The Test of Spiritual Things

Introduction:
Thanksgiving is over, and a new season is beginning.  Fall is shifting to winter, giving thanks shifting to “gimmie, gimmie, gimmie,” and after more than a month 1 Corinthians 11 is shifting to 1 Corinthians 12!  So far in 1 Corinthians we’ve seen what church is like when we do it our way and that we need to do a Spirit-led self-test to see if we’re messed up like the church in Corinth was. Now we’ll start to see what church is like when it functions God’s way.  It begins with another test…

The Test of Spiritual Things
Concerning Spiritual Things (READ 1 Corinthains 12:1)
The main point of this chapter is about the unity of followers of Christ based upon the unity of the Godhead (Father, Son, Spirit).  Last Sunday night we heard about laminin: you know, that cross-shaped protein that keeps your body from falling to pieces, that glue of the human body.  Well, the glue of the Church is the Holy Spirit and He very much uses spiritual gifts to hold the Church together.

The verse says, “I do not want you to be ignorant.”  It shows concern about the immaturity of the believers at Corinth.  We’ve seen already that they were not growing in spiritual maturity, given the division, immorality, pride, idolatry, etc.  The truth is that if you’re not becoming more Godly, you are becoming less.  There is no neutral.  Their carnality was proof that they were ignorant of spiritual things.  Oh, they had knowledge of spiritual things, but “knowing” doesn’t mean you ARE spiritual.  Knowing doesn’t mean you use spiritual knowledge to edify the church.  It might make you feel good about yourself, but that doesn’t mean squat!  So the Spirit wants them to test what they see and hear.  What were they listening to? 

The first they need to understand is that the old things are certainly not of God…

Former Spiritual Things - READ 12:2
”You were carried away by dumb idols,” is what it says.  Remember, idols themselves are nothing, just wood and stone (1 Cor 8:4), but they are powered by demons, so have no part with them (1 Cor 10:20).  On your own you were carried away by the dumb idols, but in Christ you left them, forsook them, right?  Of course they didn’t forget or forsake you!  They lie in wait and want nothing more than to carry you away again.  Can a believer be “carried away by an idol?”  Well, 1 Timothy 4:1 says, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”  Matthew 24:24 says, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”  

Back to 1 Corinthians, 12:2 says, “you were carried away by dumb idols, however you were led.” There are as many ways to be led into idolatry as there are idols; there is diversity in idolatry.  You can worship any number of idols and you can worship any idol in any number of ways.  “Hang on preacher, I don’t have any idols!  I don’t use drugs or alcohol!”  Okay, but the Scripture says we were ALL enslaved to some idol.  We either worship God or some part of His creation.  It could be a person, place or thing, a philosophy, even yourself.  We were ALL carried away by some dumb idol. 

Here is the hard truth: most sin is really just the practice of an addiction, and addictions are the worship of an idol.

They seem innocent or manageable to start, but sooner or later they turn on you, bringing consequences and powerlessness.  What once seemed enjoyable or harmless becomes hurtful and overpowering.  Now there are no shortage of ways the world tries to deal with the reality of idols that oppress us.  There are self-help books, TV talk shows, rehabs, psychology and all kinds of things.  But all of them have the same problem: they try to treat the addiction instead of removing the idol.  In fact, many times they see no issue with the idol at all.  Let me give you an example.

Food addiction.  Want to know what happens if we just treat the addiction?  First, let me say that this is something I struggle with so I have some experience here.  There are many reasons people develop a food addiction, but the results are an unhealthy diet and medical problems to name a few.  You try to address your problem of over-eating by tackling the addiction; so, you diet and exercise.  After some short-term success you find yourself relapsing and gaining weight again.  This goes in cycles for awhile and you get really frustrated.  Then you watch some exercise show on TV and they spend a lot of time trying to understand why people are addicted to food, often they connect it to low self-esteem or the fear of rejection.  But those are just part of the addiction.  The idol that is being worshipped is pride.  Think about it, low self-esteem and the fear of rejection come about when our pride has been hurt, so we develop behaviors that comfort us…one of those behaviors is over-eating.  The experts know that in order to treat the addiction to food, they must help the people shift all that “worship” over to something else.  So, they create new patterns of worship like exercise and “looking good.”  You’re told to make it all about you, focus on yourself, and do it for #1.  In many cases it works for awhile and people loose weight.  The world applauds and says, “How amazing!”  But after all the hoopla is over many of the folks go back to their old worship/addiction patterns and put the weight back on.  Others, adapt to the new worship and become addicted to their self-image.  You say, “What’s wrong with that?”  Well, eventually what seems good will turn on you and take you captive.  The popularity will soon fade and the world won’t care about you anymore.  

All along, the idol has never been addressed.  The worship of that idol, that is the practice of an addiction, may have shifted to new behavioral patterns, but it’s still the same old idol.  It doesn’t matter if you worship by over-eating, or if you worship by exercising to maintain a certain self-image.  The idol is pride, which is nothing more or less than worshiping self.  That is also called worshipping the creation instead of the Creator.  So, we shift from one addiction to the next, each one just as destructive as the last.  That’s what happens when we treat the addiction.

What is the only way out of addiction?  Stop worshipping the idols and start worshipping God.

Well, how do we avoid being ignorant and getting carried away again, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons?  How do we know if we’re truly worshipping God alone and not allowing another idol in…or going back to the old one?  

The Spirit tells us to test what/who we are following and listening to…

Testing Spiritual Things - READ 12:3
The test is to identify what can and cannot be attributed to the Holy Spirit.  This is not only a Spirit-led self-test, like we just covered in the previous section, it is mainly a test of what you are following and listening to.  It is a test of all the influences that you come in contact with.  How do you know if that expert speaks on behalf of God or an idol?   The answer is do they call Jesus Lord or curse Him?

“Hang on preacher, just because someone fails to mention Jesus being their Lord doesn’t mean they are speaking for a demon.”  Yeah, but anyone who is submitting to the Holy Spirit will constantly testify about Jesus, and proclaiming Him as Lord.  In John 15:26-27 Jesus said, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who goes out from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you also must testify…”  If you are listening to anyone or anything that does not proclaim Jesus as Lord...you are listening to someone/something who is not submitting to the Spirit but rather to demons.  They fail the test.

Who or what is influencing you?