Angelic Conflict part 204: Human history (the Church) – 1Co 12-13; 1Jo 2:20-21; 4:1; 5:6-8.

Title: Angelic Conflict part 204: Human history (the Church) - 1Co 12-13; 1JO 2:20-21; 4:1; 5:6-8.

 

 

1CO 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.

 

1CO 12:2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the dumb idols, however you were led.

 

1CO 12:3 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.

 

1CO 12:4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

 

1CO 12:5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.

 

1CO 12:6 And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.

 

1CO 12:7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

 

1CO 12:8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

 

1CO 12:9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

 

1CO 12:10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.

 

1CO 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

 

God gives spiritual gifts as He pleases and the administration of each gift through each believer will be as unique or similar as God wants them to be. But notice the word “individually” in vs. 11. The Greek word is idos (where we get idot - having one’s own opinion) which pertains to what is one’s own. To each individual there is a unique ministry for the common good that finds its boundaries in the will of God.

 

The 12 apostles were given to lay the foundation of the Church.

 

Prophets were New Testament spokesmen for God whose messages came immediately from God by the Spirit in order to edify, encourage, and comfort, 1CO 14:3.

 

Pastorteachers instructed converts in the doctrinal truths of the Christian life from the Word of God, being taught these truths by the Spirit. They taught from the Word as it was manifested through the apostles. Unlike the prophets, they did not get their messages immediately by the Spirit, though the Spirit helped them in their teaching.

 

The evangelist majors on sharing the Good News of salvation with the lost. All ministers should do the work of an evangelist (2TI 4:5) and seek to win souls, but some men have been given evangelism as a special calling.

 

In the early church, miracles were a part of the credentials of some of God's servants. The Book of Acts, as well as church history, indicates that these miraculous gifts passed off the scene.

 

Help and governments have to do with the serving of others and the guiding of the church. Without spiritual leadership and the gift of helps, the church flounders.

 

There were several "speaking gifts": tongues and the interpretation of tongues, the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge (the ability to understand and apply God's truth to a definite situation), and exhortation (encouragement or rebuke if necessary).

 

Giving and showing mercy relate to sharing material aid with those in need, as well as supporting God's servants in ministry. We are all called to give and show mercy, but these are a special calling in the ministries of some.

 

The gift of faith had to do with believing God for what He wanted to accomplish in the church's ministry - that He would lead and provide, which was more difficult to see in the infancy of the Church since it had not expanded throughout the world and there was much persecution as believers often had to meet in secret. They did not have a completed Bible. No Bible, no neighboring churches, just a foundation of doctrines … is it any wonder that the early church required so many of these temporary spiritual gifts. What God had given to the Church in faithfulness, fallen man has attempted to use for his own promotion with these spectacular but temporary spiritual gifts.

 

So, we assume that there was a need of those to exist in the early church who ministered in a special way by a gift of faith. However, with the foundation of the church completed and the canon of scripture completed, this gift is no longer necessary.

 

The discerning of spirits was important in the early church since Satan tried to counterfeit the work of God and the Word of God. It would be so easy for someone to walk into one of these brand new churches and start talking in tongues (faking it as is done today) or announcing false prophecy, or saying that the Mosaic Law was still in effect. God would give certain believers the gift of discerning spirits so that these charlatans could be tossed out on their ear.

 

Today, the Spirit especially uses the written Word to give us discernment (1JO 2:18-24; 4:1-6) and so, we need to be beware of false teachers.

 

Once the church is established and the Bible is complete we can discern all falsehood from the book. There is no need for further prophecy. God didn’t leave anything out that we needed, for that would make Him unfaithful. He didn’t even put the teaching of His wisdom in the hands of men, but men would be directed by God the Holy Spirit to teach His truth to the individual churches. What need was there of a large church organization or a local bishop to monitor the teachings in the churches? Wasn’t this job undertaken by God Himself? By putting this authority in teaching and leading in the hands of men, other than the apostles, was to bring in the weak link that could easily be exploited by satan.

 

1JO 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.

 

Anointing was done in the OT as well as, most preciously, upon Christ from Mary. The OT word is the root word for Messiah, the anointed one. Therefore, holy oil, so called, is not needed in the Church, nor is this speaking of anything unique to one person over another. All believers have the Spirit at salvation and the Spirit has the job of anointing the head of every believer with the knowledge of the anointed One.

 

1JO 2:21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

 

You all have an anointing, meaning that this is not, what some have claimed, to be a special anointing that only they have so they have more knowledge than anyone else, usually claiming extra biblical knowledge. This anointing is the influence or teaching ministry of God the HS as John makes clear in:

 

1JO 3:24 And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

 

It is God the Holy Spirit who bears witness of the abiding presence of God the Father in every believer's life.

 

This is not saying that we know that we have received the Spirit so we know the Father abides with us, but rather is stating the teaching ministry of the Spirit in identifying with our spirit that we are children of God.

 

GHS bears witness of the abiding presence of the Father. Abiding refers to indwelling as well as partnership in the Father's business, both are linked and both are in view.

 

JOH 14:23-24

Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him. "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.

 

1JO 4:13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

 

1JO 5:6 This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood.

 

When Christ was baptized by John in water we see the Spirit of God descended upon Him. Thus His ministry begins, but His ministry ends in blood, the blood of Christ, the payment for all sin in spiritual death. As the bookends of His earthly ministry, these are now presented to the Church, with all manner of doctrines that fulfill the victory of Christ in the epistles, and their witness is the only One who has seen it all and knows it all, and that is God the Holy Spirit.

 

The water and blood - the beginning and end of Christ's ministry; referring to all doctrines of His victory, and to this the Spirit agrees and bears witness.

 

1JO 5:7And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth.

 

1JO 5:8For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

 

So the three that are in agreement are God the Holy Spirit and the water and blood, which metaphorically refer to the doctrines that sum up the victory of Christ. So we have the Spirit and the doctrine who are in agreement and not a man and that doctrine. No man can know the doctrines beyond a superficial treatment without the Spirit.

 

ROM 8:15-17

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.

 

Fairly early on in His ministry the Lord gave an insight into the mystery doctrine that the apostle John would only come to understand later.

 

JOH 7:37-39

"If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'"  But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

 

Therefore, again:

Today, the Spirit especially uses the written Word to give us discernment (1JO 2:18-24; 4:1-6) and so, we need to be beware of false teachers.

 

1JO 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

 

Since there are no prophets in the church today, we need not worry about false prophets; but we do have to beware of false teachers (2PE 2:1).

 

2PE 2:1

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

 

Some students have categorized the various gifts as the speaking gifts, the sign gifts, and the serving gifts.

 

However, we should not be so fascinated by the individual gifts that we forget the main reason why Paul listed them:

 

The list of spiritual gifts is to remind us that they unite us in our ministries to the one body, given as GHS wills and not as we will.

 

No Christian should complain about his or her gifts, nor should any believer boast about his or her gifts. No believer should encounter stress about identifying what their spiritual gift is. We are many members in one body, ministering to each other. By following Christ through His word we will operate in the ministry that God the Holy Spirit has bestowed on each of us.

 

1CO 12:12 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.

 

The will of the head should not be in conflict with the will of the body.