Every member matters..

The gift of Faith- This gift of faith doesnt mean saving faith.. The gift of faith is believing God will do something he has called you to do. Many of us struggle with God’s call on in our life for those who have the gift of faith may trust Gods call a little easier… This gift is something I believe all should desire.. We want to trust God when he calls us to something… Story of my call to ministry…

One person defined it like this, “The gift of faith may be defined as the special gift whereby the Spirit provides Christians with extraordinary confidence in God’s promises, power, and presence so they can take heroic stands for the future of God’s work in the church. The spiritual gift of faith is exhibited by one with a strong and unshakeable confidence in God, His Word, and His promises. Examples of people with the gift of faith are those listed in Hebrews chapter 11.hey are so convinced that all obstacles to the gospel and to God’s purposes will be overcome and so confident that God will secure the advancement of His cause, that they will often do far more in the promotion of His kingdom than the most talented and erudite preachers and teachers.”

The gift of discernment…

1 John 4:1 ESV

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

1 John 4:1

John MacArthur summarizes the implications of the gift of discernment in this way: “It can be said that the gift of discernment is given to tell if the other gifts are of the Holy Spirit, if they are merely natural imitations, or if they are demonic counterfeits. I believe God still empowers some of His people to unmask false prophets and carnal hypocrites. He gives them insight to expose imitations and deceptions that most Christians would take as genuine.” Those Christians who are gifted with discernment will be able to compare ungodly words, deeds and appearances with what God has revealed in Scripture and expose the fraudulent leaders and teachers for what they are. They are gifted with unusual ability in separating what is true from what is false and what is right from what is wrong.

Tim Challies says, The gift of discernment is the Spirit’s special defense against the lies that come from lying Spirits.

The Impact of Discernment

How does this discernment affect the way we live? In four ways:

1. It acts as a means of protection, guarding us from being deceived spiritually. It protects us from being blown away by the winds of teaching that make central an element of the gospel that is peripheral or treat a particular application of Scripture as though it were Scripture’s central message.

2. Discernment also acts as an instrument of healing, when exercised in grace. I have known a small number of people whose ability to diagnose the spiritual needs of others has been remarkable. Such people seem able to penetrate into the heart issues someone else faces better than the person can do. Of course, this is in some ways a dangerous gift with which God has entrusted them. But when exercised in love, discernment can be the surgical scalpel in spiritual surgery that makes healing possible.

3. Again, discernment functions as a key to Christian freedom. The zealous but undiscerning Christian becomes enslaved—to others, to his own uneducated conscience, to an unbiblical pattern of life. Growth in discernment sets us free from such bondage, enabling us to distinguish practices that may be helpful in some circumstances from those that are mandated in all circumstances. But in another way, true discernment enables the free Christian to recognize that the exercise of freedom is not essential to the enjoyment of it.

4. Finally, discernment serves as a catalyst to spiritual development: “The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning” (, NIV). Why? Because the discerning Christian goes to the heart of the matter. He knows something about everything, namely that all things have their common fountain in God. Increase in knowledge, therefore, does not lead to increased frustration, but to a deeper recognition of the harmony of all God’s works and words.

How is such discernment to be obtained? We receive it as did Christ Himself—by the anointing of the Spirit, through our understanding of God’s Word, by our experience of God’s grace, and by the progressive unfolding to us of the true condition of our own hearts.

Every believer is united to the one body of Jesus Christ.

Now paul is talking about the universal body of Christ. Every believer belongs to the one universal church. this doesn't mean that every Christian is a member of our church but the body as a whole. every body consists of multiple parts each with there own unique function. The body is designed to work in unity with each part doing what it needs to do in order to achieve the desired results. This is what Paul will explain in further detail in the following verses. Now I said that my first point was every believer is united to the one body of Jesus Christ.

It says For in One Spirit we were all baptized… Some denominations such as Pentecostals believe that you must speak in tongues to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Some believe Paul is referring to the a physical baptism that believers share… Or some believe this is the Lords supper… Now I believe that all Christians are immersed into the body of Christ by the means of the Holy Spirit to paraphrase MacArthur he said that All believers are immersed by Christ with the Holy Spirit. In doing so he immerses all believers in unity with one another. Paul is not talking about water baptism. Paul is emphasizing that all believers are united by the Holy Spirit. Unlike some other views there is nothing a believer can do to receive the Holy Spirit. Christs salvation is perfect and you do not need to add it it for the Holy Spirit to be given to you. , God gives us his spirit to unite us together in unity in harmony…

This one body is made up of all types of people. Social classes still exist today, but in many parts of the world they are much different then when this was written… Paul says that these different types of people are all called in the same body. If you notice in the text there are two different distinctions. One is religious and the other is social standing. As we have discussed in here before the people of Corinth were a diverse body of people. They had many different religions and worldviews in this society. Despite these views God called many in this sinful city to himself. Both Jews and Gentiles. Today God calls Muslims, hindus, buddhists, jews, the spiritual and non spiritual to himself. the point paul is making that no matter what religious background you have if you are saved you are called into the same kingdom of God. This is true from the social aspect of things as well. Paul makes two distinctions in this text free and slave. in that time slaves did not share in the same rights as the free man did, but in Christ you have all the same rights. So to sum up that point scripture is teaching us that no matter what your background is when you are saved you are called into the one body of Jesus Christ.

Every believer is united to the one body of Jesus Christ…

Every believer is given a unique role to help the body of Christ…

pauls illustration is a powerful one.. If we look at the human body we see its complexities. Paul lists several of them in the text. Now in the fifth century a man by the name

Menenius Agrippa gave a famous speech to persuade the plebeians to end their revolt against the patricians. In that speech he described the functioning of a city-state by analogy with a human body. The speech is passed on to us by the first-century-b.c. Greek historian and rhetorician Dionysius of Halicarnassus among others. Menenius Agrippa is recorded as arguing as follows (Antiquitates Romanae 6.86.1–4):

A commonwealth resembles in some measure a human body. For each of them is composite and consists of many parts; and no one of their parts either has the same function or performs the same service as the others. If, now, these parts of the human body should be endowed, each for itself, with perception and a voice of its own and a sedition should then arise among them, all of them uniting against the belly alone, and the feet should say that the whole body rests on them; the hands, that they ply the crafts, secure provisions, fight with enemies, and contribute many other advantages toward the common good; the shoulders, that they bear all the burdens; the mouth, that it speaks; the head, that it sees and hears and, comprehending the other senses, possesses all those by which the thing is preserved; and then all these should say to the belly, ‘And you, good creature, which of these things do you do? What return do you make and of what use are you to us? Indeed, you are so far from doing anything for us or assisting us in accomplishing anything useful for the common good that you are actually a hindrance and a trouble to us and—a thing intolerable—compel us to serve you and to bring things to you from everywhere for the gratification of your desires. Come now, why do we not assert our liberty and free ourselves from the many troubles we undergo for the sake of this creature?’ If, I say, they should decide upon this course and none of the parts should any longer perform its office, could the body possibly exist for any considerable time, and not rather be destroyed within a few days by the worst of all deaths, starvation? No one can deny it. Now consider the same condition existing in a commonwealth. For this also is composed of many classes of people not at all resembling one another, every one of which contributes some particular service to the common good, just as its members do to the body.

That quote ties into the Pauls teaching about the body..

I need my hands so I can write, work, hold my child, eat, turn the pages of the book, or the remote on my tv. I need my feet so i can work, walk, and get to where i need to go… I need my ears so i can hear my baby cry, my wifes words, customers issues, pastors preach, music, tv, ect… I need my eyes to see to drive, work, look at wife, baby, ect… God gives us every body part for a reason. If you are a Christian he gives you your fits for a reason…

Many Christians try to utilize their gifts on thier own, but God calls us to be united together under the head to achieve the work of the Lord…

Every believers gifts are valuable to the church..

A couple of weeks ago I asked you all if you know your gifts and are you using those in the local church..... So have you do the sheet we provided if not I encourage you.. if you have what results did you get....

So do you see your gifts as not valuable to the church?

Going back to the text we see that Paul is making the point that every piece of the body matters…

Paul would say otherwise… Many in the church value certain things over others, but that does not mean God does.

Fun facts about the Human Body

The human body contains nearly 100 trillion cells.There are at least 10 times as many bacteria in the human body as cells.The average adult takes over 20,000 breaths a day.Each day, the kidneys process about 200 quarts (50 gallons) of blood to filter out about 2 quarts of waste and waterAdults excrete about a quarter and a half (1.42 liters) of urine each day.The human brain contains about 100 billion nerve cellsWater makes up more than 50 percent of the average adult's body weight. Adults have 206 bones If all the DNA in your body were uncoiled, it would stretch out to about 10 billion miles, which is from Earth to Pluto and back. Without your pinky finger, you would lose 50% of your hand’s strength. Your nose can differentiate between 1 trillion different smells. Your eyes can distinguish between 2.3 and 7.5 million different colours. These are just a few interesting facts about our body..

In regards to verses 22-24 . Paul makes it clear that the body needs all of its parts, but the way he words it is interesting…

As the humbler parts of the body are given special attention by covering them with appropriate clothing and, as in the case of the digestive organs, providing them with food, so the inconspicuous members of the church—the poor, the despised, the less prominent—are to be cherished and nurtured.

Paul would say otherwise… Many in the church value certain things over others, but that does not mean God does. Who hear has ever hurt thier little toe? Its a painful experience

The alla (“but”) in the middle of v. 24 brings the argument back to God’s sovereign purposes. He has brought the members of the body together in perfect harmony. By saying that God “has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it,” Paul means that through implanting modesty and self-respect in our hearts, God has caused us to protect our unpresentable parts (as the sex organs) from exploitation by properly covering them. All this concern for the body is for the purpose of enabling it to operate in unity, so all its parts will mutually respond to each other’s needs—e.g., the brain sending nerve signals to the hand.

When thinking about these few verses I think about how Paul wants to to note that while humans elevate somethings in the church and want to make it a focal point. God brings things that may not be presentable and makes them beautiful…

All the gifts he gives to us are to be used to edify the believers and unite us closer to Christ.. Remember the words from Paul back in Chapter 1… Our gifts are to be used to proclaim Christ in a way that unifies each other.

Paul would say otherwise… Many in the church value certain things over others, but that does not mean God does. Who hear has ever hurt thier little toe? Its a painful experience

Who hear has ever hurt their little toe? Its a painful experience....

loss of child.... grieved together

Recovered from something...

birth of a child..... rejoiced together…

next week we will discuss in detail the gifts that may not exist anymore, and why God used those gifts for a season in the church.