Once and Future Kings - "Jesus and His Indispensable Parts"
Transforming Truth: The King Comes Bearing Gifts
The universal church is made up of God fearing, Jesus honoring, Bible preaching local congregations. In every way, the local churches of Jesus Christ are built through the faith of church members. The Kingdom of God is advanced through local churches, fulfilling Jesus Christ's mission through the contributions of its people within. Just as the sacraments reorient our hearts to the attitude, love, and redeeming work of God, the gifts of the Holy Spirit empower the work so that Jesus' gospel might advance. In this section of Corinthians, Paul teaches us about Jesus as the king who has come bearing gifts.
The work of Jesus is summarized in the gospel, which is His advent through a virgin birth, His sinless life as an example to all believers, His miracle ministry and His propitiatory death on the cross, burial, and resurrection to reconcile humanity to God. As a witness of this, He left gifts of the Holy Spirit that testify to Jesus' person, power ,and present ministry.
Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that 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. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. (1 Corinthians 12:1-6 NIV)
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, comprised of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit (John 14, 16). They are one, each eternal and co-equal in divinity. The second ecumenical council of the Christian church, the Council of Constantinople, held in Constantinople in AD 381, promulgated the ratified Nicene Creed and the biblically revealed divinity of the Holy Spirit.
You can remember the roles of each of the members of the Trinity as you picture the sign of the cross that many Catholics make: Vertically- the Father is above and rules over all, while the Son came to the earth to atone for our sins; horizontally- the Holy Spirit is the one who lives in us and is with us today, to minister through us utilizing gifts that the Father wants to give us.
Do Not Be Ignorant About the Gifts
How do all of these gifts connect to Jesus?
Everything points to honoring Jesus.
Any ministry that takes place by the power of the Holy Spirit will lead to Jesus being exalted as Lord. That is the purpose and aim of spiritual gifts: to see the uncreated, incarnate God, Jesus Christ made tangible and real in people's thinking and experience.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11 NIV)
You can not dismiss something based on your lack of experience. Neither fear, a lack of understanding, or negative experience have the right to dictate theology. It must be God the Father speaking by the Holy Spirit about Jesus the Son and all that comes with Him through His word.
The answer to abuse is not disuse, but proper use.
There are both benefits and challenges to the way that you came to Jesus:
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NIV)
The reality is that what was impressed upon you as you grew can shape your current perception of God.
The benefit that many who grew up in Christian homes had is that they were exposed to the reality of Jesus from an early age. They were ideally able to avoid many of the pitfalls of moral decline in our culture. They were able to have a certain biblical exposure that at least allowed them the assumption of the reality of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit could at times be the uncle that no one really knows that well, what job he has or what he does for a living. The benefit that I had in not growing up in the church is that when I did become a Christian, I had to let the Bible speak for itself, along with a Hebrew-Aramaic-Greek study lexicon and a good set of Bible commentaries to explain the cultural context of the Scripture, history, and the like.
There are continued lists of gifts of the Holy Spirit found in Romans 12:3-8, Ephesians 4:7-16, and I Peter 4:10-11 that we will cover at other times. Today we will simply focus on those represented in Paul's letter to the Corinthians. With each we will see that in the New Testament, Jesus set an example for these gifts by the power of the Holy Spirit, and they were continued through the church by the same Holy Spirit to Jesus' glory. They were not limited to the twelve unique apostles of Jesus, but were distributed as God intended, to members of the church.
| Jesus' Example | Others' Examples | |
| Wisdom | Luke 2:41-52 | James in Acts 15:1-35 |
| Knowledge | John 4:1-42 | Peter in Acts 5:1-11 |
| Faith | Luke 8:40-56 | Barnabas in Acts 11:19-30 |
| Healing | Mark 1:29-34 | Phillip in Acts 8:1-8 |
| Miraculous Powers | John 2:1-11 | Stephen in Acts 6:8-7:60 |
The philosophy of naturalism has done much to try to squelch the supernatural gifts in the church. We have been affected without realizing it.
“Christ's miracles were not the suspension of the natural order but the restoration of the natural order. They were a reminder of what once was prior to the fall and a preview of what will eventually be a universal reality once again--a world of peace and justice, without death, disease, or conflict.” ― Timothy Keller
The naturalist environment in which we live has us daily wake up to an anti-supernaturalist atmosphere.
“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” ― C.S. Lewis
Prophecy, Speaking in Different Kinds of Tongues, and the Interpretation of Tongues we will cover next week. (Paul, the daughters of Phillip the evangelist, Agabus, and others were examples of those operating in these gifts.)
| Jesus' Example | Others' Examples | |
| Distinguishing Between Spirits | Mark 9:14-32; Luke 13:10-17 | Paul in Acts 16:16-40 |
There are two main ways that you can figure out how you're gifted:
1) Prophetic messages and impartations
Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. (1 Timothy 4:14 NIV)
2) Try different areas of service to see whether or not you have an ability to minister effectively in that area resulting in people experiencing the grace of God through your service to them through the use of that gift. If people regularly seek you out for a certain type of service or encourage you in a particular trait, you should not assume that all people have such gifting and should instead embrace it to use that natural talent or spiritual gift to build up the church.
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27 NIV)
The great tragedy of the Christian community is when we feel like one gift is more valuable or exciting than another. The truth is that each person and each gift is indispensable for the advance of Jesus' kingdom as people have the gospel shared with them, are taught the Scripture, are loved, served through the church, prayed for, discipled, shown hospitality, and trained to be leaders to help shape society to the glory of God. We need to stop making comparisons and instead be complements to one another as we work toward the common goal of seeing the multitudes in this city and the nations come to Christ.
Are you fulfilling your role so that more and more people might be reached with the gospel of Jesus?
If you don't yet see something in the church that you are passionate about, or an area in which God has talented/gifted you, talk to us. You are the very person being added to help plant, water, and build that area that God will cause to grow for the saving of many lives and for His glory. (Genesis 50)
And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:28-31 NIV)
| Jesus' Example | Others' Examples | |
| Apostles | Hebrews 3:1 | Timothy + Silas in 1 Thess. 1:1-2:8 |
| Teachers | John 1:36-39 | Priscilla and Aquila in Acts 18:24-26 |
| Helps | John 13 | Tabitha in Acts 9:32-43; Mark in II Tim. 4:11 |
| Guidance/Administration | Luke 9:10-17 | The deacons in Acts 6:1-7 |
How do these gifts work together for the sake of the gospel?
The Body of Christ, the church, is to be a people that continually exalt the person of Jesus through the preaching of the totality of Scripture and administration of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As a result, we are to see many people reconciled to God through Christ.
Take-Home Truth:
1) Pray for a way within or through the church through which you can serve.
Second City Church- Once and Future Kings Sermon Series 2013