Concerning Spiritual Gifts

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sermon Points:
1. Christians Are Spiritual People
- John 3:6-7
- "The failure to recognize the Holy Spirit as personally present in our lives is widespread in the churches today. Even where Christians know about the Holy Spirit doctrinally, they have not necessarily made a deliberate point of getting to know him personally. A normal relationship with the Holy Spirit should at least approximate the Old Testament experience described in Psalm 139: a profound awareness that we are always face to face with God; that as we move through life the presence of his Spirit is the most real and powerful factor in our daily environment; that underneath the momentary static of events, conflicts, problems and even excursions into sin, he is always there." Richard Lovelace
- Ephesians 5:18

2. Characteristics of the Gifts
- a. Gifts Are Given And Empowered By God
- “Spiritual gifts are God empowering His people through the Holy Spirit for kingdom life and service, enabling them in attitude and action to live and minister in a manner which glorifies Christ.” Boyd Hunt
- 1 Corinthians 12:28
- b. Gifts Are A Manifestation of God’s Presence
- "The thread running through the whole discussion in 12:1-10 is that the phenomena Paul lists are regarded as events in which the Spirit is made manifest: that is, the Spirits activity coming to relatively clear, even dramatic expression. They are workings of God in which the presence and activity of divine power is judged to be a matter of immediate perception." Max Turner
- c. Gifts Are For The Common Good
- "The gift of the Spirit to believers affords the whole experiential dimension of the Christian life, which is essentially charismatic in nature. These charismata operate at individual and corporate levels, enabling a life-giving, joyful understanding of (and ability to apply) the gospel, impelling and enabling different services to others in the church, and driving and empowering the mission to proclaim the good news." Max Turner
- d. Keep The Gifts Connected To The Gospel
- 1 Corinthians 2:2
- 1 Corinthians 15:3
- 1 Corinthians 14:24-25

3. The Gift of Prophecy
- Romans 12:6
- 1 Corinthians 14:1-5
- "The ‘revelation’ which comes…is thought by Paul to be of divine, not human origin. This is evident, first from the fact that the word Paul uses for ‘revelation’…occurs forty-four times in the New Testament and never refers to human activity or communication. Rather whenever the New Testament speaks of a ‘revelation’ it is always given by the activity of God" -- Wayne Grudem

4. Prophecy’s Purpose: Edification
- 1 Corinthians 14:3-5
- 1 Corinthians 14:12
- 1 Corinthians 14:26

5. Prophecy’s Limitations
a. The Gift of Prophecy is Affected by Our Finite, Fallen Humanness
b. The Gift of Prophecy Has No Authority
- 1 Corinthians 14:29