1 Corinthians 12:4-6 The Same, But Different

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 The Same, But Different

“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.”

The Corinthians problem with Spiritual Gifts was they being used to exalt themselves or put down others. They were all about I’m better than you. “My gift’s better than your gift, my gift’s better than yours, my gift’s better because I’m more spirit filled, my gift’s better than yours.”

News Flash! God is not interested in your ego, He’s interested in the job. The question is not which gift you have, but what are you doing with the gift you have? Luke 12:48 “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”

With this in mind let us take a look at our passage for today.

“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.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

The first word we must consider is the word “varieties”, in some translations it says “different”. God has given a variety of gifts to the church. Every person in the church does not get or need all of the gifts.

Romans 12:4&5 “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.”

Life at work: Not everybody at work can have the same Job. Hopefully your job fits your talents. The same in the church.

Romans 12:6-8 “if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

1 Corinthians 12: 8-11 “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. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

Ephesians 4:11 “He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers

GIFTS

Romans	1 Corinthians	Ephesians
Prophesy	Wisdom	Apostles
Service	Knowledge	Prophets
Teaching	Faith	Evangelist
Exhorting	Healing	Pastors
Giving	Miracles	Teachers
Leading	Prophecy
Mercy	Discernment
	Speaking in Tongues
	Interpretation of Tongues
	Apostles
	Helping
	Administrating

 

A Variety of gifts, but not the same gifts to all.

“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.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

The Same Spirit, the Same God.

Ephesians 4:11 “And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,”

1 Corinthians 12:28 “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.”

Romans 12:3 “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned”

Mark 9:42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.”

“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.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

God empowers them all.

In Everyone.

The Holy Spirit 1 Cor 12:1-3

The Holy Spirit 1 Cor 12:1-3

We return to 1 Corinthians at the beginning of Chapter 12 where we find a long section on the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Corinthian church had many of the same troubles going on in their time that we have in ours.

Miss understandings about the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit have lead some churches to all but deny the existence of the Holy Spirit. It has lead others to the focus on the Holy Spirit to the exclusion of all else. Paul writes to try and help the Corinthians understand the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit.

1.     Who is the Holy Spirit?

a.     Genesis 1:2 & 26 There in the beginning and part of the trinity

b.     Not the ghost of Jesus

c.      Promised by Jesus John 14:15-17

d.     John 14:25-26 Helper, teach, remember

e.     John 16:7-15 Convict the world

f.       Sin, righteousness and judgement

g.     The Spirit of Truth guide you

h.     Tell you the things to come

i.        He will glorify Jesus

2.     Ecstasy and enthusiasm

a.     Transcendence to be united with God

b.     Chanting, aligning one’s body to the power of God

c.      Drugs, sex and self-mutilation to achieve visions

d.     Carlos Castaneda (peyote, motions and trances)

e.     Dan Brown (The DE Vinci Code)

f.       Power Crystals

3.     Two signs of the Spirit

a.     Jesus is accursed

b.     Denial of or belittling Jesus’s work

c.      Denial of or belittling the faith of other believers

d.     Jesus is Lord

e.     Taking Jesus as Savior

f.       Taking Jesus as Lord

g.     Living for Jesus

Where is the power of God to fight the battles you face in this world? It is found in the work of the Holy Spirit. Where is the wisdom of God to know how and what to do in our lives? It is found in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the promised gift of Jesus to all of us who believe. To limit the Holy Spirit to on work or gift, or to deny His work or gifts is to place shackles on our faith. In so doing we miss the fullness of God’s desired work in our lives. Come learn with me about the Gift of Jesus to us, our helper, The Holy Spirit.

“Learning to Praise” Luke 19:28-40

“Learning to Praise” Luke 19:28-40      Luke 2:14

Today is Palm Sunday. The day we celebrate Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. His 12 Disciples plus a crowd of hundreds of people who have been following Jesus around, are joined by people from the city who have heard that Jesus is coming. The result is a joyous parade of people sure to attract the attention of Jewish leaders and Romans as well. This crowd is laying their cloaks on the ground so Jesus could ride over them. They put palm branches on the road and they wave them around. Then they are shouting a blessing reserved for the Messiah. “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” The moment is so charged that Jesus said “if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

There is a part of worship that should be filled with reverence, holiness, and the overwhelming power of God. You get ready to meet the King. You check your clothes, your breath, and your heart to be sure to are ready to meet the King.

Another part of worship is the celebration. The Palm branches waving “rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen”

I think often both are missing from worship services. People enter the sanctuary like they would enter a Walmart. Then when the service starts they talk of all God has done like they are watching paint dry. Why is it that a football play gets more cheers than Jesus on the cross, rising from the dead, or saving our soul?

They key is not in the form of worship it’s in the emotion of our worship. Last week I spoke about passion and weeping for that which Jesus wept. In the local paper was my article about Mary breaking the Jar of oil, in emotional reverence and extravagant worship of God. Today I want to talk about the emotion of praise.

In the Spirit

John4:23

Psalm 29:1&2

Psalm 100:4

Psalm 150:6

Praise for his mighty works

Luke 19:37

Acts 3:8

Ex 34:20

Joining the parade

Hebrews 13:15

Col 3:16

“One log cannot burn alone but all our coals together build a fire”

Commit to worship

Engage the Holy Spirit

Let yourself feel deeply

Will we challenge ourselves to worship in Spirit and in truth.

Luke 19:41-44 Will you weep?

Luke 19:41-44 Will you weep?

^{Lk 19:41} As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 

^{Lk 19:42} and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.  

^{Lk 19:43} The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.  

^{Lk 19:44} They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

John 11:32-36

^{Jn 11:32} When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

^{Jn 11:33} When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 

^{Jn 11:34} “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

^{Jn 11:35} Jesus wept.

 

The Bible records for us two times that Jesus weeps, once at the tomb of Lazarus and in our passage, as He looks at Jerusalem. In the midst of triumphal entry this somber moment is glossed over or lost to us. Yet this is a very important passage. We know that Luke writes these words in 60 or 61 AD. Ten years later Jesus’ words are fulfilled to the very last word. When your Bible says something, you can count on it being true.

1.     The siege of Jerusalem

a.       Roman siege is carried out by Titus (not the Titus of the Bible)

b.       Starts a few days before Passover in late February of 70 AD

c.       Thousands of visitors are trapped in the city

d.       A wall is built around the city

e.       Nothing goes into the city until it’s fall on August 3^rd

f.        The Temple is burned and dismantled stone by stone as well as the city wall

g.       The people were butchered, men, women and children.

h.       Any left alive were taken back to Rome for the “Games”

i.         Is it any wonder that Jesus wept?

2.     Would Jesus weep looking at our world today?

a.       Israel is surrounded by nations whose only common goal is death to all Jews

b.       Radical Islam has one goal the destruction of all Jews and Christians

c.       Opioid addiction is a pandemic in our country

d.       Our cities are filled with murders of every kind

e.       Jesus looks at our world and Jesus weeps

3.     Jesus did not weep because to the carnage that would happen

a.       Jesus wept because they would die for eternity

b.       He wept because the people could not see beyond the death of Lazarus

c.       He wept because the city of God and the people of God would not know peace with God

d.       Jesus wept

4.     Will We Weep

a.       When you see people broken by their addictions

b.       When you see them homeless and on our streets

c.       When you read the obits in the paper

d.       When you think of friends who do not know Jesus

e.       When you think of family who do not know Jesus

f.        As your neighbors wave as you go to and from church

g.       2 Peter 3:7-9

Do I weep as Jesus wept? Do you weep as Jesus wept? And if we weep, will we dare to lay down our life as Jesus did? Jesus gave His life that the lost and dying world could have life. Will I, Will you give our lives so the lost and dying world will find life in Jesus name?

In the next two weeks as we celebrate Easter and the new life we have in Christ let us not weep for Jesus or wallow in the guilt of our sins. Let us weep for that which Jesus wept, those in the world who die without Him.

And Jesus Wept!

^{2Pe 3:7} By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

^{2Pe 3:8} But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 

^{2Pe 3:9} The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.