A Call to Orderly Worship

Subtitle: Doing Good Things in a Chaotic Environment Can Be Counterproductive.

1 Corinthians 14:26-40 (NLT)
²⁶ Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.
²⁷ No more than two or three should speak in tongues. They must speak one at a time, and someone must interpret what they say. ²⁸ But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately.
²⁹ Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said. ³⁰ But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord, the one who is speaking must stop. ³¹ In this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged. ³² Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can take turns. ³³ For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.
³⁴ Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says. ³⁵ If they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings.
³⁶ Or do you think God’s word originated with you Corinthians? Are you the only ones to whom it was given? ³⁷ If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself. ³⁸ But if you do not recognize this, you yourself will not be recognized.
³⁹ So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues. ⁴⁰ But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.

Examine the scriptures:

1 Corinthians 14:26-40 (NLT)
A Call to Orderly Worship
²⁶ Well, my brothers and sisters,

 1 Corinthians 1:2 (NLT)
I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

 Paul is speaking to Christians

 let’s summarize.

The Corinthian church was young and immature and needed structure.

Paul was addressing the abuse of spiritual gifts that was taking place in the church at Corinth.

Paul was addressing the need to eliminate the existing chaos in the church services.

When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said.

A worship service included:

Singing
Teaching (this could include lessons from the Old Testament.
Share a new truth (prophecy)
Speaking in tongues
Interpreting what was said in tongues.

But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.

Spiritual gifts were given to individuals in the church to strengthen the church, not for the personal edification of the individual possessing the spiritual gift.

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NLT)
¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. ¹³ This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

• Spiritual gifts are for strengthening and equipping others to do God’s work.

1 Corinthians 12:7 (NLT)
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

Specific instructions (to eliminate chaos)

²⁷ No more than two or three should speak in tongues. They must speak one at a time, and someone must interpret what they say. ²⁸ But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately.

To eliminate chaos Paul instructions included:

Only two or three persons speaking in tongues.
Speaking in turn, one at a time.
Only speaking in tongues is someone was present who could interpret.
If no interpreters were present, only using tongues in silent prayers.

²⁹ Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said. ³⁰ But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord (during the service), the one who is speaking must stop. ³¹ In this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged. ³² Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can take turns. 

 To eliminate chaos Paul instructions included:

Only two or three were to speak.
Determine if the message was from God.
Defer to someone who receives a revelation from God during the service.
Take turns speaking.

Paul was not telling the church to stop prophesying and he was not telling the church to stop speaking in tongues.  He was wanted the church to practice these gifts in an orderly manner.

³³ For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.

Paul was promoting peace, harmony, order, and clarity in worship. 

• God is not a God of disorder but of peace. 

³⁴ Women should be silent during the church meetings.

See chapter 11 where women were permitted to pray and prophecy.

 It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says. 

Apparently some women were out of order and were asking questions that disrupted the worship service (part of the chaos Paul was addressing,)

³⁵ If they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings.

These instructions appear to be addressing married women.

1 Timothy 2:11-12 (NLT)
¹¹ Women should learn quietly and submissively. ¹² I do not let women teach men or have authority over them.  Let them listen quietly.

Colossians 3:18 (NLT)
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:22 (NLT)
For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

 ³⁶ Or do you think God’s word originated with you Corinthians? Are you the only ones to whom it was given? 

Paul’s authority misunderstood by the Corinthian church.

2 Corinthians 3:5-6 (NLT)
⁵ It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. ⁶ He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit.

 Galatians 1:1 (NLT)
This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.

 ³⁷ If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself. 

 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NLT)
Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.

 ³⁸ But if you do not recognize this, you yourself will not be recognized.

³⁹ So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues. 

⁴⁰ But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.

• Be sure that everything is done properly and in order.

 

Tongues and Prophecy

1 Corinthians 14:1-25 (NLT)

In this passage Paul compares the ability to prophesy with the ability to speak in tongues.

The Corinthian church appeared to have a preoccupation with tongues.

For many Corinthians, seeking personal edification appeared to surpass communicating Biblical truths to others.

Speaking in tongues takes on different forms.   It may be speaking gibberish (for lack of a better term) or it may mean speaking in a foreign language.

Today’s lesson:

1 Corinthians 14:1-25 (NLT)

Tongues and Prophecy

^14:1 Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives—especially the ability to prophesy. ² For if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God, since people won’t be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious. ³ But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them. ⁴ A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church.
⁵ I wish you could all speak in tongues, but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened.
⁶ Dear brothers and sisters, if I should come to you speaking in an unknown language, how would that help you? But if I bring you a revelation or some special knowledge or prophecy or teaching, that will be helpful. ⁷ Even lifeless instruments like the flute or the harp must play the notes clearly, or no one will recognize the melody. ⁸ And if the bugler doesn’t sound a clear call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle?
⁹ It’s the same for you. If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space.
¹⁰ There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning. ¹¹ But if I don’t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me. ¹² And the same is true for you. Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will strengthen the whole church.
¹³ So anyone who speaks in tongues should pray also for the ability to interpret what has been said. ¹⁴ For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.
¹⁵ Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand. ¹⁶ For if you praise God only in the spirit, how can those who don’t understand you praise God along with you? How can they join you in giving thanks when they don’t understand what you are saying? ¹⁷ You will be giving thanks very well, but it won’t strengthen the people who hear you.
¹⁸ I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you. ¹⁹ But in a church meeting I would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language.
²⁰ Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind. ²¹ It is written in the Scriptures:
“I will speak to my own people
through strange languages
and through the lips of foreigners.
But even then, they will not listen to me,”
says the Lord.
²² So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers. ²³ Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy. ²⁴ But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. ²⁵ As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”

Examine the scriptures:

1 Corinthians 14:1-25 (NLT)

Tongues and Prophecy

^14:1 Let love be your highest goal!

 Act out of love for God and others.

This is addressing a specific weakness in the Corinthian Church, but at the same time it is good teaching for all Christians.

The use of Spiritual gifts should always be regulated by love.

• Let love be your highest goal! 

But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives—especially the ability to prophesy. 

 Prophesy:

Teaching and explaining the scripture.

The Bible is all we need to equip us for a life of faith and service. It provides a clear demonstration of God’s intention to restore the broken relationship between Himself and humanity through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior through the gift of faith. No other writings are necessary for this good news to be understood, nor are any other writings required to equip us for a life of faith.

Teaching Biblical truths in a manner that is beneficial to the listener and honors God.

Teach others, using language that is plain and easy to understand.

Desire the ability to communicate Biblical truths.

The Holy Spirit is a crucial component in prophecy, but this is different than speaking in tongues.

1 Corinthians 2:13 (NLT)
When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.

John 14:26 (NLT)
But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

• Value the ability to prophesy.

 ² For if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God, (Refer to verses 13-17) since people won’t be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious. ³ But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them. ⁴ A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church.

Personal benefits vs. benefits of the body.

Spiritual gifts are valuable in proportion to their usefulness.

Philippians 2:4 (NLT)
Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

Many Corinthians were preoccupied with “tongues” vs. sharing the Gospel.

1 Corinthians 10:24 (NLT)
Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.

•  Prophecy strengthens the entire church.

⁵ I wish you could all speak in tongues,

 Paul knows this will not happen.

1 Corinthians 7:7 (NLT)
⁷ But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.

 but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened.

 ⁶ Dear brothers and sisters, if I should come to you speaking in an unknown language, how would that help you? But if I bring you a revelation or some special knowledge or prophecy or teaching, that will be helpful. ⁷ Even lifeless instruments like the flute or the harp must play the notes clearly, or no one will recognize the melody. ⁸ And if the bugler doesn’t sound a clear call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle?
⁹ It’s the same for you. If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space.

If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, you might as well be talking into empty space.

¹⁰ There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning. ¹¹ But if I don’t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me. ¹² And the same is true for you. Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will strengthen the whole church.

• Value spiritual gifts that benefit the whole church. 

¹³ So anyone who speaks in tongues (Verse 2 – if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God, … You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit,) should pray also for the ability to interpret what has been said. ¹⁴ For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.
¹⁵ Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand. ¹⁶ For if you praise God only in the spirit, how can those who don’t understand you praise God along with you? How can they join you in giving thanks when they don’t understand what you are saying? ¹⁷ You will be giving thanks very well, but it won’t strengthen the people who hear you.

• Praying in the Spirit without interpretation will not strengthen the people who hear you.

Praying, singing, and praising in tongues is a very personal and intimate communication with God.

Romans 8:26 (NLT)
²⁶ And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

 Along with praying, singing, and praising in tongues, Paul also prays, sings, and praises using words.

¹⁸ I thank God that I speak in tongues (a form of worship for Paul) more than any of you. ¹⁹ But in a church meeting I would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language.

What cannot be understood, never can edify.

• Teaching requires understanding. 

²⁰ Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind. ²¹ It is written in the Scriptures:
“I will speak to my own people
through strange languages
and through the lips of foreigners.

Uninterrupted tongues.
A curse on Israel when they refused to listen to God.  Here it symbolized God’s rejection.

Following up on the leaders’ mimicking, Isaiah said that if they did not want to listen to his “lecturing” then they would be “lectured” by another people who had a difficult and different speech. Foreign lips would deliver the message of judgment on them. Isaiah was referring to the Assyrians who were advancing on Israel and would soon conquer it. Though God had offered Israel rest and repose they refused to listen to Him and His messenger. Therefore the Lord would turn their mocking back on them and they would be injured… snared, and captured by a people whose language they did not understand.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.

Soon God would speak to Israel through the unintelligible (to the Israelites) language of the Assyrian conquerors. This verse is quoted by Paul in 1 Cor. 14:21 to show that tongues are a sign of rebuke to unbelievers.
Ryrie Study Bible.

But even then, they will not listen to me,”
says the Lord.

 ²² So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers,

 Benefits those who are able to understand Biblical truths.

 not unbelievers. ²³ Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy. ²⁴ But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. ²⁵ As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”

If all of you are prophesying, unbelievers will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. If you are speaking in tongues, unbelievers will think you are crazy.

 

 

RDS PTF                                                                                                         September 19, 2019

It is so good to be here today.  It is exciting beyond words, seeing how God has worked in miraculous ways here at the Redeemer Day school in the past, seeing His work continuing now, and anticipating what God will be doing here at Redeemer Day School in the years to come.

God is working, but He also expects us to be working also.

We all have an important God-given assignment.  And yes this includes homework.

God has given us, as teachers or parents, or both, the paramount responsibility of training children.

Proverbs 22:6 (NLT)
Direct your children onto the right path,
and when they are older, they will not leave it.

I want to talk about the assignment that God has given us.

I will start with four I’s

This is an important assignment.

It is an assignment of great significance.  It is an assignment that will have a profound effect on the success, survival, or well-being of your children.

God uses us as a catalyst for life change. (God brings about life changes, we don’t.)

Intentional
We need to be intentional about carrying out this assignment.

Intriguing
We need to make this assignment intriguing to our children.

Integrated
This assignment needs to be integrated into our everyday lives.

 

We will take a look at our God-given assignment.

We will discuss three outcomes, listed in the Bible that we hope to achieve.

We will look at specific instructions in the scriptures that tell us how to carry out this assignment.

 

Let’s take a look at the RDS scripture verses.

Our school verses are Psalm 78:4-7,
The short version.
 “We will … tell … the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders he has done.” Verses 6 and 7 go on to say, “that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God.”

In context

Psalm 78:1-7 (NLT)
A psalm of Asaph.
¹ O my people, listen to my instructions.
Open your ears to what I am saying,
²     for I will speak to you in a parable.
I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
³     stories we have heard and known,
stories our ancestors handed down to us.
⁴ We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.
⁵ For he issued his laws to Jacob;
he gave his instructions to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to teach them to their children,
⁶ so the next generation might know them—
even the children not yet born—
and they in turn will teach their own children.
⁷ So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
not forgetting his glorious miracles
and obeying his commands.

What is your most important role as a parent?

What is the most important role any of us have?

 but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. Psalm 78:4

Tell how God is working through all of his creation.

Tell how God has worked throughout history.

Old and New Testament Bible stories.  (The Jesus Storybook Bible)
World history, especially the history of America.

 Tell how God is working in your life.  (All of these need to be age-appropriate.)

Tell how God is working in their lives.

*We are The Redeemer Day School, we exist to share the story of Redemption.

 *Explain redemption.

 Teach your children that God loves them.

Teach the Christmas story.

Teach the Easter story.

Romans 5:8 (NLT)
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Unearned – undeserved

1 Corinthians 7:23 (NLT)
God paid a high price for you, …

Romans 6:23 (NLT)
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

⁵ For he issued his laws to Jacob;
he gave his instructions to Israel.

(This is different from verse 4)

God’s instructions on how to live our lives vs. telling the glorious deeds of the Lord.

 

God gave us the Bible.

The Bible is God’s instruction manual – how to live our lives.

Scripture clearly teaches how Christians are to live.

Basic principles that govern our personal lives and relationships.

God’s principles are permanent, unchanging, and universal in nature.

God provides principles for living in a way that protects from harmful thinking and behavior.

We need to use the Scriptures to teach Biblical principles to our children.

 

that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children Psalm 78:6

What do we hope to achieve?

3 outcomes are listed in this passage.

so that they should set their hope on God

Where else can we set our hope?

In our government?
In other people?
In technology?
In institutions?
In education?
In jobs?
In the economy?
In our local church?

and not forget His glorious miracles (the works of God),

Not forget the story of Redemption

Understand God’s plan of salvation.

 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 ESV)

 and obey (keep) his commandments; Psalm 78:7

Help the next generation to understand that biblical principles really do work and are clearly for their benefit.

How do we do this important assignment?

Deuteronomy 6

⁵ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. ⁶ And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 

Here’s the assignment:

⁷ Repeat them (biblical principles) again and again to your children.

⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, ESV

Spontaneous lessons are great,
but there also needs to be intentional instruction.

We need to be intentional about carrying out this assignment.

 Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 

This assignment needs to be integrated into our everyday lives.

Integrated – We do not live a spiritual life separate from our secular life.

 Use repetition

Make use of the many opportunities you have throughout the day.

 ⁸ Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (NLT)

This assignment needs to be Intriguing to our children – arouse their curiosity or interest

Visual aids

 

How do we do this?  This is a big assignment.

It starts with us.

We need the right relationship with God.  We need to love God with every fiber of our being.

⁵ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. ⁶ And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Deuteronomy 6:5-6

We need to be learning from God.

Psalm 86:11 (NLT)
Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor you.

 We need to be spending time in the Word.

We need to be spending time in prayer.

Psalm 19:14 (NLT)
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

 We need to model Christ-like behavior.

What an awesome responsibility.

Luke 6:40 (NLT)
Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher. 

A child is not above his parents, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his parents. (RL)

….will be like his parents….

….will be like you….

 

Four I’s

We have an important assignment.

We have an assignment of great significance.  It is an assignment that will have a profound effect on the success, survival, or well-being of your children.
God uses us as a catalyst for life change. (God brings about life changes, we don’t.)

We need to be intentional about carrying out this assignment.

This assignment needs to be integrated into our everyday lives.

We need to make Biblical principles intriguing to our children.

A fifth “I”

Investment

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be, (Matt 6:19-21).

 

Why do I want tools?  Is it all about displaying my tools in my workshop?

There is something better than owning tools.  It is the finished product produced by the tools.

 1 Corinthians 12:31 – 13:13 NLT            

³¹ So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.

But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

Love Is the Greatest

^13:1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. ³ If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
⁸ Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! ⁹ Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! ¹⁰ But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. ¹² Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

Examine the scriptures:

1 Corinthians 12:31 – 13:13 NLT
³¹ So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.

• We don’t choose our spiritual gifts. God chooses for us.

1 Corinthians 12:7 (NLT)
⁷ A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

1 Corinthians 12:11 (NLT)
¹¹ It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

1 Corinthians 12:28 (NLT)
²⁸ Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:

Meaning:
Stop desiring the showy gifts,
appreciate the gift(s) God has given you, and
use your gift to build up the church. 

• Use your spiritual gift correctly.

1 Corinthians 14:12 (NLT)
… seek those (special abilities the Spirit gives) that will strengthen the whole church.

 1 Corinthians 14:12 (CEB)
The same holds true for you: since you are ambitious for spiritual gifts, use your ambition to try to work toward being the best at building up the church.

1 Corinthians 14:12 (ESV)
So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

 Ephesians 4:11-13 (NLT)
¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.  (more of this passage later)

 Focus on the reason for spiritual gifts. 

• Spiritual gifts should be used to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

Something greater than spiritual gifts.

The way of love.

1 Corinthians 14:1 (NLT)
Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives—especially the ability to prophesy.

 Love Is the Greatest

^13:1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I had the gift of prophecy (bringing God’s truth to people), and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. ³ If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

• Spiritual gifts without love gain nothing.

The word love was not admired and thus seldom used in Greek literature.

The word love occurs 759 times in the NLT

⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

A description of Jesus.  (Substitute “Jesus” for the word “love”.)

The fruit of the Spirit. (A gift from God.)

Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 

Love:

is patient
is kind
is not jealous
is not boastful
is not proud
is not rude
does not demand its own way
is not irritable
keeps no record of being wronged
does not rejoice about injustice
rejoices whenever the truth wins out
never gives up
never loses faith
is always hopeful
endures through every circumstance

 ⁸ Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! ⁹ Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! ¹⁰ But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

• Knowledge is partial and incomplete.
• Spiritual gifts are a temporary blessing in an imperfect age.
• Spiritual gifts will become useless.

The tools are no longer needed after the task has been completed.

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NLT) (continued from earlier in this lesson)
¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. ¹³ This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

• Love will last forever

¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. ¹² Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

 Your goal should not be obtaining the tool(s).  Your goal should be the finished product.

Understand the place of spiritual gifts.

Expression of perfect love toward God and each other.

 

Use Your Spiritual Gift(s) Correctly

Previous lessons –

           Spiritual Gifts – Part 1

• • • • • All Christians have at least one spiritual gift.
        • Spiritual gifts are given to each of us so we can help others and bring glory to God.
        • We don’t all have the same spiritual gifts.
        • We do not choose our spiritual gift(s).

Spiritual Gifts – Part 2

• • • • • No believer should think of himself or his gift as inferior to another believer’s gift.
        • God has put each part just where he wants it.
        • Every believer has the gift(s) that God wants him to have.
        • Many different parts make up one body.
        • Help other believers identify their spiritual gift(s).

Today’s lesson:

Use Your Spiritual Gift(s) Correctly

1 Corinthians 12:21-31 NLT
²¹ The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
²² In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. ²³ And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, ²⁴ while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. ²⁵ This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
²⁷ All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.²⁸ Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:
first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.
²⁹ Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? ³⁰ Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! ³¹ So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.
But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

Examine the scriptures:

1 Corinthians 12:21-31 NLT
²¹ The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

 This may have been a problem in the Corinthian church. (Flaunting spiritual gifts.) Some in positions of leadership were looking down on others in the church.

•  Every spiritual gift is important.
• No part of the body is any less than any other part of the body. (repeated from last lesson)
• No believer should think of himself or his gift as inferior to another believer’s gift. (repeated)
• We need each other!

²² In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. ²³ And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 

Paul may have been referring to those in the church with “behind the scenes” responsibilities. (Today it might be the assistants.)

• Some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. (Carefully protect those parts.)
• Some spiritual gifts are more “public” than others.

²⁴ while the more honorable parts do not require this special care.

 So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 

God, not man, assigned the gifts.  (Repeating verse 18)

• God has put each part just where he wants it. (repeated from the last lesson)
• Every believer has the gift(s) that God wants him to have. (repeated from the last lesson)
• God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it

²⁵ This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 

All are essential

1 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)
Divisions in the Church
I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

Philippians 2:2-4 (NLT)
² … make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

1 Corinthians 10:24 (NLT)
²⁴ Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. 

• There should be no division in the body, its parts should have equal concern for each other.

²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

A stomach ache affects the entire body.

²⁷ All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

²⁸ Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:

 first are apostles,*
second are prophets,*
third are teachers,*
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.

God appointed gifts.

*These may have been considered to be a lesser role by the Corinthians.
The Corinthian Church may not have respected their spiritual leaders appropriately.

²⁹ Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? ³⁰ Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! 

³¹ So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.  (More on this in the next lesson)

 Meaning: Stop desiring the showy gifts.

•  Use your spiritual gift correctly.

1 Corinthians 14:12 (NLT)
… seek those (special abilities the Spirit gives) that will strengthen the whole church.

 Ephesians 4:11-13  (NLT)
¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. ¹³ This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

•  Spiritual gifts should be used to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

Something greater than spiritual gifts.
Chapter 13

We Have An Important Assignment

Repetition (food)

Every morning I have a bowl of cereal, a banana, orange juice, and coffee.

I never say, “I already had breakfast this week, I don’t need breakfast today.”

We all need to refuel daily.

Even more importantly we all need to refuel our spiritual lives on a daily basis.

Matthew 4:4 (NLT)
But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,
‘People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

 Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

 Psalm 16:11  (NLT)
You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever.

A healthy diet may sometimes be repetitious, but a healthy diet is always nourishing.

We have an important assignment.

God has given us, as teachers or parents, or both, the paramount responsibility of training children.

Proverbs 22:6 (NLT)
Direct your children onto the right path,
and when they are older, they will not leave it.

I want to share some reminders of what our assignment is all about. (This is something most of you are probably already doing.)

Four I’s

Important (Important assignment)

Intentional

Intriguing

Integrated

Important (Important assignment) – of great significance or value; likely to have a profound effect on success, survival, or well-being.

God uses you as a catalyst for life change. (God brings about life changes, you don’t.)

Take a look at the RDS scripture verses.

Our school verses are Psalm 78:4-7,

The short version.

 “We will … tell … the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders he has done.” Verses 6 and 7 go on to say, “that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God.”

In context

Psalm 78:1-7  (NLT)
A psalm of Asaph.
¹ O my people, listen to my instructions.
Open your ears to what I am saying,
²     for I will speak to you in a parable.
I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
³     stories we have heard and known,
stories our ancestors handed down to us.
⁴ We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.
⁵ For he issued his laws to Jacob;
he gave his instructions to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to teach them to their children,
⁶ so the next generation might know them—
even the children not yet born—
and they in turn will teach their own children.
⁷ So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
not forgetting his glorious miracles
and obeying his commands.

What is your most important role as a teacher?

What is the most important role any of us have?

but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. Psalm 78:4

Intentional – deliberate, calculated, conscious, done on purpose, intended,

Tell how God is working through all of his creation.

Explain how God has created the earth, sea, and sky.  Talk about flowers, trees, bugs, the sun, moon, and stars, the oceans ….

Tell how God has worked throughout history.

Old and New Testament Bible stories.  (The Jesus Storybook Bible)

 World history, especially the history of America.

 Intriguing – arousing one’s curiosity or interest

 Many of our presidents had a reverence for the Lord.  I will mention four by name.

In a Thanksgiving Proclamation issued by President George Washington, at the request of Congress, on October 3, 1789, Washington stated, “It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.”

John Adams, our second president stated, “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”

In 1788, James Madison, our fourth president said, “The belief in God all powerful wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, …

In God We Trust was first inscribed on U.S. coins in 1864 under President Lincoln (our 16^th president).

Many founding fathers were “Big on Jesus”:

John Dickinson (signed the Constitution, served as governor of Pennsylvania and Delaware)
“Rendering thanks to my Creator for my existence and station among His works, for my birth in a country enlightened by the Gospel and enjoying freedom, and for all His other kindnesses, to Him I resign myself, humbly confiding in His goodness and in His mercy through Jesus Christ for the events of eternity.”

“Governments could not give the rights essential to happiness… We claim them from a higher source: from the King of kings, and Lord of all the earth.”

Samuel Adams (Signer of the Declaration of Independence, ratified the Constitution, and served as governor of Massachusetts).
“I . . . [rely] upon the merits of Jesus Christ for a pardon of all my sins.”

A Proclamation For a Day of Public Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer signed by Samuel Adams included the following: “the peaceful and glorious reign of our Divine Redeemer may be known and enjoyed throughout the whole family of mankind”; “we may with one heart and voice humbly implore His gracious and free pardon through Jesus Christ, supplicating His Divine aid . . . [and] above all to cause the religion of Jesus Christ, in its true spirit, to spread far and wide till the whole earth shall be filled with His glory”; with true contrition of heart to confess their sins to God and implore forgiveness through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior.”

Elias Boudinot (Served as President of Congress, signed the Peace Treaty of Paris to end the War for Independence, framer of the Bill of Rights, and respondent to Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason with The Age of Revelation).
“Let us enter on this important business under the idea that we are Christians on whom the eyes of the world are now turned… Let us earnestly call and beseech Him, for Christ’s sake, to preside in our councils. . . . We can only depend on the all-powerful influence of the Spirit of God, Whose Divine aid and assistance it becomes us as a Christian people most devoutly to implore. Therefore I move that some minister of the Gospel be requested to attend this Congress every morning . . . in order to open the meeting with prayer.”

Benjamin Franklin (Signed the Declaration of independence, attended the Constitutional Convention, signed the Constitution.)
“As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and His religion as He left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see.”

Other names we could mention:

Alexander Hamilton, John Hancock, Patrick Henry,
John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
George Mason, John Witherspoon,

These men were not necessarily Christians, but they did value Christian principles.

 

Tell them how God is working in your life.  (All of these need to be age appropriate.)

Tell them how God is working in their lives.

*We are The Redeemer Day School, we exist to share the story of Redemption.

 *Explain redemption.

 An act of God, by which He Himself pays as a ransom the price of human sin, which has outraged His holiness.

To recover ownership of by paying a specified sum.

To set free; rescue or ransom.

To save from a state of sinfulness and its consequences.

To buy back

Redeemed

Redeemed–how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child, and forever, I am.

Redemption in Scripture.

Revelation 5:9 (NLT)
And they sang a new song with these words:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and break its seals and open it.
For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.

God paid a high price for you, …  (1 Corinthians 7:23 NLT)

Romans 5:8 (NLT)
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Unearned – undeserved

Romans 6:23 (NLT)
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 1:7-8 (NLT)
⁷ He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. ⁸ He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

⁵ For he issued his laws to Jacob;
he gave his instructions to Israel.

(This is different from verse 4)

Basic principles that govern our personal lives and relationships.

Biblical principles – Biblical truths

The Bible is God’s instruction manual – how to live our lives.

Scripture clearly teaches how Christians are to live.

God’s principles are permanent, unchanging, and universal in nature.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 New Living Translation (NLT)
¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. ¹⁷ God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

Isaiah 48:17-18 New Living Translation (NLT)
¹⁷ This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is good for you
and leads you along the paths you should follow.
¹⁸ Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river
and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.

God provides principles for living in a way that protects from harmful thinking and behavior.

Instructions on how to live our lives.

Character qualities

Work at it with all of your heart ….   Hard work

Character: obedience, virtue, diligence, discernment, dependability, compassion, kindness

 

that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children Psalm 78:6

Romans 10:14-15 (NLT)
¹⁴ But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 

 ¹⁵ And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

Why tell this story?

3 reasons

Intentional – deliberate, calculated, conscious, done on purpose, intended,

 

so that they should set their hope in God

Where else can we set our hope?

In our government?

in other people?

in technology?

in institutions?

in education?

in jobs?

in the economy?

in our local church

 and not forget the works of God,

Not forget the story of Redemption

Understand God’s plan of salvation.

 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 ESV)

 but keep his commandments; Psalm 78:7

Help the next generation to understand that biblical principles really do work and are clearly for our benefit.

 

How do we do this?

Deuteronomy 6

⁵ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. ⁶ And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 

Here’s the assignment:

⁷ Repeat them again and again to your children.

⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, ESV

Spontaneous lessons are great,
but there also needs to be intentional instruction.

Intentional – deliberate, calculated, conscious, done on purpose, intended,

Family devotions are powerful.  I remember my father reading scripture every night at the dinner table.  I don’t remember the details of the scripture, I just remember that it was important.

  Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 

Integrated – to incorporate into a larger unit.  We do not a spiritual life separate from our secular life.

Use repetition

Make use of the many opportunities you have throughout the day.

 ⁸ Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (NLT)

Visual aids

Plaque:  As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

How do we do this?  This is a big assignment.

 

 

It starts with us.

We need the right relationship with God.  We need to love God with every fiber of our being.

We need to be learning from God.

⁵ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. ⁶ And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Deuteronomy 6:5-6

Psalm 86:11  (NLT)
Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor you.

Psalm 19:14  (NLT)
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

What an awesome responsibility.

Luke 6:40 (NLT)
Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.

A child is not above his parents, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his parents. (RL)

….will be like his parents….

….will be like you….

Four I’s

Important (Important assignment) – of great significance or value; likely to have a profound effect on success, survival, or well-being.

Intentional – deliberate, calculated, conscious, done on purpose, intended,

Integrated – to incorporate into a larger unit.
Not a spiritual life and a secular life.

Intriguing – arousing one’s curiosity or interest

A fifth “I”

Investment

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be, (Matt 6:19-21).

Be sure to use your spiritual gift(s) correctly.

1 Corinthians 12:21-31 NLT

²¹ The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
²² In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. ²³ And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, ²⁴ while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. ²⁵ This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
²⁷ All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.²⁸ Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:
first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.
²⁹ Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? ³⁰ Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! ³¹ So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.
But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

Examine the scriptures:

1 Corinthians 12:21-31 NLT

²¹ The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

 This may have been a problem in the Corinthian church. (Flaunting spiritual gifts.) Some in positions of leadership were looking down on others in the church.

• Every spiritual gift is important.

• No part of the body is any less than any other part of the body. (repeated from the last lesson)

• No believer should think of himself or his gift as inferior to another believer’s gift. (repeated)

²² In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. ²³ And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 

Paul may have been referring to those in the church with “behind the scenes” responsibilities. (Today it might be the administrative assistants or secretaries.)

• Some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.

• Some spiritual gifts are more “public” than others. 

²⁴ while the more honorable parts do not require this special care.

 So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 

God, not man, assigned the gifts.  (Repeating verse 18)

• God has put each part just where he wants it. (repeated from the last lesson)

• Every believer has the gift(s) that God wants him to have. (repeated from the last lesson)

• God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it.

²⁵ This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 

All are essential

1 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)
Divisions in the Church
I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

Philippians 2:2-4 (NLT)
² … make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

1 Corinthians 10:24 (NLT)
²⁴ Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. 

• There should be no division in the body, its parts should have equal concern for each other. 

²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

A stomach ache affects the entire body.

²⁷ All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

²⁸ Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:
first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.

God appointed gifts.

The Corinthian Church may not have respected their spiritual leaders (Paul) appropriately.

²⁹ Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? ³⁰ Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! 

³¹ So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. 

• Use your spiritual gift correctly.

1 Corinthians 14:12 (NLT)
… seek those (special abilities the Spirit gives) that will strengthen the whole church.

 Ephesians 4:11-13  (NLT)
¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. ¹³ This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 

• Spiritual gifts should be used to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

Something greater than spiritual gifts.

Chapter 13 (next year)

 

 

Spiritual Gifts – Part 2

1 Corinthians 12:12-20 NLT

One Body with Many Parts
¹² The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. ¹³ Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
¹⁴ Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. ¹⁵ If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
¹⁸ But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. ¹⁹ How strange a body would be if it had only one part! ²⁰ Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.

 Examine the scriptures:

1 Corinthians 12:12-20 NLT
One Body with Many Parts
¹² The human body

 Used as an analogy for the church.

Scripture uses the human body as an analogy for the Church of Christ.

has many parts,

Necessary diversity

 but the many parts make up one whole body.

Many parts working together.

Dependent on each other.

One unit

So it is with the body of Christ. 

Many diverse gifts working together.

Dependent on each other.

 ¹³ Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free.

 But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit,

• At salvation all believers receive the Holy Spirit and become a part of Christ’s body, the church.

John 1:12 (NLT)
¹² But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

Romans 8:14-17 (NLT)
¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.¹⁵ So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

 and we all share the same Spirit.

 ¹⁴ Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 

 ¹⁵ If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? 

• No part of the body is any less than any other part of the body.

• No believer should think of himself or his gift as inferior to another believer’s gift. 

¹⁸ But our bodies have many parts,

 and God has put each part just where he wants it.  

• God has put each part just where he wants it.

• Every believer has the gift(s) that God wants him to have.

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
¹⁰ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Psalm 139:14 (NIV)
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

Genesis 1:26-27 (NLT)
²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
²⁷ So God created human beings in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

¹⁹ How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 

 ²⁰ Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.  

• Many different parts make up one body.

 

Challenge:

• Help other believers identify their spiritual gift(s).

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NLT)
So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

 Tell other believers how you see God working in their lives.

Pray for each other.

Colossians 1:9-10 (NLT)
⁹ So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰ Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

Order at the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:17-34 NLT

Order at the Lord’s Supper
¹⁷ But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. ¹⁸ First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. ¹⁹ But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized!
²⁰ When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. ²¹ For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk.²² What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this!
²³ For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread ²⁴ and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”²⁶ For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.
²⁷ So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.²⁸ That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. ²⁹ For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. ³⁰ That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.
³¹ But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. ³² Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
³³ So, my dear brothers and sisters, when you gather for the Lord’s Supper, wait for each other. ³⁴ If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won’t bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together. I’ll give you instructions about the other matters after I arrive.

 Examine the scriptures:

The Corinthian Church was having a great deal of difficulty doing communion right.

1 Corinthians 11:17-34 NLT
Order at the Lord’s Supper
¹⁷ But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you.

 Hebrews 12:11 (NLT)
No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

 Proverbs 13:24 (NLT)
Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children.
Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.

 2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT)
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 

• Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.

 For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. 

 What is communion?

Communion

At Corinth, an experience meant to build up the church was having the opposite effect.  This was not o.k.

Paul needed to address some serious abuses in worship.

¹⁸ First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. 

The church was divided at a celebration which was meant to express unity.

Paul appealed for unity in the Corinthian Church.

1 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)
Divisions in the Church
¹⁰ I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

 1 Corinthians 3:3 (NLT)
… for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 

• The division in the Corinthian Church carried over into their participation of the Lord’s Supper.

 

¹⁹ But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized!

Divisions:
to make it clear who is genuine. CEB
to show who the real believers are! ERV
they who are genuine and of approved fitness may become evident and plainly recognized among you. AMPC
to show which of you have God’s approval. NIV
in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. ESV

• Genuine believers should be easily identifiable as Children of God.

Matthew 7:16 (NLT)
You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.

 Abuses in the Corinthian Church communion services.

 ²⁰ When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper.

 Instead of celebrating communion, church members were feasting and drinking.

  ²¹ For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk.

 Some individuals were eating meals and getting drunk while others were going hungry.

 ²² What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this! 

• The Corinthian Church was disgracing God’s church and shaming the poor by the way they did communion.

 Communion, a very sacred event.

 ²³ For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread ²⁴ and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”²⁶ For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. 

• Communion is a reminder of the sacrifice of the LORD Jesus Christ.

 ²⁷ So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

 Christians need to take communion seriously.

• Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

 ²⁸ That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.  

• Believers should examine themselves, their heart, mind, and motives, before taking communion.

 ²⁹ For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. 

 ³⁰ That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.

• Violating the Lord’s Supper has serious consequences.

Sin has serious consequences.

Psalm 32:1-5 (NLT)
A psalm of David.
¹ Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
² Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
³ When I refused to confess my sin,
my body wasted away,
and I groaned all day long.
⁴ Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
⁵ Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. 

 ³¹ But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. 

1 John 1:9 (NLT)
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

 ³² Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world. 

• The deplorable behavior of the Corinthians did not cost them their salvation.

 ³³ So, my dear brothers and sisters, when you gather for the Lord’s Supper, wait for each other. ³⁴ If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won’t bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together. I’ll give you instructions about the other matters after I arrive.

Instructions for Public Worship

Disclaimer: There are various interpretations of this passage.

1 Corinthians 11:4-16 NLT

⁴ A man dishonors his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. ⁵ But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head. ⁶ Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering.
⁷ A man should not wear anything on his head when worshiping, for man is made in God’s image and reflects God’s glory. And woman reflects man’s glory. ⁸ For the first man didn’t come from woman, but the first woman came from man. ⁹ And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man. ¹⁰ For this reason, and because the angels are watching, a woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority.
¹¹ But among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. ¹² For although the first woman came from man, every other man was born from a woman, and everything comes from God.
¹³ Judge for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without covering her head? ¹⁴ Isn’t it obvious that it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair? ¹⁵ And isn’t long hair a woman’s pride and joy? For it has been given to her as a covering. ¹⁶ But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God’s other churches.

Examine the scriptures:

Review:

1 Corinthians 11:3 (NLT)
But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

Paul was addressing the “Everything is permissible”,   we can dress and do as we please mentality.

1 Corinthians 11:4-16 NLT

Begin with verse 16.

¹⁶ But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God’s other churches. 

• Paul based many of his comments on common customs in the churches and in the culture. 

 ⁴ A man dishonors his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. 

Praying according to pagan customs.

Roman men sometimes covered their heads while worshipping pagan gods.

Out of respect to Christ (God), a man prayed with his head uncovered.

Or

This signifies a different role for men than for women.

⁵ But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head,

The preponderance of evidence points toward the public head covering of women as the universal custom in the first century in both the Jewish culture and the Greco-Roman culture.

A symbol of a subordinate relationship to her husband.

In the first century Roman society, the woman’s head covering was a sign of marriage.

Today women wear rings to show that they are married.

A married woman praying with her head uncovered was a sign of loose morals.

For this is the same as shaving her head. 

• In the first century in both the Jewish culture and the Greco-Roman culture it was a disgrace for a woman to pray in public without covering her head.

⁶ Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair!

 In that culture, only a prostitute or feminist would shave her head.

 But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering.

• Corinthian women showed respect for and submission to their husband by covering their heads during public worship.

 ⁷ A man should not wear anything on his head when worshiping, for man is made in God’s image and reflects God’s glory. And woman reflects man’s glory. ⁸ For the first man didn’t come from woman, but the first woman came from man. ⁹ And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man.  

• The roles of men and women differ.

 1 Corinthians 11:3 (NLT)
But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

  ¹⁰ For this reason, and because the angels are watching,

Matthew 18:10 (NLT)
¹⁰ “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.

Ephesians 3:10 (NLT)
¹⁰ God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)
¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 

• Our actions do not go unnoticed.

 a woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority.

• Corinthian women showed respect for and submission to their husband by covering their heads during public worship.

¹¹ But among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. 

Husbands and wives are dependent on each other.  This is not a display of superiority.
There is no superiority.  Just different roles.
One is not more important than the other.
One was not more spiritual than the other.

• Husbands and wives are dependent on each other.

 ¹² For although the first woman came from man, every other man was born from a woman, and everything comes from God.

 ¹³ Judge for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without covering her head? 

 ¹⁴ Isn’t it obvious that it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair? 

 ¹⁵ And isn’t long hair a woman’s pride and joy? For it has been given to her as a covering. 

 Deuteronomy 22:5 (NLT)
⁵ “A woman must not put on men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing. Anyone who does this is detestable in the sight of the Lord your God. 

• Simple interpretation. A man should not try to look like a girl and a woman should not try to look like a boy.

¹⁶ But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God’s other churches.

I simply say that we have no other custom than this.

Throwing off the head covering was an act of insubordination.

Maintain their distinctive feminine hairdos.

When custom dictated, women should wear a head covering.

 

Related scripture not tied to customs.

1 Timothy 2:9-10 (NLT)
⁹ And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. ¹⁰ For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.

1 Peter 3:1-5 (NLT)
¹ In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over ² by observing your pure and reverent lives.
³ Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. ⁴ You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. ⁵ This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands.