Spiritual Gifts and There Purposes 1 Cor. 12:1-11

Introduction

Everyone in a community has a contribution to make, just as each part of the human body contributes to its ability to function properly. The analogy of the body as a way of understanding how people work interdependently has a long history, dating back even to the ancient Greek and Roman writers, and carrying forward still describes various ways that we work with others today.

We see this in the oilfield where there is a driller, an inside hand, an outside hand, and derrick/mud man. Some even have more than this. Yet each has a job to do and if they do not do it, there are problems.

Same with cowboying. When making a drive every man has a job to do. If he does not do it, then the whole drive gets messed up.

The list is endless of jobs and functions of each person within that particular industry.

It is the same with our bodies. Each member of the body has a job and role to play. If part of the body is not functioning, then the whole body is down or not working to its optimum ability.

To look ahead a little, Paul says that we, believers, are “The Body of Christ.” He does not say we are like a body, he says we are the Body (1 Cor. 12:27). Since we are the body using the human body as an example is the best way to illustrate this.

Through the Spirit each person has a vital contribution to make to the whole. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul calls these contributions “spiritual gifts” (v. 1), “gifts” (v. 4) and “manifestation[s] of the Spirit” (v. 7).

I. DIFFERENT GIFTS—vv. 1–11

1. Use of Gifts—vv. 1 Cor. 12:1–3 “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.”

Gifts are useless, if not known how to use them.

In these verses we see Paul saying he does not want us uninformed about spiritual gifts. That many were led astray by mute idols.

This is true. When we are of the world anything that is big and looks amazing will lead us astray. Many have fallen pray to Ouija boards, seances, and other forms of witchcraft.

It is because of these practices that were amuck back then and are now too that Paul explains how to discern what is from what.

No one who is in the Spirit will say Jesus is accursed nor can one out of the Spirit say He is Lord. According to Leon Morris “Obviously a mocking unbeliever can mouth the words Jesus is Lord. Paul is not denying this. He is saying that the words can be uttered with full meaning only under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The Lordship of Christ is not a human discovery. It is a discovery that is made and can be made only when the Spirit is at work in the heart.”

What Paul is saying is that those who are believers will know that Jesus is the Savior and Lord and know if anyone says He is accursed that they are not a believer. This is a gifting of the Spirit because to reject Christ is to reject Christianity.

So one gift that all believers have is the Spiritual ability to discern the truth. We are saved by the one true God and as such we have the ability to know when someone is speaking erroneously about Him.

This applies to those who want to say ‘I got a Vision from the Lord.” “The Lord told me...” and many other false things. We get a word from the Lord from His Word. He will use it to speak to us by the Spirit but it is not direct revelation we receive but divine illumination

Lewis Sperry Chafer wrote of this saying, “The Spirit of God is given to every saved person as an indwelling Paraclete, thus providing a limitless resource both for understanding and teachableness.” (9, Systematic Theology Volume 1).

I do not mean to say that God may not use differing methods in countries that do not have a Bible, but for all who do, this is how we learn the truth of Scripture. We are submitted to God and His word.

2. Unity of the Gifts—vv. 1 Cor. 12:4–11 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

Verse 4 explicitly tells us that these gifts are from the same Spirit. This is aid so people do not think they are better than others. The same Spirit gives the gifts. Any gift one has is from the Spirit and it is not of them.

a. Plan for gifts—vv. 4–6

Here we see that they are gifts for a variety of service and activities.

The service is performed by each individual for what it is they were gifted. All are for service but the method of service is different.

Much like if I gave you a tool set. Say it is a 300 piece tool set. Wrenches, ratchets, screwdrivers, sockets, pliers, extensions, magnets, drill bits, adapters, wire strippers, and many other items. Now each tool has a particular job it is to do. When you use the proper tool for the job, the job is performed relatively easily.

Now, if you use a wrench as a hammer you may get the job done but it is not done as easily. The same can be said of using a screwdriver as a chisel. It may get done but it is not as easy and the tool may break.

That is what is being said here. Each one has been given a gift for service and activity but not all are the same. But what is for sure known is that they are for service and activities. They are not to be held in and not used.

Within the plans of the gifts there is the unity again. The varieties mentioned three times are for the strengthening of the body. Each variety is for the purpose needed to make the body stronger and better. No variety is better as I already mentioned.

We see the unity in the threefold

the same Spirit

the same Lord

the same God.

It is the triune Godhead that gives the gifts as He sees fit. He gives them to “empower them all in everyone” 12:6.

This means people are gifted differently by God but God and His work is unified. Simply put, if your gift is to be a help then cleaning the toilets is just as important and needed as one standing up and preaching.

This is why Paul goes on and says 1 Cor. 12:7 “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Each gift is for the common good of the church. All are to be used for the good and upbuilding of the body. If someone is gifted in an area that another is not, there is to be no belittling because each gift is just as important as the next one.

Just like the tool set from earlier. Each tool regardless what it is is just as important as another when it is needed for a job. No tool is unnecessary if it is needed. Each person in the body of Christ is needed. No one is less than and no one is better than another. We are all equal in Christ but gifted differently.

Which is what we see next in the

b. Personality of the gifts—vv. 1 Cor. 12:7–10 “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”

GIFTS OF REVELATION: Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Gift of Prophecy

Word of Wisdom is the practical application of knowledge. Whereas knowledge is the ability to teach doctrine. This is the gifted teachers and preachers.

Just as Paul began saying no one can say Jesus is Lord without the Spirit, no one can speak knowledge and wisdom without the Lord.

Let us rewind back to 1 Cor. 2:11-14 “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

Having genuine knowledge of the Lord and God’s thoughts comes from the Spirit. Some are more gifted in this area than others. That is why some are preachers and teachers and others are not. Not all are gifted to do this type of work.

Now, prophecy is similar but a little different. BDAG, a leading Greek Lexicon defines this act of prophecy as, “the gift of interpreting divine will or purpose” (889).

This is interpreting the Word of God and discerning what it means and what we should do. In the time of this writing the Bible was not like what we have today. We must always keep that in mind.

People then were receiving revelations from the Lord, the apostles that is. They still received prophecy as the prophets of old did, but as Hebrews 1:1-2 “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” the revelations have come from Christ directly to the apostles to write and teach. Prophecy as described by Paul here to others outside the apostles is the “gift of interpreting divine will or purpose.”

GIFTS OF POWER: Gift of Faith, Working of Miracles, Gifts of Healing.

Faith is “subjective confidence to objective basis for confidence...that which evokes trust and faith, the state of being someone in whom confidence can be placed” (BDAG 818).

This is believing in God to do incredible things. Having a faith that is larger than anything that life throws at you. Faith as in saving faith is not a gift from God. That faith is something we place in Christ. Because He is someone who confidence can be placed.

Many want to make faith a gift because they say we are so depraved in sin we cannot believe without it being so. That is just wrong. Yes, we are depraved and in sin, but we can still discern truth and falsities. We can see that we are sinners and need to stop other things. So, it is the same with seeing that we are lost and need a savior.

So, this faith is the giftedness of knowing that God is all-powerful and that nothing will stop you from believing that He will come through. We all know this person. They are always upbeat and full of joy regardless what is going on. That is the gift of faith that this is speaking of.

Now, we are getting into some of the gifts that I believe are not active now at least like they were back then.

Miracles here are those of miraculous wonders. Like raising someone from the dead.

I firmly believe miracles are still happening today, just not from a person like they did then.

Paul did many mighty acts, Peter did, but with the spread and growth of Christianity, the necessity for people to perform them is not necessary now.

Same for healings. I do believe that people are healed today just not like then.

We do not see people like in Acts 3:1-8 “Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God,” jumping up with all abilities like nothing had ever been wrong with them.

People do receive healing from the Lord, but a person like Peter and Paul and Jesus are not among us like this then.

Could there be someone somewhere in the world that has these gifts today? Yes. There can be because God can do what He wants and use people how he wants where He wants them. But these are not normative for today. Just as the last few are not either.

GIFTS OF UTTERANCE: Gift of Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Discerning Spirits.

Gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues. Whatever this is exactly is not one hundred percent certain. In Acts 2 we see that Peter was preaching in the midst of many people from other areas who spoke different languages and they understood him. He was speaking but they heard him in their own language.

Leon Morris speaks of this stating, “The ability to speak in different kinds of tongues appears to have been a special form of speech when the person uttering the words did not know what they meant” (167, 1 Cor. Tyndale Commentary).

This is speaking in a language that they did not know. This is why there had to be interpreters for this gift too. If there was not then this was a useless gift.

That is why what we see today from people is not the gift of tongues. They get to rattling off noises that make zero sense and they have no interpreter. That is not tongues but puffed up people who want to look good for others like they are extra spiritual and it is against what Paul is teaching here, and later on as we will see more of next week.

Again, this is not necessarily gone today but again it is not normative. Theologian Sam Storms speaks of those “on the mission field, in which a believer spoke in a genuine human language without any previous exposure to it or study of it” (Beginners Guide, 179).

Now, as in 1 Cor 13:1 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” We see Paul speaking of angelic tongues. Whatever these may be there still needs to be interpreters. Paul spends a large amount of time explaining that prophecy and other gifts are superior to tongues 1 Cor. 13:1-14: 40.

Some take tongues to be us praying to the Lord and use many of the Scriptures that speak of praying in the Spirit as their argument. Maybe this is what it is but one thing is for certain, it is not what we see from many television and other heavily pentecostal/charismatic churches today. In any case whatever tongues is, it is meant to be an edifying and not a confusing gift.

Now, discerning spirits is a gift of being able to discern demonic from holy activities. It is also the gift of being able to determine between good and bad. Whether a person is genuine or false in their actions.

c. Practice of gifts—v. 11. He gives the gifts to those whom He thinks will use them for His work.

Paul ends this section with the unity that is meant to be from the gifts.

All who are gifted are gifted from the same Spirit. No one is better than another. Each has a gift and they are to use that gift. It is not given to just sit in the shop and never be brought out.

All gifts are for the body to grow and be strengthened. Each person has something, maybe a couple, but the key is to use them because God gave them. We do not need to hold them in and never use them. That is not being faithful.

That is what we will look at next week. How the body has many members and each has a purpose.