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Spiritual Gifts
Part 1: Introduction
By Rev. Bruce A. Shields
This document is a Sermon Outline. You may hear the full audio of the sermon by following the link to the Online Audio Files located above for this and other Full Sermon Audios. For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on Facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on Facebook at House of Faith Church. #worship #godheals #newtestament #jesuslovesyou #churchfamily #godsword #loveoneanother #holy #godislove #church #jesus #god #bible #christian #love #faith #worship #jesuschrist #gospel #prayer #christ #christianity #pray #holyspirit #godisgood #hope #blessed #armorofgod
SERMON TIMELINE
1. Introduction
INTRODUCTION
Today is Sunday. January 7th, 2024
Last February, we began a trek exploring the purpose of the church. We looked at what it means to be saved, belong to the Lord, called a child of God. What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ, and what are the differences between a new Luke 5 disciple and a trained and seasoned Matthew 28 disciple?
From there, we looked at how we are called to serve as followers of Christ. We can fulfill the instructions of Matthew 28 by Jesus in various ways. We are to share the gospel with all the world, anyone who will listen, making disciples. Baptizing them and teaching them to obey all Christ's commands.
We discussed discovering our purpose and calling and how God uses each of us as individuals in a larger plan. We are all parts of the Body of Christ, working together to fulfill His will, which is He “desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:4
God’s desire is that all are saved. It is our duty, as believers, as followers of Christ Jesus, and as disciples, to go into all the world sharing the gospel message so the Holy Spirit of God can convert the souls of those who call on the name of the Lord.
When we call on the name of the Lord, Jesus promises we will be saved. He also promises to give us a portion of our inheritance, a deposit of what is to come, and that is the Holy Spirit. We are endowed with supernatural characteristics and gifts when we receive the Holy Spirit.
Our first series examined the Fruits of the Spirit, which is the character of God produced in our lives by the Holy Spirit. As long as we do not quench the Spirit of God, we will have these in our lives.
“Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23
The next thing we receive from the Holy Spirit is the Full Armor of God, so that we may “…be strong in the Lord and in the might of His strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:10-11
The Full Armor of God gives us the protection and weapons needed to fight the real fight, which is spiritual and not with flesh and blood.
Let us fast forward one year from where we began to today, where we pick up where we left off, having special services for Christmas and the New Year, and start with the first sermon of 2024 and the first sermon in our latest series on Spiritual Gifts.
SCRIPTURE READING
Ephesians 4:7-16 (Legacy Standard Bible)
“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Therefore it says,
“WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH,
HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES,
And HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”
(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?
He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ,
so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming,
but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ,
from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”
Today’s Topic: Spiritual Gifts: Introduction
TODAY’S MESSAGE: Introduction to Spiritual Gifts
I. JESUS DID NOT GO TO HELL
a. Ephesians 4:8 quotes Psalm 68:18
i. “WHEN
HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, And HE GAVE GIFTS TO
MEN.”
ii. Paul
continued in the next verse with, “(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what
does it mean except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?”
iii. The
lower parts of the earth is Sheol, the place of departed spirits.
iv. The Apostles’ Creed is an expanded version of the Old Roman Creed used as early as the second century.
1.
Around 390 AD, the statement in the
fifth line of the creed was added, “descended into hell.”
2.
This was from a poor translation of
Greek, which erroneously translated words like Sheol, Tartarus, and Gehenna as
hell, thus causing confusion.
3.
The Apostles' Creed and the doctrine
being taught, even in some churches today, that Jesus went to hell is false.
He went to Paradise in Sheol.
b. How can we be sure the lower parts of the earth are not hell?
i. Because
Jesus tells us about Sheol in Luke 16
when speaking of the rich man and Lazarus.
1.
When they died (before Jesus died on
the cross and rose again), the rich man and Lazarus found themselves in the
lower parts of the earth, in Sheol, the place of departed spirits.
2.
On one side of a great chasm, torment,
where the wicked were held.
3.
From here, the rich man looked across
the tremendous impassible chasm to Paradise on the other side, referred to as
Abraham’s Bosom.
4.
There, he saw Abraham (who was faithful
to the Lord) speaking with Lazarus.
ii. So,
Jesus tells us that the lower depths of the earth is Sheol, with Torment on one
side of a tremendous impassible chasm with the wicked and Paradise on the other
with those who were faithful to God.
iii. Why is there a Sheol?
1.
Because, until the cross, there had to
be a holding place for the departed spirits.
2.
John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father but through Me.”
iv. This means everyone, wicked and faithful, had to go somewhere until Jesus made a way through the cross.
1. Now there is a cross; through Jesus, the faithful can go to heaven, and the wicked are still held in Torment within Sheol until Judgment Day.
2.
Where they can still see Paradise afar
off and unreachable.
v. I give
more detail and scripture in my book Heaven & Hell.
c. How do we know Jesus went to Paradise and not Torment in the depths of the earth?
i. Luke 23:42-43
“And he (the thief on the cross next to Jesus) was
saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him,
“Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
ii. What
did Jesus do for three days in Paradise? Why did He go there?
1.
Isaiah 44:23 “Shout
for joy, O heavens, for Yahweh has done it! Make a loud shout, you lower parts of the earth;
Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it;
For Yahweh has redeemed Jacob And in Israel He shows forth His beautiful
glory.”
a. Can
the lower parts of the earth “shout for joy” over what Yahweh has done?
i. Not
the wicked in Torment, but assuredly the faithful in Paradise!
2.
Job 19:25-26 “As
for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will rise up over the
dust of this world. “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall
behold God,”
iii. Jesus
did descend into the lower parts of the earth, to Sheol, in Paradise, to
fulfill God’s promise to His faithful servants who died before the cross, the
ONLY way to heaven.
1.
And he led the captives free from
Sheol, where they had been awaiting the Lord to rescue them.
iv. David, like Job, knew the Redeemer would come for him
1.
Psalm 16:9-10 “Therefore
my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. For
You will not forsake my soul to Sheol; You will not give Your Holy One over to
see corruption.”
So, what does Ephesians 4 have to do with
Spiritual Gifts?
“WHEN HE ASCENDED ON
HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, And HE GAVE
GIFTS TO MEN.”
Luke
24:45-49 “Then he opened their minds so they could
understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The
Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance
for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised;
but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Jesus died on Passover, rose three days
later on the Feast of First Fruits, and was with the disciples and over 500 witnesses
(1 Corinthians 15:6)
for 40 days (Acts 1:3).
Jesus tells the disciples to wait for the
promise of the Father (the Holy Spirit), which Jesus would send to “clothe
them with power from on high.”
This is the covering of the Holy Spirit of
God, the promise of the Father, and Jesus told them to wait for it to arrive.
When did it come?
On the Feast of Pentecost.
Are the Feasts of the Lord in the Old
Testament important? Yes. They are signposts to tell us where we are in the
plan of God. Four have been fulfilled, and three are yet to come.
II. HE GIVES THESE GIFTS FOR A PURPOSE
a. And that purpose is not you
i. The Spiritual Gifts are not for self-edification (improvement, education)
ii. The Gifts are not for self-esteem (confidence, respect)
iii. The Gifts are not for personal gain (esteem, popularity, prosperity)
iv. The Gifts, gospel, and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ is not about you
v. It
is about Jesus
b. The Gifts are to enable us to serve Him.
i. Ephesians 4:12
“for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of
the body of Christ,”
1.
Equipping the saints for work of
service
ii. What is “work of service?”
1.
The building up of the Body of Christ
iii. The
Spiritual Gifts of the Holy Spirit are for equipping saints (believers,
followers of Christ Jesus) so we will be capable of works of service.
iv. The Spiritual Gifts are explicitly for building the Body of Christ.
1. Not to gain more parishioners
2. Not to get more views on YouTube
3. Not so you will gain followers on Twitch or TikTok
4.
Not so you can sell books or charge for
big-ticket events
v. For
the building up of the Body of Christ
c. What is the Body of Christ?
i. When
speaking about the Spiritual Gifts in 1
Corinthians 12, Paul tells us in verse 27.
1.
1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now
you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.”
ii. The
Church (ekklesia in Greek) is the assembly of believers (Romans 16:5 Paul speaks of the
believers being the church, not the houses they were meeting in).
iii. And
we know that Christ is the head of that church.
Biblically
speaking, there is no Baptist church, Methodist church, etc.; there is only one
church, and that is the Body of Christ, of whom we are individual members, and
Christ is the head. What did Jesus say about our brothers and sisters?
Mark 3:33-35
“And answering them, He said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” And looking
about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, “Behold My mother and My
brothers! “For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and
mother.”
There
is no “church membership” or individual church building. Instead, the ONLY
membership is the Body of Christ. You either are part of it, or you are not.
III. SPIRITUAL GIFTS FOR ALL THE SAINTS
a. They are for all the saints, not just the apostles
i. Ephesians 4:12 “for
the equipping of the saints for the work of service…”
ii. Who
are saints? Is it just the apostles?
1.
1 Corinthians 1:2 The
church of God in Corinth, all those sanctified in Christ Jesus were called
saints.
2.
Colossians 1:2
All the faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae were called saints.
3.
Ephesians 1:1
the faithful in Jesus Christ in Ephesus were called saints.
4.
Colossians 1:12-14
“giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance
of the saints in light. Who rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred
us to the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins.”
All believers who are faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ are saints according to scripture.
So, the Spiritual Gifts are for YOU, for the sole purpose of equipping you to build up the Body of Christ or The Church.
b. How do we build up the body of Christ, The Church?
i. A few ways, firstly, by NOT forsaking the assembly
1.
Hebrews 10:24-25
“And let us consider how to encourage one another to love and good deeds, not
forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging
one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
a. You
cannot share your gifts with the Body of Christ if you do not assemble with the
Body of Christ.
ii. Your
gifts also strengthen believer's faith, lift them up, empower them to serve the
Lord, heal them, and so much more.
iii. But
you cannot give your gift if you do not assemble, and they cannot receive that
gift if they do not assemble.
iv. Another
way is using your gifts to fulfill Matthew 28!
1.
We spoke a lot about how there is one
will of God, that all are saved (1 Timothy 2:4),
but we each have a calling unique to us from God on how we fulfill His will.
2.
Which is why scripture says He gives
some this, and some that
God
knows what the Body of Christ needs at each gathering of believers, giving
gifts to those members so they can fulfill His will.
c. The Body of Christ is the True Church of our Lord
i. The
Body of Christ, the True Church with Christ Jesus as the head
CONCLUSION
So, what have we learned so far about the Spiritual Gifts?
Because of the cross, Jesus created the church (the Body of Christ), to which He is the head. When He ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father, the Holy Spirit was poured out to the saints, allowing us Spiritual Fruit, the Full Armor of God, and the Spiritual Gifts for service to Him.
Next week:
The Spiritual Gifts Part 2: Perfected by the Holy Spirit
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