God Speaks
Paul’s Instructions about Spiritual Gifts: The Greatest of These Is Love
Verse of the Day: Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. . . . And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 12:31 and 13:13 NIV 2011)
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Watch TBR Day 336
We Respond
1 Corinthians 12
Reflection: Paul moves on to discuss how the Holy Spirit has gifted each part of the body of Christ to function together for the sake of the kingdom of God. First, Paul describes how to know if a person really belongs to Christ. Are they cursing or demeaning Jesus? They don’t belong to Him. Are they lifting God up, admiring Jesus, or humbly trying to serve Him as their Master? They belong to Him. Those who do belong to Jesus have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them who gives them each special gifts as He chooses. Although there are different gifts, positions, and activities, there is only one Spirit, Master, and God. There are many different parts but only one body of Christ. No part is unnecessary or more significant than any other part. Each part is equally necessary and vitally important to the proper functioning of the whole being. Out of love for God and each other, may each one do his or her part to bring glory to God.
Prayer: Dear God who is the Master-craftsman, thank You for how You have a special purpose and place for each member of Christ’s body. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for enabling me to truthfully say, “Jesus is my Lord and Sovereign overall.” Thank You for the special and unique gifts You have given me and each part of Your body. Please heal our individual spirits, minds, wills, emotions, and bodies so that we can more effectively serve as parts of Your body, Lord. Then, out of love for You, Lord God, and for each other, each one of us will do our part to bring glory to God the Father as Jesus did. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask the Lord to show me what part of His body I am and thank Him for the privilege of being united with Him and other believers for His glory.
- As I think about and pray for various Christians I know or know about, I will thank the Lord for making them part of His body and gifting them in that way.
- I will ask the Lord to show me how to determine which spiritual gifts He has given me and how He wants to use them in His body.
- I will ask my pastor or an elder in my congregation how I could use my gifts to bless God’s people.
1 Corinthians 13
Reflection: This is one of the most well-known chapters in the Bible, yet it’s one of the hardest to carry out, either for the Corinthians in Paul’s day or for us in ours. Without love the spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 are useless or at best ineffective. First Corinthians 13 describes God’s variety of love in these ways: patient, kind, generous, protective of others, agreeable, easy and fun to be with, happy to serve others, uplifting, loyal, accepting, forgiving, helpful, involved on behalf of others, cheerful, encouraging, and mature. Only the work of the Holy Spirit can fully produce these qualities in us. As we accept Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection and yield to Him, the Holy Spirit will develop them in us for God’s glory.
Prayer: Dear God who is love, thank You for loving us in all the ways mentioned here and far more. It is only by Your grace and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that we can truly exercise this kind of love. Lord God, please help me to exercise the spiritual gifts You have given me with the true and deep love that comes only from You living them out through me. Your kind of love is patient, kind, generous, protective of others, agreeable, easy and fun to be with, happy to serve others, uplifting, loyal, accepting, forgiving, helpful, involved on behalf of others, cheerful, encouraging, and mature. I yield to You, loving Father, to develop and manifest these qualities in and through me. For the glory of Your name. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- At the beginning of each day, I will ask the Lord to live out these qualities of love through me.
- At the end of each day, I will discuss with the Lord what happened regarding these qualities of love.
- I will pray for and encourage those I care about to exhibit these qualities of love.
- Whenever possible, I will commend the person anytime I see someone exhibiting one of these qualities of love.
1 Corinthians 14
Reflection: In the previous chapter, Paul laid the foundation of operating out of love in the church. In this chapter, Paul addresses the practical outworking of two of the special abilities the Holy Spirit gives God’s people: prophecy and speaking in an unlearned language. The purpose of a person who prophesies should be to help others grow in the Lord, to encourage and comfort them, and to help the whole church grow in holiness and happiness. People speaking in an unlearned language, however, benefit only themselves unless there is interpretation. If a speaker delivers a speech telling what is going to happen or proclaiming the great truths of God but is speaking in a language his listeners don’t understand, what good does it accomplish? Even musical instruments need to be in tune to be effective. Both speaking in tongues and prophesying are good in the right setting, but we should ask God to give us the best gifts to benefit the whole church, especially strangers that may be visiting. Unless there is interpretation available, those who wish to speak in an unlearned language should do so in private or silently to God but not publicly. Women should be respectful, not disruptive, questioning men’s God-given authority, especially in public. Above all, everything should be done in an orderly manner under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Dear Great and Awesome God who communicates with His people, thank You for these special gifts. Please empower those to whom You have given the gift of prophecy to inform Your people. Please help them to convey Your plans for the future so that we can be prepared. Help them to help us grow in the Lord, in holiness, and in happiness. Please bless the people to whom You have given the gift of speaking in unlearned languages. May they communicate spirit to Spirit in private, silently in the church, and/or publicly with interpretation. May there be proper love, respect, and order whenever the church gathers. May sinners be made aware of their need of the Savior and may we all grow in love for Him and for each other. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will use biblical resources to learn more about the gifts of “speaking in tongues” and prophecy.
- I will ask the Lord to confirm whether He has given me either of these gifts, and then seek to use them according to these guidelines.
- I will strive to encourage people I believe have these gifts and do what I can to help them develop in using them wisely.
- I will seek to use the special gift(s) God has given me with the love explained in 1 Corinthians 13.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.