In this episode of Add Bible, we delve into 1 Corinthians chapter 12, unraveling the profound teachings about spiritual gifts and the unified body of Christ. Speaker Alan J. Huth shares insights from his extensive Bible reading journals, reflecting on how diverse gifts serve the common good. Understanding and applying these scriptures can help us acknowledge the unique roles each individual plays in the body of Christ.
00:13:01 Exploring the Bible with Day by Day Series
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
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Today brings us to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, one of the chapters that deals with the spiritual gifts. Let’s listen in to Faith Comes By Hearing’s reading of the 31 verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
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1 Corinthians 12. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says, “‘Jesus is accursed,’ and no one can say, “‘Jesus is Lord,’ except in the Holy Spirit.” Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit. To another faith by the same Spirit. To another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit. To another, the working of miracles. To another, prophecy. To another, the ability to distinguish between Spirits. To another, various kinds of tongues. To another, the interpretation of tongues.
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All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
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For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. 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. 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. 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? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them as He chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
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On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.”
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If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
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In 1994, related to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, I wrote, Spiritual gifts are distributed throughout the body of Christ. Though we may not all possess the same gifts, we are one in the Trinity, Spirit, Lord, God. There is need for diversity in the body of Christ. Ten years later, in 2004, I read 1 Corinthians 12-14 in one day. and I wrote related to this chapter, God gifts us and puts us in the body of Christ just as he desired. That’s verse 18. Of the gifts listed in 8 through 10, I would say I have faith. And 11 years later, in 2015, I read 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 together, and I wrote about chapter 12, one God, one Spirit, one Lord. God distributes spiritual gifts. We don’t earn them or we don’t make them happen. I didn’t realize wisdom and knowledge are two different spiritual gifts. I hope I have them both. The body of Christ needs all the gifts. Before we get into the spiritual gifts, let’s look at a very, very important phrase at the beginning of this chapter. Verse 3 says, Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says Jesus is accursed, and no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit. I would like to share my footnote on this verse from my ESV English Standard Version Study Bible. My footnote says, because of their background in pagan worship services, some Corinthians may have had concerns about speech gifts empowered by the Holy Spirit in the church. Paul first assures them that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says Jesus is accursed. and therefore they should not worry that Christians who speak in tongues might be uttering blasphemous things, and also that no one can say in genuine faith that Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit. And therefore all who genuinely profess faith in Christ have the Holy Spirit within them, and none should be excluded, for they all have valuable gifts for the benefit of the church. The key to me is no one can say Jesus is Lord except God. in the Holy Spirit. Now to the gifts of the Spirit. There actually are two different lists in this chapter. So let’s cover those. The first list is in verses 8 through 10. The second list is in verse 28. The first list has nine gifts. The second list has eight gifts. And they’re not all the same in each list. So let’s look at the first list from verses 8 through 10. The gifts are wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, the ability to distinguish between spirits, various kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Nine spiritual gifts. In verse 28, the gifts are apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. What is the point of spiritual gifts? What is the value of spiritual gifts? Verse 7 says, To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. Another reason for the gifts is stated in verse 5. There are a variety of services, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. So spiritual gifts are for the common good. They are for service. They are for activity in the body of Christ. Verse 11 says, All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. Does every Christian have the same gift? No. It says here that each one of us are given gifts individually. Verse 29 even clarifies it more. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret miracles? By Paul asking the question the answer is obviously no to each one of those. And then he uses the illustration of the body to make it very clear that each of us have individual spiritual gifts. We’re all part of the body but we’re all different parts of the body. And if I have a spiritual gift I should be offering it to the body. And I shouldn’t be coveting someone else’s spiritual gift. In other words if I’m a foot I can’t wish that I was a hand. As part of the body of Christ, it is our responsibility to know our gifts, to understand what our gifting is, and to contribute it to the body of Christ. If you know your spiritual gifts, praise the Lord. And I hope that you’re using them to the furtherance of the kingdom of God. But if you don’t know your spiritual gifts, if you don’t understand what any of this means, there are organizations that test for spiritual gifting. And you may want to ask your church if they know of an organization like that. Or if you want to contact me, I might be able to put you in touch with someone who can give you a test about your spiritual gifting. You can reach me at ezraproject.net. There’s a contact page there that you can jot me a note, and there’s phone numbers on our website. I, for one, thank the Lord that he has offered the church so many different spiritual gifts. I am also thankful to the Lord for the gifting that he has given me that I can offer the kingdom of God. Your practical application from 1 Corinthians chapter 12 may be to either understand your spiritual gifts, or re-evaluate whether you’re offering those and contributing them to the furtherance of the kingdom of God here on earth. Lord, I want to start my prayer saying that if one cannot say Jesus is Lord, then they don’t have the Holy Spirit. And I pray now that the Holy Spirit would empower them, come into their lives in such a way that they confess their sins, offer themselves to you, and can for the very first time say, Jesus is Lord, because they now have the Holy Spirit. The second part of my prayer is to thank you for the spiritual gifts your Holy Spirit has blessed the church with. Will you help us, Lord, function as one body, all using our individual gifting to further your kingdom here on earth? Surely, if we do that, you would be well pleased. You close this chapter, though, by saying, but earnestly desire the higher gifts. And we look forward to discovering them in the next chapter. In your name we pray. Amen. All of the Ad Bible radio programs are available to you in writing. We transcribed all of Ad Bible into an 11-book series called Day by Day Through the Bible. And we did it in a unique way, by authors of the Bible. You can get the complete set or a book at a time at our website, EzraProject.net. For example, there are the writings of Moses, the writings of Solomon, the writings of the minor prophets, and the writings of the major prophets, the writings of the Old Testament historical books, and the writings of Old Testament leaders. Covering the New Testament, we have the writings of Matthew and Luke, the writings of John, the writings of Paul, and the writings of Mark, Peter, James, Jude, and Hebrews. So this 11-book series covers all 66 books of the Bible, chapter by chapter. So if the radio program was on 1 Samuel, you would find the written version in day by day through the Bible, the writings of Old Testament historical books. If the radio program is covering Daniel or Jonah, you would find all the minor prophets in the writings of the minor prophets. But say you’re studying the gospel of John in your own personal quiet time. You can find our coverage of John’s gospel in the writings of John, which includes not just his gospel, but other writings like 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John and Revelation. Or you are going to be reading one of Paul’s epistles. You could find them all in the writings of Paul. Our Day by Day through the Bible series is a tremendous resource as you read and study any book of the Bible. It will deepen your understanding of God’s Word and enhance your personal quiet time because each book breaks down the passage with comments from my personal Bible reading journals, offers life applications, and prayers related to the passage. If you want more from your time in God’s Word, visit EzraProject.net and try one of our day-by-day through the Bible devotional books. Any of the 11 books are a great place to start or get the full set to use wherever you are in the Bible today or wherever you are heading in your Bible reading.
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