|
News for the Pews |
Home
25th February 2025
TuesdayReflection
************************
John Piper
founder and teacher of Desiring God.com
Living in the Spirit and in the Body for the Common Good
1 Corinthians 12:1-13
************************
"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.
You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the dumb 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 effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.
But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
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 another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 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.
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 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."
.....1 Corinthians 12:1-13
Focusing on Four Words
I think the main point of this passage is verse 7:
"But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."
There are four words I want us to look at.
The first is the phrase "each one."
"To each one is given ..."
- that's you, all of you who are Christians and each of you individually.
Second, the word "Spirit."
"To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit ... "
- that's God, the same God that brooded over the waters of Genesis 1 v 2 and joined in the creation of the universe.
Third, the word "manifestation."
"To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit ..."
that's the connection between you and God.
God is manifested in your life.
God, the Spirit, becomes visible through you. You are to show the Spirit.
Fourth, the phrase "common good."
"To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."
That's a result of the manifestation of God the Spirit in the life of the church - good comes to people.
It is good for people to see God.
It is good for us to see the manifestations of God's Spirit in each other's lives.
Glory to God and Love for People
If you want to do good for people, you manifest God to them.
If you want to manifest God and make him known, you do good to others, because that is the way he wills to manifest himself.
That is what he is like.
The church is the place where these two things come together.
The world often tries to do good for each other, but they leave God out.
And so they do some temporary good, but no ultimate, eternal good.
And some Christians try to experience God's manifestations alone, but do not do it in the context of an interdependent body, and so they may have some ecstatic experiences, but they don't see God as he really is, because he is the kind of God who manifests himself for the common good, not for individualistic religious raptures.
So this verse (v. 7) is right at the heart of what it means to be Christians individually, and what it means to be the church corporately.
Who Are the "Each Ones"?
Are you included?
That's what verses 2 and 3 are talking about.
They are those who once were pagans led away from Christ by idols - idols that have nothing to say.
Dumb idols. Idols with no message, no good news.
But all that has changed because of the work of the Spirit.
The "each ones" of verse 7 are people who have ceased treating Jesus as a curse to be rejected and now follow him as Lord.
So the essence of who the "each ones" are is the Lordship of Jesus.
The key sentence is at the end of verse 3: "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit."
The "each ones" in verse 7 are people who live under the Lordship of Jesus-who aim to think the way he says to think, and who aim to feel the way he says to feel, and who aim to do what he says to do.
These are the people who each have a manifestation of the Spirit, because they cannot live like this "except by the Holy Spirit."
><(((°>
This is an extremely edited version.
The full article is avaiable on request
Scrol down for the continuation of this discussion.
John Piper
is founder and teacher of Desiring God and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary.
For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist and most recently Foundations for Lifelong Learning: Education in Serious Joy
More
Those Living Under the Lordship of Jesus
The reason I say that LIVING under the lordship of Jesus is the mark of "each one" rather than just saying "Jesus is Lord" is that Scripture and experience teach us that people can indeed say that Jesus is Lord without the special work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
For example in Matthew 7 v 22-23 Jesus says,
"Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?'
And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'"
So you can see from those words that "practicing the lordship of Jesus" is the issue, not just saying that he is Lord.
That's what Paul means in 1 Corinthians 12:3b,
"No one can say, 'Jesus is Lord' [and mean it], except by the Holy Spirit."
So the "each ones" of verse 7 are those who are so changed by the Holy Spirit that they say it and mean it and live it: Jesus is Lord.
He runs my life. I consult with him. I don't do what he forbids and I do what he commands.
And when I fall short, I feel bad and I repent and seek his forgiveness and press on to trust him and obey him more and more fully.
All from the Spirit
And all this comes from the Spirit.
It cannot be experienced except by the Spirit of God.
The Spirit's main business in the world is to glorify Jesus and make his Lordship real in people's lives.
Jesus said in John 16:14,
"[When the Spirit of truth comes] he will glorify me."
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:18,
"We all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit."
It is the Spirit that changes us from one degree of glory to another in the likeness of Jesus.
That's who the "each ones" are in verse 7 - people who have set their face to be like Jesus and follow him as Lord because the Spirit is at work in them.
Contact the Rector
The Revd.
Nic.Edwards
The Rectory,
Church Lane,
BUGBROOKE,
Northampton,
NN7 3PB
Land Line: 01604 - 815496
(Can be accessed from the mobile device)
Mobile: .....
E-mail:
thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com
Contact the Benefice Office
Sunday School Rooms, Church Lane,
BUGBROOKE, Northampton, NN7 3PB
Land Line: 01604 830373
E-mail:
thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com
Mon., Tues., Wed, Thur.
9:00am to 11:30am
For Baptism bookings (Christenings)
to arrange an appointment please contact
the Benefice Office.
For Wedding bookings:
please contact the Benefice Office to arrange
an appointment.
Who Made This?
Seeing as you asked, if you can give helpful
advice or report factual corrections and
'deliberate mistakes',email:-
regparker3 at gmail dot com
Email addresses shown using words in an
attempt to avoid 'spam',
Type the email address replacing 'at' with '@',
and 'dot' with '.'
|