Six Principles for Interpreting the Holy Spirit and His Spiritual Gifts for the Church 1 Corinthians 12-14
Chris Hefner
Spiritual gifts should be interpreted in light of cultural (Corinth) and theological context—Jesus is LORD (12:1-3)
Spiritual gifts come from God, for the good of the church, and to the glory of Christ (12:4-13)
Spiritual gifts spread out the work, ministry, and service of the body of Christ (12:14-31)
Spiritual gifts matter but are less important than love (12:31-13:13)
Spiritual gifts (including the sign gifts) are for the building up of the church (14:1-25)
Spiritual gifts will cease when no longer necessary (13:8-13)
Takeaways:
We must recognize that the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church is to point to Christ, glorify Christ, and accomplish redemption
We should be biblical in interpretation and balanced in theological approach (avoiding the extremes)
As a church, we are obligated to practice order, clarity, and structure in our church services
We should seek out the normative and biblical work of the Holy Spirit in our lives: empowerment for witness and fruit-filled sanctification
Because every believer is gifted, every believer should be serving to edify the body of Christ
We should seek Jesus, seek to glorify Jesus, and seek to adhere to biblical truth as opposed to seeking experiences as an end in themselves
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