This really isn’t a chapter about spiritual gifts and various ministries. It is a chapter about preserving unity among all the diversity in the church, a chapter about love! The manifold work of the Spirit should not divide us, but be appreciated as being from one source, unifying us. Similarly, even though the church consists of many ethnicities and cultures, one Spirit has baptized us into one body, and one Spirit indwells us all. Paul emphasizes this truth to the point of redundancy in this chapter, hoping we don’t miss it!

Paul lists nine spiritual gifts that the Spirit distributes, but notice that his emphasis is not on the gifts, but on the one Spirit who gives all the gifts. Also take note that the spiritual gifts are given as the Spirit wills (12:11), so no one possesses them or can turn them on or off at will.

The names Paul gives to each gift help us, to some degree, to define them. Three are gifts of revelation. When God reveals to one of us information about the future, that is a “word of wisdom,” whereas a “word of knowledge” would be a supernatural revelation of current or past facts. “Discerning of spirits” is God-given insight into the spiritual world, so that one might see an angel, Jesus, or a demon. People who claim to know everyone’s motives through the “gift of discernment” actually have the “gift of suspicion,” a gift not given by the Holy Spirit!

Three are gifts that display God’s power. If God gives you a “gift of healing” for someone else, you can heal them, even if they have no faith. The “gift of faith” is a supernatural impartation of faith to receive a miracle, whereas the “effecting of miracles” is simply an ability to do something miraculous.

Three are gifts of utterance, and they were quite prevalent in the Corinthian church. Prophecy is Spirit-inspired utterance in a known language, whereas “various kinds of tongues” is Spirit-inspired utterance in an unknown language. The “interpretation of tongues” is self-explanatory!

Speaking of speaking in other tongues, the obvious answer to Paul’s rhetorical question in 12:30, “All do not speak with tongues, do they?” is “no.” We will see clearly, however, when we read chapter 14, that the ability to pray in tongues, given when one is baptized in the Spirit, is somewhat different than the spontaneous “gift of tongues” that is only granted to some. That spontaneous gift is what Paul must have been referring to in 12:30.

The problem in today’s church with trying to apply Paul’s words about preserving unity among the many diverse members of Christ’s body is that so much of today’s church is not part of Christ’s body! Pastors whose congregations consist of sheep mixed with goats who think they are sheep can find little application from this chapter for their churches. God doesn’t give spiritual gifts to goats. Goats don’t have the Spirit in them. When another member of the body suffers, goats don’t care. Goats only care about themselves. Goats are inclined towards division. In reality, they hate Bible Jesus, and so they also hate anyone who truly loves Bible Jesus. A recipe for division!

Paul’s words in this chapter only have application among true followers of Christ. They consider their relationships with each other to be sacred. They genuinely care for one another.

In the church, God has appointed “first apostles, second prophets, [and] third teachers”(12:28). There is no biblical evidence that has ever changed. Apostles plant churches by the power of the Holy Spirit. Prophets are frequently granted the gifts of revelation and prophecy. Teachers instruct the church to obey Christ’s commandments.

Scripture, of course, also warns against false apostles, prophets and teachers, of which there is no shortage today. False apostles aren’t planting churches; they are elevating themselves over existing churches to gain wealth and power. False prophets are prophesying to people what they want to hear in order to enrich themselves. And false teachers also tickle people’s ears, downplaying or ignoring any teaching on holiness, again, in order to make money. Money is indeed the driving force behind every wolf in sheep’s clothing. Beware!

You may recall that when Paul first visited Corinth, he had just come from Athens where he’d spent time reasoning with Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, experiencing mixed results (Acts 17:16-34). I suspect Paul had endured his fill of human wisdom—of which Greeks were so fond—making him even more appreciative of the divine revelation of the gospel. Perhaps that is why, as he recounted his ministry in Corinth, he wrote:

I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified….and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God (2:1-5).

The message of the cross has generally always been spurned by intellectuals, as they judge it to be below their brilliance. The truth is, however, that it is far above their brilliance, having its origin in heaven. Among believers there may not be “many wise according to the flesh” (1:26), yet they comprise the wisest group of people on earth, having partaken of God’s wisdom. The wisdom of the world is foolishness, not only to God, but also to those of us who know God. Moreover, we are not intimidated, impressed or enamored by the intellectual, philosophical and religious elite of the world. Rather, we feel sorry for them, knowing they are groping in darkness, blind leaders of the blind.

Having received God’s Spirit, we now possess a wisdom that is hidden from the world, a wisdom that “God predestined before the ages to our glory” (2:7). Obviously, that predestined wisdom revolves around God’s plan to redeem us through the sacrifice of Christ. The Spirit has revealed to us “all that God has prepared for those who love Him” (2:9), which includes forgiveness of our sins, our spiritual rebirth as God’s sons, and a home in heaven, to name a few.

But have we been sovereignly selected to possess this wonderful wisdom from the Spirit? No. Scripture tells us that “with the humble is wisdom” (Prov. 11:2). Those who humble themselves put themselves in the position to receive God’s wisdom. Pride is always the enemy of true wisdom, and always the comrade of worldly wisdom.

Paul wrote that, had “the rulers of this age” understood that predestined wisdom, “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (2:8). Who are those “rulers” of whom he speaks? Some think it unlikely that Paul would refer to a few regional political leaders, namely, Pilate and Herod, along with a group of local religious leaders, the Jewish Sanhedrin, as being “rulers of this age” (2:6). For that reason, it is thought that Paul was referring to the demonic rulers who influenced everyone who had anything to do with Jesus’ death, starting with Judas, whom Scripture says “Satan entered” (Luke 22:3). Paul wrote of demonic spiritual rulers in his letters to the Ephesians and Colossians (Eph. 3:10, 6:12; Col. 1:16, 2:15). Those evil spiritual rulers were indeed outwitted by God. As they influenced men to crucify Christ, they unwittingly helped redeem millions of people from Satan’s dominion!

Some think that Paul’s statement, “Which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit” (2:13) is a reference to speaking in other tongues, something the Corinthians were doing a lot of, and a subject that surfaces later in Paul’s letter. No one knows for sure, as Paul doesn’t say. Certainly speaking with other tongues could be considered to be speaking words “taught by the Spirit.” Yet proclaiming the gospel could also be considered speaking words “taught by the Spirit.” Neither are accepted by “the natural man” (those who are not born again), as they are “foolishness to him” (2:14). So I’m unsure of what Paul was speaking about. When I see Paul in heaven I’m going to ask him why he didn’t write more clearly!

It is nice to be back into the book of Acts, even if only for one day. I almost wish I had designed our chronological study so that we would not be interrupted by one of the Gospels each quarter, but I wanted to space them throughout the year rather than reading them one right after another.

After staying in Corinth for at least eighteen months (18:11), Paul headed back to Antioch, from where he originally began, concluding his second missionary journey in about two years. He didn’t stay long, however, heading out on his third missionary journey that would keep him traveling for five years until his imprisonment in Jerusalem.

Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

In Ephesus, Paul found 12 baptized disciples. Take note of his initial question to them: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Paul’s question reveals two things: (1) He believed those 12 disciples had believed in Jesus. And (2) he believed there was a possibility that they had not received the Holy Spirit when they believed.

Paul also obviously suspected that those 12 disciples had not received the Holy Spirit, otherwise he would not have asked his question.

In response to Paul’s question, those 12 baptized believers indicated that they didn’t even know that there was a Holy Spirit (19:2). So Paul then asked, “Into what then were you baptized?” If they had been baptized “in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” as Jesus instructed in His Great Commission, they would have heard of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19).

Finally the truth was revealed. They had been baptized into “John’s baptism,” perhaps by Apollos before he was more enlightened to the truth (18:24-28).

So Paul told them the good news that Jesus had come (25 years earlier). He then baptized them in the name of the Lord. I can’t imagine anyone would claim that those 12 men were not thoroughly saved after that! By that time they were certainly all born again and thus indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Yet we next read that “Paul laid his hands upon them” and “the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying” (19:6).

So, once again, we see Scripture plainly teaches that one may have the Holy Spirit within him, but not yet upon him. Those 12 disciples were no different than the believers in Samaria whom we read about in Acts 8. You may recall that Peter and John were sent to Samaria to pray for the new believers there “that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for He had not yet fallen upon any of them” (Acts 8:15-16).

Once again the initial evidence of this Holy Spirit baptism was speaking with other tongues, and in the case of those 12 men, also prophecy. Millions of believers since then can testify of the same experience. If you have not yet been baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, you are just a prayer away!

Paul’s daily teaching for two years in the school of Tyrannus in Ephesus resulted in everyone in Asia, or modern western Turkey, hearing the gospel (19:10). I can only think that was accomplished, not as a result of everyone in Asia traveling to the school of Tyrannus over a two-year period to listen to Paul, but as a result of Paul’s students, whom he discipled at Tyrannus’ school, traveling throughout Asia to proclaim the gospel. That is a beautiful picture of the power of discipleship. And with the many extraordinary miracles that God was doing, Paul enjoyed a very fruitful time in a region where the Holy Spirit once forbade him to preach (Acts 16:6). It was a true revival characterized by public repentance (19:18-19) and a public riot (19:23-41)!

Take note that in Ephesus, “Paul purposed in the spirit [not in his head] to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, ‘After I have been there, I must also see Rome'” (19:21). That decision, made with the Spirit’s leading, set the course of Paul’s ministry for years, as we will see as we continue reading Acts.

As I read through James, I like to remind myself that it was the complete New Testament at the time it was written. There were no other New Testament books or letters then, so what we are reading was the spiritual diet of the early church when it was at least already 10 years old. Clearly, foremost in James’ mind was the necessity of holiness, and in today’s reading he elaborates on a subject introduced in chapter 1, where he wrote, “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless” (James 1:26). This theme resurfaces often in James’ letter.

Note that, according to James, Christians possess tongues that need to be restrained. That means we will be tempted to say things that we shouldn’t. That is normal.

Second, if we don’t restrain ourselves from saying what we should not say, it is evidence that our faith is bogus. True believers restrain themselves from wrong speaking.

This is not say, however, that true Christians never speak wrongly. No, we who bless God sometimes curse men who are made in God’s image (3:9). James writes that if we don’t stumble in what we speak, we are perfect, and that “we all stumble in many ways” (3:2). That makes me feel better! Keep in mind that “stumbling” is a non-intentional thing. When one stumbles, it is not something that was premeditated or planned.

I love James’ vivid analogies. The tongue is like a wild animal that is seemingly impossible to tame. It is like a small fire that sets a forest in flames. As I look back at my life, my tongue was the source of every regrettable conflict. How I wish I had just kept my mouth shut! James also compares the tongue to a rudder, comparatively small to the ship, but able to set its course. So our tongue has set the course of our lives, an amazing claim for such a small part of our bodies! Our tongue is setting the future course of our lives. This is not because our words “activate spiritual laws” or “have creative power,” as some teach. It is because the course of our lives is determined by our relationships with others, and our relationships are by and large determined by what we say.

For all these reasons, James admonishes us earlier in his letter to be “slow to speak” (1:19). Great advice! Two verses in the book of Proverbs come to mind:

The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things (Prov. 15:28).

When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise (Prov. 10:19).

Jesus taught that “the tree is known by its fruit” and “the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart” (Matt. 12:33). Hearts full of evil can’t speak good words. Thus the first key to taming the tongue is purifying the heart. It is quite obvious from reading James’ entire letter that there were false believers in the early church—those whose “faith” had no works—whom he was trying to rescue from their self-deception. They were those who were following a wisdom that was “earthly, natural, [and] demonic,” and who had “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in [their] hearts,” the fruit of which was “disorder and every evil thing” (3:13-14). James was not describing true believers!

In contrast, those who are following God’s wisdom demonstrate “good behavior,” “deeds of gentleness,” as well as purity, peace, reasonableness, mercy, steadfastness and sincerity (3:13, 17). They are true believers.

The final verse in today’s reading gives us some insight into Jesus’ beatitude about peacemakers. James wrote, “And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (3:18). That “seed” could be nothing other than the word of the gospel, because only that seed produces righteousness. Sharing the gospel is the ultimate peace-making act, because when it is received, the result is peace with God and others (see Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:14). If the end result is peace, naturally it should be shared peacefully.

For a second time in John’s Gospel we read of Jesus making reference to the fact that His time, or hour (as in 2:4), had not yet come (7:6, 8). He obviously didn’t mean that His time hadn’t come to attend the Feast of Booths, because He ultimately did attend it. Rather, He was once again speaking of the hour of His atoning sacrifice. Jesus knew that the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem “were seeking to kill Him” (7:1), but it wasn’t time for Him to die, so it was prudent for Him to go to the feast secretly.

When we read the third reference in John’s Gospel to Jesus’ hour which “had not yet come” (7:30), it becomes even more clear that it was a reference to the time of His crucifixion. John wrote, “They were seeking therefore to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come” (7:30).

Each day during the Feast of Booths, the priest would gather water from the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem and pour it out at the altar of the temple. It was with this ceremony as a backdrop that Jesus cried out, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water'” (7:37-38). This was yet another obvious universal invitation to everyone who is spiritually thirsty.

John said that the water Jesus spoke of was representative of the Holy Spirit (7:39). It would seem safe to think that the “living water,” of which Jesus spoke to the woman at the well of Samaria (4:4-29), and which He said would become “a well of water springing up to eternal life” (4:14) within whomever He gave it, also represented the Holy Spirit.

Believing this is so, some thus deduce that these two “water scriptures” illustrate a comparison between being born of the Spirit and being filled with (or baptized in) the Spirit. When a person is born again, the Holy Spirit indwells him, becoming “a well of water springing up to eternal life” (4:14). But when a believer is baptized in the Spirit, the waters of the Holy Spirit do not just reside within him, but flow from him. He is “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49) and empowered to be Christ’s witness.

Others think that the second “water scripture” is also a reference to being born again, as Jesus offered the “rivers of living water” to “anyone [who] is thirsty” and to anyone who believes in Him (7:37-38). Also, we know that the fruit of the Spirit flows from every person who is truly born again.

Regardless of which interpretation is correct, I am persuaded that every person who is born of the Spirit can also be baptized in the Holy Spirit simply by asking the Lord with faith. Based on Jesus’ promise in Mark 16:17 and the historical record in the book of Acts (Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; 19:2-6), the initial evidence of that baptism is speaking in other tongues. This is not something just for Pentecostal or charismatic Christians, but for all who believe in Jesus, and it has been experienced and enjoyed by millions. That being said, those believers who have not enjoyed the experience are not lesser Christians in any sense.

We gather from our reading today that Jesus was the center of controversy in Jerusalem. Bible Jesus is controversial, whereas American Jesus gets along so well with everyone. Just today I read an article in our local newspaper about a man who walked into a fitness club just a few miles from where I live, turned out the lights in a women’s aerobic class, and then indiscriminately started shooting two handguns. He killed three women and himself. He wanted to kill many more. His pastor was quoted as saying that he was sure the murderer was in heaven because he once professed faith in Christ, and the Bible teaches that once a person is saved, he is always saved. There’s American Jesus for you. He even gets along quite well with mass murderers.

Today’s reading illustrates God’s favor upon sincere seekers. He goes to great lengths to make sure they hear about Jesus. He still does today.

Cornelius, a Roman army commander in charge of 100 men, was stationed in Caesarea, a strategic Roman port on the Mediterranean Sea. His sincere faith was manifested by his “fear of God,” his continual prayers, as well as his gifts to the poor, and none of these went unnoticed before the Lord. Cornelius and his household were chosen by God to be the first Gentiles in the body of Jesus Christ.

There was, however, an obstacle. The early church consisted entirely of Jews who did not mix with Gentiles, considering them unclean. Associating with Gentiles was unlawful (not according to God’s Law, but according to their man-made traditions). Remember that Jesus had already commanded His disciples to make disciples of all the nations, or as the Greek says, all ethnic groups (Matt. 28:19). Jesus also told them that they would be His witnesses in Judea, Samaria, and the remotest parts of the earth (Acts. 1:8). But His message hadn’t penetrated their minds very deeply! So God had to take drastic action to help the church overcome its prejudice carried over from Judaism.

Peter didn’t immediately understand his God-given vision, but within time it became clear to him. Repentant Gentiles, just like repentant Jews, could be forgiven and cleansed by God and included in the church.

But here is a question I can’t help but ask: If Cornelius had died before Peter’s visit, would he have spent eternity in hell? It is hard for me to accept the idea that God would send a sincere, God-fearing, continually-praying, alms-giving Gentile to hell just because he had not believed a gospel that he had never heard, a gospel that had he heard, he would have immediately believed (as proven by the record)! Salvation has always been offered to anyone who would believe (see Romans 4:1-3), and this was true before, during, and after the old covenant. Cornelius was certainly a believer in the God of Israel before Peter ever arrived, and he was living out his faith.

All of this is to say that Cornelius and his believing household were not “saved” that day in the sense that they escaped a sentence of hell. That happened when they originally believed in God and repented. Cornelius and his household were saved that day in the sense that they came to believe in Jesus (whose life and ministry they already knew something about; see 10:37-38), were then born of the Spirit, incorporated into the body of Christ, and also baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Today’s “gospel” often shares little resemblance with the one Peter preached. Note that Peter declared that Jesus is Lord of all and not just a Savior (10:36). Jesus had died on a cross and was resurrected on the third day (10:39-41). God had appointed Him as “Judge of the living and the dead,” and He had ordered His disciples to solemnly testify of that fact (10:42). The prophets had foretold of Jesus (10:43) and God will welcome every person “who fears Him and does what is right” (10:35), which is another way of saying that repentance is required for salvation. The primary benefit for those who believe is “the forgiveness of sins” (10:43), which obviously implies the truths of humanity’s guilt and God’s wrath. Give me that old time religion!

It goes without saying that Cornelius and those gathered believed everything Peter told them. They didn’t need to pray a “sinner’s prayer.” The Lord immediately confirmed that they were full-fledged members of His family by pouring out His Spirit on them just as He had done on the day of Pentecost on 120 Jews. It was so convincing that Peter ordered them to be baptized in water.

How did Peter and the others know those gathered had received the Holy Spirit? They heard them speaking in other tongues (10:45-46). So we see a continuation of the pattern we have been observing in Acts. Speaking in other tongues is a biblical evidence for baptism in the Holy Spirit.

It is no wonder why Paul described himself as the world’s foremost sinner in 1 Timothy. He held the coats of those who stoned Stephen, being in “hearty agreement with putting him to death” (Acts 8:1). Soon after, he “began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison” (Acts 8:3). Paul later wrote that he had previously “persecuted the church of God beyond measure, and tried to destroy it” (Gal. 1:13), and described himself as being a “blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor” (1 Tim. 1:13). During his testimony to King Agrippa he admitted: “I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth….not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons…but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities” (Acts 26:9-11).

Yet God forgave him! Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:15-16: “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.” This should give hope to the world’s second-greatest sinner (that would be me), and everyone down the line! Amazing grace!

Jesus said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (9:4). When someone persecutes the church, he persecutes Jesus, which is His body. Likewise, how you and I treat Christ’s followers is how we treat Jesus. When we provide food, drink, clothing, shelter and comfort for “the least of these” among Christ’s body, we’re doing those things for Him, proving our love. When we ignore “the least of these,” we’re ignoring Jesus, and prove that we don’t believe in Him. This is what He taught (see Matt. 25:31-46).

Surely Saul/Paul was born again on the road to Damascus. When he heard the Lord’s voice, he said to Jesus, “Who art Thou, Lord?” (9:5). He was calling Jesus Lord before he even knew to whom he was speaking. (Wouldn’t you have done the same?) He subsequently obeyed Jesus’ instructions. And notice that Ananias, when he first met Saul, called him “brother Saul” (9:17). Yet Ananias told “brother Saul” that he had come so he would regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Saul was born again, but had not been filled with the Holy Spirit. This is so obvious that only theologians will debate it.

The Bible doesn’t record Paul’s actual experience of receiving the Holy Spirit, but we know that sooner or later he spoke in other tongues, because he said so in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 14:18). We’re seeing a pattern develop here.

Peter was involved in the beginnings of at least two major revivals, one in Lydda/Sharon and the other in Joppa. Both were precipitated by miracles.

Notice the differing receptivity between the people of Lydda/Sharon and the people of Joppa. As a result of the miracle of Aeneas’ healing, “all who lived at Lydda and Sharon…turned to the Lord” (9:35). In Joppa, as a result of Tabitha’s being raised from the dead, “many believed in the Lord” (9:42). These cities were near one another, yet the people in Lydda/Sharon were more receptive to God than the people of Joppa. This phenomena can be observed all over the world. Receptivity varies from nation to nation, state to state, city to city, and neighborhood to neighborhood. Receptivity also changes over time. There haven’t been any revivals in Joppa lately.

God knows who is receptive and who is not, as He is constantly trying to reach every person through His creation and through their consciences. He will direct us to receptive people wherever they are, whether there be a receptive multitude or single individual. Let’s stay in tune with the Spirit!