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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
October 12, 2008
Being Spiritual
1 Corinthians 12
Introduction
A couple of weeks ago I gave a brief overview of the nature and ministry of the Holy Spirit in preparation for the series we will be doing on spiritual warfare starting next month (See: The Ministry of the Holy Spirit – 9/28/08). There is much heresy taught by false religions and cults about the Holy Spirit, and even within the church there is confusion about Him and His ministry. If you were not here, please get a copy of the sermon notes or audio CD. Wrong beliefs about the Holy Spirit and His ministry will leave you very vulnerable in spiritual warfare and you will fall victim to the schemes of our adversary.
For the next several weeks I want to give overviews of 1 Corinthians 12-14. The rise of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements have made some very positive contributions to the universal church such as their evangelistic zeal, willingness to be called a fool for Christ, and personal elements in worship, but they have also brought some very serious theological errors that have bearing on spiritual warfare. I want to address the underlying issues explained in these chapters of being spiritual, being loving and being edifying so that we are not led astray.
I was tempted to give a history of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, but that would skew the emphasis to be upon them rather than concentrating on what Scripture itself says, so I will not be doing that. Our primary interest is what God’s word says, not what various religious groups think. However, I am making available copies of a paper I prepared on that subject along with a bibliography for further study for those that are interested in this subject. Those are located on the back table (See: Pentecostal & Charismatic History).
Correcting the Corinthians
Before we can begin our study of 1 Corinthians 12-14 we need to know some background on the city of Corinth and Paul’s letter to the church there.
Greece is divided into two major parts by the long east-west gulf of Corinth. The southern part (the Peloponnesus or the Roman district of Achaia) was connected to the mainland by a low, narrow isthmus only four miles wide. Corinth was located on the southern end of that isthmus just below the Acrocorinth, an 1800 foot peak that over looks it. Corinth was a natural center of commerce for both the east-west trade from Rome to Asia and the north-south trade from Greece into Achaia. There were two ports on the isthmus. One was two miles north at Lechaeum on the Corinthian gulf and the other at Cenchrea six miles east on the Aegean Sea. Ships from Rome would travel the safe water of the Corinthian gulf to avoid the dangerous trip of sailing in the open Mediterranean. The ship itself would be hauled overland or the cargo would be unloaded at Lechaeum and carried to Cenchrea where it would be loaded on another ship which would sail across the Aegean Sea to Asia and vica versa. A modern canal now speeds up transportation across the isthmus.
Corinth had been inhabited from ancient times and then destroyed in 146 B.C. because of its attempted revolt against the rising Roman empire. It was rebuilt in 44 B.C. under Julius Caesar by a colony of demobilized Roman soldiers. It very quickly became the seat of Roman power in the province of Achaia and gained the status of the richest and most powerful city of Greece.
Corinth also hosted the Isthmian games held every four years which rivaled the Olympic games as the major festival for that time. Corinth had no university or famous philosophers, but it shared in the Greek passion for intellectualism (1 Corinthians 1:18f). This tendency along with their pagan worship and immorality contributed to their problems.
The church at Corinth was born near the end of Paul’s second missionary journey (Acts 16, 17 & 18). The Jews there were resistant to the gospel and most of the converts there were Gentiles (1 Corinthians 12:2) from the lower classes (1 Corinthians 1:26). Paul spent 1 1/2 years there teaching the Word of God (Acts 18:11). After Paul left, Apollos, who had been trained up by Priscilla & Aquilla in Ephesus, came to lead the church there.
It was inevitable that problems would arise in a church in a place with such a background. The philosophy, practices and immorality of Corinth were prevalent in the church. They failed to grow spiritually and were proud, selfish, tolerant of sin and had fractured and divided into many groups. There were not lacking in any spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 1:7), yet they were not spiritual people in the godly sense. Even a quick survey of the book reveals the Church at Corinth was a mess. Paul writes to them a letter of rebuke and correction of their errors and encouragement to walk in righteousness.
First, they had fractured and divided into groups and were quarreling with each other (1 Corinthians 1:10-13 & 3:4).
Second, they had forgotten their calling and had become enamored with the Greek view of wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:25-28).
Third, they became proud and arrogant thinking themselves to be wise but were in fact still babes and carnal and able to handle only simple doctrine (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). They needed to cease their boasting in themselves and be more diligent in seeking after God (1 Corinthians 3:18-23). They had become so self pious that they thought themselves superior to the apostle Paul and judged him (1 Corinthians 4:3-6). Paul uses sarcasm to admonish them to set aside their arrogance (1 Corinthians 4:7-18).
Fourth, they had become tolerant of sin in their midst and were even arrogant about it (1 Corinthians 5). Toleration of sin is a mark of immaturity. It is dangerous and should be mourned, not boasted about as if were more loving.
Fifth, they tolerated immorality but not each other, so they took each other to the civil courts to settle their differences (1 Corinthians 6:1-8).
Sixth, they had been saved out of a pagan and immoral society, but some of them were still failing even in basic morality by being involved with the cult prostitutes (1 Corinthians 6:9-20).
Seventh, 1 Corinthians 7 reveals that they did not know how to handle marriage or singleness. Some husbands and wives were depriving one another of their mari
tal duties. Some Christian spouses were walking out on their non-Christian spouses and searching for new partners. Some promoted celibacy while others promoted marriage as the superior way.
Eighth, instead of using their liberty in Christ as Paul did for the sake of the gospel, some of them abused it and flaunted their freedom causing their Christian brothers to stumble into sin (1 Corinthians 8 & 9).
Ninth, Paul warns them sternly in 1 Corinthians 10 because they were repeating some of the same failures Israel had made in being idolaters, acting immorally, testing the Lord, and grumbling.
Tenth, their women had followed the social styles and customs rather than God’s order. The feminism seen here is extremely mild compared to that in our own society, but it was there. The result was disorder and factioning in their services (1 Corinthians 11:17,18). Instead of being salt & light to their community they had become a salt substitute and a low wattage bulb.
Eleventh, while Paul buffeted his body and made it his slave, they were slaves to their bodies and ate at buffets as is evidenced by their misuse of the Lord’s supper (1 Corinthians 11:20-22). They bore the consequence of the Lord’s judgement for that with some of them becoming weak and sick and others even dying (1 Corinthians 11:30).
Twelfth, though they had every spiritual gift, they did not know how to use them properly. Instead of being humble, unified and lovingly building one another up in Christ, they were selfish, proud, unloving, and factioned (1 Corinthians 12-14). They were carnal instead of spiritual.
Finally, the church at Corinth had become so immature that some even questioned the resurrection of Christ. Paul spends all of 1 Corinthians 15 giving proof of Jesus’ resurrection.
Interesting enough, Clement of Rome wrote to them 38 years later to address these same issues that were once again problems there.
The point of all this is simple. You cannot understand 1 Corinthians 12-14 unless you understand that the church at Corinth was a catastrophe and not a model to follow. Paul’s letter is a book of warnings and corrective teachings and not a commendation of their spirituality.
Concerning Spiritual Things – 1 Corinthians 12:1-3
Paul introduces the topic of spiritual things in 1 Corinthians 12:1 in response to some question they had. “Now concerning spiritual [gifts], brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. Paul is explaining to them about the pneumatikoV / pneumatikos. Most of your Bible’s translate this as spiritual gifts with “gifts” being in italic showing this word is not in the original Greek, but is added by the translator in an effort to express the meaning of the word. However, in this case, the addition of the word confuses the meaning for the word for “gifts,” carisma / charisma, occurs in verse 4. Paul will talk extensively about spiritual gifts in these three chapters, but his general interest is actually on their being spiritual as opposed to being carnal. Paul is going to be discussing what it means to be truly spiritual of which the use of spiritual gifts is a part. To better bring out this meaning, verse one is better translated as in Young’s Literal Translation, “And concerning the spiritual things, brethren, I do not wish you to be ignorant.”
The Corinthians were not ignorant concerning spiritual gifts themselves for back in 1:7 he had already told them that they “were not lacking in any gift.” Their ignorance was in the purpose of those gifts and how to use them in a proper spiritual manner.
Paul reminds them of their past in paganism and how they came to Christ in verses 2 & 3. “You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you, that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”
How was it that they were led when they were pagans? Corinth had two patron deities; Poseidon, god of the sea, and Aphrodite, goddess of fertility. The worship of Aphrodite is connected with the Phoenician Astarte or Astaroth / Ashtaroth of the Canaanites.
The worship of Aphrodite involved cult prostitution. It boasted of a thousand female cult prostitutes. Their income was a major source of the city’s revenues. There were also many long-haired male prostitutes, for homosexuality was also rampant (See 1 Corinthians 6:9 & 11:14). This practice along with the general immorality common in port cities gave Corinth a wicked reputation. In fact, the Greeks invented a word, “to Corinthianize,” which meant “to live an immoral life,” “to have intercourse with prostitutes,” and a “Corinthian girl” was a synonym for a prostitute. It was in Corinth that Paul wrote his description of pagan vice in Romans 1:18-32.
The worship of other pagan gods involved other various rituals including sacrifices and offering the meat as food for the gods. This is why Paul ends up spending so much time talking about meat offered to idols in chapters 8 & 10. Some of their rituals also involved getting caught up in emotionalism and losing themselves in the worship of their gods. Through the frenzied hypnotic chants and ceremonies worshipers experienced semiconscious euphoric feelings of oneness with the god or goddess. The ecstasy might take the form of either a trance or trance like state, or in the case of the worship of Aphrodite, unrestrained sexual orgies. Various practices such as vigils and fastings, the contemplation of sacred objects, chanting, drunkenness and even physical exertion in whirling dancing could be used to help a person achieve this state of ecstasy. This state was viewed as a supernatural, sensuous communion with a deity and those who reached it were held in high esteem as having achieved the ultimate in their religion.
Similar to ecstasy and some times accompanying it was the state of what was termed as enthusiasm in which the participant would become involved in divination, revelatory dreams and visions. In such mystical approaches to worship, people would get caught up in emotional hysteria. Plato & Virgil both record scenes of this sort of religious exercise in which the people would start shaking and fall to the ground babbling in ecstatic speech. If this happened it was a sign that you were adept in the mystery religion and had reached the pinnacle of its experience. Such was the religious climate of Corinth. All these practices are still common today in many pagan and false religions as well as the syncretic religions and “Christian” cults.
Why does Paul remind them of their practices in their pagan past? Because they were dragging their old ideas and practices of paganism into the church. Notice how Paul puts it, “when you were pagans, you were led astray to the dumb idols, however you were led.” The KJV puts it, “carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.” That pictures the practice of the pagan mystery religions in which the worshipers would be carried away in the emotional hysteria of either the ecstatic state or the mystical experience of enthusiasm.
Because these things appeared to be supernatural, even if bizarre to us, the practice had a strong attraction to people and some of the Corinthians confused the miracles of the Holy Spirit with their pagan practices. Satan always seeks to mimic and soon many of these Corinthian Christians were bringing their pagan practices into the church. And as the next verse indicates, they seemed to have even tolerated blasphemy in their midst because the person was supposedly in a spiritual
state.
1 Corinthians 12:3, “Therefore I make known to you, that on one speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is accursed’; and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Spirit.” Apparently there were those who were supposedly under the control of the Holy Spirit but were in fact blaspheming the name of Christ. Incredible! Paul puts it plainly and directly that the Spirit of God would never allow such a thing. Paul is not saying someone cannot physically say “Jesus is Lord” unless the Holy Spirit is present. He is saying that the Spirit promotes Jesus, glorifies Him and someone who is “in the Spirit” will do the same thing.
George Gardiner, a former Assembly of God pastor, recounts this very thing happening at a church service. He was accustomed to people speaking in tongues and then having someone else interpret it for the congregation. This happened at a particular service and a friend who was with him that had been raised in another country became very agitated. His friend explained that the interpretation was wrong. He knew the language that had been spoken and it was blasphemy against Christ. In that church the one speaking in tongues and the one interpreting would have been considered spiritual and moved by God for what they did, but the truth was that one was blaspheming and the other was a fraud.
True spirituality cannot be assumed because someone appears to be a spiritual state or doing something considered spiritual. True spirituality must be judged by whether the person is bringing glory to Christ or not.
Spiritual Gifts – 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28-30
Source & Purpose
In verses 4- 8 Paul explains where the gifts, ministries and ability to serve the Lord comes from. All of it is from God according to His will.
Verse 4, “There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the same for all Christians, but He gives different gifts to different people. This is where the particular word for “gifts,” carisma / charisma, which literally means “grace gift,” is first used in this section of 1 Corinthians. Every Christian is given a spiritual gift or gifts by which they are to serve the Lord. There are all sorts of spiritual gifts, but each one comes by the Spirit.
Verse 5, “there are varieties of ministries, but the same Lord.” The Lord is the same for all Christians, but He will use those different gifts in different Christians in a variety of ministries as He chooses. To use the gift of teaching as an example, it could be used in different age groups, in different settings (private, public, church, school, hospital, etc.), through different means (preaching, teaching, counseling, etc.), and through different formats (speaking, singing, writing, drama, art, etc.).
Verse 6, “there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all.” God is the same for all Christians, but the effectiveness of those different gifts used in different ministries will also be different according to God. A person who has the gift of exhortation that operates though a ministry of music may use it with just a few people at a Bible Study or with more people at church services or it could be used regionally, nationally or even internationally.
The bottom line is that God has gifted you to serve Him, but the gift or gifts given, the ministry that the gift(s) are used in, and the effectiveness of the gift(s) are up to the Lord, not you. And the purpose of God giving these spiritual gifts & ministries to you is stated in verse 7, “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Paul reminds them that all of it is done for the common good of the whole body. I cannot stress this enough. Any gift used in any ministry with any effect is a manifestation of the Spirit, and it is for the common good of the body. We will see later in this chapter that every person, every gift, every ministry is needed in order for the body to be whole and healthy to carry out God’s purposes. There are no insignificant gifts. There are no insignificant ministries. There are no insignificant people in the church.
What are these “manifestations of the Spirit?” In the context here it is any gift used in any ministry to any degree of effectiveness. Those that teach that it is the particular gift of speaking in tongues are wrong. I will add that any so called “gift” that is not displayed along with the Fruit of the Spirit cannot be considered evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence. Paul explains in Galatians 5 that the Fruit of the Spirit, (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control), is the evidence of the Spirit’s control of a person’s life.
Examples of Spiritual Gifts – 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, 28-30
What is a spiritual gift? It is a divine enablement for ministry and its purpose is for the common good, for the building up of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:7-16). (See: And God Gave Gifts to Men – 9/22/1996)
What are the particular gifts that the spirit gives? (See: Spiritual Gifts series – 12/22/02 forward) There are several lists of gifts throughout the New Testament. Two of those lists occur here in 1 Corinthians 12 and they are very different from each other. None of these lists are exhaustive. Each list is used by the writer to make a particular point or emphasize a particular purpose to the reader. These facts have led me to conclude that God never intended for there to be an exhaustive list by which we somehow determine our particular gift so that we can then minister. It is my belief that God gives each of us a unique set of gifts, ministries and abilities by which we serve Him. I further believe we figure out what God has given us by using them. While spiritual gift inventories can be helpful, we cannot know what God has given us unless we are ministering and that ministry is confirmed by other mature believers.
The purpose of the particular list given here in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 is for Paul to make his point to them about spiritual things. This particular list of what might be called the “showy” gifts in that each of them would be outwardly manifested and could easily call attention to themselves. I should add here that it appears that Paul had all of them himself.
The list of gifts in verses 8-10 is broken up in three categories as indicated by the different pronouns used in the Greek text. The first category is related to the intellect. Verse 8, “For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit.” These two gifts appear to be related to the office of Apostleship as 1 Corinthians 12:28,29 would imply. The Word of Wisdom is related to Paul’s earlier discussion of wisdom in chapter 2 and pertains to the ability to communicate the “deep things of God” which Paul did (See 1 Corinthians 2:7,10; 4:1; Ephesians 3:3-6, 2 Peter 3:15) as did the other apostles (See Matthew 10:19; Luke 12:11; Mark 10:19). The Word of Knowledge pertains to the ability to grasp the logical nature and relation of truths already revealed. The Lord gave this ability to the apostles in Luke 24:45, and Apostolic doctrine gives evidence of this since a large part of it is based on an explanation of truths already revealed in the Old Testament or in the teachings of Christ
The next category is related to faith. Verse 9, 10 “to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, a
nd to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits . . . ” Faith is the general category and the most general gift in this category. Faith is also the key to the miraculous operations of the rest of the gifts in the category. Paul exercised this gift in Acts 27:25 in believing what God had told him though it seemed contrary to his present circumstances.
Gifts of healings, both nouns are plural, are related to faith and are specific in the miraculous healing of various kinds of sickness and disease. These gifts were demonstrated in the lives of several apostles including Peter and Paul (See Acts 3:1-10; 9:32-40; 14:8f; 20:9-12; 28:7-10) and were always used in conjunction with bringing about an opportunity to proclaim the gospel or to attest to the message already given.
Effecting of miracles or powers (dunamis) is also related to faith but refers to being able to perform some overtly supernatural act. This gift was also manifested in the apostles (Acts 5:12-16) and specifically in Peter (Acts 5:1-10; 9:40) and Paul (Acts 13:8-11; 14:3; 16:16-18; 19:12) about which he comments in 2 Corinthians 12:12 that these were signs of his being a true Apostle. This gift was also used to gain a hearing for the gospel among the people that saw the miracle.
Prophecy is both the forth-telling (thus says the Lord) as well as the fore-telling (predict the future). It is related to faith resulting in the strong proclamation of the Word of the Lord, and sometimes also a prediction of the future. This was also an apostolic gift, but also manifested in others such as Agabus (Acts 11:28; 21:10), Judas & Silas (Acts 15:32), and others (Acts 11:27, 13:1). The New Testament prophets were to be judged in the same way as the Old Testament prophets. They had to be accurate in what they said including any predictions coming true, they had to be in keeping with the Scriptures, and they had to have lives that demonstrated godliness (See Deuteronomy 18:20-22).
Distinguishing of Spirits mentioned here is also related to faith and especially in passing judgement on the source of an utterance given in an assembly. This was especially important before the New Testament had been written. We are now to test the spirits to see whether they are from God by examining what they teach about Jesus, their doctrine and their practice (1 John 4:1-7).
The last two gifts listed in verse 10 make up the third category of gifts of those related to speech. “and to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.” Speaking in tongues is by far the most controversial of all the gifts mentioned. We will be talking about it more in the future, but for now just understand that it is to speak in a language that you do not know and interpretation of tongues is the ability to translate a language you do not know. This is not “ecstatic utterance of glossolalia” or babbling of any kind for Acts 2:5-11, the only passage to give a detailed description of this gift in action, clearly identifies the particular languages and dialects that were spoken (See: The Day of Pentecost ). Nothing in Acts indicates “tongues” to be anything other than known languages.
We will find in the weeks to come that the major problem among the Corinthians is that though they thought themselves to be spiritual, they were carnal wanting their own will instead of God’s will. They wanted the “showy” gifts that Paul mentions here because they thought that would give them more prestige. They apparently especially desired speaking in tongues because it was so similar to a prestigious pagan religious practice in which they had been previously involved. They viewed it as a gift of status, when in fact it was not. This is why Paul concludes this whole section in verse 11 with an emphasis on the fact that each gift comes according to God’s will. “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”
The Corinthians had a false spirituality and that is why Paul was correcting them. True spirituality desires God’s will to be done over your own. True spirituality desires to serve God anywhere at anytime in anyway God wants including those areas that are not noticed by others or in doing things considered menial by others. True spirituality is humble and regards others and more important than himself (Philippians 2:3,4). True spirituality bears the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control. True spirituality results in a unified body of believers who build each other up in Christ and help one another mature (Ephesians 4:12-16).
Next week we will start with 1 Corinthians 12:12 and see how true spirituality was to manifest itself in the church. (Go to the next sermon: Being Unified in the Body)
BIBLOOGRAPHY
Charismatic Chaos, John MacArthur. Zondervan. 1992
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Walter A. Elwell, Editor. Baker, 1984
History of the Christian Church, Vol. II Philip Schaff, Editor. Eerdmans, 1910
Pentecostalism. Series of articles in Christianity Today, October 16, 1987
The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. IV, Alexander Roberts, Editor. Eerdmans, 1979
The Charismatics, John MacArthur. Zondervan. 1978
The Corinthian Catastrophe, Gardiner, George E., Kregel, 1974
The Pentecostals, Walter J. Hollenweger. Hendrickson Publishers, 1972
The Seduction of Christianity, Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon. Harvest House, 1985
They Speak With Other Tongues, John L. Sherrill. Spire Books, 1964
KIDS CORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Count how many times spiritual and spirituality is mentioned. 2) Discuss with your parents what it means to be spiritual and to serve God
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. That is the nature and ministry of the Holy Spirit? Why would wrong beliefs about the Holy Spirit and His ministry leave you vulnerable in spiritual warfare? What are some of the positive things the Pentacostal and Charismatic movements have contributed to the church? What are some of the negative things those movements have promoted? Where is Corinth? What was its importance in Paul’s day? What things marked the character and practices of its society? What effect did those things have on the church? 1 Corinthians is a book of correction. What errors or corrections did Paul make in the following passages: 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 & 3:4; 1 Corinthians 1:25-28; 1 Corinthians 3:1-23; 5; 6:1-8; 6:9-20; 7; 8 & 9
; 11:1-18; 11:20-34; 12-14; 15. Why is translating 1 Corinthians 12:1 as spiritual “gifts” a poor translation? What is the difference between pneumatikov” / pneumatikos in verse 1 and cavrisma / charisma in verse 4? The Corinthians had all gifts (1 Cor. 1:7), what then were they unaware of (12:1) that Paul was correcting? Describe some of the ways the Corinthians had been led astray to dumb idols when they were pagans? Why do pagan worshipers strive to reach the state of ecstasy or enthusiasm? In what ways did their pagan worship mimic some of the miraculous spiritual gifts? Can someone controlled by the Spirit blaspheme Christ? What then was occurring in Corinth (12:3)? What is the source of all spiritual gifts? What is the source of all spiritual ministries? What is the source of the power in the use of any gift in any ministry? What is Paul referring to when he speaks about manifestations of the Spirit? What is the purpose of all of those manifestations? What is a spiritual gift? What is its purpose? Is there any gift that is for self-edification? Is there any comprehensive list of spiritual gifts? What is the purpose of the list in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10? How does it differ from the list in 1 Corinthians 12:28-28? Why the difference? Briefly describe each of the gifts listed in both passages? Who determines who gets which gifts, which ministry and their effectiveness? Is there any spiritual gift given to all believers? Why or why not? Describe the characteristics of true spirituality? How did the Corinthian church compare to those characteristics?
Sermon Notes – 10/12/2008
Being Spiritual – 1 Corinthians 12
Correcting the Corinthians
Corinth was located on the southern end the isthmus connecting the Greece mainland and _________
Corinth was a major trade city at the junction of the major east-west and north-south trade routes
Corinth was an ancient city destroyed 146 B.C. then rebuilt in ________ by Julias Caesar as a Roman city
Paul planted a church in Corinth at the end of his 2nd missionary journey. He taught there for _____ years
The church was heavily influenced by Corinthian society and Paul writes them a letter of ___________
1) They had fractured and _________ into groups and were quarreling with each other (1 Cor 1:10-13 & 3:4)
2) They had forgotten their calling & were enamored with the Greek view of ____________ (1 Cor. 1:25-28)
3) They were proud & arrogant but were in fact still babes and _________ (1 Cor. 3-4).
4) They were tolerant of ____________ in their midst and were even arrogant about it (1 Cor. 5)
5) They did not tolerate each other and went to the ________ courts to settle their differences (1 Cor. 6:1-8)
6) Some failed even in basic ___________ by being involved with the cult prostitutes (1 Cor. 6:9-20).
7) They did not know how to handle either ___________ or singleness (1 Cor. 7).
8) They abused their _________ causing their Christian brothers to stumble into sin (1 Cor. 8 & 9).
9) They were acting like ancient Israel in idolatry, immorally, testing the Lord, & ___________ (1 Cor. 10)
10) Their women valued the social styles & ____________ more than God’s order resulting in disorder
11) Their selfishness resulted in abusing the _____________ resulting in His judgement on them (1 Cor. 10)
12) They had every spiritual gift (1 Cor. 1:7), but were ________ instead of spiritual (1 Cor. 12-14).
13) They had become so immature that some even questioned the ____________ of Christ (1 Cor. 15).
Concerning Spiritual Things – 1 Corinthians 12:1-3
pneumatikoV / pneumatikos. = Spiritual __________, being spiritual – not spiritual “gifts”
Their ignorance was in being ____________, not in having spiritual gifts
They had been led as pagans into cult prostitution, pagan rituals, emotionalism, _________and enthusiasm
Enthusiasm could include shaking, falling to the ground and babbling in ecstatic _________
Some of the Corinthians continued in their pagan practices that were ________to God given spiritual gifts
Some who were supposedly in the Spirit were actually blaspheming _________
Source & Purpose of Spiritual Gifts – 1 Corinthians 12:4-7
The Holy Spirit is the same for all Christians, but He gives different ______(charisma) to different people
The Lord is the same for all Christians, but He will give different Christians different ____________
God is the same for all Christians, but He will give them different effects / ________ / ability in ministry
All manifestations of the Spirit (the gifts, ministries, effects) are for the ________ good of the whole body
The “Fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23) is the evidence of the Spirit’s ___________ in a person’s life.
Examples of Spiritual Gifts – 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, 28-30
A spiritual gift is a divine enablment for __________for the building up of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:7-16)
There are many lists of gifts in the N.T., none of them are ______________
The purpose of the particular list 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 is to make his point about ___________________.
Three categories of gifts are listed: Those related to intellect, to faith, and to __________
The Word of ________- the ability to communicate the “deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:7,10; 4:1; Eph. 3:3-6)
The Word of ____________- the ability to grasp the logical nature & relation of truths already revealed.
Faith is the most general gift in this category – it is to ________God even when contrary to circumstances
Gifts of healings – the ability to ____________heal various kinds of sickness & disease (Acts 3:1-10; 20:9-12)
Effecting of powers – able to perform some overtly __________act (Acts 5:1-16; 9:40; 13:8-11; 16:16-18; 19:12)
Prophecy – forth-telling or fore-telling – strong proclamation of the ________________(Acts 11:27,28; 15:32)
Distinguishing of Spirits – passing judgment on the ___________ of an utterance given in an assembly
Speaking in tongues – to speak in a _____________ that you do not know (Acts 2:5-11)
Interpretation of tongues – ability to _____________ a language you do not know
The Corinthians wanted these “_________” gifts they thought would give them more prestige
Every gift, ministry and power comes from the Spirit as _____________ (1 Cor. 12:11)
True spirituality desires ______ will over self will, to serve God anywhere in _____________ at anytime, is _________, bears the _________ of the spirit, results in a _________ body of believers who build each other up in Christ and help one another mature (Eph. 4:12-16).
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