Timeless Truths Series: Body Building - The Workout #1
Body Building - The Workout #1
This week presents excerpts from a series titled Body Building.
Series Theme: “…we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 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.”
Ephesians 4:15-16
<See also 1 Corinthians 12-13 where Spiritual Gifts are discussed.>
All Scripture quotations are from the NIV.
Spiritual Gifts
- What are they?
- Who gets them?
- Why do some get more than others?
- How do I know if I have one?
- What am I supposed to do with this gift?
Those are only some of the many questions to be addressed in the remainder of this series.
- We often make some improper assumptions about spiritual gifts.
- Wrong assumptions can lead us to make incorrect conclusions.
Here’s the definition we’ll use:
A Spiritual Gift is given by God, discovered and used by me, for the good of the Body of Christ.
This week and next week we look at 1 Corinthians 12. Part #3 of The Workout looks at 1 Corinthians 13 as we consider…
GOD’S DESIGN FOR THE BODY…
- God is the great designer.
- He was and is intentional in His design.
- The design was and is perfect.
- The flaws and failures we see in the Body of Christ are not the results of the design.
- The flaws and failures we see in the Body of Christ result from the fact that we don’t understand the design or we try and fight the design.
- Sometimes we fight the design unknowingly, but often intentionally.
1. UNITY – The GIFT of the Spirit (12:1-13)
As Jesus faced the cross, He prayed for His disciples, He prayed for the coming church, He prayed for us, and His prayer was for Unity.
Important things Christ knew.
1. Real unity was not possible unless the Holy Spirit was alive and active in the life of His followers.
2. Unbelievable things could be accomplished if the Body of Christ was united in their efforts.
3. We need the gift of the Holy Spirit.
What happens when you receive that gift?
a. We CONFESS the same LORD. (vs. 1-3)
“…no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (v.3c)
When you begin to talk about essentials and majoring on the majors instead of the minors, confessing Christ as Lord is non-negotiable.
b. We DEPEND on the same GOD. (vs. 4-6)
“There are different kinds of working, but the SAME God works all of them in men.” (v.6)
- God is the source of spiritual gifts.
- You may have more gifts than I do.
- Your gift may be more visible than mine.
- We are all dependent upon the same God.
c. We MINISTER to the same BODY. (vs. 7-11)
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the COMMON good.” (v. 7)
- This verse tells us very succinctly that we are in this together.
- There may be a variety of churches, but there is only one Body of Christ.
- That means we celebrate what is being done by other members of the Body instead of trying to compete with them.
d. We EXPERIENCE the same BAPTISM. (vs. 12-14)
“For we were all baptized by one Spirit into ONE body.” (v. 13a)
Do you see the picture?
- Different gifts,
- Different personalities and temperaments,
- Different places in the world where the gifts are being utilized,
but
- the same Christ,
- the same God,
- the same Body, and
- the same Baptism.
- A church that is fighting has forgotten what they share in common.
- That’s not to say that there is not some conflict.
- Conflict can be good, even healthy.
Jesus didn’t pray that everyone would live happily ever after.
He prayed that there would be unity in the Body.
Unity is the first characteristic in the design. The second is…
…next week’s Timeless Truth.
Special thanks to Dr. Keith Newman for the primary teachings used in this post.
Next Thursday's Timeless Truths Series: Body Building - The Workout #2
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