Sermon Tone Analysis

Ever been with a child on their birthday or on Christmas day.

What usually do you find that they are most excited about?

GIFTS obviously.

I remember my grandparents in particular always joking about that.

We’d have our meal and if it was a birthday maybe we’d eat the cake then he’d usually tell us Happy Birthday or Merry Christmas followed by well it’s getting late, time to head home.

Of course, as a kid, we’d come to expect that on these days something else usually came with them.

So when he state to head out toward the door, we’d say something along the lines of, hey grandpa, aren’t you forgetting something.

He liked when we did that.

He was the kind of grandpa that liked to egg us on so to speak.

And so he’d say oh ya, the presents but you don’t really want those do ya?

To which we of course made much noise about that.

Yes, we do… kids love and adults too love getting gifts, but often times, God wired us to enjoy giving them as well.

What makes giving gifts especially fun and thrilling.

It’s getting them something they really like and seeing the excitement they have when the open it.

How do you get them something they like, you spend time watching, and listening, and thinking about them.

Seeing their interests and searching for that special something.

The more time you spend on it, only makes you all the more excited for them to open it, right?

That’s especially true when you make them something home made.

I remember the first time I made my Dad a gift.

It was a Kubb set… if you don’t know what that is, come tonight to our evening service at the park and find out.

I remember buying the wood, and cutting it, carving it out, staining them, painting them, and engraving all the kids name in them.

It took me awhile to make it all, but I was thrilled to have my Dad open it.

I’ve given my Dad several gifts over the years but I have anticipated none of those other gifts as much as I anticipated that gift I made for my father because I put so much time into it, it had significance, and it was meaningful!

The not only does the more time and thought and meaning of the gift make it important but also how it aids and helps them in life.

When you see a gift that truly benefits a person and those around him, giving them a necessity they couldn’t afford, leaving them speechless and sometimes in tears, that also is what makes gifts special, the benefit they bring to the recipient.

When speaking about spiritual things.

God has given us incredible gifts as well.

Gifts that are thoughtful, meaningful, beneficial, necessary, and unobtainable on our own.

Gifts of life, and salvation certainly come to mind.

But one that we cannot in no means ignore, is the gifts of the Holy Spirit or call them Spiritual Gifts.

These are valuable, important, meaningful, beneficial, and essential for living our lives and for the health of the body of Christ.

That is why Paul now directs his attention to answering the questions concerning spiritual gifts.

This matter is so crucially important that Paul will take a lengthy section of his writing to devout himself to this topic (in our English Bibles, that’s equates to 3 chapters, chapters 12,13,and 14 and 84 verses given to it.)

Just as children eagerly await the opportunity to open their gifts on those special days, I hope that we eagerly long to receive, understand, and use the gifts God has given as we consider “What’s this about Gifts, found in 1 Corinthians 12:1-13.

This week we will be talking about the Unity found within the Spiritual Gifts.

Next, week will be looking at the Diversity of the Spiritual Gifts, and in July the 17th, I’ll have one Sunday there to address the maturity of the Spiritual Gifts found in chapter 13.

Before we begin in the passage, let’s pray

Read 1 Corinthians 12:1-13

I. Unity within the Spiritual Gifts

As we read again in verse 1, again, Paul writes:

The greek word here for uninformed: agnoeo (ag-no-eh’-o)- not to know (through lack of information or intelligence) by implication to ignore (through disinclination- basically not caring)- to be ignorant like the KJV translates it.

So whether they were with little knowledge on the subject, or needed a reminder because they had forgotten, or if they purposely chose to ignore it, Paul clearly wanted them to be set straight on this major question.

He didn’t want them to have any doubts or uncertainty.

What made this question and subject so important and what made Paul jump into this topic after such a hot rebuke for their handling of the Lord’s table is the fact on how much spiritual gifts have to do with unity.

A problem as we spoke on last week, they had greatly messed up on and were still struggling with.

Paul in his mindset continues with some solutions to their divided problem by relating to them a proper understanding of Spiritual Gifts which when properly understood and applied will create a unity amongst them.

Don’t see how spiritual gifts has to do with Unity.

Look again at verses 2-13.

How many times do you see the word “same” appear?

How many times do you see the word “one” appear?

Depending on the versions you read, you would see the word “same” appear at least 6 or 7 times and the same is true of the word “one”.

That’s like 12-15 times in these few verses that Paul wants them to see how united things should be (as we know repetition equates with importance).

Paul places a special emphasis on the “oneness” believers in the church should have.

He pointed out four wonderful bonds of spiritual unity that we have that bring us together.

I(A).

We Confess the Same Lord (v.

1-3)

Reading verses 2 and 3, what is Paul’s meaning here?

What Paul is doing here is challenging their views on the spiritual gifts.

They had them all confused.

Just as the Corinthians had perverted almost everything else, they also had perverted the nature, purpose, and use of spiritual gifts.

This perversion, as the others, largely was due to ideas and practices they had dragged from their pagan society into the church.

The old life continually contaminated the new.

They had not separated themselves from their former ways and were still handling, in fact strongly holding on to, that which was “unclean” (2 Cor.

6:14–17).

Although they were rich and complete in spiritual gifts (1 Cor.

1:7), they were poor in understanding them and irresponsible in using them.

Unfortunately, here in this page… the Corinthians were not using their gifts correctly or it could be said that these were not gifts at all, counterfeit perhaps.

Before we go too much farther into describing what these Corinthians were doing.

It would be good that we stop for a minute and give a good definition of what a spiritual gift is.

Spiritual gifts are divine enablements for ministry, characteristics of Jesus Christ that are to be manifested through the body corporate just as they were manifested through the body incarnate

As Paul begins, he contrasts their old way of life with their new way.

In there old, pagan lifestyle, they were led astray.

Greek word for led astray was often used of prisoners being taken under armed guard to prison or execution.

(Acts 12:19 or 2 Tim.

3:6).

Before a person is saved he is a captive of Satan and of his own depraved sin nature.

He cannot help but be led into idolatry.

Unbelievers not only are bound in sin but are blinded in sin.

They cannot see their chains.

The point is they cannot escape but by God’s power.

Slave to idols that cannot help them.

And why is this relevant to the topic of spiritual gifts?

Why does Paul bring this up?

Paul gives them two tests to show whether these gifts are true or not.

1. “No on speaking in the Spirit of God ever says, ‘Jesus is accursed’”- Doctrinal Test

He says wherefore… understand this… a man claiming that he is speaking by God’s Spirit cannot say Jesus is accursed.

In others, this man who claims he is using a Spiritual Gift given to Him by the Holy Spirit can say something so blasphemous.

The sad part here is that the Corinthian church didn’t scold him it appears.

And they even allowed his voice to be heard because it came “from the Spirit of God.”

They thought the Spirit of God gave this man the gift of prophecy or teaching to make these claims so they respected it and allowed him to do it.

Corinthians had come to judge the nature and use of gifts on the basis of experience rather than content.

The more impressive, showy, unusual, and bizarre, the more a practice was accepted and respected.

They had fallen back so deeply into ecstasy and enthusiasm that their judgment was completely warped.

As long as it took place in the church and was presented by someone who claimed to be a Christian, any teaching or practice was accepted without question.

Content was ignored, even to the extent of disregarding that which was obviously immoral and blasphemous.

Paul seems to be asking, “How can you possibly be so confused?

When you were pagans you could not help being blind and deceived.

You could not help being led astray.

But how can you who are truly Christians fail to recognize those who so obviously are not?

How can you who have been so blessed with spiritual gifts be so utterly incapable of recognizing Satan’s counterfeit gifts?

How can you even believe that cursing the Lord and Savior could be of the Holy Spirit?”

There’s only one thing that could explain how they could allow such teaching to be even remotely considered and that is the teaching of gnosticism which was very prevalent at this time.