1 Corinthians 12 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00In chapter [music] 10 and chapter 11,
2. 0:03Paul focuses on
3. 0:06communion
4. 0:08as an insight into unity and disunity.
5. 0:13Communion is not the larger theme.
6. 0:16Division and unity is the larger theme
7. 0:18of the whole book,
8. 0:20but communion is the the four example
9. 0:23that's illustrating the problem.
10. 0:26And in chapter 10, he tells us that
11. 0:30we are the one loaf.
12. 0:33And that is a frame [music] change
13. 0:34because it's not just that we're
14. 0:36breaking bread
15. 0:38and giving it [music] to one another.
16. 0:39It's not just that we're claiming that
17. 0:41that bread is Christ that we're giving
18. 0:43to one another. It's that we're breaking
19. 0:45[music] ourselves in service to one
20. 0:48another.
21. 0:49And that the giving
22. 0:51and the taking is the real fellowship,
23. 0:54is the real koinonia that the supper,
24. 0:58the Lord's Supper, is pointing toward
25. 1:00and celebrating.
26. 1:02The term communion originates in the
27. 1:04Latin and it literally means the
28. 1:07exchange of gifts.
29. 1:10Almost like a gift exchange.
30. 1:13It's the idea that people are coming
31. 1:16together who possess different things
32. 1:19that each other needs.
33. 1:22But they're sharing and exchanging. You
34. 1:25have wisdom, I have faith. You have
35. 1:28mercy, I have diligence.
36. 1:30And [music] so it's this idea that God
37. 1:33has deposited his multiple graces
38. 1:37>> [music]
39. 1:37>> in a plurality of places or people and
40. 1:41that they must come together.
41. 1:44So unity becomes paramount to access the
42. 1:48composite
43. 1:50grace that God is offering through the
44. 1:52church.
45. 1:53So it is actually no wonder that after
46. 1:55chapter 10 and 11 that talk about
47. 1:58communion, Paul would bring in chapter
48. 2:0012, which talks about the gifts of the
49. 2:03Spirit.
50. 2:04Because the real communion is not the
51. 2:07bread and the wine only, it's the life
52. 2:12in the church
53. 2:13of exchanging the gifts of the Spirit
54. 2:16with each other.
55. 2:18Let me read the final verses of chapter
56. 2:2011.
57. 2:22He says, "But when we are judged, we are
58. 2:25disciplined by the Lord so that we will
59. 2:27not be condemned along with the world.
60. 2:29So then, my brethren, when you come
61. 2:32together to eat, wait for one another.
62. 2:35If anyone is hungry, let him eat at
63. 2:37home, so that you will not come together
64. 2:40for judgment."
65. 2:42"The remaining matters I will arrange
66. 2:44when I come." So, that's the practical
67. 2:48physical meal.
68. 2:49Now, he's going to talk about the
69. 2:51spiritual manna, the spiritual meal that
70. 2:54the physical supper is pointing toward.
71. 2:57Chapter 12 begins like this.
72. 3:00Verse 1. "Now, concerning spiritual
73. 3:04gifts, brethren,
74. 3:06I do not want you to be unaware.
75. 3:11You know that when you were pagans,
76. 3:14you were led astray
77. 3:17to the mute
78. 3:19idols,
79. 3:20however you were led.
80. 3:23Therefore,
81. 3:25I make known to you that no one speaking
82. 3:28by the Spirit of God says Jesus is
83. 3:31accursed, and no one can say Jesus is
84. 3:34Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
85. 3:38Now, there are varieties of gifts, but
86. 3:40the same Spirit.
87. 3:42And there are varieties of ministries,
88. 3:44and the same Lord.
89. 3:46There are varieties of effects, but the
90. 3:49same God who works all things in all
91. 3:52persons, but to each one is given the
92. 3:55manifestation of the Spirit for the
93. 3:58common good.
94. 4:01What is Paul saying?
95. 4:04This feels like a bunch of disjointed
96. 4:07statements, but it is not.
97. 4:10He's thinking like this. Okay, now we
98. 4:14need to talk about how the gifts of the
99. 4:17Spirit should work in the body
100. 4:20so as not to bring disunity,
101. 4:23but so as to bring submission to the
102. 4:26Lordship of the Spirit.
103. 4:28Paul will tell them in the next
104. 4:31letter that he sends the Corinthians,
105. 4:33"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where
106. 4:35the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
107. 4:37liberty." Okay? So, the gifts of the
108. 4:40Spirit are tied to to the Lordship of
109. 4:42the Spirit.
110. 4:44And when that's working properly, we
111. 4:47have unity in the body. So, let's think
112. 4:48of it Let me paraphrase this.
113. 4:52Now, concerning spiritual gifts,
114. 4:54brethren, I do not want you to be
115. 4:57unaware.
116. 4:59Why? This is my paraphrase.
117. 5:02Because you used to be part of pagan
118. 5:05congregations
119. 5:07where voiceless gods led you.
120. 5:11And if you don't have the gifts of the
121. 5:13Spirit in your church,
122. 5:15you're going to start to worship a mute
123. 5:18god
124. 5:19that becomes an idol, even if you name
125. 5:21that idol Jesus.
126. 5:23But if Jesus is speaking and convicting
127. 5:26and guiding through the gifts of the
128. 5:29Spirit,
129. 5:30through the many members of the body,
130. 5:33well, then his voice is being heard, and
131. 5:35you're not like pagans led by mute
132. 5:38idols.
133. 5:40And in that context, you can really
134. 5:42claim that he's Lord.
135. 5:45Because
136. 5:46saying, verbalizing, "Jesus is Lord"
137. 5:50does not require the Spirit. Jesus says
138. 5:52in Luke 6, "Not everyone who says to me,
139. 5:55'Lord, Lord,' will enter, but he who
140. 5:57does the will of my Father. Why do you
141. 5:59call me Lord, Lord, and do not the
142. 6:01things that I say?"
143. 6:03So, the gifts of the Spirit are what
144. 6:06make the Spirit's will manifest
145. 6:10in our lives. Before it's manifest, it's
146. 6:13imaginary or it's unknown. But when
147. 6:16somebody says, "God is speaking thus,"
148. 6:20now we have a choice. Will we submit to
149. 6:23the Lordship of the Spirit, or will we
150. 6:25go our own way? So, Paul says, "I want
151. 6:28the gifts of the Spirit to work in your
152. 6:30church, because otherwise, you're going
153. 6:33to start worshiping a god who doesn't
154. 6:35ever talk to you." The convenient thing
155. 6:37about an idol is he gets to be
156. 6:40interpreted according to your desires.
157. 6:42You can look at an idol just like this
158. 6:44mug, and it never says anything. You're
159. 6:45like, "I think the mug is telling me
160. 6:48that I'm really successful today.
161. 6:51I think the mug is telling me I ought to
162. 6:52go on a trip today."
163. 6:54Yeah, the idol today is saying something
164. 6:56different. You get to be your own
165. 6:58interpreter of God.
166. 7:00But when you're in a community where God
167. 7:03has
168. 7:04spread the Spirit out over many voices,
169. 7:08all for the manifestation of the common
170. 7:10good, now somebody's going to say
171. 7:12something that's going to make me
172. 7:13uncomfortable.
173. 7:15I might be convicted. I might be
174. 7:18corrected.
175. 7:19And that's where the Lordship of the
176. 7:21Spirit becomes real. So, anybody can
177. 7:23say, "Jesus is Lord," and be part of
178. 7:26those in Matthew 7 who don't make it to
179. 7:28heaven. But you can't say it
180. 7:30legitimately
181. 7:32unless the Lordship of the Spirit is
182. 7:34manifesting through the gifts of the
183. 7:36body.
184. 7:37That's where it becomes brass tacks, so
185. 7:39to speak.
186. 7:41Therefore, I make known to you,
187. 7:43brethren, that no one speaking by the
188. 7:44Spirit of God says Jesus is accursed,
189. 7:46and no one can say Jesus is Lord except
190. 7:49by the Holy Spirit.
191. 7:50So, he says, "Nobody can say Jesus is
192. 7:52Lord except by the Holy Spirit." After
193. 7:54he's introduced gifts to avoid a mute
194. 7:57God.
195. 7:58And then he immediately shows us how
196. 8:00that Spirit is going to work in our
197. 8:01lives so that we can say he is Lord.
198. 8:04He says,
199. 8:06"There are varieties of ministries, but
200. 8:07the same Lord." Well, that's what we
201. 8:10need to be able to say, he's Lord.
202. 8:11They're going to come through the
203. 8:12ministries.
204. 8:14"There are varieties of effects, but the
205. 8:15same Spirit." Well, now we have Spirit,
206. 8:18and we can say he's Lord.
207. 8:22"There are varieties
208. 8:24of effects, but the same God who works
209. 8:27all things in all persons."
210. 8:30So, God is working in persons
211. 8:33to help you make your claim of Jesus'
212. 8:36Lordship real.
213. 8:39"But to each one is given the
214. 8:41manifestation of the Spirit for the
215. 8:43common good."
216. 8:45The law The short way of saying what
217. 8:47Paul just said is unless the Spirit is
218. 8:50manifested,
219. 8:51you don't really know if he's Lord.
220. 8:54But when he's manifested through a
221. 8:56person, through an utterance, a
222. 8:58preaching, a teaching, a wisdom, a
223. 9:01knowledge, when he's manifested, now
224. 9:04you're challenged. Will you obey?
225. 9:07"For to one is given the word of wisdom
226. 9:11through the Spirit.
227. 9:14He says we can't say Jesus is Lord
228. 9:15except by the Spirit. So, we're going to
229. 9:17hear the theme of Spirit and Lord over
230. 9:20and over every time he points to the
231. 9:22gifts of the body.
232. 9:23To one is given the word of wisdom
233. 9:25through the Spirit, and to another the
234. 9:26word of knowledge according to the same
235. 9:29Spirit.
236. 9:30To another faith by the same Spirit, and
237. 9:32to another the gifts of healing by the
238. 9:34one Spirit."
239. 9:36So, he said, "You can't say he's Lord
240. 9:37except by the spirit. Here's how the
241. 9:39spirit is manifested.
242. 9:42To another the effecting of miracles and
243. 9:44to another prophecy and to another the
244. 9:46distinguishing of spirits to another
245. 9:48various kinds of tongues and to another
246. 9:50the interpretation of tongues.
247. 9:53But the one and the same spirit works
248. 9:57all these things distributing to each
249. 10:01one individually just as he wills.
250. 10:05For even as the body is one
251. 10:08and yet has many members,
252. 10:10all the members of the body,
253. 10:13though they are many, are one body. So,
254. 10:16also is Christ.
255. 10:20So, in this verse 12, he says, "Even as
256. 10:23the body, speaking of the human body,
257. 10:25even as your human body
258. 10:27is one, one person,
259. 10:30yet has many members, arms, hands, feet,
260. 10:33head, shoulders,
261. 10:35torso, many members, but it's one
262. 10:39person, one body,
263. 10:42and all the members of the body, though
264. 10:44they are many, are one body.
265. 10:47So, also is Christ.
266. 10:51Notice he does not say so also is the
267. 10:53body of Christ. He says, "So, also is
268. 10:57Christ." You can't say Jesus is Lord
269. 11:02until you see that Jesus is a body that
270. 11:05includes many people.
271. 11:07Those people are none of them are Jesus.
272. 11:09Those people are not perfect, but they
273. 11:12are to express Jesus through the
274. 11:15lordship of the spirit, through the
275. 11:16manifestation of spiritual gifts. That's
276. 11:19where it becomes real in your life.
277. 11:21>> [snorts]
278. 11:21>> If you can reject the members of the
279. 11:23body, you are rejecting Christ. So, also
280. 11:27is Christ. Christ
281. 11:30has many members. Christ has many
282. 11:33extensions, many manifestations. For by
283. 11:36one spirit we were all baptized into one
284. 11:39body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether
285. 11:42slaves or free, and we were all made to
286. 11:45drink of one spirit.
287. 11:48Now, he starts this whole book off
288. 11:50saying,
289. 11:51"Is Christ divided?" You have divisions.
290. 11:53But now he's bringing it home. You got
291. 11:55to get your relationships and your order
292. 11:57cleaned up in chapter 11, and now we got
293. 12:00to see the spirit start to manifest so
294. 12:03that we can claim he is Lord.
295. 12:06But you can't claim he's Lord except by
296. 12:07the spirit. What are all the ways that
297. 12:09the spirit is moving that Paul is
298. 12:11pointing to? They're the ways from our
299. 12:13brothers and sisters.
300. 12:16For the body is not one member,
301. 12:19but many.
302. 12:21The body is not one member,
303. 12:24but many.
304. 12:25If the foot says, "Because I am not a
305. 12:28hand, I am not part of the body,"
306. 12:32it is not for this reason any less a
307. 12:35part of the body.
308. 12:37Foot can say that, but he is not
309. 12:38actually any less a part of the body. He
310. 12:40just feels that way about himself.
311. 12:43And if the ear says, "Because I am not
312. 12:46an eye, I am not part of the body,"
313. 12:49it is not for this reason any the less a
314. 12:52part of the body.
315. 12:54If the whole body were an eye, where
316. 12:56would the hearing be?
317. 12:59If the whole body were hearing, where
318. 13:00would the sense of smell be?
319. 13:02But now God
320. 13:04has placed the members, each one of
321. 13:09them, in the body
322. 13:12just as he desired.
323. 13:16This shows intentionality and
324. 13:18composition.
325. 13:20You don't choose the church where you
326. 13:22fit.
327. 13:23God chooses the church where you fit.
328. 13:26You don't choose what you're going to
329. 13:28be, God chooses what you're going to be.
330. 13:30And just because you have an attitude
331. 13:33that wishes you were something else,
332. 13:35that doesn't relieve you of your
333. 13:37obligation to be what God called you to
334. 13:38be.
335. 13:40You're not any less a part of the body
336. 13:42just because you're a nose and you wish
337. 13:44you were an ear.
338. 13:46You can just look longingly over at the
339. 13:48sound waves all you want,
340. 13:50but God still wants you to take a big
341. 13:52sniff
342. 13:53and help the body smell.
343. 13:56But now God has placed the members each
344. 13:57of them in the body just as he desired.
345. 14:01And that's will. That's That's
346. 14:03translating the word will.
347. 14:05Are you in the will of God? Has God
348. 14:07placed you there?
349. 14:09Don't let your heart say, "I wish I was
350. 14:11a this."
351. 14:12Just say,
352. 14:13"God, you've placed me. Help me to be
353. 14:16what you placed me to be
354. 14:18because somebody needs my manifestation
355. 14:21of your spirit
356. 14:22for them
357. 14:24to experience the lordship of Jesus in
358. 14:27their life.
359. 14:29If they were all one member, where would
360. 14:32the body be?
361. 14:34Well,
362. 14:35in the new church, in the 21st century,
363. 14:38there isn't much of a body. It's just a
364. 14:40one-member salvation.
365. 14:43But now there are many members,
366. 14:46but one
367. 14:47body, one person.
368. 14:50And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I
369. 14:54have no need of you." Or again, if the
370. 14:56head
371. 14:58to the feet,
372. 15:00"I have no need of you." Now, who's the
373. 15:03head?
374. 15:04Christ is the head.
375. 15:06But Christ cannot say to us,
376. 15:10"I don't need you."
377. 15:11>> [snorts]
378. 15:12>> On the contrary,
379. 15:14it is much truer
380. 15:15that the members of the body, which seem
381. 15:18to be weaker,
382. 15:20are necessary.
383. 15:23And those members of the body
384. 15:25which we deem less honorable,
385. 15:28on these we bestow more abundant honor,
386. 15:32that our less presentable members become
387. 15:34much more presentable.
388. 15:38What does he mean? He's saying, think of
389. 15:40your human body.
390. 15:42How protected are your kidneys?
391. 15:46You got ribs in your back that are
392. 15:48protecting them. You got a bunch in your
393. 15:50front that is protecting them. And if
394. 15:52anybody comes and taps you with a hammer
395. 15:54on your back,
396. 15:57Your kidneys are not visible, but they
397. 16:00are honored.
398. 16:03Visibility is not what we should be
399. 16:05pursuing.
400. 16:07Essentiality, participation
401. 16:09is what we should be pursuing.
402. 16:12We are needed wherever God has placed
403. 16:14us.
404. 16:15Even if we're a visible member or we're
405. 16:17an invisible member.
406. 16:20There are parts of our bodies that we
407. 16:21clothe and parts of our bodies that we
408. 16:23disclose,
409. 16:25but that's not what decides how
410. 16:27important we are.
411. 16:29The body needs it all. There's no
412. 16:32>> [snorts]
413. 16:33>> extraneous member in the body. It's all
414. 16:37according to God's composition. He said,
415. 16:41"You need a kidney. He said, you need a
416. 16:43nose."
417. 16:45And so nobody is extra.
418. 16:48Everybody has a place.
419. 16:50But they've got to stop comparing
420. 16:51themselves to what they wish they were
421. 16:53or to the more visible parts and say,
422. 16:56"God, thank you for making me essential
423. 16:59and help me to manifest your spirit,
424. 17:03your essential grace
425. 17:05to my community
426. 17:07so that they can ex- confess that you
427. 17:09are Lord."
428. 17:10On those members of the body which we
429. 17:13deem less honorable, on those we bestow
430. 17:15more abundant honor. and our less
431. 17:17presentable members become much more
432. 17:20presentable.
433. 17:21Whereas our more presentable members
434. 17:23have no need of it.
435. 17:25But God has so composed the body,
436. 17:30giving more abundant honor to that
437. 17:33member which lacked.
438. 17:36God has composed.
439. 17:38Composition
440. 17:40is the mechanism of God's wisdom
441. 17:44bringing people together in
442. 17:46interdependence.
443. 17:48Decomposition
444. 17:49is the mechanism of independence,
445. 17:52jealousy, and strife bringing death to
446. 17:55what God has joined together.
447. 17:57Be part of the composition. God has so
448. 18:01composed the body,
449. 18:04giving more abundant honor to the to
450. 18:07that member which lacked, so that there
451. 18:09may be no division in the body,
452. 18:12but that the members may have the same
453. 18:14care for one another.
454. 18:17So here's another insight as to why they
455. 18:19were being divisive, why they were
456. 18:21splitting.
457. 18:22There were people who wanted roles that
458. 18:24they didn't have.
459. 18:26But he says,
460. 18:28"We can solve this by having the same
461. 18:30care for one another. Nobody is
462. 18:32deserving of more love.
463. 18:34Everybody is deserving of God's love.
464. 18:37Equal care,
465. 18:39equal value, but not equal roles."
466. 18:43And if one member suffers,
467. 18:46all the members suffer with it.
468. 18:49If one member is honored, all the
469. 18:51members rejoice with it.
470. 18:54The mindset that Paul wants us to have
471. 18:56is not that my brother is hurting, but
472. 19:00just like I couldn't separate the pain
473. 19:02in my finger from me.
474. 19:05My whole body feels the pain in my
475. 19:07finger.
476. 19:08And my whole body feels when my brother
477. 19:10is hurting.
478. 19:12In the same way,
479. 19:13I don't need to get the attention in
480. 19:16every instance. If my sister
481. 19:19is able to speak of Christ and bring
482. 19:21glory to his name, she's out in the
483. 19:24public, I can say, "That's me. The whole
484. 19:27body is being honored through her." So,
485. 19:30I can rejoice in that success because
486. 19:33she needed my kidney function in order
487. 19:35to be what she was for Jesus' glory.
488. 19:40Now, you
489. 19:42are
490. 19:43Christ's
491. 19:45body.
492. 19:47Christ still has a body.
493. 19:50He still has flesh and bone.
494. 19:52He's still a human being.
495. 19:55Yes, but he's a human being on the earth
496. 19:58in a community, in a composite
497. 20:01covenant people.
498. 20:03Now, you are Christ's body and
499. 20:05individually
500. 20:07members of it.
501. 20:10You are as an individual, you are a
502. 20:12member of Jesus. Jesus won't reject you.
503. 20:16He needs you.
504. 20:17He won't cut off a member of his body
505. 20:19unless that big body becomes diseased,
506. 20:22as a branch that bears no fruit, as a
507. 20:25branch eaten up with jealousy, strife,
508. 20:27envy, competition.
509. 20:30And God has appointed in the church
510. 20:33first apostles, second prophets, third
511. 20:37teachers, then miracles, then gifts of
512. 20:41healing, helps, administrations,
513. 20:45various kinds of tongues.
514. 20:47All are not apostles, are they?
515. 20:50All are not prophets, are they?
516. 20:53All are not teachers, are they?
517. 20:57All are not workers of miracles, are
518. 20:59they?
519. 21:00All do not have gifts of healings, do
520. 21:02they?
521. 21:03All do not speak with tongues, do they?
522. 21:06All do not interpret, do they?
523. 21:09But, earnestly desire the greater gifts.
524. 21:13And I show you a still more excellent
525. 21:16way.
526. 21:18So, he's just told them that they need
527. 21:22the spirit in order to say Jesus is
528. 21:24Lord. Then he's shown them that they
529. 21:26need the spirit manifesting itself
530. 21:29through the gifts of the body. Then he's
531. 21:31told them, but don't be competitive.
532. 21:34Don't seek visibility. Seek
533. 21:37participation.
534. 21:40Claim his glory when he gets glory. Say
535. 21:43that's us getting it.
536. 21:45Claim his pain when he hurts. Say that's
537. 21:47us hurting. Be one. Have a mindset that
538. 21:50doesn't grasp for a role.
539. 21:52But then he finishes by saying, but
540. 21:54there is an order.
541. 21:56God's given first apostles. Because they
542. 21:59have the pattern.
543. 22:01They have the wisdom.
544. 22:03When I'm building a house,
545. 22:06I can say, well, I need walls
546. 22:08constructed. I need a porch constructed.
547. 22:10But when we're in the porch stage, and
548. 22:12we're building the porches, and somebody
549. 22:13comes along and starts building a porch
550. 22:15on a old cabin that they built in
551. 22:17Kentucky.
552. 22:18I'm like, what are you doing? That's not
553. 22:20what we're building here. I thought you
554. 22:21said you needed a porch. This was a
555. 22:23great porch on my cabin in Kentucky.
556. 22:25Yeah, but you need to work according to
557. 22:27the blueprint that this house is modeled
558. 22:30after.
559. 22:32You don't need to bring in bits and
560. 22:33pieces from a thousand different
561. 22:35blueprints.
562. 22:36So, apostles are master builders. They
563. 22:39tell us, here's the blueprint. Here's
564. 22:41where we're going. And here's how the
565. 22:43gifts work together with each other.
566. 22:45Do you understand? So, he says, first
567. 22:48apostles.
568. 22:50Second, prophets. Prophets have this
569. 22:53vision, this direction, this guidance,
570. 22:56this correction, this warning.
571. 22:58They're essential.
572. 23:00He's just describing how we should
573. 23:02submit to each other.
574. 23:04More specifically to the manifestation
575. 23:06of the spirit through each other's
576. 23:08gifts.
577. 23:09The spirit is speaking through apostles.
578. 23:11The spirit is speaking through prophets,
579. 23:13through teachers, through workers of
580. 23:15miracles. God is inserting himself,
581. 23:20but he's arranged us in this composition
582. 23:22that will keep us from destroying
583. 23:24ourselves.
584. 23:25Amen. So, the first, second, third
585. 23:27doesn't destroy what he says before.
586. 23:30Just showing us the attitude of how we
587. 23:33look at this. We are all one thing.
588. 23:36Let's just work for the common good.
589. 23:38And then he tells them,
590. 23:41"Do all prophesy? Do all have healings?"
591. 23:43Blah, blah, blah. "Are all apostles?"
592. 23:45And that tells us what the problem was
593. 23:47in Corinth.
594. 23:48They had begun to covet these roles,
595. 23:51imagining that they could be whatever
596. 23:53they wanted to be. Do you want to
597. 23:54prophesy? Oh, I'm a prophet. No, you're
598. 23:55not.
599. 23:56Not unless God gave you that gift.
600. 23:59"I'm an apostle." No, you're not. Not
601. 24:01unless the Holy Spirit is manifesting
602. 24:02that gift through you. No, you're not.
603. 24:05But that's that's what was causing
604. 24:07division.
605. 24:09He says, "I want you to earnestly desire
606. 24:11the greater gifts." So, there are some
607. 24:14gifts that are greater. In what sense
608. 24:16does it make the person greater? No.
609. 24:18We're all just brothers. Our gifts don't
610. 24:20save us. We're all just children of God,
611. 24:22saved by grace.
612. 24:24But there are gifts that come first and
613. 24:27that order the ones that come after. And
614. 24:29in that sense, there's a priority here.
615. 24:33He says, "I I show you a more excellent
616. 24:35way."
617. 24:36A more excellent way than what? A more
618. 24:38excellent way than the gifts? No. A more
619. 24:41excellent way than desiring a gift for
620. 24:44yourself.
621. 24:45And he's going to tell us in chapter 13
622. 24:47what the more excellent way is.
623. 24:49The more excellent way than just
624. 24:51desiring
625. 24:52is to yield to love.
626. 24:54Love will call forth the gift
627. 24:58that God has put inside of you. If
628. 25:01you'll say yes to love and you'll reach
629. 25:03out with the hands of love, your gift
630. 25:05will manifest as you do it.
631. 25:07And that's the more excellent way than
632. 25:09just sitting there pining, I wish I was
633. 25:11a I wish I was a that's, you know, not
634. 25:15as helpful.
635. 25:16But if you say, I want to love. I just
636. 25:18want to lose myself in service. I just
637. 25:20want to help. I just want to see this
638. 25:23person flourish or heal strengthened.
639. 25:26Then, in that love capacity, you'll
640. 25:28realize
641. 25:30that you're reaching through the hands
642. 25:32of the gift God gave you. And one will
643. 25:34be bringing a word of faith. He's a
644. 25:36prophet. Another will be bringing a word
645. 25:38of instruction. He's a teacher. Another
646. 25:41will be saying, let's talk about the
647. 25:42gospel. He's an evangelist. Another will
648. 25:44be saying, I can see God ordering a team
649. 25:47and building a church. Or he's an
650. 25:48apostle. Another will be saying, I just
651. 25:51want to pray. I feel like there's a
652. 25:52miracle for this situation. He's a
653. 25:54worker of miracles.
654. 25:55But it's love that activates.
655. 25:59And the gifts, they're just the hands
656. 26:01that we reach out to touch the need
657. 26:03with. When Paul is asking, do all have
658. 26:05these gifts?
659. 26:08Some believers can have a confusion
660. 26:10because
661. 26:11he says, do all
662. 26:14All do not have gifts of healing, do
663. 26:15they? All do not speak with tongues, do
664. 26:17they? All do not interpret, do they?
665. 26:20But earnestly desire the greater gifts.
666. 26:22So that sounds like, oh, so
667. 26:26he's talking about uh speaking in
668. 26:28tongues
669. 26:30as when someone is baptized in the Holy
670. 26:31Spirit.
671. 26:33No.
672. 26:34When people are baptized in the Holy
673. 26:35Spirit, the Bible doesn't call it the
674. 26:37gift of tongues.
675. 26:39Ever.
676. 26:41It calls it the gift of the Holy Spirit
677. 26:44with the evidence or sign of speaking in
678. 26:46tongues. So you have to separate the
679. 26:49gift of of Holy Spirit with the sign of
680. 26:52tongues, which can happen with every
681. 26:54believer through the baptism of the
682. 26:56Spirit, from the gift of tongues. The
683. 26:59gift of tongues is a form of prophecy
684. 27:01for church context, in the church.
685. 27:05He says in chapter 14, [music]
686. 27:07"I would rather speak this many words
687. 27:09with my understanding than a thousand
688. 27:11words in a tongue." So, there's
689. 27:13speaking in tongues evidence of the gift
690. 27:16of the Spirit, and then there's the gift
691. 27:18of tongues, those are separate things.
692. 27:22Everybody has faith, but not everybody
693. 27:23has the gift of faith. Everybody can ask
694. 27:26God and have some wisdom, not everybody
695. 27:28has the gift of wisdom.
696. 27:30Everybody gives the testimony of Jesus,
697. 27:32the spirit of Jesus is the testimony
698. 27:34[music]
699. 27:35of prophecy, but not everyone is a
700. 27:36prophet. Everybody witnesses and tells
701. 27:39others about the Lord and salvation, but
702. 27:41not everyone is an evangelist. Everybody
703. 27:44speaks with tongues, not everyone has
704. 27:46the gift of tongues.
705. 27:49So, what he's talking about here is not
706. 27:51just the speaking in tongues of the
707. 27:54speaking of an unknown tongue, he's
708. 27:56talking about a prophecy
709. 27:58with an unknown tongue and an
710. 28:00interpretation to move an unbelieving
711. 28:03church into obedience, and not everybody
712. 28:05has that. That's a pretty rare [music]
713. 28:06gift.
714. 28:15>> [music]
715. 28:19[music]