Led By the Spirit

Nice. So, I’ll let you in on
a little thing. I think it’s okay that I say
that? Sure. Yeah. You just have to know Sue
Ramsey. The very first time that Sue
Ramsey visited our church, she kind of caught me off guard a
little bit because she met me at the back door and she said,
that was a wonderful sermon. Will you do my funeral? What do you say? When is it? And so there’s been this running
joke over the years that whenever I preached what she felt was
a good message, she called it funeral worthy. And so Barry,
when Barry talked to Lyle last night, Lyle or Barry told Lyle
to tell Sue, Ron doesn’t have time for a funeral right now,
so. Would God’s people please kindly
turn back in your Bibles to the Old Testament book of Joel. And you’ll find it in what I’ve
referred to in the past as the clean part of your Bible. the
minor prophets. And we called it that because
that’s the portion of our Bibles that perhaps is the least studied,
unfortunately. And therefore without pencil
marks, dog ears, highlights, notes. If you start in Matthew
and flip 11 books to your left, you’ll find it. If you find one
of the larger prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, keep going to the right
until you get to Joel. Joel’s prophecy is one of the
classic minor prophets in that it has not only a severe warning
of judgment, but also a promise of deliverance. Joel opens chapter
1 verse 4 with the threatenings of God’s unprecedented judgments
of Judah, gnawing locusts, swarming locusts, creeping locusts, stripping
locusts, And I do think that’s literal, that he was going to
send a plague of locusts. But it’s, there’s also a metaphor
woven into that, that God was judging his people. And in that there is an anticipated
call to repentance. We see it in verse five. Awake
and wail. Verse eight, wail like a virgin
girded with sackcloth. Verse 11, Be ashamed, O farmers! Wail, O vinedressers! Verse 13,
Gird yourselves with sackcloth and lament, O priests! Wail, O ministers of the altar! Everyone is called to repentance. In 14 through 20, the prophet
forewarns of both famine and drought. Chapter two opens with
increasingly terrible events, darkness and gloom. Verse two,
fire and desolation. Verse three, the result is anguish. Verse six, but this gives way
to yet another call to repentance in verses 12 through 17. And
then in chapter two, verse 18, comes God’s promise of deliverance. The Lord will have pity on his
people. And great and plenty are God’s
promises that flow from that. Grain and new wine and oil, verses
19 through 27. Restoration, rejuvenation of
the land where it would be productive again. A renewed confidence. rejoicing before the Lord in
His mercy. And if you would glance down
at verse 28, in addition to all that, God’s promise of restoration,
He promises something altogether new, His Spirit. It will come about after this
that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind. And your sons
and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants,
I will pour out my spirit in those days.” Well, and that’s
an amazing promise, right? And you know what? Jesus reiterated
that same promise. Jesus reiterates the promise
of the Holy Spirit time after time in John’s gospel. He will
be in you, John 14, 17. He will teach you, John 14, 26.
He will testify about me, John 15, 26. He will guide you into
all truth, John 16, 13. But we already know that this
great promise of the coming Holy Spirit was already honored. We saw in our study of the book
of Acts chapter 2, if you would please turn there just briefly,
from Joel to Acts chapter 2, And there in Acts, as you know,
the Holy Spirit was dramatically poured out on the believers who
were present on that remarkable day. There were several attending
phenomena, remember? A noise like a mighty rushing
wind, tongues of fire resting on each one of them, speaking
with other tongues. These were actual languages.
They were hearing them speak in their own language. It was
an utterly fantastic scene. Look at verse 7. It just says
that they were amazed and astonished. Still others were not as impressed
and even suggested that this was all due to just simple drunkenness. But Peter, glance down if you
would at verse 15, Peter strongly challenges such a suggestion.
These men are not drunk, as you suppose. Peter proceeds to explain
that what they were witnessing was the beginning of the fulfillment
of Joel’s prophecy. I will pour forth of my spirit. Your sons and daughters shall
prophesy visions, dreams, the whole bit. Well, the pouring
forth of the Holy Spirit there in Acts 2 was only the beginning
of the fulfillment of that great promise. The Holy Spirit was
poured out like never before in God’s economy. Now believers
would be permanently indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Now believers
would be granted gifts from the Holy Spirit by which to serve
Christ and His church. And the book of Acts chronicles
that fantastic display of spiritual gifts and the role that they
played in the early church. From Peter’s prayer in chapter
four, all the way to the very end of the chapter, or end of
the book rather, chapter 28, we see God’s Holy Spirit magnificently
displayed in the church, speaking in foreign tongues, gifts of
healing, miracles, beginning in Peter’s prayer in chapter
four, where he acknowledges that God had extended His hand to
heal signs and wonders taking place through the name of your
holy servant, Jesus. Acts 5, 12. At the hands of the
apostles, many signs and wonders were taking place. Acts 5.16,
people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits were all
being healed. Acts 6.8, Stephen, full of grace
and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. Likewise, of Paul and Barnabas,
when their ministry began. Acts chapter 14, the Lord was
granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. Acts
19.11, God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul. Throughout the book of Acts,
the spirit by his gifts given to his people was plainly evident
in the early church. It’s one of the remarkable truths
about Christianity, that even though God does not need us,
He does choose to use us. And in fact, He even equips us
for that very purpose. Not only by the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit Himself, who teaches and leads us, but also
by the bestowal of these varied and sovereignly distributed ministry
gifts. He equips us to serve His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. These gifts are referred to as
in several different ways in chapter 12 of 1st Corinthians.
They’re generically called, verse 1, spiritual. That’s literally,
you could just translate it as spiritual, pointing to the nature
of these gifts. And so they’re called spiritual,
spiritual gifts. Then in verse four, Paul uses
the word charisma from which we get our word charismatic.
The word means the gift of God’s grace. This word indicates the
origin of these gifts. Paul uses the word 16 times in
the course of his letters. not all of which can be construed
as referring to spiritual gifts. Sometimes the word is just used
to refer to a gift in a more general sense, the gift of salvation,
for instance. So if you would turn to 1 Corinthians,
we’ll point out a few things before we read it there. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, And
as God would have it, we’ve already come across this word. We’ve
already met this word charisma earlier in this epistle, chapter
1 verse 7, where Paul there acknowledged that the Corinthian church had
been lavishly supplied. They were not lacking in any
gift. They were not lacking in any
charisma. The bottom line is there wasn’t
anything in which this local congregation was deficient. God
had fully supplied not only individual believers, but the church as
well. Either way, these terms refer to the tools which God
has graced individual believers by whatever term is used. We call these spiritual gifts. It’s an amazing blessing that
not only does God use us, but that He particularly selects
and provides the very means by which we serve Him. From Pentecost
forward, there was this great outpouring of God’s Spirit, evidenced
by these astonishing displays of power. It could be well said
that these displays were manifestations of God himself. But God was manifesting himself
through his spirit in the lives of his people. And the church
in Corinth, though primarily Gentile, Greek, was no different. Just as Joel’s prophecy had prophesied
that both men and women, old and young, They were also, these
spiritual gifts, also bestowed on Jew and Gentile. And this, as you may recall,
was one of the very arguments for allowing Gentiles into the
church. Remember, in Acts 15, they had
received the Holy Spirit and His gifts. In Acts chapter 10,
Peter visits Cornelius, remember? and the gift of the Holy Spirit
had been poured out on the Gentiles. They were hearing them speak
with tongues and exalting God. So how could the church not receive
in the Gentiles who had received the same Holy Spirit? Unfortunately, even though these
gifts, so remarkable, Spirit imparted, given for the building
up of Christ’s church, they were still bestowed upon
believers who were far from morally perfect, far from spiritually
mature. In such a person, even though
the profound gift of God’s grace would be bestowed, the exercise
of those gifts could be tainted by vanity. And it’s not shocking to hear
of the prevalence of these sign gifts in Corinth. Given what
we’ve seen, what we already know of the Corinthian church, we’re
not surprised to see even these gifts besmirched by sinful habits
and tendencies. We tend to develop an opinion
about the Corinthians, don’t we? as those who would crab at
anyone about anything. Even in the dispensation of supernatural
gifts by God’s own spirit would not be without problems in Corinth.
Here in a church that seemed to be given over to division,
even in the realm of spiritual gifts, there was trouble. Those
who were specially gifted tended towards pride, showboating of
their gift or looking down with disdain upon those who were less
gifted. Those without such flashy gifts
tended to jealousy. Their own gift wasn’t good enough
in their eyes. They forgot entirely that these
gifts were evidence that they were filled with the Holy Spirit
of God and that these gifts were for use in the service of Christ,
not others. And so their gifts quickly became
a matter, not of serving Christ and his church, but about doing
so by means of some amazing eye-catching gift. That’s what they wanted.
Practically speaking, they began to develop the idea that the
more spiritual a person was, the more showy and powerful his
gift would be. They soon emphasized more spiritual
impulse and less intellectual consideration. And because of
that, the role of the simple teacher soon gave way to one
who might prophesy or speak in tongues. This epistle, 1 Corinthians,
would have been one of the earliest that Paul wrote. When the church
was still very young and the gospel was only beginning to
take root, the very nature and purpose of these sign gifts was
that they were to be astounding and miraculous. They were to
be supernatural, given only for a time to authenticate the message
of the gospel. For us, however, even beginning
to make sense of the nature of the trouble in Corinth is not
easy. A great deal of detail in these
chapters is obscured by the fact that these gifts were transitory,
many of them. Many of the more outward sign
gifts, healing, miracles, tongues, they were destined to fade away.
And I believe in our day they have. But this is nothing new. Many years ago, a pastor named
John noted that most of the sign gifts had ceased. No, I’m not
talking about John MacArthur in the 70s. John, Pastor John I’m speaking
of is a different John, John Chrysostom, was an early preacher
of the gospel. He lived in the late 300s and
died in 8407. Even in his day, Chrysostom found
the subject of spiritual gifts to be a difficult subject to
evaluate because even by his day, the sign gifts had disappeared. They had ceased. By his day,
they were virtually non-existent, and that made the subject very
obscure. Well, if it was difficult to
navigate the subject for John Chrysostom in the fourth century,
it won’t be easy for us. But with God’s help, we’ll manage.
Here in chapter 12, Paul opens up and introduces us to the subject
of spiritual gifts. This is one of the longest sections
of this epistle, coursing all the way down to the end of chapter
14. Paul here is still dealing with
the subject of public or corporate worship, just as he had in chapter
11, regarding head coverings and the Lord’s table. But in
these three chapters, 12 through 14, Paul will attend to the great
subject of spiritual gifts in the church. As is our habit, when we start
a new chapter, we’ll take chapter 12 in its entirety. Would you read along with me? 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 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. 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, 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, and 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 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. For 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 less a part of the body. And if the ear says, because
I am not an eye, I am not part of the body, it is not for this
reason any the less 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 placed the
members, each one of them, in the body just as He desired. 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, it is much truer
that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body
which we deem 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 need of it. 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 gift of healing, helps, administrations, various
kinds of tongues. All are not apostles, are they?
All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they?
All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have the
gift of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues,
do they? All do not interpret, do they? But earnestly desire the greater
gifts, and I show you still a more excellent way. Paul begins with
an opening statement there in the first three verses. Then
in verse four, all the way through 10, Paul will show that the Spirit
grants a diverse array of gifts. In verses 11 through 17, Paul
will proceed to detail that the Spirit does this freely, that
is sovereignly. With no outside motivation, he
freely grants gifts to individual believers. Then Paul unfolds
the mystery of how God Himself places the individual members
into one body. Verses 18 through 26, and then
lastly in chapter 12, Paul will reveal that this diversely gifted,
individually placed members ultimately comprises Christ’s body. It’s a beautiful chapter, and
one that we are eager to jump into. For this morning, I want to look
at those first three verses, the Holy Spirit’s ministry among
Christ’s body. And the first thing that Paul
does is introduce the subject of spiritual gifts. They all
know that it’s coming. Essentially, they ask the question,
But Paul does make it clear that he is going to address this subject
now, beginning in verse one of chapter 12. Now concerning spiritual
gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. It is with
this very direct opening statement that Paul initiates his discussion
regarding spiritual gifts. We’ve seen this formula before,
this statement, now concerning. You might remember that this
is Paul’s way of indicating that he is answering another one of
the Corinthians questions. They had written him a letter.
They asked him a series of questions. He’s just working his way through
the list. In 7-1, this is how he began to address marriage
issues, you might recall. In 8-1, this is how he began
to address things sacrificed to idols, now concerning. And
so here, Paul is once again answering their questions, this time about
spiritual gifts. Like almost everything else in
Corinth, leaders, marriages, lawsuits, idol practices, head
coverings, even the Lord’s table, the people in Corinth were torn,
divided, even over spiritual gifts. Well, Paul, wants to,
he needs to address this subject, spiritual gifts, and he gently
assures his readers that he does not want them to be unaware.
He doesn’t want them to be ignorant or in the dark on this matter. He’s looking to enlighten them
in these chapters. This is not Paul being harsh
to a church that he believes to be particularly dull. I don’t
want you to be ignorant. He uses this recurring introductory
phrase a half dozen or so times in his various letters to churches. He’s not being harsh or provocative
when he says, I want you to know something. He’s essentially saying,
look, let me inform you of something. And given that the subject is
about something which they have already asked him, it is all
the more fitting that he should educate them on the matter. The Corinthians knew that they
possessed these various gifts, but they had forgotten from whom
they had received them, as well as the purpose for which they
were given. And if we back away from the minutia of these three
chapters, we soon discover that Paul wants to inform his church
about the nature and the purpose of these gifts. They obviously knew of the gifts.
They knew that they possessed gifts of the Holy Spirit. They
were prominent enough to become a cause of pride and jealousy
among them. Those who had them flaunted them. Those who lacked were envious. But in their misuse of these
gifts, they obviously needed a greater measure of instruction
about them. This is Paul’s second point,
the subject of spiritual gifts having been introduced. He turns
in verse two to the context of spiritual gifts contrasted. Look at verse two. You know that
when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols,
however you were being led. Now having introduced the general
subject to which he will speak, spiritual gifts, Paul turns to
address the context. What they knew about the spiritual
realm from their previous lives. what Paul calls pointedly pagans. That word indicates their godless
state, their lives as heathen. And Paul loves to remind his
churches about historical context, the contrast between their previous
lives and their current lives. Romans 11, you once were disobedient
to God, but now you have been shown mercy. Ephesians 2.11,
you were separate from Christ, having no hope without God, but
now you have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Colossians
1.21, formerly you were alienated and hostile in mind, yet now
he has reconciled you. And so here, what Paul does,
he quickly acknowledges that their pagan background was completely
devoid of real spiritual influence, nothing beneficial, nothing truly
God-honoring. They were, after all, at least
dabbling, if not fully immersed, into idolatry. And idolatry is
a distinctive spiritual aspect to it. It’s demonic. Look at
this again in verse two. You know that when you were pagans,
you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were being
led. It was indisputable. Paul says, you know, you know
you were led. And he lays out here the acknowledged
fact that spiritually speaking, they were led and not merely
led in some kind of innocuous sense, but led astray. They were
actively being led astray, negatively influenced. Formally, they were
blindly being led astray by some mysterious force, Paul doesn’t
name, but now they are indwelled by the very spirit of God. Quite
a contrast. There is a really fascinating,
almost humorous play on words here. It stems from a tiny little
two-letter word called a particle, and it’s almost untranslatable.
What it really does is just give the flavor to the sentence. In
Greek, it’s the word an, and it’s called a conditional particle,
hitting at something that might have been Something that was
potentially so, but it expresses an uncertainty. One commentator described it
as indicating those breathings which were leading them, which
were every moment changing their direction. They were just wandering
aimlessly. They were being led, but they
weren’t being led to anything good or noble. It was capricious
guidance. always changing, never certain,
so that the way it’s translated here by our translators, however
you were led, you were being yanked around by these nefarious
forces to no good end. The really telling thing is that
Paul does not identify the leaders, those who were leading them astray.
These influences could be those of the local customs, promoting
these things, promoting idol worships, the priests or followers
of these idol temples. It could be the undefined guile
that was prevalent in all false religions. Paul could be speaking
so generally there. But the ultimate leader in this
regard would be demons, would be Satan himself. Paul says,
you know that the spiritual realm exists because as heathen, you
were caught up in it. And look who it is to whom they
were being led. It was to the dumb, that is mute
idols. The Greek is almost humorously
graphic here. There’s a feature in Greek where
both the noun and the adjective are attended with the definite
article the, literally here, the idol, the dumb. The definite article used twice
there is used to provide emphasis, as if to say the idol, not just
any idol, the dumb idol, the really dumb idol. It calls attention
to the absolute inability of the so-called God to communicate. He’s not calling him stupid.
He’s saying that he’s utterly speechless. The foolishness of
idolatry is mocked along these lines regarding repeatedly in
the Old Testament. Psalm 115, they have mouths. Most people, when they carve
an idol, go ahead and carve a mouth in it, even though it’s utterly
useless. They have mouths, but they cannot
speak. They have eyes, but they cannot
see. The absurdity of following a wooden stone statue. In Habakkuk 2, The prophet there
expands upon this just criticism of idolatry. In 218 it says,
what prophet is the idol when its maker has carved it? You’re
limited by the artistic skills of the one who carves it. What prophet is the idol when
its maker has carved it or an image, a teacher of falsehood?
For its maker trusts in his own handiwork when he fashions speechless
idols. He goes ahead and puts lips,
a mouth, on this stone or wooden statue. To what end? It can’t
speak. Verse 19 says, woe to him who
says to a piece of wood, awake! And then he stands and waits,
right? Woe to him who says to a piece
of wood, awake, to a mute stone, arise. That is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold
and silver, and there is no breath in sight. It’s a dead stone statue. When all is said and done, an
idol is no more than his maker put into it. It’s merely an expression
of the artist’s imagination, says Habakkuk. As heathens, they
followed and received absolutely nothing in return. As heathens,
this was their great spiritual experience, to be drawn and brought
before a lifeless stone statue. And here is the great contrast.
Remember, we’re looking at this based on looking at the previous
context as a contrast to where they were now. In the past, they
were led by whatever means to dumb statues. They not only have
nothing to say, they have no ability to say it, let alone
inspire others to speak. But now, These same people, now
believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, now they are indwelled and gifted
by the Holy Spirit, who not only communicates God’s thoughts to
them, but he prompts his children to utter such thoughts. He opens their mouths to proclaim
the glories of God. This is the greatest and most
miraculous gift of all given to every believer. It’s the gift
of the Holy Spirit himself. Not only does the Holy Spirit
impart divine revelation to God’s people, he inspires his children
to speak. And that’s what we see in verse
three. As we look at the Holy Spirit’s ministry among Christ’s
body, not only do we see the subject of spiritual gifts introduced
and the context of spiritual gifts contrasted, but third,
we see the proof of spiritual gifts verified. The proof of
these gifts verified. Look at verse three. 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.” Well, part of Paul’s goal is
to educate his church. As he informed them in verse
1, I do not want you to be unaware As ungodly heathen, they knew
nothing intellectually or practically about these gifts that they possessed. And even as believers, their
knowledge was minimal. And so here in verse three, he
declares his instruction to them, I make known to you, Paul had
established the context with their previous spiritual life
that they were led astray to these mute idols. And because
of that, he says, therefore, therefore, I wish to educate
you on one point, is essentially what he says. He’s providing
these believers with a conclusion based on his statement in verse
two. You see, Christianity, is his
point. Christianity is all together
from this former life of idolatry. Unlike their dead idols, the
Holy Spirit is powerfully alive and at work in their hearts and
lives. These speechless idols that you
followed in your godless state, they stand in direct contrast
to the living God who dwells within you now. That’s Paul’s
point. that lifeless statue that you
used to thoughtlessly follow, that could speak no words, let
alone impel you to speak. You’re now indwelled by the Holy
Spirit, God’s own Holy Spirit. And the Spirit of God bears witness. And he makes the point here in
two distinctly different ways, negatively and positively. The
Holy Spirit cannot influence a statement contrary to Christ. Cannot do it. And any declaration
of Christ is absolutely of Him. Those are the two points. Both
of these statements ostensibly are made in or by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the God-ordained
instrument either of prohibition of blasphemy or the promotion
of the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at the statement.
He says that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says Jesus
is accursed. That’s a negative statement.
It cannot happen. It is absolutely impossible that
a person indwelled and influenced by the Holy Spirit could say
Jesus is accursed. It can’t happen. The word here
translated accursed is the Greek word anathema. That is among
the strongest language that Paul ever used. Galatians 1.8, if
we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary
to what we preach to you, he is to be accursed, anathema. The way that this word is used
in the New Testament suggests that a person who is, this is
of a person who has been justly condemned, is accursed. And to say this of Jesus is to
call him a malefactor, It’s the worst kind of blasphemy against
Christ. Possible that only the most hateful
of Christ’s enemies would have uttered such an epithet during
his earthly ministry. Look at the second statement.
The positive statement. And no one can say Jesus is Lord
except by the Holy Spirit. Now, obviously, you can read
these words. If you read them aloud, you’re
saying both of those terms, but it’s not just the mere reading
of those things that is blasphemy or glorifying particularly to
God himself. It begins a negative statement
no one can say. It comes from the heart. This
is the testimony of the heart. No one can say, but by the exception
at the end, it cancels that. It’s a positive statement. If
there ever is a declaration that Jesus is Lord, God incarnate,
rest assured that person said that under the power of the Holy
Spirit. Remember, this is essentially
what Peter said of Christ You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God. And Jesus replied, blessed are
you, Simon Barjona, flesh and blood did not reveal this to
you, but my Father who is in heaven. In like manner, one cannot say
Jesus is Lord, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul’s point
of course here is that This is the very foundation of any indication
of the Spirit’s influence. When you come to Christ, when
you’re convicted of your sin, when you recognize Christ for
who He is, God incarnate, and you affirm that truth, you are
doing that guided by the Holy Spirit Himself. No one can claim salvation without
affirming that truth. Such declaration is a sure indication
of being a Christian, regardless of the measure, great or small,
of any outward spiritual gift. That is Paul’s foundational point. Forget about all this display. The bottom line is, do you affirm
the Lord Jesus Christ? If you do, that is a mark of
the Holy Spirit. Jesus said of the Spirit in John
16, 14, he will glorify me. The Spirit’s influence will always
proclaim Jesus as Lord. And if it doesn’t, it’s not a
declaration generated by the Holy Spirit. This is the very
beginning of salvation. Whatever else a person ever does
or says, Jesus is Lord, is the first declaration of salvation.
The Apostle John says almost the same exact thing in his first
epistle. 1 John 4, you know this passage. 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.
By this, you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. And every spirit that does not
confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist,
of which you have heard that is coming now is already in the
world. A person indwelled by the Holy
Spirit cannot either deny the deity or the humanity of Jesus
Christ. So no matter how grand, how impressive
the outward display of some supposed spiritual gift, if it does not
honor the Lord Jesus Christ, it is not of God. But note this in closing, no
person, I mean, it’s just there, it’s plain as day. No person
can possibly make this declaration without the divine supernatural
influence of the Spirit of God. Can’t be done. And because of
that, the Holy Spirit himself is the greatest spiritual gift
that any person can ever receive. I loved the superlative statement
of one commentator. Not a single true word can be
spoken but by the agency of the Spirit of God. Did you hear that?
Not a single true word can be spoken but by the agency of the
Spirit of God. Certainly to affirm that Jesus
is Lord can only be done by divine enablement. That is by the Holy
Spirit’s influence. Regardless of whatever spiritual
gift you think you have or wonder if you have, if you name the
name of Christ, if you have placed your faith in Christ, if you
have acknowledged in your heart and verbally that Jesus is Lord,
that is all the indication you need that you possess the gift
of the Holy Spirit himself. What a joy. What a joy and what
a foundation as we launch into chapter 12. Would you humble
yourself before the throne of grace? Our merciful God, we do
rejoice in what you have provided. And Lord, these Corinthians were
not alone in having a context that was completely different
from what we have experienced now. Many of us had spiritual
dabblings of sorts, and all of it was empty. We were lost hopelessly. Yet, Lord, by Your Spirit, You
came In a good way, you invaded our lives and brought us to repentance
and literally brought us to life by regeneration. Lord, you led
us almost by the scruff of the neck and pointed us towards Christ. We hated our sin for what it
was, and now we were face to face with the Savior that had
paid our penalty. Lord God, how could we not? How
could we not utter those precious words? Jesus is Lord. Lord God, we thank you that our
precious Holy Spirit not only saves us, but on top of that
all, desires us to be used for his kingdom. And he imparts to
us remarkable gifts, a wide variety of different kinds of gifts,
purely by his sovereignty. And then Lord, in your good providence,
you place us in a body of Christ, in a local church to be used
for your glory. Lord God, we thank you. We thank
you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. And Lord, if there is
anyone here who has not placed their faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, who’s still fighting an unwinnable battle, Lord, we pray that you would
break down their hearts, bring them to repentance. Pour out
your Holy Spirit upon them and lead them to this truth. That
Jesus Christ is Lord, Jesus Christ is God incarnate who has come
and paid the penalty for sinners and he’s paid it in full. Lord
God, we look forward with such anticipation to these chapters,
to these truths. Father, we pray that you would
be glorified in our study. Thank you and praise you in Jesus’
name. Amen.