1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I don't want you to be uninformed. 2-3 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 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.

4-6 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7-10 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 1 Corinthians 11:1-11 English Standard Version (New Living Translation link)

When you were young were you ever disappointed, even jealous, at Christmas time? It's not unusual for children to react like that if they felt a brother or sister got a present which they thought was nicer than the one they were given. Sadly, this sort of immaturity was raising it's head among many Christians at Corinth. It's seems that some who had been given the ability to speak in a language they had not learned (what the Bible called 'tongues'), thought they were more special than others. And some who'd not spoken in tongues, and who had been given less visible abilities by the Holy Spirit, thought they were missing out. What's the main thing Paul wanted them to realize in vs 4-6.

The abilities that the Holy Spirit gives are not a 'one size fits all'. People were given different abilities – but they came from the same giver. Verses 7-10 mention a number of things the Holy Spirit enabled people to do for the benefit and blessing of others and many of them related to speech. But what is the important truth Paul stresses in vs 11?

These abilities were given by the Holy Spirit as He considered best for the individuals and the Church, not according to what they wanted! That was often true of gifts wise parents gave their children at Christmas. They knew that a warm coat for winter would benefit the child far more than a toy which was often forgotten, or broken, by mid January. So too, Paul said that the abilities which showed that the Holy Spirit was working in each of their lives were “for the common good.” The Holy Spirit's gifts are like a family present – something to benefit everyone.

But there's also another important matter that Paul touches on in vs 1-3. What was the potential danger they needed to watch out for when it came to things that might be said in their meetings which they thought the Holy Spirit was leading them to say?

Those verses imply that the pagan religions of Paul's day also had experiences when a person was under the control of some spirit. Whether they were in a trance like state or an ecstatic one, they would have uttered things about their god. And Paul is very clear that anyone who says things that are clearly contradictory to who Jesus really is and what he has done, cannot be speaking from the Spirit of the true God. This is still relevant today because of many ‘Christian’ groups which have strange manifestations at their meetings, but teach things that are not consistent with God's word. We need to be very careful of groups who claim the Holy Spirit is bringing about the bizarre activity seen at their meetings.

Some Christians today still wonder if the Holy Spirit is really in their life because they've never 'spoken in tongues'. But Paul says tongues are not the evidence we need. The evidence of God's Holy Spirit working in our life is when we can meaningfully say that Jesus Christ is Lord – and when our lifestyle shows that what we say with our words is also true of our heart. If Jesus Christ is Lord of your life – then God's Spirit is living in you. We'll look at this some more next time.