I invite you to turn with me this morning to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, as we read together the first 13 verses, considering in particular this morning verses 2 and 3. Really somewhat strange verses, verses that Paul uses in a sense to introduce his consideration of spiritual gifts. I think somewhat this morning, too, a follow-up of the blessing we enjoyed last Sunday on Pentecost Sunday morning, and the sermon preached then. 1 Corinthians 12, beginning at verse 1, as we give our attention to the Word of God. Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols therefore i tell you that 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 there are different kinds of gifts but the same spirit there are different kinds of service but the same lord there are different kinds of working but the same god works all of them and all men now to each one the manifestation of the spirit is given for the common good to one there is given through the spirit the message of wisdom to another the message of knowledge by means of the same spirit to another faith by the same spirit to another gifts of healing by that one spirit to another miraculous powers to another prophecy to another distinguishing between spirits to another speaking in different kinds of tongues and to still another the interpretation of tongues all these are the work of one and the same spirit and it gives them to each one just as he determines the body is a unit though it is made up of many parts and though all its parts are many they form one body so it is with christ for we were all baptized by one spirit into one body whether jews or greeks slave or free. And we were all given the one spirit to drink. May God add his blessing to the reading and preaching of his word this morning. Well, beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, are you a spirit-filled Christian? Does the Holy Spirit dwell in you? How do you know? What is the evidence? Well, as we were reminded last week, for some, the evidence might be extraordinary gifts. The gifts of speaking in some sort of tongues or maybe being able to do some sort of healing. That second blessing of Pentecostalism to those who are then considered to be upper-level Christians. That's what they say Pentecost was all about. But last week on Pentecost Sunday, as we were reminded very powerfully by Dr. Godfrey, Pentecost is really about a promise fulfilled. God's promise in the Old Testament, our Lord Jesus Christ's promise in the New Testament to pour out His Spirit. And Pentecost is also about a presence renewed. Our Lord is enthroned in glory at the right hand of His Father. But He has renewed His presence with His people by His Holy Spirit, through His Spirit. And Pentecost is also about a power expressed. That power expressed so vividly on that particular day with the sound as of a mighty rushing wind and the tongues as of fire and then also the speaking in all the different languages of the people and that power that continues to be expressed as the Holy Spirit works powerfully and effectively in the hearts and lives of God's people. And now here it's as if, I believe, it's as if Paul reminds the Corinthian believers that the power of the Holy Spirit is expressed most pointedly not in those experiential gifts that they might enjoy. And you see, the believers in Corinth enjoyed many different gifts as we read. Some enjoyed the gifts of healing, others miracles, some prophecy, others speaking in tongues, and still others interpreting tongues to name just a few. But there was a problem. Apparently, somehow there was the abuse of gifts in the Corinthian church causing some sort of division. And we don't know exactly what it was. Maybe some were not content with the gift that they had been given and wanted one that someone else had been given. Or maybe someone with a particular gift thought that their spiritual gift was much more important and had much more significance in the life of the church than the gift that somebody else had. But whatever it was, it was causing division. And Paul became aware of this. Maybe they wrote to Paul about it asking his help and advice. But here again, we know, beginning with chapter 12, Paul addresses a new question. He addresses many different troubles and difficulties in the Corinthian church, we know. And he addresses a new question, the question of spiritual gifts. And he reminds them, as it were, at the very beginning, that their focus is not to be on the gifts themselves. But their focus is to be on the giver of those gifts. He says, beginning in verse 4, there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Then verse 11, all these are the work of the one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one just as He determines. And in verse 7, Paul talks about the purpose of spiritual gifts when he says, now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. We know that the Holy Spirit poured out these particular gifts among the early New Testament church to confirm, to authenticate, to prove the reality of the Gospel message. But as well for the edification and for the salvation of others. Not to promote oneself like Simon the sorcerer tried to do, as he tried to purchase with money the power to cast out evil spirits. Before getting into the different gifts, Paul teaches that you cannot have the gifts without the giver and knowing his presence is the first order of business. And therefore, Paul brings the Corinthian believers back to the truth that though there are different gifts, many different gifts, all have one thing in common as verse 13 says, for we were all baptized by one spirit into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given the one spirit to drink. And the evidence of that one spirit in common, beloved, is made clear in the test of a spirit-filled Christian. And as Paul outlines that test of a spirit-filled Christian, he first of all contrasts it with deadly paganism. And then he shows that it is confirmed by a powerful confession. First of all, contrasting it with a deadly paganism. In verse 2 he says, You know that when you were pagans, Somehow or other, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Deadly paganism, and I think we tend to forget this, beloved. Deadly paganism is a life empty of the truth. It is a life of ignorance. Paul begins verse 1, Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. And then he points them back to their pagan days, to when they were. When they were ignorant. And those pagan days, beloved, are characterized by a lack. A huge lack. Which Paul outlines in Ephesians 2, verse 12. Remember that at that time, when you were Gentiles, pagans, you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel, foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope, without God in the world. What a lack. Deadly paganism is empty of the truth of God in Jesus Christ. It is empty of eternal hope. Because it is empty, it is without the influence and power of the Holy Spirit. Maybe you know someone, maybe you have known someone who is just so spiritually insensitive and simply has nothing good to say about Jesus Christ. And you wonder, how can one be so calloused and so careless and so heartless and deny fervently, which we know is so dangerous, deny fervently Jesus Christ? But very simply, it's because they're spiritless. They're without understanding of the truth. Empty-headed. Spiritually ignorant. And they suppressed the truth, as Paul says in Romans 1, verse 25. They exchanged the truth of God, that truth which is clear to see in all creation. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator. Paganism, deadly paganism, is a life empty of the truth. And on the other side, it is a life filled with a lie. Because of the father of lies, the devil. As Jesus says in John 8, verse 44, There is no truth in Him, Jesus says. He influences. He leads astray. Verse 2 says again, You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. That's a difficult verse that's given commentators a lot of difficulty. But they all seem to agree that there's a two-fold idea in there with regard to this influence and this leading astray. And that two-fold idea, first of all, has reference to those being led astray. and in the second place, it has reference to the one doing the leading. With regard to those who are being led astray, what Paul is saying here is they are powerless. They cannot resist it. They don't know any better. And with regard to the one leading, that one has a particular purpose, leading toward a goal, like leading a prisoner to a prison cell. Beloved, any influence apart from the Holy Spirit leads purposefully away from Christ. And young people, the world has many messages that it wants you to hear. Many contradictory messages that it wants you to hear with regard to how you ought to think, how you ought to live, what you ought to believe. But the only message that you need is the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ against which every other message is to be measured. This lie filled with a lie results in slavery to sin and blindness to the truth. That's Satan's purpose. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4, the God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. And therefore, we know that deadly paganism is a life leading nowhere, represented by mute idols, boys and girls. Mute means not able to speak, speechless. And ever since the Garden of Eden, ever since sin entered man, natural man has been running away from God after things that he can see. The Corinthian believers themselves were at one time idol worshippers, worshipping images of wood, stone, and metal. Israel, we know, was surrounded by idol-worshipping nations, nations that had many gods and apparently they claimed served many different purposes. Israel was called to resist them because, as Isaiah 42 says, the Lord will not share His glory with carved images. Yet, from time to time, Israel found them attractive, found them tempting. We think of the golden calf. And we think of their history when they fell headlong into Baal worship. And Paul's point here is that he gives a vivid reminder, and Israel found this out themselves, he gives a vivid reminder that idols lead nowhere. Because they only lead away from Christ, and any place away from Christ, beloved, is nowhere. They lead away from Christ. Because they're mute. They cannot speak. And that means they're worthless. The psalmist in Psalm 115 says, They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes but they cannot see, they have ears but cannot hear, noses but they cannot smell, they have hands but cannot feel, feet but they cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Boys and girls, man makes an idol in the image of man with all the tools to fit our senses. But when it comes to idols, they don't work. They're useless. And in Habakkuk 2 we read, of what value is an idol since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies for he who makes it trust in his own creation. He makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to wood, come to life! Or to lifeless stone, wake up! Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver. There is no breath in it. They're mute. They're voiceless. And not only the images of wood and stone and metal are voiceless, but also the gods that they supposedly represent have nothing to say because they have no truth. And people of God, the same is true with the idols of our own making today, whether it's power or prestige or money or whatever it is that you and I might put our trust in. And whatever satisfaction these idols of our own making may give, it's only temporary, it's only so very brief. and it only leads back to ourselves and draws our eyes and hearts away from the only hope of heaven. Idolatry keeps one lost. That's Satan's goal. Idolatry only leads to chaos and confusion. It leads to destruction. And again, that's been proven in history. We think of Israel's enemies. They tried to limit Israel's God. They said He was a God of the mountains or maybe the God of the valleys. And well, if He's a God of the mountains, then we do battle in the valleys and then their God cannot help them. But Israel's enemies found out the hard way that He is God over all and that their gods only led to destruction. Or on top of Mount Carmel, the prophets of Baal went crazy, shouting and cutting themselves in order to try to get Baal to act. But again, the gods of the nations only lead to chaos and confusion. Or we think of Ahab's prophets before his last battle. They promised him victory, but he only lost his life because false gods can only speak the lie. They offer no confidence. In Acts 17, Paul is in Athens, you know, and he found many altars to many different gods, even to the unknown God. They had to cover their bases because they were worried that they might miss one. They could not find one that offered any sort of confidence. Beloved, Satan's goal is to keep mankind lost. And he, even at this moment, is leading unbelievers like animals being led to a slaughter that have no idea what's coming. And I suspect that most of us here this morning do not fully understand this deadly paganism as we have described it. A life empty of the truth, filled with a lie, leading nowhere. We cannot fully understand this like the Corinthian believers could, because by the grace of God, most of us were born and raised in Christian homes, and even if we didn't believe with a heart at an early age, yet from the earliest days we were taught the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and of the triune God, and of salvation, and all that the Word of God teaches. But there are some here who do understand and do remember wandering aimlessly, without direction, without the truth, without a purpose in life. But we must all understand, beloved, that deadly paganism is like traveling without a Thomas Guide or a global positioning system, without road markers or street signs, simply traveling without directions, boys and girls being dumped in the middle of Los Angeles, being told, get somewhere, but you have no idea where you're going. that's what it's like for deadly paganism. And that's how it is for mankind lost in sin, and that's why we are to take the Word of God seriously, our Lord's command, to bring the Gospel to every nation. That's how it is for mankind lost in sin. And that's how it was for each one of us, whether we understood it consciously or unconsciously. But this morning, as believers, we are to be encouraged because we were without hope. We were wandering aimlessly and without direction. We were headed for destruction, but Jesus Christ poured out His Spirit who arrests His people and stops them in their tracks and gives them a knowledge of the truth because He is the Spirit of truth and only the truth. And He does not leave those for whom Jesus died in ignorance, but He leads them without fail to Jesus Christ, who alone is the way, truth, and the life. And therefore, Paul makes clear that the test of a Spirit-filled Christian is in the second place confirmed by a powerful confession. Verse 3, Therefore I tell you that 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. This powerful confession is a Spirit-directed confession. Again, the Holy Spirit's presence and power is expressed most pointedly, not first of all in the gifts that He may give, but it is expressed most powerfully and pointedly by bringing one to faith in Jesus Christ. By transforming one's heart. By giving them new life. which is demonstrated then through what that once says about Jesus. And the Holy Spirit's direction, beloved, is only one direction. It is the truth of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit has been given to give new birth, to remove the blindness of sin, to reveal the truth of man's need and of Satan's lie and of salvation in Jesus Christ, to apply the work of Jesus to you and me, to the gift of faith. No Holy Spirit, no application of Christ's work. And the purpose of it all, beloved, is as Jesus says in John 16, 14, He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. And the Holy Spirit brings glory to Christ by not by filling the believer with ignorance and nonsense, but He brings glory to Christ by filling the believer with the truth of Jesus Christ and then bringing forth a clear and intelligent, from the heart, confession. That is then a Christ-honoring confession. You see, from their pagan days, the Corinthian believers no doubt remembered, recognized heathen spells, magic incantations, even ecstatic speech. And it's very possible that now with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, there might have been some confusion. Some of these maybe looked quite similar with many different spiritual gifts. How can you be sure when one is exercising one that they are doing so from true faith? And that's where Paul comes in here with these first verses. If it's by the Holy Spirit, Paul says, it will include a Christ-honoring confession. And he gives that Christ-honoring confession, first of all, in a negative way. I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, Jesus, be cursed. Now Paul is stating a fact here. One who is filled, who is influenced by, who is directed by, who is speaking in the power of the Holy Spirit, will never, ever say this about Jesus. They will not. They cannot. They will never say, Jesus be cursed. The word there is anathema. And boys and girls, anathema means something is under God's curse. Something is worthy of and set apart for God's destruction. That included Achan. Remember Achan? He took some of the riches from Jericho that God said, no, no, they belong only to me. And when it was found out, Achan was anathema. He was set apart for God's destruction. But to say, beloved, Jesus deserves God's curse is to deny His very being and His very purpose, and it is to say that the Holy Spirit is a liar. Our Lord's crucifiers, with the emblem of the cross, which was an emblem of God's curse, we know, by their very act of crucifixion, crucifying Him, said that Jesus was anathema. And those who deny that Jesus Christ is necessary and sufficient for salvation say that He is anathema. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of truth and to say that Jesus be cursed, that is a lie. And the Holy Spirit cannot lie. He will never, He never degrades. He never insults Christ. He never, ever will lead one astray. That does not mean, of course, that one will never sin by denying Christ. Peter did. And Paul says in 1 Timothy 1 that he was once a blasphemer. But we know that those saying those things was not by the influence of the Holy Spirit. It was outside the influence of the Holy Spirit. But no one is able to have true faith by the power of the Holy Spirit and at the same time hate Jesus and say that He is nothing. The Holy Spirit witnesses powerfully, effectively, undeniably, and without contradiction to the truth of Jesus Christ, to His person, who He is, and His work. That He is Savior. He is Redeemer. He is Master. He is Ruler. And that results then in a positive confession. And no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. now Paul points to an impossibility. He says, absolutely no one can say that Jesus is Lord if they do not have the Holy Spirit. Jesus is Lord. And the word Lord there corresponds to the Hebrew word Yahweh, Jehovah. We hope to consider that more tonight as we consider our confession that we believe that He is the only begotten Son of God, our Lord. But therefore, to say that Jesus is Lord is to say that Jesus, this historical man who was crucified, died, was buried, who rose again, who ascended, that He is the one who is full of grace and truth and salvation. It is to confess that He is truly God. To confess this is to confess that this Jesus is the one whom God has chosen to redeem us, to reconcile us fully to the Father. He is the one upon whom eternal life rests this is one of the oldest or the oldest creeds in Christendom Jesus is Lord Peter in Acts 2 verse 36 says God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ Savior and ruler but again it does not mean that all who say Jesus is Lord simply with their lips do so by the Holy Spirit Jesus applied the words of Isaiah to himself They honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Or we might think of Judas Iscariot. No doubt in some way he honored Christ with his lips before Judas took his own life. Or we think of the seven sons of Sceva in Acts chapter 19. They tried to cast out demons in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches. And the demon says, well, Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but I don't know you. And the demon-possessed man then proceeds to jump on them and brutally hurt the seven sons of Sceva. Jesus himself says in Matthew 7, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven. Those who do not simply confess him with their lips, but who confess him with their heart and live under his lordship. You see, that's what's implied in the text, Jesus is Lord. Paul says in Romans 10, 9, If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, that God has done a wonderful work for you and for me, then you will be saved. Beloved, I trust you see that a Spirit-filled Christian is really a redundancy. Because one who is filled with the Holy Spirit is a Christian. And one who is a Christian, and sadly we must qualify that and say true Christian because the title is used so flippantly and loosely today. But a true Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit. Now this morning with regard to this test, you might think, well this is really no surprise because we know this already. You're not telling us anything new. we know that it's only by the power of the Holy Spirit that anyone can believe and anyone can confess and anyone can live under His Lordship. So what does this have to do with us this morning? But you see, beloved, this test is intended to help us identify our brothers and sisters in Christ, not only those around us this morning, but those in the world around us, and to rejoice in the evidence of the Holy Spirit's power and influence in their lives, that he is indeed busy and active as Jesus Christ sent him to be. That he continues to build the church of Jesus Christ. But this test is also intended for you and me personally to fill each one of us personally with the comfort and encouragement that as the Holy Spirit witnesses to your heart that you do believe that Jesus is Lord. That He is the only Savior. That He has redeemed you. And that it's true for you, all that Jesus has done. Then Paul says, that is to be an assurance to you and me of the Holy Spirit's powerful work in you, that you have been born again, that you have been delivered from the ignorance and deadliness of sin, that you are on the path of truth by the grace of God. And only then will the other gifts that the Holy Spirit may give us be useful in God's kingdom. As we use them to promote Jesus Christ as Lord. And beloved, how humbling this is to be, to know that the Holy Spirit is indeed working in your heart and in my heart. And to know that the Holy Spirit comes with the promises of Jesus Christ, that all who cry out to Him without fail will be saved. He comes with the promises of Jesus Christ, that we are the recipients of God's love, even as Paul says in Romans 5, that God poured out His love in our hearts through the Holy Spirit whom He has given us. Our Lord's promise is that the Holy Spirit has been given to us to stay and never be taken away. He is our comforter. He drives away doubt and despair. He helps us to consider it pure joy when we face all kinds of trials. He helps us, equips us to stand firm on this confession that Jesus is Lord, even when it may cost us our life. He strengthens us as He did with Stephen. And daily, beloved, the Holy Spirit fills us with the assurance that though we fall short of the glory of God, that the sin that we continue to commit will not put us under the wrath of God again. It will not. But He assures us that the Christ of the Lord's table preserves us forever because he has removed forever God's wrath and condemnation from us. He preserves us forever as he brings us to repentance and gives us the assurance of his forgiveness day by day. And, beloved, his promise includes being nourished. He nourishes us unto eternity and he strengthens us to live under the lordship of Jesus Christ. He nourishes us by the word of God preached. Oh, it may not always be so exciting. Sometimes it might be too simple for us. At other times it may be served up differently than we think it ought to be or would like it to be. But if it is true, then it comes with God's promise that His Word will not return to Him empty and void, but will accomplish the purpose for which He sent it. His promise is the Holy Spirit will nourish those who desire it. And He nourishes us also through the sacraments. This morning we think of the Lord's table in particular. That visible confirmation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This table that we see with our eyes. Look at it. The cup that you will hold in a moment. The bread that you will eat. It's a confirmation to you and me. It's a table of confession that Jesus is Lord. That He is Master. That He is Savior. Without fail. And this table of confession is only for those empowered by the Holy Spirit, beloved, to make that confession in faith and receive all of Christ's benefits by faith. And Christ is glorified by the Holy Spirit, people of God, as the Holy Spirit brings us by faith to the Lord's table. And He promises to nourish us there. We may not feel any different physically, not like after a good Sunday dinner. But He promises to nourish us. That more and more He cements the truth of Jesus Christ in our hearts and increases our assurance that we are one with Him. And as He nourishes us, beloved, the Holy Spirit empowers God's people to live according to the truth of this confession that Jesus is Lord, desiring to use all the gifts that He may give us to the glory of God, pointing to Jesus Christ. Indeed, the Holy Spirit's power is expressed most pointedly in bringing one, bringing you and me to faith in Jesus Christ. And therefore, beloved, as we come to the Lord's table in faith, may we rejoice that this table is also a table of promise. A promise that the Holy Spirit will complete that great work that He has begun in you and me. Amen.