Now concerning
spiritual gifts,
brethren, I do not
want
you to be ignorant.
You know that you
were Gentiles,
carried away to these
dumb idols,
however you were led.
1 Corinthians 12: 1
-- 2
Paul in
writing this letter to the Corinthian Christians has spoken in very direct and
clear terms that there were things they were doing that were not according to
the words of God. As we enter into
chapter 12 of this letter, we have approached a chapter that has caused much division
within the Christian religion. So
before I begin this chapter it would be good to review salvation. The Christian must never forget that
salvation is God's thought, not man's.
Salvation is a great thought of God, not an experience. Never preach the experience; preach the
great thoughts of God behind that experience.
When we preach the Word of God, we are not proclaiming how man can be
saved from hell, and made moral, and pure; we are conveying good news about
God. We are to preach the truth of
God. Jesus has never given us a command
that He could not enable us to fulfill for if :He did so He would be nothing
more than a liar. Furthermore, if we
make our inability a barrier to obedience, it means that we are telling God
there is something He has not taken into account. Every element of self-reliance must be slain by the power of
God. It is our complete weakness and dependence upon God that will always be the way for the Spirit of God to
manifest His power. Far too often, men
desire of the power and the ability to somehow demonstrate that power and are
only making cause for them to feel pious and somehow approved by God. God has approved His children before the
foundation of the world, therefore we cannot do anything to gain His approval and
be saved. What are we seeking? Is it they
thrill of the moment if we somehow see someone healed, or do we get more
excited when we see someone convert their life and their belief in our Savior
Jesus Christ? This desire to experience
more of God is nothing new for in the early church Montanism came to the fore
as Montanus declared that the Holy Spirit was giving new revelations to the
church. Furthermore, Montanus went so
far as to name himself in two women, Priscilla and Maximilla, as prophets and
this was referred to as the New Prophecy.
One does not have to look very close to see that similar things are
going on in some churches were they speak of a New Prophecy, and even have women
in as pastors and teachers that cannot be found in Scripture. As it is today, so was it so in the early
church whereby responses to this were quite mixed. It is true, prophecy (not to speak of something in the future for
prophecy is to be speaking the words of God) was a genuine gift of God,
according to the New Testament. Of
course the ability to speak, or prophesy, that is to speak for God to the
congregation would be necessary for the Canon had yet to be developed that we
call the Bible. It does seem possible
upon examination that Montanism, especially in its homeland, may have been
heretical, and it masked a genuine move of the Holy Spirit that in other places
was entirely orthodox, and would, today, be considered Pentecostal. It is to be found in some modern day's
Pentecostals that they see the Montanists as the last flicker of the apostolic
gifts of the Spirit, although it seems to be apostolic age was already over
before the Montanists began. In our
Western world, Pentecostalism generally traces its roots back to the teachings
and experiences of Edward Irving, a Presbyterian minister in Scotland in the
early 1800’s. Who after studying the
book of acts he began to teach that what the early church experienced was to be
normative for the church in his day, and that same belief is held in the
Pentecostal type churches today. Ms.
Mary Campbell in 1830 was said to begin speaking in the other tongues and
claimed (notice the word, claimed) to be divinely healed and her sister Mrs.
Cardale also began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. During this time Edward Irving a formed his
own church called the Catholic Apostolic Church and also expounded a detailed
teaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
His teaching was that there was a restoration of the charismatic gifts,
including prophecy, his unwillingness to submit to recognized Church authority
regarding his beliefs. And his belief
in the approval of women in ministry as well as his belief in the immediate
return of Christ, i.e. a strong eschatological emphasis. Because of this mixed reaction then and now
we must take great care as we approach to this chapter on such a divisive
subject as Paul now addresses and the things that are spiritual. Notice that I put the word, gifts, in italics because that word is
not in the original Greek manuscripts.
The first verse of chapter 12 in first Corinthians is: Περί δέ τών
πνευμαικών, and literally translated is: but concerning of spirituals, therefore
the word gifts is added because this chapter will be speaking a gifts and Paul
is going to make it very clear so that we will not be ignorant in regards to
things spiritual. This is important
because people are, and were, carried away to these dumb idols. What is "these" dumb idols that
people were being led too? Paul now
will continue and address the answer to that question. I began with some historical background so
that we can understand what is occurring in the church and the divisions in
regards to spiritual things or gifts and we will examine Scripture to come to
the conclusion so that we will know the truth. Now if your mind is already made
up and you are not seeker of the truth or an understanding as to what you
believe then this will probably be of no help to you. But if you are doing what the Bible said and that is to test all
things and hold fast to that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21), then you
are doing what God has commanded for us to do.
In this we will do, so hold on to your seats because this is the right
as one would experience on a roller coaster.
As with the roller coaster, there is a thrill, and that's a real is
coming to know what God has actually spoken and require of a Christian.
Works of the LORD are great,
studied why
all who have
pleasure in them.
His work is
honorable
and glorious,
and His righteousness into words forever.
Psalm
111: 2 -- 3
Praise God forever
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