One Body, Many Gifts
Notes
Transcript
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.
3 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.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;
6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
10 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.
11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
19 If all were a single member, where would the body be?
20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,
24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,
25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
We Share the Same Confession
We Share the Same Confession
In spite of one’s personal interpretation, there are certain things we must all agree upon.
At the top of that list is the confession, “Jesus is Lord”
3 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.
Paul is most probably dealing with the false prophetic words of someone in or around the body @ Corinth.
Notice in vs. 2 Paul points to the concept of mute idols leading them astray.
Certainly a lost person could utter those words, as could the enemy.
So what makes this vs. true.
Paul is saying that a person who truly confesses these words, will be because they faith in them.
These words will be to them a mantra supported by the outflow or evidence.
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
James, the brother of Jesus, illustrates what Paul is referring to in his statement about their same confession.
Just as James points to a statement void of practice being illegitimate, Paul is saying a confession without the practical outflow is simply idle words.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
There lives would have a devotion that equates to a practice.
We Are Gifted By the Same God
We Are Gifted By the Same God
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;
6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
Do you see the Trinity here?
Do you also see that the gifts are of God, by God, and for God?
We Seek to Build the Same Body
We Seek to Build the Same Body
First we cannot read this section of scripture without pointing to the purpose of the the gifts.
Do we agree this morning that the Lord God does not do things by chance, but with a providential reasoning? A purpose.
Read vs. 7 again with me.
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Paul’s reasoning is: “for the common good.”
Then Paul gives a short list of gifts.
Paul’s list:
Utterance of Wisdom (8)
Utterance of Knowledge (8)
Faith (9)
Gifts of Healing (9)
Working of Miracles (10)
Prophecy (10)
Distinguishing between Spirits (10)
Tongues (10)
Interpreting Tongues (10)
Paul gives some of these and others is Eph. 4:11 & Rom. 12:6-8, but these are not an exhaustive list.
But notice God distributes these for His purpose.
11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
So in vs. 7 we are told the gifts are for the common good and then we grasp the confirmation that the Lord gives them as He wills.
In essence, the Lord has provided the gifts for the building of the body towards the common goal of common good.
We Share in the Same Baptism
We Share in the Same Baptism
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
Once again, Paul wishes not for the people to be ignorant of the understanding of Spirit baptism.
So Paul uses the recognition of where we are unified.
The baptism of the Spirit occurs at the point of regeneration, commonly called conversion.
In essence, when we believe then God marks us as His own with the spirit. The new life is given in and by the Spirit and makes us the temple of God.
So why do confuse this with an outward expression of some experiential occurence.
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
People confuse the Spirit’s control over our lives.
“To be baptized by the Spirit means that we belong to Christ’s body. To be filled with the Spirit means that our bodies belong to Christ.”
Furthermore, the baptism is not a spiritual gift, but a picture of what Christ does for us in the Spirit.
One Body, but Many Parts
One Body, but Many Parts
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
19 If all were a single member, where would the body be?
20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
Every part of the body has a different function, purpose.
We are Dependent on the Lord & One Another
We are Dependent on the Lord & One Another
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,
24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,
25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Simply put, to remove on part of the body is to handicap the body.
Where we fully miss the mark is when we think we can do all this Christian journey on our on or without the help or influence of another believer.
Further, when we decide that our gift is not important or necessary or that ours is most important.
Affect Each Other
Affect Each Other
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.