Tawa Baptist

Leadership & Administration

Scripture: Romans 12:8 and 1 Corinthians 12:28

Video Link: https://youtu.be/8qs2bj1tBlg

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 14 Dec 2025 – Leadership & Administration by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Administration
  • Leadership
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Max Lucado once wrote: A person who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.

The conductor does not follow the crowd; they follow the music. They cannot afford to worry about what others think; they must stay focused on leading the orchestra, helping all the different musicians to play their part in harmony.  

Over the past two or three months we have been considering the spiritual gifts Paul mentions in Corinthians and Romans. Gifts like prophecy, teaching, helps, tongues, marriage, singleness, wisdom, knowledge and so on. Today we conclude our series on spiritual gifts by taking a closer look at the gifts of administration and leadership.

If we think of the church like an orchestra, then those with the gifts of administration and leadership are like the conductor of the orchestra, helping the various members of the church to use their gifts in harmony with each other. Let us begin then with the gift of administration. From First Corinthians 12 we read…

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Most of you would remember the TV show MASH. MASH stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. MASH was a dramatic comedy set in the Korean war of the 1950’s. One of the lead characters in MASH was Corporal Radar O’Reilly.

Corporal O’Reilly got the nickname ‘Radar’ because he always sensed when the choppers were coming with wounded before anyone else did. Radar was not an officer or a doctor. He was the hospital’s administrator. He filled out forms and basically kept the organisation running smoothly.

We could say Radar was the ‘under the radar’ leader of the MASH unit. He was like the conductor of the orchestra except he wasn’t seen up front. Without Corporal O’Reilly the MASH unit would not be able to function. It was a running gag that a Corporal (and not a Colonel) was actually running the place.

In Corinthians 12, Paul talks about the church being like a body with many different parts. Each person in the church is a part of the body of Christ and just as each part of a body has a special function, so too each believer has a special gift. We need each other to be different or else the church will not function as it should.

One part of the body Paul mentions is those with the gifts of administration. We might not think of administration as that spectacular but, in any organisation, it is essential to have people who can organise things.

The alternative would be chaos.

A church without administrators would be like an orchestra without a conductor. It would be like a MASH unit without a Corporal O’Reilly, or an aircraft without a pilot.    

In fact, the Greek word translated as administration, in verse 28, literally means the work of a ship’s pilot. The ship’s pilot is the one who steers the ship through rocks and shoals to safe harbour. [1] Modern Greek uses the same word for an aircraft pilot. [2] 

The work of an administrator then is the work of steering the church in the right direction, keeping it on course, avoiding dangers, recognising the changing weather and adjusting accordingly.

Bible commentator, David Prior, observes (and I paraphrase here)…

The pilot / administrator knows the capabilities of their craft and crew.

They know who to call on at which moment. They do not panic nor relax their vigilance. They are focused on the goal of reaching journey’s end safe and sound.  

The gift of administration carries the idea of giving guidance. The guidance may be for an individual or for the church as a whole.

Joseph, the son of Jacob (in Genesis) was a gifted administrator. Joseph rose to the position of chief steward in Potiphar’s house. After being falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, Joseph was sent to prison where he was put in charge of the other prisoners due to his administrative skills.

Then, after being released from prison, Joseph gave guidance to Pharoah (king of Egypt) and Pharoah put Joseph in charge of the administration of Egypt’s entire economy. Joseph, a man with a God given gift for administration, piloted Egypt through a severe famine, saving millions of lives from starvation.      

It is interesting that Jesus chose at least one tax collector (Matthew – aka Levi) among his disciples. Tax collectors are administrators. They are good at keeping records. Matthew’s gift with admin bore fruit in his recording of Jesus’ teaching, giving us the gospel of Matthew.

The infamous gangster Al Capone was, in the end, caught and put away by an accountant, someone good at administration. Through a meticulous investigation, forensic accountant Frank Wilson uncovered evidence of tax evasion and, in October 1931, Al Capone was convicted of tax fraud (through Frank Wilson’s guidance).

There is a lot of administration in running a church these days, way more than when I started. Much of the administration is driven by keeping up with statutory compliance. There are quite a few people in this church who provide guidance by assisting with administration behind the scenes.

We have the deacons board of course, but also the finance team and the health & safety committee, as well as Brodie, in the church office. Pastoral staff have a significant administrative element to their work too. Administrators provide information that is helpful in guiding our decisions.

Let me say thank you to the administrators among us. We need your skill and attention to help steer the church and keep us off the rocks. It is not glamourous work, but it is necessary for the right functioning of the body.

Let me also say, administration is no less ‘spiritual’ than some of the more dramatic (or supernatural) gifts. The same Spirit who empowers the prophet also empowers the administrator.

We come across an example of good administration in the early church in Acts chapter 6. From verse 1 we read…

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jewsamong them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Three things we note here. Firstly, the apostles did not try to do everything themselves. They recognised their gift was not administering food to widows, so they delegated this responsibility to others who did have the gift.

Secondly, the apostles empowered the congregation to choose their own administrators. And the congregation chose mostly Hellenistic Jews. That is, Greek speaking Jews. Jews who were born and raised outside of the land of Israel. Because these administrators were Hellenistic Jews, they had a better understanding of the needs of the Hellenistic widows who were missing out.

Thirdly, the apostles commissioned the seven administrators by laying hands on them and praying for them. In doing this the apostles were demonstrating that administration is spiritual. It is a function carried out with the help of the Holy Spirit.

As a consequence of this wise administrative move, the apostles were released to preach the gospel and the church continued to grow.   

Leadership:

Closely related to the gift of administration (or giving guidance) is the gift of leadership. In Romans 12, verse 8, Paul writes…

8 If [your gift] is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.  

The Greek word translated as lead (in verse 8) is proistēmi. It literally means ‘to stand before’ and thus to influence others. That is, to cause them to follow a recommended course of action. [3] To lead, in other words.

Leadership is more than administration. A leader doesn’t just provide guidance. A leader embodies the guidance. They stand before others. They go first, modelling by their actions the way people are to follow.

Seth Godin puts it this way…

‘The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.’

There is quite a bit in this pithy statement. Firstly, a leader does what they believe in. This implies authenticity. The leader is not faking it. Nor are they just talking about an idea. They are deeply committed to what they believe in.

They live their beliefs.

Painting a picture of the future is about giving people hope. Someone once said, ‘leaders are dealers in hope’. If you are asking people to change, then they need to believe the change will be worth it. They need to be convinced the future will be better for having made the change.    

Going there, is about being the change you want to see in the world. Leadership involves influencing people by what you do. Deeds speak louder than words. Leadership means showing as well as telling.

To be convincing then, a leader needs to be authentic, they need to offer hope and they need to lead by example. Ultimately though, what makes a person a leader, is people who will follow. Without followers one cannot really call themselves a leader.      

Being the first one to do something, taking the lead, requires a certain courage.    The courage to turn your back on the crowd, to risk rejection and humiliation, to do things differently, to cut a new path for others to follow.

One of the greatest leaders of all time was king David, king of Israel. Before he took the throne, while he was still a callow youth, David showed Israel the leadership they needed at that time.

David acted on his belief that the God of Israel was stronger than the enemy. David painted a picture of the future by defeating Goliath with a stone and a slingshot. David was a dealer in hope. He had the courage of his convictions.

He led by example, and people followed him.

But one even greater than David has come. His name is Jesus. Jesus cut a new path; he redefined leadership in terms of service to others. Jesus did not come to conquer Israel’s political enemies. Rather, Jesus conquered humanity’s spiritual enemies by going to the cross. Jesus overcame sin and death.  

Jesus is our leader. He suffered rejection and humiliation, betrayal and loneliness. But God vindicated Jesus by raising him to eternal life on the third day. Jesus’ resurrection paints a picture of what the future looks like for those who follow him in faith.

Now the examples of David slaying Goliath and Jesus conquering sin and death may feel a bit out of reach for us. They might also give the false impression that leadership is an occasional, isolated act of heroism.

Leadership does require courage and going where others have not been before, but the day-to-day reality of church leadership is less dramatic than that.  

Returning to Romans 12. Paul says that those who lead should do so diligently.

The definition of diligence is ‘careful and persistent work or effort’.

David learned how to use a sling through diligent practice as a shepherd defending his sheep. Likewise, Jesus went to the cross after 33 years of careful and persistent obedience to God the Father.

Leadership requires the energy to give our best every day and in every situation for the wellbeing of the community. If you are in the habit of serving diligently by giving your best in the routine small things, then when a trial by fire comes you will be better equipped to deal with it.

One of my favourite jobs when I was younger was splitting firewood. It is incredibly satisfying to bring an axe down on a willow ring and feel the wood come apart. Not so satisfying when you get a knotty piece though.

The trick with splitting wood is not holding the axe handle too tight or too loose. If you hold the axe too loose, it will fly out of your hands. But if you hold it too tight, you will get blisters faster and you will feel the shock through your arms more sharply. You have to hold the axe handle with just the right amount of tension.  

Diligence is about holding the handle of leadership just right, not too loose, not too tight. If you are a bit slack in your approach to leadership, you risk losing a handle on what you are doing. Likewise, if you are too up-tight (too white knuckle obsessive in your approach) then you risk burning out and making everybody else’s life a misery.

The Pharisees were hyper diligent in their observance of the law of Moses and it got in the way of people loving God and loving their neighbour. We need to keep the main thing the main thing. Diligence is a fine balance.

One of the things that sets Christian leaders apart is that we are followers first.

The ancient Greek philosopher, Solon, is credited with saying…

‘He who has learned how to obey will know how to command.’

Before we can lead anyone in the Christian faith, we must first learn to obey Jesus. Our authority to lead others comes from our obedience to Christ. Christian leaders are disciples of Jesus first. Indeed, if we take on the mantle of leadership, we don’t stop being disciples. We continue to take our lead from Jesus himself.    

When we look at the leaders of the early church, they were actually following the Spirit of Jesus, not their own inclinations.

In Acts chapter 10, the apostle Peter received a vision from heaven with a sheet containing all sorts of unclean animals. Then he hears a voice telling him to eat the animals.

At first Peter was shocked and appalled, saying ‘I have never eaten anything impure or unclean’. And the voice spoke again saying, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean’.

Long story short, the Lord wanted Peter to take the gospel to the Gentiles and to the Roman Centurion, Cornelius, in particular. More than that, the Lord wanted Peter to lead the way in showing the mainly Jewish Christian church that it was time to welcome Gentiles (non-Jews) into the fold.

This might not seem like a big deal to us, but it was huge for Peter and others at the time. Peter was being asked to turn his back on the crowd and on Jewish tradition. But Peter found the courage to obey Jesus, to follow the Lord’s lead, and now the Christian church is made of people of all nations.   

The other thing we note about Christian leadership is that it is usually plural.

In the New Testament, Christian leaders don’t normally stand alone. They stand together and make decisions together.    

The famous baseball player Babe Ruth once said: ‘The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.’   

In Acts 15 we read how some Jewish Christians were insisting that Gentiles who wanted to become Christians must be circumcised and required to obey the Law of Moses. Then in verse 6 we read how the apostles and elders met to consider the question.

Peter did not try to handle this on his own. He got the other church leaders together to discuss the issue and together they found a way forward.

Conclusion:

This morning we have been talking about the spiritual gifts of administration and leadership. These gifts are no less spiritual for being down to earth and practical. Maybe you have one of these gifts. Maybe God has gifted you in some other way.

Charles Schultz (of Charlie Brown fame) once wrote: ‘Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.’

God doesn’t just give us one gift. He is generous. He normally gives a number of gifts. What gifts has God given you? How are you using these gifts?

Let us pray…

Gracious God, thank you for the gifts you have given your people. Help us to understand how you have equipped us and where you want us to serve. Glorify yourself through our strengths and our weaknesses we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What does Paul mean by the gift of administration, in 1 Corinthians 12:28? What does a good administrator do for an organisation? Is this your gift?
  3. Discuss / reflect on Seth Godin’s comment: ‘The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.’ By this definition, who has had a significant leadership role in your life?
  4. What qualities or characteristics does a leader need to possess to be convincing?
  5. What does it look like to lead with diligence? Why is diligence important in leadership?
  6. What are some of the distinctives of Christian leadership?
  7. What gifts has God given you? How are you using these gifts? 

[1] Refer William Barclay’s commentary on 1 Corinthians, page 129.

[2] Refer David Prior’s commentary on 1 Corinthians, page 221.

[3] Refer Marva Dawn’s book, ‘Truly the Community’, page 131.

Tawa Baptist

Teaching & Encouraging

 Scripture: Romans 12:7

Video Link: https://youtu.be/WFz64Wj_FKk

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 7 Dec 2025 – Teaching & Encouraging by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Teaching
  • Encouraging
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

We have had no shortage of rain lately but (according to the Wellington City Council) we could be in for a dry summer. Careful watering will be needed.

They reckon the best time to water your plants is in the morning. The soil is coolest then and the water has the best chance of seeping down to the roots.

They also say it is best to water your plants at the level of the soil, rather than pouring water all over the leaves. It’s the roots that take the water in not the leaves. Baptising the tree tends to waste the water.

When watering your plants take it slow, be gentle. You don’t want to knock the plant around or blast the soil away and expose the roots.

Of course, you don’t just water once and walk away. Watering is something we do on repeat. New plants generally need more frequent watering early on.

Watering then needs to be timely, focused, gentle and repeated.

Today we continue our series on spiritual gifts, this week focusing on the gifts of teaching and encouraging, in Romans 12. If we think of our faith as a plant, then teaching and encouraging are like watering the tree of our faith.

As a general rule, teaching and encouraging need to be timely, focused, gentle and repeated. To remind you of the context, let me read a few verses from Romans 12, starting at verse 6…

 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with yourfaith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Teaching:

I invite you to take a moment now to think back to when you were at school. Some of you may need more time than others. Who was your best teacher? Who was the teacher who really got you and helped you more than any other?

I was fortunate to have many good teachers when I was at school. One in particular was Mrs Smith. She was my teacher in standard 1, the equivalent of year 3. I could not read or write. Had no clue with words or with numbers either for that matter. But I enjoyed eating my lunch.

Mrs Smith could see that and knew what I needed. For a whole year she gave me individual coaching and special homework. The extra work required some effort from me and I probably complained to my parents quite a bit at the time, but Mrs Smith taught me how to read and write.

Her teaching was timely. Had Mrs Smith not intervened when she did, I would have fallen further and further behind and my life may have taken a very different path.

Mrs Smith’s teaching was focused on what I needed. She taught me basic sight words and this gave me confidence to learn more. There was a lot of repetition. Pretty much every morning before school, day in, day out Mrs Smith introduced new words and reinforced what we had learned. Mrs Smith was firm but gentle in her approach.

There was no stick but there was a carrot. At the end of year prizegiving I was awarded the most improved student. This was an acknowledgement of my work and a reflection of Mrs Smith’s skill as a teacher.

We are talking about the gift of teaching. What then does the apostle Paul mean by teaching? Is it the same as a modern schoolteacher or is it different?

Well, the Greek word used in the Bible for teaching covers a wide spectrum of roles and functions. It could mean someone who teaches children to read and write but, in the context of Romans 12, it probably refers more specifically to those who teach others about Jesus and the Bible.

At its heart, teaching in a church context, is about communicating truth, the truth of what we believe about God and Jesus. If prophecy is the revelation of new truth from God, then teaching is conveying old truth from God.     

Teachers were vitally important in the early church. The Christians of the first century had the Hebrew Bible, what we know as the Old Testament, but they did not have the New Testament compiled in a book like we do.

People couldn’t just go to their bookshelf, pull out the gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John and read for themselves about Jesus. Early Christians were reliant on teachers to recount the historical events of Jesus’ death and resurrection and explain the meaning of this for them.

Teachers in the early church had a huge responsibility. Without people to accurately pass on Jesus’ teachings, the core message of God’s grace in Christ would be diluted or lost altogether.

These days we do have a New Testament and stacks of books we can pick up and read anytime. However, it has been 2000 years since the events described in the New Testament and, without good Bible teachers to explain the meaning, much of the Bible is lost in translation, misunderstood and misapplied.   

Someone who is good at maths once calculated that for every one degree you are off course, you will end up being 1 mile off course after traveling 60 miles.

For example, if you are flying from Wellington to Auckland and the plane is 1 degree off course you might end up in Indonesia or run out of fuel and crash into the Pacific Ocean. 

Teachers are like navigators. Just as a ship or a plane needs the navigator to keep the craft on course, so too the church needs teachers to keep it on course.  

The church’s teachers these days are not limited to people who offer sound Biblical preaching but extend to anyone who faithfully passes on the truths of the Christian faith. This might include, for example, Sunday school teachers, Bible study leaders, youth group leaders and parents.

Parents play an important role in watering the faith of their children. Parents might do this by reading Bible stories to their kids and praying with them so their children can see and hear how prayer is done. Children probably learn most from the model their parents give them.        

In some ways teaching is like an iceberg. The presentation people see or hear from the teacher is just the tip of the iceberg. The bigger part of the work of teaching is the preparation. The preparation lies beneath the surface and is not usually seen.  

Preparation is one of the key differences between prophecy and teaching.

A prophet may stand up in church on a Sunday and spontaneously speak the words given them by the Spirit.

A teacher, on the other hand, does not normally give an extemporaneous talk. Rather, they do their homework ahead of time. They carefully prepare their sermon through prayer, reading, research, reflection, and writing. The teacher is aiming to water the roots gently.

If you have a formal teaching role, whether in the pulpit or Kids’ Church or as a Bible study leader or a parent, then you cannot expect to pass on the truth of the gospel unless you have done the hard yards in learning the truth yourself.

Studying the Scriptures is not merely an intellectual exercise. Yes, it does involve using your brain, but the Bible asks more of you than that. The Scriptures contain the word of God. The Scriptures interpret us. They make claims on us, test us, discipline us, and ultimately put us to work.     

Every believer has a responsibility to learn what they can about the Christian faith. We need to love God with our mind as well as our heart and soul.

We never know when a teaching moment might present itself. Maybe when you are sitting beside someone on the train or tucking the kids in at night or lying in a hospital bed. If someone asked, why are you a Christian, what would you say?   

Some people have a special gift in teaching others. They understand their subject matter, they can see things from the perspective of the learner, and they know how to bridge the gap in understanding.

More than this, a good teacher possesses the patience to gently water the roots in a timely way, over and over again until the truth is firmly established.  

Jesus prioritised teaching in his ministry. After healing people, the Lord often instructed the person he had healed to tell no one. For Jesus, the miracles were not the main thing. In fact, the miracles risked becoming a side show which distracted people from the main thing. The main thing being Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God.    

In Matthew 11 Jesus says: 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

A yoke is a piece of equipment worn over the shoulders to make it easier to carry a load. Yokes could be worn by animals for pulling a plough or they could be worn by people for carrying water say.

In this little parable the yoke represents teaching. The Jews of Jesus’ day were weary and burdened by the yoke of the Pharisees’ teaching. The Pharisees insisted upon a whole lot of extra rules.  

By contrast, Jesus’ yoke is easy and his burden is light. The word translated as easy means fitting, as in not rubbing or chaffing. Part of Jesus’ work as a carpenter may have involved making and shaping wooden yokes so they fitted easily over the animal’s shoulders, without causing injury to the animal.

To take Jesus’ yoke upon ourselves is to listen and learn from his teaching. Jesus’ teaching shows us how to love God and our neighbour in a way that fits who God made us to be.    

Encouragement:

Closely related to the gift of teaching is the gift of encouragement. Now, when we hear the word ‘encouragement’, we tend to think of someone who says kind and affirming words to make another person feel better about themselves or their situation. Things like…

“That was really good. You are doing so well. Keep it up. You will get there.” 

And while this is partly what Paul means by encouragement, the Biblical understanding of encouragement is broader than that.

The Greek word translated in verse 8 as encouragement is ‘parakaleo’. Para means beside or near and kaleo means to call. So parakaleo is literally ‘to call beside’. To be an encourager in this Biblical sense then is to come alongside another person and speak good words to them, words that build up and strengthen them.     

Parakaleo has a range of meanings and is variously translated into English with words like encourage, exhort, urge, comfort and entreat. No one word in English does parakaleo justice, but in the context of Romans 12, Paul probably means those with the gift of encouraging Christians to live out the truth of the gospel.

Those with the gift of teaching give people an understanding of the truth of the gospel and those with the gift of encouraging come alongside to give people the courage to obey Jesus’ teaching in the gospel.

For example, the teacher might explain the way of Christ is to love our enemies and bless those who curse us. That is wonderful teaching but very difficult to put into action, especially by yourself. The encourager is the one who comes alongside you and by their presence and gentle words actually helps you to love your enemies.  

John Stott comments that encouragement can be exercised from the pulpit when the preacher gives an inspiring talk, but more often it is used behind the scenes as the gift of counselling or in offering friendship to the lonely or giving fresh courage to those who have lost heart. [1]         

Jesus sent his disciples out two by two so they would not be alone, so they could encourage one another. 

Part of the role of a spiritual director is to help people hear what God is saying and encourage them to do what God is asking. (Incidentally, Kim is embarking on spiritual director training. She is looking for someone to encourage. So, if you want some help in your spiritual journey, talk to Kim.)

Like watering, encouragement needs to be timely, focused, gentle and repeated. Those with the gift of encouragement don’t carelessly pour a deluge of words over you. No. They listen first. They don’t assume. They seek to understand and they show empathy. Then they focus the water of their words on the roots. They gently speak to your heart the refreshment you need to hear. They believe in you, giving you confidence and hope.

In Luke 5, we read how Jesus encouraged Peter. When Jesus was calling his first disciples, Peter fell at Jesus’ knees and said: “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” And Jesus replied, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Jesus gave Peter the courage and the comfort to become his disciple.

If teaching is about communicating truth, then encouraging is about giving hope. The teacher says, this is the way of God, and the encourager says but you don’t have walk it alone. I am here to walk it with you.

One of the most winsome souls we come across in the Bible is a man named Barnabas. Actually, his real name was Joseph, but he was given the nickname of Barnabas which means ‘son of encouragement’. In the book of Acts chapter 11 we learn how the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to the believers in Antioch. From verse 23 we read…

23 When he [Barnabas] arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Iron in your blood is essential for carrying oxygen and producing energy. Without sufficient iron your physical strength and immunity is weakened.

The right encouragement at the right time is like an iron infusion, it boosts your energy and strengthens your immunity. Barnabas’ encouragement was like an iron infusion for the church in Antioch.

Barnabas came alongside the believers and watered their roots by speaking good words to them, words that brought refreshment and strength. Barnabas’ presence reassured the believers in Antioch they were not alone and gave them courage to share their faith.

But wait, there’s more. From verse 25 of Acts 11 we continue…  

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.

The apostle Paul was first known as Saul of Tarsus. Before his conversion, Saul persecuted Christians. After his conversion, Saul repented and changed his ways. He became one of the church’s greatest missionaries.

I imagine though it was not easy for Saul in those early days after his conversion. Many Christians had suffered because of Saul and people still viewed him with suspicion. I expect it was quite isolating for Saul at times.

Verse 25 tells us Barnabas went out of his way to look for Saul. Barnabas sensed somehow that Saul needed some comfort and companionship. Barnabas brought Saul to Antioch and encouraged him to teach.  

One wonders what might have happened to Saul / Paul had Barnabas not found him and encouraged him in his calling for the Lord. Barnabas put Saul on a good path in God’s purpose.

Conclusion:

Teaching and encouraging (like watering plants) needs to be timely, focused, gentle and repeated.

Two questions to ponder…

How are you watering your faith?        And..

What opportunities has God given you to water other people’s faith?

(Who can you be a Barnabas to?)

May the Spirit of Jesus continue to fill each one of us and all of us together. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Who was your best teacher and why?
  3. What does Paul mean by the gift of teaching? Why is good teaching important in the church? In what ways can someone be a teacher?
  4. If someone asked why you are a Christian, what would you say?     
  5. How is the gift of encouragement different from the gift of teaching? How do these two gifts complement each other?
  6. Why do teaching and encouragement need to be timely, focused, gentle and repeated? 
  7. How are you watering your faith? What opportunities has God given you to water other people’s faith? (Who can you be a Barnabas to?)

[1] Refer John Stott’s commentary on Romans, page 328.

Tawa Baptist

Tongues & Ears

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:10c and 14:1-25

Video Link: https://youtu.be/ibVvwZdyxMg

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 19 Oct 2025 – Tongues & Ears by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The gift of tongues
  • The gift of ears (interpretation)
  • The gift of making sense
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today I thought we could start with a little experiment. How many of you here can roll your tongue into a tube shape, like this? Give it a try.

Apparently, the ability to roll your tongue is a genetic trait. You either have the gene, or you don’t. If you cannot roll your tongue, then don’t feel bad. There is no shame in it. You are not less in any way. Rolling your tongue does not make you a better person; it is simply a mildly entertaining party trick. You would not choose your friends based on whether they could roll their tongue or not.

In First Corinthians 12, Paul lists nine spiritual gifts. Paul’s list is not exhaustive; it is an ad hoc sample. So far, we have heard about the gifts of wisdom and knowledge, as well as faith, healing and miraculous powers. Last week we heard about the gifts of prophecy and discernment, but this week we focus on the gifts of tongues and their interpretation.  

The gift of tongues:

Some of the Corinthians believed if you could speak in tongues then you were incredibly spiritual. And conversely, if you did not speak in tongues then you were a second-class Christian.

For these Corinthian believers the ability to speak in tongues was the Everest of spiritual gifts, there was nothing higher in their minds. If exercising spiritual gifts had been an Olympic sport, then those who spoke in tongues would have got the gold medal every time.

This thought is wrong of course. In some ways, the gift of tongues is like being able to roll your tongue. It does not make you superior. Just as you would not judge a person’s character based on whether they could roll their tongue, so too you would not judge another person’s commitment to Jesus based on whether they spoke in tongues.    

It appears some of the Corinthians may have been using the gift of tongues like a party trick (to show off) during their gathered worship. In First Corinthians 14, Paul seeks to correct the exaggerated importance the people of Corinth had placed on speaking in tongues. From verse 1 we read…

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tonguedoes not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. 4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Before we dive into the detail of Corinthians 14, we should probably clarify what Paul means by speaking in tongues? In his book, ‘I Believe in the Holy Spirit’, Michael Green gives this definition: “Tongues is the ability to speak in a language that the speaker has not learnt and does not understand…”

The language may be a human language unknown to the speaker, or it could be a spiritual language, maybe the tongues of angels. Either way it sounds like gibberish to anyone listening. Tongues is (for most people) unintelligible.

However, it is understood by God. Indeed, tongues is given by the Holy Spirit so people can speak to God. Far from being a cheap party trick, tongues is a deep form of prayer and praise to God. To speak in tongues is to engage in a kind of intimate communion with the Lord.   

Paul draws a contrast between prophecy and tongues. With prophecy, God is speaking directly to people. Whereas with tongues, the individual is speaking directly to God. Prophecy is meant for people and tongues is meant for God.  

So did Jesus pray in tongues? We do not know. We do know Jesus went off to spend time alone in prayer with God, but we cannot be sure if tongues was ever part of his personal devotional time. Maybe it was. But then again, perhaps Jesus enjoyed a different kind of communion with God the Father?

In Mark 16, after his resurrection from the dead, Jesus did predict that some of his followers would speak in strange tongues. This in fact happened shortly after on the day of Pentecost. In Acts 2 we read…

2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tonguesas the Spirit enabled them.5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?  8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 

At Pentecost the apostles spoke to God in languages they had not learnt and did not understand. On this occasion the people who heard them could understand because the tongues were spoken in their native language.

There have been some occasions in more recent times when people have spoken in tongues and someone from another culture recognised the words from their own language. But that does not always happen. The gift of tongues is not always given in a human language.

Returning to First Corinthians 14, for Paul, the gift of prophecy was more valuable than tongues, because prophecy edifies the whole church, whereas tongues (without interpretation) only edifies the individual believer.

The word edify simply means to build up or strengthen. In what sense does speaking in tongues edify the one speaking? Well, Paul does not go into details on this point, which means we are left to our own experience.

In his commentary on Corinthians, David Prior suggests some possible benefits of speaking in tongues during your private devotions. These include a particular sense of God’s presence (that feeling of closeness with God), relaxation from tension, strength to cope with pain, and experiencing a greater freedom in your prayer life (being able to praise God with free abandon). [1]  

I know one pastor who uses tongues to prepare himself for spiritual ministry. It’s a way of getting into the zone. For him, speaking in tongues is like a warm-up exercise before taking to the field or its like tuning into God’s frequency so he can better hear what God might be saying.

Others believe there is a psychological benefit to speaking in tongues. Morton Kelsey (a theologian and psychotherapist) writes: “Speaking with tongues is one evidence of the Spirit of God working in the unconscious and bringing one to a new wholeness, a new integration of the total psyche, a process which the church has traditionally called sanctification.” [2]

He may be right. To use the Russian dolls metaphor, with tongues one of the deeper parts of yourself may be talking with God and in the process being reconciled to one of the other parts of yourself.  

This is not to say that speaking in tongues should be accepted blindly or without caution. There is a demonic counterfeit to speaking in tongues. Pagans have their own version of tongues, which does not involve praising God.

How then do we know if the tongue we are speaking is genuine or on the level? How do we know we are not just spouting gobbly gook or even worse, cursing God? Well, like any of the spiritual gifts, tongues is exercised by faith.

If you love Jesus, if you are directing your spirit toward God in an attitude of prayer and praise, when you speak in tongues, then you can trust the Holy Spirit in good faith. As Paul says in his letter to the Romans…

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

If speaking in tongues edifies you personally, if you find it helpful in your private devotions, then you are probably on the right track.

There was quite a damaging heresy circulating during the second half of the 20th Century that unless you spoke in tongues you did not have the Holy Spirit and therefore were not a real Christian. This is complete rubbish.

Just because some Christians speak in tongues, it does not automatically follow that all Christians must speak in tongues. As Paul writes in First Corinthians 12…

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord… 

So, if you don’t speak in tongues, then don’t worry. There is more than one way to pray and serve God. Find your way.

The gift of ears:

I started the sermon this morning by asking whether you could roll your tongue. Apparently, most people can roll their tongues, upwards of 65% of the population in fact.

But what about wiggling your ears? How many of you can move your ears independently, without touching them with your hands? Give it a go.

According to the internet, only 20% of the population can wiggle their ears. And, like rolling your tongue, it is a genetic trait. You either have the gene or you don’t.

Again, there is no shame in not being able to wiggle your ears. You are not inferior in any way if you cannot wiggle your ears. Your value as a human being comes from being made in the image of God, not ear wiggling.

Now at this point you might be wondering, ‘I thought today’s message was about tongues. Why is he talking about ears?’

Well, the spiritual gift of interpreting tongues is really the gift of ears. Technically, the Bible does not use the phrase, ‘the gift of ears’, but in practical terms Paul is saying the church at Corinth need to use their ears more than their tongues. Tongues need interpreting in gathered worship.

Not only do ears enable us to hear, so we can understand, ears also help with balance. The Corinthians had got the spiritual gifts out of balance. Paul wanted to restore the balance.

What exactly is the gift of interpretation then? Well, the interpretation of tongues is not a literal word for word translation. Anyone who speaks more than one language knows that a particular word in one language do not always have a corresponding word in another language. Often you have to go with a word that approximates the meaning as closely as possible.

The one giving the interpretation, therefore, is summarising; giving a kind of paraphrase which communicates the sense of what the Spirit is saying. 

Another thing to note is the interpretation is usually related to God’s response. It is not necessarily a translation of what the speaker said in tongues.

Tongues is an effusion of prayer and praise to God and interpretation is hearing God’s response to that. This means the interpretation of tongues is effectively a form of prophecy and as a form of prophecy it needs to be tested by the community of believers.

The interpretation of tongues and prophecy both require the gift of ears.

You cannot give an interpretation or a prophecy without first hearing from God.

Paul takes some time to emphasise the importance of the gift of ears.

From First Corinthians 14, verse 6 we read…

6 Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 

In these verses Paul compares speaking in tongues with the sound a musical instrument makes. Music is its own kind of language (music speaks to our spirit) but for the language to make sense the notes need to be arranged properly.

Speaking in tongues without interpretation (in the context of gathered worship) is like playing an instrument without distinct notes. It is both unpleasant and pointless for those listening.

Kenneth Bailey observes how the pipe and the harp are instruments that invoke tranquillity and soothe the troubled soul. They bring peace and harmony.

By contrast a trumpet directs the troops in the midst of battle… How disastrous, if at the critical moment, the troops did not know whether to advance or retreat. [3]

The gift of ears, to interpret God’s response to tongues, should bring peace to the troubled soul. Likewise, the gift of ears to hear a word of prophecy from the Lord, should give clear direction so the church knows what to do in the spiritual battle we find ourselves in.

Okay, to recap so far: The gift of tongues is best exercised in private devotions for the edification of the individual. But if tongues are spoken in the context of gathered worship, then there needs to be someone present with the gift of ears to interpret.  

Following this line of thought, what is said in gathered worship needs to make sense if it is to build up the church and glorify God. 

The gift of making sense:

Some people think spiritual gifts are a bit woo woo, a bit flaky, a bit out there.   

They imagine a massive divide between things cerebral and things spiritual.

For them, spiritual stuff is intellectually soft or irrational. Chalk and cheese.

But this is not how Paul saw it. For Paul, it wasn’t either / or. It was both / and. Mind and Spirit.

Embracing the gifts of the Spirit does not mean discarding rational thought. We are to love and worship God with our whole selves. As Paul writes in verse 15…

So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.

We need to remember our purpose. One of the main purposes of gathered worship is to edify the church. As we read in verse 12: Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.

To paraphrase Gordon Fee: The point of corporate worship is not personal experience. The point is building up the church.[4]

This means when we come together to worship God on a Sunday, we don’t go into our own little bubble for a private emotional experience. No. We are mindful of God and of those around us. We are thinking ‘we’ not ‘me’.   

When gathered worship helps others in their faith, when it creates connections and strengthens unity, then we put a smile on God’s face.

Gathered worship is like playing a team sport. When you are on the field you have your eyes on the ball and on your team-mates. If you have the ball, you look around to see who you might pass to. And if you don’t have the ball, you think about how you can support your team-mate who does have the ball.   

And if your team-mate drops the ball or misses the goal, you don’t shower them with criticism and contempt. You lift them up with your words and reassure them they are still part of the team.

Off the field you might have your own individual training programme to improve your fitness and performance, but on the field, you stay in your position ready to play the part the team is relying on you for.

Glorifying God in our gathered worship goes hand in hand with edifying the church. With this in view Paul reminds his readers to be aware of those on the fringes who may be watching our worship. From verse 23 we read…

23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

Not everyone who comes to church on a Sunday is a committed Christian. Some may be interested in Christianity and are here to check it out. If we act a bit too strange or use language which excludes those on the margins, well that does not glorify God. That potentially turns people away from Jesus.

Having said that, I don’t think anyone could accuse this congregation of being too woo woo. If anything, we could probably afford to be a little less reserved in our worship.  

Conclusion:

This morning we have learned about the gift of tongues, the gift of ears and the gift of making sense.

The gift of tongues can be helpful in one’s private devotions, but in gathered worship tongues needs the gift of ears. Tongues needs to be interpreted.

In line with this thinking, what is said in gathered worship needs to make sense if it is to build up the church and glorify God.  

Let us pray…

Gracious God, bring the understanding you want to edify the church and glorify yourself. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Can you roll your tongue? Can you wiggle your ears? Whether you can or can’t, what difference does this make to you?
  3. What is meant by speaking in tongues? How is this different from prophecy or any of the other spiritual gifts? Why does the Holy Spirit give the gift of tongues? What purpose does it serve?
  4. Do you speak in tongues? If so, is this helpful to you? In what way? If not, how do you commune with God?
  5. What is the gift of interpretation? Why is the gift of interpretation important?
  6. What is the purpose of gathered worship? Why is it important that what is said in gathered worship makes sense?
  7. Where is your mind when you are worshipping God? How might we hold together the mind and the spirit in our worship?

[1] Refer footnote in David Prior’s commentary on First Corinthians, page 240.

[2] Morton Kelsey, ‘Speaking with Tongues’, page 222, quoted in David Prior’s commentary, page 246. 

[3] Refer Kenneth Bailey’s book ‘Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes’, page 393.

[4] Refer Gordon Fee’s NICNT, 1 Corinthians, page 667.

Tawa Baptist

Prophecy & Discernment

Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12:10b and 14:29-33 and Isaiah 50:4-8

Video Link: https://youtu.be/wI5nRcJp3fM

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 12 Oct 2025 – Prophecy & Discernment by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Prophecy
  • Discernment
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

On the wall in the Sprig & Fern (here in Tawa) they have a daily word puzzle on the blackboard. The board is divided into nine squares with a letter in each square. The letters are jumbled. The goal is to rearrange the letters to spell a word.

Last time we were there the letters spelled ‘bumblebee’. The three e’s and three b’s made it quite tricky. Because it’s a Sunday morning and because I’m kind, I have set something a little less challenging. What word can you spell with the letters: R T S I P L A U I ?

To give you a clue, our current sermon series features this word. [Wait]

That’s right, ‘spiritual’, as in spiritual gifts.

In First Corinthians 12, Paul lists nine spiritual gifts. Paul’s list is not exhaustive; it is an ad hoc sample. Today we continue our series on spiritual gifts by focusing on the gifts of prophecy and discernment. From First Corinthians 12, verse 7 we read…

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits…

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Prophecy:

Here’s another word jumble for you. What nine-letter word do the letters: R T P E P O H C I spell? Again, the clue is in today’s sermon. We are focusing on one of these spiritual gifts this morning. [Wait] That’s right, ‘prophetic’.

Prophetic is the adjective and prophecy is the noun. I had to go with prophetic because prophecy only has eight letters. As I said earlier, one of the spiritual gifts we are looking at today is the gift of prophecy. So what is prophecy?

In the Bible, prophecy is a direct message from God for a particular situation, and a prophet is someone who can conveys a message from God. With prophecy, God is communicating directly with people, through people. 

Often the prophet communicates God’s message using words, like when Jesus told his disciples plainly that he would be handed over to the authorities to be killed, then on the third day be raised from the dead. Or when Isaiah predicted the return of the exiles using poetic words and parables.

If the circumstances of the world in which we live look like a jumble of misplaced letters, the prophet is divinely inspired to rearrange the letters into a word which makes sense of a particular situation.

Other times though, when words don’t seem to penetrate the hardness of people’s hearts, the prophet communicates God’s message using signs, like when Jeremiah wept for Jerusalem as a sign of the city’s coming destruction. Or when Jesus cleared the temple of merchants and money changers. That sign conveyed the message that God was not happy with how corrupt the temple system had become.

We could say the prophet is like a sign language interpreter. Unlike most people, who are deaf to God’s word, the prophet can hear God’s voice and communicate what God is saying in a language the rest of us can understand.    

Divinely inspired prophecy is timely. Messages from God are usually relevant to some issue in the present, but at the same time, the message draws on God’s saving activity in the past and has real implications for the future.

For example, when Jesus fed the 5000 in the wilderness, he was making a prophetic statement which was timely. The feeding miracle reminds us of the past when Moses led the people of Israel through the wilderness after their exodus from slavery in Egypt. But it also says something vitally important for the present and the future: Jesus is the new Moses who comes to enact a new kind of exodus, setting people free from slavery to sin and death.  

The Bible is peppered with prophets, both men and women from the Old and New Testaments. People like Miriam and Moses, Deborah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Huldah, Daniel, Simeon and Anna, John the Baptist and the daughters of Philip the evangelist, to name just a few.

Sometimes the message from God was a word of judgement (a warning to repent) and other times it was a word of hope (an encouragement that salvation was coming).

Isaiah had this to say about prophecy…

4 The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. 5 The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;

These verses tell us the prophetic message comes from the Lord God Almighty. It is not something the prophet dreams up themselves. The prophet spends time listening to God in order to understand what God wants them to say. 

We also note the purpose or Kaupapa of prophecy: to sustain the weary.

In the context of Isaiah, the weary are most likely those who are oppressed by injustice and exhausted from the suffering caused by wrong-doing. The weary are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

When the weary hear the prophet say that God is going to bring an end to injustice and judge the oppressor, this gives the people hope and strength to endure.

We should not miss the fact here that prophecy is a double-edged sword.

The same word that sustains the weary also rebukes the powerful. A word of hope for one is a word of judgment for another.

Isaiah goes on to say…
I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. 6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. 7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates me is near.

These verses show the courage and obedience of the prophet in declaring God’s message to a hostile audience. You see, the prophet has a choice.

The prophet has some say over when and how they communicate the message God has given them.

Of course, when you speak truth to evil people, you can usually expect some push back. The prophet’s message is not benign or ambiguous. The oppressor understands clearly what the Lord is saying through the prophet and the prophet suffers for their obedience in speaking the truth. You need a thick skin to be a prophet.

Whatever suffering and humiliation the prophet may endure, they know in their heart of hearts that God is near. A specific word from the Lord makes God’s presence felt. The prophet has complete faith in God to vindicate them by making their message come true.

These verses from Isaiah are talking about Jesus. Jesus is the greatest of all the prophets, for Jesus fulfils the law and the prophets. Jesus set his face like flint as he confronted the corrupt religious leadership of his day and went to the cross in obedience to God the Father. And God vindicated Jesus by making his words come true and raising him from the dead.

Okay, so if prophecy is a direct message from God, then does that mean preaching is prophecy? Is what I’m doing now a prophetic message from the Lord for you? Well, preaching and teaching from the Bible can sometimes be prophetic, but not usually.

Often you listen to a sermon and go away thinking, that was interesting. I now have a better understanding of what that passage of Scripture means and how it applies to my life. The sermon is helpful, and it nourishes your faith, but it does not necessarily contain a direct prophetic word for your specifically.

Occasionally though you will listen to a sermon and something in the message, maybe an illustration, maybe a verse of Scripture or a particular phrase, whatever it is, resonates with you at a deeper more personal level. Perhaps it comforts you or maybe it cuts you to the core. Either way, something in your spirit knows that God’s Spirit is communicating with you directly.       

You might go away from the sermon thinking the preacher had some kind of inside knowledge on your life. How did they know?  

Let me reassure you, I am not a prophet. I do not know what goes on in your life beyond what you share with me. Even then, I don’t remember everything you tell me. My experience in life is different from yours and so the connections I make with Scripture are likely to be different from the connections you make.

Besides, I don’t target individuals in my preaching. That is not who I am.

Having said that, God does know what is going on in your life and he may well speak to you personally through the sermon, without the preacher being aware of it. In that situation the sermon has become a prophetic word for you. If that happens you need to listen and ask God to confirm his message.

Jesus’ preaching often had a prophetic quality. I think of the sermon on the mount when Jesus gave us the beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. And so on. Talk about words to sustain the weary.   

Okay, to recap so far, prophecy is a direct message from God for a particular situation. Prophets communicate God’s message using words and signs. Divinely inspired prophecy is timely. And prophecy is a double-edged sword; it sustains the weary with hope and it convicts the oppressor with judgement.   

The implication here is that a genuine word of prophecy is life giving.

As Jesus said, people cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.   

By the same token, false prophecy can be extremely harmful. And so prophecy needs discernment.

Discernment:

Here’s another word to unscramble. (This one comes with a picture clue.)

What two words can you make with the letters R T S E U S Q E A? (Wait)

That’s right, Set Square.

A ‘set square’ or simply a ‘square’ is used by carpenters and engineers to check whether something is square. If the angle is not straight or true, the set square will reveal this. It will also show you when the object you are measuring is true.

Some tools get the job done. Hammers, screwdrivers, saws, they all make stuff happen. Other tools, like set squares, measuring tapes and spirit levels are needed to ensure the job is done properly.  

Prophecy is like a hammer or a screwdriver or a saw. Prophecy makes things happen. Discernment is more like a set square or a spirit level or a measuring tape. Discernment is needed to check how true the prophecy is. Discernment tells you whether you can rely on the prophecy or not. Prophecy needs discernment.

In First Corinthians 12, verse 10, Paul lists the spiritual gift of distinguishing between spirits alongside the gift of prophecy. Distinguishing between spirits is about discerning the spiritual origins of something. It’s about measuring whether or not something is from the Holy Spirit or the human spirit or an evil spirit.  

For example, in Matthew 16, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 

Here Jesus exercises the gift of discernment. Jesus distinguishes between spirits. He identifies Peter’s statement as coming from God the Father in heaven.

Just a few verses later, Jesus goes on to say he must suffer and die and on the third day be raised to life.

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Once again Jesus exercised the gift of discernment. Jesus distinguished the origin of the spirit. Peter’s words on this occasion did not come from the Holy Spirit. Peter may have meant well, but he was not aware that his good intentions were tempting Jesus to disobey God the Father.

Years ago, when I was training for ministry in Auckland, I asked my mentor, Walter Lang: what is the most important spiritual gift for a pastor to have? Walter had served as a church minister for 40 years. Quick as a flash, Walter said, ‘discernment’.

I knew Walter from his time at Hamilton Central Baptist in the 80’s. In those days during worship, people would come out with a prophecy or a word of knowledge. Mostly, these words were encouraging or at least relatively benign. But there were one or two occasions when Walter had to stand up and say, ‘No, that was not from the Lord.’ Like prophecy, exercising the gift of discernment requires courage.

However, discernment is not just an individual gift. It is a shared gift. Discernment is like a measuring tape; just as you often need two people to hold the tape, one at each end, so too you need more than one person to discern the truth.

Walter recommended I share matters for discernment with others in church leadership, rather than trying to solve everything on my own.     

In First Corinthians 14, Paul gives his readers some practical instructions for the handling of prophecy in gathered worship. From verse 29 we read…

29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace…

Verse 29 talks about weighing the words of prophecy carefully. The Greek word translated as weighing carefully comes from the same word used in chapter 12 for distinguishing between spirits. It means to discern or judge rightly. [1]

The point is, we should not blindly accept all prophecy. The Spirit filled community of believers need to weigh and test prophecy to determine if it is true.

In verse 31, Paul talks about the purpose of prophecy being to instruct and encourage everyone in the church. Prophecy should edify and build up the community of faith. This echoes Isaiah’s thought that a word of prophecy sustains the weary.   

David Prior suggests several criteria for discerning whether or not a word of prophecy is legit… [2]

Firstly, does it glorify God? A genuine prophetic word turns our hearts and minds toward the goodness of God; it makes God larger (or more real) in our awareness. But if the word spoken promotes someone or something else over God or makes God smaller (or less real) in our minds, then it is not from the Holy Spirit.

Another question to ask in the discernment process is: Does the prophecy align with Scripture? For example, if someone says Jesus will return at such and such a time, we know the prophecy is false because Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour of his return. But if someone brings a word to encourage the church to act with justice and generosity to the poor, then we know it is in line with Scripture.  

We might also ask: Is the speaker in control of themselves? In First Corinthians 14, Paul instructs prophets to wait their turn and conduct themselves in an orderly way. If the speaker is unwilling to listen to others in the church, if they insist on talking over others, if they are ranting or manic, then what they have to say is not likely to be from the Holy Spirit.

Does the prophecy build up the church? In other words, does the message spoken encourage and help other believers? Does it strengthen faith in Jesus and calm fear? If the word spoken undermines the unity of the church or causes people to mistrust each other, then it is not from the Holy Spirit.

I would add one other test and that is the test of peace. Let peace be your guide. By peace, I mean a sense of rightness, a certain resonance that what is being said rings true, even if it is a bit challenging or confronting.

If you have a check in your spirit, a little red flag in the back of your mind, that you cannot quite put your finger on, then listen to your instinct. It could one of two things…

Either the prophecy is true and the problem is with you, in which case peace is found by accepting the prophecy and obeying God. Or the prophecy is false and the Holy Spirit is warning you to steer clear of it, in which case peace is found by rejecting the false prophecy.

If in doubt, ask God to reveal whether the problem is with you or the prophet. He will answer a prayer like that.

Conclusion:   

Hearing from God is vitally important for Christian faith. Prophecy is one of the ways we hear from God. However, prophecy needs discernment. The gifts of prophecy and discernment function best in community with other believers. So…

24 …let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

There is a lot more we could say about prophecy, but that is enough for now.

Let us pray…

Gracious God, thank you for the many ways you speak to us. Fill us with your Spirit that we may hear you more clearly and obey you more faithfully. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.   

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading these Scriptures and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What is prophecy? What is the purpose of prophecy? Why is prophecy important?
  3. How might a prophet receive a message from God? How did prophets in the Bible communicate God’s message?
  4. Have you ever received a prophetic word, either for yourself or for someone else? What was the word? How did this word come to you? What did you do about it?
  5. Discuss / reflect on the relationship between the gift of prophecy and the gift of distinguishing between spirits. Why does prophecy need discernment?
  6. How might we discern whether a prophesy is from the Holy Spirit or not?
  7. Why is it important to exercise the gifts of prophecy and discernment in the context of Christian community?  

[1] Refer Gordon Fee’s NICNT, First Corinthians, page 596.

[2] Adapted from David Prior’s commentary on First Corinthians, page 251.

Tawa Baptist

Faith, Healing & Miracles

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:9-10a

Video Link: https://youtu.be/XLsvppBdCtQ

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 5 Oct 2025 – Faith, Healing & Miracles by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The gift of faith
  • The power of faith
  • The obedience of faith
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Three weeks ago we began a new sermon series on spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are like tools, given by God to help the church. We need a variety of different tools because not every job is the same. A hammer is good for driving in nails but you need a screwdriver to work with screws.

Steve, the clock maker, in the TV show The Repair Shop, sometimes uses tools handed down to him from his grandfather. More than once, I’ve heard him say how working with these tools is like holding his grandfather’s hand.

Working with the gifts of the Spirit is a bit like holding the hand of God our heavenly Father. It is not something to be afraid of. It is a warm connection.

In First Corinthians 12, Paul lists nine spiritual gifts. Paul’s list is not exhaustive; it is an ad hoc sample. There are any number of ways in which the Holy Spirit equips the church. Today we continue our series on spiritual gifts by focusing on the gifts of faith, healing and miraculous powers. From First Corinthians 12, verse 7 we read…

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers…

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Three weeks ago, we heard about the gifts of wisdom and words of knowledge. Our primary focus this morning is the gift of faith. However, it is difficult to talk about faith without also including the gifts of healing and miraculous powers. These three go together; they feed and nourish each other.

The gift of faith:

Let us begin then with the gift of faith. What is faith? Well, at its heart Christian faith is the capacity to trust in Jesus. For example, trust in Jesus’ righteousness. Trust in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Trust in Jesus to provide for our needs. Trust in Jesus to justify us.

Faith for Christians is like rope for a mountain climber. Just as a climber trusts their rope to hold them, so too we trust Jesus to keep us from falling.

Or faith is like an oxygen tank for a scuba diver. Faith in Jesus keeps us alive when we are overwhelmed and feel like we are going under.

Faith might also be compared to a key. Faith unlocks the door to peace and it locks the door against fear and anxiety.  

Okay, so that is faith in a basic sense, but is that what the apostle Paul means by the gift of faith? Most people agree Paul has something more in mind here than basic faith in Jesus. The gift of faith refers to industrial sized faith.

To paraphrase one commentator, the gift of faith is a heroic belief in the supernatural, an unshakeable inner assurance that God can overcome any difficulty. [1]

The faith to move mountains, not just climb them. The faith to part the sea, not just swim underwater. The faith to mend broken relationships and end wars, not just calm our personal angst.   

Or to put it in more poetic terms: ‘Faith is the bird that knows the dawn and sings while it is still dark’. [2] This is the kind of faith that steadfastly believes God can make good things happen, even when there is no evidence to support belief.  

In Luke 7 we read about the faith of a Roman Centurion. This army officer had a servant who was gravely ill and about to die, so the Centurion sent messengers asking for Jesus to come and heal his servant. From verse 6 we read…

Jesus was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Apparently, the Centurion had the gift of faith. This Roman army officer had a heroic belief in the supernatural, an unshakeable inner assurance that Jesus can overcome any difficulty. The Centurion knew the dawn was coming with Jesus and his faith sang while it was still dark.

George Müller was another man who had the gift of faith. George lived in England during the 19th Century. He cared for more than 10,000 orphans throughout his lifetime and provided Christian education to more than 120,000.

According to Wikipedia, Müller never made requests for financial support, nor did he go into debt. Many times, he received unsolicited food donations only hours before they were needed to feed the children, further strengthening his faith in God.

If the orphans had a need, Müller prayed in faith that God would provide and God did provide. On one occasion, thanks was given for breakfast when the pantry was empty. As they finished praying, the baker knocked on the door with enough fresh bread to feed everyone, and the milkman gave them fresh milk because his cart had broken down in front of the orphanage.

In his diary entry for 12 February 1842, George Müller wrote: “A brother in the Lord came to me this morning and, gave me two thousand pounds for furnishing the new Orphan House … Now I am able to meet all of the expenses. The Lord not only gives as much as is absolutely necessary for his work, but he gives abundantly. This blessing filled me with inexplicable delight.”

George Müller had the gift of faith. What we notice here is that faith produces more faith, and delight. Faith is like a seed; even a little can bear far more fruit than one expects or imagines.

The power of faith:

Okay, so the gift of faith is something more than the basic faith needed for salvation. The gift of faith acts as a channel or a vessel for the power and provision of God.

If we think of the power of God like water, then the gift of faith is like a fire hose which carries and directs the water of God’s Spirit.

Or if we think of the power of God like wind, then the gift of faith is like the sail which catches the wind of God’s Spirit moving us where God wills.     

The gifts of healing and miraculous works are practical expressions of God’s power. What then does Paul mean by the gifts of healing and miracles?

Well, healing is just what it sounds like, the restoration of good health for body, mind, soul and spirit.

In the ancient world, people did not have the medical knowledge that we have. There were no anti-biotics, no immunotherapy and no ultra-sounds. They did not have much in the way of painkillers either. Therefore, the sort of healing in view in Corinthians 12 is most likely the kind that comes by divine intervention.  

That said, we would not want to exclude medical science. Advances in medical research are one of the ways God continues to heal people today. We don’t have to choose between faith and science.

We accept what medical science has to offer and we pray for God to heal at the same time. Sometimes God heals using science, sometimes he heals by supernatural means and often by a combination of both.  

Miraculous powers cover a broad variety of supernatural phenomena.

Like when Jesus walked on water or turned water into wine or cast out evil spirits or multiplied the loaves and fishes. Or when Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake on the Island of Malta and suffered no ill effects. Or when Elijah raised the widow’s son from the dead.

With each of these demonstrations of miraculous power, God is glorified. Indeed, that seems to be the point of miracles, to make people more acutely aware of the presence and goodness of God. Miracles have the power to inspire faith; to support people to believe in Jesus.       

When I was about 14, I started to experience problems with my back. There were times when I could not move without spasms of pain shooting through my body. We were living on the DPB (a social welfare benefit) at the time so no money for doctors or physios.

We had recently become Christians, so my mum asked for someone to come and pray for me. When the faith healer came, they found me lying still, flat on my back on the floor, the only position that gave any sort of relief.

As this person prayed for me, my surroundings faded out of focus and I felt like I was floating upwards into a different realm. I won’t try to explain what happened while I was out of my body. Some things are just between me and God.

After a while, I’m not sure how long, I became aware I was floating down again. I have never felt so relaxed, so at peace. When I came to my senses once more, the pain in my back was gone. I had been healed, supernaturally I believe.

I tell you about my experience for a number of reasons. Firstly, to show that God still works in miraculous ways today. But also to illustrate the faith connection. You see, it was not so much my faith which channelled the healing, it was the faith of others; in particular the faith of my mother and the person who prayed for me.

I was not against being prayed for, but by the same token, I was not in a position to get up and walk away either. I was like the paralysed man who was healed by Jesus after being lowered through the roof of a house by his friends. It was the friends’ faith which Jesus noticed.

Returning to the healing story in Luke 7; it was not the faith of the servant that channelled God’s healing power. It was the faith of the Centurion and the faith of Jesus.     

Now for the sake of perspective, it needs to be acknowledged that as painful and debilitating and frustrating as a sore back can be, there are worse things that can happen to you. Indeed, I have endured much worse.

So you might wonder, why did God heal my back? Why not tackle the bigger stuff? Why does the Lord of the universe not intervene in a miraculous way to end the suffering in Gaza or Ukraine or domestic violence in New Zealand?

Well, God has intervened to save the world in the person of his Son, Jesus.

The day is coming when Jesus will return in glory and God’s kingdom will be realised in its fullness on earth.

As we read in Revelation 21: He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

That is the Christian hope. In the meantime, we wait in the in-between. And as we wait, every now and then, by God’s grace, we catch a glimpse of heaven, as I did. The healing of my back may seem small and inconsequential, but we should not despise small things. We thank God for whatever grace we receive.  

Now in talking about the relationship between faith and miracles we need to be careful. Many of us here have ridden the roller coaster of praying earnestly for someone, believing wholeheartedly that God could and would heal them, only to feel disappointed when our prayers appeared to make no difference.  

I am not suggesting that all unanswered prayer is due to a lack of faith. Sometimes it might be, but not necessarily.

If the wind of God’s Spirit is not blowing, then raising the sail of faith is not going to make much difference. Or if the water tap of God’s Spirit is turned off, then the hose of faith cannot put out the fire.

C.S. Lewis once said, ‘Miracles are for beginners.’

A baby needs milk, but as the child grows the parent weans the child off breast milk and introduces solid food. It’s similar with the Lord. When we are young in the faith, God may give us special experiences of himself. But as we grow, God sometimes says ‘no’, to our requests. God wants us to learn to trust him, not the miracles.

There is a sequel to my back healing story. For 24 years my back was fine.

But then, around the age of 38, the trouble with my back returned. It started again when I was preparing a sermon series on the suffering of Job. 

This time I did not receive supernatural healing for my back. These days I manage my back pain through a combination of better posture, targeted exercises and going to the chiropractor.

I am thankful for God’s gift of miraculous healing when I was 14. The memory of that experience is precious to me. It nourishes my faith still. But I am also thankful that God says ‘no’ to me sometimes. God’s ‘no’ is still a gift, just in a different form. I have learned to take better care of my body, and I have gained a quantum of understanding for others who live with far worse pain.

We need to remember, God is free not to intervene in miraculous ways if he chooses. And God’s choice may have nothing to do with how good or bad we are or how much faith we have.

God is not a puppet with strings we can pull to get what we want. He is not a genie in a bottle that we can release by faith to get our three wishes. Yes, God cares for us, but ultimately, we are his servants, we live for him.

In many ways, it takes more faith to live with powerlessness and vulnerability, than it does to perform miracles.

Even the apostle Paul (who had far greater faith than most people) lived with unanswered prayer. In Second Corinthians 12, Paul talks about his ‘thorn in the flesh’. From verse 8 we read…

8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me… For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The point is: healing and miraculous powers are not the proof of faith. Obedience to Jesus is the proof of faith.

If faith is the root, then obedience is the fruit. Or if faith is the sail that catches the wind of God’s Spirit, then obedience is the rudder which steers the ship in the right direction. Or if faith is the hose that channels the water of God’s Spirit, then obedience is using the hose to fight the fire.

The obedience of faith:

Sometimes God gives people the faith to move mountains, and as thrilling as that might be, what really matters to the Lord is our obedience.

In Matthew 7 Jesus talks about the obedience of faith, saying:   

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

With Christian faith, the question is not: how many miracles can I perform?

The question is always: what does God want me to do? We know what God wants us to do. He wants us to love him, love our neighbour and love ourselves.

Maybe God wants you to show kindness to that irritating person at work or school. Maybe God wants you to listen more or learn patience. Maybe God wants you to forgive your neighbour for dumping their rubbish in your backyard. Maybe he wants you to do something quite ordinary but at the same time socially risky, like owning up to the fact that you go to church on Sundays.

Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly. Ordinary acts of obedience matter more to the Lord than performing spectacular miracles. 

When we think of about the obedience of faith, Noah comes to mind.

God asked Noah to build a huge boat because an unprecedented flood was coming. It took Noah and his sons literally decades to build it.

You can imagine what the neighbours thought. Sniggering behind Noah’s back, “There’s that crazy Noah again. Wish he would give the hammering a rest. Might have to call noise control, again.”       

It would have been much easier and less humiliating for Noah if God miraculously made the ark appear overnight. But God did not do that.

Noah had to build the boat himself by hand. Noah’s obedience of faith was the manual labour of a lifetime.

No one had more faith than Jesus. No one performed more miracles than Jesus. No one was more righteous than Jesus. No one had a closer relationship with God the Father than Jesus. And yet God did not always give Jesus what he asked for.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before his crucifixion and death, Jesus prayed: Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.

God did not take away the cup of suffering from Jesus, but Jesus still obeyed God in faith. Jesus had the faith to embrace the powerlessness of death on a cross. Through Jesus’ obedience of faith, we are made right with God.

And for his part, God did not abandon Jesus to the grave. God raised Jesus to eternal life on the third day.

Conclusion:

This morning we have talked about the gift of faith, the power of faith and the obedience of faith.

Faith in Jesus is how we relate with God. Faith in Jesus is how we channel the miraculous, healing power of God. And faith in Jesus is how we obey God.

May the Holy Spirit strengthen our faith as we wait for the dawn of the new day. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What is Christian faith, at its heart? What does Paul mean by the gift of faith? How is the gift of faith different from basic faith? 
  3. Can you think of times in your own life when God has gifted you with faith? What happened?
  4. Discuss / reflect on the relationship between faith and miraculous powers. 
  5. Have you witnessed or experienced the gifts of healing and miraculous powers? If so, how? What happened?
  6. Discuss / reflect on the relationship between faith and obedience. Why is obedience necessary to faith?
  7. Has God ever said ‘no’ to you, even when you asked in faith? How did you feel at the time? Looking back, why do you think God said ‘no’ to you? 

[1] Refer Moffatt’s commentary on 1 Corinthians, page 181.

[2] Quoted in David Prior’s commentary on 1 Corinthians, page 204.

Tawa Baptist

The Holy Spirit – by Peter Barnett

Have you ever felt the Wellington wind on your face? …Of course you have!  We all have!

You can’t see it, but you know it’s there. You see its effects — trees bending, waves crashing, umbrellas turning inside out, even the way it nearly knocks us over outside here on the Main Road. That’s often how people think of the Holy Spirit — unseen, powerful, a kind of force in the background. But is that all The Holy Spirit is?

Many, maaaany years ago, (back in the 1970s), I had a workmate. I often shared meals with his family, and we became good friends. But over time, Jehovah’s Witnesses began visiting his home. His wife became deeply involved, and before long, my workmate was drawn in too.

Because I was a Christian, our conversations often turned into debates. And one of the topics that kept coming up was the Holy Spirit.

Jehovah’s Witnesses see the Holy Spirit as nothing more than an impersonal force, like electricity, or gravity. They reject the Trinity altogether, saying it’s unbiblical or even pagan. For them, God or Jehovah is supreme, Jesus is acknowledged as a creation of God, and the Spirit is simply His power at work. 


That made me wonder: how many people today — even in our churches — have a clear picture of who the Holy Spirit really is? So, who is the Holy Spirit?

The truth is, there are many different ideas. Judaism insists on the Shema: “The Lord is one.” Islam recognises the Spirit, but not as we do. Let me just take a few minutes to dive into these ideas a little more.


Judaism and the Spirit

In Judaism, the Shema is absolutely central:

Deut. 6:4 says: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” 

Devout Jews recite this morning and evening — it’s almost their declaration of identity.

So you can imagine, any talk of God being “three-in-one” feels to them like a betrayal of God’s oneness. To Jewish ears, the Trinity sounds like polytheism — as if we were worshipping three gods instead of one.

Now, in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Spirit — Ruach Elohim — certainly appears. In Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of God hovers over the waters of creation. Throughout Judges and Kings, the Spirit comes upon people like Samson or David to empower them. But Jewish teaching doesn’t treat the Spirit as a separate divine Person. Instead, He’s usually understood as God’s power or presence at work in the world.

So when Christians say, “The Holy Spirit is God Himself, personal and active,” that’s a radical difference.

Can you see why the idea of the Trinity is such a stumbling block for them?

Islam and the Spirit

Islam also acknowledges the Spirit — but very differently. The Qur’an speaks of Ruh al-Qudus (the Holy Spirit) and Ruh Allah (the Spirit of God). But in Islamic teaching, the Spirit is not God, nor a person within God.

Some Muslims believe this “Spirit” is actually another name for the angel Gabriel. Others see the Spirit as God’s life-giving breath, as when Adam was created.

And just as in Judaism, Islam strongly rejects the Trinity. The Qur’an says: “Say not ‘Three’ — desist. Allah is but one God.”

So while Judaism and Islam both acknowledge the Spirit in some form, their understanding is very different from the biblical picture. Can you see how different this is? The Spirit is not a distant force, or remote entity, but He is the very presence of God living in us. We proclaim the Spirit as fully God — personal, active, and living in us today. 

These alternate views of the Spirit aren’t just ancient or foreign. Even among Christians today, confusion about the Spirit is common.

The 2022 American LifeWay “State of Theology” survey reports that 55 percent of evangelicals in America believe the Holy Spirit is just a force. I’m not aware of a similar survey for New Zealand — but it raises the question: What might the numbers look like here among our Christian communities, or in fact, here in our church?

This isn’t just a modern misunderstanding. In the 4th century, leaders like Saint Basil of Caesarea wrote entire books defending the Spirit as fully God, co-equal with the Father and the Son.


So let me ask: what about us? Do we see Him as a power… or as a person?

The Scriptures are clear. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity — fully God, not a “some-thing,” but a “some-one.”

Jesus Himself promised the Spirit. In Acts 1:4–5 He told His disciples,

“Wait for the gift my Father promised… you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.”

And at Pentecost that promise came… A rushing wind… Tongues of fire. Suddenly the disciples were empowered. From that moment, the Spirit’s work was unleashed in a new and powerful way.

The Bible describes Him as breath, wind, fire — but He is more than a symbol… He speaks. He can be grieved. He teaches, comforts, convicts, and guides. He has a mind and a will. In Greek, He is called the Paraclete — the one who comes alongside us, like an advocate or helper. 


Isn’t that good news? Jesus has not left us friendless. His Spirit lives in us.

How does He guide us?

So, how does He guide us?

Think of Paul in Acts 16. He and his companions planned to preach in Asia, but the Holy Spirit stopped them. Then Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia, pleading, “Come and help us.” The Spirit was leading them step by step.

Have you ever had your own plans interrupted, only to find God had something better in mind? The Spirit guides us too. Sometimes it’s through Scripture, when a passage suddenly comes alive. Sometimes it’s that “still small voice” prompting us. Sometimes it’s through another person’s encouragement, or even a dream or vision. In all these circumstances it’s essential they align with God’s word. 

He brings peace in the middle of storms. He stirs us to acts of kindness. He gives spiritual gifts — wisdom, healing, prophecy — and produces His fruit in us: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

I’ll never forget a service with Father John Rea, a Catholic priest who travels New Zealand holding healing meetings. Christians from many denominations around Tawa met in the Linden Community Centre. There were Catholic, Anglican, Baptist — it didn’t matter.

What mattered was the Spirit’s love binding us as one. It was so strong I just wanted to hug everyone. That’s the Holy Spirit — breaking down barriers, creating unity, pouring out God’s love.

How should we respond?

So, how should we respond?

The Holy Spirit is a gift. Not something we earn or merit, not something we buy. If we trust Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives within us.

But here’s the question: are we listening to the Spirit? 

Jesus said in John 10:27

“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

So do we hear His voice? Do we follow His lead?

Friends, we are privileged to live in this era of the Spirit’s work. He comforts us, empowers us, draws us closer to Jesus. He whispers in our hearts, nudges us into obedience, and transforms us from the inside out. So let’s be attentive. Let’s be sensitive. Let’s be willing to follow wherever He leads.

The Holy Spirit speaks. The only question is: are we listening?

Tawa Baptist

Wisdom & Knowledge

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:8

Video Link: https://youtu.be/NW9ykX-QVGk

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The gift of wisdom
  • Words of knowledge
  • Knowledge needs wisdom
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Both my grandfathers had a shadow board for their tools. A shadow board is normally hung on a wall in a garage with an outline of the tools on it so you can see where the tools go and whether a tool is missing.  

My shadow board is much less impressive than my grandfathers’ ones. The tools that get used often look in good condition. But the tools I don’t use all that much have gathered a bit of rust over the years.

Today we begin a new sermon series on spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are like tools, given by God to help the church. Different jobs require a different tool. Of course, if we don’t use the tools God provides, they tend to gather rust.  

Over the years, I have not paid much attention to the topic of spiritual gifts in my preaching. This series is overdue. My aim is simply to explore what the Bible says about the gifts of the Spirit and let God do with that whatever he wants.

In First Corinthians 12, Paul lists nine spiritual gifts. Paul’s list is not exhaustive; it is an ad hoc sample. There are any number of ways in which the Holy Spirit equips the church. We come across other spiritual gifts in other parts of the Bible too. I’m starting with Corinthians 12 because that’s as good a place as any to start. From verse 4 we read…

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.

5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Our message today does not cover all those verses. I read that passage from Corinthians 12 to give you some context. In a nutshell, what Paul is saying here is this: the one Holy Spirit of God distributes a variety of different gifts for the common good of the church and by extension the world.

So, as we consider each of these gifts over the coming weeks, we need to keep that in mind. There are many gifts which all come from the one Spirit to be used for the common good.

Our sermon today focuses on the first two gifts in Paul’s list: wisdom and knowledge, or more accurately the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge. We will begin with the gift of wisdom, before considering the word of knowledge.

The gift of wisdom:

Wisdom is slightly different from knowledge. Knowledge is about knowing facts and information. While wisdom is about how you handle life and people. True wisdom always serves justice, the kind of justice that leads to genuine peace.

King Solomon was known for his wisdom. He asked God for wisdom and God gave it to him. Earlier in the service I read an account of Spirit inspired wisdom from First Kings chapter 3.

Two women were living in the same house. Each of them gave birth to a baby just days apart. One of the babies died during the night. Now the two women were arguing over whose was the living child. They wanted Solomon to decide.

When Solomon ordered the child to be cut in two, one of the women said to the king, “Please, your majesty, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”

But the other said, “Don’t give him to either of us; go ahead and cut him in two!”

Then Solomon gave his ruling: “Do not kill the child. Give him to the first woman; she is his real mother.”

That is an example of the spiritual gift of wisdom. Solomon knew how to handle the situation so that justice was done and peace was restored.  

Some people think of the gifts of the Spirit like a superpower. You know, Superman has the ability to fly, Wolverine can recover from mortal wounds, and Spiderman climbs buildings and spins webs.

But with spiritual gifts it’s different from that. The gift is not necessarily your possession to keep forever. It’s not a power you can pull out to use whenever and however you want. The exercise of a gift depends on the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit, more than it does us.

The Spirit of God clearly gave Solomon wisdom to deal with certain problems, but the king did not always act with wisdom. He did a lot of things that were unwise, including marrying hundreds of women and oppressing his own people with heavy taxation.

Spiritual gifts are not a reward for good character. The Spirit is pure and holy, but the gifts are given to imperfect human beings, and we are full of contradictions.

We find another example of Spirit inspired wisdom in Mark 12, when Jesus responds to some Pharisees who try to trap him in his words…

The Pharisees begin by flattering Jesus. They say: “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You are not swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

Then, after coating the bait in honey, they ask: “Is it right to pay the imperial taxto Caesar or not?” 15 …But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”

16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.

Jesus exercised the gift of wisdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit enabled Jesus to see what was really going on and gave him the right words to handle his opponents, without getting himself into trouble.

Not sure about you, but I don’t usually think of the wise thing to say until a few days later. The wisdom of hindsight is not the same as the wisdom the Spirit lends in real time.

Okay, so there’s a couple of examples of what Paul means when he writes about the gift of wisdom. What about the word of knowledge? What does that look like?    

The word of knowledge:

Some of you probably watch the Chase on TV 1 before the six o’clock news. Although the Chasers have a great general knowledge, they are not exercising the gift of knowledge when they play the Chase. The kind of knowledge Paul has in mind here is not acquired by reading books.

In Corinthians 12 the gift of knowledge probably refers to a supernatural endowment of factual information, that could not otherwise have been known without the Spirit’s help. [1]

Last Wednesday the photocopier in the church office was playing up. I opened the copier door to find a paper jam. Now you have to be very careful when removing paper jams because, if you rip the paper, it can be very difficult to get all of it out. You need to take it slow and remove the paper in one piece.

There I was carefully removing the paper when I noticed a component of the hardware was not sitting right. It was loose. I tried to put the component back properly, but it would not stay in place.

After a few failed attempts I began to feel a bit annoyed. I had a lot to do and did not need another hold up. I wish I could say my first thought was to pray, but it wasn’t.

Eventually though, after taking a few deep breaths, I did pray. My prayer went something like this: ‘God, please help me to see the problem’. No sooner had I prayed and a thought came into my mind: ‘You are looking at the wrong end. Look at the other end.’

So, I turned the component over and noticed a piece of plastic was missing. The component would not sit right because the piece of plastic which held it in place was broken. The copier repair guy had to come and replace the part.

The information I needed to remove the paper jam did not come by a word of knowledge. I learned that knowledge through previous experience.

But the information I needed to identify the problem with the hardware, that came the moment I prayed. Was the thought that came to mind as I prayed a word of knowledge or was it just common sense? I’ll let you decide.

What about when you lose your keys and after rushing around for 20 minutes in a panic, you finally pray (in desperation) for God to help you. Then, within seconds, you are reminded of where you left your keys. Is that a word of knowledge or just blind luck? I’ll let you decide.  

We come across people giving words of knowledge in the Bible quite a bit.

Like when Jesus was talking with the Samaritan woman at the well, in John 4. Without knowing the woman at all, Jesus received a word of knowledge that she had been married five times and the man she was currently with was not her husband.

This word of knowledge established Jesus’ credentials as a prophet and helped the woman to trust Jesus.

But it seems Jesus did not always possess this kind of supernatural knowledge. On a different occasion, when a woman with a bleeding complaint touched the fringe of Jesus’ cloak, Jesus knew power had gone out from him, but he did not appear to know who had touched him. He kept looking around and asking, ‘Who touched my clothes?’

We come across another instance of a word of knowledge in Acts 10. From verse 19 we read: While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them.”

Peter obeyed the Spirit and went with the men who took him to the home of Cornelius the Roman Centurion. Through that word of knowledge, Peter was directed by the Spirit to preach the gospel to the gentiles with the result that Cornelius and his household believed in Jesus and were saved.

You may be wondering, how do we know when a word of knowledge is from the Holy Spirit? How can we tell the difference between the Holy Spirit’s thoughts and our thoughts? Well, in John 16, Jesus said this…

13 …when the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 

These verses show us that a Spirit inspired word of knowledge is true and it glorifies Jesus. If a word of knowledge proves false or if it does not glorify Jesus, then it is not the real deal.

We could add a third test also. In Corinthians 12, Paul says the gifts of the Spirit are given for the common good. Therefore, we need to ask if the word of knowledge serves the common good. Is it helpful to others in the church?

We know a word of knowledge is genuinely Spirit inspired when it is true, it glorifies Jesus and it serves the common good.    

The problem with these tests is that the results may only be known after the fact. How did Peter know the word of knowledge he had received was true beforehand? Indeed, how can we be confident to act on a word of knowledge?

Hmm. I expect this kind of sensitivity to the Spirit is developed through faith and experience. Peter was able to recognise a genuine word of knowledge because he knew the Holy Spirit personally. He spent time in prayer and study of the word, so he was tuned in to the Spirit.

Ultimately though, Peter had to take a step in faith and act in obedience to the word of knowledge he was given. Proof follows obedience.

Knowledge needs wisdom:

Although Paul lists the gifts of wisdom and knowledge separately, they tend to work better together. Wisdom and knowledge need each other like a right hand needs a left hand.

Have you ever tried to cut a piece of steak with just one hand? It’s really difficult. You need both hands; one to hold the steak with a fork and the other to cut the steak with a knife.

What about tying your shoe laces with one hand? How hard would that be?

You need two hands to tie laces. Knowledge needs wisdom like the left hand needs the right hand.

You may know the story of David and Bathsheba. While Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, was away fighting in the war for Israel, David slept with Bathsheba and Bathsheba got pregnant. Wanting to hide what he had done, David arranged to have Uriah killed on the front line, making it look like Uriah was just another casualty of war.

But the thing David had done displeased the Lord. God, in his justice and mercy, could not turn a blind eye to David’s abuse of power. Therefore, the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to confront David over his sin.

This means Nathan must have received a word of knowledge from the Lord. How else would the prophet know David had committed adultery and murder? David had kept his wrong doing well hidden.

Knowing this inside information about David was one thing, but communicating it to David, without getting his head chopped off, was another thing altogether. David was a soldier king, he was a man of power and violence, and he had a lot to lose. Nathan needed to approach David with wisdom.

In Second Samuel chapter 12, we read the wise way in which Nathan handled the king. Nathan began by telling David a parable…      

When Nathan came to David, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveller came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveller who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! 

Nathan then went on tell the king how God was not pleased with the way David stole Uriah’s wife and had Uriah killed. Nathan also spelled out the consequences for David. The king would reap what he sowed.

To his credit, David admitted his fault and the Lord took away David’s sin, but he did not take away David’s consequences.

Conclusion:

A word of knowledge from the Lord is always true and truth is sometimes difficult to receive. A word of knowledge needs to be given with wisdom.

Let us pray. Gracious God, thank you for the gifts you bestow. Help us to tune in to the truth of your Spirit, to be quick to listen and faithful to obey, for the glory of Jesus and the common good of your people. Amen.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading these Scriptures and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Why does God give spiritual gifts to people?
  3. What does Paul mean by the gift of wisdom? How is the gift of wisdom different from the word of knowledge? How do we see the gift of wisdom at work in the Bible?
  4. What does Paul mean by a word of knowledge? How is a word of knowledge different from general knowledge or learned knowledge? Have you ever received a word of knowledge? What happened?
  5. How do we know when a word of knowledge is from the Holy Spirit? How might we tune into the Holy Spirit?
  6. Discuss / reflect on the interaction of wisdom and knowledge in the story of Nathan confronting David. Why does knowledge need wisdom?

[1] Refer Gordon Fee, ‘NICNT, The First Epistle to the Corinthians’, page 592.

Tawa Baptist

Paul in Rome

Scripture: Acts 28:16-31

Video Link: https://youtu.be/VwbRDZnsO7g

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Paul’s perseverance
  • Israel’s denial
  • Jesus’ sovereignty
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

You may have heard of the phrase, “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.”

This comes from William Shakespeare’s play, Henry V, in a scene where the king rallies his troops to attack through a gap in the city walls of Harfleur. It is a call to action in the face of overwhelming odds. It means, ‘let us try one more time’. “Once more unto the breach…” is about perseverance and not giving up.   

In Shakespeare’s play, the king ends up defeating his enemies despite being greatly outnumbered.

Today we conclude our three week series in the book of Acts in support of the Arotahi Renew Together campaign. Arotahi is the missions arm of New Zealand Baptists. Once a year we renew our commitment to pray for and support the work of spreading the gospel in New Zealand and overseas. 

Two weeks ago we heard about Paul in Athens. Then last week we learned about Paul’s mission in Ephesus. This week’s sermon focuses on Acts chapter 28, where we find the apostle Paul in the capital city of Rome, under house arrest.

After the better part of 30 years, Paul is still persevering in proclaiming the gospel. Time and time again he faces opposition, but every time he obeys the call of King Jesus, once more unto the breach dear friend, once more.

From Acts 28, verse 16, we read

16 When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him. 17 Three days later he called together the local Jewish leaders. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18 They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. 19 The Jews objected, so I was compelled to make an appeal to Caesar. 

I certainly did not intend to bring any charge against my own people. 20 For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.” 21 They replied, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of our people who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you. 22 But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.” 23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. 24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. 25 They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet: 26 “‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” 27 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ 28 “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” 29 After he said this, the Jews left, arguing vigorously among themselves. 30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

This morning I want to highlight three things from these closing words in the book of Acts: Paul’s perseverance, Israel’s denial and Jesus’ sovereignty.

Let us begin with Paul’s perseverance.

Paul’s perseverance:

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down an unused well. The farmer could not think of any way to get his donkey out and did not care much for the donkey anyway, so he decided to bury the poor animal where it had fallen.

As he started shovelling dirt into the well, the donkey cried in distress, but before long the crying stopped. After about 20 minutes of backfilling the farmer took a break and looked into the hole to see his progress. To his amazement the farmer saw the donkey had not been buried.

With every shovelful of dirt that hit his back the donkey would shake it off and take a step up. The farmer kept shovelling and soon the donkey was able to step out and walk away. [1]

Paul was a bit like the donkey. He was in a hole so to speak, chained to a Roman guard under house arrest. The Jewish religious leaders of Jerusalem had kept throwing dirt on him. They wanted to bury him. But with each shovelful Paul shook it off and took a step up. Paul did not give in, he persevered.

You may be wondering how Paul came to be in Rome under house arrest.

Well, after a fruitful time in Ephesus, Paul made his way to Jerusalem. The Jews there plotted against him and he was arrested. Paul stood trial in Jerusalem and then later in Caesarea.

The Jewish leaders were trying to use the Romans to execute Paul, much like they used Pilate to execute Jesus. But none of the charges against Paul would stick. The Romans found Paul innocent

Due to a corrupt governor, however, Paul remained in prison in Caesarea for two years, after which he stood trial before the Romans yet again. To avoid being handed over to the Jews, Paul was forced to appeal to the Emperor. That meant being transported to Rome by ship.

The journey from Caesarea to Rome was fraught with difficulty. Paul’s ship was wreaked in a storm and the passengers and crew were forced to swim ashore on the island of Malta. They were stranded on Malta for three months before boarding another ship to Italy.

When Paul eventually did arrive in Rome, he was allowed to stay in a rented house, chained by the wrist to a Roman soldier 24-7. The guards took it in shifts to mind Paul. Paul had a captive audience. I’m sure every one of those guards heard the gospel about Jesus.     

Just three days after arriving in Rome, Paul called together the local Jews to explain why he was there. Paul wanted to reassure them that he did not mean them any harm. He was there because he was compelled to appeal to Caesar to save his own life.

The Jews were probably relieved to hear this. Some years earlier the Emperor Claudius had temporarily banned all Jews from living in Rome because of disputes between the Jews and Christians. Paul wants the Jews to know he is not there to make trouble for them.  

Paul is also keen to talk with people about the hope of Israel. The hope of Israel is code for the Messiah. Paul wants to share the good news about Jesus the Messiah.

Now when you think about all that Paul has suffered because of the Jews,

all the dirt they had thrown on him, all the floggings he endured, all the false accusations and trials, not to mention all those years in prison, it is a wonder that Paul would risk even more rejection by setting up a meeting with the Jews of Rome. Who knows what people had been saying about him behind his back.

Jesus teaches us to turn the other cheek and forgive others as often as they need it. The Jews had not sought Paul’s forgiveness and yet he shakes off their condemnation and continues to face them with grace and courage. Paul perseveres in his love for those who mean him harm. He keeps on trying to reach his fellow Israelites with the truth about Jesus.

In reply, the Jewish leaders said they had not heard any bad reports about Paul. This seems unlikely. Some commentators think the Jews here were pretending to be ignorant about Paul because it was politically expedient. If the Jews started throwing more dirt on Paul and Paul gained a favourable hearing from Caesar, they might be expelled from Rome again or worse.

The Jews arranged to meet with Paul on a certain day to hear what he had to say. Even more people turned up the second time. Paul talked with them all day about the kingdom of God. He tried to persuade them that Jesus is the Messiah using the common ground of the Hebrew Scriptures.    

Some were convinced by Paul, others would not believe. As usual the gospel about Jesus confronts people with the truth; it compels people to choose. Will we accept the reality of our situation or will we live in denial of the problem.

Israel’s denial

In 1915 the Mexican boll weevil came to Alabama and destroyed 60% of the cotton crop. In desperation the farmers turned to planting peanuts and then diversified into other crops. The diversification saved the local economy.

Had it not been for the boll weevil, the farmers may not have stumbled across a better crop. In gratitude, the people of the town put up a statue of the boll weevil together with a plaque which reads: “In profound appreciation of the boll weevil and what it has done as the herald of prosperity.”

Personally, I think the boll weevil got too much credit. It was really the people’s willingness to face the reality of their situation that saved them. Had the farmers denied there was a weevil problem and refused to change from planting cotton to growing peanuts, the people would have been ruined.

To those Jews who rejected his message about Jesus, Paul quoted the prophet Isaiah…

26 “‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” 27 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’    

These verses from Isaiah are talking about Israel’s refusal to believe.

The prophet is saying the people are living in denial of reality. They have closed their hearts and minds to the truth of the situation.

Unlike the cotton farmers of Alabama, they don’t want to admit they have a problem. But if they did, God would heal them.

So what exactly is the problem Paul’s compatriots are denying? The problem is this: they killed Jesus, God’s Messiah. To admit that Jesus is the Messiah is to admit they got it terribly wrong when they crucified Jesus.

As painful as the Jews’ rejection of Jesus is, Paul sees an opportunity for those outside of Israel. Pauls says: “God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”  

When Paul tells his fellow Jews they are living in denial of the Messiah, they leave arguing vigorously among themselves. Clearly, Paul’s words have hit a raw nerve. They know Paul is right, but they don’t want to admit it.   

Now at this point I need to say that Israel do not have the monopoly on denial. We are all prone to denial in our own way, regardless of our cultural heritage.

Indeed, when we find ourselves protesting too much, that is often a sign that we are denying an inconvenient truth about ourselves.

So what is the cure for the blindness of denial? Well, for the cotton farmers it came in the form of the boll weevil which destroyed their crops. Sometimes God’s cure for stubborn denial is suffering and loss. The kind of suffering that wakes us up to the reality of our situation. The kind of loss that makes us aware of our need for God.

Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The poor in spirit are those who are at the end of their rope. They have suffered loss and humiliation. They are under no illusions about the reality of their situation. They have been cured of their denial and they know their need for God’s grace.  

You see, to be able to enjoy a meal, you must first become hungry. To be able to receive the salvation God offers, your hands must first be empty. To be able to experience the good news of Jesus, you must first face the bad news about yourself and the world. I wish there was an easier way, but there isn’t.   

The other thing we note here is that there are limits to Paul’s perseverance.

As much as Paul valiantly attempts to reach his own people time and time again with the gospel, if the Jews in a particular place refuse to believe, if they persist in their denial, Paul shakes it off and moves on to those who will listen.

Okay, so we have heard about Paul’s perseverance in reaching people with the gospel. And we have heard about Israel’s denial of Jesus the Messiah. What about Jesus’ sovereignty. How does that fit with today’s reading.

Jesus’ sovereignty:   

A sovereign is a king, a ruler. Someone with power and authority to reign.

One of the undercurrents running throughout the book of Acts is the idea that Jesus is sovereign; he is in control of the events that transpire. Nothing hinders Jesus’ purpose of salvation.

This idea of Jesus’ sovereignty may be lost in translation for us. For us a sovereign is someone like Queen Elizabeth or King Charles. A figure head, a wealthy monarch with no real power. But Jesus is not a King like that. Jesus is more than a figure head. Jesus has real power. Power over life and death. Power to heal, deliver and redeem.  

Again, we should not confuse Jesus’ power with the kind of political power we are familiar with. Political leaders in our world tend to use a carrot and stick approach to get what they want. Carrots represent rewards and the stick represents punishments; things like tariffs and tanks.     

Jesus does not exercise his power in the same way earthly rulers do. Jesus does not coerce or manipulate people. Jesus’ power often flies under the radar; it operates at a deeper level. Jesus, the King in heaven, exercises his power on earth through the Holy Spirit at work in and among human beings.

In the freezing waters around Greenland there are countless icebergs. Some are small, others large. If you watch them carefully, you notice that the smaller ice floes often move in one direction, while the big ones flow in another direction.

Surface winds drive the little ones, whereas the larger icebergs are carried along by deep ocean currents.

When we consider all that Paul suffered and indeed when we consider our own trials and tragedies, it may be helpful to see our lives as being subject to two forces: surface winds and deeper ocean currents.

The surface winds represent that which is changeable, unpredictable and distressing. The manipulations of men and the wielding of political power for example. Or the slings and arrows of personal misfortune and poor health.

But operating simultaneously, with the gusts and gales, is another more powerful force. The sure movement of God’s wise and sovereign purpose.

The deep flow of his unchanging love. [2]     

In the book of Acts we see both the surface winds of human opposition and the deeper movement of God’s Spirit.

Right at the beginning of Acts, the risen Jesus made plain the sovereign movement of God’s plan of salvation, when he said to his apostles…

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.    

The book of Acts starts in Jersualem and finishes in Rome, the capital of the empire. And from Rome the gospel moves outward to all corners of the earth.

The deeper current of God’s love and Spirit carries the gospel message to the whole world.

Paul had no control over how people responded to his preaching about Jesus. Some believed, others did not. Some reacted violently, with the result that Paul found himself standing trial before the authorities.

These negative reactions were surface winds, which the Spirit of God was able to use in service to Jesus’ sovereign purpose. Every time Paul stood trial, whether before a Roman official or the Jewish leadership, he gave his testimony about Christ. Paul spoke gospel truth to those in power.

Paul’s two years under house arrest in Rome was not wasted time. During those years Paul wrote letters to the Philippians, the Ephesians, the Colossians and to Philemon. These letters are still with us today and contain some of our richest insights about Jesus and his purpose. In Philippians Paul writes…

I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

The fickle surface winds of human opposition do not alter the deep movement of Jesus’ sovereign purpose.

Conclusion:

The book of Acts finishes on a note of triumph: 30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!

Paul may have been a prisoner, but the sovereign purpose of Jesus remained free and prospered.

Let us pray…

Gracious God, give us strength to persevere in your purpose for us. Give us grace to face the truth without denial. And when we feel buffeted by the surface winds of trial and opposition, keep us mindful of your deeper sovereign purpose. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Why did Paul persevere is the face of opposition and hardship? When did Paul stop persevering and move on to tell others about Jesus? How might we know when to keep persevering and when to shake it off and move on? 
  3. How did God use Paul’s trials and suffering to forward the work of the gospel?
  4. Why did the Jews have such a difficult time accepting Paul’s message that Jesus is the Messiah?
  5. What is denial? How might we know we are in denial about something? Have there been times in your life when you struggled with denial? What happened? How did God deliver you?
  6. Discuss / reflect on Jesus’ sovereignty. How is Jesus’ power different from earthly rulers’ power?
  7. What surface winds of difficulty and opposition have you experienced lately? Can you discern Jesus’ deeper sovereign purpose at work in your life? If so, how? 

[1] Adapted from a story in J. John and Mark Stibbe’s book, ‘A Barrel of Fun’, page 116.

[2] Adapted from an excerpt in J. John and Mark Stibbe’s book, ‘A Barrel of Fun’, page 194.

Tawa Baptist

Paul in Ephesus

Scripture: Acts 19:1-12

Video Link: https://youtu.be/k3K5R935iaQ

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Christian initiation
  • Evangelism strategy
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

In his book, ‘That they may have life’, Sri Lankan pastor, Daniel Niles writes: “Evangelism is witness. It is one beggar telling another beggar where to find food.”

Evangelism comes from a Greek word meaning ‘good news’. For Christians evangelism is telling others the good news about Jesus Christ. Evangelism can be as simple as one person telling another person how Jesus has helped them.

Evangelism is as necessary for life and survival as eating food. Evangelism is not a top-down thing, it’s a side-by-side thing. Those who do the evangelising are not better than those being evangelised, both need the bread of salvation.

Evangelism can be quite challenging in our society because most people do not think of themselves as beggars. Most people are not aware of their spiritual need.      

Today we continue our three week series in the book of Acts in support of the Arotahi Renew Together campaign. Arotahi is the missions arm of New Zealand Baptists. Once a year we renew our commitment to pray for and support the work of spreading the gospel in New Zealand and overseas. 

This week’s sermon focuses on Acts chapter 19, verses 1-12, where we learn how the apostle Paul did evangelism in the city of Ephesus. From Acts 19, verse 1, we read…

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit whenyou believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tonguesand prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all. 8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. 11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

There are two halves to our message today. In the first half we consider Christian initiation; that is, what’s involved in becoming a Christian.

And in the second half we observe Paul’s strategy of evangelism; in other words, how Paul went about reaching people with the gospel of Jesus. We begin with Christian initiation.

Christian Initiation:

For seeds to germinate they need the right amount of four things: water, oxygen, temperature and light.

Water is essential for seed germination. A baptism in water softens the seed so it swells and ruptures. Most seeds need to absorb between 25% and 50% of their weight in water before they will germinate.

Oxygen provides the energy the seed needs to grow. If seeds are planted too deep in the soil, they might not get the oxygen they need to sprout.

The temperature has to be right too. Different seeds germinate at different temperatures, but most activate between 16 and 25 degrees Celsius.

The fourth requirement for seed germination is the right amount of light or, in the case of some plants, the right amount of darkness.

In the same way the germination of a seed involves the right amount of water, oxygen, temperature and light, so too Christian initiation involves four things: repentance, faith in Jesus, baptism in water and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Repentance means turning away from sin. Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a positive change in behaviour. Repentance is when we stop walking away from God and start walking towards him.

Faith in Jesus means trusting our lives and our eternity to Jesus. Believing in his death and resurrection. Relying on Jesus’ righteousness and not our own. Holding to the sure hope that Jesus will save us.

Faith in Jesus is made possible by the work of the Holy Spirit. Without God’s Spirit, we cannot truly believe in Jesus or start walking toward God.

Baptism in water is an outward and visible sign of our faith in Jesus.

Water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. To be baptised then is to signify that you have begun to follow Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit.     

In the New Testament, repentance, faith in Jesus, baptism and the Holy Spirit are always present when someone becomes a Christian. The order in which these things happen may vary, but all four belong together when it comes to Christian initiation.

When Paul arrived in Ephesus he found some disciples. As he talks with them Paul notices something is off. These men seem to be missing something.

So Paul asks them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit whenyou believed?”     

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

Now, that cannot be right. The Holy Spirit is mentioned many times throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and during his earthly ministry Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to his followers. Clearly, there is a gap in these disciples’ understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.

Paul knows that no one can truly believe in Jesus without the Holy Spirit, so he asks, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied. Now everything becomes clear. They are not disciples of Jesus; they are disciples of John the Baptist. 

 Paul explains, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”

These 12 men could not have been Christian before meeting Paul, because they had not believed in Jesus up to that point. They were aware of their sin and committed to repentance, but they did not know Jesus personally, through the Holy Spirit.  

From verse 5 we read: 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tonguesand prophesied.

As I understand it, the Ephesian disciples received the Spirit and believed in Jesus on the same day they were baptised. When Paul laid his hands on them to baptise them in water, they received the Spirit as a gift from Jesus.

How were you initiated into the Christian faith? As I reflect on the Ephesians’ experience, I’m conscious of how different it was from my own experience of Christian initiation. When I came to faith in the early 1980’s, there seemed to be three stages to becoming a Christian.

Praying the sinners’ prayer and asking Jesus into your heart, stage one.

Then, after some time had passed, getting baptised in water, stage two.

And then after some more waiting, being prayed for to receive the Holy Spirit.   

Others of you may have a had different experience again. Perhaps you were baptised as a baby, then later confirmed your faith in Jesus as a young person.   

This idea of Christian initiation involving two or three separate events over a period of years was a foreign concept to Paul and the other apostles. Must Christian initiation conform to the pattern we read of in the book of Acts?

Hmmm. We should not be too dogmatic about how the Spirit of God brings people to faith in Jesus. The Holy Spirit does not have to conform to our rules and formulas. Our part is to be open to the work of the Spirit and to trust and obey Jesus out of love for God.

What we can say with confidence is that Christian initiation, both now and then, involves repentance, faith in Jesus, baptism in water and the gift of the Holy Spirit. But the order and timing may vary from person to person. Are any of these four aspects missing for you? What might God be saying?

Another question we may stew over is how do we know we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit? Repentance can be measured and baptism in water can be seen, but it may be more difficult to sense the Spirit.

Verse 6 says the Ephesians spoke in tongues and prophesied when they received the Holy Spirit. Does that mean tongues and prophecy are the signs you have received the Spirit? Well, they can be. But not always.

The Holy Spirit gives all sorts of different gifts. Not everyone who receives the Spirit speaks in tongues or utters words of prophesy like the Ephesians did.

So if you don’t speak in tongues, then don’t worry. The Spirit may give you assurance of your salvation in other ways. Some may feel their heart strangely warmed. Others may be filled with a profound sense of peace.

For me, the Spirit sometimes comes with tears. It is the feeling of being overwhelmed by grace. Humbled by God’s goodness so I cannot talk. Speechless in the presence of the Lord.

Whether you have had a special experience or not, the primary sign of the Spirit is faith in Jesus. You know the Holy Spirit has been given to you when you trust in Jesus. The Spirit makes Jesus close and real.

The question remains for each one of us, do we believe in Jesus? Believing in Jesus is not just a one-off event. Faith in Jesus is on-going, the journey of a lifetime. Therefore, we need to go on being filled with the Holy Spirit to keep faith with Jesus. Don’t stop believing.   

Evangelism strategy:

Okay, that is Christian initiation. Now let us consider Paul’s strategy for evangelism. How did Paul share the good news about Jesus with the people of Ephesus?

You’ve probably heard of the story of the three little pigs. You know the one. The first pig built his house out of straw and the big bad wolf blew his house down and ate the little pig. The second pig built his house out of sticks and the wolf blew his house down and ate him too.

But the third little pig built her house out of bricks and no matter how much the wolf blew, he could not blow her house down.

I suppose the moral of the story is this: to keep the wolf from your door you need to be prepared. It may take longer to build your house out of bricks and it may cost more, but it will be worth it in the end.

In line with the wisdom of being prepared, there’s a Chinese proverb which says: “If you are planning for a year, plant rice. If you are planning for a decade, plant trees. If you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.”

When Paul went about evangelising, he planned for a lifetime. Paul invested a lot of time and energy educating people in the way of Jesus, so their faith would be brick house strong, built to last.

When Paul arrived in Ephesus, he started in the Jewish synagogue. Paul spoke boldly about the kingdom of God, using reason to persuade people that Jesus is the Messiah and therefore people should repent and believe in him.

Starting with the Jews was good evangelism strategy. There was already common ground; Paul did not have to start from scratch. Jesus and Paul were both Jewish and the Hebrew Scriptures point to Jesus.    

Despite the common ground though, some of the Jews refused to believe Paul’s message and started to bad mouth the Way. The Way is code for the way of Christ. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus the Son.

Being maligned and rejected by his own people grieved Paul deeply. It was no easy thing for him walk away. In Acts 20, verse 19, Paul says of his time in Ephesus: “I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the Jews”. 

When Paul’s evangelism was rejected, Paul did not waste energy fighting those who were entrenched and stuck in their ways. He left the synagogue and took the disciples he had baptised with him.

Paul then carried on educating people about Jesus and the kingdom of God in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This lecture hall was neutral ground. It was a public space that anyone (Jew or Greek) could access.

Paul did not just give lectures though. Paul held discussions, he dialogued with people, using reasoned arguments to educate and persuade. The Alpha Course is a contemporary version of evangelism modelled off Paul’s strategy of reasoned discussion and persuasion. Alpha is worth doing.

Not everyone goes down the Alpha path though. Some come to faith in Jesus after hearing an emotional appeal. The music plays, the smoke machine purrs, the mood lighting comes on and the speaker pulls on everyone’s heart strings (or guilt strings). Then, in the heat of the moment, people come forward to make a commitment to Jesus.

These sorts of emotionally based commitments don’t usually last, unless followed up by someone who intentionally comes alongside the new believer to nurture and disciple them.   

Paul did not build his house with the straw and sticks of raw emotion and stage tricks. Paul built his house with the bricks and reinforcing steel of sound argument and truth. Paul planned for a lifetime.

Verse 10 tells us; this went on for two years so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.       

Ephesus was like a hub for the province of Asia in the first century. People from the surrounding towns came to Ephesus to do their shopping, visit their family or watch the games. While in Ephesus they got to hear the gospel through Paul.

Some took what they heard back home with them. And so the gospel spread by word of mouth.  

In Acts 20, verse 20, we learn that Paul also went house to house telling people to repent and have faith in Jesus. A strong work ethic was woven through Paul’s evangelism strategy. And the Spirit of God was clearly with Paul, upholding and empowering him every step of the way.

In verses 11 and 12 of Acts 19, we read how God did extraordinary miracles through Paul. The people of ancient Ephesus were spiritually aware. Some dabbled in magic and the occult. When people saw the power of God to heal and deliver, many turned away from sorcery and the dark arts to follow Jesus.

The miraculous signs and wonders done by God, verified Paul’s gospel message as authentic and true. If you read on in Acts 19 you will see how Paul’s evangelism eventually divided the city. People were confronted with the truth about Jesus and had to choose a side. Evangelism takes ground for God’s kingdom.

Although it is not covered in our reading today, an important part of Paul’s evangelism strategy was establishing an organisational structure to take care of the young church after he was gone. In Acts 20 we learn that Paul had appointed pastors and elders to protect and care for the new believers.

In verse 28 Paul says to the elders of the church at Ephesus: Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. 

Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

Perhaps the most important part of any evangelism strategy is love. Persuasive arguments and intelligent apologetics only get you so far. If we do not love the people we are trying to reach, the message won’t sound true.

Paul’s love for the Ephesians and their love for him is evident in Paul’s farewell speech to them in Acts 20. From verse 37 we read: They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. 

Conclusion:

Paul’s Herculean efforts of evangelism are intimidating. It may feel like too much of a leap to try and imitate Paul exactly. Let me offer a few practical strategies for evangelism which most Christians can attempt…

Look for people of peace. That is, people who are open to talking about faith and friendly in their attitude to things Christian. Paul started with the disciples of John the Baptist, people of peace. He did not start with the witches and gangsters of Ephesus.    

Pray for someone who does not yet know Jesus. Pray for them by name, daily, that the Holy Spirit would make Jesus close and real for them.

Know what you believe. Educate yourself. Read your Bible and think about how Jesus has been good for you personally. Be ready, prepared to talk about what Jesus means to you and what you really believe.

Love others. To love others means being kind and fair.  Listening generously. Showing up when you are needed. Doing no harm. Being patient and respectful.

And when you are given the opportunity to talk about Jesus, be brave without being arrogant. Don’t be ashamed or embarrassed. Be straight up. Own your faith with humility. Stand by it and trust your testimony to the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray…    

Gracious God, you love those who don’t yet know you. May the good news about Jesus be real for each of us, personally. Give us wise words and a winsome Spirit to tell others about Christ. Glorify yourself we pray. Amen.   

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Who first told you about Jesus? How did they do this?
  3. What is evangelism? Why is evangelism important?
  4. How were you initiated into the Christian faith? Are any of the four aspects of Christian initiation missing for you? If so, which aspect(s)? What might God be saying to you?
  5. How do we know we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit? How does the Spirit make Jesus close and real for you?
  6. Discuss / reflect on Paul’s evangelism strategy in Ephesus.
  7. What can you do to share the love and truth of Jesus with others?
Tawa Baptist

We Believe

By: Neville Gardner, 15 June 2025

In Türkiye, not far from Istanbul, is a small town called Iznik. There is no Christian church, but this year Christians around the world are celebrating a significant event that took place here 1700 years ago. In those days, the town was part of the Roman Empire, and had the Roman name Nicaea.

In 325AD, a statement of faith called the Nicene Creed was formulated here, and it is still a standard document for a majority of Christian churches. To find out how it came about, we’ll need to dig into bit of a history.

In the early years of the 4th century AD, Christians in the Roman Empire were a minority group. Under the emperor Diocletian, Christians were persecuted. Church buildings were destroyed, sacred writings were burnt and worship meetings were banned. Christians who refused to sacrifice to the cult of the emperor could be killed. As you can imagine, Christianity was slow to grow in these circumstances.

Then along came Constantine, first as emperor of the western empire, then in 324 of the combined east and west. Critically, Constantine turned from paganism and became a Christian. He was keen to encourage Christian interests, as a political move to help unify his fractured empire. So the Treaty of Milan decreed that all Roman citizens could worship who they liked, without interference from the empire. Christianity didn’t become the official religion then, but it was free from persecution.

Against this background, Christians were still coming to grips with what it meant to be a Christian. The writings of the apostles had been collected and copied, but their contents were mainly spread orally, which made study and interpretation hard. It also made it relatively easy for people to spread ‘false teaching’ that was not scriptural.

One result was that the nature of the relationship between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit became contentious. In particular, a Christian sect called Arians claimed that Jesus was a created being, not a divine part of a Trinity with God and the Holy Spirit.

Emperor Constantine’s plans for a unified empire needed a united Christian church. So he gathered together over 300 bishops from across the Empire at his summer palace in Nicaea, where he set them to sorting out their differences. Over three months, the bishops tried to prayerfully determine the will of God. One result was the writing of what is now called the Nicene Creed, a statement of faith that is still used by many denominations around the world.

There were several changes to the Nicene Creed in following councils; the text we’ll look at now is a version in common use today. As I read it out, please don’t say it out loud yourselves – I’d like you to concentrate on what the words mean to you.

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation

he came down from heaven:

by the power of the Holy Spirit

he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of Life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.

He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come.

Having come up with this statement, the council condemned anyone who did not agree with what it said; those bishops at the Council who disagreed were banished as heretics. Constantine got what he wanted, but sadly the unified church went on to persecute heretics to a level that matched what Christians had recently suffered under Diocletian.

The Nicene Creed unified the orthodox church with a basic doctrine of belief, and continues to do so. But since then there has been much disunity over non-doctrinal issues, such as governance, traditional rituals and practices, the style and timing of baptism, the date of Easter and so on. There was an early split between the Western Orthodox Church (which largely became what we term Roman Catholic) and the Eastern Orthodox Church. But they both used the Nicene Creed.

In 16th century Europe, there was a huge upheaval called the Protestant Reformation, which saw many people break away from the Roman Catholic Church, not always peacefully. New Protestant groups continued to appear, and there are now hundreds of denominations. They differ in many ways, but they nearly all maintain belief in the doctrine articulated in the Nicene Creed. For example, the Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, the Salvation Army and many Baptist churches, all recognise the Nicene Creed.

The Creed I read out just now has four ‘We believe’ statements – three focussing on the Trinity, with a single line on the church. It’s that line I’d like to talk a bit more about.

“We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.”

A couple of quick word explanations here.

The term ‘catholic’ is written with a small c – it just means universal church, and does not refer to the Roman Catholic Church.

Apostolic means based on the words and actions of the Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament.

The use of the phrase “We believe” rather than “I believe” was, of course, deliberate. “I believe” was, and is, used in personal statements of faith, especially those declared at baptism. “We believe” is a communal statement made by a group with shared beliefs – originally by the bishops at Nicaea, later by gathered church congregations everywhere.

Remembering that ‘catholic’ means universal, “We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church” says that we believe in one church throughout the world, based on the biblical words of the Apostles. It doesn’t say we believe in a particular denomination, but in God’s worldwide church.

Just before his arrest, we hear in John 17 that Jesus prayed for his disciples. “I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message. I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you.”

Jesus’ prayer reminds us that the church is called to be one, and its unity is to reflect the oneness of Jesus with God the Father. We believe in a universal church, because it is God’s church. When we say the Creed, we can feel part of this worldwide community. This means we all have some responsibility to be part of its ministry.

As Christians, as Baptists, we are part of God’s universal church. Many Baptist churches around the world use the Nicene Creed, as it is fully biblical and it reminds us of our links to the universal church. As a congregationally governed church, affiliated with the Baptist Union of New Zealand, Tawa Baptist has a written constitution which includes a different statement of faith. It’s based on the Nicene Creed, but is shorter and uses plainer language.

I’m going to read out the Tawa Baptist Statement of Faith, and I’d like you to read it out with me. If you don’t want to, that’s fine.

We believe . . 

  • In one God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
  • In the true humanity and deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son.
  • In the atonement made by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross for the sin of the world.
  • In the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead.
  • That salvation and membership in the Church universal is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • That the Bible is inspired by God and authoritative in matters of Christian faith and practice.

By saying “We believe”, we include ourselves in the global church, as well as in this church of Tawa Baptist. Today, this church has been blessed because Kyle and Izandi have formerly become part of that “We”. We can pray that being part of our church life together will help them grow in their personal faith – indeed for all of us, saying “We believe” helps us to more confidently say “I believe.”

I’d now like to take you back to the modern village of Iznik, Roman Nicaea. One of the bishops present in 325AD wrote that “The most eminent servants of God from all the churches that filled Europe, Africa, and Asia gathered together. One place of worship, as if expanded by God, accommodated the people.”

Over the centuries, the site of this church was forgotten, lost.

Then, in 2014, aerial photographs of the Iznik shoreline got archaeologists very excited. There, close to shore, in shallow water, was the outline of a stone basilica, an early form of church. The building of the church was dated to about 100 years later than the Council of Nicaea, and it disappeared beneath the waters of the lake in an earthquake over 600 years later.

Further excavations revealed the remains of an earlier church under the stone one. It’s not certain, but the date is right for this to be the church the Council of Nicaea met in.

The lake of Iznik has been shrinking due to years of drought, so the ruins of the basilica have gradually got closer to the surface and nearer the shore. You can now stand on the ruins without getting your feet wet. I can’t help wondering if, just as He expanded the church to fit all the bishops in 325, God has revealed that church in time for Nicaea 2025 celebrations.

A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law visited Iznik as part of a Nicaea 2025 tour led by Father Luke Miller, Church of England archdeacon of London. She sent me a photo of the church ruins, where they held a communion service. Later this year, the new Pope Leo is due to meet Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, at this very spot. Their joint celebration of the Council at Nicaea is a landmark event in itself.

The church council in 325 aimed for Christian unity, but sometimes it seems that, apart from basic matters of doctrine, unity is still far off. Celebrations of Nicaea 2025 are particularly significant for The World Council of Churches, which for many years has encouraged unity between denominations representing over half a billion Christians worldwide. It may be on a smaller scale, but here in Tawa several churches work together in common witness and service, sharing the unity hoped for in the Nicene Creed.

I’d like to finish by reading some words Father Luke used during his tour to Nicaea.

“Constantine wanted unity. Guided by the Holy Spirit, something extraordinary happened in Nicaea. In all the divisions and stresses of the church, the creed of the fathers of Nicaea remains a bright thread in the frayed fabric of the unity of the church. God is at work still, not to fulfil the desire of a powerful emperor, but to bring us all to the glory of union with Him.”

Questions

What are the main sections of the Nicene Creed, and how do they relate to each other?

What aspects of the Creed resonate with you the most?

How could the Nicene Creed, or the Tawa Baptist statement of faith, help you to understand and deepen your own faith?

You may come across versions of the Nicene Creed that say, “We believe” or “I believe”. What difference does this wording make?

How does your understanding of the Trinity affect how you live and relate to others?

How could you use the Nicene Creed or the Tawa Baptist statement of faith to help you engage in prayer and worship?