- In The Book of Corinthians, We Learn The Value of Praying In The Spirit
- He covers this in this epistle because the Corinthians were carnal I Cor 3:1-3
- Hebrews talks about babes Heb 5:11-14
- They didn’t know how to pray in the Spirit I Cor 14:2
- The Corinthians Were Known For Public Speaking Acts 17:21
- They had the amphitheaters for speaking
- They were enriched in all utterances (speaking) I Cor 1:5
- They had enticing words and not the power of God I Cor 2:4-5
- They could give long orations and great speeches
- Paul was not like them
- They said his bodily presence was weak & speech contemptible
The Corinthians Did Not Have All Nine Gifts Of The Spirit
- If they had all 9 gifts of the Spirit, they should have solved all their problems
- One problem they had was the man had his father’s wife (fornication) I Cor 5:1
- Nobody discerned that, cast that out, they were just going on public speaking
- Where were the prophets & strong saints during those problems in the church?
- Just with 2 gifts of tongues & prophesy, they were misusing that they couldn’t differentiate between speaking in tongues during church service versus interpreting tongues in the service I Cor 14
- One person would speak in tongues, then they all would speak in tongues with no one interpreting in service
- Paul said they should not do that
- Paul gives the church instructions on tongues & interpreting of them
- You don’t prophesy in prayer, you prophesy in the service
- Paul had to make many corrections
You Cannot Have Gifts Of The Spirit & Live In Sin Like The Corinthians
- You cannot be backslidden and work miracles
- You cannot be high through the week & come in church & prophesy
- All that was going on in the Corinthian church misusing the gifts
- If you are going to come to church & operate in the Spirit, you should also live in the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit
Summary Of Some Of The Problems In The Corinthian Church
- Divisions- First problem named in the church I Cor 1:10
- Fornication- The man had his father’s wife 1 Cor 5
- Idolatry- They were idolaters before they came to Paul’s church I Cor 8
- They went back to the idol’s temple & got another spirit
- They would come to church after attending the idol’s temple
- They would get happy in the church service by speaking some kind of tongue
- In the spirit (some kind of tongues), they called Jesus accursed I Cor 12:3
Ephesians Does Not Go In-Depth On How To Pray In The Spirit
- He does not cover in the epistle of them being carnal
- They seem to know how to pray in the Spirit
- Paul does not instruct them how to pray like he did the Corinthians
- Woe unto you, if you know how to pray in the Spirit and not do it
- Prayer is how we go from strength to strength Psalms 84
- When we come to corporate prayer the devil fights us
- They seem to be spiritual, growing and getting stronger in the Lord Eph 6:10
- Everyone in the church must be strong in the Lord
- He tells the strong ones to put on the whole armor of God
- They had strong ones in the church like the leaders Eph 4:11
- The armor is invisible and it is your spiritual life Eph 6:11
- We need to be strong spiritually because the enemy is warring against our mind
- You have 2 minds a strong mind (made up mind) a weak mind
- Weak mind-they are not sure, they are lukewarm, they are unsteady, they go back and forth
Reasons Why We Need To Be Strong In The Lord Eph 6:10
- So if a brother or sister backslides, you don’t backslide with them
- When a brother stops coming to church, you don’t let that affect you
- Because that is his problem
- If a brother or sister takes a 9-month break from the church, that you won’t take a break from the church
Tongues Are For A Sign To Them That Believe Not
- People had the Holy Ghost before the day of Pentecost
- Before the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost was among the Jews
- Poured out means available to all (Jews & Gentiles)
- God needed to have way (sign) to convince the Jews Acts 10-11:18
- Today that is how we know who has the Spirit
Homework
Point out all the problems the Corinthians were going through because it is commonly taught that they had all nine gifts of the Spirit.
