FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 12-13

Unity: The Gift of the Spirit – Continued

Please review 1 Corinthians 12:1-13 for background to this section.

From Last Lesson: We need to remember that God is sovereign and while the gifts named are adequate for the ministry of the church, God is not limited to these lists. He may give other gifts as He pleases.

The word apostle means “one sent under commission,” and refers primarily to the 12 Apostles and Paul. These men had a special commission, along with the New Testament prophets, to lay the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20).

The Apostles also were given the ability to perform special signs and wonders to attest the message that they preached (Hebrews 2:4). Paul had performed such miracles during his ministry in Corinth. In fact, Paul considered the Corinthian church a very special “seal” of his ministry as an apostle. Corinth was a difficult city to minister in, and yet Paul accomplished a great work because of the Lord’s enablement (see Acts 18:1-17).

Prophets were New Testament spokesmen for God whose messages came immediately from God by the Spirit. Their ministry was to edify, encourage, and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3). Their messages were tested by the listeners to determine whether they were truly from God (1 Corinthians 14:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21). Again, Ephesians 2:20 makes it clear that apostles and prophets worked together to lay the foundation of the church.

Teachers (also pastor-teacher) instructed converts in the doctrinal truths of the Christian life. They taught from the Word and from the teachings of the Apostles (tradition). Unlike the prophets, they did not get their messages immediately by the Spirit, though the Spirit helped them in their teaching. James 3:1 indicates that this is a serious calling.

The evangelist majored on sharing the Good News of salvation with the lost. All ministers should do the work of an evangelist (2 Timothy 4:5) and seek to win souls, but some men have been given evangelism as a special calling.

In the early church, miracles were a part of the credentials of God’s servants (Hebrews 2:1-4). In fact, miracles, healings, and tongues all belong to what theologians call “the sign gifts” and belonged in a special way to the infancy and establishment of the church.

Helps and governments have to do with the serving of others and the guiding of the church. Without spiritual leadership, the church flounders. Ministry (Romans 12:7) and ruling belong to this same category. Any believer with a true gift of ministry (service) should be grateful for people with the gifts of helps and leadership.

There were several “speaking gifts”: tongues and the interpretation of tongues (about which more will be said later), the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge (the ability to understand and apply God’s truth to a definite situation), and exhortation (encouragement, rebuke if necessary).

Giving and showing mercy relate to sharing material aid with those in need, as well as supporting God’s servants in ministry. The gift of faith has to do with believing God for what He wants to accomplish in the church’s ministry, that He will lead and provide. The discerning of spirits was important in the early church since Satan tried to counterfeit the work of God and the Word of God. Today, the Spirit especially uses the written Word to give us discernment (1 John 2:18-24; 4:1-6) especially so that we can stand against false teaching and false prophets (2 Peter 2:1).

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 1.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 12-13

Unity: The Gift of the Spirit

Please review 1 Corinthians 12:1-13 for background to this section.

Since there was division in the Corinthian church, Paul began with an emphasis on the oneness of the church. He pointed out four wonderful bonds of spiritual unity.

We confess the same Lord (verses 1-3). Paul contrasted their experience as unconverted idolaters with their present experience as Christians. They had worshiped dead idols, but now they belonged to the living God. Their idols never spoke to them, but God spoke to them by His Spirit, and He even spoke through them in the gift of prophecy. When they were lost, they were under the control of the demons (1 Corinthians 10:20) and were “carried away.” But now the Spirit of God lived in them and directed them.

It is only through the Spirit that a person can honestly say, “Jesus is Lord.” A sneering sinner may mouth the words, but he is not giving a true confession. (Perhaps Paul was referring to things they had said when influenced by the demons prior to conversion.) It is important to note that the believer is always in control of himself when the Holy Spirit is at work (1 Corinthians 14:32) because Jesus Christ the Lord is in charge. Any so-called “Spirit manifestation” that robs a person of self-control is not of God; for “the fruit of the Spirit is . . . self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

If Jesus Christ truly is Lord in our lives, then there should be unity in the church. Division and dissension among God’s people only weakens their united testimony to a lost world (John 17:20-21).

We depend on the same God (verses 4-6). There is a trinitarian emphasis here: “the same Spirit . . . the same Lord . . . the same God.” We individually may have different gifts, ministries, and ways of working, but “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). The source of the gift is God; the sphere for administering the gift is from God; and the energy to use the gift is from God. Why, then, glorify men? Why compete with one another?

We minister to the same body (verses 7-11). The gifts are given for the good of the whole church. They are not for individual enjoyment, but for corporate employment. The Corinthians especially needed this reminder, because they were using their spiritual gifts selfishly to promote themselves and not to prosper the church. When we accept our gifts with humility, then we use them to promote harmony, and this helps the whole church.

The various gifts are named in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 and 28, and also in Ephesians 4:11 and Romans 12:6-8. When you combine the lists, you end up with nineteen different gifts and offices. Since the listing in Romans is not identical with the listing in 1 Corinthians, we may assume that Paul was not attempting to exhaust the subject in either passage. We need to remember that God is sovereign and while the gifts named are adequate for the ministry of the church, God is not limited to these lists. He may give other gifts as He pleases.

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 1.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 12-13

Pastor’s Note: I was born-again in a Pentecostal Church, but as the Lord directed my wife and myself to serve where He leads, I followed less denominations and more closely to Charismatic theology. Over the years as my study has grown and I have seen the extremism and divisiveness of many (not all) denominations, I have tried to follow the balanced principles of the WHOLE counsel of God. This has led me to a path of teaching and study that does NOT embrace extremism of theology in any way. That is not to say I have compromised the teaching of the Word, at least to the best of my ability with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It is a sad commentary that so many of my brothers, sisters, and peers, feel that if you don’t agree one-hundred percent with their theology, then there is a problem with you. I truly pray, that as the coming of our Lord and Savior draws closer, our hearts and spirits will also draw closer as the Apostle Paul wrote:

“With longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit . . .” (Ephesians 4:2-4).

I have always taught and believe that there is an over emphasis on titles and on the name of gifts a person manifests under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. My motto is this and it bears witness in experience and fact; you are what you do as God gives you the ability. There is no need to lift yourself up with a supposed title. Like any of God’s servants, your fruit will demonstrate your works.

To be clear, the following teaching is an adapted and modified teaching of Pastor Warren W. Wiersbe, of whom I agree with in most areas, theologically. I hope it blesses, encourages and instructs as you pursue the Lord’s direction and will in your life.

Be Wise About the Church Body

One of the marks of an individual’s maturity is a growing understanding of, and appreciation for, his own body. There is a parallel in the spiritual life: as we mature in Christ, we gain a better understanding of the church, which is Christ’s body. The emphasis in recent years on “body life” has been a good one. It has helped to counteract the wrong emphasis on “individual Christianity” that can lead to isolation from the local church.

Of course, the image of the “body” is not the only one Paul used in discussing the church, and we must be careful not to press it too far. The church is also a family, an army, a temple, and even a bride; and each image has important lessons to teach us. However, in three of his letters, Paul gave emphasis to the church as a body; and, in each of these passages, he brought out the same three important truths: unity, diversity, and maturity. The chart below makes this clear.

It is impossible to discuss the body without also discussing the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

It was the Spirit who gave birth to the body at Pentecost and who ministers in and through the body. In the Corinthian church, unfortunately, the members were grieving the Holy Spirit by the carnal ways in which they were using spiritual gifts. They were like children with toys instead of adults with valuable tools, and they needed to mature.

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 1.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 2 Kings 6:8-7:20

5. The God Who Fulfills His Promises – Continued

Please read 2 Kings 7:1-20 for the background to this section.

From Last Lesson: When morning comes, the whole city will discover that the enemy has fled, and they’ll wonder why the men didn’t say something. When the truth comes out, the four men would be punished for keeping the good news to themselves.

It was night when the men found their way back to the city and approached the guard at the gate. Since these four men lived just outside the gate, the guard must have known them. The lepers gave him the good news and he shared it with the other guards, and one of the officers took the message to the king. Once again revealing his unbelief and pessimism (2 Kings 3:10, 13), Joram said that the whole thing was a trick, that the enemy was hiding and only trying to draw the people out of the city so they could move in. That was how Joshua had defeated the city of Ai (Joshua 8). It wasn’t so much that he doubted the word of the lepers as that he rejected the word of Elisha. Had he believed the Word of the Lord, he would have accepted the good news from the lepers.

One of the officers had the good sense to reason with the king. Let some officers take a few horses and chariots and go investigate the terrain. If it all turns out to be a trick and they are killed, they would have died had they stayed in the city, so nothing is lost. The officer wanted five horses but the king let him have only two chariots with probably two horses per chariot. The men found the camp devoid of soldiers. Then they followed the escape route all the way to the Jordan River, a distance of twenty-five miles, and saw on the ground the clothing and equipment that the Syrians had discarded in their flight.

The spies raced back to the city and shared the good news that the Syrian army was gone and their camp was just waiting to be looted. It was indeed a day of good news as the people found food to eat and to sell back in the city, not to speak of valuable material goods that could be converted into cash. But the main lesson isn’t that God rescued His people when they didn’t deserve it, but that God fulfilled the promise He gave through His prophet Elisha. Note the emphasis on “the word of the Lord” in verses 16-18.

Jesus has promised to come again, but in these last days, people are questioning and even denying that promise. Fulfilling what Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3, the scoffers have now come and are asking, “Where is the promise of His coming?” The church is like those four lepers: we have the good news of salvation and we must not keep it to ourselves. If people don’t believe the Word of the Lord, they won’t be ready for His coming; but if we don’t give them the message, they can’t be ready for His coming. What will we say when we meet the Lord?

Bad news for the king’s officer (verses 17-20). It appears that this officer had gradually accepted the pessimistic unbelieving attitude of his king. To him, it was impossible for the prices to fall that low in one day and for fine flour and barley to be available so quickly. But God did it! The very people he thought would die of starvation came rushing out of the gate. They knocked him down, trod on his helpless body, and he died. The Word of the Lord lived on but the man who denied that Word was killed. “Heaven and earth will pass away,” said Jesus, “but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Distinct, “Be” Commentary Series.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 2 Kings 6:8-7:20

5. The God Who Fulfills His Promises – Continued

Please read 2 Kings 7:1-20 for the background to this section.

Good news from the Lord (verses 1-2). How fortunate it was for the kingdom of Israel that they had Elisha the prophet living and ministering among them! Throughout Hebrew history, in times of crisis, the prophets had God’s message for God’s people, whether they obeyed it or not. King Joram could turn to the priests of Baal, but they had nothing to say. The Lord spoke through “His servants the prophets” (2 Kings 21:10)

Joram wanting something to happen now; he would wait no longer. But Elisha opened his message with “tomorrow about this time.” What would happen? Food would once more be available and the inflationary prices would fall drastically. The fine flour for the people and the barley for the animals would cost about twice as much as in normal times. This was a great relief from the prices the people had paid for unclean food.

The officer who attended the king didn’t believe the words of the prophet and scoffed at what Elisha said. “Will it become like Noah’s flood,” he asked, “with food instead of rain pouring out of heaven?” (See Genesis 7:11. The Hebrew word translated “windows” in the King James Version means “floodgates.”) To the humble heart that’s open to God, the Word generates faith; but to the proud, self-centered heart, the Word makes the heart even harder. The same sun that melts the ice will harden the clay. The next morning, all the people in the city except this officer would awaken to life, but he would awaken to death.

Good news from the enemy camp (verses 3-16). The scene shifts to outside the locked gates of Samaria where four lepers lived in isolation (Leviticus 13:36). Nobody had told them about Elijah’s promise of food. They were discussing their precarious situation when they came to an insightful conclusion: if they stayed at the gate, they would die of hunger, but if they went to the enemy camp, they might receive some pity and some food. Even if the Syrians killed them, it was better to die quickly from a sword’s thrust than to die slowly from hunger. Lest they be observed from the city wall, they waited until twilight before going to the Syrian camp. Most of the camp would be resting and the lepers would have to deal only with some of the guards.

But nobody was there! The Lord had caused them to hear a sound which they interpreted as the coming of a vast army, and the Syrians had left their camp as it was and fled twenty-five miles to the Jordan River, scattering their possessions as they ran. The Lord had defeated the Moabites by a miracle of sight (2 Kings 3:20-23) and now He defeated the Syrians by a miracle of sound. They thought the armies of the Egyptians and the Hittites were coming to destroy them. The four lepers did what any hungry men would have done: they ate to the full and then looted the tents for wealth, which they hid.

However, as night came on, they stopped to have another conference and assess the situation. Why should an entire city be starving, and mothers eating their own children, while four dying men are selfishly enjoying the resources in the abandoned camp? Furthermore, when morning comes, the whole city will discover that the enemy has fled, and they’ll wonder why the men didn’t say something. When the truth comes out, the four men would be punished for keeping the good news to themselves.

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Distinct, “Be” Commentary Series.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 2 Kings 6:8-7:20

4. The God Who Keeps His Covenant – Continued

Please read 2 Kings 6:24-33 for the background to this section.

From Last Lesson: Joram’s father, Ahab, called Elijah “the one who troubled Israel” (1 Kings 18:17), and Joram blamed Elisha for the plight Samaria was in at that time. The king sent a messenger to arrest Elisha and take him out to be killed.

The prophet wasn’t upset or worried, for the Lord always told Elisha everything he needed to know. As the prophet sat in his house with the elders of the land, leaders who had come to him for counsel and help, he knew that the arresting officer was on his way. He also knew that the king himself would follow him to make sure the execution was a success. Elisha had already made it clear that he didn’t accept the authority of the king of Israel because Joram was not of the line of David (2 Kings 3:14). Joram was the son of Ahab the murderer, the king who with his wife, Jezebel, killed the Lord’s prophets who were opposing Baal worship (1 Kings 18:4). They also killed their neighbor Naboth so they could confiscate his property (1 Kings 21).

Elisha commanded the elders to hold the door shut until both men were outside. Being kept waiting at the door didn’t help the king’s temper one bit, and he called to Elisha, “Surely this calamity is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?” He should have said, “I am the cause of this great tragedy and I repent of my sins! Pray for me!” There was provision in the covenant for confession and forgiveness (Deuteronomy 30) if only King Joram and his people had taken advantage of it. The Lord always keeps His covenant, whether to bless if His people obey or to discipline if they disobey.

5. The God Who Fulfills His Promises

Please read 2 Kings 7:1-20 for the background to this section.

Did Elisha and the elders allow the king to enter the room along with his attendant and messenger? They probably did, but Joram was a somewhat subdued man when the door was finally opened to him, not unlike his father, Ahab, when Elijah indicted him for the murder of Naboth (1 Kings 21:17-29). The only messages the Lord had sent to the rebellious King Joram were the army around the city and the starvation within the city, and the king still had not repented.

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Distinct, “Be” Commentary Series.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 2 Kings 6:8-7:20

4. The God Who Keeps His Covenant

Please read 2 Kings 6:24-33 for the background to this section.

The border raids stopped, but Ben Hadad II decided it was time again for war. Rulers have to prove themselves to their people, and defeating and looting a neighbor is one of the best ways to reveal your strength and wisdom. This time he sent the full army and he seems to have caught Joram totally unprepared. Perhaps the peace along the borders lulled Joram into thinking that Syria was no longer a threat. Joram doesn’t seem to have been very astute when it came to military matters.

The siege of Samaria lasted so long that the people in the city were starving. It seems that Elisha had counseled the king to wait, promising that the Lord would do something, but the longer they waited, the worse the circumstances became. But it must be remembered that God warned that He would punish His people if they failed to live up to the terms of His covenant. Among His punishments were military defeat and famine (Leviticus 26:17, 25-26, 29, 33, 36-39; Deuteronomy 28:17, 25-26, 48-52), and Israel was now experiencing both. Had King Joram called his people to repentance and prayer, the situation would have changed (2 Chronicles 7:14). People were reduced to eating unclean food, such as a donkey’s head and dove’s droppings, and for these they paid exorbitant prices—two pounds of silver for the head and two ounces of silver for the dung.

But even worse, people were eating their own children! This, too, was a predicted punishment for breaking God’s covenant (Leviticus 26:29; Deuteronomy 28:53-57). King Joram met two such women as he walked on the wall and surveyed the city. One woman called to the king for help, and he thought she wanted food and drink. Joram’s reply really put the blame on the Lord and not on the sins of the nation. God alone could fill the threshing floor and the winepress and provide food and drink. But the woman didn’t want food and drink; she wanted justice. Her friend hadn’t kept her part of the bargain but had hidden her son!

Joram was appalled that the nation had fallen so low, and he publicly tore his robe, not as a sign of sorrow and repentance but as evidence of his anger at God and Elijah (see 2 Kings 5:7). When he did, he exposed the fact that he was wearing a rough sackcloth garment beneath the royal robe, but what good is sackcloth if there’s no humility and repentance in the heart? His next words make it clear that he took no responsibility for the siege and the famine and that he wanted to murder Elisha. He even used the oath that he learned from his evil mother, Jezebel (1 Kings 19:2). Joram’s father, Ahab, called Elijah “the one who troubled Israel” (1 Kings 18:17), and Joram blamed Elisha for the plight Samaria was in at that time. The king sent a messenger to arrest Elisha and take him out to be killed.

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Distinct, “Be” Commentary Series.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: 2 Kings 6:8-7:20

3. The God Who Shows Mercy

Please read 2 Kings 6:18-23 for the background to this section.

Elisha didn’t ask the Lord to command the angelic army to destroy Ben Hadad’s feeble troops. As with nations today, defeat only promotes retaliation, and Ben Hadad would have sent another company of soldiers. God gave Elisha a much better plan. He had just prayed that the Lord would open his servant’s eyes, but now he prayed that God would cloud the eyes of the Syrian soldiers. The soldiers weren’t made totally blind, otherwise they couldn’t have followed Elijah; but their sight was clouded in such a way that they were able to see but not comprehend. They were under the delusion that they were being led to the house of Elisha, but Elisha was leading them to the city of Samaria!

When Elisha went out to meet the Syrian troops, did he lie to them? No, because he was no longer in the city of Dothan and was actually going to Samaria. The prophet was actually saving their lives, for if King Joram had been in charge, he would have killed them. Elisha did bring the troops to the man they wanted. When the army arrived at Samaria, the guards must have been shocked to see the prophet leading the troops, but they obediently opened the gates and then God opened their eyes. Imagine their surprise when they found themselves at the heart of the capital city and at the mercy of the Israelites.

King Joram would have slain all of the Syrian soldiers and claimed a great victory for himself, but Elisha intervened. The king graciously called Elisha “my father,” a term used by servants for their master (2 Kings 5:13), but later, he wanted to take off Elisha’s head! Like his wicked father, Ahab, he could murder the innocent one day and then “walk softly” before the Lord the next day (1 Kings 21). Double-minded people are unstable (James 1:8).

Elisha’s reply took the matter entirely out of the king’s hands. Had Joram defeated this army in battle? No! If he had, he could kill his prisoners; but if he hadn’t, then whoever captured the prisoners would decide what to do. These were not prisoners of war; they were Elisha’s guests, so the king’s responsibility was to feed them. Joram knew that having a meal with them was the same as making a covenant with them (Genesis 26:26-31), but he obeyed. In fact, he went beyond the prophet’s request for bread and water and prepared a great feast for the soldiers.

Solomon wrote, “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the LORD will reward you” (Proverbs 25:21-22). In Romans 12:20-21, Paul quoted these words and applied them to believers today, and see also the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:43-48 and Luke 6:27-36. King Joram wanted to kill the Syrians, but Elisha “killed them with kindness.” By eating together, they made a covenant of peace and the Syrian bands would no longer raid the borders of Israel.

Would this approach avert conflicts today? We must remember that Israel is a covenant nation and that the Lord fought their battles. No other nation can claim these privileges. But if kindness replaced long-standing and deeply rooted ethnic and religious differences among peoples, as well as national pride and international greed, there would no doubt be fewer wars and bombings. The same principle applies to ending divorce and abuse in families, riots and lootings in neighborhoods, uproars on campuses, and division and conflict in our communities. “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Distinct, “Be” Commentary Series.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.