Spiritual Gifts
Holy Spirit Power, Holy Spirit Purpose • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 1:03:01
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Title: Holy Spirit Power, Holy Spirit Purpose: Spiritual Gifts
--PRAY--
Verse:
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.
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.
Thesis: The Holy Spirit is God Working Within His Church.
Intro:
As we begin this series, I want to go as deep as I can without preaching for as long as I can, so I do want to just dive into the text this morning.
We will see the Holy Spirit working within the church as He leads us, empowers us, and is sovereign over us.
The Holy Spirit is Leading Us
The Holy Spirit is Leading Us
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
This points us back to something that Paul said earlier in this letter. In chapter 7, Paul points out that he is actually writing this to respond to concerns that were expressed within the church.
He says, 1 Corinthians 7:1
1 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV)
Now concerning the matters about which you wrote...
and he goes on to address the topic of marriage, sexual relations, and the like. Paul is not unaware of what’s going on in the Corinthian church, he’s kept tabs on them. He’s likely received letters from those within the church as well.
In fact, the incestuous relationship we see taking place in chapter 5 seems to indicate that, as he writes
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
So in chapter 5, we see it’s not that they wrote and told Paul about it, it’s that he’s heard about it from someone else. Likely Chloe, who he mentions in chapter 1, verse 11, who had also told Paul there was quarrelling within the church (1:11).
Now, in the previous chapter, chapter 11, Paul had addressed the behavior of these Christians as they’d come together for the Lord’s Supper, as well as how they’d behave in fellowship with one another
Much of what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians is to address the church’s actions, mistakes, misdirections, whatever we wish to call them - Paul’s letter was to get them back on track.
And here, to begin chapter 12, he tells them that he does not want them to be uninformed about Spiritual Gifts.
The word uninformed, of course, means he doesn’t want them to be ignorant of these things. He wants the church to know about them, so that they can use them, but use them effectively.
I enjoy listening to some great preachers, many who do not believe the Spiritual gifts are for the church today, but nowhere in Scripture do we see the apostles telling us that the gifts are not for future generations!
Only, we see that we are not to be ignorant of them, and we are to use them properly, for the right purpose, if we are to use them in the truth of their power.
Many of those ministers have seen the abuse of the gifts, have seen them used in the wrong way, or have seen evil men use the good things of God for their own evil purposes. Peter warned the church of such men, in 2 Peter 2.
Especially when he compares such men to Balaam. Peter writes:
They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
Who was Balaam? He was a prophet. These men claim to prophesy, they claim to be acting in the giftings of the Holy Spirit, when in reality, it is their own spirit, or even a demonic influence that is corrupting those around them.
Paul says don’t be ignorant.
Now, I want to get this out of the way as we move forward - we can discern what is and is not from the Holy Spirit. Scripture gives us 4 simple and easy tests.
The first is when we ask if it somehow contradicts Scripture.
Numbers 23:19 (ESV)
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
If someone prophesies, or gives a message in tongues, we test it with what God has already given us. What Scripture says is final.
That’s not debatable, that’s Christianity 101. If you don’t believe Scripture is the word of God, and it is our foundation, then you need a heart check.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
and not far above the page, Paul said
2 Timothy 2:13 (ESV)
if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.
So if a prophecy or word of knowledge, or any other “word from the Lord” contradicts the written word of the Lord, what do we do with it? We throw it out. We disregard it. We move on.
Second, we have to ask - especially if it’s prophecy - is it true? Or does it come true?
And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.
An old Pastor who helped me learn to preach once said, “If you’re going to stand before the people of God and say, ‘Thus sayeth the Lord,’ you better be sure He said it.’” That goes for preaching as well as prophecy.
The difference is, the one speaking prophetically is to hear directly from God the exact words he’s relaying to the people - if he gets it wrong, we ignore him. In fact, he’s disqualified himself from the office of prophet.
Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel have strong words for such people.
And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.
and
My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord God.
So does their prophecy come true? Is their word of knowledge applicable? Does the message in tongues have any truth to it? We have to ask this. We must be discerning.
Third, does it add or subtract from Scripture?
In other words, is it adding a special revelation to the divine revelation we’ve been given? It may not contradict, but does it add to what’s already there?
You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.
And Revelation warns
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
So at the beginning of your Bible and at the end, we are warned not to add or subtract from the revelation of Scripture already given to us. Should a gift of the Spirit do that, we know it’s not the Holy Spirit.
Now, with that said, we also know from Revelation
Revelation 19:10 (ESV)
... the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
So someone may come along with a word of knowledge, a word of encouragement, a prophetic word, and it may not be something that sounds very scriptural, for example, “Brother, I believe the Lord told me you need to put your iPad down a little more and spend some time in your Bible.”
Now, you might hear that and say, “Psh, God doesn’t care about iPads, they weren’t even invented back then.” But if you’re addicted to screens all the time, that may very well be God saying, “You’re not making time for me, that tablet is an idol, put it down.” The word or prophecy is meant to draw you closer to Jesus.
On the flip side of that, and I’ll just say this: There were a lot of so called prophets the past few years more concerned with politics than they were the kingdom of Jesus, and they need to repent and sit down.
Is it drawing you to Jesus? Is it edifying? Is it rebuking? Is it helping you knock off the sins and stains that have kept you from where you need to be? Or is it some new revelation that “What God really meant when He said ___” or, “Jesus is coming back on October such and such”. Because that’s definitely adding and subtracting, right?
And the fourth and final thing for discerning is simply the track record of the person giving the message.
“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
What are they teaching? what are they like outside the church? Their words may sound right, may seem Biblical, but are they leading people to Jesus or to themselves?
Paul says don’t be ignorant of such things. In fact, the word he uses here in verse 1, for Spiritual Gifts is not the word we typically see used.
It’s the word πνευματικῶν pneumatikon - which literally means “pertaining to the Spirit”. Referring to spiritual qualities or characteristics under spiritual control.
Spiritual gifts are the divine enablement for ministry that the Holy Spirit gives us in some measure, under His control, and used for the building of the church for Christ’s glory.
Typically, and later on we’ll see, the word “charismata” (χαρίσματα) used, and that means a “gracious gift.” That’s where we get the word “Charismatic”. But that’s not what Paul is emphasizing just yet. Charismata is Paul’s preferred word for such things, but it seems that when the Corinthian Church wrote him, they may have used the word “Pneumatikon”.
Now, this matters because it’s going to open our understanding as to how Paul views these giftings going forward.
The Corinthian church, as we’ll see, were using their tongues with no interpretation, they were prophesying and discouraging discernment, and doing this all before outsiders who had no clue what was going on.
On top of that, they were using certain giftings as a means of creating a “hierarchy” amongst themselves, ranking each other based on the gifts they were given. We’re not to do that - yet we often see people do this. As if someone with a gift of prophecy is more important than one whose gifting is servanthood.
So Paul uses the “gracious gift” wording, rather than the word which focused on a spiritual element.
You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.
In saying this, Paul is referencing what they came from. That the life they lived “Pre-Christ” was a lift serving dead things. Lifeless things.
They once did not know God, but now that they do know Him, they should be living in a way that reflects God in their lives.
Their lives are imitating their theology - if you will.
While they once served lifeless statues, now they serve a living King.
And the imagery Paul uses here, that they were “led away”, reflects the cultic procession that was celebrated in cities like Corinth, where the people would be led to an altar of a false god, a sacrifice would be made, and other worship practices of such a deity would then follow.
Now, Paul uses that imagery but the words he uses also draw to mind that of slaves being marched away by their masters. Paul will draw upon this elsewhere, as in Galatians 4:3
In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.
But now, they are to be led by God’s Holy Spirit
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Whichever way they were led by these false gods, they followed. Paul says we don’t do that with the Holy Spirit - He won’t lead us to sin, He won’t lead us to contradict Himself, He won’t lead us to unholy lifestyles.
Frankly, He won’t because He can’t, God is incapable of doing something unholy. He is God working within the church, and He will not contradict Himself.
The Holy Spirit is Empowering Us
The Holy Spirit is Empowering Us
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.
Here we see further that God does not contradict Himself, in that no one speaking in the Holy Spirit will say “Jesus is accursed”.
Now, some theologians suspect Paul might be saying that they were using Jesus’ name as some sort of magical phrase to invoke a curse upon others.
Archaeologists have found evidence of this being done in the cult precincts of Demeter and Persephone in Corinth.
Now, if the Holy Spirit is operating in you and through you, you’re not going to be quick to say “Jesus should curse that person because that’s my enemy!” Why? Because Jesus said
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Love them, not curse them.
Elsewhere, Paul will tell the Romans,
To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Now, later Paul, himself will say
If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!
but he is not saying that he wants Jesus to curse them, he’s simply saying they are bringing judgment upon themselves.
And this idea likely has a deeper meaning for Paul, Himself. Remember, prior to his conversion, Paul was someone who would persecute Christ’s followers, and compel believers to utter this curse and revile the name of Jesus.
He admits to this in Acts 26:11 when he admits
And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
In later decades, under Emperor Trajan, Christians would be compelled to revile the name of Christ because no genuine Christian would ever do this.
But we also see Paul making a sharp contrast here. Jesus is accursed is the polar opposite of “Jesus is Lord”.
That’s actually part of someone’s conversion experience - acknowledging Christ as Lord.
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Paul is saying that no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit - and this assumes conversion itself as what is at stake here.
The confession is public, declaring before others their allegiance to Christ, and
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
How does the Father draw them? Jesus said, speaking of the Holy Spirit,
And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
So Paul is making the case that the Spirit dwells within the person who confesses Jesus as Lord, the Spirit does NOT dwell within a person who curses Jesus, or tries to curse their enemies.
He also has made the case that there must be discernment because not every utterance or spiritual phenomenon comes from God’s Spirit - which he will dive more into in chapter 14.
But discernment must be used. As BJ Oropeza writes in his Pentecostal Commentary on 1 Corinthians:
1 Corinthians: A New Covenant Commentary (Gifts of the Spirit and Solidarity in the Body of Christ (12:1–31))
Discernment is all the more necessary if a person who is relatively a new believer makes spiritual utterances. Such manifestations must not be fabricated, manipulated, or expected to come by a self-induced emotional state. Likewise, there is no compelling reason to assume the Spirit’s manifestation and gifts center on the notion of “ecstatic” phenomena, or a state of trance caused by spirit-possession, or Christian “spiritism” in which believers become mediums of a plurality of good spirits.
In fact, Paul makes it clear that while there are a variety of gifts, there is only One Spirit behind them if those gifts are from God.
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.
The gifts Paul promotes come from the one and same Spirit - and the Spirit may overwhelm a believer with a vision, or extreme joy, but does not characteristically do so as they operate in tongues, prophecy, or other spiritual gifts.
Even so, the person is still in control of his or herself - as we see later in 1 Corinthians 14:32
and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.
And here in verse 4 is where Paul begins - at least in this section - to use his own word for the gifts which I referred to earlier, the gracious gifts, or “charismata.”
While the gifts vary, it’s the same Spirit.
So the Holy Spirit isn’t going to tell one person to go speak a word of knowledge to a congregation, and then turn around and have a message in tongues, whose interpretation contradicts the first thing.
We’ve seen that made clear - God doesn’t do that. The true Holy Spirit doesn’t do that.
The gifts, the service, the activities all come from the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
Empowers in the original Greek is ἐνεργῶν “Energon”, which means to work - it’s where we get the english word “energize”.
God is the driving force behind the giftings, and therefore the giftings do what God always does - they glorify Him. They draw us closer to Him. They work us together, toward Him.
Paul is building a case - which we will see him conclude next week - and then elaborate further upon in chapters 13 and 14. He’s pointing us towards unity from our diversity.
We may all have different giftings, yet we still serve the same God. Unity from diversity is something God blesses, it’s literally what the church is - different people, acting as one - as we worship together, as we minister together, as we fellowship together.
We see the clearest example of this in Acts 4:32
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
These were all people from different socio-economic status, different backgrounds, different educations. At that time they were all mostly Jewish, we know that Jesus’ ministry had included some Gentiles like the Gerasene Demoniac and the Samaritan woman of John 4 who may have joined up in some fashion with them by this point.
The church may be diverse, but through the Holy Spirit, Paul makes it clear we are to be united in the Spirit.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Ah and here we are. “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Are we to receive the manifestation of the Spirit so one can be greater than the other? No.
Are we to receive the Spirit to have “cooler gifts” than someone else? No.
Are we to receive the Spirit so we can undermine leadership because “their gifting is leadership but mine is prophecy”? No.
It is for the “common good.” It’s the word (συμφέρον) sumpheron, and it means to profit or gain. Sometimes it’s translated advantage.
In other words, we’re given the gifts so that we all benefit, we all advance, we all gain and grow in Christ.
Someone once said the rising tide raises all ships, and so it is with the gifts of the Spirit.
Church hear me on this: The Spirit empowers us so that we empower each other. So that we bring others to Christ. So that we all grow closer to the Lord.
Not just a select few. Not just one or two. ALL OF US.
If that’s not happening, it’s not the Holy Spirit. If it’s a distraction, if it’s something that does not draw people to Christ, we can not say it is from God. The whole purpose of such things is to draw us to Him.
We will see this later in this series but
Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.
If it is not drawing us to Him, closer to Him, bringing unbelievers to Christ, we can’t assume it’s truly the Holy Spirit.
Because the Holy Spirit is truly God working within His church, He isn’t going to use it to scare people away or draw attention to a person - it’s always to draw us to Himself.
The Holy Spirit is Sovereign Over Us
The Holy Spirit is Sovereign Over Us
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,
Now, now, we get into the gifts Paul mentions here in this morning’s text, and what they are as we see the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit and how He works within the church.
This is actually the second list of gifts from the Holy Spirit in Scripture - the first being found in Romans 12:6-8, and he will mention some more further down our page in verses 29-30.
Peter also has a short list of giftings, referring to those who speak and those who serve in 1 Peter 4:9-11.
To start off, the Corinthian church would have been drawn to the gifting of wisdom. They are in that Greek mindset, and the love the idea of eloquent speaking, able to seem wise.
We can see that earlier in the letter Paul contrasts himself with this:
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
The historian, Pliny the Younger, indicated that the people of Corinth would have naturally thought that an articulate, talented orator was divinely inspired already, so how much more so one that spoke led by the Spirit.
But Paul’s take on such a wisdom is that it is a gift of God, and less a skill of articulation, and more of one that enables a believer to understand divine revelation, and the mysteries known by God.
We see this back in chapter 2 again.
Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Now, today in the church these would be those who study Scripture and seem to have an ability to dig and find insight. The Holy Spirit gifts this to them, it is not just the ability to study, to know how to exegete scripture, but to really let the Holy Spirit speak through the Scripture into their lives and live and speak accordingly.
The gift of knowledge, or “word of knowledge”, seems to overlap with prophecy in a sense - as we see later in chapter 14 verses 24 and 25, but it seems to be an extra awareness of thoughts, activities, locations, or circumstances of another person, thing, or group.
Paul, himself, exhibits this gifting in chapter 5 in that case I mentioned earlier. He says,
For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing.
Peter exhibits this gifting in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, when he knows that the they are lying about their giving in Acts 5.
Now, I should break here for a moment to say that some people may have one gifting they’re very strong in, and there may be those who seem to operate in any one of these giftings at a certain time, if the Spirit wills it.
There have been times the Holy Spirit has revealed stuff to me, and I knew it was God, and it was shortly confirmed after.
Illustration - Indy: Ron Silence at the altar, things in the church, etc.
That doesn’t mean I know all your secrets or anything like that - believe me I wouldn’t want that, either. But God does reveal some things to us and that’s a word of knowledge. But we always want to make sure it’s confirmed. Again, discernment matters.
There’s the gift of faith. Which is the same word we discussed last week: pistis, to believe.
But this must mean something slightly different, otherwise all believers in Christ exhibit it. This gift would be that extraordinary trust in God we see exhibited in the original readers of the book of Hebrews who were told
But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
And what soon follows that passage, but an expanding upon their fore-bearers in the arena of faith, what we call Faith’s Hall of Fame, Hebrews 11.
These are those who have faith to move mountains, faith that inspires those around them, faith that blesses and encourages, faith that holds on to hope when all else seems hopeless.
Of course, we then have the Gift of Healings.
This would have been a very relevant thing to the Corinthian church, where, within their city the temples of Asclepius resided, the god of healing. You’ve all seen his staff on an EMT’s badge.
To be able to demonstrate healing in that city, when the priests of the false god Asclepius could not - that would be huge.
And to the early Christians, divine healing confirmed the Messianic era had arrived. For us, today, we believe healing to be one of our core doctrinal beliefs.
We practice and firmly believe the words of James 5:14-16
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
While we acknowledge God may not heal everyone, in His sovereignty, healing is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s why we still pray for healing - and we pray in faith.
If we don’t have faith when we pray, why are we praying? As Hebrews 11:6 says,
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
That is saying we draw near in faith, and we have faith, but just because we have faith or say something in faith does not mean God has to do it, God is not our genie, we are to do His will.
The fact that Paul uses the plural form of the word “gifts” here, for the first time in this chapter, seems to suggest that there are diverse ways in which a person may be used by God to bring healing to individuals and communities - and remember, not all healings are physical.
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.
Paul goes on with his list - the apostle Paul loves lists, he makes several in his epistles.
And he begins with the working of miracles as a spiritual gift. Well, what does he mean by that?
These were likely acts that were done contrary to nature. Such as Paul striking Elymas with blindness in Acts 13:11, or Peter telling Ananias and Sapphira they’re going to die - again in Acts 5.
While it may be referring to a variety of miracles such as raising the dead, or something else powerful, we have to remember that it is always an exhibition of Christ’s power in us or through us, not the power of the person themselves, on their own.
The Greek word used for miracles is (δυνάμεων) dunameon - its root being that same word Luke uses for “power” in Acts 1:8. This may refer to the power to cast out demons, which we saw last week in Luke 9:1
And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,
Of course, it may overlap some with the gift of discerning of spirits. Thus, a person who has such a gift may also have the working of miracles to perform exorcisms, casting out demons.
We see this, again in the apostle Paul, in Acts 16, in Philippi, as a young slave girl who had a spirit of divination followed him around, to the point, Scripture tells us (Acts 16:18), that it greatly annoyed Paul and he cast the demon out of her.
What she was saying wasn’t all that bad, necessarily - she was calling Paul and his associates “servants of the Most High God”, and letting everyone know they proclaimed” the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17).
But Paul discerned she was not truly doing this under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and told the demon to get lost.
Now, the fact that discerning of spirits is mentioned where it is - directly between prophecy and speaking in tongues - does not happen by accident.
Paul mentions it here because it is vital to determine the source of the prophetic utterances and the messages in tongues.
And again, we are reminded to use discernment.
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.
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.
We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Prophecy may involve predicting the future - as we see in Acts 21:10, with Agabus, who prophesied Paul’s arrest and imprisonment.
But more importantly, it is the proclamation of a revelation imparted by God, not human wisdom. We see it later clarified in chapter 14:
Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent.
And while the gift appears to be spontaneous from that text, it should not be taken to be something that is done ecstatically or irrationally.
And so we now see Tongues, or “glossolalia”, or in the tense used here, glosson (γλωσσῶν·).
This is the ability to speak in a language unknown to the speaker - IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE GIBBERISH.
Paul is not speaking hyperbolically in chapter 13 when he writes,
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
He is not speaking hyperbolically in Galatians 1:8, nor is the writer of Hebrews speaking hyperbolically when discussing the hospitality some had shown toward angels.
I recently explained this to someone who said, “Angels don’t speak their own language, everytime they talk to people they talk so the people can understand them.” I said, “Yes, and you and I are speaking English, but if my first language was Chinese, I’d still speak to you in English.”
Angels are from a different region of reality - it is not beyond the limits of our imagination to assume they have their own language.
But nobody is going to teach you to speak in tongues. Nobody should ever force you to speak in tongues. The Holy Spirit prays through you, the Holy Spirit speaks through you, in an unknown language, and there must be an interpretation.
An interpretation does not necessarily mean a word-for-word translation. It is a “spoken disclosure of what was said or expected by the utterance and provides meaning to the experience.”
We see this again later in chapter 14.
Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.
Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret.
What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
If someone gives a message in tongues, and there’s no interpretation, we disregard it. If someone believes they are given a message in tongues, and they do it and are obedient, and there’s no interpretation, we’ll move on.
If someone does it a lot, we may have a conversation privately about it later, but there’s no need for embarrassment. The church at Corinth was learning, new Christians and even some more mature Christians must still be teachable.
The pastor, too, might I add.
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Poopfarts Paul concludes this small section by reminding us that the Spirit is who energizes us, through His sovereign will, as individuals, but as we will see moving forward it is always with a purpose.
It is for building the Church, it is for leading us to Christ.
The Holy Spirit is God working within His church.
Conclusion
I’m going to move to close, I know this has gone kind of longer today. But here’s the thing I want to stress today, church.
We are a Pentecostal church. We can not fear that, we must embrace it.
But when we operate in the charismata, it must be done for the purpose of building the church of Christ, and drawing us closer to Him, and it must be done with discernment.
For the church to operate as it should, the watchmen on the walls must be vigilant, the deacons must be consistent, and God must be regarded as holy.
And let me end with this: A Pentecostal church, active in the gifts of the Spirit, operating rightly - there is no excuse for it to be a divided church, and not a united, thriving church.
If we are obedient to the Spirit, He will draw us closer to one another as He draws us closer to Christ.
I’m going to close in prayer - if you’re here and you don’t know what your gifting is, spend time seeking the Lord and ask the Spirit to guide you. If you’ve never been baptized in the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues, we’d encourage you to pray for that as well.
But I’m going to close in prayer, and we’re dismissed, please take fellowship to the foyer not in the sanctuary.
ask church to stand… Pray