The Holy Spirit and his gifts for the Church today
1. The Spirit of Jesus

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A.  Introduction

  1. This is not an exhaustive study.
  2. We have chosen to focus on Paul’s treatment in 1 Corinthians 12 – 14 as it is the fullest, and most controversial, passage in Scripture.
  3. I will NOT be attempting to demonstrate that spiritual gifts are still valid today, or that the phenomena familiar to Pentecostal and Charismatic congregations are identical to those in 1 Corinthians 12-14.  Hopefully, the treatment given on general principles will answer these questions.

B.  1 Corinthians 12:1-3 : The Crucial Confession

v1 “Now about spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant”

  1. “Spiritual gifts”: pneumatikos  could also be translated “spiritual men”, “things of the Spirit”.  Paul is not primarily interested in “spiritual gifts” but true spirituality.  (Hence the long section on the nature of the body  of Christ (12:12 – 31) and his extended teaching on necessity of love (Chapter 13).
  2. “Brothers and sisters”:  this is a teaching for the whole church
  3. “I do not want you to be ignorant”: a Pauline expression (cf. Rom 11:25; 1 Cor 10:1; 1 Thess 4:13) about something crucial of which Christians should be aware.
  4. Question: am I ignorant of the “things of the Spirit” in theory (books, tapes,sermons) or practice?

v2 “You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols”

  1. Idols are “dumb” (1 Ki 18:26 -29; Ps 105:4 -8; Isa 46:7).
  2. The spiritual power behind all forms of idolatry is demons (Deut 32:17; 1 Cor 10:21 – 22).
  3. Inspiration or supernatural activity does not tell us anything about the source. Fascination with supernatural power is dangerous. eg. Acts 16:16; “Crossing Over With John Edward”.

v3  ”Therefore I tell you, 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.”

  1. “Therefore” indicates a close connection between the point in verses 2 and 3.
  2. This is not dealing with mere speech but supernaturally inspired utterances.
  3. ‘Jesus be cursed’ is possibly something that could have been said in a pagan temple.  Or, it may relate to the use of the Greek word anathema as a translation for herem in the Old Testament (Deut 7:26; 13:17; Josh 6:18 etc.) where it meant the complete destruction of people, animals and objects devoted to total destruction under the wrath of God.  In either case the name “Jesus”, which is the name of a human being, is despised.  The authenticity of an inspired utterance is tied to the identity of “Jesus”.
  4. ‘Jesus is Lord’ is the most basic confessional statement in the New Testament.  In the context of the religious world of the time it clearly defines who is a Christian. For Greeks and Romans there were “many ‘gods’  and many ‘lords’” (1 Cor 8:5),where “lord” was a title of divinity (Isis, Serapis, Apollo etc.).  Each had its own devotees and cult, none of which were mutually exclusive.  For Jews there was only one “Lord”, the God of (our) Old Testament (Yahweh).  That there was one God and Lord was the foundation for the Jewish religion (Deut 6:4 – 5).  To say “Jesus is Lord” was to say that he is God and Saviour in a way that excluded allegiance to the pagan deities and claimed that Jesus was equal in dignity and authority to the God of the Old Testament.  This is the highest possible claim.  According to Paul, if one confesses that Jesus is Lord that person will be saved (Romans 10:9 -10cf. Col 2:6).  The universal acclamation “Jesus is Lord” is the climax of the redeeming plan of the Father (Phil 2:5 -11).  The Lordship of Jesus is a central part of the apostolic gospel (Acts 2:36; 10:36;16:31).
  5. The unique element of this lordship claim is that it is applied to an historical human being, Jesus of Nazareth, who was born, lived and died within the time – frame of those who first heard the message (1 Cor 15:1- 7; Heb 2:1 -4).  It was this element of the gospel that made it such an offence in the culture of the day (1 Cor 1:21 -23).  The New Testament cannot dissociate the confession of the lordship of Jesus from the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
  6. “…except by the Holy Spirit”.   The impossibility of any agency other than the Spirit revealing the lordship of Jesus is due to the intimate relationship between the Spirit and the Son of God.  He was there in the beginning with the Father and the Word familiar with the eternal plan of God not by revelation but by communion – internally (John 1:1; 1 Cor 2:10 -11).  He was the agency by which the Word became flesh, the power of the Spirit results in the fully supernatural conception of Jesus (Matt 1:18; Luke 1:35).  Jesus is baptised in the Spirit at his baptism in water (Matt 3:16 and parallels.)  This is his anointing as Messiah – King with power to bring in the kingdom of God (Acts 10:28; Luke 4:18).  He is led by the Spirit in/to the wilderness (Mark 1:12; Luke 4:1).  By the inspiration of the Spirit he speaks the words of God and does mighty deeds (John 3:34 – 35; Matt 12:28; Luke 4:14,18 -19).  His strength to sacrifice himself on the cross comes from the Spirit (Heb 9:14).  He is raised and declared Son of God with power by the energy of the Spirit (Rom 1:4; 8:11; 1 Tim 3:16; 1 Pet 3:18).  Because the Spirit is the eternal companion of Jesus and the key to understanding his inner relationship with the Father the Spirit alone is the one true and full witness to the identity of Jesus (John 15:26;16:14).  In being the one who has established Jesus in his victory over sin, Satan and death through his incarnation, anointing, ministry, crucifixion and exaltation the Spirit alone can say with full authority “Jesus is Lord.” Whoever makes the confession “Jesus is Lord” from their heart, is someone who is speaking in the power of the Spirit, for this is where the Spirit dwells (Rom 5:5; 8:15; Gal 4:6).  Such a person is “manifesting the Spirit” (1 Cor 12:7).  All genuine Christian experience is an experience of Jesus in the Spirit.  The testimony to the absolute supremacy of Jesus is the ultimate criterion of the Spirit’s work.
  7. To put it slightly differently.  The Holy Spirit is so excited about who Jesus is and what they have done together for humanity that his sole passion is to tell the world, through us, all about Jesus.  Complete Christ  – centredness is the result of the Spirit’s work.

C.  1 Corinthians 12:4-6 : The Unity of the Spirit

12:4-7 “There are different gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.”

  1. The unity of the Trinity is the ultimate context for the exercise of spiritual gifts.  The order is Spirit, Lord (Jesus), God (Father).
  2. “Gifts” are associated with the Spirit in these chapters.  “Service” is especially connected to the ministry of Jesus.  “Working” is the effective operation of power; the Father is behind all gifts and ministries.
  3. The gifts of the Spirit enact ministries given by Jesus to fulfil the plan of the Father.
  4. The ONE God is manifested in differing ways; there is a natural unity in diversity.

D.  1 Corinthians 12:7 : The Manifestation of the Spirit

v7  “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”

  1. “Each one” means that no-one is excluded (cf. 12:11).  All Christians are charismatics.
  2. The “manifestation” of the Spirit is the invisible Spirit showing forth his character in visible and audible effects (just as he did in Jesus).  It is by the Spirit that we know what Jesus is doing.
  3. “Of the Spirit” means that the Holy Spirit is expressing himself.
  4. “For the common good”.  He does this by bringing about good for the body of Christ, showing his service to Jesus and ultimately the Father, by building people up to be like Christ (1 Cor 14:4,12).
  5. There is a complete absence of individualism or selfish concern in the intentions of the Spirit.
  6. The context is the Christian community (1 Cor 12:12- 27; Rom 12:4 -5; Eph 4:4- 6; 11 -16; 1 Pet 4:8 -11) and its maturation.

E.  Gifts of Grace

  1. The central term for “spiritual gift” in these passages is charismata (1 Cor 12:4,9,28,30,31).
  2. This is derived from the word charis , which means “grace”.  A charisma is a gift of grace.
  3. The ending – mata indicates an actual operation of grace.  Grace becomes operational or concrete in spiritual gifts.  They are “packets of grace”.
  4. The one grace which is in Christ (2 Cor 8:9) finds manifold outworking in the operation of the diversity of spiritual gifts.
  5.  Therefore spiritual gifts, in both use and reception, are not dependent upon the maturity of people involved.  The material in 1 Corinthians is in fact written to an immature church (3:1- 3) that was prolific in the use of charismatic endowments (1:7).

F.  Seeking the Gifts

  1. This is expressly commanded in scripture (1 Cor 14:1).
  2. Once it is realised that these gifts are for the good of others then it will be seen that seeking gifts is neither selfish nor optional but an expression of love (1 Cor 13; Rom 12:9; Eph 4:15; 1 Pet 4:8)

G.  Which Gifts to Seek

  1. Ultimately this is decided by Jesus (Eph 4:8,11) and the Spirit (1 Cor 12:11).
  2. Paul teaches that not all exercise all the gifts (1 Cor 12:29 -30).
  3. This seems to be a simple statement of fact. It neither discourages seeking gifts nor denies that there are some gifts that are sovereignly given by God to some and not to others (such as apostle).
  4. In practice, it would seem desirable that a believer seek the Spirit for gifts relevant to a context of need e.g. healing for a sick person, prophecy for encouragement.
  5. Finally, the wisdom of God must be entrusted.

Questions For Application

  1. “The Holy Spirit convicts us of our negligence of Jesus.”  Is this a relevant statement for you?
  2. In the light of the teaching of the New Testament, can the church do without the vigorous expression of spiritual gifts at all levels of its life and witness?
  3. Have you ever asked others to pray for you for the release of spiritual gifts in your life? (Especially through the laying on of hands.)
  4.  Are you aware of any obstacles that might be blocking the Holy Spirit manifesting more of his passion for Jesus through you by spiritual gifts?

a.  conscious sin
b.  fear
c.  lack of desire
d.  pride
e.  other factors

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