1 Corinthians 12- Gifts of The Holy Spirit Part 2

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for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will 1 Corinthians 12:8-11

We talked about earlier in my previous post, that every Born Again believer has the Holy Spirit living inside of them and the Holy Spirit has given each of us a gift. These gifts and purposes can vary depending on what your calling is from God. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are to Glorify God and to expand Christs Kingdom, not for us to puff ourselves up

The Apostle Paul here lists some of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives to believers, Wisdom, Knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, and interpretation. Notice what Paul says here “Dividing to every man severally as He will” If someone has the gift of prophecy, don’t get annoyed or jealous with their ministry, God has chosen to appoint them this gift, we are not the Holy Spirit, we can’t give people the gifts of the Holy Spirit, only God can appoint these gifts

With that said, don’t be jealous of a brother or sister who has a gift that you desire. Scripture tells us that speaking in tongues is a gift of the Holy Spirit,  I can tell you I have never spoke in tongues in my life. Should I be concerned or jealous of those who do speak in tongues? No I’m not concerned at all, it’s God’s plan on what gifts he wants to administer to whom. Now I know there are Christians who are going to argue this gift has ceased, I don’t find any scriptural support for that, therefore I will believe what the Bible is saying here. While there will be others who will fake speaking in tongues to demonstrate they have some kind of spiritual authority. I would warn you, this is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, since the Holy Spirit is the only one who distributes these gifts, I would advise you to not mock God

We need to stay Kingdom focused, stop worrying about who has what gift or who doesn’t have a specific gift, we are the body of Christ, together with these gifts we have the power and authority to overcome evil. This is why Satan wants to keep the Church divided, separating these gifts weakens the Church, but united together with the gifts of Holy Spirit, the Church becomes unstoppable, the same power that rose Jesus Christ from the dead (Romans 8:11)

If you are a Born Again Christian, you have the gift of the Holy Spirit, unite with your brothers and sisters in Christ and build Gods Kingdom, Amen!

1 Corinthians 12- Gifts of The Holy Spirit Part 1

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Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

The gifts of the Holy Spirit is unfortunately another debated topic in Christianity. I think part of the reason is there are many Christians who have abused the Holy Spirit, while there are others that have neglected the Holy Spirit. You will find out when you talk to various Christians, there is a broad spectrum of everyone’s understanding of the Holy Spirit

As we looked over in my previous post about Jesus Is Lord, the Apostle Paul states “Nobody can say Jesus Is Lord without the Holy Spirit” , so if you are Born Again in Christ, it’s because of the Holy Spirit. For a Christian to say the works of the Holy Spirit have ceased, they would have to deny their own salvation. You can’t be saved without the Holy Spirit, you can’t be regenerated without the Holy Spirit, you can’t even know Jesus Christ without the Holy Spirit

With all this said, if you are Born Again in Christ, you have a gift of the Holy Spirit. You may not know what that gift is or maybe you quench the Holy Spirit and don’t use it, but I can guarantee you have been given a gift. The Apostle Paul says “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man (everyone)” There are many different gifts of the Holy Spirit, not just speaking in tongues or prophecy, having the Fear of The Lord is a gift of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11) 

We take alot of things for granted in our salvation, we have this attitude or mentality that we just naturally know Christ or have knowledge of God. You don’t have anything without the Holy Spirit. You are like the Dry Bones in the valley of the book of Ezekiel, you have zero knowledge or hope, it’s only the breath of God that can bring you back to life. 

I want you to just notice the Triune language Paul uses in this teaching, “the same Spirit, the same Lord, the same God” People who deny the Trinity and say Jesus and the Apostles never taught this, have clearly missed the references throughout the New Testament. Without the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit working in unison in your life, your not going to be saved, it’s the same with the gifts, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all working in unison to provide you these gifts.

Paul emphasizes “there are diversities of gifts, administration, and operations of the Spirit” The Body of Christ is One but we are all different, we all have different testimonies, different backgrounds, different experiences, and we all are going to have different gifts and different ministries. Let’s stop trying to compare ourselves to each other and work together for the Kingdom of God, Amen!

1 Corinthians 12- Jesus Is Lord

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Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 1 Corinthians 12:1-3

Recently with the Asbury Revivals going on, there was alot of discussion as to whether these were true revivals or not? Many Christians called these other Christians “fake” because they didn’t approve or like the way they were worshiping or conducting a service. Not to get off topic, but there is no Biblical commands how to conduct a revival, this can only be led by the Holy Spirit, which we seem to want to put inside a box

Anyway, the root of all these arguments and discussions comes down to one thing, are these people really saved or not? Now I’m certainly not going to try and play God and pretend I know who really is Born Again or not, in fact I believe there are true saved Christians in every denomination or sect, a true remnant of God, however that is not up to me to determine who is saved or not.

However Jesus did give us some criteria we can use to determine the authenticity of someone’s faith in Matthew 7. Jesus said “You should know them by their fruits “ (Matthew 7:16) What fruit is Christ talking about? Of coure the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5) The Apostle Paul said this “ 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23[g]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law “

If we claim to be a Christian (a follower of Christ) then we should behave like a Christian. If someone claims to be Born Again and they are engaging in sinful and evil practices, then its logical we have to question the authenticity of their conversion. Now does that mean we should go around judging who is a true Christian or not, no that’s not our job, but we can have spiritual discernment of the Holy Spirit to know who to fellowship with or even follow

Now going back to our scriptures today , Paul makes a statement “Nobody can say Jesus Is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit” Interesting, another sign of discernment for us. If someone is declaring Jesus Is Lord, that is by the Holy Spirit. That is a sign of spiritual fruit, this person might still be working on their sanctification and might not be where you are at, but to truly declare Jesus Is Lord sets us apart from the world

So going back to the Asbury Revivals, among other things, Christians will complain about this specific denomination or this group because they don’t do A, B, and C, all I want to know is do they truly declare Jesus Is Lord? Do they affirm the death and resurrection of Christ? Let Jesus gather his sheep, and let the Holy Spirit do his work, Jesus Christ is Lord, Amen!

1 Corinthians 11- The Lords Table Part 4

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For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come. 1 Corinthians 11:31-34

The context of this scripture again is in reference to taking Communion properly, with the right heart and attitude. For those Christians who don’t practice or partake in Communion, why did the Apostle Paul spend so much time teaching on it? This was a command and sacrament ordain by The Lord Jesus Christ himself (Luke 22)

For the liberal Christian who says “Don’t judge me” while repeating Matthew 7 out of context, I have bad news for you, everytime you come to The Lord’s table you are being judged by Christ. We should be examining ourselves, examining our heart and relationship with God, before we even attempt to come to The Lord’s table. But remember God disciples those who he loves (Hebrews 12:6) There is nothing wrong with rebuke or correction, as long as its done properly and we actually listen. As the Apostle Paul says “We are chastened or disciplined of The Lord”

Again the big issue here with the Church of Corinth is they were abusing The Lord’s Supper and partaking in an unworthy manner, the people are Corinth were using this as an opportunity for a free meal and to get drunk, as stated previously in the early Church Communion was known as a Agape Feast, a full meal shared among the Church, it wasn’t the Communion they we know in today’s Church with a wafer and cup of grape juice. Much like the “Pot luck” dinners we have in today’s Church , many people were just coming to The Lord’s table to eat and get drunk , rather than pay any reverence or commemorate The Lord Jesus Christ

When we come to The Lords table, when we partake in Communion, we need to examine ourselves, we need to make sure we understand why we are partaking in the elements. Understand that the body and blood of Christ is our salvation, and honor what The Lord accomplished for us through His death and resurrection. If we don’t truly understand the gospel then we shouldn’t partake in Communion because your bringing judgment upon yourself.

Christ died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again, Amen!

1 Corinthians 11- The Lords Table Part 3

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Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 1 Corinthians 11:27-30

As we continue to look at Paul’s teachings on Communion, look at what he says here “Whoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of The Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of The Lord” Wow, think about that! If you partake in Communion with a wrong heart for God, you are guilty of the death of Christ. This should be a strong warning to everyone, to take The Lord’s Table seriously!

I know many Churches have open callings for anyone to partake in Communion, and I think we shouldn’t be a stumbling block or prohibit anyone from coming to Christ, however we also must be aware that allowing non-believers to partake in Communion is bringing judgment upon their soul. 

So how do we know if we are worthy of partaking in The Lord’s Table? As the Apostle Paul says here “Let everyone examine himself” Are you Born Again in Christ? Is Jesus your Lord and Savior? Do you believe he died for your sins and was raised from the dead? These are foundational questions you must examine in your heart, are you truly a believer or just a pretender? If your not sure, don’t partake in Communion until you repent and get right with God

The Apostle Paul says “For he that eat and drinks unworthily, eat and drinks damnation to himself” Again a strong warning from the Apostle, it’s not just a sin to come to The Lord’s table in an unworthy manner, it brings damnation to your soul. We are not playing Church, we are actively participating in the sacrament ordained by The Lord himself. We must take this privilege seriously and honorably.

Paul makes an interesting statement here “For this cause , many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (die)” Another Wow statement, Paul is saying there are many bringing curses upon themselves by partaking in Communion in an unworthy manner. Now I know there will be some who would like to make a theological argument against this statement to downplay it, but heed the warning from the Apostle! 

Next time your invited to The Lord’s table, examine yourself, do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, is Christ your Lord and Savior, The Lord is worthy of all praise, Amen!

1 Corinthians 11-The Lords Table Part 2

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For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.1 Corinthians 11:23-26

As I said previously , the Apostle Paul actually spent alot of time teaching on The Lord’s Supper or Communion, or if you want to call it the Eucharist. This has been a foundational sacrament since the early Church. As we talked in my previous post, Paul rebuked those who didn’t practice Communion in a Worthy Manner. When we partake in Communion, we should examine ourselves and make sure our heart is right with God

Now the question is “Should we practice Communion at all?” There are alot of Christians who neglect The Lord’s Table, the Apostle Paul repeats the commandments of Christ multiple times “Do this in remembrance of Me” When Jesus tells us to do something, we should do it, right? As Christ said “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15) 

The Apostle Paul echoes Jesus’ teaching on Communion (Luke 22) The bread is symbolic of the body of Christt, broken for our sins. The Cup is symbolic of the blood Jesus Christ shed for the atonement of our sins, and is the sign of the New Covenant. Many believe and assume baptism is the sign of the New Covenant, however I dont find scriptural support for this. I believe the blood of Christ is the sign of the New Covenant, without the blood of The Lamb there is no remission for our sins

Paul makes another statement here, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup” Now this statement would imply that Christians would be practicing this often, right? So why are there so many Christians that neglect The Lords Table? Not only did Jesus say “Do this in remembrance of me” And Paul said “As often as you partake in the bread and cup” This is a perpetual remembrance of what The Lord has done for us, until Christ returns

When we come to The Lord’s Table to partake, we should do so in a worthy manner with a clean heart to God, we will look  tomorrow at Paul’s extended teachings on this behavior!