WWUTT 1582 Now Concerning Spiritual Gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1-2)

Spiritual Gifts and the Spiritually Mature in 1 Corinthians 12

Whenever we see the word spiritual in 1 Corinthians, it can be a little complicated because that word spiritual might be qualified with something else. It could be talking about spiritual truth or what we're looking at today, spiritual gifts when we understand the text.

This is When We Understand the Text, a daily Bible study in the word of Christ that men and women of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Tell your friends about our ministry at www .utt .com.

Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. In our study of the book of 1 Corinthians, we are up to chapter 12. And I'm going to begin here by reading the whole chapter, 31 verses out of the Legacy Standard Bible the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were pagans, you were being led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, Jesus is accursed.

And no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of workings, but the same God who works everything in everyone.

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to someone else faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the workings of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to someone else various kinds of tongues, and to another the translation of tongues.

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually, just as He wills. For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

For also by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For also the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body, it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.

And if the ear says, because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body, it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

But now God has appointed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

On the contrary, how much more is it that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary, and those members of the body which we think as less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no such need.

But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it.

If one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.

Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all translate? But you earnestly desire the greater gifts, and I will yet show you a more excellent way.

There you go. That's 1 Corinthians chapter 12 in the Legacy Standard Bible. So at the beginning, we have a change of subject. We've gone from the matters that Paul was addressing in chapter 11 concerning head coverings, and then right practice at the Lord's table.

And here in chapter 12, he's talking about spiritual gifts. This is a very controversial chapter, as controversial as any discussion about spiritual gifts will be in the church. But we want to understand these things.

So we're going through this verse by verse between this week and the next. Even here at the very beginning in verse 1, Paul expresses, I don't want you to be ignorant. And we don't want to be ignorant of these things either.

So we have this subject change. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant, right? Now if you are reading out of the New American Standard, or as I'm reading here from the Legacy Standard Bible, you'll notice that in that first verse, the word gifts is italicized.

Now why is that? If you're a regular reader of the NASB, you know why a word gets italicized like that. It's because it's not in the original language. It's not in the original Greek. When it was translated from Greek into English, the word was added so that we could understand the flow of it a little bit better.

But it is not a word that appears in Greek. So that word that we have gifts, we have as gifts in English, doesn't appear as gifts in Greek. It was added. So in the Greek, it would be more literally translated, concerning now spiritual brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.

That's kind of funny, right? Because we don't really have a descriptor of what spiritual is supposed to mean or what it's referring to. Now we've seen this before in 1 Corinthians. If you want to turn back with me to chapter two, if you're not looking at your Bible, if it's not right there in front of you, that's okay.

I'll explain to you what you'll see in 1 Corinthians chapter two. Now, if you're reading out of the ESV, the English standard version, you won't see this because the ESV translators don't have, they did not make it a part of their translation philosophy to include italicized words as an indicator of this word not appearing in the original Greek.

But if you're reading something like the legacy standard or the NASB, and I believe the new King James does this as well, then you will see those italicized words indicating that this is not in the original language.

And here in chapter two, we'll see occasions of this word spiritual being used, but there's no descriptor explaining what spiritual means. So we've kind of filled in the blank ourselves according to the context to understand what Paul was referring to exactly.

To the Corinthians, this would have made a lot more sense. But to us, trying to understand the context, we've had to throw another word in there to show this is exactly what it is that Paul is referring to and make it make sense in English.

Okay? So in 1 Corinthians two, I'm going to start in verse one. When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with superiority of word or of wisdom proclaiming to you the witness of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my word and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power so that your faith would not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Okay? That's the first five verses right there. And we've had one mention of the spirit, but that mention of the spirit is going to govern everything else that Paul says here in this chapter. So this is in demonstration of the spirit.

Everything else that Paul mentions that is spiritual in this chapter ties back into that Paul wanting to proclaim in the spirit of God, the gospel of Christ that was being preached to them. So now verse six, yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature, a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are being abolished.

But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom which has been hidden, which God predestined before the ages to our glory, which none of the rulers of this age has understood. For if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But just as it is written, things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him. But to us, God revealed them through the spirit, for the spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

For who among men knows the depths of a man, except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, the depths of God, no one knows except the spirit of God. Now let me stop here for a moment. So what we've seen here in verse 11, are two occasions of the word depths being used.

But the word depths is not in the original language. So depths is italicized, for who among men knows the depths of a man, except the spirit of the man which is in him? Now if you look at this in the English standard version, verse 11 reads like this.

This is where we have a lot of differences in fact, between the LSB and the ESV. You have it here in chapter two. So in chapter two, verse 11, in the English standard version we read, for who knows a person's thoughts, except the spirit of that person which is in him?

So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God, except the spirit of God. Now you might think at first, well see that's a pretty good word to use, thoughts, that makes a little more sense than depths.

What is depths? Well the LSB translators are using depths because that was the word that was used in verse 10. But to us God revealed them through the spirit, for the spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

How does that read in the ESV? God has revealed to us through the spirit, for the spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. See that word, that's the word in the Greek. The ESV translators translate it depths, and the NASB and LSB translators translate it depths.

But then you get to verse 11, that word depths doesn't appear there. So the English standard translators took some liberties and they used the word thoughts in verse 11. But the legacy standard translators for the sake of consistency wanted to use the word depths in verse 10 and bring it down into verse 11, since that's what it was that Paul was referring to.

If you'll remember an interview that I had with Mike Riccardi a few weeks ago, he talked about how the philosophy of the legacy standard translators included this thing called lexical consistency, right?

So where one thing is translated this way, every time that word comes up, it's going to be consistently translated that way throughout the letter or throughout the book. In this particular case, in verse 11, you don't have a word that explains the things of a man.

So the English standard translators took some liberties and used the word thoughts, whereas the legacy standard translators, to be consistent with what came before it, stuck with the word depths because that was the word that appeared in verse 10.

Now if you were to read verse 11 literally, okay, without either applying depths or thoughts, it would come out this way. Who knows among men the things of the man? If not the spirit of the man that is within him, so also the things of God, no one knows if not the spirit of God.

Now that word things in the Greek is ta and it's very generic. It's just a very generic word. So there's nothing explaining there what those things are supposed to be, except the explainer that was before it in verse 10, I guess you just have to know Greek a little bit better to know what's happening here.

And I don't, I'm not a Greek guy in that way. But what I do know is that the legacy standard translators took this word depths that appears in verse 10 and so to remain consistent, plug that word in where it would have been understood that that was what Paul was talking about, since that was the word that had appeared in verse 10.

So in verse 11, what you have is who among men knows the depths of a man? Again, it had a very generic word ta, but, but it's Paul referring back to that word depths that he had used in verse 10. So who among men knows the depths of a man, except the person of the man, or I'm sorry, except the spirit of the man, which is in him.

Even so the depths of God, no one knows except the spirit of God going on into verse 12. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God so that we may know the depths graciously given to us by God.

And again, that word depths italicized because it doesn't appear in the original language. It's being borrowed from back in verse 10. We go on to verse 13 of which depths we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the spirit, combining spiritual depths with spiritual words.

Once again, that word depths is being added in there and the word spiritual doesn't have a qualifier. It's just the word spiritual, but we understand it to be spiritual depths again because of what was said back in verse 10.

So let me go on to verse 14, but a natural man does not accept the depths of the spirit of God for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually examined or in some translations, they're spiritually discerned.

Verse 15, but he who is spiritual examines all things yet he himself has been examined by no one for who is known the mind of the Lord that he will direct him. But we have the mind of Christ. Now I've read this entire chapter to really direct you to the statement in verse 15, but he who is spiritual examines all things yet he himself is examined by no one.

And there we have that word spiritual that doesn't have any qualifier. There isn't anything there. It's not spiritual depths. It's not spiritual words. It's just he who is spiritual. And that's really the understand if you were to take out all the other words that have been used to explain or describe or qualify spiritual.

If you were to take out all of that, that's really what it comes down to understanding a man who is spiritual. This is a man who has been transformed. He has been changed. He has been educated by the spirit of God.

We are able to understand these things from God by the spirit of God that lives within us. A person who does not have the spirit of God cannot understand those things that come from God because they are spiritually discerned.

That was the argument that Paul was making back in 1 Corinthians 2. We have this word depths that has been added there so that we can understand what's being described the depths of God. That was verse 10.

To us, God revealed them through the spirit for the spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. But only the spiritual man can understand these things that are spiritually discerned, these depths that are from God.

And so as Paul has spoken previously about the spiritual man, that's what we're talking about in chapter 12. But this word spiritual is qualified with gifts. It doesn't appear in the original language, but that's what it is that Paul is talking about.

So translators have taken the liberty to adding gifts in there. But this is a spiritual man and we've seen this spiritual man talked about or the spiritual person. We've seen this person talked about or described with that particular word over the course of 1 Corinthians.

It's the word pneumaticos in the Greek. And for Paul's readers, they understand what Paul is referring to when he calls this person spiritual, whether it's spiritual knowledge, whether it's spiritual gifts, whatever it is that the person acquires can only be done with the spirit of God that dwells within that person.

Sometimes I think even by adding the word, even though we're qualifying spiritual, we lose something about what Paul is describing here because the focus becomes the gifts. Right. Previously in chapter two, it was depths, spiritual depth.

So spiritual describes depths and depths gets our focus here in 1 Corinthians 12 spiritual describes gifts. And so gifts gets the focus when the reality is the understanding is on the spiritual person.

This person cannot do what they have been given by God to do if it weren't for the fact that they were spiritual. This is only a spiritual person we're talking about, one who is indwelt with the Holy Spirit and a person who has the spirit is therefore spiritual before they were pagan.

And that's what Paul goes into in verse two. You know that when you were pagans, you were being led astray by the mute idols. However, you were led. So when you were pagan, you were ignorant. And what does Paul say in verse one?

I don't want you to be ignorant. You are spiritual people. You have been given spiritual gifts. When you were pagan, you were not spiritual. There probably was a spiritualness to what it was that you were doing.

Have you ever heard somebody say, well, I'm not a religious person, but I'm spiritual, right? Yeah, there's a spiritualness to what you're doing. But the reality is that no one is truly spiritual unless they have the Holy Spirit.

And then that person is described as pneumatic, spiritual. And a lot of times that word again gets qualified to know what it is that we're talking about. But very simply, pneumatic is a spiritual person, spiritual men or spiritual things.

And where those spiritual things are concerned, to avoid the generic things, you'll have another word added in there. So that becomes the subject. So we have spiritual gifts that we're talking about here in chapter 12.

I know that this lesson was very technical, but I hope it was nonetheless fascinating to you because it helps us to understand who we have become in the Holy Spirit. We're not merely flesh and blood people.

We're not merely material. We are spiritual because the spirit of God has been poured into our hearts by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everybody who is a follower of Christ is spiritual. There's not a belief that happens.

And then somewhere later on, the Holy Spirit gets poured into our hearts and then we have like an extra helping of the spirit. Nor does it mean that you have to start demonstrating these spiritual gifts in order to prove that you have the Holy Spirit in your heart, like speaking in tongues.

You're not really in the spirit until you start speaking in tongues. These are things that some of these Pentecostal or these charismatic sects have been teaching that you may be a follower of Christ, but you don't really have the spirit until you start doing this or you have not really come into the spirit yet until you start speaking in tongues.

But that's not what's being said here in First Corinthians. We're spiritual the moment we come to Christ. When you have put faith in Jesus, that transformation that's happened in your heart by the spirit of God, that which we call regeneration, that was a work of God that was done.

It happened before you came to faith in Christ. You could not put your faith in Christ and understand spiritual things until the spirit of God had been given to you. All of this by the mysterious, miraculous working of God in the heart of a man, transforming him from a rebellious sinner into a forgiven saint.

And now, as followers of Jesus Christ, we're spiritual and we'll show evidence of that spiritualness. We don't have the spirit. Once we start performing these spiritual gifts, we've had the spirit from the moment that we believed.

But there will be an evidence of this faith in the spiritual gifts that a person does within the body of Christ. And that's what Paul is directing the church in Corinth in here in First Corinthians twelve.

And that's what the spirit is going to guide us in as well as we come to understand these things and apply it even to our present context. So once again, First Corinthians twelve, one and two now concerning spiritual gifts.

Brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant concerning being spiritual really is what it comes down to. I don't want you to be ignorant about this. You know that when you were pagans, you were being led astray to mute idols.

When you were pagans, you were not truly spiritual and you were not you were not knowledgeable. You were ignorant. However, you were led. Therefore, I make known to you, Paul says, that no one speaking by the spirit of God says this.

OK, and then we'll get to that tomorrow. I'm not going to go on reading that because that takes a longer explanation. We're at the conclusion for today. So he begins by saying, I don't want you to be ignorant.

Therefore, I make known to you as spiritual people. We come to understand these things because we have the spirit of God that we may discern spiritual depths. Right. Let's conclude our study there today.

Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for the knowledge that has been given to us by the spirit of God you poured into our hearts. And as we study these things, may it be according to the spirit that we understand these things.

Guide us in all truth by your spirit. It's in Jesus name we pray.

Amen. Thank you for listening to When We Understand The Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website www .wutt .com and click on the Give tab in the top right corner of the page.

Join us again tomorrow as we continue our Bible study, When We Understand The Text.