Galatia New Life Church
Sunday, April 19, 2026
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  • There Is Power In The Blood (Power In The Blood)
  • Somebody Loves Me
  • Stand In Your Love
  • Now Concerning Spiritual Gifts
    Week 1: The Single Question Test
    TEXT: 1 Corinthians 12:1-3
    I. Introduction
    Most of us have had a moment when something happened in a service that we could feel but could not fully explain. Worship was moving, the atmosphere seemed to shift, and deep inside came the question:
    Is this God? Is this really the Holy Spirit, or is this just emotion?
    That is not a modern question. It is an ancient one. It is the very question standing behind Paul’s words to the church at Corinth.
    The Corinthians came out of a culture saturated with spiritual activity. Their city was filled with temples, idols, rituals, and religious experiences. In the worship of false gods, especially in the ecstatic practices associated with Dionysus, being overwhelmed, caught up, and swept away was often treated as proof that a spiritual power was present.
    So when they came to Christ, they needed more than passion. They needed discernment. They needed to know how to tell the difference between what is spiritual and what is truly Holy Spirit.
    And that is the question Paul begins to answer:
    How do we know the difference?
    II. READ
    Let's read our text.
    1 Corinthians 12:1–3 NKJV
    Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
    III.  God Does Not Want You Ignorant  (v. 1)
    1 Corinthians 12:1 NKJV
    Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:
    A.  "Now concerning"
    a. Based on a question the Corinthians had already asked in a previous letter
    b. He is responding to their confusion
    B.  "Spiritual gifts"
    a. Actually translator's addition (Italicized) “gifts”
    b. The Greek word means “the spirituals”
     c. Paul starts broader than gifts, he is addressing the whole category of Spirit-experience.
    C.  "I do not want you to ignorant"
    a. To not know
    b. To Lack in knowledge or information
    Illustration:
    Chemistry class
    Transition: But before Paul can teach them about the gifts beginning in vs 4 — he must address something far more foundational.
    Not Every Spiritual Experience is from God
    IV.  Not Every Spiritual Experience Is from God  (v. 2)
    1 Corinthians 12:2 NKJV
    You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.
    A.  "You know that ye were Gentiles"
    a. Past tense
    b. He is reminding them of who they were
    c. Point to who they are not in Christ
    B.  "Carried away"
    a. One of the most important words in the passage:
    b. being led away
    c. carried off
    a. A passive participle — they were not active seekers; they were swept along.
    b. In Dionysus worship
    Losing self-control was the goal
    The pagan god was supposed to take over
    Expecting the same spiritual experience as a Christian
    C.  "Dumb idols"
    a. Deaf
    b. Mute
    c. Unable to respond
    d. The pagan gods
    i. could not speak
    ii. could not hear
    iii. could not act
    D.  Counterfeit
    a.  Spiritual intensity is not the same as divine origin
    b.  Feeling moved is not the same as being moved by the Holy Spirit
    c.  The Corinthians had been trained by their culture to value experience over discernment — and they were still doing it inside the church
    Illustration:
    A counterfeit bill feels like money. It spends like money. The problem is not the feeling — it is what is behind it. Paul is not telling them their experiences were imaginary. He is telling them imagination is not the test.
    Application: We live in the most spiritually hungry generation in modern history — not the most Christian, but the most spiritual.
    Meditation apps, energy practices, manifestation rituals. The hunger for spiritual experience has never been higher. The confusion about what is actually from God has never been deeper.
    Transition:
    So — if intensity is not the test, what is? Paul answers in verse 3 with startling simplicity.
    V.  The Holy Spirit Always Exalts Jesus as Lord  (v. 3)
    1 Corinthians 12:3 NKJV
    Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
    A. The negative test — what the Spirit never produces
    Paul begins with the clearest boundary line: the Holy Spirit never dishonors Jesus.
    a. The word anathema (ἀνάθεμα) means devoted to destruction, placed under divine curse, cut off from God.
    b. Who might have said such a thing?
    i. Possibly pagan oracles speaking under false spiritual influence ii. Possibly demonic speech working its way into the assembly iii. Possibly hostile Jewish opposition rejecting Jesus as Messiah
    Paul’s point is unmistakable: whatever spirit curses Jesus does not come from the Holy Spirit.
    B. The positive test — what the Spirit always produces
    a. Paul then gives the positive mark of genuine spiritual activity: “Jesus is Lord.”
    a. The phrase Kyrios Iēsous means more than a casual religious statement.
    b. The word Kyrios is the term the Septuagint often uses for the divine name Yahweh.
    c. So when Paul says the Spirit enables this confession, he is showing that the Holy Spirit leads people to recognize Jesus as Yahweh in the flesh — the divine Lord revealed in human form.
    d. The Holy Spirit does not draw attention away from Jesus. e. The Holy Spirit does not glorify man. f. The Holy Spirit does not produce confusion about Christ. The Holy Spirit always leads people to the lordship of Jesus.
    C. The single test question
    So here is the single test question:
    Does this exalt Jesus as Lord?
    Where the Holy Spirit is truly at work, Jesus is honored, confessed, obeyed, and exalted.
    VI Conclusion
    That is Paul’s standard. Not how dramatic it feels Not how emotional the room becomes Not how unusual the manifestation appears But what it reveals about Jesus
    VII. Prayer:
    Be Blessed
    .

      • 1 Corinthians 12:1–3NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 12:1NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 12:2NLT

      • 1 Corinthians 12:3NLT

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