Sermon – 1 Corinthians 12:1-11- Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon – 1 Corinthians 12:1-11- Gifts of the Holy Spirit

January 17, 2016

This morning we begin a look at the Book of 1 Corinthians. This letter was written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth. This church was experiencing problems. They were divided. And their division had less to do with what they believed, the content of their faith, than with what they did, the practice of their faith. They were divided by what they did in church. Paul was concerned with this division and so he sent this letter to help them deal with their differences. His hope was that this would reunite the church. The church today suffers from these same divisions. And so these words from Paul are especially helpful for us. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Listen to the good news from the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth.

1 Corinthians12: 1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.

Paul wants for us to understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but first he needs to talk about the spiritual practices of non-Christians in the first century. The culture of the Roman empire in the first century was pagan. People were encouraged to worship all the gods of Rome hoping that none of the gods would become angry at them. Many temples were built and inside were statues of gods made from wood, metal or stone. These were painted in bright colors or maybe covered in gold. They were beautiful and inspired worship. But, of course, they couldn't talk. These were false gods and had no ability to communicate with their followers. But they did have priests and prophets. These priests and prophets would have words of knowledge, or words of wisdom from their god. Often these priests and prophets would speak in tongues and someone else would interpret for the people to understand what their god was saying. All of this was just a made up show, or, possibly, controlled by an evil spirit. The church was very clear that all these were false gods, and Christians should stay away from the pagan temples, priests and prophets.

But as pagans become Christian they asked, “Doesn't the Christian God speak through prophets in words of wisdom and words of knowledge? Certainly the Bible talks about prophets speaking a word from God. Doesn't the Christian God speak through tongues and the interpretation of tongues? How does the Christian God speak to his people?

Some people in the church at Corinth were comfortable with words of knowledge and words of wisdom. They saw a place in church for the speaking and interpreting of tongues. Others in the church weren't so sure. They were skeptical of these pagan practices. This led to a division in the church over spiritual gifts. And so Paul needed to write this letter to bridge the division and bring the church back together.

We have the same division in the church today. People who accept words of wisdom, words of knowledge, and speaking and interpreting of tongues worship in one building on Sunday mornings. People who are skeptical of these gifts worship in another building down the street. Paul would be appalled at this. Paul would want us to come together because all gifts of the Holy Spirit are necessary for building up the church. But Paul would also want us to understand what these gifts mean within the context of the church. So let's go back to 1 Corinthians and hear what Paul has to say.

3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

When someone is using spiritual gifts you must discern if these gifts are from the Holy Spirit or from something else. The test is simple. If a person can say with his lips, “Jesus is Lord” then that person is a Christian and the spiritual gifts come from the Holy Spirit. This means that a person filled with the Holy Spirit places Jesus above all the other pagan gods of the Roman empire. For us this means that we put God above everything in our lives. If we do this then our words of wisdom, words of knowledge, and speaking and interpreting tongues is from the Holy Spirit. But if we are motivated by any other things, money, power, beauty, whatever, then our gifts are not from the Holy Spirit. So I urge you to worship only our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the gifts of this God will be yours in abundance. Let's return to Paul's letter to Corinth.

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

For a church to thrive it has to have people with different gifts. We need people to serve the needy in the church and in the community. We need people to work in the church to take care of the building, finances, teaching, evangelism and worship. And thankfully the Holy Spirit provides us with all these things in abundance. Today at our congregational meeting we will celebrate the gifts God has provided us in elders, who nurture our spiritual growth, deacons who provide for our physical needs, and trustees who care for our building and finances. The leadership of this church is proof that we are filled with the Holy Spirit and have been given spiritual gifts in abundance.

But some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit divide us. So let's listen to Paul as he talks about some of these.

8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

These are some of the gifts the Holy Spirit provides for the building up of the church. Let's begin with the gift of words of wisdom. This gift is the ability to communicate the great truths of our faith in preaching and teaching. This truth was hidden for ages but is now revealed in Jesus Christ. Paul talks about this gift in the second chapter of 1 Corinthians.

6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen,    what no ear has heard,and what no human mind has conceived”—    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

And so as you read scripture, attend Bible studies and worship you are learning the wisdom of God. This is the gift of words of wisdom from the Holy Spirit. The church needs women and men with the gift of words of wisdom as preachers and teachers, and thankfully we do. As I prepare a sermon I depend on the Holy Spirit to tell me what I need to tell you. Sometimes the Holy Spirit speaks to me as I read scripture. Sometimes he speaks in my mind as I read what others have written. Sometime I wake up in the middle of the night with what I need to say to you. As soon as I hear words of wisdom from the Holy Spirit I write it down directly into a computer. Later I edit it and prepare it for presentation. Through this process the Holy Spirit speaks through me to this congregation. This is the gift from the Holy Spirit of words of wisdom.

Let's turn now to the gift of words of knowledge. This gift is what we use when we give our testimony to others. Whenever we talk about what God has done in our lives we are using the gift of words of knowledge from the Holy Spirit. Paul explains it this way from the first chapter of 1 Corinthians.

4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

And so Paul ties the gift of words of knowledge to testimony about what Christ is doing with the church. You will hear and read about what God is doing in this church in the annual report and at the annual meeting. This is testimony of what God has been doing among us this past year. Also if you attend any of our Bible studies you will hear testimony from others in the church during our discussions. You will hear stories of what God is doing in the lives of people you know. Our ability to speak and receive this testimony of Jesus working in our lives is evidence that we have received the gift of knowledge from the Holy Spirit.

God provides all of these gifts to us for the building up of the church. Churches need people who serve others. They need people who do the work of the church. Churches need people who will proclaim and teach God's wisdom, and will give testimonies of what God is doing among us. Thankfully First Presbyterian Church has the gifts of words of wisdom and words of knowledge, and they are being used for the building up of the church.

There are other gifts of the Holy Spirit. Some of these, especially the gifts of healing and of speaking in tongues, divides the church today. We will talk about these gifts next week.

We are all filled with the Holy Spirit because we can proclaim with our mouths the words, “Jesus is Lord.” That means that we can preach and teach the truth about Jesus Christ with the gift of wisdom. And we can share our testimony of what Jesus is doing in our lives with the gift of knowledge. The Holy Spirit gives us these gifts for the building up of the church. Let's pray.

Holy Spirit, we thank you for bestowing on us these spiritual gifts. We thank you for the gifts of service and work and all the people of the church who do what needs to be done at the church and to serve the needs of one another. We thank you for the gift of words of wisdom and our preachers and teachers who share the wisdom of God with us. And we thank you for the gift of words of knowledge and the testimonies of God at work in our church. We ask for your continuing blessings of gifts upon us. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.