5 Great Truths – Week One

Week 1           Our Gifts  CHAPTER 12
Week 2/3        Our Love  CHAPTER 13
Week 4           Our Purpose  CHAPTER 14
Week 5           Our Hope  CHAPTER 15
Week 6           Our Gratitude  CHAPTER 16

WEEK 1

Discovering and Developing Your Spiritual Gifts 

1 CORINTHIANS 12

1. The of Spiritual Gifts

“Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I want you to know 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.”  (vv. 1-3)

2. The  of Spiritual Gifts

• Varieties of Gifts
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.”  (v. 4)

• Varieties of Ministries
“There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.”  (v. 5)

 • Varieties of Effects
“There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”  (v. 6)

3. The  of Spiritual Gifts

 “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a 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 distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”  (vv. 7-11)

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”  1 PETER 4:10

4. The  of Spiritual Gifts

• No Room for …
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.”  (vv. 12-14)

• No Room for Insecurity or Inferiority
“Now if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being 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 stop being 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 placed 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.”  (vv. 15-20)

• No Room for Arrogance
“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!’ 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 unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving 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.”  (vv. 21-26)

• No Room for Independence
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of 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?   (vv. 27-30)

• No Room For Apathy
“Now eagerly desire the greater gifts …”    (v. 31)

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Rees Erik. S.H.A.P.E.: Finding & Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose for Life. Zondervan. 
• Schreiner, Thomas R.. 1 Corinthians (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries). InterVarsity Press.
• Wilson, Andrew. 1 Corinthians For You: Thrilling You With How Grace Changes Lives. The Good Book Company.
• Wiersbe, Warren W.. Be Wise (1 Corinthians): Discern the Difference Between Man’s Knowledge and God’s Wisdom (The BE Series Commentary).