but their greatest good is when we use them to bless others.

1 Corinthians 14:12 “...since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to excel in building up the church.”

Paul reinforces this idea by correcting the Corinthian church’s practice of the gifts of Tongues and Prophecy

The Gift of Tongues, when uninterpreted, ministers only to our spirit.

Our spirits do benefit from what is being said. (1 Cor 14:4)

Neither our minds nor other people benefit from what is being said. (1 Cor 14:9,14,16-17)

The Gift of Prophecy ministers to our minds and to others also.

Our mind is able to understand and benefit. (1 Cor 14:14)

Others are able to understand and benefit. (1 Cor 14:3,6)

The Gift of Tongues has these effects too, if it is interpreted. (1 Cor 14:5)

The conclusion is that we should do both, but prioritize what benefits others when we are together. (1 Cor 14:15,18-19)

#2 | God wants people to hear and understand what He is revealing

We must not seek to be impressive, shocking, or sensational in the way we express Spiritual Gifts.

1 Corinthians 14:23 “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?”

It can be tempting to gravitate to whatever feels more supernatural and sensational, but those things don’t always bring conviction and understanding.

Consider how some responded to the Apostles when they first spoke in tongues in Acts 2:12-13 “They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But some sneered and said, ‘They’re drunk on new wine.’”

We must express Spiritual Gifts in a way that leads people to understanding and that brings conviction to their hearts.

1 Corinthians 14:24–25 “But if all are prophesying and some unbeliever or outsider comes in, he is convicted by all and is called to account by all. The secrets of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, ‘God is really among you.’”

The work of the Holy Spirit is to bring clarity, conviction, and knowledge of the truth (John 16:13) not to elevate us or make us look impressive (Gal 5:22-26).

REFLECT

Let’s take a moment to pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to highlight and draw our attention to what He wants us to see and understand today

APPLY

Process the passage together with these questions:

[Allow the conversation to go where people take it - we want people to feel the liberty to explore the topics of the passage that stand out to them. Select the questions from below that you think are right for the conversation, or add your own. Questions should be focused, yet open-ended. Wherever the conversation goes, help your group “land the plane” on the core idea of the lesson when you wrap up.]

What questions do you have after reading this passage?

How do the rules that Paul uses for Tongues and Prophecy, apply to other Spiritual Gifts and ministries?

What are some things that hold you back from pursuing or using Spiritual Gifts in your life?

Where we want to “land the plane”

Spiritual gifts are amazing - they show God’s supernatural power in our lives. We should seek them and be ready to use them when we come together. But above all, they are meant to bless and strengthen each other. If we chase after them just because they seem exciting or feel good, our focus is wrong. Most importantly, we should desire what God wants - for us to be a blessing to one another by sharing His Spirit.

Exhortation for the Week

Pray this week for the Lord to stir up His gifts within you and then look for opportunities to use those gifts to encourage and edify other people.

FOOTNOTES

Note from Pastor Sam on “Prayer Language” and how this passage applies. There are some who believe there is a distinction between “public tongues” and “private tongues” or a “prayer language” - that these are different gifts - and that “public tongues” is what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 14. However, whether or not this is true, doesn’t make a difference. The reasons Paul gives for discouraging uninterpreted Tongues in church services would also apply to a “private prayer language.” It’s not about a specific gift type, it is about being intelligible to the listener. While I personally do not think there is a Biblical distinction between “public” and “private” Tongues (I think they are the same gift) I also don’t take issue with anyone that does. This is a debatable matter within the church and it rarely results in any practical difference when we keep to the instructions Paul gives in 1 Corinthians 14.

Note on the reference to Tongues as a “sign to unbelievers.” This summary argument in verses 21–25 began with the citation of a portion of Isaiah’s prophecy against Israel (Isa. 28:11–12). Because Israel refused to listen to God’s message proclaimed by His prophets, Isaiah predicted that another message would come. This one would be delivered in a foreign tongue unintelligible to the Israelites, yet unambiguous (cf. 2 Kings 17:23). The foreign tongue symbolized God’s rejection (cf. Deut. 28:49; Isa. 33:19), His disciplinary response to Israel’s stiff-necked rebellion against Him (cf. 2 Kings 17:14; Acts 7:51). Foreigners instead of Israel became the temporary servants of God (cf. Isa. 5:26; Hab. 1:6; Matt. 21:43; Rom. 10:19–21), and their foreign tongue was a punitive sign to Israel of what had taken place. David K. Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 539.