(Back
to Study Home Page) (Sermon
June 17, 2007)
(Back
to Sermons Home Page) (Back
to Shultz Home Page)
June 17, 2007 – 1 Corinthians
12.31-13.10 This study guide is based on 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Open It
1. What
is one unique talent or ability you have (whether useful or pointless)?
2. How
did you find out what your greatest interests were?
3. Why
did Paul give the Corinthians advice about spiritual gifts? (12:1)
4. What
was the condition of the Corinthians when they were pagans? (12:2)
5. Why
can someone speaking by the Spirit of God not say, "Jesus be cursed"?
(12:3)
6. What
is the only way a person can say, "Jesus is Lord"? (12:3)
7. What
common element exists in the diversity of gifts, service, and working? (12:4-6)
8. Who
works through the various gifts Christians have? (12:4-6)
9. Who
is given the manifestation of the Spirit? (12:7)
10.
For whose good is the manifestation of
the Spirit given? (12:7)
11. What
spiritual gifts did Paul describe? (12:8-10)
12.Who
determines how the gifts are distributed? (12:11)
Get It
13. How
are we ignorant about spiritual gifts today?
14.What
spiritual gifts have you seen used in your local church?
15. What
happens when Christians do not use their gifts?
16.What
person you know would be encouraged by the knowledge that God gives a spiritual
gift to every Christian?
17. What
is your spiritual gift?
18.If
you do not know what your spiritual gift is, what can you do to find out?
19.How
can you use your spiritual gift for the good of the people in your church?
20.
What spiritual gifts have you seen in
the lives of other Christians?
21.What
can you learn from other Christians who faithfully use their spiritual gifts?
22.
What Christian discouraged by failure
can you challenge to use the gifts God has given him or her?
Apply It
23.
How can you use your spiritual gift
this week for the benefit of others in your church?
24.
What observation could you share with
another Christian to help him or her identify or use a spiritual gift?
1 Cor.
12:1ff: The spiritual gifts given to each
person by the Holy Spirit are special abilities that are to be used to minister
to the needs of the body of believers. This chapter is not an exhaustive list
of spiritual gifts (see Romans 12; Ephes. 4; 1 Peter 4:10-11 for more
examples). There are many gifts, people have different gifts, some people have
more than one gift, and one gift is not superior to another. All spiritual
gifts come from the Holy Spirit, and their purpose is to build up Christ's
body, the church.
12:1ff Instead
of building up and unifying the Corinthian church, the issue of spiritual gifts
was splitting it. Spiritual gifts had become symbols of spiritual power,
causing rivalries because some people thought they were more
"spiritual" than others because of their gifts. This was a terrible
misuse of spiritual gifts because their purpose is always to help the church
function more effectively, not to divide it. We can be divisive if we insist on
using our gift our own way without being sensitive to others. We must never use
gifts as a means of manipulating others or serving our own self-interest.
1 Cor. 12:3: Anyone
can claim to speak for God, and the world is full of false teachers. Paul gives
us a test to help us discern whether or not a messenger is really from God:
does he or she confess Christ as Lord? Don't naively accept the words of all
who claim to speak for God; test their credentials by finding out what they
teach about Christ.
1 Cor. 12:9: All
Christians have faith. Some, however, have the spiritual gift of faith, which
is an unusual measure of trust in the Holy Spirit's power.
1 Cor.
12:10-11: "Prophecy" is not just a
prediction about the future; it can also mean preaching God's Word with power.
"Distinguishing between spirits" means the ability to discern whether
a person who claims to speak for God is actually doing so, or is speaking by an
evil spirit. (Paul discusses tongues and their interpretation in more detail in
1 Cor. 14.) No matter what gift (s) a person has, each gift is given by the
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit decides which gifts each one of us should have. We
are responsible to use and sharpen our gifts, but we can take no credit for
what God has freely given us.
(Back
to Study Home Page) (Sermon
June 17, 2007)
(Back
to Sermons Home Page) (Back
to Shultz Home Page)