May 10
Lesson 11
Gifts of the Spirit
Devotional
Reading:
Romans 12:1–8
Background Scripture:
1 Corinthians 12:1–11
This
treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone,
former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the May 3 issue
of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com.
______
By Sam E. Stone
The
apostle Paul spent about 18 months in the prominent Greek city of Corinth
during his second missionary journey. Although he faced strong opposition (Acts
18:1-11), still the church grew and prospered. Later Paul received a
letter from Corinth raising several important issues. He addressed them in 1
Corinthians.
His
discussion of spiritual gifts extends from 12:1–14:40.
Obviously this was a big issue! The apostle provided a number of fundamental
principles as he explained the source, variety, and purpose of spiritual gifts.
Today’s lesson considers their purpose—the common good of the church.
One Spirit | 1 Corinthians 12:1-6
I do not want you to be
uninformed about
spiritual gifts, Paul told his readers. He reminded them that these gifts had
been provided by the Lord’s grace (1 Corinthians 1:7). When
he referred to the people as former pagans, this indicated that the majority in
the Corinthian church did not have the benefits of a Jewish heritage. The
expression can also include others who were not Christians (1
Thessalonians 4:5). Some had been led astray to mute idols. Earlier Paul contrasted the many idols
with the one true God (1 Corinthians 8:1-13).
Sometimes the Jews blasphemed by saying, “Jesus be
cursed.” Paul reminded them that no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except
by the Holy Spirit. The Romans would say, “Caesar is Lord,” when
speaking of Nero. In contrast, only the Holy Spirit leads
people to confess meaningfully that Jesus is Lord (1 John
2:22; 4:2, 3; 5:1).
There are different kinds of
gifts, but the same Spirit . . . different
kinds of service, but the same Lord . . .
different kinds of working but in all of them . . . it is the same God at work. Tom Friskney pointed out, “There was a
dealing out of gifts to specific individuals with specific needs for the work
of God. Yet there was a ‘sameness’ in the gifts, for they were all
from the Holy Spirit.”
In his
sovereign wisdom God distributes various gifts to do his work, but all of them
come from the one Spirit. Note that the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit are all specifically mentioned in these verses, showing the
work of the Godhead.
Many Gifts | 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
Paul reminded them of a basic principle: Now to each
one the manifestation of the Spirit is given
for the common good. This sums
up two main points of today’s lesson:
1. God’s Spirit gives gifts to every Christian. 2. Each Christian is intended to use his or her gift to benefit the Christian community. The apostle then listed nine different gifts the Holy Spirit gives to believers:
1. God’s Spirit gives gifts to every Christian. 2. Each Christian is intended to use his or her gift to benefit the Christian community. The apostle then listed nine different gifts the Holy Spirit gives to believers:
• A message of wisdom—the
ability to reveal divine truth, such as the apostles did.
• A message of knowledge—the
ability to teach revealed truth.
• Faith—this is more than the
basic trust that all believers have; rather it is faith that includes divine
power (Matthew 17:19, 20; 1 Corinthians 13:2).
• Gifts of healing—having the
ability to miraculously restore the sick (Acts 4:30; 5:15, 16).
• Miraculous powers—includes
acts of judgment as well as acts of mercy (Acts 13:11; 5:1-10).
• Prophecy—speaking God’s
message without mistake, sometimes including predictions.
• Distinguishing between spirits—determine
whether something said is by divine inspiration, human understanding, or
demonic power.
• Speaking in different kinds of
tongues—this happened in Acts 2 as the apostles spoke God’s
messages in languages they had never learned.
• The interpretation of tongues—the
ability to translate what has been spoken in another language. Some people had
both of the last two gifts.
He
distributes them to each one, just as he
determines. These
special gifts were bestowed by God’s Spirit according to his
perfect wisdom and will. No one should feel personal pride because of a gift (1
Corinthians 4:7). Paul insisted that there be no misuse of the spiritual gifts
that had been given to accomplish God’s purposes.
________
*Lesson based on International Sunday School Lesson, © 2009,
by the Lesson Committee. Scripture
quotations are from the New
International Version ©2011, unless otherwise
indicated.
[1]
Weatherly, Jon et al. “Gifts of the Spirit.”
The KJV
Standard Lesson Commentary, 2014–2015. Ed. Ronald L. Nickelson and
Jonathan Underwood. Vol. 62. Cincinnati, OH:
Standard Publishing, 2014. 305. Print.
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