The Confession of the Spiritual
by Sarah Wooten Corinth Missionary Baptist Church
Did you ever take one of those spiritual gift tests? I know there was a push for it a few decades ago. I was given a workbook and told to answer multiple choice questions about myself.
Then, I tallied a score based on my answers, and the workbook indicated what my top two or three spiritual gifts were.
I’m sure there’s an online version of that today. Looking back, I think there is a more biblical way of understanding what God is doing in our lives and how He lavishes His gifts on His children.
In the next section of 1 Corinthians, Paul does a deep dive into spiritual gifts.
The church at Corinth had a pride problem, which showed itself by them utilizing God’s spiritual gifts for their own personal glorification and greed.
This behavior couldn’t be left unchecked.
It was damaging to the entire congregation and hindering their worship of God.
Before Paul begins discussing the particular gifts, he does something that provides a foundation for the rest of the teaching that follows.
He tells the Corinthians that the gifts he is going to be discussing are for spiritual people (12:1).
Formerly, the Corinthians were pagan worshippers who followed after idols that could not even speak (12:2).
Their idols are utterly powerless, and the Corinthians were led towards the idols and away from the truth.
But now, they are in Christ, and they have a new confession.
The confession of the Christian is that “Jesus is Lord” (12:3).
Paul writes, “Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says ‘Jesus is accursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” (12:3, ESV).
The phrase “Jesus is Lord” isn’t magic.
It’s not as if someone can say those words and automatically be saved.
We understand that Paul means no one can truly say from their heart and life that Jesus is Lord unless the Holy Spirit has been at work inside of him.
Without the work of the Spirit, it is impossible to truly make this confession. But what is this confession all about?
Remember what it means to call someone “lord.” We struggle with this concept.
America was founded out of a rebellious spirit against authority, and we’ve repeated the pattern since then.
To be lord over something means you rule over it.
The thing is in subjection to the lord.
The confession is making a statement about Jesus’ sovereignty and authority.
He rules over everyone and everything, no matter what someone believes.
But the Christian is the one who realizes this and orients his life to this reality to follow after the Lord, which again is only possible by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Why does Paul make this important clarification about who is truly spiritual and who is Lord at the beginning of a conversation regarding gifts?
Because Paul is about to show us how spiritual people act.
This discussion about spiritual gifts is really for the believer.
According to His sovereign will, God has richly blessed all believers with spiritual gifts, and they are to be used for His glory and the service of other people.
Instead of having a heart of pride about the gifts, Christians are to have an attitude of love.
It is only by God’s grace that they have been saved and even have the opportunity to serve others through the gifts God has provided.
Therefore, don’t be prideful about it. Remember who you are as a Christian and learn what it means to live as a Christian.
We’ll be on the topic of spiritual gifts and their impact on the body of Christ for the next three chapters of 1 Corinthians.
By God’s grace, we’ll learn together about how Christians are to use the gifts that have been given to us to worship God and serve others – all from a heart that is rooted in love.
