DECEMBER 2

Regarding Body Unity and Fellowship

 

PROBLEM WITH FELLOWSHIP. 1Cor. 11:17-22

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be dif­ferences among you to show which of you have God's approval. When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!

 

SUPPER AS REMINDER OF UNITY. 1Cor. 11:23-26

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For when­ever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

 

EATING WITH VIEW TO UNITY. 1Cor.11:27-34

 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin­ning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.

If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.

 

Regarding Spiritual Gifts

 

SOURCE OF GIFTS.  1Cor.12:1-3

  Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want    you to be ignorant. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

 

DESPITE VARIETY, SAME SOURCE.  1Cor.12:4-11

  There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to anoth­er faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguish­ing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues/ and to still another the interpretation of tongues/ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

 

BODY HAS MANY MEMBERS  1Cor 12:12-14.

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it    is with Christ. For we were all baptized by" one Spirit into one body— whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.

 

BODY IS DIVERSE.   1 Cor12:15-21

If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do     .not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the  body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head can­not say to the feet, "I don't need you!"

 

EVERY MEMBER IMPORTANT.   1 Cor. 12:22-26

On the contrary, those parts of the body    that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are un pre­sentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

 

CHURCH NEEDS DIVERSITY 1Cor 12:27-31  

Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a part of it. And  in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues'? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire " the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.

 

 

 

LOVE IS GREATEST GIFT 1 Cor. 13:1-3

 If I speak in the tongues1' of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cym­bal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

 

THE QUALITIES OF LOVE. 1 Cor13:4-7. 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 

LOVE WILL OUTLAST GIFTS. 1 Cor. 13:8-13

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

 

PROPHECY VERSUS TONGUES. 1 Cor. 14:1-5

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.  But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophe­sies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues,2 but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues/ unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.

 

TONGUES NEED INTERPRETATION. 1 Cor.14:6-12        

Now, brothers, if I come to you and  speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will

anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spir­itual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

 

TONGUES CANNOT EDIFY. 1 Cor. 14:13-19

For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand" say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

 

TONGUES ARE SIGN. 1 Cor. 14:20-22

Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. In the Law it is written:

 

"Through men of strange tongues

and through the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people,

but even then they will not listen to me," &

says the Lord.

 

Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophe­cy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers.

 

PROPHECY TEACHES. 1 Cor. 14:23-25

So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand0 or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand1* comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"

 

ORDERLY USE OF GIFTS. 1 Cor. 14:26-33a

What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strength­ening of the church. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh care­fully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

 

WOMEN NOT TO LEAD 1 Cor.14:33b-36           

As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is

disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church. Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached?

 

DIRECTIONS ARE LORD'S COMMAND 1 Cor.14:37-40        . 

If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.

Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speak­ing in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.