14: Many Instruments. One Song. (1 Cor 12)

DAD JOKES

Did you hear about the excited parents who went to the hospital to have their baby girl who they planned on naming “ANNA”. They were surprised when they had twin girls, and being the musical family that they were, decided to name them ANNA ONE, ANNA TWO.

I knew a guy who wanted to play the guitar really badly. And sure enough - after years of hard work, practice and determination, he can play the guitar really badly.

I heard about Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, and Arnold Schwarzenegger - who of course are getting older - sitting down to talk about a movie idea. Sylvester Stallone said: "Guys, we should make a movie with the three of us, but I'm all out of ideas at the moment, I'm kind of bored with the standard action flicks."

Chuck says: "Don't you have any ideas?"

"Yeah, this may sound silly, but I was actually thinking about doing a movie on great classical composers"

That's when Arnold trows himself in the conversation and says: "That sounds like a great idea! Sly, you can be Mozart, and Chuck can be Beethoven!"

"And who will you be, Arnold?"

"I'll be Bach."

Like many of you, I played in a symphonic band in middle school, but I never thought of myself as liking symphonies…that is…until I realized that most of the movie soundtracks I like ARE performed by symphonic orchestras - in movies like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Avengers, and even in Rocky & Top Gun.

All the instruments combined - low, medium, and high ranges - sound beautiful together.

But many if not most of those instruments don’t sound great by themselves for very long - clanging symbols, banging drums, squeaking clarinets, high pitched piccolo flutes, blaring trumpets, whining violins, and gut-rattling tubas.

But when the strings, woodwinds, and brass woven together - accompanied by drums, cymbals, and tympany; it is a delight to the ears of the audience…as long as the orchestra plays from the same musical score and follows the direction of the conductor.

There are MANY INSTRUMENTS that work together to play…ONE SONG [go to next slide]

ONE SONG.

So too, Christians must understand that WE NEED EACH OTHER and we must PLAY TOGETHER - with the instruments God has given us - if we are going to point others to the graciousness of our Great God.

PRAY

1 Corinthians 12:1-3 (CSB)

Now concerning spiritual gifts: brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you used to be enticed and led astray by mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

Paul doesn’t want the Corinthians to remain ignorant about the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. But, since many of them had been led astray by pagan practices and demonic influences in the past, Paul wants Christians to be able to discern what is truly a work by the Holy Spirit of God and what is not.

Those led by the Spirit of God won’t curse Jesus; in contrast, people led by the Holy Spirit will proclaim that Jesus is Lord. In fact this would have taken a lot of guts in the Roman Empire, because those who proclaimed that Jesus is Lord - the sovereign ruler over all - were also proclaiming that Caesar was NOT lord over all.

A person had to choose sides. Some proclaimed Jesus is Lord and others declared Jesus is cursed.

That’s exactly what Paul used to think. Before Paul’s radical conversion to follow Jesus, he persecuted those who claimed that Jesus was Lord because Paul actually believed that calling Jesus “Lord” was actually blasphemy, since - from his perspective - only Yahweh was Lord and Jesus was a false messiah. It’s likely that Paul pressured Christians to deny & curse Jesus, maybe forcing them to say the very words, “Jesus is cursed”.

In fact, there was even a biblical reason why unbelieving Jews believed that Jesus was cursed by God since the Deut 21:23 says...

Deuteronomy 21:22–23a (CSB)

If anyone is found guilty of an offense deserving the death penalty and is executed, and you hang his body on a tree, you are not to leave his corpse on the tree overnight but are to bury him that day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse...

But Paul later understood why Jesus was hung on a tree in crucifixion.

Galatians 3:13 (CSB)

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.

Aren’t you GRATEFUL for what the Lord Jesus did for you and me!?!?

Jesus redeemed us - bought us and forgave us! And He sent His Spirit to live IN us and EMPOWER us to further His Kingdom. And now shows what that looks like.

1 Corinthians 12:4–7 (CSB)

Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God works [empowers ESV] all of them in each person. A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good:

Notice the 3 PERSONS of our Triune God: God the Spirit, God the Son (Lord), and the Father (God).

Notice the PURPOSE of the different gifts/ministries/activities - for the common good - meaning for the benefit of all [NET]. These are gifts are given to bless others, not benefit ourselves.

And now Paul begins to give examples of gifts that God has given for the good of God’s people.

1 Corinthians 12:8–10 (CSB)

to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of tongues, to another, interpretation of tongues.

MESSAGE OF WISDOM: Do you know a believer who speaks with the wisdom of God?

MESSAGE OF KNOWLEDGE: Have you ever known a Christian who is given insight into a situation that only God could give?

FAITH: Have you ever met someone who just trusts God, in a way that you wish you could?

HEALING & MIRACLES: Have you ever met someone who prays and God heals OR someone who is enabled to cast out a demon? (Some say these gifts were only available to the apostles, but I must note that Paul is writing to the Corinthians, and Paul doesn’t say this gifting will end.) - I must also note that I have never met anyone with this gifting; it seems likely that this gifting is not given to many.

DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN SPIRITS is the God-given ability to discern what is truth from what is false, able to discern true teaching from false teaching, what is from God and what is counterfeit.

TONGUES and the ability to INTERPRET are two of the most misunderstood giftings in our day. We will talk more about that next week and when we get to 1 Cor 14.

There are a couple more gifts mentioned in v 28 - helping & leading. I bet you know some believers who are do those things well!

Next week we are going to come back to these gifts and do a more in depth look, including distributing a Spiritual Gifts Inventory for you to prayerfully investigate how God has gifted you.

But for today, I want us to understand the overall reason for Paul’s writing - that we are like MANY INSTRUMENTS working together to play ONE SONG.

1 Corinthians 12:11 (CSB)

One and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as He wills.

If you are a follower of Jesus, in whom the Spirit of God lives, then you have been GIFTED with the spiritual ability that the Spirit has decided to give you.

The problem is, some people tend to think that their gifting is either more important or less important than the gifting of others. But it is the Spirit who is distributing to each person as He wills.

The language Paul chooses next could very well have been in light of the Corinthian temple complex of Asclepius, the god of healing. Here’s a quick video that will help explain that.

VIDEO: Corinthians - Asclepius

1 Corinthians 12:12–13 (CSB)

For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ.

Just as humans have many parts that comprise the body, the Church is made up of many who are one body - the Body of Christ.

For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink.

Baptism isn’t supposed to be optional for the follower of Jesus. Baptism is the first step of obedience, the moment when the new believer announces, “Jesus is Lord!” over their lives. Physical baptism is an expression of the spiritual reality that we have been baptized by one Spirit - we have died to sin and been made alive in Christ.

And because of that, regardless of race (Jews or Greeks), regardless of social status (slaves or free), we are ONE BODY - one family in Christ.

BAPTISM: Today we have the privilege of hearing from Iliana Ortiz (daugher of Rey & Tania), as she publicly proclaims that Jesus is Lord, and follows Him in baptism.

We are many, but we are a ONE BODY - MANY INSTRUMENTS, but only ONE SONG - the song of the redeemed from every tribe, nation, and language. And all believers, regardless of their function, are important to the BODY of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:14–16 (CSB)

Indeed, the body is not one part but many. If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body.

1 Corinthians 12:17–20 (CSB)

If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as He wanted. And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

So, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as He wanted

the physical body that God designed - head, shoulders, knees, and toes.

But God has also arranged each one of the parts in the body just as He wanted within the Corinthian Church…and within THIS Church -

MANY INSTRUMENTS that work together to play…ONE SONG. The brass can’t tell the woodwinds they don’t matter and aren’t needed, any more than the many parts of the human body can reject each other.

1 Corinthians 12:21–24a (CSB)

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable. And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect, which our respectable parts do not need.

1 Corinthians 12:24b–26 (CSB)

Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

We are to treat everyone in this Church with VALUE - the youngest to the oldest.

When one person in our Church body hurts, we hurt with them…because we’re attached to each other. And we desire to serve and comfort our brothers & sisters.

When I was suffering with “frozen shoulder”, the rest of my body knew it and compensated for it. I couldn’t lift with the right shoulder, so the left shoulder had to do more of the work…along with other parts of my body. When my shoulder hurt…my whole body hurt!

When one person in our Church body rejoices, we rejoice with them too…because we’re attached to each other!

I love you see my boys be honored for an accomplishment. I don’t think, that should be ME instead of them.

So too, when one member of the body of Christ is honored, we rejoice with you!

And now we come to the big crescendo of the symphonic score.

1 Corinthians 12:27–31 (CSB)

Now you [plural] are the body of Christ, and individual members of it. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, next miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, leading, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all do miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But desire the greater gifts. And I will show you an even better way.

Again, we will talk more about those gifts next week, but to close things out, let’s simply answer the question, do all have the same gifts? NOPE!

Contrary to what many of our Pentecostal or Charismatic brothers and sisters would say, all Christians DO NOT have the gift of tongues and more than all Christians have the gift of teaching, leading, or healing.

If you are a Christian, you ARE gifted to

Are you part of the BODY of Christ? Have you turned from your sin & trusted Jesus? Are you following Him and…are you involved in the life of His Church? I encourage you to plug into one of our GROUPS on campus on Sundays (10am) or Wednesdays (6:30pm).

Do you know what your gift is and are you using it well? Come next week and hear a more detailed explanation about these gifts - and be ready to do some homework to help discern how God has gifted you and how you can put your gift to work to further the Kingdom.

What could God do through His people if we appreciate that God has given us MANY INSTRUMENTS to play ONE SONG - that points others to the graciousness of our Great God!

As always, if you have questions or need some help, PLEASE contact our STAFF or DEACONS.

PRAY AND BAND COMES UP

discussionquestions Take some time to discuss these questions with your family, friends, or group.

What challenged or encouraged you most from today’s teaching? Explain your answer.

Read 1 Cor 12:4-11, 28-30. Which one of the spiritual gifts interests you the most? Explain your answer. (More info on this next Sunday.)

Read 1 Cor 12:11. Who determines the different gifts that different Christians have and why should we not covet the gift another person has been given?

Read 1 Cor 12:12-13. Why should we make sure not to separate the Church based on race or social class? We might have some differences, but we should focus on what unites us - WHAT IS THAT?

How should we respond when people within our Church are mistreating one another - acting as if others don’t matter?

Read 1 Cor 12:14-25. Why are different parts on the human body a good illustration for different gifts within the Church Body?

Read 1 Cor 12:25-26. How have you seen the Church body hurt with other Christians who hurt and rejoice with those who rejoice? How can we better care for one another during difficult times? How can we better celebrate the accomplishments of our brothers and sisters?

What other questions has this teaching or discussion prompted for us to talk about?

Share prayer needs and pray for one another.