If you are above the age of fifty then you are noticing a few things about your body that can be downright alarming. The apostle Paul uses this thought to look past the temporal state of physical life to our eternal state of everlasting life. For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ; this is a great comfort and confidence, but if you do not believe in Him whatever is seen is temporary and incurable. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

No doubt, I can spend a lot of time in these three chapters; on and off I have studied the subject of “Spiritual gifts” for over thirty years, but I do not want to lose sight of my original intent. Is it coincidence or is it God who guides the hearts of men to teach the subjects that pertain to the current events of our personal and national life in time.

For Bible believing people the answer is simple. One look at His Story or biblical history will explain that God is intimately at work in our personal and national life. The entire Bible is my reference and here is one verse of scripture that proves this since I know many unbelievers who can quote it. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son; that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” John 3:16.

Well, let me get back to 1 Corinthians 12; 13 and 14 to finish up. I think (a personal observation) but I think it would be better if our view of these chapters was focused on life in the Spirit rather than the gifts of the Spirit. Believers individually make up the body of Christ, or easier said – the church of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:27. In 1 Corinthians 6:19 the apostle states that our body is not our own and that the Holy Spirit abides in our temple. One God, but many members; also said in Ephesians 4, One God, One Faith and One Baptism, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace.

So I believe that when churches apply human viewpoint to the subject of the gifts of the Spirit, these leaders destroy the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit seeks to keep the church on the same page of our personal and national life. He does this with the Spiritual Life within the church. He accomplishes this task as outlined by the apostle Paul in Romans 12 wherein the entire chapter focuses on the church; in that each is given a measure of faith; some with permanent gifts of the Spirit and some with temporal.

So yes I believe that God is heartily at work allowing His saints to share scripture, thoughts and all things that pertain to our moment in life to further the gospel of His Son to those who are without hope. God does not use coincidence. He who knows the end from the beginning and does not need that word, nor does He ever use it. Isaiah 46:10. When we speak in likeminded language we then are doing things decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:37-40.

If you are above the age of fifty then you are noticing a few things about your body that can be downright alarming. The apostle Paul uses this thought to look past the temporal state of physical life to our eternal state of everlasting life. For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ; this is a great comfort and confidence, but if you do not believe in Him whatever is seen is temporary and incurable. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

No doubt, I can spend a lot of time in these three chapters; on and off I have studied the subject of “Spiritual gifts” for over thirty years, but I do not want to lose sight of my original intent. Is it coincidence or is it God who guides the hearts of men to teach the subjects that pertain to the current events of our personal and national life in time.

For Bible believing people the answer is simple. One look at His Story or biblical history will explain that God is intimately at work in our personal and national life. The entire Bible is my reference and here is one verse of scripture that proves this since I know many unbelievers who can quote it. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son; that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” John 3:16.

Well, let me get back to 1 Corinthians 12; 13 and 14 to finish up. I think (a personal observation) but I think it would be better if our view of these chapters was focused on life in the Spirit rather than the gifts of the Spirit. Believers individually make up the body of Christ, or easier said – the church of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:27. In 1 Corinthians 6:19 the apostle states that our body is not our own and that the Holy Spirit abides in our temple. One God, but many members; also said in Ephesians 4, One God, One Faith and One Baptism, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace.

So I believe that when churches apply human viewpoint to the subject of the gifts of the Spirit, these leaders destroy the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit seeks to keep the church on the same page of our personal and national life. He does this with the Spiritual Life within the church. He accomplishes this task as outlined by the apostle Paul in Romans 12 wherein the entire chapter focuses on the church; in that each is given a measure of faith; some with permanent gifts of the Spirit and some with temporal.

So yes I believe that God is heartily at work allowing His saints to share scripture, thoughts and all things that pertain to our moment in life to further the gospel of His Son to those who are without hope. God does not use coincidence. He who knows the end from the beginning and does not need that word, nor does He ever use it. Isaiah 46:10. When we speak in likeminded language we then are doing things decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:37-40.

The Devotional – A Look at the Book 713

Many elderly people use a life-line system, a pendant or wristband that can be worn anywhere even in the bath. The intent is to gain immediate help in a time of need. For all of us, including those who need this physical medical device; God has always had a life-line system. For over six thousand years it has been available… yet it does not show wear and tear and it has never been repaired. Jeremiah 33:3

1 Corinthians 12:2-3 – The church is made of believers of all nations and all cultures but this does not give the universal church a free reign. Notice what the apostle says. “You know this, that when you were Gentiles (unbelievers) you were carried away to mute or dumb idols, however you were led. These are key words for the whole thought of how the Spirit of God controls the Church of God in time.

Notice verse 3; since you were led by these traditional false idols and other vain religious beliefs, be careful how you handle the things that pertain to life and godliness within the church of God in Christ. If you are using or mixing false worship and talking, singing or preaching Christ you are involved in cursing God; the Greek word is “anathema” again this is not decent, nor does it provide for the orderly works of God as we will see in later verses.

1 Corinthians 12:4 – I know you are waiting for this verse because we find the word gifts; which can be translated; “allotment of various kinds”. We are taught that all of us have a spiritual gift and it is true we do utilize the gifts of the Spirit. However, the allotment of “Spirituals” is given to the “universal church” and each local church has its own allotment. Revelation 2 and 3 describe the use of these gifts within the seven churches. As you study these seven churches you will see something interesting at the conclusion of each evaluation. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”.

So the allotment of “Spirituals” is given to the church and as the needs arise it is the Holy Spirit’s decision to disburse the gifts of the Spirit. You say “aha” well go ahead, but think about this. Over time we have been taught that there are temporal and permanent gifts. I believe this is true in this way; I believe that the section we are dealing with are all permanent to the church and temporal to the individuals within the local body.

Notice the following verses; 1 Corinthians 12:5-6. But first let’s be back up a bit and say just a bit more about the Spirit of God. Is the Spirit of God just a spirit without discretion like some humans; absolutely not therefore the allotment of gifts given to the church needs a biblical foundational and not one of a human viewpoint. Isaiah 11:1-2 , all of the nine allotted ministries assigned to the church are within the control of the Seven Attributes of God the Holy Spirit and He distributes these temporary gifts to members of the local assembly according to His will and not according to man’s will.

Verse 5 – The church of Jesus Christ; that is the title of all local assemblies no matter what name appears on the sign outside. It is simple really; if the church belongs to Him and it does, then the ministries therein belong to Him as well and this brings up that the gifts that are permanent are given to the men that He assigns within the church. Ephesians 4:1-16, please note verse 7 of Ephesians 4.

Verse 6 – The Head of the Church is God who governs the activities. The activity of God is the gospel, which is the death and resurrection of His Son the LORD Jesus, when churches (and they do) move away from the gospel, they move away from the activity that glorifies God which includes the Spiritual wisdom that exalts the LORD Jesus as described in Ephesians 1:15-23. More tomorrow if the LORD tarries.

If you needed to give a definition of a person that would be an honor to meet and one whom God would bless; what would be the words that you might use? Psalm 1:1-3 is good: the path of this person cannot be improved upon! Please note the remaining three verses of Psalm 1 and consider the path you might be on.

The other day a friend and brother in the LORD used passages of scripture that I had previously used in one of these devotionals. Later he sent me an email asking if I was shocked to see his teaching session begin with the same verses. My answer was yes and I understand too that it is not coincidence that what is prepared by the Holy Spirit when men study the Word of God will often be exhorted and taught by several others within the same week.

The thought that comes to my mind is; does scripture back up these events? In other words is this the work of God or is the coincidence because of current events that focus like- minded people to react with similar results? I am going to give the ending answer to these questions before diving into this study which may take a day or two. And the answer is! Let all things be done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:40. Now that we have the answer we must keep that in mind thought out our adventure in the awesome Word of the Living God (by the way; all of the other so-called gods are either dead or myths, just in case you did not know) no charge for the extra info!

1 Corinthians 12:1 – The apostle Paul has something to say about the ignorance of people; even believers can be ignorant and I am sure you know this; otherwise it could be that you are ignorant. God does not want His children to be like the chaff found in Psalm 1:4-6 when it comes to inheritance and reward, He desire for us is to know His Word and be blessed as the result.

Among the thoughts of 1 Corinthians 12; 13 and 14 is the word gifts found in most translations. There are other words in these chapters too that are italicized, such as the word different in 1 Corinthians 12:10 and as we cover this verse I will use more detail. Basically all words in the Holy Bible that are written in italics are not found in the original writings. Some of these words are included for flow and some are added to give understanding or meaning. Enough said.

If you were to look at 1 Corinthians 12:1 in the language it was written in you would notice that the word spiritual is not singular but plural. While this may not be important to some students of the Word of God, it is very important to me. I believe that the implied word gifts, is misleading and contributes to the cause of much confusion in the universal church of Jesus Christ.

The verse can be translated without the word gifts and give us a better understanding of what the apostle is going to exhort and teach his readers (you and me). Thus the verse would read: Now concerning spirituals, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant. So now you have the ending of this and the beginning of this study, without any of the filling and I am running out of paper and time for the day. Sort of like eating a jelly filled donut after someone stole the jelly. But let me at least show you where I am headed with this.

The apostle Paul is continuing his dissertation to the church of God at Corinth, 1 Corinthians 1:2 and knowing that other churches and the saints within will fall into the sixty-four plus sins recorded in 1 Corinthians he begins his message to the “church” the “ekklesia” the Greek word for the called out ones, the saints of God. His message is then to the many, not to one. Well I have to stop, I do not want to, but time is running out fast and I have already exceeded one piece of paper and I do apologize.

The Devotional – A Look at the Book 711

The Living Word of God is more than just a tool to have a feel good experience. It is a need for everyone to get to know God personally. I believe that many use the Bible as a source of feeling; like an emotional kick which has no lasting effect or quality of spiritual growth. If you are one of those, I simply say… STOP IT! Or as the writer of Hebrews exhorts us in Hebrews 4:12.

Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing? Psalm 2:1. Do people consider the activity around them? Do people wag their tongue for naught? Do nations really plot to accomplish emptiness of living? The answer is… yes; people and nations who have no personal relationship with the Creator God of the Holy Bible are not only deliberately involved with rage at God, but are nationally in alliance with other nations who are like minded and at war with God. Psalm 2:1-3

There are less than a handful of nations that rightfully submit to the Will of God in time and if you care to study biblically based history you will see that since the fall of the tower of Babel, only one nation has God honored as His children, others like the United States of America, Australia and others of the past have constitutional foundations that support and agree with The Creator.

Presently, cultures of other nations have infiltrated the United States. These cultures are strong in the face of the weakening culture of our nation. While this is not because of our lack of human achievement and technology, it is because we have allowed the culture of heathen influence to break our strong bond with God. We are casting away the cords of spiritual truth that once controlled our land of the free.

Therefore God is not happy with our nation, notice in Psalm 2:1-6, especially in verse 4 as it is said that He who sits in the heavens shall laugh. Now don’t get it wrong here. God is not laughing at our nation for being a nation. He is laughing because we as a nation have traded off peace and joy for distress and deep displeasure. We have accepted the lie of heathenistic human viewpoint, yet God position has not changed and His throne is well established and will not be moved.

Thus I say as the Psalmist; be wise O leaders and governors of this land, serve the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling awe. Be ready to reconcile with the Son of God, lest His anger over our rejection of Him should be revealed in the full array of His Power. The battle is the LORD’s and it is one that the heartland knows will not be won if favor of our rebellion.. Psalm 2:1-12

I do like those last few words: “Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him”