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TO THE GLORY OF GOD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Study No 3 THE HOLY SPIRIT Part 2
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE INNER MAN
Reading: 1 Corinthians 14:1-19
INTRODUCTION
PAUL:
- from Tarsus
- University Graduate * Greek philosophy
* Theology
- never saw Jesus in the flesh
- making havoc for the church when he met Stephen.
Acts 6:5 "Full of the Holy Ghost"
Acts 7:54-60 "I see Jesus"
- Damascus Road.
Acts 9:4 "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me"
- Ananias, Sight and Baptism.
Acts 9:10-18.
1. PAUL TEACHES ON THE HOLY SPIRIT AND UNDERSTANDING.
1 Corinthians 14:1, "Follow after love and desire spiritual
gifts"
I want you to follow after love. When you get love then you
get gifts, BUT it is better if you prophesy.
Note what Paul is teaching on:
- not love
- not tongues
- but Understanding the Spirit (The Principle Thing)
v. 2 & 3, "The Spirit speaketh mysteries but he that
prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification,
exhortation and comfort."
Note Paul teaches:
- follow after love
- desire spiritual gifts
- learn to prophesy, don't depend on your intellect, rely on
the Holy Spirit.
v. 2, "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not
to men, but unto God."
Paul is saying, you are thrilled about speaking in tongues, I
want to tell you:
- what is happening
- how great it is
- the right place to do it.
v. 4, "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth
himself."
He's just edifying himself.
Note admonition of, Ephesians 5:18-20. It is important.
v. 3 & 4, "He that prophesieth edifieth the church"
I speak by the Holy Spirit. I know what I am saying and the
church is blessed.
Note verse 12, "seek to edify the church"
Edification - "to build up"
Exhortation - "to stir up"
Comfort - "to cheer up"
v. 5, "I would that you all speak with tongues."
Question:
* Do you speak with tongues?
* Do you
v. 39, "covet to prophesy, but forbid not to speak with
tongues"
Note verses 14-15, Paul tells of his experiences.
Also, verses 18-19, "I speak with tongues more than you all"
"yet in the church I had rather speak
five words with my understanding, that by
my voice I might teach others also, than
ten thousand words in an unknown tongue."
"THE POWER OF A PERSON INFUSED WITH POWER FROM ON HIGH."
2. PAUL TEACHES ON THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE INNER MAN.
1 Corinthians 2:9-14.
v. 2, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it
entered into the heart of man, the things which God
hath prepared for them that love Him."
*In Other Words:-
Our physical senses cannot perceive God's desire for us.
1 Cor.14:2, "The Spirit speaketh mysteries..."
*How Then Can We Know?
v. 10-11, "The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep
things of God. For what man knoweth the things
of a man, save the spirit of man which is in
him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man,
but the Spirit of God."
You can't figure it out in your mind, but your Spirit
knows.
*We Have A Problem:-
Man is living by his intellect, by his reason. He figures
everything out but his mind doesn't know the needs of his
spirit.
Eg. Taste desires chocolate ice-cream but body responds in
the wrong way.
Reason why church run into problems people and carnal
nature.
*(Explain Twin Brother - Sixth Sense)
THE INNER MAN NEEDS THE HOLY SPIRIT
Eph.4:23, "Be renewed in the spirit of your mind"
You can't do it by your mind alone. Only the Holy Spirit can
bring God knowledge.
Check.
1 Cor.2:12, "We have received not the spirit of this world, but
the spirit which is of God; that we might know the
things that are freely given to us of God."
v. 14, "The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of
God: they are foolishness unto him...they are spiritually
discerned."
The only way to understand God---is by the Spirit.
Romans 8:26-27, "Likewise the Spirit helpeth our
infirmities...according to the will of God."
1 Cor.2:10, "The Spirit searcheth all things the deep things of
God."
The Holy Spirit comes down inside you---into the Inner Man.
John 7:37-39, "The last day of the feast...out of his belly shall
flow rivers of water...this he spoke of the
Spirit."
IMPORTANCE OF PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT.
The intellect of man has been out of touch with God for so long,
it has become difficult to grasp what the Inner Man has had
revealed or to understand the intercession of the Inner Man.
BEING MADE INTO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST.
Romans 8:29
We need to be "transformed by the renewing of our mind"
Romans 12:2 with 2 Corinthians 3:18
"Changed...by the spirit of the Lord"
Then we are "Renewed in the spirit of our mind"
Ephesians 4:23.
Note.
1. LIMITATION
Cannot possibly be by man.
"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard" v. 9
2. REVELATION
It's only from God.
"God hath revealed it unto us" v. 10
3. INSPIRATION
How God reveals it to us.
"by His Spirit" v. 10
4. INTERPRETATION
What the Holy Ghost reveals.
"The deep things of God" v. 10
"The things of the Spirit of God" v. 14
THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
Part 1.
1 Corinthians 12:1-7.
There's probably no more powerful statement or encouraging
statement in the Bible than this:
"Wherefore he said, When he ascended up on high, he led
captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men."
Ephesians 4:8
When Jesus ascended up on high - leading everything into
captivity -
CHRIST GAVE GIFTS UNTO MEN.
He gives the gifts of the Holy Spirit to men, dividing them as
He will. Turn now to Hebrews 2:4...
"God also bearing them witness, both with signs and
wonders, and with diverse miracles, and gifts of the
Holy Ghost (Spirit), according to His own will."
Notice that the writer of Hebrews says that God has given US
gifts of the Holy Spirit. Honestly and frankly, it's hard to
believe that. I think that most people find it's virtually
impossible to believe that they are given a gift of the Holy
Spirit. That is, within himself he is saying:
"I really can't do this."
"I can't make my grades as a student."
"I can't put my business over."
"I can't make my marriage work."
"I can't love my parents...I can't relate to them."
"I don't understand my child."
"I can't do my job."
There are feelings of inadequacy that seem to want to build in
us...to live in us. As a result we are always in conflict with
what we are...and with what God can make us to become. There's a
conflict there.
WHY DID GOD CREATE YOU?
According to Genesis 1:26, God created man in His image and
likeness to have dominion over all creation on His behalf. This
means that man exists to show forth the being of God and is here
as His representative agent. You were not created for yourself
but for God. You are His special creation to be a certain kind of
person and to do specific things.
Ephesians 2:10 says, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them." Perhaps the most important verse in the
entire Bible is Romans 11:36. It declares, "From Him and through
Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever." This
means God is the source, the power, and the goal of all things.
Life makes little sense without knowing the will of God for your
life and understanding exactly where you best fit in His eternal
purpose.
LESSONS FROM THE HUMAN BODY.
The Bible often compares the church to a human body. One of the
best illustrations of this is 1 Corinthians 12:14-26. Here we
learn some obvious lessons:
1. God created each member to do a specific task, v. 14-18. I
knew a young boy who had learned to handle things with his
toes for he was born without arms. But obviously the feet are
best equipped for walking, not eating.
2. Our differences are really essential and remind us how much we
need each other, v. 19-21.
3. Every member without exception is absolutely essential to the
body, v. 22-24.
4. We are most happy and enjoy a loving unity when each member
functions properly, v. 25-26. See Ephesians 4:16.
DOING SOME SOBER THINKING ABOUT YOURSELF
If a person doesn't know who he is and what God wants him to do,
he gets frustrated and lives unfulfilled. In Romans 12:1-5, Paul
tells us how seriously we should think about these matters and
explains how we can make our lives effective.
1. First of all we must be completely submitted to God, v. 1.
Through God's mercy (not self-effort) we give ourselves to Him
as living sacrifices.
2. We must not be worldly or we pollute our gift and cancel it
out by sinful and selfish living, v. 2a. Note the ethical
exhortations in v. 9-21.
3. Through renewed minds we must actually prove out in genuine
experience the will of God, v. 2b. Note that the will of God
is "good, acceptable and perfect". This also means that when
we do the will of God it is good for us, pleasing to us and
fulfils or perfects us. It is sheer nonsense to think that
God created you to be something you were not designed to be,
or contrary to what you really want to be.
4. Through humility and clear thinking we are to discover our
gift, v. 3.
5. When we know our gift we are to concentrate on it, for this is
most fulfilling personally; and the most fruitful for others,
v. 4-8.
A. Everyone has received a gift.
B. The gift is said to be singular, not plural.
C. All gifts are to glorify God.
D. All gifts are to be used for others.
E. All gifts are to be done by the power God supplies.
PAUL'S TEACHING ON THE NINE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
IN 1 CORINTHIANS 12
"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren,
I would not have you ignorant."
Paul is recognizing that the spiritual gifts - the word of
knowledge, the word of wisdom, the gift of faith, the gifts of
healing, the gifts of miracles, tongues, interpretation of
tongues, discerning of spirits and prophecy - are all being
manifested in these new Christians. They are there but they are
not understood.
This is probably the most true thing about people today who
are Christians - they don't understand the Holy Spirit. They
don't understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are
uninstructed - or, should I say, we are uninstructed. Very little
time has been given over the centuries, or in your lifetime and
mine, to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
"Ye know that ye were Gentiles,
carried away unto these dumb idols,
even as ye were led..."
1 Corinthians 12:2
What Paul is saying is that not only did they worship
something that their hands had made out of wood or iron or copper
or gold - a dumb idol - but they were carried away with these dumb
idols. That is, these Corinthians were led about by the idol gods
as though they had rings in their noses and chains attached to
them.
Paul is saying, "I want you to remember you were led out of
this."
"Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man
speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed:
and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by
the Holy Ghost." 1 Corinthians 12:3
What is Paul saying here? In Corinth at this time there were
people who would come into a public service - like we're holding
here - and scream out, "Jesus Christ is accursed! Jesus be
accursed!"
Corinthian Christians were asking, "Can anybody who has the
Spirit call Jesus accursed? Can anybody who is a Christian deny
the humanity and divinity of our Lord? Can they say that He was
not a man as well as God?"
Paul says, "No, and neither can they call Him Lord except by
the Holy Spirit."
The first Christian confession was this:
JESUS IS THE LORD!
Paul went on to say that in addition to the fact that Jesus is
Lord, there are many varieties of the gifts of the Spirit.
"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same
Spirit" 1 Corinthians 12:4
God is a God of infinite variety. God is sovereign and unique
himself. You and I are sovereign and unique within ourselves.
But there are so many different varieties of the manifestations of
God. Yet, Paul says, "It's the same God, the same Spirit." In
other words, there is a great variety of gifts but a unity of
purpose and a unity of the Spirit. Only God can bring about such
a variety and yet bring it into perfect unity.
UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF VARIETY.
1. Varieties of gifts, v. 4. Everything God gives is, of course,
a gift from Him. But we need to distinguish one category of
gifts from ministries and other activities. For the sake of
clarity the seven gifts named in Romans 12:6-8 might be called
motivational gifts (Bill Gothard). These would be contrasted
with the ministry gifts mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 of
apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.
2. Varieties of service, v. 5. The Greek word for service is
diakonia, from which we get our word deacon and means any kind
of service or ministry to others on behalf of the Lord. The
varieties of service would be the various opportunities God
gives us to use a gift for Him. We noted the five main
ministries of Ephesians 4:11. In addition we are told about
helpers and administrators in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and we meet
the ministry of deacons in other parts of the Bible. The
important thing is to see that God has many ways in which we
can serve Him.
3. Varieties of working, v. 6. Our English word energy comes
from this word translated working. It means the results of
any activity. God works in many ways. His life and power is
extended through us in many different manners. The nine
manifestations mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 are examples
of the way He meets our needs. They obviously could operate
through any individual He chooses and in any set of
circumstances.
Later in this chapter Paul illustrates this unity, comparing
Christ's Body - the Body of believers with all the different gifts
working in them - to a human body. There is a variety of parts to
the body - head, nose, hair, neck, shoulders, chest, hips, right
on down the line - yet there is a unity in the entire body.
Variety with unity. God has placed in the Church - the Body
of Christ - all this variety of gifts. Nine gifts are listed in 1
Corinthians 12 but they are by no means the full number of gifts
of the Spirit. There are gifts of ministry, gifts of person...
"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles,
secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that
miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments,
diversities of tongues." 1 Corinthians 12:28
Paul says that there is an infinite variety of the gifts of
the Spirit but they all work in unity of purpose. There is one
Lord, one faith, one baptism.
There may be 800 different denominations but if each of us
really believed in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we could come
into the unity of the Spirit.
Paul goes on to say that...
"The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man
to profit withal." 1 Corinthians 12:7
This is important to you. These gifts are manifested to every
person in the Body of Christ. This means every woman and man in
the Body of Christ. It means every born-again person.
Ignoring the gifts means neglecting one of God's principle
ways of building up the faith of our local church! If we ignore
them how then could we hope to "come in the unity of the
faith...unto the same measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ"? Ephesians 4:13
The cure for ignorance is knowledge! It is God's plan that we
understand and experience, in the same way as Jesus Himself, the
supernatural gifts within the local church. Jesus knew He could
draw on the Father's divine wisdom and power in any situation and
He acted on this knowledge. Jesus said that if we believed we
would do even greater works than He did! John 14:12; Is.8:18;
11:1-3; 61:1-3; Luke 4:18-19; John 3:34; Colos.2:9,10.
THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Paul outlines the nine gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10:
1. word of wisdom
Gifts of revelation 2. work of knowledge
or knowing: 3. discerning of spirits
Gifts of demonstration 4. faith
or power: 5. gifts of healing
6. working of miracles
Gifts of proclamation 7. prophecy
or speaking: 8. different kinds of tongues
9. interpretation of tongues
UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF THE GIFTS.
Each of us as Christians should understand:
1. Each has a ministry in the Body. We are all to be involved,
each one expecting to operate in the gifts. Ex.19:3-6;
Rev.5:9,10; 1 Cor.12:7.
2. Each is important. We are all significant in the local
church. Eph.4:16; 1 Cor.12:17,18.
3. Each is different. We shouldn't expect to have the same
ministry as someone else. Rom.12:4; 1 Cor.12:12,14.
4. We should accept others. Realize that without their
contribution, we are incomplete. Rom.12:5; Eph.4:25.
WHAT ARE THE GIFTS FOR?
1. They supernaturally equip the Church to show the power of God
to the world.
Christians are to function as Christ's body on the earth
revealing, as He did, the power, the authority, and the
reality of God in their ministry. Jesus promised that
supernatural signs would follow believers who preach the
gospel and that they would do greater works than He did.
Just as the early disciples preached the gospel to the world
with mighty signs and wonders confirming the word that they
preached, so we today, should expect to see the gifts in
operation as we continue to share the gospel. Hebrews 2:3,4
warns men not to neglect such a great salvation, but the
Church must not neglect her responsibility to use all God has
given her to reveal that salvation: not only the words of
Jesus and of those who heard him, but also God's confirmation
of their truth by signs, wonders, miracles and the gifts of
the Holy Spirit. Read Mark 16:17-20; John 14:12; Romans
15:18,19; Acts 14:8-18; 19:11-20; 28:1-10; 1 Corinthians 2:4.
2. They establish strong foundations in our lives.
Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome, "I long to see you in
order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you
may be established." (Romans 1:11 NASB) Even though their
faith was "proclaimed in all the world" (verse 8), the Roman
believers still needed to be further established in the
Christian life. The gifts therefore are not just extras for
those who are interested. It is essential that every
Christian grow in a church where the gifts are operating in
right order, so that his life will be balanced and
established on strong foundations. Read James 5:7,8; 2
Corinthians 1:20-22; Romans 16:25,26.
3. They bring encouragement and vision to the Church.
"To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the
common good." 1 Corinthians 12:7 (RSV)
The Holy Spirit gives the gifts not for personal benefit, but
for the benefit of others, to edify and encourage them. The
gift of prophecy, for example, can exhort a whole
congregation (1 Corinthians 14:3), while an individual can
edify himself through speaking in tongues (v. 4). As every
Christian fulfills his ministry, working with the
supernatural gifts he has been given, the whole Body is built
up. In this way every individual member is vital - the body
of Christ cannot function in its fulness if the members do
not fully exercise their Spirit-given gifts. Read Ephesians
4:12,13; 1 Corinthians 12:11-31; 14:4,5,12,26; 1 Peter 4:10.
The gifts will lift the committed Christian into the realm of
God's thinking and action. They provide a greater
understanding of our redemption - we are in the world, but
not of the world; we are God's special possession; we are a
supernatural people with a supernatural God using
supernatural power...
4. The bring deliverance and healing to the whole man.
Within the Church we find many with great personal needs.
Christ died to release people from these problems. Through
the gifts of the Spirit, God can bring this release and
healing to Christians - healing from the memories of the
past, healing from physical and mental sickness, release from
fears and anxieties, deliverance from satanic oppression - so
that our "spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and
complete (and found) blameless at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ..." (1 Thessalonians 5:23 AMP).
God has never intended that our churches be filled with sick
people! It is through the release of the supernatural gifts
of the Spirit that we "being delivered from the hand of our
enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and
righteousness before Him all our days" (Luke 1:74,75 NASB).
Read Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:16-21; John 8:36; Exodus 15:26.
END of this study of THE HOLY SPIRIT
