Last week we talked about how we are called in our Christian faith to do “Life Together”. This week as we talk about Spiritual Gifts we need to see an important connection to the community of faith. One way the biblical community is described in the bible is that we are the body of Christ.
In Romans 12:4-6 we are given the implications of being part of the body – read it on the screen or on the teaching outline. :
KEY VERSE: Romans 12:4-6
“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”
In this image there is link made between parts of the body and spiritual gifts. One implication that I find striking is that it is obvious that when I think about a body it is made up of so many parts and they all need to working in a proper and healthy way together in order for the body the to flourish.
I remember years pulling up carpet and in the process damaging nerves near my spinal column. The pain was relentless. I had to go on a strong painkiller – oxycontin ever so briefly…and all I can say is that when that member/part of my body was damaged it affected my whole body.
Paul is reminding us that if we are the body of Christ – we all need to be functioning in a healthy in order for Christ to work through us. That is why the Key Question is important for us to consider:
KEY QUESTION
What gifts and skills has God given me to serve others?
In your journey to act like a follower of Jesus – you need to come to grips with this biblical reality that says that each one of us is spiritually gifted. It is crucial that you in your journey through this life come to a place of self awareness where you can say in our Key Idea:
KEY IDEA
I know my spiritual gifts and use them to fulfill God’s purposes.
When we talk about what on earth am I here for – this understanding of our spiritual gifts is part of that journey into a full meaningful faith where we begin to see how we are called to live before God and with others.
But let’s back up the train for a moment so that we can grasp a fundamental truth about being a Christian. When we make the courageous decision to to step across the line of faith and embrace God’s offer of salvation through the grace and mercy of Christ, we are changed. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in each of our lives.
The Believing Community is Spirit-filled
This is a mystical and marvelous experience. And since we all experience this for those who have faith in Christ – it means that the church, the body of Christ, the fellowship of believers is Spirit filled.
Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit…John 14:26
John 14:26 (NIV)
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Let’s be clear about the presence of the Holy Spirit. It means the presence of God in our lives. Without God at work in our lives then we may have our plans, our own energy but from God’s perspective it is rather missing the point.
Even in the Old Testament we are reminded about the needed presence of God’s Spirit. Through the OT prophet Zechariah we hear these words – It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. (Zechariah 4:6)
I think of the birth of the church in Acts. The means of this occurrence was through the Holy Spirit. Jesus told the early disciples very specifically about waiting for the Holy Spirit.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
When we are describing any church in spiritual terms we have to see that it moves us way beyond organizational structures. We are saying that you and you and you and you have the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. The very presence of God. That means all those who are christians in this gathering of worship are not ordinary by any means. The believing community is Spirit filled.
The Spirit Gives Gifts
Now the implication of Spirit filled people is that we are given spiritual gifts. The bible makes it plain: The Spirit gives Gifts!
1 Corinthians 12:11 (NLT)
It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
There are two critical implications about spiritual gifts for the church. I need to give credit to the late Ray Stedman who was pastor of Peninsula Bible Church for the articulation of these implications about our spiritual gifts.
First…
We cannot consider ourselves insignificant.
Many people in many churches have thought to themselves, I love to coming to church, but I can’t contribute, because I don’t have any abilities. Others are so much more talented or knowledgeable than I am.”
Paul addresses this feeling of insignificance in these next verses of I Corinthians 12 when he says, “If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the ear should say, ‘Because I’m not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body.”
In other words, if the foot should say, “I can’t do all the things a hand does. It’s so flexible, and it’s used all the time. I really don’t belong in this body,” it is nevertheless an indispensable part of the body.
In the same way, if you are a believer and you think you are insignificant just because you can’t preach or lead worship, you are deceiving yourself. Whether you feel qualified or not, you’re still a part of the body. But you have shut your eyes to truth. You need to open them to see the role God has called you to play. There are no insignificant members of the body.
Here is something interesting – there’s a part of your body that is absolutely essential to all of us. It is our big toe. The big toe senses when your body begins to lean or shift or get out of balance, and it immediately strengthens so that we all can stand up. Without your big toe, we would all be in trouble.
There are people in the church who are just as essential to its work as the big toe. Take people with the gift of helps, for example. We think they are nice to have around. Food needs to be served. Chairs need to be set up. They see a need and meet it. We’re glad they help out, but do we really appreciate how crucial their service is to the work of the church? Without those folks, we’d soon be unable to preach or teach. We’d stumble over one another and nothing would get done.
The reason so many people consider themselves insignificant is that we often have the wrong idea of what the work of the church is. It is so much more than our weekend services. People who lead services might lead the rest of the church to think That’s the work of the church, and I can’t do any of those things. Therefore, I have no part to play in the church.
The work of the church is to heal the brokenhearted, to deliver the captives, to open the eyes of the blind, and to preach the good news to the poor and despairing. The work of the church is to encourage and strengthen and deliver. Seek justice, show mercy – meet the needs of others with love. And alot of that work doesn’t take place inside the church building; it goes on out in the world. What happens inside the church building is that we get organized and trained and inspired. We come here to be equipped and encouraged and educated to fulfill the work of the church out there.
There are many jobs to be done in the work of the church. Some are to be done on when the church is gathered and other times when the church is dispersed. That’s the work of the church; the church is Christ at work in the world. Doing this work requires everyone using their spiritual gifts so that they can do the work God wants them to do.
Second…
We cannot consider ourselves independent.
Paul says, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you;’ nor, again, the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.'” It’s amazing how many people believe they don’t need the rest of the body. They are confident in their own abilities and their own ministries. This attitude of independence hurst the body of Christ.
Think about golfers versus hockey players. I once spoke at a conference for professional golfers. Golfers are, by nature, independent. A golf tournament is a struggle of independent egos against one another. It’s very different from a hockey game, in which each member plays his own role, working together with the rest of the team to accomplish a goal. I’m afraid many congregations are more like golfers; everybody goes out on his or her own and pays little attention to what others are doing.
Paul points out that this attitude leaves the church in a terrible state. What if the eye said, “I don’t need the rest of the body; I’ll just roll around seeing things and let the rest of the body go”? If that happened, the rest of the body would stumble into everything and the eye would lose its ability to see. We all need one another, no matter how impressive we think we are. For as Paul reminds us that in our physical body the parts that seem to be weaker are actually indispensable.
The power of our spiritual gifts is when they are working together. Quote Ray Stedman – When you begin to see the church as God sees it, you’ll see that God works the whole body together in one beautifully articulated and coordinated thing. The human body is the most beautifully balanced and delicately tuned instrument the world has ever seen. In the same way, there’s nothing more beautiful or effective, nothing more exquisitely balanced, than the church of Jesus Christ. God has crafted it with care. Therefore we ought to show great care for one another. Paul says, “If one member suffers, all suffer with it.” It’s also true that “If one be honored, all are honored with him.”
We need each other’s gifts to accomplish God’s purposes – We are not independent…
Are you using them?
Are you using the gifts God has given you. Have you unwrapped your gifts?
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
The list includes administration, healing, teaching, mercy, discernment, helps, wisdom knowledge, leadership, evangelism, hospitality and faith
Maybe right now your answer is in the negative because of the following reasons:
- Don’t know –
- Discouraged – don’t grow weary in well doing! Forgive, let go of the past, press on, keep in step with the Spirit, continue to love even when it hurts.
- Distracted – keep your eye on the big picture – God has given us spiritual gifts for a season to glorify God and to serve others. We come to see that using our gifts for God gives us a purpose bigger than ourselves.
Matthew 25: 23 (NIV)
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.Come and share your master’s happiness!’
[This post was based on the manuscript written by Pastor David Morehouse]