Spiritual Gifts pt 3

Raul Ries: By studying the word of God, by sitting out like we're doing tonight, we grow in God's love, God's grace, God's mercy, and God's knowledge, and we come to maturity. You see, we're not divided but we're united. And as we're united through the love of Christ, then we can work together in harmony and God can begin to use our gifts and our talents to build his kingdom.
Guest (Male): I am falling. I am falling in love. I am falling in love. I am falling in love with you. Welcome to Somebody Loves You radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. It's great to have you with us today as we continue our series exploring the elements of a spirit-filled life. Today, Raul will affirm that when we operate in our spiritual gifts, our actions must be rooted in love for God and for others. If we serve seeking glory for ourselves, we've missed the point. Stay with us to see that when you're gracious and humble, the Holy Spirit can use your gifts to build others up. Now here is Raul Ries in the book of First Corinthians.
Raul Ries: Chapter 13 has been called the hymn of Paul, or Paul's hymn of love. And the reason is because of the way Paul writes this letter and the way he is addressing the Corinthian church. The Corinthian church had many, many problems. They were abusing the gifts of tongues, they were having divisions in the body of Christ, they had envy, they had other gifts of selfishness against one another, and they were even going to court with lawsuits and trying to destroy one another. But Paul the Apostle wants to correct that, and he wants to remind them who they are in Christ Jesus. Because many times whenever God blesses us with the gift of tongues, or prophecy, or interpretation, or he uses people with the gifts of healings—and we could actually possess all 21 gifts of the Holy Spirit—but if we don't have love, we are nothing. That's the bottom line. But surely as the body of Christ, we have to come together in that agreement that if we're going to really work with one another, we have to love one another. The love of Jesus Christ has to be the greatest of all things in the body of Christ. If someone would want to know Calvary Chapel Golden Springs, I hope it's because of the love that we have for one another. Love is the greatest thing that God speaks to each one of us about. I think that when you think of the things that God has done and he's doing, spiritual gifts, no matter how exciting or wonderful they may be, they are useless, even destructive if we are not ministering in love. If you have an old King James Bible, the word is charity that he uses. It's an old English word. But if we would look at the word charity or the word love, there are four words in Greek that are used. One of them is never used in the Bible, and that's the first word: the word Eros. It's the physical love, the love that brings you to covetousness, the love that actually brings you away from Christ and you're centered on yourself. And this Eros love is practiced by most heathens and even sometimes by Christians. And then there's another word for love, and that word is Phileo. And that is dealing with the emotional love that every one of us go through. For example, I can tell you right now that I love you, but after service, I may get in a bad mood and say, "You know what? I don't like you anymore." It's like a rollercoaster ride. It's emotional. It gets affected by emotions, Phileo. But we need the most important word in love, and that is Agape. That love of God, a love that is divine, it's sacrificial. It's a love that never seeks for himself. It's a love that is always giving, always giving, never retaliates, never thinks evil of another person, but it's always building up, always giving of itself. That's the love that in John 3:16, it says that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Agape. Jesus agaped us. He loved us from the foundations of the world. And then when you think of Phileo, the friendship love, and then Eros, divine love, but then there's another fourth word, and that is Storgē in Greek. And that is the love between a family one for another: mother, father, brother, sister, or son or daughter to mother and father. The word that he uses here in chapter 13 is the word Agape, divine love. Paul the Apostle begins in chapter 13, if you just go a verse up to chapter 12, verse 31, notice how he closes chapter 12. He says, "But earnestly desire the best gifts, and here it is: yet I show you a more excellent way." More excellent than tongues, more excellent than prophecy, more excellent than interpretation, more than any other gift. I show you a more excellent way, and what's that? The way of love. That's the greatest. Loving one another. Paul the Apostle begins in chapter 13, verses 1 to 3, how love is enriching. Love is rich. Seven things over which love takes precedence and preference. Here we go, chapter 13, verse 1. He says, "Though I speak with tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal." Notice that Paul makes the emphasis and he wants us to understand that a true sign of maturity is not one that speaks in tongues. Many times when people have the gifts of the Holy Spirit, whether it be tongues or interpretation or prophecy, which are the three vocal gifts, usually what they try to do is because they have been baptized by the Holy Spirit and they speak in tongues, they feel that they're more superior to other people that do not have the gifts of the Holy Spirit. But that's not what Paul says. That's not what the Bible teaches. Because you remember that the true evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is what? Love. Love. That's the key. Because my gift of tongues, or interpretation, or prophecy, or whatever other gift God has given to me is of no value unless I practice love. It's empty. Every gift has to be practiced under the basis of God's love, Agape. And then we see in 13:1 the eloquence of speaking in love. Secondly, in verse 2, we see actually four things: prophecy, mysteries, knowledge, and faith. Notice: "And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could even remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." Wow. Think about that. You can have the gift of healing and go around lifting people up and they can walk, because God's doing the healing anyways. But he says if you don't really have the love of God in making a practice of those gifts that God has given to you, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here and be cast into the ocean," but if you do it without the basis of love, it is nothing. You're not impressing anybody. God's not impressed by that. The only way that God is impressed with my life and your life is when we are loving one another. So we see that Paul is making a proclamation concerning prophecy, concerning the mysteries of God, the knowledge of God, and the faith that God gives to us—the gift of faith. Yet without love, it is nothing. But as God baptizes me with his love, then I need to understand that this love that is given to me, even if I would get in front of a firing squad and say, "You know what? I'll give my life for you," and they would shoot me and kill me, if I did not go up there with the true basis of love, you just killed me in vain. It's of no value because it has to be under the basis of true love. Look at verse 3. "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor," so you go out to Mexico and you give away all your retirement and all your money but you don't do it in true love, hey, you did it just on your own. No value in the kingdom of God. God will never reward you for that. The only way God can reward you, reward me, is when we do it out of that whole heart of love. Because we really have to, in order for people to come to know Jesus Christ, in order for people to believe our testimony, they got to see the love of God in our lives. No matter how much money we give, if it's not done under the basis of true love, we are nothing. And you can have your body burned or shot, but if you don't do it under the basis of true love and martyrdom, it is all in vain. Secondly, look at verses 4 to 7. Love is edifying. It builds up. And these are the most beautiful verses in the whole Bible. Listen to what he says. He says, "Love suffers long and is kind." Well, let's make it this way: Raul suffers long and is always kind. Raul doesn't envy. Raul doesn't behave rudely. Raul never seeks its own. Raul is never provoked. And Raul never thinks evil. But none of us fit there. Because I know how I am when I drive the freeway. I get provoked. And that's when we have to practice love. And so when we start reading we go, "This is an impossibility. We can't do that." Yes, we can do it through the Lord as we humble ourselves before his presence. Why? Because when he says in verse 4, "Love suffers long," he's talking about patience. God teaches us patience. And how do I learn patience? Believe it or not, through trials. I hate them, but patience comes through trials. That's the best times when God just puts me through something and I don't like to wait, but he makes me wait and he teaches me patience through his love. Secondly, he says not only suffers long but is kind. What is he talking about? About kindness. We have to be kind to people, caring, loving. Because Jesus is our example. He is the model that we have to follow. He is the model that we have to constantly look at. And then he says, "Love envieth not," which means what? We don't abhor everything to ourselves, but love is generous. It gives and never asks anything in return because it gives out of love.
Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You radio with Raul Ries. Visit somebodylovesyou.com to look through our full selection of Bible-based resources designed to help you walk more closely in step with the Lord. And look for Raul's Holy Spirit study Filled, Empowered, and Equipped on CD or USB. We'll tell you how you can get your own copy in just a few moments. But now back to more with Raul Ries.
Raul Ries: And then fourthly, love vaunteth not, which means it's not puffed up, and what does that speak of? Love is always humble, or there's always humility when there's true love. There's no pride, there's no arrogance, there's humility. You recognize that it's the Lord that I do need his love in my life and I do need to be humble, I do need to walk in humility even as he walked in humility. And then fifthly, love does not behave itself unseemly, which means what? Love is always courteous. Not rude. Not striking back and saying evil things, but it behaves itself courteously. Sixth, love seeks not her own, which means what? Love is not selfish but we need to be unselfish. We need to be caring, we need to be loving, we need to be giving. And then seventh, love is not easily provoked, which means what? It's good-natured. Because we're looking at Jesus Christ, even though people will say things about me and will come against me and even write me letters, hey, I just pray for them and I forgive them and I let God take care of things. And that's a hard lesson to learn, but we need to become good-natured as we come into the love of God. And then eighth, love thinks no evil, which means what? It's charitableness that is giving. And then ninth, love rejoices not in iniquity, which means what? It's sincerity. Sincerity in a person's life, love is always sincere. It's not hypocritical. You say one thing to a person and then when you leave them you say another thing and you betray them, that's not it. I have learned so many lessons over the past years in friendships and things in my own personal life, people that I've trusted, people that I've shared deep things with, and all of a sudden they betrayed me. And it hurt. Because I thought they were my friends. And there's nothing like when you have a friend that betrays you and you build this relationship for years and years and years and all of a sudden the relationship goes sour. And all of a sudden they're against you and they want to torture you and they want to kill you and they want to come against you and you say, "Lord, what did I do?" But it happens to all of us. And that's when the Lord shares with my heart, he says, "Hey, forgive them and just forget about it. Pray for them." And I will confess when things like that happen so many times we want to retaliate and we want to come back and do evil things against them because that's our minds. But if we put on the mind of Jesus Christ and we look at the lessons in the Gospels of the life of Jesus Christ, then we have to be mimicking him, we have to imitate Jesus Christ. And sometimes I'm honest with God, I said, "Lord, I still have something in here that I don't like them." And I have to be honest, "Lord, I hate them." Otherwise why pray? I'm lying to the Lord. "Well Lord, you know I hate them just a little bit." There's no little bit. "Lord, I hate them a lot. They get on my nerves. Lord, what do I do?" But these are the things that every one of us have to go through every day of our lives as we practice love. And then tenth, love rejoices in the truth, which what? Is goodness, the goodness of God. It rejoices always in the truth. There's no lie, there's no darkness, it's always truth. 11, love bears all things, which means what? His graciousness. The graciousness of love bears all things. And then 12, love believes all things. That's why, because we have our confidence in God, not in man. My confidence is in the Lord. And 13, love hopes all things, which brings assurance to my life because my hope is in Christ. You see? So my confidence and assurance is in him. And 14th, love endures all things, which what? Teaches me endurance in life which I need. Love will bring you to a place to teach you endurance in your own personal life. And then Paul the Apostle, turning from that in the third part of the sermon, he goes to love is enduring, verses 8 to 13. Look what he says. First of all, he talks about that which passes and then secondly he'll speak about that which is perfect. He's going to explain it. Look at verse 8 what he says. "Love never fails, but whether there be prophecies, they will fail, whether there be tongues, they shall cease, whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be done away with." In the 1900s, 1920, the fundamentalists actually brought out this whole new interpretation about verse 10, that word perfect. And they literally said that this is their interpretation—that is those that do not believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit for today, dispensationalists, they say that that word perfect is in reference to the ceasing of the gifts of the Holy Spirit when Jesus came. Literally when you look up in Thayer, or you go to Vines, or you go to any Greek scholar, the word perfect here is in reference to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Why do we say that? Because we do need the gifts of the Holy Spirit now, why? Because we're not perfect. But we are going to be perfect one day when we enter into the presence of God. We won't need any longer tongues, and prophecy, and interpretation, and wisdom, and knowledge, why? Because we will be like him. So it's important that we understand that here Paul is speaking in reference to prophecy, to tongues, and to knowledge when the second coming of Jesus Christ comes to rule for a thousand years. We will not need any longer the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but today we do need them. And that which is perfect, that is the contrast that is given to us here in verse 9 and 10, is the partial and the perfect. That Jesus Christ is the one and the only one that is perfect in deity. Not one of us. I need the gift of tongues in my life because I need my prayer language when I pray. I pray not in public, I pray in privacy of my own closet whatever it may be, because it helps me to pray in a language that I don't understand, my intellect doesn't understand it, but the Holy Spirit—according to Romans 8:26-27—the spirit makes intercession for me and the spirit speaks for me to God. And God sees my heart. I love that. And yet so many times people try to impress people by speaking out in tongues publicly, which has no meaning at all and it's not the interpretation of tongues because there is no interpretation. For the true interpretation, there is literally when people are speaking in tongues and they're actually blaring out something, they'll say, "Hey, this is now a message in tongues." There is no such thing scripturally. Because on the day of Pentecost and here Paul the Apostle, a true interpretation of a tongue is literally a psalm to the Lord where everyone can understand as we bless the Lord. So it's important that in the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we are basically in the love of Jesus Christ in order for every one of the gifts in my life to be activated through true love. Otherwise, there's no activation. I'm just fooling myself. There's nothing really being said because of my carnality. But to be spiritual is because God is a God of order, you see, not a God of confusion. He doesn't confuse himself and so here Paul is teaching us all these things concerning love. Then in verse 11 he says, "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man," notice, "I put away childish things." "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then," at the second coming, "face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just also as I am known." Let me say something to you. A lot of people ask me questions, "Now when we get to heaven, how are we going to know which one's Peter, which is Paul, which is James?" Let me tell you something, when you get to heaven you won't have to even think. It will become natural because we're going to have the mind of Jesus Christ. You're not even going to ask him questions, all things shall be known even as he is known. He's going to give us that kind of a knowledge to know each other. Can you imagine people that have been there for like Abraham, and we get to heaven and we go, "Let me see which one's Abraham." I mean that would be foolish. Or to say in heaven—and some people ask me—"Well what about when we get to heaven, what happens when we're in heaven and say what happened to my mom and dad, they're not here?" No, it doesn't work like that. No more tears, no more sorrow, no more death, you see. You're never ever when you get to heaven and you're perfect, you're never ever going to think ever again of your loved ones that have gone to hell or your friends. Ever. It's all good thoughts, perfect, the mind of Christ.
Guest (Male): I am falling. I am falling in love. I am falling in love. I am falling in love with you. It is good to be reminded that no matter how the Holy Spirit has gifted you, you can encourage and strengthen your fellow believers when you serve with selfless, godly love. You're listening to Somebody Loves You radio with Raul Ries. If you'd like to hear today's lesson in its complete form, just call us at 800-634-9165 and ask for part three of Raul's teaching on spiritual gifts. We'll send you an unedited version for a donation of $5 or more. Now to further inspire you in following the spirit's leading, we'd like to tell you about Raul's seven-part series Filled, Empowered, and Equipped. It's available on CD and thumb drive. In every lesson, you'll learn more about how the Trinity's third member can fill you with wisdom, confidence, and compassion as you pour into the lives of those around you. Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order Raul's seven-message study titled Filled, Empowered, and Equipped. We'll send you the CD set for $20 or the flash drive for $11. The number again is 800-634-9165. Or write to Somebody Loves You radio, Post Office Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. Our Somebody Loves You free resources are easily accessible anytime, anywhere. Download our app for digital Bible studies and online Bible reading group and livestreamed Bible teaching. For podcasts of all of these programs, check us out on iTunes and Spotify or visit the Somebody Loves You worldwide YouTube channel. Thank you for your partnership, you're a great blessing to us and every contribution is tax-deductible. Next time we'll conclude our study of the Holy Spirit and his gifts. Specifically zeroing in on the gifts of prophecy and speaking in tongues, you'll learn more about how God desires to work through you to edify others and not call attention to yourself. Now with the closing comment, here is Raul.
Raul Ries: Then he goes on and he concludes with this. "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three," but check this out, "the greatest of these three is what? Love." Why? Because the greatest of these three graces is love, reason because when you love someone, you will trust him and you'll always be anticipating the new joys that will come in that relationship with Jesus Christ. Unity, diversity, maturity. Maturity comes through love. Love is the greatest of all gifts.
Guest (Male): I am falling. I am falling in love. I am falling in love. I am falling in love with you. This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You radio in Diamond Bar, California.