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.
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G.W. North (1913 - 2003)
G. W. North was born in London England in 1913. As a young man he became aware that the Lord was calling him into the work of the ministry. At timely stages the Lord placed folk in his path who were able to direct him into the truth of heart purity and a more expansive understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He held pastorates in Kent and Bradford. By the late 1960s, following a significant period of ministry in Liverpool, he began a more itinerant ministry. This led him to many parts of the world, and occupied him until well into his eighties. His powerful preaching and the unique sense of the Lord's presence, which seemed to brood over his meetings, were always intensely challenging.The true secret of his remarkable ministry stemmed from his personal communion with the Lord Jesus. To him, 'entering the holiest' was not merely a theological concept; it was a distinct spiritual reality - and the central feature of his spiritual life. It was here, in the place of worship, that his revelatory ministry found its source. He preached from understanding and conviction. He was never the echo of another, nor did he take on board the ebb and flow of various contemporary emphases. He was not a man of 'books'; he soaked himself in Scripture and allowed it to saturate his heart and mind. Truly, this is a man who has lifted up a standard for the people. Mr North went to be with the Lord on 29th April 2003, shortly after his ninetieth birthday.