1 Corinthians 12:1-7 Who is leading you?
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: March 16, 2020 1 Corinthians 12:1-7
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
(Understanding the Text) Paul starts by saying that there are two kinds of being led. A person can be led by the Spirit of Jesus, or a person can be led by another spirit. However, Paul makes a point that when the Gentiles worshipped idols and were led to do certain actions, they were not being led by the god that they worshipped. Paul does not go into who was leading them; he just says that it was not the object of their worship leading them. He contrasts this with being led by the Spirit of God. How do we know that we are not being led by the same spirit that led us when we were not following God? We must look at what the Spirit or spirit is saying about Jesus. If the leading shows us that Jesus is our Lord, then we know that we are being led by the Holy Spirit. If we are led to put Jesus down or minimize Him, we are being led by another spirit.
(Revelation of God) The Spirit will manifest in our lives differently for different people, so there is not a single one-size-fits-all manifestation to show that someone is filled with the Spirit. This passage negates the idea that everyone will speak in tongues. Paul says that the manifestation of the Spirit is in order to promote the common good of the church. Paul links the gifts with service and activities. The gifts of the Spirit are not dormant. They are associated with actively performing a service or activity that benefits others. Paul is also saying that each believer will have a place in the uplifting of other believers.
Finally, Paul is making the point that God does not work against Himself or cause division among the believers. Paul is saying that the gifts of the Spirit should promote unity rather than division.
(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that I need to be led by the Spirit to God, to uplift my fellow Christians, and to do the work for which God is fitting me to serve Him. I pray that You will guide me where I should go and to what I should do.