The Questions Concerning Spiritual Gifts: Potential Dangers

Intro

Good morning, and welcome to the Countryside Vineyard live-stream.

If you don’t know me,my name is Joe Fager, and I am one of the Pastors here.

We are currently studying together through the book of 1 Corinthians.

We just concluded the section on public worship, and are now entering a new section.

So this morning we will be hanging out in Chapter 12:1-3.

Verse 1 says, Now concerning Spiritual gifts, I do not want you to be unaware / ignorant.

The phrase now concerning… is used six times in this book to indicate that Paul is responding to some issue in the Corinthian church.

Evidently the Corinthians were both abusing the gifts and had some questions about them.

But the phrase spiritual gifts is actually better translated spiritual matters or spiritual persons.

And this was the real issue in Corinth.

Corinth was one of the centers of pagan spirituality in the first century world.

There were pagan shrines and temples to honor different Roman and Greek gods and goddesses.

It was universally accepted in the Hellenistic world that some were especially close to the gods.

Usually this closeness was supposed to be manifested by trances, ecstatic speech, and other unusual or bizarre forms of behavior.

All this was taken as evidence of special spiritual endowment.

A person with epilepsy, for instance, was said to have the “divine disease.”

The oracles at religious centers were often given drugs to provoke their utterances.

The oracle at Delphi, so prominent in the early days of Greece, breathed volcanic fumes from a cleft in the rock of the temple floor, and her unconscious mutterings were then interpreted by the priests.

The Teacher’s Commentary 132: 1 Cor. 12–14—Church Family Gifts

It was universally accepted in the Hellenistic world that some were especially close to the gods. Usually this closeness was supposed to be manifested by trances, ecstatic speech, and other unusual or bizarre forms of behavior. All this was taken as evidence of special spiritual endowment. A person with epilepsy, for instance, was said to have the “divine disease.” The oracles at religious centers were often given drugs to provoke their utterances. The oracle at Delphi, so prominent in the early days of Greece, breathed volcanic fumes from a cleft in the rock of the temple floor, and her unconscious mutterings were then interpreted by the priests.

So the issues in Corinth stemmed from not understanding God’s gifts as separate and distinct from the pagan practices of spirituality.

We have that same issue today.

There are many forms of spirituality in our world today, but Christian spirituality is distinct and different.

The point here...

Paul wants us to understand that God has endowed each one of us with our own special set of gifts.

And we are to learn

that we have gifts how to use them

in the right setting

for the right purposes

and with the right Spirit.

There is nothing scary about spirituality, we are meant to operate in the spiritual and the physical.

So Paul is going to spend the next three chapters laying out everything you need to know about Spiritual gifts.

What they are,

How to use them

etc...

But this morning we are going to be talking about Paul’s introduction to this section. - Again verses 1-3

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

So this morning we are going to look at what Paul is saying here.

What he is warning us about.

He gives three dangers here concerning spiritual matters.

1. That we aren’t ignorant of the gifts.

2. That we aren’t carried away to false worship.

3. That we don’t speak false messages.

But before I begin to teach let’s Pray...

I. Danger of being ignorant of the Gifts

I do not want you to be ignorant.

so the first danger is being generally ignorant about spiritual gifts.

and there are two things to note here.

1. Spiritual gifts are special abilities given to every Christian for special purposes.

The purpose is to serve God in the church and in the world.

Romans 12:6-8 says, We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

These are just a handful of the gifts.

This means there is no room for jealousy or covetousness for someone else’s gifting.

This means that we should not use our gifts to control or manipulate others.

These are the types of things people were doing in the church, and they still do it today!

2. How can we be ignorant of spiritual gifts?

Some of you may not know that there is such a thing as spiritual gifts.

Or that you just didn’t get any.

that you are not good enough for these gifts.

Others may recognize certain gifts but be uncertain about how to use them.

Answer: How can we fix the problem of ignorance? One solution - learn!!

First, be here for the next 6 weeks and learn… Ha ha

Second, study God’s word.

do a study on spiritual gifts.

seriously go to blueletterbible or biblehub and do a search for the word gifts and study what they are and how they were used in the early church.

Join a small group study (I know, kind of hard right now).

Ask your mentor (ahhh. how many of you have a good solid Christian mentor helping you along?)

You need one…

So the first danger is being ignorant of spiritual gifts.

II. Danger of being carried away to false worship

The second danger is being carried away to false worship

Verse 2, You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.

The Corinthians had been led out of pagan religions into Christianity.

What did this mean for them?

they worshipped counterfeit gods, now they worshipped the true and living God. God of gods God most high.

b. These gods, Paul calls mute idols.

while it is true the idols were not alive, there were real living alive spiritual forces behind them.

These spiritual forces also have power, and they can give what we call counterfeit gifts to people.

Listen - spiritual beings are real.

Deut. 32 says When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.

scholars see this as a reference to the tower of Babel.

at Babel God dispersed the people into the various nations and groups and put spiritual beings in charge of each region, meant to govern correctly, these spiritual beings rebelled and were unfaithful to God’s direction.

And God chose Israel as his inheritance.

In Psalm 82 we read that God judged these spiritual beings and condemned them to death.

Psalm 82:1–8 (ESV)

1 God has taken his place in the divine council;

in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

2 “How long will you judge unjustly

and show partiality to the wicked? Selah

3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;

maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.

4 Rescue the weak and the needy;

deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,

they walk about in darkness;

all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6 I said, “You are gods,

sons of the Most High, all of you;

7 nevertheless, like men you shall die,

and fall like any prince.”

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;

for you shall inherit all the nations!

This is what Jesus accomplished and why Paul can write in Col. 3:11,

Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

So these angels (spiritual beings) didn’t do what God wanted them to do...

If you ever wondered why the Old Testament is so violent, there is your answer.

Rebellion against God most high always ends in chaos.

Ok, back to the point!!!

The Corinthians had been exposed and even followed these false gods, these counterfeits, and many had probably practiced the various “gifts” that these pagan deities gave out.

Many of us have also been led astray by various counterfeit gifts.

astrology

palm reading, tarot cards, other kinds of magic.

certain types of meditation practices have evil origins.

Even yoga has a spiritual element or originally had a spiritual element to it.

even atheism, I believe, has a spiritual element behind it.

So people sometimes get confused between what gifts are of God and which ones aren’t.

Which practices are of God and which ones aren’t.

It happened in Corinth and it happens today.

III. Danger of speaking a false message.

Verse 3a - Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

This is both a danger and a test.

Here is how it is a danger.

1. When we are younger and less experienced in the things of the Spirit it is easy to get the wrong message from say a word of prophecy.

I think God told me to say this, but he actually meant this.

This has happened to all of us who have practiced operating in the gifts.

That is why it is so important to have mentors in the Christian faith.

We go to them and say hey I think God is saying …

and the mentor will say no that kind of goes against the Word of God in this way or that...

or he or she says yeah I think that really is probably what God is saying.

Right or they might say let’s pray about it, and get confirmation from the Lord.

2. People often operate in the gifts apart from the direction of the Holy Spirit.

To the Less Experienced

We don’t want to do that. We only operate under the “unction” the direction of the Holy Spirit.

1 Peter 1:21 - For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

This comes with experience, knowing and hearing and recognizing God’s voice.

We must be aware of God’s leading.

To the More Experienced

One of the dangers of getting comfortable is operating outside of God’s direction.

We know the truth, but God doesn’t always want us to share it at certain times or maybe in the same ways.

Example - in Acts 16:6-7 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

____________________________

Here is how it is a test.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. 1 John 4:1-3

Paul says the same thing, no one speaking by the Spirit can say “Jesus is accursed” (something negative about or contrary to Jesus or the word) and likewise no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.

If God gives you peace about it, it’s probably from him.

If you feel really uncomfortable about it probably isn’t.

If it lines up with truth it is of God.

If it places the focus on Jesus it is of God.

If it brings glory to God it is of God.

Conclusion / Recap

So there is a danger of being generally ignorant about spiritual matters.

Remember the actual word he uses says spiritual things - not necessarily gifts.

There is a danger of getting confused and entangled in false worship.

if it’s not about Jesus, it’s wrong.

Even worship of the Holy Spirit or the Father should cause you to raise your eyebrows a bit.

if you are in a service and all they ever talk about is the Holy Spirit and you don’t hear anything about Jesus, something is wrong with that.

The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to bring glory and witness to and about Jesus.

Listen, the Bible is wholly focused on the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Worshiping Jesus brings glory to the Father and the Spirit.

We must be conscious to make sure what we are saying is from God.

His message correctly delivered.

His glory properly upheld.

We must “test the Spirits.”

Here we go again, it’s all about Jesus!

Faith in Jesus / Christianity is more than saying I believe

It is I believe and behave accordingly!

...Pray...

Communion

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”