A Foundation of Righteousness
The sermon emphasizes the importance of righteousness in the body of Christ, highlighting its connection to God's nature and the consequences of ignoring it.
G.W. North emphasizes the necessity of understanding eternal righteousness before addressing the gifts of the Spirit within the body of Christ. He argues that obedience to God is paramount, and that the church must align itself with Christ's headship and authority to function effectively. North points out that the Apostle Paul strategically delayed discussing spiritual gifts until he established foundational principles, ensuring that the gifts would not be misused or misunderstood. Without this clarity, the gifts could devolve into mere human or demonic expressions, devoid of divine power and purpose. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a return to righteousness as the basis for all spiritual activity in the church.
Text
The Spirit of God is clear; before any attempt be made at setting right the function and order of the gifts, the body must first of all be clear about the nature and principles of eternal righteousness. The body of Christ must be right, simply because it is His body; obedience is more precious in His eyes than gift or sacrifice or miracle. We must get this matter of headship and authority right before we pass on to power and performance. Whether to past happenings or future events or present truth, in His spiritual body He must be perfectly correct in all His relationships. He was right in His body of flesh, and He must be right in His spiritual body.
He is the embodiment of Truth proceeding from the Father.
This is why Paul delays dealing with the spirituals until this late point of the epistle. He has approached the subject through eleven other chapters devoted to establishing fundamental principles and values, each of far greater import than the 'modus operandi' of the spirituals. Except he had done so he would have created an entirely wrong impression about the place and function of the gifts, and would have left the Corinthian situation basically unchanged. Had he done that, except by some later gracious intervention, the gifts would not have been, nor could have functioned ever again as spiritual means among them.
They would have remained entirely devoid of the life and power and meaning of God, totally ineffectual, and incapable of achieving His objectives among men. The Word of Wisdom would have become man's wisdom, which is foolishness; the Word of Knowledge a demonstration of psychic prognostication by means of Extra Sensory Perception; Discernment of spirits an exercise in clairvoyant powers; Faith a hypnotic co-operation with powers of evil; Healing and Miracles satanic deceptions; Prophecy, Tongues and Interpretation would be utterances of men and devils, human at best and devilish at worst. Instead of gatherings together unto the praise and worship of God, meetings would have been sinful demonstrations of carnal powers to the accompaniment of sounding brass and tinkling cymbal.
Everything would have been to the glory of man, the delight of satan and the dishonouring of God.
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Righteousness
- Understanding the Nature of Righteousness
- The Consequences of Ignoring Righteousness
- Ignoring righteousness leads to a focus on human power and performance
- Ignoring righteousness results in ineffective and sinful spiritual practices
Key Quotes
“Obedience is more precious in His eyes than gift or sacrifice or miracle.” — G.W. North
“Had he done that, except by some later gracious intervention, the gifts would not have been, nor could have functioned ever again as spiritual means among them.” — G.W. North
“Instead of gatherings together unto the praise and worship of God, meetings would have been sinful demonstrations of carnal powers to the accompaniment of sounding brass and tinkling cymbal.” — G.W. North
Application Points
- We must prioritize obedience and righteousness in our spiritual practices, recognizing that it is more precious to God than gifts or sacrifices.
- Ignoring righteousness can lead to a focus on human power and performance, resulting in ineffective and sinful spiritual practices.
- We must establish fundamental principles and values before dealing with spiritual gifts, to avoid creating a wrong impression about their place and function.