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1 Corinthians 12

↠We talk about The Gospel, we want an authentic Gospel, and we find that in this beautiful Gospel of the Kingdom.

↠Jesus preached the “Gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 4:23).” We are sharing that same Gospel that speaks of the “Kingdom,” God’s reign, the “coming close” of the Father into lives/situations.

↠The sending out in Luke 10, “heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.”

↠Operating in these gifts of the Holy Spirit is declaring “the Kingdom of God has come near you!” 1 Cor. 4:20: “The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” The world is saying enough talk, show us the Kingdom!

↠GIFT: The Working of Miracles (v. 10)

↠Def’s: A supernatural occurrence that goes beyond our human scope of comprehension, divine act by which God reveals Himself, a phenomenon that transcends all natural laws, the Kingdom invading the impossible!

↠Jesus and the disciples were known for a life of miracles (Acts 2:22)

↠Matt. 10:8, we’re directed: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!”

↠Miracles move us/change us, leave us standing in awe of a great and good God! It is something usually observable (loaves & fishes, etc.)

↠Biblical examples of miracles: Exodus 14, Acts 16, 20

↠They point us to Him! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Miracles are still for today as all the gifts: They help to initiate faith, restore faith, and strengthen faith. Demonstrate the heart of the Father/power of the Kingdom!

↠GIFT: Prophecy (v. 10)

↠“Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy (1 Cor. 14:1)”

↠Def: Discourse emanating from divine inspiration, declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; especially by foretelling future events.

↠1 Cor. 14:3-5: There is a great building up of the body in this.

↠Don’t despise (1 Thess. 5:20-21), true prophecy is from God (2 Pet. 1:21)

↠NT examples: Agabus, Barnabas, Paul, John, the four daughters (Acts 21)

↠Release of the hope of Heaven, the correction and guidance of Heaven, what’s on the horizon from the Kingdom view/perspective

↠Picture of the gifts working together in meeting/worship times (1 Cor. 14:26-33)

↠Let’s see us walking in our true, God-given identity, gifts, and the body being built up spiritually, by Biblical means..

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all…” -1 Cor. 12:7

↠Review of last week: The Trinity is in the gift-giving business, Holy Spirit gives!

↠In three NT locations we are taught about gifts of the Holy Spirit- 1 Cor. 12, Ephesians 4, Romans 12

↠These gifts are unique and supernatural abilities given to us to carry out His outreach mission, walk in true identity, edify/build up the body of Christ. They are God empowering Christians to do what He has called us to do. (2 Pet. 1:3) 

↠Paul instructs us that we are to “eagerly desire” the gifts (1 Cor. 12:31, 14:1)

↠Exploring the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Cor. 12:

↠LAST WEEK: Word of Wisdom (guides/edifies): It is bringing the wisdom of Heaven into any given situation. It is the supernatural impartation of facts, guidance, and solutions.

↠LAST WEEK: Word of Knowledge (instructs/teaches/sheds light): It’s supernatural revelation of the divine will and plan of God, supernatural insight or understanding of facts, knowledge from God. This is the Christian getting understanding of a situation or person that can’t be known through their own experience or knowledge.

↠Gift of Faith: Faith moves God, fear moves Satan. The spiritual gift of faith is a supernatural faith that operates from God directly through you. It accomplishes things that are thought to be impossible to man. When operating with the gift of faith, anything is possible (Heb. 11:6, Lk. 18:8, Daniel 3, Rom. 4:18-21). 

This gift manifests in extraordinary amounts of faith and is unshakable in times of uncertainty. Faith is a gift. And when the church uses it, it gives believers the power to bring the unseen into reality. Faith is the exceptional ability to hold fast to the truth of God in Jesus Christ in spite of pressures, problems, and obstacles to faithfulness.

↠Gift(s) of Healing(s) (only one in the plural): This gift is the supernatural healing released from Heaven. It is the invasion and restoration of Heaven over a body, spirit, soul, etc. When we think of healing, immediately, our minds go to physical healing, but there are other types, and many need mental, emotional, trauma healing and most of all…spiritual healing. Salvation (sozo) describes salvation as wholeness, not just our soul, but restoration to every part of our mind, body, soul. This healing gift allows you to minister God’s healing power into broken lives that need restoration. (Acts 3, 8, 9, Jer. 33:6, Ps. 147:3)

RESPOND THIS WEEK: Meditate on 1 Corinthians 12. What gifts have you seen already active in your life? Step out in them/ask Holy Spirit to help guide you. “Eagerly desire” the gifts in your personal worship/devotion, then look for opportunities to step out. Share testimonies!

“In order for the assembly (ekklesia/church) to be built up, every believer needs to rise up and be actively seeking the Lord and functioning according to the gifts that the Spirit has given each one.” -Henry Hon

↠The Holy Spirit gives gifts- we continue to see the “giving” of the Trinity

↠Every good and perfect gift comes down from above (James 1:17)

↠We are instructed to “earnestly desire” spiritual gifts (v. 31, 14:1)

↠Why desire? What are the purposes of these gifts?

↠1. For the building up/edification/common good of the Body (v. 7, 1 Pet. 4:10)

↠2. To empower us for evangelism (Luke 24, Acts 4:29-31, 1 Cor. 14:24-25)

↠For us to walk in our identity, help the Body, and bring unbelievers close! Use demonstrates the heart/love of the Father and boldness/power of the Kingdom!

↠What is a gift of the Holy Spirit?

↠Unique skills/abilities given by the Holy Spirit to followers of Christ. They are God empowering Christians to do what He has called us to do. (2 Pet. 1:3)

↠The varying gifts can be found in Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Cor. 12

↠Each one receives, but there can be times of operation in all as the Spirit wills for Kingdom intervention (v. 11, 14, Ex. 31:3-5, Rom. 8:14)

↠Exploring the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Cor. 12:

↠Word of Wisdom (guides/edifies): This is a gift that helps bring clarity to a person or situation, sense of divine direction, divinely given power to appropriate spiritual intuition in problem solving, perspective to ascertain the divine means for accomplishing God’s will in situations. (Ps. 37:30, Prov. 24:6)

↠Not “human wisdom” (1 Cor. 2:4-5), could bring together knowledge you have and give wisdom of direction in its use or be totally revelatory- the direction/ wisdom of Heaven in a situation (how to handle a situation, finances, conflict, in sharing the Gospel, etc.)

↠”Word-” words matter (Prov. 16:24, 18) and are creative, when Jesus healed, he SPOKE, blessing, truth is being distorted, Heavenly wisdom is needed, lean in!

↠Word of Knowledge (instructs/teaches/sheds light): Supernatural revelation of the divine will and plan of God, insight/understanding of facts/knowledge of God, knowing something that you cannot know based on human understanding/your current knowledge (Prov. 18:15, Acts 10- vision, Gen. 6)

↠In this gift, this knowledge of Heaven allows us to speak into a person’s life the things that are relevant to them for that very moment. The more that we step out in them, the more we become tuned to His voice…The gift of the word of knowledge can show up to us as a…Vision, Dream, Thought, Voice, Feeling. It is going to be something that glorifies Christ, draws people closer, and edifies!

“When we pray for the Spirit's help ... we will simply fall down at the Lord's feet in our weakness. There we will find the victory and power that comes from His love.”  -Andrew Murray

↠Jesus “I will pray/ask the Father…” (v. 16a)- Jesus in His role of intercessor 

↠”Coming between on behalf of/the act of praying on behalf of others” (Rom. 8:34, 1 John 2:1, Heb. 7:25). We know the Holy Spirit is ready/chomping at the bit (Gen. 1:2), Jesus comes before the Father on our behalf to ASK…

↠”He (The Father) will GIVE…” (v. 16b)- The Holy Spirit is a gift!

↠Every good and perfect gift comes from ABOVE (James 1:17, Matt. 7:11)

↠The first gift- the Father gave His Son to die on the cross for love (Jn. 3:16)

↠The first gift made the second possible- cleansed temples via repentance so that we/the temples could be FILLED with the second gift- the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20)

↠“He will give you ANOTHER…”

↠Another- Two words in Greek for this (heteros and allos), one means ‘another of a different type,’ the second means ‘another of the same type’ (mug example)- The Holy Spirit was to be another of the same type (allos, same as Jesus, but now in them not with them)

↠“He will give you another HELPER…”

↠Helper/Counselor/Advocate In Greek: 'παράκλητος/paraklētos' (only used by John)

↠Overall definition: “summoned, called to one's side, especially called to one's aid”

↠Can you think of a time in your life when you needed help with a task or something that you couldn’t do alone? Who was there for you? How did their presence make you feel?

↠Part of the promise: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So see Him literally coming alongside in every situation.

↠Breaking down the treasure of the word paraklētos…Roles of the Holy Spirit:

↠Comforter: The Holy Spirit comforts us (John 14:1, 2 Cor. 2:3-4, Acts 9:31)

↠Counselor: Advice/instruction/helping direct (Prov. 11:14, 12:15, Isa. 11:2, Ps. 16:7). The Holy Spirit will guide you into ALL truth (John 16:13).

↠Advocate: An advocate is one who speaks up on the behalf of another or defends (Rom. 8:16), speaks up, defends the work of the Cross in us

↠Strengthener: To add strength, make stronger, source of strength. Physical strength vs. inner man, strong on the outside but dying on the inside. There is a daily renewal needed. (Eph. 3:16, 2 Cor. 4:16)

RESPOND THIS WEEK: Read and meditate on the verses above. Do you truly see the Holy Spirit as a gift to you? Thank God for The Gift. The Holy Spirit wants to come alongside you, partner with you, help you, counsel, bring truth, advocate, comfort, and strengthen. In your personal worship and devotion time, ask for these functions, and be mindful this week of how He does it…

“If we think of the Holy Spirit only as an impersonal power or influence, then our thought will constantly be, how can I get hold of and use the Holy Spirit; but if we think of Him in the biblical way as a divine Person, infinitely wise, infinitely holy, infinitely tender, then our thought will constantly be, 'How can the Holy Spirit get hold of and use me?'” -R. A. Torrey

↠Back to the early church- Acts recounts the life of the early church (The Way)

↠If you want to to see a clear picture of how something is designed to function, you go back to its origin, back to it’s beginning.

↠We must always return to the Word for instruction, guidance, wisdom, but also to see how the Christian life is to function and operate

↠I want to encourage you to read through the book of Acts in this series

↠The Holy Spirit was pivotal in the life of the early church

↠Jesus gave them instruction to WAIT for the Holy Spirit, their lives were to be Spirit-led, in every aspect. It is imperative, vital, that you do nothing without the Holy Spirit. Spirit-led living was THE way.

↠As you read through Acts and the NT, you see how reliant on the Holy Spirit they were. Listen to the examples given, find your own examples this week.. “Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go near and overtake this chariot.’” “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.”

↠The Holy Spirit was involved in every facet of life, in leading, in decision making, there was a deep dependence on the Holy Spirit for life…we are called to the same!

↠And if the Holy Spirit is the one we depend on, wait on, and are led by, we must know more of Him. (John 14:26) Essential truths regarding the Holy Spirit…

↠The Holy Spirit is God- not a creation of or a lesser “being,” but God 

↠One of the most basic evidence of this is how the Holy Spirit is referenced throughout Scripture- “the Spirit of God.” (Gen. 1:26)

↠If you are saved, reborn, it’s not a force, or creation of God that indwells you or something lesser, it is God Himself! (Peter’s reference in Acts 5)

↠The Holy Spirit is not a force or an “it” but a Person.

↠The Holy Spirit is not an indistinct force, power, or thing, but is a Person who has  relationships believers & with the Father and the Son. In the Old and New Testament, the Holy Spirit is continually referred to as a He, and in the NT as a person. (Jn. 14:26)

↠What difference will it make in our lives/walk when we know understand that we are not just indwelt by an impersonal force but by the Person of the Holy Spirit.

↠The interesting thing about a Person is that they have the attributes of personality

↠Mind, will, emotions, grieving, insulting (Heb. 10:29)

↠When was the last time that we thought about the fact that our behavior, or our sin, a lack of obedience can cause the Holy Spirit to grieve? Breaching relationship…

↠The Holy Spirit has the capacity for relationship (indwelling) (1 Cor. 13:14)

↠The H.S. has the ability to create love in our hearts (Gal 5:22, Rom. 5:5, 1 Sam. 16, 2 Sam. 7:15) The Holy Spirit is a source and fountain of steadfast love in us! “Waves!”

"If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.” -A. W. Tozer

• The third Person of the Trinity
  • In order to begin to understand the Holy Spirit we must first look to the Trinity
  • Cute metaphors attempt to explain the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) such as the egg (yolk, shell, white), but fall short of the beautiful mystery that it truly is. God is not like an egg nor any other thing- He is above all.
  • There is oneness and plurality in the Trinity (Gen. 1:1- “God (plural) created (singular)”
• ”The Spirit of God was hovering/brooding over the face of the waters”(Gen. 1:2)
  • The Spirit is the first of the three referred to individually in Scripture
  • Among the void, the darkness, the Spirit was hovering/moving/fluttering
  • ”Brooding” is another definition of this word in Hebrew- “to sit upon/INCUBATE” (Deut. 32:11). Brooding creates life- desiring to bring/create NEW LIFE (Job 33:4)
  • The Spirit is still “brooding” and desiring to bring “new life”(John 3:5-6). Besides a physical birth, there is a spiritual birth which IS the work of the Holy Spirit
• Are you familiar with the Holy Spirit? We endeavor to lean in…
  • The great juxtaposition in Scripture- God is “unsearchable and past finding out”(Rom. 11:33) yet we do not stop there, we dig/lean in. Deut. 29:29 teaches us that the “things revealed belong to us and to our children forever (generational).”  “Those who diligently seek Me, find me (Jer. 29:13)...” With knowledge of God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, we don’t shy away, we lean in, learn, seek the treasures of Scripture. There are
    depths that we are called to walk in, steward, and pass on so that we and others can walk in knowledge, clarity, purity, identity, and power! Do you want to know Him?
• The Holy Spirit is at work throughout Scripture (from the beginning)
  • Creation, would “come upon” judges, warriors, prophets (Judges 6:34, 2 Sam. 23)
• From UPON to IN
  • Old Testament buildup/the promise- “I will put My Spirit IN YOU” (Eze. 36:27)
  • Expanded upon in Joel 2- “I shall pour My Spirit out on all flesh”
  • Fulfilled in Acts 2- Pentecost: “THIS IS THAT!” which was spoken by the prophet Joel
  • The disciples (Peter’s transformation)/the crowd/we are never the same: boldness, purity, power, the seal, fruit of the Spirit, unashamed to declare the Gospel
  • Jesus: “It is to your advantage that I go..” Do you see the “advantage?”
• The Holy Spirit is still BROODING, ready to create/transform…IN YOU! (Acts 2:21)
  • Has He created anew in you? Do you see where He is at work? Have you become enamored with the Third person of the Trinity? Declare “This is that” this week! How can you participate with the Holy Spirit this week?