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“The Marks Of Spirituality ”
(I Corinthians 13:1-3 )
I. Introduction.
A. Paul’s subject in I Corinthians 12, 13, and 14 is what characterizes true spirituality. It might well be that in
addressing this subject here, Paul was replying to a
question raised by the Corinthians: “How do you
recognize spirituality?” Or, who is a “spiritual person,”
a person influenced by the Spirit of God? In the
background of chapters 12 and 13 is the matter of
speaking in tongues, and whether this is the supreme
manifestation of the Holy Spirit in an individual.
Chapter 14 deals directly with the abuse of this power.
B. The Corinthians’ pagan past had not prepared them to
recognize the true working of God’s Spirit within them,
and among them. Their former religious experience had
been focused on ecstasy. The highest religious experience
consisted of being carried away in some inexplicable,
ecstatic experience. (“You know that [or when] you were
Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you
were led.” I Corinthians 12:2).
1. So, Paul must deal with the question of whether the
presence of the Holy Spirit causes a person to act in
ways outside the ordinary. Or, does it bring the will
of God into the ordinary?
2. Is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit recognized by
emotional reactions, or by attention to everyday,
human responsibilities?
3. How does the Holy Spirit cause a person to act?
C. Our purpose in this lesson, using Paul’s words in
I Corinthians, is to identify the distinguishing marks of the
spiritual person.
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II. What The Holy Spirit Does.
A. First, the Holy Spirit’s influence is evident in the
individual’s confession of Jesus as Lord.
(I Corinthians 12:3; read).
1. The evidence of the Spirit’s influence is not just in a
person saying, “Jesus is Lord.” If that were so, then
Matthew 7:21 is false: “Not everyone who says to
Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of
heaven, . . .”
2. This “good confession” is to be made thoughtfully
and with conviction that it is true.
3. When someone does confess Jesus as Lord, and
Savior, and sincerely means what he or she says,
Paul declares that’s evidence of the influence of
God’s Spirit upon them.
4. The person has been led to Christ, has learned what
Christ did for them, and who He really is. Jesus
said they are led by God, that is, by God’s Spirit
(Read, John 6:44-45).
5. Evidence of the Holy Spirit is not in making
unintelligible sounds, that neither the speaker, nor
anyone else, can understand. Rather, it is saying,
with understanding and meaning, the simple, and
profound, words: “Jesus is Lord.” It is intelligible,
meaningful speech that is the sign of the Holy
Spirit.
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6. Why would we think that it is unintelligible
utterances that indicate the presence of the Spirit of
God? Why would something not rational be an
indication of His presence? What could be more in
agreement with the Holy Spirit’s work than the
confession of Jesus as Lord?
B. Second, the Holy Spirit manifests itself not in one
particular gift, but in helping us use whatever gift we have.
The remainder of I Corinthians 12 emphasizes this point
(verses 4-31).
1. Paul meant to broaden the very narrow view of
spirituality that the Corinthians had. It seems they
thought the Spirit was revealed foremost in one gift
and one way – speaking in tongues. To the
Corinthians, this was the evidence of greater
spirituality.
2. Paul answers this idea with the principle, widely
applicable, that there is more than one way to show
the presence, and influence, of God’s Spirit.
3. In verses 4-11, two words are emphasized,
“diversities” and “same” (read verses 4-11).
a. There is a wide variety of gifts, but the
“same Spirit”, the “same Lord,” and the
“same God” grant them all.
b. These different gifts are not given in
recognition of the superior devotion, or
status, of the recipients, but are given by
the “one and the same Spirit” as “He
wills,” (verse 11). No one gift is given to
all, and one can have the Holy Spirit and
not speak in tongues (verse 10). Returned
to in 12:30 (read).
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4. Then, Paul stresses two different words in 12:12-31:
“one” and “many.” There is “one” body, and
“many” members. One church and many functions.
This truth means there are many gifts, also, in this
one body to carry out these many functions.
a. The outward, observable act of baptism,
where everyone receives the same Holy
Spirit, shows the oneness of Christ’s body
(read 12:13).
b. Using the analogy of a human body, starting
at verse 14, Paul compares it to Christ’s
body, the church. The very idea of a body
means there are many different parts, with
distinct functions, that work together for the
good of the whole body.
5. Those in Corinth who made tongues the mark of
spirituality did so with pride in themselves and
inferiority for others. Some people had, apparently,
been made to feel so inferior that they questioned
whether they had any place in the body at all, while
others were proud of their “super-spirituality.”
6. Paul contends that the gifts themselves do not
indicate degrees of spirituality. They are purely
functional. No member should feel, or be made to
feel, inferior or superior to others (Read verses 15-
16 and 21). Everyone should know they have a
vital place in the body, and their differences are
indispensable to its well-being.
C. I Corinthians 12 does deal with the extraordinary gifts of
the Holy Spirit found in the early church. It deals with the
problem of making tongues (tongue speaking) the evidence
of greater spirituality. Paul now changes course in
Chapter 13. Introduces this in 12:31 (read).
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D. The “greater” gifts, the “more excellent way” is to treat one
another lovingly – because, third, the Holy Spirit is
manifested in love (I Corinthians 13).
1. No gift has any value without love (verses 1-3,
re-read). A person may exhibit all the gifts of the
Spirit, but they have no real value without love.
A person may exhibit all the gifts of the Spirit,
and not be spiritual. A person with love in their
heart, and no extraordinary gifts, can be spiritual.
2. Love is a manifestation of the Spirit superior to
tongues or any other extraordinary gift. It is the
more “excellent way.”
3. (Illust.)
A little boy wanted to do something for his
father. “Is there anything I can do for you?” He
asked. His father, trying hard to think of something,
said, “Yes, you can bring me a glass of water.” The
lad had been playing outside and his hands were
dirty. As he held the glass, a finger accidentally
stuck into the water and left a cloudy trail. Do you
think the father drank the water? Of course he did.
The smallest thing done with love is meaningful.
The most spectacular and impressive thing without
love is nothing.
4. We know verses 4-17 of Chapter 13 as Paul’s
description of the characteristics of love. Then,
verses 8-13 stresses the fact that, while love is
permanent, all the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit
are only temporary (read 13:8).
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5. We should be more concerned about developing
love than with seeing miraculous gifts as marks of
spirituality. Our goal should be to focus upon the
things that last (read, 13:13).
E. The Holy Spirit words in conjunction with the human mind,
not at a “deeper” level, nor in bypassing our mind. (Read,
I Corinthians 14:20).
1. God’s word does not teach that we approach God in
our “spirit” rather than our “mind,” as if our “spirit”
constituted a deeper level of communication with
God than our mind. The biblical view does not
make such a division, does not distinguish spirit and
mind as separate faculties of people.
2. In the biblical view of people, whatever we do, we
do as total persons. And we are to come to God as
total persons, mind and spirit. (Luke 10:27:
“. . . ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength,
and with all your mind.’. . .”).
3. True spirituality is not separate from the mind, but,
rather, requires use of the mind. Paul stresses the
need for thoughtful words that can be understood by
peoples’ minds. Without this, no real edification
can take place.
4. True spirituality comes from understanding, not
mere feelings (read I Corinthians 14:7-9). True
worship requires the use of the mind. And every-
one in the assembly should be able to understand
what is said and done
(read I Corinthians 14:15-16).
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5. Without the use of our minds, with emotion
overruling intellect, people have no protection
against any kind of delusion or falsehood, that
someone may put before us.
F. Two final points Paul makes about the Holy Spirit and spirituality:
the Holy Spirit promotes respect for Scripture (I Corinthians 14:37;
read), and, the Holy Spirit brings order, not confusion
(I Corinthians 14:40; read).
1. The spiritual person is not recognizable by claims of
stirring visions and revelations. Claims of direct
communication from, and with, God’s Spirit, in which the
will of God is supposedly revealed, do not indicate
spirituality. Paul says the spiritual person will give
attention to the Scriptures, given to all by God’s Spirit.
We honor God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit when we respect
their word.
2. In his preceding discussion of spiritual gifts, Paul gives two
reasons why the assemblies of the church should be
conducted “decently and in order.” The first reason is
practical: edification requires a thoughtful atmosphere,
free from confusion. The second reason is more profound:
disorder is the opposite of God’s very nature
(I Corinthians 14:33: “For God is not the author of
confusion but of peace. . .”). We worship Him meaning-
fully because He is the God of meaning, not chaos.
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III. Conclusion.
A. A young woman from Ghana, Africa, a Bible
correspondence student, raised a question in a letter to the
individual studying with her. She said that there were
many “spiritual churches” in Ghana, and she had
occasionally visited one of these, though she herself was
not a member. Her question was: “Is it true that when the
Holy Spirit comes upon you, you behave like a ‘mad
person’?” This is what she’d observed. Her letter
concluded: “Is that how the Holy Spirit works?”
B. The marks of spirituality do not make people act like
someone out of their mind. Let me finish with two
passages of Scripture that tells us what the true marks of
spirituality do:
1. I John 4:1-2: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but, test the spirits, whether they are of God:
because many false prophets have gone out into the
world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every
spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is of God.”
2. I John 4:6: “We are of God. He who knows God
hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us.
By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit
of error.”
C. If Pentecost is the truth about tongue-speaking, what is
spoken must be intelligible languages currently spoken,
according to Acts 2:4-11. This will be our specific subject
in the next lesson in this series on the Holy Spirit.