Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20070708.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
1 Corinthians: Discipling Believers With Very Sinful Backgrounds
VII. Overcoming Sinful Dishonor And Disorder
E. Heeding God's Sovereign Composition Of The Church's Ministries
(1 Corinthians 12:4-13)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

One of the most nagging concerns Bible-obeying believers can have is the doubt that they might not be in the ministry location God wants for them, or that they will fail to perform the right task God has for them. At times this issue may involve a question on a ministry in a local church, a question about whether it aligns with God's will:

(1) Some Christians hold that unless one has "spoken in tongues", he does not have the Holy Spirit, that he is thus not a true Christian, making his ministry futile!

(2) Many other Christians believe that though one can be saved even if he has not spoken in tongues, he has thus not received the "Second Blessing" of the Holy Spirit, and ministers on a lower plane than what God wills! (cf. Charles Hunter, "Receiving The Baptism With The Spirit," Charisma & Christian Life, July 1989, p. 53-55) !

(3) Even in churches like our own where we do not teach that tongues speaking is for today, we can experience nagging doubts about whether we are in God's will for us regarding our ministry efforts:

(a) Several believers I know have wondered, or others have told them, that they might not be in the right ministry assignment!

(b) Often believers wonder if God wants them to serve Him in a local church other than the one they currently attend.

(c) Some of us have wondered if we as a Church are headed in the right direction in one or more of our group ministries! Questions have risen about Vacation Bible School, Choir, or a Sunday School Class or some other ministry regarding God's will in the effort.



So, we may ask, "How do I as an individual believer or WE as a Church who WANT to obey the Lord deal with DOUBTS or QUESTIONS on properly FITTING into God's plan of service?"



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: " I have doubts about whether my ministry, or even an effort in our church is God's will for me or for us! Any suggestions?!"
  1. To offset doubts on "tongues speaking" and salvation, in our past study in 1 Corinthians 12:3, we saw one is saved if he CONFESSES CHRIST as LORD ! Salvation is NOT based on "tongues speaking" or any other work, but on FAITH in Christ ALONE, Eph. 2:8-9!
  2. To offset doubts on a "Second Blessing and tongues speaking" to please God, 1 Corinthians 12:13 in the Bible context reveals there is NO Bible BASIS for a "Second Blessing" with "tongues speaking":
    1. The Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Stanley M. Burgess & Gary B. McGee, eds., 1988), p. 40 claims that a first blessing occurs "by one Spirit" in 1 Corinthians 12:13 KJV when the Holy Spirit baptizes believers into Christ at salvation, but that Acts 1:4-5 and 11:16 KJV teach a "Second Blessing" LATER occurs "with the Holy Ghost" when Christ baptizes believers into the Holy Spirit!
    2. Yet, the original Greek New Testament has the same preposition, "'en" in all three of these key prepositional phrases , and it can mean "by" OR "with", so there is no Biblical basis in the original text for a "Second Blessing" belief! ( U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966 ed., p. 416, 460, 606; Moulton & Milligan, The Vocab. of the Grk. N. T., p. 209-210).
    3. Rather, as Ephesians 1:3 reveals, every believer at salvation is blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ!
  3. To handle doubts on a Bible-heeding believer's or his Bible-heeding Church's ministry efforts, 1 Corinthians 12:4-13 reveals God SOVEREIGNLY equips and arranges each one in Christ's Body so that EACH ONE is positioned to do God's EXACT will:
    1. As we recall that every true Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit by evidence of his confession of Christ as God (cf. 1 Cor. 12:3), Paul further revealed in 1 Corinthians 12:4 that the Holy Spirit assigns spiritual enablings or "gifts" for Christian service to each believer.
    2. Then, having thus gifted each one, God assigns the believer a task in a certain locale in the Body of Christ to do His will there, 1 Cor. 12:5:
      1. The word "administrations" (KJV) ["kinds of service" NIV; "varieties of service" ESV] is from the Greek term, diakonion, and means a ministry assignment as in the case of Colossians 4:17, cf. Moulton & Geden, Conc. to the Grk. Test., 1974, p. 202-203.
      2. The Holy Spirit under Christ's lead (Jn. 16:13; Eph. 1:22-23) then sovereignly assigns the believer a task in a locale in Christ's Body:
        1. Though the term, "Body of Christ" is often used in the universal sense of all believers (1 Cor. 12:13), in 1 Corinthians 12:27, it is used of the local Christian Church at Corinth!
        2. Thus, God arranges spiritually gifted believers to serve not only in a universal sense, but to do His will in a local church group!
    3. Now, having gifted and assigned each believer a task in a local body, God gives him a spiritual empowering that he might succeed there, 12:6: the word "operations" (KJV) ["working" NIV; "activities" ESV] is from the Greek term, energamatown, and means "energizing of the gifts," cf. Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to 1 Cor. 12:6.
    4. [For example, one might receive the gift of "teacher" (1 Cor. 12:28) with the ministry assignment to teach at the Colossian Church [like Archippus did (Col. 4:17)] with the energizing power of the "word of wisdom," 1 Cor. 12:8a [the ability to apply God's truth to life well!]
    5. Now, the variety of gifts, ministry assignments and energizing powers are all from the same God Who empowers each believer in the Body with his unique ability for the Church's common good, 1 Cor. 12:4-7.
    6. After a brief view in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 of some of the powers and gifts involved, Paul held that no believer sovereignly chooses his gift, assignment or enabling; rather, all of these things are apportioned to him by the sovereign will of God the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12:11!
    7. Indeed, the Body of Christ is a unit though it is composed of a vast tapestry of people who are variously gifted, assigned and empowered, producing a massive worldwide ministry network, 1 Cor. 12:12.
    8. Thus, in one Holy Spirit were all believers baptized into one Body, regardless of their various backgrounds or social status, 1 Cor. 12:13.
Application: (1) May we trust in Christ to be saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, John 3:16; Rom. 8:9b. (2) Then, may we obey Scripture, knowing God SOVEREIGNLY makes us do exactly what He wills whether we perceive it or not from OUR viewpoint!

Lesson: When one trusts in Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit fully and permanently comes to indwell him and baptizes him into the Body of Christ as evidenced in his ability to confess Christ as God. The Spirit sovereignly gifts him, assigns him a task in a local body and energizes him to succeed there as a needed part of the whole! Thus, even if they do not fully perceive it all, each Bible-obeying believer and Bible-obeying local church does EXACTLY what God wants under God's vast oversight!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

This sermon was vividly illustrated in our recent V. B. S. effort.

Due to various issues, some of the V. B. S. staff expressed concerned about whether we were going in the right direction with that effort. Yes, the staff worked very well together, but there still existed a question about the overall ministry direction.

While this overall question was being raised, on the first day of V. B. S,. as I had come upstairs from my study to the sanctuary for my part in the closing, a girl who was visiting asked my wife who led the music if she could get a drink. To keep order, Nadine had replied, "We'll be here for just a few minutes -- then you can get a drink!"

I knew my wife's dilemma! However, I also felt badly for the girl who had signaled in her body language that she was truly thirsty. I also saw the opportunity to meet her need, and recalled that doing so fit Christ's Mark 9:41 directive about giving a cup of water to others in His name. Thus, leaving my seat to get a cup from Fellowship Hall, I returned, and, to sustain the order, crept up to the girl and gave her the cup! She was surprised, but took the cup and quickly drank the water!

When it was my turn to stand up to give a few closing remarks, an idea suddenly entered my mind, so I said, "I just gave this girl a drink of water since she was thirsty, but did you know that Jesus is the Water of Life? (John 7:37-38) We need to drink from Him by trusting in Him that we might have eternal life and be spiritually satisfied!"

Later, as she was being driven home by Liz Apruzzese, that same girl asked Liz about Christ, and Liz led her to the Lord!

So, as everyone in our Vacation Bible School ministry was involved performing their assignments with the opportunities God had given them, though there were lingering doubts about the larger V. B. S. picture, God blessed in our ministry efforts! Why? We were each doing what God wanted us to do in His grand plan, and that whether we could perceive it or not even amid our questions about the ministry!

Now, God may STILL want us to adjust our ministry efforts with V. B. S. -- that different staff members have raised that question the last several years is important, but God must be the One Who makes any new direction He wants clear to us all. Meanwhile, OUR focus should be to TRUST His oversight, and GO AHEAD and SERVE Him with the OPPORTUNITIES we are presented that our GIFTS can meet. GOD will then BLESS!