Category Archives: Church

1 Corinthians, Church, Holy Spirit, Maturity, The Word of God

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

God’s body parts

Discussion Question

Name three body parts that you could live without. What difference would it make to your life without those three?

Background (Context)

Division in the church has been a considerable theme in this whole book. There have been divisions over which leader is best, legal issues, freedom in Christ issues and selfish seclusions. In Chapter 11, Paul dealt with the disunity in the church manifested at the Lord’s Supper which was harmful and damaging to the church. There was a double meaning with regard to the Lord’s Supper because it refers to the body of Christ. This refers to Jesus’ literal body that was hung on the cross. It also referred to the bread that is an image of remembrance for his body. It is, as we shall see clearer here, also the church that has come together because of the sacrifice of Christ. His body has given life to the body which is the church. If the church is one body, there ought to be no such thing as division because, who would ever think that a body should be dismantled like that. A head needs a neck…

Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Follow this link to read the passage on BibleGateway… 

What did you see? (Observation)

Structure

  • The principle laid out (12-14)
  • What this means for the ‘lesser’ parts (15-20)
  • What this means for the ‘greater’ parts (21-26)
  • Putting some flesh on the principle (27-31)

The principle laid out (12-14)

“Just as a body…so it is with Christ.” Verse 12 is simply put but holds the full weight of this passage. The end of the sentence points us to Christ. This is not simply instruction on how to relate to other people at church but about our relationship with Christ and His body. The principle of this passage is quite clear and simple and will not take much time to understand it. The outworking of this is a little trickier but the hardest part will really come down to who is this included in this passage! If we presume that all at church are part of Christ’s body then this becomes a message of church organisation and structure or something like that. If it refers only to the real body of Christ who are truly born again then how do we discern who is and who isn’t part of the body of Christ? It may then set a huge discussion in motion but hopefully we will come back again to understanding that the body of Christ is a creation of God the Father since it is the church of God that we are referring to. And Paul, in his entire letter has been addressing it to all the saints at Corinth – the church of God, sanctified in Christ and called to be holy. We will teach the principle to all at church and live it out and those who are not truly part of the body will be revealed eventually.

“For we were all baptised by one Spirit…all given the one Spirit to drink.” Using the power of context: Paul wrote in Verses 1-11 about the Spirit distributing gifts to believers and the primary gift is the truth to call Jesus Lord. We become members of the body of Christ as we declare Jesus as Lord by the Holy Spirit – we are baptised in this way. We drink as the Spirit has distributed to each one gifts. The theme of unity, or anti-division, is continued as Paul talks about Jew v Gentile and slave v free. The point of Verse 13 is the same as Verses 1-6. We come to Christ and are enriched in Christ by the work of the Spirit.

“Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.” Here is the new angle that Paul wants to focus on. Being one in Spirit does not make us clones of one another. What we do and how we express our service and works for God will differ and yet will continue to be sourced by the One Spirit and for the good of the church. We then look at what it means to be a body (church) made up of different parts. In applying this text, we need to keep in mind the different layers of what church means. It needs to be applied at the level of the local church, at the level of partnering churches (the Anglican structure), and at the global or universal church (which is every representative body of the authentic Spirit of God). And yet, the primary application will be the local gathering.

What this means for the ‘lesser’ parts (15-20)

“Now if the foot should say…” Verses 15-17 are fairly straight forward. Paul has given a good illustration toward what he is saying. Those who feel themselves to be of less worth to the body should not think that they are not part of the body. These words are here to give courage to those who feel they have little importance to the body. You can live without feet. Many brave humans have demonstrated that. But this is not a lesson in what we could possibly get by without. It is about knowing that the body is the body – no matter how small. In fact, it is when a lesser thing is lost that the rest of the body needs to compensate for the loss! Paul will cover that later.

“…in fact God has placed the parts in the body…just as he wanted them to be.” Have you ever wished that you could speak like that person can? Or if you could play an instrument or sing like that person. Or if you could be as charismatic as that person! Here we are told that God has placed people in a church like instruments in an orchestra. Nobody seeks out to be the oboe player! But the many parts make up the glory of the whole and God Himself has orchestrated that. We’ll see that some of the parts do not even look good when you point them out. But we must thank God that they are all part of the body. If we were God, we would just make every Christian a well toned, beautiful, intelligent, well-off person. You know: Come to Christ and your life will look amazing like the person on the cover of this book! But, the church is about saved sinners who come together because of the great mercy of God.

“If they were all one part, where would the body be?” Paul’s logic is that a body, by definition, has parts. If it did not have parts then it would simply be an object: square, cube, eyeball, etc. The body has to have parts and if the parts are not present then there is no body. So, if you are at church, and engaged with the gospel, you are a part of the body. That is the perspective we all should have.

What this means for the ‘greater’ parts (21-26)

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’” Now we look at the perspective of those who seem to be more important at church. Their perspective is to be the same: don’t dismiss the other parts because it will damage the body that you are a part of.

“But God has put the body together, giving greater honour to the parts that lacked it…” It’s fun to think of all the parts of your human body and consider which parts are ‘less honorable’ or ‘unpresentable’. Which parts of the human body lacks honour? Perhaps the feet. Of course, there are parts of the body that we do our utmost to protect and guard and never flaunt around! And yet these parts are very special to us! If that has grabbed your imagination and raised your eyebrows, then good. Now consider the church. Are there parts that we should care for and protect and treat with utmost respect even though we may not place them out the front.

“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.” As the body of Christ we move through highs and lows together. When you cut your hand, the rest of your body is aware of it and compensates. It stops and treats the suffering part. It provides rest for that part while the rest of the body functions a little less vibrantly as it did before until that body part is healed or recovered. We ought to look for a connectedness in our church like this. Growth Groups are just one way of being connected so that we can care for one another. But make sure that your group is not just talking about theology but also listening and rejoicing and praying and lamenting over the things of life – especially as we grow in our maturity in the gospel together.

Division in the church should disappear when we see one another as part of the one body. But now Paul will put some specific details onto his initial principle.

Putting some flesh on the principle (27-31)

“Now you are the body of Christ…” We have been referring forward to this verse a little bit but it has finally come. We are the body of Christ. A great truth which says: you are not Anglican or Baptist. You are a member of Christ’s body.

“…and each one of you is part of it.” For those who are wondering who all this applies to, it is all who are reading and engaged with this text. If you are attending church then you are to react to this news that you are part of the body. We treat all as potential or actual members of the body of Christ. Those outside the church are highly unlikely to be members of that body since it is a very Christian response to actually attend church! Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car! BUT…garages are made for cars and churches are made for Christians. Churches are the number one location that people give their lives to Christ. There is no other comparison (I don’t mean that conversions only happen under the roof of a church building but that conversions 9/10 times happen as a result of someone being in contact and engaging at church. People don’t arrive at church generally saying, I’m saved and thought I’d come to church. Rather, they say, I’ve been thinking of getting back into church and then some time later give thanks that they did because it was there than they found Christ.

“And God has placed in the church…” Remember that God has made up our physical bodies exactly how he planned them to be with special parts and indispensable parts etc – God has placed parts in the church too.

“…first…apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then…” There does appear to be a hierarchy here of gifts which correspond to the parts of the body that seem to be of greater worth – yet they are not greater than the other parts of the body. They are key pieces of the body and the order of apostles, prophets and teachers seems interesting and significant. He ends Verse 30 with instructions to desire the greater gifts. So Paul, while maintaining unity and equality in the church as many parts of the whole, he is also drawing attention to some gifts as of higher value. Let me put it this way, when churches do not have these parts, the body really suffers. Miracles, healing, helping and guidance appear to sit on a second rung to apostles, prophets and teachers.

Teachers – This is the least controversial gift. Some people are capable of teaching. They are able to learn stuff in a way that they can then present to others to know for themselves. They are instructors. When applied to the church, teachers are trainers of the faith through the word of God. Is this the preacher? Preaching and teaching appear to be two separate and yet closely linked things (Matt 11:; Romans 2:21; 1 Tim 4:13; 5:17). Preaching is like exhorting which is to direct people strongly in a direction and yet teaching is more like instruction on scripture. Preaching would go hand in hand with teaching. Not simply knowledge of the scriptures but what to do about them.

Prophets – You may have a gut feeling about what a prophet does cause you imagine a wise old monkey sitting with a stick in its hand and when people come to enquire of the creature, they make strange markings on the wall and predict what the future will hold. But we will rather reflect on what the scriptures tell us about prophets. A prophet is someone who speaks the words of God. It might be helpful to look at the example of Aaron in Exodus 7:1. Moses was feeling incapable of doing what God had told him to do before Pharoah and the people of Israel. God then instructs that Moses will be like God to Pharoah and that Aaron will be your prophet. Aaron is not described as a prophet of God but a prophet of Moses. So that, what Moses intends to say, Aaron will speak the words. He will be like Moses, speaking the words of Moses. Now, sometimes, the Old Testament prophets would take a word from God to the people and it will contain aspects about the future. But by and large, they were expounding the words of God in relation to the promises of God in the past. Yes, they were announcing the words that God speaks. But the words were not a brand new message that contradicted anything that God had said previously. Two judgments are made concerning a prophet: 1) does it contradict what God has already said? 2) did what the prophet say was going to happen come to pass? If either of those are false then the prophet is a false prophet. While the scriptures were still open for addition in the New Testament times, it seems that the gift of prophecy was present and Paul even says to pursue it. Now that the scriptures are complete, it is a fair argument to have whether prophecy has ended, become less frequent, or does it continue under the banner of preaching the gospel to all nations. The word of God has come and His Spirit has been poured out to believers so that we can talk about the result of people believing or rejecting the gospel.

Apostles – The third (and first word) in the list has a double meaning. The word means sent one. And so, all of us who have heard the gospel and the call to go and make disciples are a type of apostle. Paul described himself as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ (sent by Christ 1Cor1:1). He pleaded that surely the church in Corinth recognised his apostleship because they are the proof or seal of this title (1 Cor 9:2). It is a word that can be used widely by someone who has been sent by someone else or by a church (Acts 15:22). But it also has a specific use when we talk about the Apostles of Christ. Paul and Peter and James and John and the other men (not Paul or Judas) who were Jesus’ twelve disciples. Their ministry establishes the first century church and gives us the final word of God in the scriptures. We teach that the scriptures closed with the death of these Apostles. Our church is built upon the Apostolic teaching which is the Word of God about Jesus Christ.

The gifts we ought to hold as key to the body of Christ is the apostoloc teaching, the word of God spoken and the teaching of this word to the whole body. It’s like the head is a significant part of the body because of the brain and the mouth which feeds the rest. It doesn’t change the lesson that the whole body is the body. It does teach that there are those roles that are incredibly necessary for the church to be the church.

“Are all…do all…Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.” Each part of the body will demonstrate different gifts, but as the body overall, there are greater gifts that we need the body to include. These are the gifts of the gospel being presented to the church through teaching the very word of God as handed to us by the apostles.

“And yet I will show you the most excellent way.” This sentence is the intro to the infamous Chapter 13! It almost wipes out everything that we have said because it points us to love. BUT, love without proper teaching soon becomes greed and lust. The most excellent way of love is best understood when the body is taught to understand it well. And then the body will all, every part, express and experience the great gift of love.

What did we learn? (Meaning)

Anyone in the church is to see themselves as part of a greater thing than themselves. Those who feel unhelpful and insignificant must understand the blessing that they are for being part of the body of Christ. Those who have significant parts to play must understand that they too are only placed there by the mercy and grace of God for the benefit of all who are there. The WOW gifts of healing and miracles are to be reoriented to lesser than the message of Jesus Christ who gave his body and blood for the life of the church of God.

Now what? (Application)

Topic A: The joy of being you. You are wonderfully and beautifully made. Like everybody at church, you have Christ to thank for your salvation and your knowledge of God and all His works. The Spirit that you have is the same Spirit that all the members of the church have. No more and no less. You are special because Christ died for you. And you are a member of the body of Christ. You may not be something else that you would love to be but that is a distracting thought away from the best thought that you have been made by God, saved by God and sealed by God with the Holy Spirit. What a blessing you are when you know and love that.

Topic B: The joy of knowing others like you. The body of Christ is made up of many parts that all do their part just as God has made them to be. We are all growing in Christ and being transformed, that is a work in progress that God has promised to complete. But look around at what God is doing in the lives of others at church. Praise God for the servants, the workers, the speakers, the encouragers, the prayers, the readers, the visitors and the faithful men and women who have held the gospel in this place for decades.

Topic C: Be keen for better things. A church that sits on the routine of rosters and meeting times will lose sight of the greater gifts. What we ought to eagerly desire is the word of God to feed us and grow us. If we are one body with many parts, then all of the parts can work together to ensure that what we love best is good spiritual food. And that food is the word of God spoken to us. Taught. Exhorted. Applied. At our church, we meet weekly in large public times to sing and to pray and to hear the bible read and taught. We meet mid-week in smaller groups to coach one another in life through Christ by reading the bible, teaching one another and caring for how we are each progressing in the faith. We also hope to commend and support everybody in a habit of good personal and family bible times. Just as an organism will eagerly desire food to survive, the body of Christ must eagerly desire to be fed by the word of God. That, after all, is how the body with all it’s parts learns to live together as one through love.

1 Corinthians, Church, Faith, Holy Spirit, Worship

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

The gifts of the Spirit

Discussion Question

What thoughts or questions do you have about gifts from the Spirit?

Background (Context)

Paul has written a letter to the church in Corinth who need to be pointed away from thinking just like the rest of the world thinks and to consider Christ – the only LORD to worship and the only Saviour of the world. Knowing this changes everything we do.

We cease boasting in people and boast in the Lord. We stop thinking of freedom as an invitation to have everything but turn our hearts to serving Christ, even with our bodies. From Chapter 8, we are warned to flee idolatry but rather glorify God in everything. Chapter 11 turns to a positive view of worship as the theme of worship and relationships is examined. The Lord’s Supper shows us that we are no longer a people who worship in order to get something, but we worship because we have already received in full. The final chapters of 1 Corinthians celebrates how amazing it is to know God and adopt the same character as him. We are no longer tossed individuals in the world responding to things in anger and division but we are a saved people who worship together in love and truth.

What were the people in Corinth doing that Paul didn’t like? We are about to read the passage and hear Paul talk about things gifted by the Spirit of God to the church. About healing and prophecy and miracles and tongues. Were these things happening in Corinth? Was it wrong? Should we get these? We’ll deal with those questions as the study goes on. Whether we know what the church was doing or not has little benefit to what Paul says to us about them. Much wisdom from the scriptures is overlooked when we go looking for background info to shine a light on any passage. The bible has been put together to listen to from any nation in any time.

Read 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Follow this link to read the passage on BibleGateway… 

What did you see? (Observation)

Structure

  • The primary Spiritual gift (1-3) to call Jesus Lord
  • One Spirit, One Lord, One God (4-6)
  • Different gifts but still the same Spirit (7-11)

The primary Spiritual gift (1-3) to call Jesus Lord

“Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.” Ironically, I also don’t want you to be uninformed (or ignorant) about this first verse! Although all major translations say spiritual gifts or gifts of the Spirit, the word gifts is not a given in the Greek text. The Greek word used means ‘pertaining to the spirit’, or ‘spiritual’ and the translations have looked forward to Verses 4-11 to look at what the spiritual things is pointing to. We could read, Now about the things pertaining to the Spirit, or Now about spiritual things. See how the major translations are correct and yet, if we are uninformed, we presume that there is a special thing or things called spiritual gifts. The way the rest of the passage plays out will not be affected by this nuance very much BUT the existence of the phrase: spiritual gifts gives license for the uninformed to discuss grand powers as a right in their spiritual experience. The only place in Scripture where the phrase spiritual gifts is ever actually used rather than implied is in Romans 1:11 where the usage in context is clearly about strengthening one another by the truth of the gospel. Note also 1 Cor 1:7 mentions gifts but does not carry with it spirit. The full words of this section plus Chapter 14 explore gifts given through the Spirit. We desire to listen intently without jumping to a world where Christians automatically get super powers.

“You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.” Paul uses the word pagans (gentile, nations, people) as the pre-Christian diagnosis for all. Before coming to Christ, we were all pagan. When we enter this world, we are of the world. We are fleshly and ignorant of the true God. In many and various ways, we are lead to worship false gods. We love to adore things or people. But adoring the One True God is just not in our nature. By default, says Paul, we will be idolaters. Ephesians 2:1-9 (esp V2) expresses it well. There are many and various superstitions around that go unchecked. There are many gods that we can trust and hope in for future security. Even worship in the Christian realm can be misused as merely a superstition – until it is transformed by the knowledge of the True and Living God through the word of God. The doctrine of total depravity describes that we are unable to muster knowledge or belief in God on our own.

“Therefore…” Paul’s assertion in Verse 2 gives him confidence to say what follows. The effect of knowing that we will all be mislead away from God gives the following conclusion.

“…no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.” If our human nature cannot take our hearts and minds to worship the True and Living God in truth (but turn to mute idols) then anyone who professes Jesus to be Lord can only do this by the Holy Spirit. Of course, anyone can mouth these words, or read them off a book, but coming to God is only ever a work of the Holy Spirit. The first thing to know about spiritual things and spirituality is that we need the Holy Spirit to bring us to eternal life. The primary gift of the Holy Spirit is to give us the knowledge of eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the work of an entirely different spirit to curse Jesus, to reject Jesus.

One Spirit, One Lord, One God (4-6)

“There are different kinds of gifts…service…working…” Gifts and service are both outward in nature from something to something else. God gives gifts, and service is something done for the benefit of others. Working is about activity and effort. Perhaps it is a triune thought about the source and direction of use. That is, God gives gifts for the benefit of others, not simply the one who receives so that their work can be an expression of God’s good work in the world. Whether these three words are meant to be three sides of one thing or whether they are three different areas of thought will become clearer as the passage goes on.

“…the same Spirit distributes…the same Lord…the same God at work…” The emphasis in these three Verses is the unity of the source. The church is one because our God is one. God is at work in calling and saving the church. The Lord is the revealed Lord Jesus whom we serve. And the Spirit is at work in all of the works of God to distribute and call and teach and save. Notice the matching of gifts distributed by the Spirit. The Lord is matched against service. And our work is matched with the work of God. While 1 Corinthians began with the trouble of division in the church, Paul is celebrating the source of unity! Our Triune God is the foundation of the church and the supplier of all its needs. The church is to reflect the unity of God. Though many, we are one. No division in the church even though there is division in the distribution of gifts. Note that different and division are related words. We embrace unity as we celebrate our differences because we recall that our source and service are founded in One God who is at work in all of us. Just as God is one and yet demonstrates His diversity within the Trinity, the church recognises it’s many gifts and services and works and thanks God for being the resource for all of us.

Different gifts but still the same Spirit (7-11)

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” Note that any benefit that we receive from knowing God and receiving from Him is for the benefit of the church (and the world). If we recognise a blessing from God, it is not to be put in your back pocket and sat on. Use it. Express God who has manifested the Spirit in you through gifts that you are able to use for the benefit of others. Gifts for service put to work.

“…through…by…the Spirit…” Recall that when we were simply people in this world, we were led astray to mute idols (V2). When we do or say anything under the expression of Jesus as Lord, this is a manifestation of the Spirit within us. This is the logic of Paul here. If it is for Christ, it is through or by the Spirit. If it is against Christ, then it is something else.

“…a message of wisdom…” This would imply wisdom from God rather than wisdom of the world which Paul condemned in the early part of this book (2:6). Wisdom is presenting the truth of God into this world in a practical way. We see how we are best to live and act and react in the world under the grace of God. In Chapter 2, Paul speaks much on wisdom and declares that the wisdom from God is not something that anybody in this world could possibly have mustered up. We declare something that no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor mind conceived. Wisdom from God is God given. It is through the Spirit. It is to have the mind of Christ. And it seeks to know nothing else but Jesus Christ and him crucified. (2:2). If someone claims to have spiritual wisdom and does not proclaim Christ – it is not the same spirit we wish to be fed from.

“…a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit…” Chapter 8 focused on the word knowledge. It shows an understanding of matters. It emphasises understanding and intellect rather than virtues like kindness, patience and love. It is neither a good nor an evil. It is a building block for what we choose to do with our knowledge. The greatest truth about knowledge is not about what we know but about being known by God. The Spirit will guide us to true knowledge but knowledge without love is nothing. As Paul says, knowledge puffs up while love builds up.

“…to another faith…” It must not be presumed that some will have the gift of faith and others may not. This letter implies a number of times that all in Christ must have faith (2:5; 7:22; 13:13; 15:14, 17; 16:13) But perhaps there are those who manifest a faith from God that feeds the faith of those around them. That is, faith in the church is caught as we stand beside those whom God has especially gifted with faith. I do not mean by this what some might think I mean: that we have faith tanks that can be filled little or much and that the more faith, the greater our relationship with God. Like the faith that can move mountains! I simply mean that while some may manifest their worries and timidness, others can give courage as they manifest their trust in God. This too is not a measure of a person’s worth before God since it is a gift of the Spirit – they didn’t do this of themselves.

“…to another gifts of healing…miraculous powers…” The list of examples gets more and more ‘interesting’! We know that Jesus had the power to heal and perform miracles. We know that the apostles received similar gifts. We certainly believe this to be the work of God when the result of these gifts and powers are to profess and proclaim Jesus as Lord (keeping the context in mind). We also acknowledge and appreciate that healing happens and in many and various ways, God manifests miracles in people’s lives that sometimes can be difficult to explain. The question remains: ought we expect to receive gifts like these in the church or not? If we had these gifts demonstrated all the time and across the ages everywhere that Jesus was preached then we might calmly say that yes, of course healing and mighty powers goes hand in had with Christian churches. When we notice that this is not happening then we ask: are we doing something wrong or are we looking for the right things. Let the bible answer. The spiritual things that Paul is discussing are all shown to be from the One Spirit when Jesus is proclaimed Lord. This is the purpose of the gifts. Healing and miracles are not a fringe benefit of being Christian – one of the perks like the prosperity gospel implies. Healing and miracles are FOR the gospel. Paul will continue to work through this issue over the next few chapters. If the point ain’t Christ then there is no point.

“…to another prophecy…” Paul will again emphasise this gift in 14:1. Prophecy is done to strengthen, encourage and comfort the people of God. Is prophecy about predicting the future? Is prophecy about speaking the word of God? To cut to the chase and keep things short: both are given to us in the Word of God. The closed canaan of Scripture reveals who the Messiah is, how the wrath of God is real and is paid for at the cross, how the world has a non-disclosed use-by date, how God’s love is demonstrated and given at the cross. All that must be known about God has been made known. While Paul wrote this letter, the full measure of Scripture had not been written yet. The church would hear from God as the Spirit saw fit. If we have prophecy today it is by those who bring the word of God (the bible) to the hearts and minds of the church to strengthen, encourage and comfort people.

“…to another distinguishing between spirits…” 1 John 4:1 helps us to understand this and link it to the previous gift of prophecy.

“…speaking in different kinds of tongues, and … interpretations of tongues.” Paul will later show that you need the latter for the former to be useful. These tongues are best understand as different languages. Note that in Acts 2, when people spoke in tongues, it was clearly for the benefit of those who understood those languages. Paul mentions tongues of angels elsewhere but never endorses it or even confirms that such a thing is anything more than hyperbole. Again, this gift of the Spirit is for the sole purpose of communicating the word of God to people. None of the gifts have steered off course of this agenda.

“All these are the work of the one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” We must concluded from this section that nobody is to boast about what they are able to contribute to the church of God since it is all flowing from the one Fountain. And not even a Fountain to be approached and taken from – the Spirit distributes and the Spirit determines who, where and when gifts are given. 

What did we learn? (Meaning)

So three lessons flow from this: all church work is fed from one Spirit; all gifts given are for the purpose of proclaiming Christ as Lord; and no gift is given in order to be kept to oneself. Division in gifts but no division in the Giver or receivers. Variety in practice but no variation in purpose.

Now what? (Application)

Topic A: What classifies as a spiritual gift? The passage talked about gifts, service and works. The list of gifts were particularly aimed at what we do with our mouths because this is the clearest way of proclaiming the gospel. When we proclaim the gospel we must use our words. But let us not overlook our service and work toward one another. The qualifying mark of a gift of the Spirit is that it points people toward the Lord Jesus Christ. The first and most important and essential gift of the Spirit that we all must embrace and use is the gift of the gospel, first for ourselves and then to those around us. The premiere need of every church is the news of salvation through Christ and that He is the Lord of all. If that is the only gift that you ever receive, you are eternally better off than many souls who do not know it.

Topic B: When will I know I’m using a spiritual gift? Let’s not equate spiritual gifts with super powers. The work of God is subtle and almost always goes on without much attention. As you meet together this week, with a chocolate biscuit in one hand and your bible open in the other, and you open your mouth and encourage the people of your Growth Group that Jesus Christ is Lord – risen from the dead and He is Lord. That the passage in 1 Corinthians 12 is a message from God to encourage us that we all worship and serve the One True God. And show love and care for somebody that you have learned to do because you know the love of God – you are using your gifts given to you, not from your own brilliance but by the grace of God. Can you share other moments when you or others can be exercising their spiritual gifts for the benefit of others?

Topic C: Our church is equipped and built up by the power of the Spirit of God. Do you ponder whether you belong to a spiritual church? Do you lament sometimes that our church could be more spiritual? Let’s remember that it is God who equips, he distributes, he determines how his church will be fed and grow. It is God who is at work. It is Jesus Christ whom we serve because He first served us. It is the Spirit of God who gives life through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us never forget that the power of God is the gospel itself (Romans 1:16-17). The Spirit of God works through the word of God to teach and to correct and to rebuke and to grow. The fruit of the Spirit is unity manifest in love, kindness, gentleness. If we proclaim Jesus as Lord, then we can only do that by the power of the Spirit of God. No man can lead us back to God without the power of the Spirit.

2 Samuel, Church, Kingdom of God

2 Samuel 16:15-18:18 – A King’s Son

Discussion Question

Would you describe yourself as a friend of Jesus? How do you recognise a friend?

Background (Context)

David’s house is in turmoil. Everything went pear-shaped after David’s sin with Uriah’s wife. David has fled from his own palace because his son, Absalom, has risen up to take the kingdom from David.

Ahithophel was introduced in 2 Samuel 15:12 as David’s counselor but he was summoned by Absalom and became his adviser instead. You can see in 16:23 how highly the advice of Ahithophel was in the land. Being on Absalom’s side was a real trouble to David. So, he prayed that the LORD would confuse the council of Ahithophel ( 15:34).

Hushai the Arkite was phase one of the answer to that prayer. He was the king’s confidant (1 Chronicles 27:33). He met David as he was fleeing Jerusalem and David instructed him to go and join Absalom’s side in order to frustrate Ahithophel’s advice. He was also instructed to send word to David who would wait at the fords in the wilderness.

David had concubines who he had left behind in Jerusalem. The calamity that has come upon the house of David, forcing him out of Jerusalem, began with the moment he set eyes on a beautiful woman on the roof of her house – he slept with her and had her husband killed. When David was confronted with this by Nathan the prophet, he was told, “Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.” (12:12)

Absalom’s political campaign has gathered many of the people of Israel to his side in conflict with David. We pick up the story as David has fled and Absalom arrives in Jerusalem to occupy his father’s throne.

Read 2 Samuel 16:15-18:18

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What did you see? (Observation)

Structure

  • Sleeping with the enemy (16:15-23)
  • The LORD confuses the advice of Ahithophel (17:1-14)
  • Spies work for David (17:15-23)
  • David’s new army mustered at Mahanaim (17:24-18:4)
  • How Absalom died (18:4-18:18)

Sleeping with the enemy (16:15-23)

“Absalom said to Hushai, ‘So this is the love you show your friend?’” Good question Absalom. It sets a theme for the passage before us. What is it to be a friend? Hushai needed to pursuade Absalom that he was now a friend to Absalom. But we know that this is fake.

“Hushai said to Absalom…I will serve you.” Verses 18-19 sound like a blunt lie from Hushai. It is indeed a trick but it is probably a clever one. He avoids using Absalom’s or David’s name but refers to father, son, these people and men of Israel. He especially begins with ‘the one chosen by the LORD’. His intention is to serve the chosen one of God who is the same man (David) the people of Israel all chose back in Chapter 5. He ends his pitch to Absalom with two rhetorical questions: Whom should I serve? And Should I not serve the son? He doesn’t answer them and Absalom can do what he likes with those questions. His final statement sounds very much like a dedication to serve Absalom but if we remember 15:34, he is directly serving David. Hushai is a friend to David and loyal to him.

“Sleep with your father’s concubines…in the sight of all Israel.” Ahithophel gave this advice to Absalom and he does it. In a way that was made known to all Israel. Recall how a similar thing happened in Chapter 4 between the son of Saul (Ish-Bosheth) and his key advisor, Abner? It seems like going one step further than taking a man’s house is to take the man’s concubines. And with that advice, Ahithophel has severely damaged the relationship between David and Absalom. It’s like a massive middle finger to his dad’s authority and place. The deed also echoes two parts of David’s story. It was on the roof that David saw Bathsheba and then sinned with her. And as a result, the LORD declared that David’s wives would be taken away and slept with in broad daylight. There is a difference between wives and concubines but the declaration from Nathan in Chapter 12 and this episode seem too connected to disqualify that difference.

“Now in those days the advice Ahithephel gave was like that of one who inquires of God.” This section ends, or transitions with this high praise of Ahithephel. Both David and Absalom regarded him so highly. We have seen various advisors in the king’s house give really wicked and shrewd advice to the king’s sons. Ahithephel, without any previous mention of him, has entered the story for the purpose of critiquing the wisdom of men versus the wisdom of God. The problem for David is that he needs the wisdom of Ahithephel to be turned into folly.

The LORD confuses the advice of Ahithophel (17:1-14)

“…attack [David] while he is weary and weak…” This was the advice from Ahithophel and what is smart about his advice is the timing. David is weary and weak. While Absalom and all the people strolled into Jerusalem full of breath, David had escaped and needed refreshing (16:14). Ahithophel’s advice is a good one (for Absalom).

“…Let all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba – as numerous as the sand on the seashore – be gathered to you…then we will attack him…” Hushai is given a chance to give counter advice and he takes it. He convinces Absalom with knowledge of David that is factual but not the full truth. David is a mighty warrior and all of Israel know this. Before Absalom was even a twinkle in his father’s eye David had great experience as a warrior. What Hushai does not tell Absalom is that he knows where David is waiting. And he is camped with his army, not hiding in a cave. Then Hushai gives advice that sounds awesome but is really buying David time. Rather than act swiftly and quickly and get the job done while David is weary, Hushai says, do this right. Get all of Israel together and let’s just bulldoze David down. We don’t want stealth and risk. We want to throw all our resources into this and do it once and do it right.

“For the LORD had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.” Not much to comment on here but to draw attention to this verse. God’s sovereignty and the plans of men are on view here. God gets his way without even turning up. Absalom heard two plans and chose the more foolish one. Praise God.

Spies work for David (17:15-23)

Let’s just quickly do names…

Hushai – the king’s confidant now acting as spy to frustrate Absalom’s adviser.

Zadok and Abiathar – priests.

Jonathan and Ahimaaz – sons of those two priests (2 Sam 15:27, 36).

En Rogel and Bahurim seem of low significance at a quick glance but give movement to the story. The Jordan is of course a major landmark which is like a gateway to the promised land.

“Now send a message at once and tell David…” The friends of David will network now to save David’s neck. The king was to wait at the fords in the wilderness for a message from the priests (2 Samuel 15:27-29). Hushai advises the priests who then send a female servant to the priest’s sons waiting in En Rogel. They hid in a well at Bahurim to escape Absalom’s men. When they felt safe, they found David and delivered the message. They risked life to get the message to David, their king.

“By daybreak, no one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.” The escape was not just for David but for all of the king’s followers. They didn’t delay in case the plan of Ahithophel was set in motion. Hushai had saved David from a quick and sudden attack. The plans were thwarted and he was allowed to retreat so that David, not just Absalom, could muster an army. David’s advantage was growing.

“…Ahithophel…hanged himself…” He had advised Absalom to sleep with David’s concubines in phase one of his plan but phase two was not followed by Absalom. His plans had been frustrated and not followed. He saw no way out but to end his own life. Such a hopeless end. His eggs had been placed in one basket and it depended on his plans being followed. His hopes were in his own wisdom and that had failed him. Praise God that our hopes do not rest on our own wisdom and strength. The story has informed us, the readers, that he was up against the wisdom of the LORD who had determined to frustrate his plans. It’s an uneven competition. He was not wise enough to realise this.

David’s new army mustered at Mahanaim (17:24-18:4)

“David went to Mahanaim…” Remember that this was where Saul’s son set his base when competing with David for king of Israel. The town name means ‘two camps.’ We see again a divided kingdom and wait to see which will last.

“For they said, ‘The people have become exhausted and hungry and thirsty in the wilderness.’” We might remember the words of Ziba in 2Sam 16:2. We suspect that Ziba had a hidden agenda and was deceitful to David. We see more hospitality given to David but without any hint of deceit. Mixed with the subtle but real theme of friendship in this passage, I wonder if we are seeing true hospitality here. The exiled king is still received and cared for.

“Even if half of us die, they won’t care; but you are worth ten thousand of us.” We finish this section now with an overwhelming allegiance to David. He may not know a fraction of who these people are but there are thousands of people who know who David is and consider him their friend. It is not a friendship like two mates chatting over coffee, but it is a loyalty of the many who name David as their beloved king. They are prepared to give to him, welcome him in, leave their homes and palace for him and die for him.

How Absalom died (18:4-18:18)

“The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, ‘Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.’” These words sound more like the words of a father for his son than of a king for a rebel. There is grace and mercy, compassion and patience, and longing in David’s instructions. Pitty? The three generals were given these plain instructions and the troops all heard the instructions.

“The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword.” Ephraim would become the popular name for the alternate and rebellious kingdom of Israel when it splits after Solomon. The battle on this day went everywhere and the land itself seemed to do more damage that the weapons. An odd thing but sets us up for what happened next.

“He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.” The image is ironic. Note that his hair is not mentioned here. Later commentators would suspect that his glorious hair was part of his demise in the end. The text doesn’t tell us that at all. But ok. It works. He is floating between heaven and earth – with his majestic…mule…riding away from him. Is this a reflection of his foney kingdom? Left behind by a donkey – like a donkey. His end is not beautiful. It gets worse.

“I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree.” Can you imagine it? “Excuse me general…ah Joab, sir?” – “Yes, what is it?” – “I just saw Absalom…hanging in an oak tree.” – “Are you sure?” – “Yes, it definitely looks like an oak tree. I could be wrong.”

“Joab…took three javelins in his hand and plunged the into Absalom’s heart…” We all know what David had wanted. The troops knew. This was clearly against the wishes and order of the king. But those were the words of a father. The very father who had failed to discipline his sons (Amnon and Absalom). Who failed to retrieve Absalom and deal with his methods swiftly and helpfully. Joab saw an opportunity to make a decision on behalf of the king. Sometimes, as they say, it’s better to say sorry than to ask for permission. Joab had dealt like this before (2 Samuel 3:30) and David had commented on how hard Joab was compared to his gentleness (2 Samuel 3:39).

“…it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.” We are told that Absalom had no sons which must mean that those mentioned in 14:27 had died young – makes sense since they were never named. Absalom’s body is discarded like a sinner or enemy of Israel and all that remains of him is a monument. The lasting memory of Absalom for most people is that of him hanging in an oak tree. Not an heir of David’s kingdom. Not a son of David who inherited the kingdom of David’s house. But a muleless rebel.

What did we learn? (Meaning)

We have observed a growing friendship and loyalty surrounding David while Absalom died alone in the woods. He was easily tricked by Hushai because all he heard was what he wanted to hear. He also responded to the tactic of winning by creating a huge army. Once he died, there was no more battle and all that was left was a monument that he had made for himself. His body was discarded. No tribute by his followers. Absalom had built a shallow kingdom for himself. It looked good on the outside but had no substance. David, in contrast, had thousands willing to lay down their life for him. Absalom tried to make a name for himself but it had no substance. David was the king of a living body, proactive and for him. Not just shallow friends but friends in deed.

Now what? (Application)

Topic A: The great effort of making nothing for ourselves. Much effort can be spent in life to build – what? Jesus tells us to choose where our treasure is. Money (power, economic position, social status, things, location, etc) or the Kingdom of God. One is eternal and has your name written in the book of Life. The other is temporary and will not last. It is an empty shell. Absalom betrayed God’s king in order to make a name for himself. God’s king, Jesus, has already made a name for us by emptying himself at the cross. Once again, let’s be thankful for the effort that Jesus made to give us a life full of substance.

Topic B: What a friend we have in Jesus. Now, this is a bit of a backward application. The passage has described all of the friends of the king, rather than the king being friends of his kingdom. So, if I am to say that Jesus is my friend, what kind of friend am I? What kind of friend are you? Being loyal to the true king always. Not putting anybody above his friendship. Sharing and being hospitable with brothers and sisters in Christ. Love as he has first loved us. Talk about him with others like you know him, love him and think others would be better off if they were friends with him too! 

Topic C: Are you struggling with this part of scripture? We are a long way into 2 Samuel. Many times, in our study we have noticed that the story of David is the story of the foreshadowing of God’s eternal kingdom. Jesus said that all of the Old Testament is about Him (John 5:39). “God’s Big Picture Plus+” is a course (following a book written by Vaughan Roberts with extra material added) we run at Campbelltown Anglican Churches and we are due to run the course again soon. Look out for it being advertised. Every Christian ought to get a grip on the whole message of the bible in all of it’s parts put together as one Big Picture.