The Church (1 Corinthians 12-14) 20230129 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
01/29 Gospel Unity and the Gifts of the Spirit (1Corinthians 12-14)) Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20230129_the-church.mp3
We've been looking at the church, that we together are the light of the world. We’ve seen that the church is a community of people called out from the world by the Lord Jesus Christ, a community built on his identity, and united by the new birth. It’s not that we were worthy; none is righteous; our blind eyes have been opened, we have been forgiven, given a new identity. Once we were darkness; now we are light in the Lord.
Jesus promised to build his church, and he promised that his church would overcome. We as his followers are to devote ourselves to the Apostle’s teaching, which we now have written. We are to devote ourselves to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. We are to abide in Jesus and bear much fruit. This is fruit that the Spirit produces, because our identity has been transformed by the Holy Spirit who now lives in every believer in Jesus.
We are to abide in Jesus, his word abiding in us, and bear much fruit. We are to bear one another’s burdens, we are to bear with one another in love. Keep short accounts. Forgive as you have been forgiven. Freely, graciously, undeservedly.
Today I want to look at the roles each of us plays in this diverse community, this body called the church. To do that we will look at 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14.
Every Believer is Spiritual (1 Corinthians 12:1-3)
1 Corinthians 12-14 deal with who is spiritual and the issue of spiritual gifts. It seems there were questions in Corinth about who was more spiritual than whom and what gifts were necessary evidence of the Spirit in the believer. Chapter 12 lays down some theological groundwork. Paul starts the discussion by pointing to the fact that every genuine believer in Jesus has the Holy Spirit, and is therefore 'spiritual’, because belief is the work of the Holy Spirit. No spiritually blind spiritually dead person can truly say 'Jesus is Lord'. The Holy Spirit creates life in a dead heart and opens blind eyes so that a sinner can see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and believe in him. Saving faith, believing in Jesus as Lord, is evidence of Holy Spirit transformation, evidence of true spirituality. There are no more spiritual or less spiritual believers. We are all born again of the Spirit.
Diverse Gifts For the Common Good (1 Corinthians 12:4-31)
Then he points to the diversity of the gifts all given by one triune God. He highlights the fact that the gifts are given ‘for the common good’ (12:7). He uses the metaphor of the body, one organic whole made up of very unique and diverse parts or members, all interdependent and necessary.
1 Corinthians 12:14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
He reminds us of the fact that God sovereignly apportioned the gifts as he willed, God so composed the body ‘that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another’ (12:25)
He affirms that there is a priority in the gifts, but they are gifts; it is God who appointed those gifts in the church. He makes it clear that no one possesses all the gifts, that we all need one another.
Then he tells us at the end of chapter 12:
1 Corinthians 12:31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
We are commanded to be zealous for higher gifts. But he will show us a still more excellent way. The superabundant way is love. Without love the gifts are empty, worthless, even irritating, like a noisy gong or clanging symbol.
Love the Heart of the Gifts (1 Corinthians 13)
1 Corinthians 13 is nicknamed ‘The Love Chapter’ and is often used in weddings, and it has good application to that, but that’s not what it was originally about. 1 Corinthians 13 is between chapters 12 and 14, right in the middle of a discussion of spiritual gifts; it is primarily about relationships in the church, how we ought to treat one another as followers of Jesus. It’s a picture of the fruit of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
This is the heart that must underlie and shape the use of gifts in the body.
Paul points out that the gifts are temporary, given for the good of the church in this age, in contrast with love that will never end. Love is the more excellent way.
Pursue Love
In chapter 14, Paul comes back to a specific discussion of two particular gifts of the Spirit, and gives some clear practical instruction for life in the church body. He says:
1 Corinthians 14:1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.
He tells us to go after love. Love is being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, who perfectly demonstrated love to us. This is a command. Pursue love; make love your aim in everything. Everything we do ought to be characterized by love. Yet this does not mean that we turn away from or neglect the gifts of the Spirit. Instead we are to be zealous for the spiritual gifts so that we can use them in love for the common good. This command is picked up and repeated from the end of chapter 12; earnestly desire spiritual gifts. God's gifts are good, and are to be desired, to be sought after by God's people.
Prophecy over Tongues
But some gifts are more to be desired than others. Paul takes two speaking gifts and elevates prophecy over tongues as the gift we are to pursue. There are differing opinions on what exactly each gift looks like, and we’re not going to take the time to go through all that today, but if we are careful to observe what this passage says about these gifts, we can get a pretty clear picture.
This passage describes tongues as speaking to God, uttering mysteries in the Spirit that no one understands. The tongues speaker builds himself up. If the tongue can be interpreted, then it can build up the church.
Prophecy is described as speaking ‘to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation’. The one who prophesies builds up the church.
Both are good. Both are desirable. But prophecy is better, based on the criteria of building up the church, based on love.
Building Up
Paul said back in chapter 8;
1 Corinthians 8:1...This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.
In chapter 3, he talked about laying a foundation as a skilled master builder. This is an architectural metaphor that paints a picture of construction, providing structure, strength, stability. This is manual labor that requires effort, skill, and patience. We are not in the business of building up buildings, we are called to build up people, to invest in them to provide structure, strength, stability. Prophecy also provides encouragement, to call alongside, to give counsel, encouragement, caution. Prophecy provides consolation, to comfort or console someone who is fainthearted or grieving. Prophecy is speaking to others in order to strengthen, to counsel, to comfort.
Self-Edification
The contrast with tongues in verse 4 is that the one who speaks in a tongue builds himself up, where the one who prophesies builds up the church. It is not wrong to build oneself up. We should be building ourselves up. Jude commands:
Jude :20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
It is right and proper and good to seek to build yourself up. A healthy church is made up of healthy individuals. But that is not why we gather as the church. We gather to build up one another. I don't come to church primarily for what I can get out of it, but how I can serve others. Love does not seek its own.
Paul has nothing bad to say about tongues. In fact, he says in verse 5 “I want you all to speak in tongues”. Speaking in tongues is a good gift of the Holy Spirit. He has already said, at the end of chapter 12, that not all speak in tongues. But, if it were possible, he wishes that all could speak in tongues and enjoy the benefit of uttering mysteries in the Spirit to God. He desires that we all speak in tongues, but even more that we prophesy. He says that the one who speaks prophecy for building up and encouragement and consolation is greater than he who speaks in a tongue, unless it is interpreted, so that the church is built up. The goal of assembling together is to build up the church.
How Will I Benefit You?
Paul uses himself as an example in verse 6. He conjectures; what if I come to visit you and do nothing but speak in tongues? Some in Corinth may have been asking for that very thing. They may have wondered if Paul was as spiritual as they were, because they had likely never heard him speaking in tongues. He might be able to impress some with his advanced spirituality and elevate his status in their eyes, but that is not the goal. Listen to the question he asks. Underline it. Circle it. Write it on the inside cover of your Bible. Make this your question whenever you interact with another person. Paul asks: “How will I benefit you?” It might do me good to speak in tongues, and it might lift me up in your eyes, but what profit will it have for you? Paul's goal is to be useful to them. Imagine what the church would be like if every one of us had this as our driving passion whenever we gathered: “how will I benefit you?”
1 Corinthians 14:6 Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?
Unintelligibility Creates Barriers
All of these are speaking gifts. The difference between tongues and revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching is that they are intelligible while tongues are unintelligible. If he spoke in tongues, no one would understand him. He wants to benefit them, and he can only be of benefit to them if they can understand him. Uninterpreted tongues fail to communicate, but instead create confusion, erect boundaries and alienate others, making them feel like outsiders. Why would those who have been united as brothers and sisters in Christ engage in a practice that makes each other feel like foreigners?
Love Seeks To Build Up
Paul gives some clear instructions to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 14:12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. 13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret.
To be zealous for spiritual gifts is a good thing. He has commanded this in 12:31 and 14:1. Paul is simply trying to channel their zeal in a more healthy direction. Seek those things that build up the church. Seek those things that will benefit others. If you speak in a tongue, ask God to give you the ability to interpret that tongue into intelligible language so that you can use your gift to build up others. Spiritual gifts without love are noisy irritating things. Love seeks not its own. Love seeks the good of the other.
Passionate Intelligent Worship
1 Corinthians 14:14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up.
Paul started this section saying that the one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God. Speaking to God can take the form of prayer, songs of praise, giving thanks. Someone who speaks in an unknown tongue is praying or singing or giving thanks with his spirit, but his mind does not understand what he is saying. Paul is eager to engage not only his spirit, but his mind also. Worship is to be both passionate and intelligent. Neither cold intellectualism nor contentless emotion is pleasing to God. We are to love God with all our heart and all our soul and all our mind. We are to think profoundly and feel deeply about Jesus. Notice Paul is not only thinking of himself. He is aware of the outsider. He is thinking of the seeker, the visitor. Sometimes our goal is to be lost in the experience of worship. But if we are so wrapped up in the experience that we become oblivious to the outsider and disregard his or her needs, then we are not acting in love. We can find application for this well beyond the issue of tongues.
Gifts and Self-Control
1 Corinthians 14:18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Paul claims to be a tongues speaker extraordinaire. The Corinthians were fascinated with their supernatural ability to speak in unknown tongues, and it characterized their worship gatherings. But Paul claims to exceed them all. He is not speaking to them about something he does not understand. He has the gift, he wishes they all had it, and he thanks God for it. But just because he has the gift does not mean he will insist on finding an opportunity to exercise it publicly. It seems that this was a gift Paul restrained and used only privately. In the presence of others, out of love, with self-control, he would rather speak five intelligible words so that they can be instructed than countless words in an unknown language. Paul's goal was not to find expression for his gift, but to ask “how will I benefit you?”
1 Corinthians 12:7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
1 Corinthians 14:12 ...since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
...26 ... Let all things be done for building up.
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2023.01.29 Sermon Notes
Gospel Unity and the Gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12-14)
Every believer is ‘spiritual’; born again by the Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:1-3
The Triune God gives gifts for the common good
1 Corinthians 12:4-7
Earnestly desire the higher gifts
1 Corinthians 12:31
Love must shape the use of the gifts
1 Corinthians 13
Tongues speak to God and build up self (14:2, 4)
Prophecy speaks to men and builds up the church (14:3-4)
-to build up and encourage and console (14:3)
“How will I benefit you?”
1 Corinthians 14:6
Strive to excel in building up the church
1 Corinthians 14:12
Worship must be both intelligent and passionate
1 Corinthians 14:14-17
Love shows self-control in the use of the gifts
1 Corinthians 14:14-17
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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org