Last week we began looking at the record in I Corinthians 12 regarding the “things of the spirit” or “spiritual things.” We saw that we were not to be ignorant regarding them and that it was possible to be misled regarding them. One way we could be ignorant about them was to allow ourselves to be led astray by others and thing that a person speaking by the spirit of God was cursing God, when in fact the opposite is true. The last verse we looked at was I Corinthians 12:3 and this is were we will pick up this week.
I Corinthians 12:3
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.
We have already looked at the first half of this verse, now we come to the last part, “… and [that] no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Does this mean that if you don’t speak in the spirit, that is to say speaking in tongues that you have not really confessed Jesus as Lord and therefore are not really born again? I don’t believe so. I will say however that making the decision to speak in tongues and doing so is a step of faith, believing and trusting God. It is an act of obedience to our Lord Jesus and by taking that step you are putting your trust in Jesus as your Lord and obeying his will for your life. You are walking out on something that is not seen and honestly does not really make sense in the natural world. By speaking in tongues you are saying to Jesus, “You are my Lord and trust you that I can do the impossible and speak a language that I don’t know and by doing so show my obedience to you as my Lord and saviour.”
If this is not referring to the act of speaking by the spirit then to what is this referring to? Well first look at the context. We are talking about speaking by mean of the Spirit. Speaking in tongues is not the only way that we speak by the spirit. The spirit may call things to our minds and teach us. (John 14:26) The Spirit will testify of Jesus (John 15:26). When Jesus asked his disciples who he was Peter responded “Thou art the Christ the son of the living God.” Jesus told Peter that this was revealed to him by God who is the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 16:16-17). If you hear someone claiming to speak by means of the Word of God they will always refer to Jesus as Lord. If this is not what they are saying they are definitely not speaking by or according to the Word of God or the Spirit that God has given then. No matter who does the witnessing, it will always be God, who is Holy Spirit, which brings a person to the point or receiving Jesus as Lord. When God reveals that to us, we speak by His direction that Jesus is the Lord. Let’s go on to the next verse.
I Corinthians 12:4
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
Literally this says “but now there are differences of gifts, but the same Spirit.” Gifts can refer to many different things; the gift of the new birth spirit that is given to us, the gift ministries listed in Ephesians 6, The gifts of healings listed later in this chapter. Paul point out however that these all work and are given to us by the same Spirit. There are not a whole of different spirits running around giving gifts. These are the gifts that come from God.
I Corinthians 12:5
And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
The word “administrations” has a meaning that is more akin to the services, ministers, or aids. In our churches today we certainly can see that. We have those who serve by teaching the word of God; we have people who help with the children, people who clean the church. We have people who are very adept at help others who are in trouble or in need of counseling. In fact the list of way that people serve and help is almost endless, but in the church they are ruled and ultimately to be directed by the same Lord. It is Jesus Christ that is head of the church; not your pastor or your elders. We trust God that these people are lead by the Lord Jesus in what they are doing, but there is only on Lord over the Church and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
I Corinthians 12:6
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
One again Paul is pulling things together and keeping them in perspective. There are differences in the way things operate and the effect that they produce. But there still is only one God that energizes them. If you see a person healed of a sickness, the next person you see healed may not be healed in the same way. Just as Jesus touch the eyes of one blind person to heal them, and a second was healed when he spit on the ground and may clay applying it to the man’s eyes. The operation and effect may be different, but it is still the same God that energizes this operations. When operation is of God it is always energized or worked by God. This is true whether we are leading a person to Christ or raising the dead the power behind the result is always to be God.
The next verse begins a look at the “gifts of the spirit;” so this is a good place to stop. Please feel free to work the verse we have looked at so far, if your understanding is different please feel free to politely explain how. As I am found of say, there is always the possibility that one or both of us is wrong. I trust God in this one thing regarding this. He will teach us and bring us to the truth.
Keith Carter Ministries 