The Gifted Men, Part 1: Apostles and Prophets
1 Corinthians 12:28
Take your Bible, if you will, and turn to the 12th chapter of 1 Corinthians...1 Corinthians chapter 12. We are continuing in our study of chapters 12 through 14 in our study of the whole book of 1 Corinthians. And at the beginning of this study of 12 to 14 I told you we wanted to dive a little more deeply than just the text to cover a general cataloging of the truths in the Bible about spiritual gifts, which is a very important and very prominent subject of discussion today.
So this is the third in our series. As an entity in itself it is incomplete. It needs the first two and it need the following several, in order to make it complete. But I think they'll be some things for us to learn this morning that, in themselves, will be complete and the Spirit of God will encourage and bless our hearts as we share together in it.
Keep in mind the one continuing thing that I've been telling you that, for me, everything comes together at this particular point. Christ revealed Himself, first of all, in a human body, in His Incarnation. Through that human body all of the attributes of deity were made manifest and God was visible in human history. God has done that a second time. He has revealed Himself again in another Incarnation, if you will, in body two, which is the church. The corporate assembly of believers is indwelled by God in order to make God, again, visible to the world, in order to make God a parent again in human history. And all of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ are that body. Every one of us is an individual member, a vital member. And like members of a human body, we must work totally and together, in order to bring about a full functioning body.
The church, the same way, must have a mutual, ministering, working, interdependence for the unity of body two, in order that God might be visible through the manifestation of Christ in the corporate life of the church. As we function, as we work, as we minister, as we build up each other, Christ becomes manifest to the glory of God. And that's the design of the spirituals as they're called in 12:1: the divine ennablements, the endowments, the energizing, the services, the charismata, whatever you want to call them. Paul uses five different words for them.
As we minister, the Holy Spirit energizing us, we build each other up. For example, as I minister to you, you are built up. The idea is that you should come to maturity and be like Christ. As we all do that, we all become like Christ as individuals, then corporately we become like Christ. For that individual thing, when it becomes a total thing, becomes a corporate manifestation of Christ in the world, and that's God's design for the church. And there is another benefit. As we minister our gift, not only do we build each other up, but we help each other understand better how to minister in a given area. For example, as I preach to you, you may not have the gift of preaching, but you're being built up and you're also learning how better to communicate your faith. As you show mercy to me, as you minister that to me, maybe I don't have that as a spiritual gift, but I will learn better how to be merciful to someone else, for having seen you in action.
So this beautiful, mutual interdependence, not only builds us up to Christ likeness, but it helps us better minister in all areas, in all dimensions, to each other. So it is this network that the Spirit of God has designed in the church, this inter-mutual ministry that is vital to the Christ likeness of individuals, and that is vital to the Christ likeness of the total body as it manifests God in the world. And so for a Christian to not be functioning is to be crippling other Christians, consequently, to be crippling the total manifestation of Christ in the world, to say nothing of forfeiting the blessing and the reward that comes to his own life.
Now as we have begun to understand this very basic thought, I have been giving you, in the last two weeks, some principles on which the whole subject of spiritual gifts must be built. And I've given to you at random, and I'd like to pull them all together this morning and give you a list of the basic principles upon which spiritual gifts operate. This will constitute our introduction to what we want to talk about this morning.
What are the basic principles? Now people this is so important. I can't tell you how important it is; you have to find out. And the way you're going to find out how important it is, is when you go out into the world and you start talking to somebody else about spiritual gifts. And they start telling you about spiritual gifts that you can't understand, and certain things occurring that you can't understand. And they don't have this foundation of basic principles in order to govern the things that they can say are true and the things they can say are false. This is very important, very foundational. You'll find out about it if you get into discussion. Hopefully, you have had that experience, so that you'll know what you need to hear and you'll receive it and respond to it.
Let me give you 14 basic principles on which spiritual gifts operate. Now we're going to run by these very fast. Some of you just hyperventilated. We'll have to revive you. But we're going to go by them quickly and we're just going to state them because we've dealt with them in fair detail in the past.
Number one, they are essential. One of the basic principles regarding these spirituals, they are essential. "I would not have you ignorant," he says, in 12:1. "They are essential for the life of the body. Ephesians 4, "The saints must minister, in order that the body might be built up," verse 12 of Ephesians 4.
Secondly, they are counterfeited. Anything that God does Satan counterfeits. And so the spiritual gifts are counterfeited. First Corinthians 12:2 and 3, we explained to you in detail regarding the counterfeiting. We know they are counterfeited. They are counterfeited all the time. And basically there are two ways to counterfeit them: fleshy counterfeits and Satanic counterfeits. For example, Paul had the gift of preaching, but he could have preached in the flesh. He said to the Corinthians in chapter 2 verse 1, "I did not come unto you with enticing words of man's wisdom." And he said the same thing in verse 4. In other words, "I didn't let my spiritual gift drift into a counterfeit. I didn't come to you appealing with human wisdom or human speech and oratory." So it's possible to have a fleshy counterfeit. Secondly, a Satanic one, such as the false prophets, the false proclaimers, the false teachers who are really mouthpieces for Satan.
Third principle: number one was their essential, number two they are counterfeited. Be aware of that. They're going to be counterfeited today as they've always been. Third principle: the Holy Spirit is the source. All spiritual gifts are supernaturally empowered and energized and given. They are beyond the natural. They are not like singing or playing an instrument or being clever with a certain art. They are not those kinds of natural things. They are supernatural enablements. Verse 1 of 12 calls them spirituals. They are characterized and controlled by the Holy Spirit. "They are manifestations of the Spirit," verse 7. "And they are workings of the Spirit," verse 11.
Number four: Spiritual gifts will always unite the body; they will always unite the body. That's a very important truth. They never divide. Why don't they divide? "Because...notice verse 4...it is the same Spirit." Verse 5, "It is the same Lord." Verse 6, "It is the same God who works all in all." Verse 11, "All these works the one and same Spirit." If the same Spirit, same Lord, same God works the gifts then there cannot be disunity. You understand? So wherever spiritual gifts create division there are counterfeit gifts in operation, either they are counterfeited in a fleshy or a satanic way. True gifts will always unite. Wherever division occurs there is counterfeit.
Fifth: spiritual gifts are no sign of spirituality. Somebody might says, "Well I'm spiritual because I have the gift of such and such." No, spiritual gifts have absolutely no relation to spirituality. "How do you know that?" The reason we know that is because the Corinthians had spiritual gifts. They did not have spirituality. Verse 7 of chapter 1, "You come behind and no gift." Verse 1 of chapter 3, "And you are carnal." They were carnal; they had spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts belong to all Christians, carnal or spiritual. So when somebody says they have a certain gift, that doesn't mean anything in relation to their spirituality.
Number six: spiritual gifts are not for the possessor, but for the others in the body. Spiritual gifts are not for the possessor, but for the ones in the body. And that we say, didn't we, in verse 5, they are called services. That's something I do for you. Verse 7, they are called manifestation. That's something public. "And they are given to every man to profit," says King James. The Greek says, "For the good of those gathered together." In other words, they are all given for the good of the others, for the good of those gathered together. It does no good to anybody to operate a spiritual gift independent of other people. None of them are given for self-edification as their intent and purpose. None of them.
All right, number seven: spiritual gifts have the promise of divine energy...spiritual gifts have the promise of divine energy. We find that, don't we, in verse one, "They are spiritual." Verse 4, "It's the Spirit." Verse 5, "It's the Lord." Verse 6, "It's God who works all in all. In 11, "It's the Spirit working." So there is an energizing there of God in these things, and that's a fantastic thing to realize people, that we become channels through which the flow of power comes from God to touch the lives of other people. That's an incredible reality, to be a divine channel.
That's why 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 10 says this, "As a man receives the gift, so minister the same to another: as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak, as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him do it, as of the ability which God gives." In other words, minister your gift in the divine energy. Don't counterfeit it. Why would you want to when it has the promise of divine power?
Number eight: Spiritual gifts come in varieties...they come in varieties. "There are...verse 4...varieties of gifts." Verse 5, "Varieties of services." Verse 6, "Varieties of operations." Verse 11, "Or energizings." Verse 11 says, "He divides to every man uniquely, particularly, severally." No two Christians are alike. Every Christian has his own unique place in the body and his own unique position from which he ministers, in a way that no other Christian can duplicate. That's why all of you are vital. There are no unessential people. There are no hangers on. There are no benchwarmers, at least in God's design. Everybody's in it. There are people who have put themselves on the bench, but that was not God's intention.
Now what we said was...remember this now...the varieties of gifts, the varieties of ways they serve, the varieties of energizings, all of this indicates the uniqueness of every individual's ministry. And I told you this, and I reiterate it, I don't believe that each of us only has one area of ministry. I don't believe that you can divide everybody up and say, "You only have one thing: you have teaching, you have exhortation, you have helps, you have governments, you have wisdom." I don't believe that's the intention of the Spirit of God. I think when He says, "There are varieties...and varieties...and varieties," you have an interchange.
Now some people ask me from time to time, "Do you believe that a Christian only has one gift?" In a sense the answer to that question is, yes...yes. The reason I say that is because that is the term that is used...for example, in 1 Peter 4 it says, "As you have received the gift." In Ephesians 4:7 it says, "According to the gift of Christ." Now some people say, "This means, you see, that we all only have one area of ministry - the gift." Do you know what I believe? Now listen. I believe that what the Bible show us in the variety of things and in the patterns that we see, is that we have one gift, but that gift is a composite of the various kinds of enablements that all come together to make that one unique gift that is our and ours alone.
Somebody asked me this week, "Well what about Timothy?" In 1 Timothy 4:14 it said, "Paul says to Timothy, 'You ought to not fail to minister the gift.'" In 2 Timothy 1 he says, "Stir up the gift." Doesn't it say there that Timothy only had one gift - the gift? Yes. Well what was that one gift? And then you got problems. If you say Timothy only had one thing that he could do, what was it? Paul says to him, "Timothy, preach the Word." "Oh, it was the gift of preaching. Paul says, "Timothy, do the work of an evangelist." "Oh, he was an evangelist." "Timothy teach faithful men." "Oh, he had the gift of teaching." "Timothy exhort with sound doctrine." "Oh, he had the gift of exhortation." You say, "What's one of the ones that he have?" Not any one of the ones. Timothy had a composite of ministry capabilities the Spirit of God had given him in one package.
Do you know what? Did you ever have birthday and get a bunch of stuff in the same box? Isn't that what we said: a tie and a pair of socks and a handkerchief? That's the way God works. God can do that. You got the gift. And what was it? It was a lot of things. Now that's the way the Spirit of God has put the varieties together. If somebody says to me, "John, what do you feel your gift is?" I could ask ten different on the staff and they would tell you different things. Somebody would say, "He has a gift of preaching." Somebody would say, "He has the gift of teaching." Somebody would say, "Well...somebody told me the other day they felt I had the gift of wisdom and somebody told me a long time ago they felt I had the ability to lead. Well what does that come together to mean?
I can't say I only have the ability to minister to the body in one little...no, I'm convinced the Spirit of God has poured some things together, stirred them up, and said, "Here, MacArthur, this is yours." The reason I believe that is because I think that all the patterns of the New Testament that you see the gifted men, there is always a multiplicity of things that they're doing. How can a man be ever called upon to teach a flock like you, and to pastor a flock like you, and not have the gift of administration or leadership or the gift of teaching or preaching or the gift of wisdom to make decisions, so we don't get into problems we can't solve. You see, when God puts you in the body He scrambles the things you need to minister through the kinds of personality that He has built into you. Through the background situation, through all of the parts of your life, everything comes together. The Spirit of God pours in the way that He wants to, the multiplicities of ministries through which He wants you to minister to His body. Some of us have more multiplied than you do, than others. Some folks may have a combination of 2 or 3; others have 4 or 5 or 6, or whatever. I don't know. But that's the beauty of variety. So don't put the Holy Spirit in a box.
I always cringe when somebody wants to come along and end all the variety and make everybody a closed classification. I don't think we have that right. And if you study the word charisma...if we have received grace gifts, folks, that is such a broad term. Paul uses it 16 different times, and to speak of all kinds of things in the New Testament. So don't get too classified.
Let me add a footnote at this point. Some folks say, "Well, you see, I only have one area of gifts, and that makes me irresponsible in all other areas. I don't have to do that. I know so and so has got a problem, but I don't have the gift of mercy, so I don't really need to get too involved." That's a copout. One of the reasons that some of us have gifts is to help the people who don't have gifts in those areas to know how to minister there. For example, I don't believe particularly that I have certain gifts. I mean, I'm sure I don't. And that's confirmed to me by my own attitude and by other people. That doesn't mean I want to be irresponsible. God may not have called me to the body of Christ to minister with gifts of helps. God may not have designed MacArthur to go around helping, but to lead. But that doesn't mean when somebody asks me for help I say, "I'm sorry, I'm a leader. That's how it is." You know? That's ridiculous, ludicrous. I want to learn how to help and I want somebody who has that gift to show me a pattern, so that I can learn from them and minister in a non-gift area, yet, with blessing.
It's only a question, people, of emphasis. We are to minister in all areas. I could say, "Well I don't have the gift of giving, hallelujah. I have the gift of receiving." See? "So lay it on me." Wait a minute. We all are called upon to give. Are we not? Let every one of you lay by him and store as the Lord has prospered him. Let every one of you exhort one another. We are all to build up one another in all areas. We are all to show love. If you see your brother have a need, how can you shut up your emotions to him and not meet his needs? So all these areas are to be areas of responsibility, but some of them have a greater responsibility because we have a supernatural energizing to minister to the total body. So don't catalog the gifts and put them in little boxes. There are varieties.
Number nine: You can have a gift and not be using it. And we can all testify to that from personal experience. You can have a gift and not be using it. Paul says to Timothy, "Stir up the gift, Timothy, get it on." He said it in 1 Timothy; he said it in 2 Timothy. You know what that tells about Timothy? Timothy easily got discouraged. When things didn't go well he stopped the ministering. A lot of Christians like that. Then there are others who never get started ministering. Very important: you can have a gift and not be using it.
Number ten: Number ten is there are several terms to describe these divine enablements. Keep that in mind. Just reminding you that from verses 1 to 7 there are several terms to describe these divine enablements: they are called energizings, they are called services, they are called manifestations, they are called grace gifts, they are called spirituals. Just so that you understand the fullness of what they are, number 11, the list is not exhaustive...the list is not exhaustive. I thought I'd read everybody's list and then this week I was in a bookstore and I picked up another book on the charismatic gifts, and it listed 23 different gifts. That's the biggest list I've ever seen. It just proved to me again the fact that when you try to isolate them and put them in little boxes and say, "This is all there are. There ain't no more," you're in trouble.
The list in 1 Corinthians 12:8 to 10, it says: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophesy, spirits, languages, interpretation of languages. And then in Romans chapter 12 verses 6 to 8 you have another list of these enablements, but there it's completely different: prophesy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, ruling, showing mercy. What does it means when you see two completely different lists? That there's a flexibility there. Even the term, as I said, charisma is so much broader than just making a quick little closed list. It refers to anything God has given.
You know, I resent being called a non-charismatic. People say, "Oh, you're a non-charismatic." I say, "No, I am not a non-charismatic. I am a charismatic Christian." Now, don't edit that out of the tape and spread that around or I'll be in trouble. I am a charismatic Christian. "What do you mean by that?" I have received grace from God. Do you know a Christian who isn't a charismatic? Do you know any Christian at all who didn't receive grace from God? I don't know any. I am saved by grace, I am equipped by grace, I am kept in grace, and I will be glorified by grace. I am charismatic. There aren't charismatic Christians and non-charismatic Christians. There are only true charismatics and counterfeit charismatics. Let's keep the terminology clear. We always have to give up good words because people take words and make movements out of them.
You know, we used to have a good word called fundamentalists. And all of a sudden they made a movement out of that and then...there were a lot of people that________, "I don't want to be fundamentalist." They made a movement out of a word so now we're afraid to use a good word. See? Because these people are going around condemning and so forth. Well that. . .it's too bad when we have to give up a word. I'm not ready to give up the word charismatic. I'm just as ...I'm as charismatic as a Christian could be. God has poured out so much grace on me, and the word charismatic is charis, grace gift. Everything I have is a gift of God's grace. Is that true? I not ready to give that word up. I just want to be careful how people understand its use. So the concept is broad. And you don't want to get pigeon holed, airtight boxes for these things. All right, that was the idea, the list is not exhaustive, it gives the Spirit of God some breath.
Twelve: all gifts are to build the body...all gifts are to build the body. That's their purpose. In Ephesians 4:12, "For the work of the ministry that the body might be built up." Chapter 12 verse 7, "For the benefit of those gathered together." Chapter 12 verse 7, "For the benefit of those gathered together." All gifts are to build the body. Keep that in mind, very important. "In addition...this is 13...some gifts are also signed gifts." Some gifts are also signed gifts. And we saw these in the Apostolic age. In 1 Corinthians 14:22, "Wherefore languages are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not." There he says, very clearly, "languages...the gift of languages is for them that believe, not as a sign." And yet, verse 5 says, "You should never speak in languages except he interpret that the church may receive edifying." Even though it was signed gift, it was also have an edifying capacity. So all gifts then were to build the church, even the signed gifts. And we'll get into that one in detail as we go into 14.
Now the fourteenth and last point in our quick run through here. "The gifts are distinct from the fruit of the Spirit." Don't confuse the fruit of the Spirit with the gifts of the Spirit. "The fruit of the Spirit...Galatians 5:22 and 23...love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self control, are attitudes." The gifts are activities, are actions, are ministries. The fruit must be behind the action. Where the action operates without the fruit you're using your gift fleshly.
All right, those are the principles. Now I just tried to catalog them. I know they went on by fast, like watching the train when you're sitting at the stop. But I want you to just remember them. If you need to review them look at your notes or get the tape, or whatever. Those are basic things.
Now let's look at the gift themselves. And in 1 Corinthians we're going to start...and we're going to actually look at three categories...but we're going to start by looking at the gifted men. There are basically three categories we have to delve into to understand the spiritual gifts. The gifted men; that's one. Two; the permanent edifying gifts. Three; the temporary signed gifts. The gifted men, the permanent edifying gifts, the temporary signed gifts. Now as a point of beginning look at verse 28 of 1 Corinthians 12. And we're adding to a pure exposition of the test here by studying the subject a little broader. But we will look at verse 28. "God hath set some in the church; first apostle, second prophets, third teachers. After that miracles: then gifts of healings, helps, government, diversities of languages." Now there you're introduced to some people: apostle, prophets, teachers.
Look with me at Ephesians 4:11, "And he gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastor/teachers for the maturing of the saints, in order that they might do the work of the ministry that the body might be build up. Now let's look beginingly at the gifted men. In the brief time we have this morning we can't cover all of them, but let's look at the first two. This is very important.
The other day a man said to me...a very serious, and a very capable, and responsible man, established somewhat in the Christian community, he said, "It is my conviction that you are an apostle." That's what he said to me. I am an apostle. Well I had a very immediate reaction to that. I am not an apostle folks. I have no qualification to fit me to be an apostle. Plus I do not care to have the responsibility anyway. I am not an apostle. And I told him that, but he said, "Yes you are. You may not recognize it, but there are a lot of folks who do." Please, I am not an apostle. The last thing I would ever want would be to be thought of in any sense like that. As I've told you before, I am a glorified busboy and the Lord has cooked a meal. He says, "Get it to the table, MacArthur, without messing it up." That's it, and I delivered it, period. I don't write it. I have no apostolic identity. Why do people want to say this? There are other people who say...and I was talking to somebody recently who told me there are apostles and prophets today, and he named some others in America that he feels are the apostles and prophets of this age. That scares me, and I'll show you why. Because I believe the Bible is clear about who apostles and prophets are, and I want you to understand it this morning.
Ephesians chapter 4, we're looking at verse 11, and let's notice first two that he gives there. He gave some apostles and some prophets. Now what are these apostles and prophets? Some people say these are gifts. And I've read books that have called it the gift of apostle and the gift of prophet. Those are not gifts folks. That is not the correct and precise way to treat these. There is not a gift of an apostleship. There is not a gift of a prophet. Those are gifted men. Those are official titles. Those are special ministries. Look at verse 7 and I'll show you a distinction that might help you. Ephesians 4:7, "But unto everyone of us...that is to every Christian...is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ."
Now here's that one package we've received. It may have three parts in it, but that's our package. Every one of us has received the gift, the divine enablement, the divine endowment, the divine capacity, to minister to the body in a unique way, commiserate with our personality, and just as different as we are different. Beautiful...beautiful, unique thing. We all have the gift. The word there is very important; dorea...dorea. That word refers to a free gift, and the stress is on free. It's not emphasizing, so much, the quality of it as a gift, or the character of it when it gets there, but the free part of it; the gratuitous nature. We have all received a supernatural spiritual gift free. Now notice verse 8, "Wherefore it says, when he ascends on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." Now this is something else. Because the word here for gift is a completely different word, doma, not dorea, but doma. And that word does not refer to the free, gratuitous source, but the character of the gift. Now he's talking about something very special, some special kind of gift, some q