Spiritual Gifts are All About the Body!
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Introduction:
Introduction:
God has done an amazing thing in creating the human body! Consider this:
Human bone is as strong as granite in supporting weight. A block of bone the size of a matchbox can support 9 tons – that is four times as much as concrete can support.
When you sleep, you grow by about 0.3 inches. The next day you shrink back to your former height. The reason is that your cartilage discs are squeezed like sponges by the force of gravity when you stand or sit.
The average person in the West eats 50 tons of food and drinks 11,000 gallons of liquid during his life.
The focusing muscles of the eyes move around 100,000 times a day. To give your leg muscles the same workout, you would need to walk 50 miles every day.
In 30 minutes, the average body gives off enough heat (combined) to bring a half gallon of water to boil.
A single human blood cell takes only 60 seconds to make a complete circuit of the body.
The eyes receive approximately 90 percent of all our information, making us basically visual creatures.
When the human body works well, it is amazing. When it doesn’t, we suffer. We don’t think about how important every part of our body is, until we have a problem with it. It doesn’t take much to mess up your day; a tooth ache, or earache, jamming your finger, spraining your ankle, even something as minor as getting something in your eye. We can strain a muscle we didn’t know we had, and it will keep us awake all night.
It is not by accident that the body is one of the metaphors used in the Bible to describe the Church. God in His wisdom uses the human body as an object lesson to teach us about how we as His children relate to Him and to each other.
With this in mind, let’s look at one of the key passages in the Bible that talks about the Church in terms of a body, 1 Cor. 12:12-26 page 813 in the chair Bibles.
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
As fascinating as the human body is, today’s message is not going to be about anatomy. In these verses Paul gives us insight into the Church, which is called the Body of Christ. The first thing we need to see from these verses is that
1. There is unity and diversity in the Body of Christ. 1 Cor. 12:12-26
1. There is unity and diversity in the Body of Christ. 1 Cor. 12:12-26
The unity is because as Christians
A. We are members of the Body of Christ.
A. We are members of the Body of Christ.
e.g. How many of you are or have been a member of a club? Whether it is the boys scouts, girl scouts, Lions club, a country club, there is a membership process. Let’s look at how we became members of the Church.
Did you notice that in verse 13 it says the Holy Spirit immersed or put us into, that’s what the word baptized means here, one Body, meaning the Church. At the moment of salvation, when you believed that Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose again to pay for your sins, a lot of things happened. One of which is you were put into and became a member of the Body of Christ.
How do we know it happened at the moment of salvation? Some people teach that you become a Christian and then later receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 says,
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
Are you a Christian, belonging to God? Yes? Then you have the received the baptism of the Spirit. If you don’t have the Spirit, you are not a child of God and don’t belong to Him.
So we are all members of the Body of Christ. We are all connected! Even though there are many members
B. The Body is one.
B. The Body is one.
All believers from the beginning of the church, which is described in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, are all members of the body of Christ. We are one. We are connected to one another.
This is why you can go someplace and meet another Christian and after a short time sense a bond, a connection with him or her. I have and I know many of you have met Christians all over the world. When it happens, it is wonderful, because we are all part of something huge, which transcends time and space.
Again in verse 13 we see that being in the body of Christ unites us regardless of race or social status.
13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
e.g. I am not a Cubs fan, I grew up going to SF Giants and Oakland A’s games. I have lived in the Chicago area for 17 years now and am united by common experience with Cub fans. Here’s what that means. If I were to go to a Cubs game and if I were sitting in the bleachers and if the opposing team hit a home run, even if it were by an SF Giant or an Oakland A player, I would . . . “Throw it back!” Yep.
In the Church, we are united with one another because of our connection with each other through the Holy Spirit. Now, even though we are united and racial and social barriers and distinctions are gone, it is still true that
C. The body is diverse.
C. The body is diverse.
We have a unity, but we also have diversity. Let’s think again about the body analogy. Just as we have feet and hands in our human bodies, different parts with different functions, so it is in the body of Christ. Diversity in our day often refers to racial or social diversity, but that isn’t the focus here. If that is not the diversity in view here, what is it? What is it that set us apart from one another? What makes us into the different parts of the Body of Christ? I am so glad you asked. It is our particular role.
2. There are distinct roles for the members of the body. 1 Cor. 12:1-11
2. There are distinct roles for the members of the body. 1 Cor. 12:1-11
In the analogy we read in verses 12-26 the roles are associated with Body part, a foot, hand, ear, eye, etc. In fact, the roles
A. These are called spiritual gifts.
A. These are called spiritual gifts.
Look back in your Bibles with me at the 1 Cor. 12:1-3
1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.
This analogy of the Church as a body is set in the context of spiritual gifts. This is an important topic, one which Paul is going to teach them. He continues,
2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
Paul is saying that before the Corinthians were Christians, they followed pagan idols, they felt drawn to them. They experienced their false religions in an ecstatic fashion. Paul says there is a way to be able to distinguish between manifestations that come from the Holy Spirit and those that don’t. The key is, “how does the Lordship of Jesus fit into the experience?” That will guide all of Paul’s teaching.
Okay, there is something called spiritual gifts. What is a spiritual gift? Let’s continue reading.
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.
First, we see that they are
B. They are supernatural enablements.
B. They are supernatural enablements.
The Trinity gives them.
They are supernatural because the Trinity is involved in giving them to us, Spirit v. 4, Lord, v. 5, God, v. 6.
They have supernatural effectiveness
They are supernatural because have supernatural effectiveness – notice in v. 6 “God who empowers them all.” This is a cool thing. Every believer has an area of his or her life in which God will work His power in a special way.
e.g. George Mueller, Greg Laurie, ushers . . .!
They aren’t natural.
Don’t confuse them with talents, passions, skill or experience. It may be that our gift functions in an area where we have a natural talent or we have skill, but that is different from the gift. We will see this more clearly when we get into the gifts.
Verses 7 – 11 give us more details about spiritual gifts.
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 a message of wisdom, to another a message 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.
Did you notices verse 7 and verse 11 both say “to each”.
C. Each person has at least one gift.
C. Each person has at least one gift.
Do you realize that you have a gift from God that He has given you to be used for Him, for His glory? Verse 11 tells us who decides what gift you have.
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
The Spirit decides what role/gift we have. It is done, you don’t need to choose. What you need to do is discover it, develop it and use it!
OK, why do we have spiritual gifts? We see the answer here in verse 7 as well as in other Scripture passages. “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
D. Your gift is for the good of the Body.
D. Your gift is for the good of the Body.
For the common good means that you have the potential to benefit others. You can have a positive impact on the body of Christ. There are several different ways you can benefit the body.
12 So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.
26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.
12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
You are part of building up of the Church. 1 Corinthians 14:12, 26; Ephesians 4:12
We also see in 1 Peter 4:10
10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
We use our gifts to serve one another.1 Peter 4:10
In 1 Peter 4:10 a slightly different emphasis is placed on the purpose of spiritual gifts, namely to serve one another.
Spiritual gifts are NOT for personal gratification or to give us a sense of personal fulfillment. That may happen, but that is NOT what they are for!
e.g. Consumer mentality in the church versus servant mentality. NOT “What does this church offer me?” but “Father, Son and Spirit, is this where you want me to serve?”
Bringing this all together, I hope by now you see that
3. The Body needs you! Eph. 4:11-16
3. The Body needs you! Eph. 4:11-16
In 1980 I lived in NYC. I looked for a long time before I found the church where God wanted me. When I found it, I knew right away. However, I didn’t know where I would serve. The church was about 250 people and had a senior pastor, two associate pastors and a pastoral intern. I didn’t know why God wanted me there but I felt He did so I stayed. Within one year the two associate pastors and the pastoral intern all moved away. God provided me with an opportunity to preach and teach, my first real opportunity to do so on a regular basis.
Let’s begin reading with verse 11.
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Some of us have body’s that don’t work so well. A while back I tweaked my knee and had trouble going up and down stairs! Is the Church stumbling these days?
The purpose of the Body – to reach the world for Jesus!
The purpose of the gifts – to help the Body reach that goal! To supply what is lacking, to do your part.
How do you know what your gift is? There are Bible studies on spiritual gifts and spiritual gift surveys. These help point us in the right direction. Here are some questions to help you identify your gift.
What needs in the church are important to you, tug at your heart?
What do you dream about doing for God?
What kind of service gives you the most satisfaction?
What is something others have told you that you do effectively in the church?
It isn’t as important to know what your gift is as it is to be using it to build up the church.
This year our emphasis as a church is going to be on evangelism. We don’t all have the gift of evangelism just like we don’t all have the gift of mercy or giving or leading.
Evangelism is important for the church to grow. We are going to form a church health team that will be made of people with different gifts to help us figure out how we can do evangelism better. We need planners, prayers, helpers and doers.
When I come back from India we will form this team and start working on the plan for how to do need oriented evangelism. Would you pray every day that we as a church grow as God wants us to grow? Will you pray that we become evangelistic? Would you pray that we all use our gifts to build up and help one another?
Discussion Questions:
Discussion Questions:
What needs in the church are important to you, tug at your heart?
What do you dream about doing for God?
What kind of service gives you the most satisfaction?
What is something others have told you that you do effectively in the church?