1 Corinthians, Day 8
DON’T LET DIFFERENCES CAUSE SCHISMS
“Spiritual Gifts”
1 Corinthians 12 – 14
DEFINING SPIRITUAL GIFTS — Chapter 12
One of the issues in the Corinthian church was the misuse of spiritual gifts. Paul found it necessary to go into great detail explaining the origin and use of spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts come from the same source: the Holy Spirit. Here are the 18 spiritual gifts that are mentioned in God’s Word in alphabetical order:
Administration, being an apostle, discernment, evangelism, exhortation, faith, giving, healing, helps, hospitality, knowledge, leadership, mercy, prophecy, serving, speaking in tongues, teaching, wisdom.
A spiritual gift is the God-given capacity of every Christian to carry out his function in the body of Christ. Spiritual gifts intertwine the divine and the human. To view spiritual gifts in a merely human dimension leads to a gross misunderstanding of their divine element. Likewise, to view the gifts only from a spiritual perspective will lead to a distorted appraisal. Spiritual gifts are spiritual in nature for they are given by the Holy Spirit to EVERY believer (Verses 7 – 11). Each gift is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit (Verse 7). Spiritual gifts are spiritual in that they are given only to those who are believers in Jesus Christ. Also, spiritual gifts differ from human talents and abilities in that they result in spiritual fruit.
The Corinthian church was divided over the use of spiritual gifts. They were prioritizing the use of spiritual gifts within the church for the sake of power and control. They were suggesting that if someone did not have a certain spiritual gift, they were not spiritual or even a believer. Paul goes on to say that spiritual gifts are distributed by God through the Holy Spirit for the unity of the ministry through his church, both local and global.
APPLICATION OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS — Chapter 13
Chapter 13 has been long called “The Love Chapter.” Paul wrote his part of Scripture because the Corinthian church was applying the spiritual gifts incorrectly. He uses LOVE as the guiding principle of using spiritual gifts. He says in Verses 4 – 7 that the use or application of spiritual gifts should not show envy, boasting, pride, rudeness, self-seeking, signs of anger, and no record-keeping of other’s behaviors. It should always show rejoicing in the truth, protection of others, trusting of others, and hope and patience with others. The only thing seen in our behavior while we are ministering with a spiritual gift is the application of LOVE from our heart.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS MUST BE USED IN AN ORDERLY WAY — Chapter 14
Paul goes on to say that the Corinthian church worship experiences were disorderly. There was an overuse of the supernational gifts such as healing, miracles, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. God used those spiritual gifts in the early stages of the church age to get people’s attention that something new was being introduced: the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the beginning of the church age. All of this was not revealed in the Old Testament so God had to get everyone’s attention and therefore used the supernatural spiritual gifts in the early stages of the church age as one of the ways to get their attention. Now that we have the written Word of God, He speaks to people and gets their attention from His written Word. He goes on to explain that the worship experience should not be centered around spiritual gifts but that the use of spiritual gifts is the mechanism that God uses through His people to enhance their ministry. Their ministry will be Spirit-led. All should be done for the glory of God and “should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (14:40).
Blessings from Carlton Ringer