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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 12:1, 3-11, 13, 18, 24, 28; 14:4-5, 12, 25
The divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity issues in the functions of the members in a local church. The functions of the members are the spiritual gifts, and these gifts are related to speaking in the Spirit of God.
In 1 Corinthians 12:1 Paul says, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.” Then in verse 3 Paul goes on to say, “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking in the Spirit of God says, Jesus is accursed; and no one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit.” This verse indicates that it is easy to function in the church meetings. We can function in the Spirit simply by saying, “Lord Jesus.” In addition, we may say, “Lord Jesus, I love You. You are my life and my comfort. Lord Jesus, You strengthen me inwardly.” How many things we can say concerning the Lord Jesus!
In the meetings of the church we can speak the name of the Lord. We can say, “Lord Jesus, Your name is Jehovah, the great I Am. Lord, You also are called Jesus, Christ, Emmanuel, the Son of God, the Son of Man, and the Redeemer. Lord, You are the Lamb of God, and You are even the door.” As we mention the names of the Lord Jesus, the Spirit who dwells in our spirit will come in to function. Then the Lord will follow the Spirit to minister, to serve. The Lord will serve us, and then through us He will serve others. Furthermore, God will operate. He will accomplish something for the fulfillment of His purpose. By this we see that our speaking in the Spirit is a great matter.
In 12:1-3 Paul’s intention is to impress us with the importance of speaking in the Spirit. However, some saints have been deceived concerning the matter of functioning in the meetings and think that they are not gifted and therefore cannot function. They may consider a certain experienced brother in the Lord and say, “This one is very gifted. Through his years in the Lord, he has been equipped. But there is no way that I can be like him.” Actually, this way of thinking is a sign of unbelief. The truth is that we all can function. We can at least exercise our spirit to say, “Lord Jesus.” I can testify that when the saints exercise to speak in the meetings, it is much easier for me to give a message. Their speaking of the Lord stirs me up and inspires me to speak in the Spirit. We all need to speak in the meetings, and we all can speak. We can call on the Lord Jesus, and we can speak concerning Him.
As we pointed out in the foregoing chapter, in 12:4-6 we have distinctions of gifts by the same Spirit (v. 4), distinctions of ministries by the same Lord (v. 5), and distinctions of operations by the same God, who operates all things in all (v. 6). In 12:1-6 there are four parties. We ourselves are the first party, and the other parties are the Spirit, the Lord, and God. We have seen that when we exercise our spirit to speak, the Spirit functions, the Lord serves, and God operates. In a very real sense, we are crucial, and our part is a crucial part. The Spirit’s functioning, the Lord’s ministering, and God’s operating require our speaking. Once again we see that we all need to speak in the Spirit.
We have heard much concerning the Lord Jesus, God’s salvation, grace, redemption, justification, sanctification, and many other matters. Now we need to respond to what we have heard by speaking. A genuine Christian is a speaking Christian. Actually, we should speak not only in the meetings but at home and on the way to the meetings.
It is possible that the Holy Spirit will be poured out through our speaking. We may compare our speaking concerning the Lord to the striking of a small match. We know that a single match can start a fire that will burn an entire building; therefore, we should not despise a little match. In a similar way, we should not despise our speaking, for it may cause many others to be set on fire in the Spirit.
We need to be impressed with the fact that when we speak, the Spirit functions, the Lord serves, and God works. This is the dispensing of the Divine Trinity. This is the Triune God dispensing His riches into us.
We may also compare our regenerated spirit to a switch. When the switch is turned on, electricity flows into the appliances and causes them to work. A switch, therefore, is important. The flowing of electricity into a building is actually the dispensing of electricity into the building. Likewise, the flowing of the divine electricity, the flowing of the Triune God, is the dispensing of the Divine Trinity. But for this dispensing to take place, we need to “switch on” by exercising our spirit to speak. If we do this, we will have the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity issuing in the functions of the members in a local church.
Concerning the dispensing of the Triune God, we occupy a crucial place. We can be compared to the switch. When we speak, the switch is turned on, and the divine dispensing, the flowing of the divine electricity, takes place. When we speak, the Spirit functions, the Lord serves, and God works. As a result, the divine dispensing will take place in the church meetings, and all the members will be infused with the Triune God.
In 12:4-6 we have the Trinity. There are distinctions of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are distinctions of ministries, but the same Lord. There are distinctions of operations, but the same God. Here we have the Spirit, the Lord, and God — the Triune God. However, the Divine Trinity is waiting for us to take the initiative to speak. When we speak, the Triune God will cooperate by carrying out the divine dispensing.
In 12:4-11 Paul speaks of the manifestation of the Spirit by different gifts. In verse 7 he says, “To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable.” All the different gifts are the manifestation of the Spirit; that is, the Spirit is manifested in the believers who have received the gifts. Such manifestation of the Spirit is for the profit of the church, the Body of Christ. The manifestation of the Spirit is for the growth in life of the members of the Body of Christ and for the building up of Christ’s Body.
In verses 8 through 10 Paul lists nine manifestations of the Spirit. Verse 8 says, “To one through the Spirit a word of wisdom is given, and to another a word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit.” According to the context of this book, the word of wisdom is the word concerning Christ as the deeper things of God, predestined by God for our portion (1:24, 30; 2:6-10). The word of knowledge is the word that imparts a general knowledge of things concerning God and the Lord (8:1-7). The word of wisdom is mainly out of our spirit through revelation; the word of knowledge is mainly out of our understanding through teaching. The former is deeper than the latter. However, the two, not the speaking in tongues nor any other miraculous gift, are listed as the first gifts and the topmost manifestation of the Spirit because these two are the most profitable ministries, or services, for the edification of the saints and the building up of the church to carry out God’s operation.
The word of wisdom is mainly a word from our spirit concerning Christ as God’s wisdom. In chapters 1 and 2 we see that in this Epistle wisdom refers to Christ. We need to study the Scriptures in order to learn the things concerning Christ. Christ is the wisdom from God to us, and He is also the power of God to us. This wisdom is actually God’s plan to have Christ as our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. We need to know these things so that we can speak of Christ as power from God and as the wisdom of God and also as our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. This is the word of wisdom.
The first manifestation of the Spirit listed by Paul is the word of wisdom, and the second is the word of knowledge. The word of knowledge may be somewhat ordinary; it is not necessarily a word directly concerning Christ. For example, the word of knowledge may include the things related to salvation. Someone speaking a word of knowledge may speak of the parable in which the shepherd left the ninety-nine sheep and sought after the one sheep that was lost. Such a word is not a word of wisdom; it is a word of knowledge.
We need to study the Bible to learn the truths of the gospel and the truths of the spiritual life. This will make us knowledgeable and equipped to speak in the church meetings. This will also give us utterance. Utterance is related to our knowledge of the truth. If we do not have the knowledge of the truth, we may be able to shout forth some praise to the Lord, but we will not have the utterance to speak of salvation or the Christian life.
All the saints need more knowledge of the truth and more ability to present the truth. This is the reason I have encouraged the leading ones to consider having a short time of training in the truth regularly after the prayer meeting and also after the Lord’s table meeting. During this period of training, perhaps only a half hour in length, we can learn the truth and also practice presenting the truth. For instance, a brother may give a brief word in which he presents the truth of justification. We may know the truth concerning justification, but we still need to know how to present this truth to others. This is a matter of utterance.
Utterance equips us to speak the truth. When we have much utterance that comes from knowing the truth, we will be able to speak for hours concerning the biblical truths.
After the first two gifts, the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge, Paul mentions certain miraculous gifts: “To a different one faith in the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing in the one Spirit” (12:9). Faith here is like the faith that can remove mountains, as mentioned in 13:2 and Mark 11:22-24.
In 1 Corinthians 12:9 Paul also speaks of gifts of healing. This is the miraculous power for healing different diseases.
In verse 10 we have yet another miraculous gift — operations of works of power. This refers to miracles, works of miraculous power other than healing. An example would be the case of Peter raising Dorcas from death (Acts 9:36-42).
I can testify that I prefer the gift of speaking the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom to the miraculous gifts. I admit that I do not have the kind of faith that can remove mountains. However, I can speak the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge. As a result of my study of the Scriptures, I can speak on many different subjects. To me, the most precious gifts are the gifts to speak a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge.
The miraculous gifts may stir up people’s curiosity. But what people need is a word of wisdom to know Christ or a word of knowledge to know how to go on with the Lord.
Suppose that through the exercise of the gift of healing, someone is healed of cancer. Although people may be excited by such a miracle, there may not be a genuine, long-lasting spiritual result. This is the reason the Lord Jesus did not commit Himself to those who were attracted by signs: “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed into His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus Himself did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men” (John 2:23-24). The Lord did not entrust Himself to those who were looking for miracles. Their persistent seeking after miracles eventually caused the Lord to go away from them.
In 1 Corinthians 12:10 Paul speaks not only of operations of power but also of prophecy, discerning of spirits, various kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Prophecy is miraculous only in part. The reason for this is that prophecy has more than one aspect. To prophesy is to speak for God and to speak forth God. Sometimes this speaking includes foretelling or predicting. Foretelling is miraculous, but speaking for God and speaking forth God are not miraculous.
Certain ones in the charismatic or Pentecostal movement like to hear predictions of the future. In 1963 and 1964 there were so-called prophecies that claimed that the city of Los Angeles would fall into the ocean. Those prophecies were even reported in the newspapers. However, those prophecies were not fulfilled.
The kind of prophesying I appreciate is the prophesying in which there is the speaking for the Lord and the speaking forth of the Lord. This prophesying is to speak to others concerning the Lord and also to speak out the Lord to them. This kind of prophesying is precious, and we all should learn to prophesy in this way.
In chapters 12 and 14 of 1 Corinthians the noun prophecy and the verb prophesy are used a number of times. If we read these chapters carefully, we will see that here Paul does not use these words mainly with the meaning of predict or foretell. Instead, in these chapters to prophesy is to speak forth, that is, to minister Christ to others. To prophesy is also to speak forth Christ. This prophesying is useful for edifying the individual saints and for building up the church corporately.
Many of us can testify of the help we have received through the kind of prophesying that speaks for Christ and speaks forth Christ. The church is built up through the speaking forth of Christ and the speaking for Christ. Furthermore, this kind of speaking is the dispensing of the Triune God. As someone is prophesying by speaking forth Christ and speaking for Christ, we are under the dispensing of the Triune God. As a result, we are nourished. This nourishment comes through the supply of the divine dispensing in prophesying. A brother may give a short testimony in a meeting, but that testimony may be a speaking forth of Christ and therefore a dispensing of the Divine Trinity.
Our speaking provides the best opportunity for the Spirit to function, for the Lord to serve, and for God to work. Our speaking is the key to the dispensing of the riches of the Triune God into the church. When we are silent, dumb, the “current” of the heavenly electricity stops flowing. This causes the church to suffer. We all need to learn to speak so that there may be in all the church meetings the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity.
Discerning of spirits is the ability to distinguish the Spirit that is of God from those that are not of God (1 Tim. 4:1; 1 John 4:1-3). This gift is not miraculous.
The last two gifts listed by Paul are various kinds of tongues and interpretation of tongues. Tongues in 1 Corinthians 12:10 denotes a proper language or dialect (Acts 2:4, 6, 8, 11) either of men or of angels (1 Cor. 13:1), not meaningless voices or sounds. The genuine and proper speaking in tongues is one of the many gifts of the Spirit, one of the many aspects of the manifestation of the Spirit. Some say that speaking in tongues is first the initial evidence of the baptism in the Spirit but afterward becomes a gift of the Spirit. According to this understanding, as the initial evidence, every believer must have the gift of tongues, but as a gift of the Spirit, every believer does not necessarily have it. However, this kind of teaching is groundless in the New Testament. The New Testament makes it more than clear that speaking in tongues is only one of the many gifts of the Spirit, and not all believers have it.
The interpretation of tongues is the gift to make the unknown tongues known, understandable (14:13). This is the ninth item of the manifestation of the Spirit listed in chapter 12.
Although Paul lists nine manifestations of the Spirit, the manifestation of the Spirit by the believers includes more than nine items. A number of items are not included in these nine. The apostleship, helps, and administrations by the Spirit listed in verse 28, seeing visions and dreaming dreams by the Spirit as mentioned in Acts 2:17, the signs and wonders referred to in Hebrews 2:4, and three of the five miraculous acts prophesied in Mark 16:17-18 are not listed here. The apostle lists here only nine items of the Spirit’s manifestation as an illustration. Of these nine, speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues are listed as the last two because they are not as profitable as the other items for the building up of the church (1 Cor. 14:2-6, 18, 19). Of these nine gifts and those listed in verses 28 through 30, prophecy as prediction, faith, gifts of healing, works of power, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues are miraculous. All the rest — a word of wisdom (like the word of the apostles), a word of knowledge (like the word of the teachers), and speaking for God and speaking forth God in prophecy by the prophets, discerning of spirits, helps, and administrations — are gifts developed by the growth in life (3:6-7), as those listed in Romans 12:6-8, out of the inward, initial gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:7. The miraculous gifts, especially speaking in tongues and the interpretation of tongues, do not require any growth in life. The Corinthians did much speaking in tongues, yet they still remained in infancy (3:1-3). However, the gifts developed in life require growth in life, even maturity, for the building up of the church. It was for this purpose that this Epistle was written to them.
We need to be impressed with the fact that Paul puts the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge as the first two and tongues and the interpretation of tongues as the last two. This indicates that Paul regarded the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge more highly than tongues and the interpretation of tongues. We may say that the best gift is the gift to speak for Christ and to speak forth Christ. The word of wisdom and the word of knowledge are related to this kind of speaking. Rather than the miraculous gifts, I encourage all the saints to seek the gift of speaking the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge and also the gift to speak for the Lord and the gift to speak forth the Lord.
