by Timothy W. Burnett
There are lots of scripture in the Epistles and Acts that teach about the church dynamics, and most are covered quite well in the churches. Chapters 12-15 of 1Corinthians are chosen for this study because by and large, they are not fully covered in the churches today.
The purpose for this study will be to cover 1Corinthians 12-15 as fully as possible with the understanding that every single part of it is the truth and is applicable for the church of God today. I reaize this will be a huge challenge for many of our readers, but I encourage them to shine the light of God's rightly divided word in their hearts.
All Christians desire to grow spiritually. Our spiritual growth will be directly related to our commitment to reading and studying the scripture and our willingness to believe them. It says in 1Corinthians 2:12-16, " Now we received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God. That we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." We all want to know from experience the things that are freely given to us from God.
It continues, "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual." The apostle Paul was given a great amount of revelation that was recorded as scripture addressed to the church of God. The Epistles are our instruction manual for growing spiritually and known what is freely given to us from God.
"But the natural man receives not the things of the spirit of God. For they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them because they are spirituallly discerned." The natural man refers to those who are without the spirit of God. It is impossible for them to understand the spiritual things of life largely because they embrace the wisdom of man.
"But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 'For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.'" This is fantastic stuff! When people get filled with holy spirit and get born again, they have the mind of Christ in them. It is written in Colossians 1:27, "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
God's word in 1Corinthians chapters 12-15 will help greatly toward understanding how to grow spiritually to the end that we are walking with the mind of Christ Jesus who is alive and in heaven.
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