THE APOSTLE OF THE RECONCILIATION

`Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that when ye were Gentiles,

ye were carried away unto these dumb idols, howsoever ye might be led. Wherefore I give you to understand,

that no man speaking by the spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed, and that no one can say, Lord Jesus, but by holy

spirit' (12:1-3 Author's translation).

It was not a question as to whether any man anywhere had the physical ability to frame the sounds, `Lord Jesus';

but it teaches us that no man speaking under the influence of a demon was able so to say, and that anyone speaking

under the influence of a spirit, who therein confesses that Jesus is Lord, was speaking by the spirit of God. The

parallel to this is found in 1 John 4:1 :

`Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God'.

the reason for this being:

`... because many false prophets are gone out into the world'.

The test which the apostle John supplies is:

`Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God' (1 John 4:2,3).

The supreme test again is the person of Christ. It is very clear therefore that there could be no confusion allowed

in the assembly at Corinth so far as these two essentially different orders of inspiration were concerned.

Having disposed of the idolatrous demon possession which evidently had entered the Church, the apostle now

turns to unfold the unity and yet the diversity of the gifts of the Spirit. We shall appreciate the relation of the one

part of the chapter to the other if we see the passage as a whole first:

It is evident that the great theme before the apostle is that of the gifts. Love is introduced as a corrective against

abuse in 1 Corinthians 13, but the main theme is again resumed and pursued throughout chapter 14. The same

distribution of subject is seen in chapter 12, which opens with `gifts' and closes with them, while between the two

sets of teaching comes the illustration of the body.

Gifts. Diversity in unity.

Illustration. The body.

Gifts. Diversity in unity.

While all the true gifts possessed by the church were of God, it did not follow that all were alike either in degree,

manifestation, or usefulness. With this thought the section opens, `Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same

Spirit' (12:4).

There are diversities of gifts.

But the SAME Spirit.

There are diversities of service.

But the SAME Lord.

There are diversities of inworkings.

But the SAME God.