Spiritual Appendix
Notes
Transcript
Super Powers
Super Powers
Who wants to talk about super powers?
I super do. (See what I did there)?
Which power is best? Iron Man is one of my favorites… but he doesn’t even really have a power. He’s rich and smart. He’s a better Batman.
Thor vs. Hawkeye… how about that matchup? Arrows!
These peoples are not created equally… not even close. God of Thunder on the right… girl with stick on the left.
Spiritual Super Powers
Spiritual Super Powers
This is a hard topic.
I think many of us are uninformed… or misinformed… maybe even over-informed… but sadly inexperienced in the spiritual gifts. We are in good company, so were the Corinthians. They were all over the place on this. Not so much, in their case, because they didn’t believe they exist, or that they exist anymore, but because they weren’t exercising them appropriately and because they were valuing one over another.
The “best” Christians are speaking in tongues, the “okay” Christians maybe get to work miracles, the “lame” Christians get the “spiritual gift of faith.”
Paul writes:
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.
This seems like an aside… but the biggest difference between those “mute idols” and the living Holy Spirit in you is undeniable evidence of the Holy Spirit popping out all over the place.
But there is a caution here right off the bat. You have people going crazy, you are going to need some discernment as to whether that “crazy” is coming from God or from someone just spouting off. And here is some straightforward guidance.
If the person is cursing Jesus, or more generally leading/pointing away from Jesus… not speaking in the Spirit of God.
If the person is confessing Jesus as Lord, that’s the Holy Spirit at work.
I do kind of wonder at that, as I have seen some folks claiming “Jesus is Lord” while exhibiting behavior, or even manipulating and deceiving people in the name of Jesus… I can’t think that was the work of the Holy Spirit.
I’m not sure this means “it is entirely impossible for someone to force the words ‘Jesus is Lord’ out of their face...” Elsewhere we get plenty of warnings about “anti-Christ’s” coming in the name of Jesus but being deceivers. But whether someone is pointing to Christ, elevating Jesus, is an indicator of where the heart is.
Confession with words signal the stance of the heart. (Rom 10:9).
But when you place your faith in Christ, Scripture says that He sends his “helper”, the Holy Spirit, to take up residence in you. God himself, alive in you.
And how do we know that the Holy Spirit is alive in us? By the fruit he produces in our lives, and the gifts he empowers us with.
And this is Paul’s first point. There are many gifts, varieties of gifts and ways and places to use them.
So Many Gifts - All from the Spirit
So Many Gifts - All from the 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.
This is not an exhaustive list. There is risk in picking these apart (though we will do some of that in coming weeks). There is risk of focusing in on the individual details as if Paul was giving a lecture on all the distinct spiritual gifts you can have.
He isn’t. These are demonstrative. His point is “there’s a lot, a variety.” All kinds. If we asked him to go on, he could add more. He adds different ones in different letters.
His major point to the Corinthians is this: all the gifts come for the Spirit… the Spirit gives to each one as he wills.
How many spiritual gifts do you get?
It doesn’t say… but he “apportions to each one as he wills.” As the Message says “he decides who gets what when.”
Does that mean some get more than one?
Absolutely. Look at Paul. He is writing now writing “utterances of knowledge.” We see him working miracles. He talks about his own speaking in tongues and prophecy in chapter 14. The picture we get is not of “here’s your one gift for all time...” but free-flowing manifestations of the Spirit as the Spirit directs and desires.
Today I’ve got the spiritual gift of faith. Does that mean I always have it? Don’t know… but today I do!
How many do you get? I don’t know. But I do see this implication, here in verse 11… and back in verse 7:
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
To each is given. I don’t think the Holy Spirit forgot about you. I think the Holy Spirit has, is and will manifest in you for the common good.
You may find yourself in this list, or another list, or you may have the spiritual gift of finding things on Google… I don’t know. But if you are a believer in Jesus you do have the Holy Spirit in you and he has, he will manifest through you for the common good.
He empowers who and where as He pleases… but there is no question in my mind that God want to and will work through you. The question is will you join in? Will you participate?
Oh wait… there’s more.
Super vs. Natural
Super vs. Natural
Here is the big question. Some of these are obviously super natural. Prophecy and Tongues and Miracles. I want the miracle one! Bam! Healing people all over, left and right, walking on water, maybe. Let’s do it! That’s obviously super natural.
But have you ever taken one of those spiritual gifts inventories where it felt more like they were just asking what you like to do? You like to study? You must have the spiritual gift of knowledge.
You like people, generally kind, you must have the spiritual gift of encouragement.
That doesn’t feel very spiritual… that’s just my talent.
WAIT! We should stop right there. It isn’t “your” talent, is it? God shaped you, nature and nurture, by His providence. Everything you’ve got is his. This idea of “my skills” vs. God’s skills, that’s a false dichotomy. It’s all His.
Your natural talents are God gifted and God breathed.
I love learning new things, I love “knowing” things, I always have. I do have the spiritual gift of knowledge, but that isn’t excluded by my natural proclivities to it. Those are God gifted too.
But there is this sense of the supernatural here.
God puts the super on our natural.
It’s all His… but there are times where I know God is going beyond my own expectations and understandings of my limits and making something supernaturally effective. Giving me insight or understanding into His Word. In preaching or even prophesying here in sermons… all of a sudden it’s a “God Word” way beyond me.
I expect you’ve had these moments. Faith, stepping out in a way, in a moment, where you never thought you could. Spiritual gift of faith. Speaking truth, God’s truth, into someone life in a way that encouraged them. That’s prophecy, folks. Lots more about prophecy and tongues to come.
Praying for someone and they were healed. That’s healing.
The Holy Spirit “manifesting” for the common good.
Some of these are given for a moment… but we will see in the coming metaphor, God has already shaped and is shaping you further for particular purposes. Sometimes for a season, often for a lifetime.
That’s made clear in this powerful analogy he uses next. The Body of Christ. You know how bodies work… because you have one.
I’m just going to read this in its entirety, it’s such a great and powerful metaphor.
1 Corinthians 12:12–26 (ESV)
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,
I just love the phrase “unpresentable parts” here. We cover our stuff down here. Anyone want to put a claim on the “unpresentable part” of the our church body?
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.
When Paul applies it to the body, some of his examples are so great. “The eye says to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’”. Hilarious.
We picture the eye cruising off on its own, or the hand leaving the rest. Ludicrous.
And yet… when we unpack the metaphor and go back to the idea of spiritual gifts… this is exactly what happens.
What if all the tongues got together and formed their own group. The tongue church. Weird… should have picked a different body part.
But aren’t there churches: that church is focused on evangelism… that’s the church where they speak in tongues… that church is really focused on recovery and healing ministries...
We understand focus, and if we were all working together as a united body of Christ that would make sense. But in general we aren’t doing that at all. We (the Christian church writ large) are self organizing into body part categories. That is the default, and it’s what Paul writes against here.
It’s the most natural thing in the world. Hands are always going to be frustrated by stomachs… because hands want to go and do and stomachs just want to sit and digest. But without stomachs hands can’t keep doing for long. Without brains, hands start doing dumb stuff. Without hearts they start doing hurtful and unhelpful stuff.
The church needs the diversity of the members working together.
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Again he lists the variety of ministries, each backed by spiritual gifts:
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.
I don’t believe “first, second, then...” here indicates primacy, though some scholars take it this way. His WHOLE argument this whole chapter is about how we need all the things, God giving glory, greater honor to parts that lack it. To turn and say “but really these are most important” would be somewhat bizarre.
He returns to his list, adding more this time. Helping. Administrating. I thank God for people with the gift of administrating… I need that.
In fact, I need all of you.
The church needs the diversity of the members working together.
29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
What’s the answer? No. We need all of these, and the administrators, the helpers, the tech team and the worship team and the evangelists and the welcomers and the livestreamers and… we need all of you.
The Church Needs You
The Church Needs You
The most important thing to know about spiritual gifts.
Spiritual gifts are the manifestation of the Spirit in you for everyone’s good. You have spiritual gifts. Your church, your people, your community desperately need you to exercise them. Otherwise we have churches stumbling around without feet, or eyes, or hands. The church body is absolutely dependent on the manifestation of the Holy Spirit through you.
If the Holy Spirit is manifesting in you… how are you seeing Him do that?
There are no “spiritual appendix?” There is no body part that is not needed by the body of Christ. Identifying “which part” you are in the metaphor is not any kind of goal. Recognizing that you are desperately needed is Paul’s point. Every person, every gift, all the gifts, all the peoples.
Often the Holy Spirit is moving in us, calling us to serve, calling us to speak, calling us to pray, inspiring us to be used by God...
And the easiest thing in the world is to try and squash that voice. To silence the whisper of the Spirit. To argue with the Spirit:
“No, I can’t do that.”
“No, not at our church.”
“No, not today.”
If the Holy Spirit is calling you to something, you don’t get excuses. You do it! I don’t get to tell you “no”, you find a way to serve how God is telling you to serve. And if our church is structured, or our worship is structured in such a way that there is no place to do what the Holy Spirit is moving you to do… then we are doing it wrong!!!
The answer is not to leave and find another church full of feet like you because you want to dance during worship and no one else is dancing but the Spirit is telling you to dance. Teach us to dance!
This is not an invitation to chaos, the Spirit is God and God is a God of order… talk to me, talk to a leader, talk to Kelly, let’s discover what God is calling all of us to through you.
I do believe that our default church structure easily suppresses the expression of gifts among all God’s people. It is setup so that a few people are highlighted in worship. And they are gifted, powerfully gifted, to lead people in worship. It is structured and oriented, scheduled so that I get to use my gifts in service. I don’t think that’s wrong… it just isn’t complete.
We pray together openly, that’s part of restructuring. We mix up our worship orientations and practices, those are steps in that direction.
But we aren’t there yet.
How do we get there?
We need the Holy Spirit to move. And I believe He is already has already been moving. And here’s what that will look like. A voice, an impulse in you, to lead, speak, teach, pray, serve in a new direction. In the same direction with new power and authority.
What we need is the Holy Spirit in power falling on us. And then we, as a people on fire, manifesting His power for the good of all.
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
That’s you, for the good of us, for the good of all. Holy Spirit fall on us!