The Spirit and Gifts: Tongues and Interpretation

The Spirit and Gifts: Tongues and Interpretation
1 Cor  14. 1-28;  and 12. 8-10, 28-30

Background. We have been learning about the gifts God stirs up among his people by the Holy Spirit, beginning with the list in 1 Cor 12. 8-10.  Today we look at the gifts of tongues and interpretation.

Firstly, what are these gifts and what are they for?
Tongues is speech that is unlearned and beyond the scope of the rational mind. On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, they all spoke in other languages, so that all the visitors in Jerusalem for the feast heard the Christian message in their own languages.  Sometimes tongues is like that. Sometimes it isn't: the speaker simply speaks out in a flow of praise or prayer in no known language.  Paul talks about "tongues of men (known languages) and angels (unknown languages)" - and scholars talk about a language miracle, and about ecstatic speech.   Both are possible: ecstatic speech probably more possible than a language miracle. (Some of the earliest Pentecostal missionaries came a cropper because they presumed that when they arrived in a tribal area the Holy Spirit would enable them to speak in the local language - to they never bothered to try to learn a language before going out! And in fact, they forgot that the tongues that were spoken on the day of Pentecost were not used in a conversation. There is no suggestion that those who spoke in tongues were able to understand what the people from all over the world said, or to decide what they wanted to say in their new languages. Just that they were able to speak. This was never intended to replace language learning or to enable a conversation to take place. It was there to let people hear the Good News in their own language and so have a demonstration that God really cared about them).

You might ask, "What possible benefit might there be in my being able to speak in a language I've never learned: unless I am able to say something in a language someone else will understand.  Even than, I can't have a conversation.  All I can do is say make my voice available for God to speak.  Actually, that would be good enough. I have heard testimonies of people being dramatically impacted by events like that.  But what possible use could it be to be able to speak in a completely unknown tongue?

Paul in fact answers that question:
1. see 1 Cor 14. 4: "He who speaks in a tongue builds up himself." - meaning promotes growth in character, virtue, holiness, blessedness. Through the release that comes from tongues,  the personality of a person can be built up: that is a faith statement, but one borne out by research.
2. see 1 Cor 14. 14-17: tongues can be used for prayer.  We can use the gift of tongues to speak out God's praises.  There may be moments when you are overwhelmed with the majesty, greatness and glory of God.  Those are the moments to let that new language come into its own.  There may be moments when, as Paul suggests in Romans 8. 26-27: "The Spirit helps us in our weaknesses: when we don't know how to pray as we ought the Spirit prays inside us with groans too deep for words.  I don't know for 100% certain that Paul was thinking about the use of tongues when he wrote these words. He may well have been. But I do know for certain that tongues is definitely one way in which those groans too deep for words can be presented before God as prayer.

Interpretation is a rendering of the tongue, into a language that can be understood. It is not a translation. It is an interpretation.  It explains, makes sense of the whole tongues event. Bittlinger says "Interpretation is not an accurate translation nor a commentary on prayer in the Spirit. Rather, it is  a presentation of the essential content in the mother tongue."

It is given so that there may be some understanding of the event that has taken place. It is important that we engage all of our being.  Paul talks about praying - or singing - with the spirit and with the mind (1 Cor 14. 15).  It is good to come to God and just engage with God, Spirit to spirit.  But it is good to engage the mind as well.  Interpretation enables the minds of others to engage with our prayers and praises and to agree with them.

A mission question?  
Paul raises a question about the impact of tongues as they were being used in Corinth - the kind of tongues that are not any human language - on "outsiders", those who don't trust in Jesus and have not had the things Christians do explained to them. Paul's argument is difficult but we should make the effort to understand it...

He begins by quoting (1 Cor 14. 21) from Isaiah 28. 11, where Isaiah says in effect to Israel, "Because you have not turned to God when you heard me speaking to you in Hebrew or Aramaic, God is going to speak to you through people who speak foreign languages - the Assyrians. Maybe when they come and invade the land, you'll wake up and repent of your sins."  In other words, when God speaks to Israel through "men of strange languages" he is speaking judgement.  So, says Paul, tongues is kind of like that. It's real, and it's God, but if everyone is shouting out in an unknown language, to unbelievers it sounds like gibberish and confirms them in their unbelief.  So tongues is a judgement-sign for unbelievers. Prophecy - that speaks clearly and incisively and exposes what is really going on in people's hearts - can turn unbelievers pretty quickly into believers.

This is an important passage, because it wrestles with the missional impact of the Church's ordinary day-to-day life... What do we look like, how do we come across, to the uninitiated?  We may tell ourselves that our society has turned its back on God; that men and women are under judgement.  But if, by whatever means - tongues that can't be understood or a little routine that doesn't make sense - we present ourselves as a stupid, self-indulgent minority who are busily carrying on our little rituals and don't care about our world, we are helping people along the road to judgement.

So what are we to do?
We need to be open. Paul says "I wish you all spoke in tongues" (1 Cor 14. 5) and adds that he uses the gift more than any of the Corinthians.  (1 Cor 14. 18)  He says at the end of the chapter, just in case anyone thinks it would be better not to bother with tongues after
all,  "Don't forbid speaking in tongues." (1 Cor 14. 39)
In private.  If Paul says he speaks in tongues more than anyone else. People need to be told that; it's not a well-known fact - because Paul uses the gift,  mainly in private. We need to explore and unpack the gift in private prayer and praise. It can be deeply releasing to our souls as well enabling our prayers.
In the body.   "In the Church I would far rather speak five words in prophecy." (1 Cor 14. 19) There needs to be proper functioning in the Body of Christ, the church, so we do what we do for building up one another not just ourselves.  (v. 17)  that means
* Pray for the power to interpret. (1 Cor 14. 13)
* Only two or three at most should speak out in tongues in public worship (1 Cor 14. 27)
* and if you don't believe there is someone with the gift of interpreting the tongue, and you don't feel you will be able to do so, you keep quiet. (1 Cor 14. 28)
* Space needs to be made for the interpretation as well as the tongues. 
What if you haven't got tongues?  You can always ask (1 Cor 14. 1: "Earnestly desire the spiritual gifts"); but don't be uptight about it. If you haven't got the gift, it means what? Precisely this: you don't speak in tongues. It's not the proof of anything. It's not evidence of being more spiritual than someone else. Jesus said "he who believes in me, out of his inner begin shall flow rivers of living waters." (John 7. 38)  It's not something to force yourself to do, something to squeeze out of you. If it doesn't flow, don't worry about it. If God wants you to have it, it will come.

© Gilmour Lilly September 2011

Faith Gifts: 1 Corinthians 12. 8-10, 28-30 with Romans 12. 6-8

We're learning from the Bible, about God at work, in our lives by his Spirit. We're learning about his gifts - not things we own but God-breaths - events that happen make us like Jesus and equip us for God's kingdom. The list in 1 Cor 12. 8-10, is divided into three groups of two, five and two. It begins with the "Word" gifts (wisdom and knowledge).  The headline for the middle five is "Faith".  The faith gifts are faith, healing, miracles, prophecy and discernment.

Faith 

Faith moves mountains.
Schiehallion in Perthshire, Scotland

The New Testament talks about faith a number of different ways.  Faith is about trusting in Jesus to be your saviour.  We are told to believe the Good news.  Secondly faith (or faithfulness - the Greek word is the same) is part of the fruit of the Spirit; the attitude that will "believe all things" is part of the outworking of Love (1Cor 13) so faith is part of Christian Character. It is the flip-side of being trustworthy and having integrity, that you avoid a cynical attitude to people around you.  That's not a gift: it's part of Christian character, something that should be present in every Christian.  We are responsible for the exercise of faith in order to trust in Jesus, to begin the Christian life. And we are responsible for the exercise of faith as we pray and get along with other people.  Becoming a Christian is a step out, a leap of faith - not a leap against the evidence, not becoming irrational but choosing to accept the evidence. It may be counter intuitive but it is not anti intellectual. We are all exercising faith as Christians. We are all trusting Jesus. We all pray with faith.  We are all to be trusting towards each other. We are all responsible for quenching words of cynicism and unbelief.  That's Christian character.

But Paul talks about a gift of faith. That is different.  It is, says Joseph Brosch, "a supernatural conviction that God will reveal his power, righteousness and mercy in a specific case."  Jesus and Paul talk about the faith that could move mountains (Matt 17. 20, 1 Cor 13. 2). It's the faith that does not doubt that God is at work.  We see Jesus moving in that kind of faith when he prays at the grave of Lazarus, in John 11. 41f.  "Father, I know that you always hear me..."   There is a conviction that God is at work in the situation.  That gift-of-faith is given to strengthen the faith of other people. It's infectious.  It's not something to be worked up and it's not something that will be present all the time. It's a God-breath, given at a specific moment. He could give it to you.

Healing
Actually, Paul talks about "Gifts of healings."   Different gifts, different healings.  I could talk about this all day but I will restrain myself!  We are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139. 14)  Our minds and bodies affect each other, in ways that are hundreds of times more complex than we imagine.  The connexions between body mind and spirit are almost universally accepted. In his book "Fear no evil" the late David Watson explores the relationship between emotions, chemicals produced in the brain, and physical health. He quotes one man who found that "ten minutes of belly laughter would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep" John Wesley suggested that as well as through word or touch, God's healing "may exert itself also, though to a lower degree, where natural remedies are applied".

Rontgen's first ever medical x-ray,
of his wife's hand with a ring.

So what is a gift of healing? It's not an ability to heal that resides in a Pastors or evangelist. It is an occasion when God moves to bring restoration of health of the whole person, body, mind and spirit. Gifts of healings can affect us at the different levels of mind, body and spirit.  That may be totally supernatural. Some healings may begin with the mind and affect the body. it may that prayer releases the natural healing mechanisms in the body. It may a touch from God that goes along with medical or counselling skill.  Some healings may be partial, repeated over weeks or months.  Some may be a combination of different factors.

God knows all about us. Gifts of healings are times when God says to a sick person, "Today, I have a gift of healing for you!"  But any of us might be the person God uses to pass on that gift!

Miracles 

This is an unhelpful word: it doesn't translate the Greek properly.  Philosophers define a miracle as a "violation of the laws of nature" and the Catholic Church says that a miracle can only be claimed if there is clear evidence. We talk carelessly about miracles and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is reported to be trying out a new "miracle cream" that costs £57 per 30 ml bottle! (By the way, it's been tested on 34 women!)   None of that is what the Greek word means.  

Paul says literally "workings of powers".  These were "power-events", power encounters between the power of God and the power of the evil one.  Jesus not only healed the sick, but raised the dead, clamed the storm, fed the five thousand.  There are moments when the power of God is dramatically seen.  These moments are the "workings of powers" Paul talks about.  Again, the emphasis is on the moment not possession of the gift.  To some people in the church, these moments are given. "Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?"  The workings of power events are something God does - in response to faith.  (Gal 3:5 ESV) 

Prophecy 
Prophecy is literally "speaking out."  It may involve foretelling but it always involves forth-telling, saying something because it is what God is saying.  Some preaching may be include a prophecy, but we shouldn't confuse the two. Preaching says, "The Bible says and means this; the truths of the faith apply like this." Prophecy says, "Thus says the Lord." It is direct, from God.

Prophecy may include insight, encouragement, information about the past, the present or the future, that the speaker hasn't worked out or learned. It could come in the form of a picture. It could simply be a sense of being led to share a verse from the Bible. It could be for the gathered church or an individual. The gift that we sometimes call a "Word of knowledge" - the person who says, "there's someone here with toothache" - is more like a word of prophecy.

Paul gives a number of pointers for the use of prophecy:
1. This gift - like all the gifts - is under our control. We can decide whether to speak out, and how loudly to speak.  If we're out of control, it's not the Holy Spirit; it's the flesh.
2. The person who prophesies should do so in accordance with his faith. In other words, you speak out what God gives you the faith to speak out. You don't go beyond it for any reason. If you are not sure, but think God may be saying something, admit it as you share the word.
3. Prophecy should be assessed, by the body, according to the gold standard of Scripture.  If it runs contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture, it's not prophecy: God never contradicts himself.  If the body discerns something not right, it's not prophecy.

Discernment of Spirits
This is the ability, when dealing with the supernatural, to tell the difference between what is from God, what is from the enemy, and what is just someone's human ideas.  Jesus used discernment on a number of occasions.  See Matthew 16. 23, when he tells Peter (the "Rock" who's just had the amazing revelation that Jesus is the Son of God) "get behind me Satan, your thoughts are not God's but man's."   Discernment means we will reject lies, even if they are being spoken by usually good people.  It also means we won't accept nice things, if they are being said by wrong spirits (see Mark 1. 24f)

We have God's word as the ruler with which we measure everything; but sometimes we just need an inner nudge from the Spirit.  We need discernment when prophecy and other gifts are used. We need discernment in healing: otherwise we try to heal sin, drive out illness and repent of demons. And when discernment is needed, God gives it!  As he does the other gifts

© Gilmour Lilly September 2011

Wisdom and Knowledge: 1 Corinthians 12. 8-10

Wisdom and Knowledge: 1 Corinthians 12. 8-10
Summing up so far...

* From the Old Testament: Who is the Spirit? He is and always has been God at work, powerfully personally, and creatively.
* From the Spirit in the ministry of Jesus: What does the Spirit do? He wants to come in power to make us clean and to equip us to extend God's kingdom.
* What are gifts? God-breaths, graces that make the Spirit's presence noticeable.

So let's look at the gifts - the things the Spirit does - in greater detail...

Paul speaks about gifts, five times. There are two lists in 1 Cor 12; another in Romans 12, a different one in Eph 4; then in 1 Cor 7.7 he uses that word "Charismata" (gracelets) to refer to the ability to be happily single or to be happily married. See the chart to sort out the 23 gifts mentioned - as some are mentioned more than once.

1 Cor 12. 8-10	1 Cor 12. 28-30	Rom 12. 6-8	Eph 4.11	1 Cor 7. 7
	apostles,		apostles,
	prophets,		prophets,
			Evangelists
			Pastors
	teachers	teaching	teachers
wisdom
knowledge
faith
healing	gifts of healing,
miracles	miracles,
prophecy		prophecy
distinguish between spirits
	helping
	administration
tongues	various kinds of tongues.
interpretation of tongues
		service
		exhortation
		Contributes
		leads
		acts of mercy
				Celibacy
				Marriage

Then there is the Old Testament where the spirit's gifts include prophecy, interpreting dreams (Gen 41.38 Joseph), administering justice (Num 11.17); leadership (Jdg 3:10)  ; wisdom (Num 27:18  Deu 34:9) , craftsmanship (Exodus 31. 3)  strength (Jdg 6:34)  and military skill (Jdg 13-14). We are dealing with the creative God, and we shouldn't tie down what he does by his Spirit to a little list of gifts.


What we will do then is look at the gifts mentioned in 1 Cor 12, beginning today with the first two which are "Word" gifts.
Paul speaks of a "word of wisdom2, and a "word of knowledge2.  In keeping with what we said last week that the gifts are not so much our personal possessions that we carry around with us, but rather are god-breaths that show the Spirit is at work, Paul says here some have a word of wisdom, some a word of knowledge.  It's not the wisdom or knowledge that is the gift; it is the occasion when it is used for the building up of the Church.


Wisdom can include the wisdom of creation/creativity.  The craftsmen in Exodus 31 were described as having "Wisdom".  It is a skill-gift.  In the Bible, wisdom is never neutral!  It's wither or earthly and devilish - or God-given: See James 3. 14-17; 1 Cor 3. 19
In the Bible, "Wisdom" is always about what to do, not just about theory.  Think about the Proverbs: they are about the practicalities of life
Pro 3:30  Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm.
Pro 6:10  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber.
Pro 11:12  Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.
Pro 14:34  Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
Pro 17:28  Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.


The word of Wisdom is a practical application of the truth of God's Word, to real life so we know what to do in a difficult situation.


An example of this in the ministry of Jesus is in Matthew 22. 16-22. Some people came to Jesus with a trick question: "Should we Jews pay taxes to the Romans or not?"  If he said, "Yes, he would be seen as a traitor to the Jews. If he said "No," he would be seen as a troublemaker by the Romans.  Jesus cut through all that with a word of wisdom: "Whose picture is on the coin?"  Caesar could claim what had his mark on it; but god claims what bears His image, so all people should put God first.


James 1:5  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.


Knowledge.  There were people in the Greek world called "Gnostics" - who believed that there was a secret knowledge you needed to achieve union with God.  For the "Gnostics" that was all about getting your soul freed from your sinful body, and about the use of the stars, or getting help from a variety of spiritual beings. Gnostic ideas were a threat to the Church: some Christians were taken in by Gnostic teaching, and a lot of Paul's writing aims to deal with these errors.  But Paul isn't afraid to use the word "knowledge" - insisting that God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2. 4)   When he is talking about a "word of knowledge", this is what he means.  A special, Spirit-inspired insight into the great theological truths of the Christian faith.  Not a new doctrine.  Not some secret knowledge about angels or star signs.  Just this: a fresh understanding of one of the big truths, one of the core doctrines of the faith.  


Now I know lots of Christians believe a "word of knowledge" is what happens when someone has God-given information about someone else. Maybe at a healing service someone will know something quite specific.  "There's someone here with tennis elbow and God wants to heal you."  That's a perfectly valid thing to happen.  If God gives you something like that then it's right to share it.  But that is not a word of knowledge. It's probably more like a word of faith or prophecy.   We'll come to that next week.


Arnold Bittliinger says, "The word of knowledge consists of the old message spoken in the new situation in such a way that it still remains the old message."


We see Jesus using the word of knowledge in Matthew 5. See verses 21-22.  Here he quotes the "Old Message" from the law: "You shall not murder". He then speaks that into the new situation of the Kingdom: "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment."  Compare verses 27-28.   The old message is "You shall not commit adultery," but in the new situation Jesus says  " everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart"


So how can we apply this?  We can all benefit when God gives someone a word of wisdom or of knowledge.  They can help us understand and apply our faith. And any of us can receive a word of wisdom or knowledge. In order to move effectively in these gifts and benefit from them, there are two things we need to do.  Spend time walking with Jesus in prayer.  And saturating ourselves in God's word.


© Gilmour Lilly August 2011

The Spirit and the Gifts 1 Corinthians 12. 1-11

The Spirit  and the Gifts 1 Corinthians 12. 1-11

Corinth was a city known for its wild, self-centered and pleasure-seeking lifestyle. Against that background, the letters Paul wrote tell us that the Corinthian Church found the "Gifts of the Spirit" exciting: the idea of speaking in new languages, loud, sensual worship, maybe some miracles, appealed to their sense of individualism, their taste for the spectacular.   You would think, if Paul had any sense, he would advise these immature Christians to leave these supernatural things alone: "Just  focus on Jesus and don't bother with the Holy Spirit."  But he didn't. Far from it. He couldn't and wouldn't, because the work of the Spirit is central to the Good News.  The only Christianity Paul and the early Church knew, was supernatural, Spirit-empowered Christianity.  He wants the Corinthians, despite the mistakes they have been making, to appreciate the amazing things God wants to be doing in their lives.  The principle remains true today, that the answer to abuse of the gifts is not disuse, but correct use.   The gifts came with the package.  

But What are they? 
Paul doesn't actually use the word "Gifts": he uses 5 different words for the so-called gifts of the Spirit in the first seven verses of this chapter. We look now at the words Paul uses, to get some handle on how God wants the gifts to operate in our lives.  It's a bit of a Greek lesson, but Paul says "I don't want you to be ignoranit" about this area so it will help us to get a handle on the facts...

Dandelion seeds.
Picture by Alex Valavanis

1. Gifts are  "Pneumatika", they are Spirit-breaths (v1)
That is what the Corinthians were seeing and hearing around them in their worship: Something that had the immediacy and authority of being a "God-breath", a word or touch from heaven.  If we want to use our gifts we need to begin with "god-breaths". What is God wanting to breath through my life?

2. Gifts are "Charismata"; they are "gracelets" (v4)
The next word Paul uses is related to the word for "Thanks" and the word for "Grace".  Theses gifts are little graces, little freely give, freely received favours from God. They are an outworking of the amazing grace God has shown us in sending Jesus to save us from our sin.  If we want to use our gifts, we need to remember they're gracelets: they come by grace, and they should show God's grace to others, bring his joy to the lives they touch.

3. Gifts are "diakonia"; they are services (v5)
They lead us not just to feeling good. They're intended not to take us to ministry. They're not just for leaders. They're for servants.  They're for those who are willing to "serve at table".

4. Gifts are "energemata"; they are abilities or activities (v6)
They go at least a little beyond the natural. They are energies: energy is something working inside us.  I don't know how the Spirit works inside people to produce his gifts. But I know that is what he does.  Sometimes he takes what we naturally have; sometimes he enables us to see what we naturally couldn't.  And the amazing mixture of the abilities we started with, and the power of God, produces real gifts of the Spirit.

5. Gifts are "Phanerosis".  They are visible evidence. (v7)  This is the word from which we get "phenomenon" - which simply means something that we can see or hear or touch.   So gifts are a manifestation or exhibition of the Spirit. Spiritual gifts make the spirit's presence noticeable.  When people use their gifts, the presence of the Spirit is evident in worship. When you use your gifts, the presence of the Spirit is evident in your workplace.

Who is given them?
To each.  Spirituals, gracelets, services, abilities, exhibitions of the Spirit are given to each one.   Nobody is excluded.  Nobody is too old or too young. Nobody is not clever enough, or not spiritual enough.  The evidence of the spirit being at work is given to everyone.  God has placed, is placing and will place within your life, breaths of his Spirit, graces, services, energies that are evidence of his Spirit being at work. Find out what they are and use them.

What are they for?
The common good.  So everyone can profit from them.  Not just for you to enjoy. Not to build you up but to build other people up.  It's that simple, I have very little to add to hat Paul has already said here.

How do they come?
They operate by the spirit. (1 Cor 12. 8f). Paul uses three different words for our English word by.  Now these three words all point to the origin of all these gifts being the Holy Spirit. But they are different and their differences point to or suggest something of the breadth of how the Spirit works.

 1. Through, by means of the Spirit.  The Spirit therefore is the original source, for the gifts.  And whether your gift is wholly supernatural, or whether your gift is a musical one that grew as you did Grade exams, its ultimate source is the Holy Spirit.  It will only touch the lives of other people, if the Holy Spirit is using it.  We need to think outside the box as we recognise the Spirit.

2. According to (the Rules of) the Spirit.  He determines who gets what! (verse 11) And he will not contradict himself. He will not inspire someone to curse the Name of Jesus.  He will always want to say, "Jesus is Lord!"  He will always desire to operate his gifts within character that is like Jesus. We need to respect the Rules of the Spirit;

3. In, resting in, the Spirit. The Greek word "in" is about rest.  Time and again, in discovering our gifts, and in using our gifts, we will need to stop struggling, and just say "Over to you, Lord!"  We keep coming back to this, no matter how experienced we are in the things of the Spirit: we rest in him and we pick up again his resources.  

4.  Finally, ...  Paul says (1 Cor 14. 1) "earnestly desire/Be eager to have/Set your hearts on spiritual gifts.  Zealously desire them."  Desire the gifts. Request. Ask. 

As we do, the Spirit will show himself. His work will be seen.


© Gilmour Lilly August 2011

Jesus - man of the Spirit....Luke 4. 14-30

Our story begins with Jesus "Coming back to Galilee in the power of the Spirit" - but where's he been? What has been happening to bring him back to Galilee in the power of the Spirit?  Let me tell you what happened....Jesus has been in the desert. But before that he's been to the Jordan River where he was baptised, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him. Be even that is not where Luke's story of Jesus, man of the Spirit, begins...

The Spirit and his birth. See Luke 1. 35. At the point at which the "New Creation" began to impact the world, when Jesus the eternal son of God, became human, when Jesus who had always been there with the Father and the Spirit, became a growing embryo in Mary's womb, the Holy Spirit was at work.   That's the fundamental background to everything. Jesus wasn't just an ordinary person who was made special because the Holy Spirit came to him... He was and is God... but...

The Spirit and his baptism. After he had been baptised, and was in prayer, (and Luke stresses both of these) the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus with a visible sign that looked like a dove. In a way that reminder of the language of Genesis 1. 2, the spirit hovers over the life of Jesus to equip him for the ministry that he had accepted. When Jesus came back to Galilee "in the power of the Spirit" it was the outworking of this experience at his baptism, when the Holy Spirit came in power upon him.   But there's more.... Jesus wasn't coming straight from the Jordan, where the Spirit came in power. He was coming from the desert...

The Spirit and his inner life.  Verse 1 tells us, "The Spirit led Jesus in the desert", in the wild place, for forty days of fasting, prayer, discipline.  In the desert - without going too deeply into the temptations and their significance (which would be another sermon) - Jesus faced questions about his identity (twice the enemy challenged him "if you are the Son of God") and his motivation (the enemy offered him the "kingdoms of the world") and dealt with these through God's word. He is clean and confident.

So now, Jesus has arrived back in his home region and is ready to begin his ministry, healing the sick and announcing Good news, at Capernaum... then turning up at his home town, Nazareth, and doing what he had always done, going to synagogue on the Sabbath.  People have heard about him. He's recognised as a man and as a preacher, so he is given the scroll of Isaiah the prophet to read; he finds Isaiah 61 and reads it...   (Luke being a Greek quotes from the Greek Old testament, which is slightly different. That's why Isaiah 61 doesn't quite match Luke 4. 18)

The Spirit and his mission.  The Spirit who rests upon Jesus, anoints him "to preach Good News to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to proclaim the acceptable year of he Lord"...  (The year of Jubilee, when land was passed back to the people who originally owned it. )  What does that all mean?  Isaiah was very much concerned with the coming into the world of someone he often called "God's Servant", the Messiah, who would bring "God's rule". A new age for god's people in all their suffering and struggles and anew age for the world... So when Jesus read these words, and then began to say, "These words are fulfilled here today..." he was announcing that the work of the Spirit in his life is about bringing the Kingdom.  That was his mission. Two things about this Kingdom;

First, it would comfort the disturbed.  It was going to bring healing to broken individuals; it was going to bring healing to broken relationships; it was going to bring healing to a broken world.  The Kingdom, then, as to bring physical healing, material provision, freedom from spiritual and political oppression, and a restored relationship with God.

And it would disturb the comfortable... Initial reactions, it seems, were positive, to this new young preacher.  (v. 22)  People are nodding their heads - but they are also beginning to get a bit offended: "we know who he is. We ken his faither... these are big claims for the carpenter's lad" The people are surprised, impressed, rattled, all at the same time.  Jesus goes on to challenge their comfortable assumptions about the Kingdom: it's not going too be quickly proved by a few miracles. And it's not going to be a cosy little club for a chosen few. It's for the nations. They are now so rattled that they want to run him out of town, to stone him as a heretic... but he slips away from them... It's almost a parable of Jesus and the gospel's relationship with the Jews - beginning at home in Judea and then going out to the far-off places.

So Luke, writing to the Church far away from Judea, brings the story of Jesus and their experience of the Spirit together. He is saying something about Jesus. They can understand Jesus in the light of what the Spirit has done in their lives. And he is saying something about the Spirit - they should expect of the Spirit in their own lives to do what he did in the life of Jesus...

A new Creation.  The Spirit of God has to be at work whenever a man woman or child connects with God, trusts Jesus, commits to following him.  HE speaks. He nudges us to realise we need to trust Jesus... He takes hold of us and loves inside us when we reach that point of trust.

Coming in power...If the Spirit could come and empower Jesus who was God the Son after all, how much more do we need to welcome the Spirit coming in power upon us.  We need the Spirit - the breath of God - to hover over our lives to release his gifts in us.  When we are ready to commit to serving God, and in a place of dependent prayer, we can ask God to send his Spirit into our lives, to fill us and to give us power.

Inner Cleansing.  The Holy Spirit is concerned about your inner life.  EH is not just concerned about producing dramatic powerful things: he is concerned about heart surgery. HE is concerned about your inner life. He is concerned about your identity. That's why Paul insists that he is the Spirit of Sonship. Do you know who you are in Christ? Do you have confidence that you are a child of God?  What motivates you? What keeps you going and makes you want to serve Jesus? These are things the Holy Spirit wants to do in you.  He works with god's word in your inner life to make you clean and confident. If you want the Holy Spirit in your life, if you want to be filled with the Spirit, if you want to grow in your gifts, you need to be prepared to let the Holy spirit work in that inner place: even if it means he's leading you in the desert.

The Kingdom  The Holy Spirit is not just given so we can have nice feelings. He's not just given so we can have impressive gifts.  He's not even just given so we can experience deep stuff from God. He is here to anoint us to preach good news to the poor... so we can take our part in bringing the Kingdom, the reign of God, to our society.  That means to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.  During the last week we have watched as a horrible drama unfolded on our TV screens just a few hours drive away. We may pride ourselves in saying "They were English riots not UK riots" but we all know our society is in a mess. We all know about young people getting legless in Rosyth on a Saturday evening. We all know about addictions, about suicide. We all know about sectarian violence, sexual abuse. We all know about prejudice, we all know about greed. We all know about unemployment, job insecurity, cutbacks, about bankers' bonuses.  The answer to our world is the Kingdom of god.  Not just "Hey, you're a sinner and Jesus died to save you!" but "How can we be good news to the poor? How can we proclaim Jubilee? How can we bring freedom to people who are tied up in webs of crime, addiction, and materialism?   How can we challenge those who are comfortably coexisting with the brokenness in our world?"  The spirit of God wants to take us out into our community, our broken society, to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.


© Gilmour Lilly August 2011

Acts 8:26-40

Although the Church was commissioned to take the Gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, Philip was the first to do this.   We often call him Philip the Evangelist. We could call him Philip the Obedient; we could call him Philip- the pioneer, Philip the fearless, Philip the Traveller. When persecution happened and loads of Christians left Jerusalem, Philip ended up in Samaria. And he said "Samaria's fair game..."  He was breaking new ground, sharing the good news with Samaritans.  He was right in the middle of the flow of the Holy Spirit. He was seeing powerful signs, wonders, deliverance, and people being saved. ("Great joy in the city" is code for the saving effect of the Kingdom.)  Philip was in the middle of a really exciting time of revival. Then the Lord's angel said, "Leave town, Philip". And I can imagine Philip saying, "Lord, look at what is happening here.  Loads of people are being converted.  The Church is growing.  You've been at work; the Apostles are happy. I'm right at the middle of things, using my gifts and you want me to walk away from all that?

Obedience to the Holy Spirit.  
It gets worse... " Go out into the desert..."  And Philip could well be saying, "But Lord, I'm an evangelist. I tell people the good news. How can I tell people the Good News if there are no people to tell?"  But Philip went out into the desert. He knew the revival was God, not him; he knew that he needed to remain in the place where the Lord had called him to be. And right now, that was in the desert.  So he goes. And the Spirit goes, to lead him in the next adventure in mission.

Discovering the Mission.  
In the desert, at this moment in time, not weeks later...in God's perfect time, as Philip walked down that deserted road, wondering, "What does God have for me to do out here? Did I make a mistake" he hears the jingling of harness, the sound of hooves, and a chariot overtook him...("All right for some...") Then the Holy Spirit spoke: Get after it and hitch a lift". (If you're going to hitch try to get picked up in a Mercedes or a Rolls Royce) - and the passenger was a rich African guy... (it so happens he was Chancellor of the Exchequer to Queen Candace of Ethiopia!)  It doesn't get better.  For Philip the pioneer, he's hitching a lift to the ends of the earth!   Wonderful. From that point on, note, Philip didn't need any prompting from God. He knew what to do. He discovered the Ethiopian was reading the Bible, reading Isaiah 53. The guy was curious, exploring spiritual truths and realities. All he needed was for someone to explain to him, as we were learning this morning, that the "Lamb" of Isaiah 53 is Jesus. This is the mission. This is the next stage.  And Philip is ready to journey with him, and on that journey tell him the Good News.  The Good news, the Kingdom of God, the Lamb slain - for not just Samaria, but the ends of the earth. A complete outsider. A gentile; an African. A guy with a black skin.  You heard it here first, people, from Philip.  Where are your surprising outsiders, who are puzzling over spiritual truth, interacting with holy stuff?  How are you going to get alongside?  How are you going to announce the good news about Jesus? Do you know what the good news is? What will be the possibilities for the mission going to exciting new places, through your surprising outsider?

Ready to respond
The African guy was not just "Curious". He was receptive. He was ready to make a personal commitment to Jesus.  He knew enough about the Christian Faith to know that the way to sign up was to be baptised.  To jump in that water. And he was ready to jump. Isn't that an exciting place to be in mission? Working with receptive people, who are ready to jump in the water.

Becoming a Christian is personal but not private. When the African guy was baptised, he was saying to everyone in his retinue, his bodyguard, his personal servants, "I am now trusting Jesus." It was no secret.   And when he was baptised, he was saying, "I am part of the community of faith, the Church.

When will we as Baptists begin to take baptism seriously? When will we allow it to be what the New testament wants it to be, which is the appeal to God for a clean conscience, the clear, public statement at the beginning of a person's Christian life, that says "I am trusting Jesus to wash my sins away and I am one of his people, part of the Church.

What is to hinder me from being baptised? Well, if you trust in Jesus, nothing. Not being only twelve; not being mentally handicapped; not the need for a course of study first.  No wonder the guy was rejoicing when he went on his way.  That word "Joy " is code for the work of the Holy Spirit in passages like these.  He went on his way, empowered by the Holy Spirit - to the ends of the earth, to serve Jesus in his home continent of Africa.

Mission to the margins
So Philip also travelled: the Spirit just transported him to Ashdod or Azotus, a coastal city. And he worked his way up the coast toward Caesarea, on the margins, all the while proclaiming the Gospel. Maybe not always seeing spectacular results. But it's interesting that in Peter took to travelling with the Gospel. He found saints in Lydda (Acts 9. 32),. and  Joppa (Acts 9. 38).

We read about Philip's revival and we kind of want to say, "That would be nice!  We'd like some of that, please Lord! Why doesn't that happen in Scotland?"   I don't want to suggest that there's some quick fix, or some formula that will bring people into the Kingdom in their thousands. We all have family members whom we long to see coming to trust in Jesus.  It was still hard work for Philip, and it will be hard work for us.  But I believe that s we are prepared to break new ground, we will discover people who are curious. And as we journey with them, we will find that some of them are ready to respond to Jesus. And as we are ready to welcome and receive them, baptising them and teaching them, they go on their way rejoicing; and we go on our way, too, delighting in being part of God's mission in the margins.





© Gilmour Lilly August 2011