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Members of one body
Text: Romans 12:3-8
Spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12)
- The Holy Ghost testifies that Jesus Christ is the son of God (vss 1-3)
- In this new covenant, the knowledge of God is first defined as understanding that Jesus Christ is the LORD and the Son of God.
- John 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
- Jesus asks Peter who do you say that I am? Peter says you’re the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus says that’s true and flesh and blood havent revealed that to you, that revelation comes from the Father through the Spirit of God (Matthew 16:17 and 1 John 4:2-3).
- This Holy Spirit is the singular spirit that works in all the children of God who are partakers of this new covenant (vss 4-11)
- Spiritual gifts are things individuals bring to the congregation in the redemptive work of the ministry.
- Take faith for instance in verse 9. Fatih comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The Holy Ghost authors scripture as holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and a soul trusts those words by faith.
- How about working of miracles in verse 10? I don’t know how often that happens today, but it certainly happened for the apostles. Look at what Paul said about it in Galatians 3:5-7.
- How about wisdom in verse 8? The Spirit of God authors the law to the nation of Israel and Moses says this, Deuteronomy 4:6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
- So it’s one holy Spirit that directs and guides in the ministry of reconciliation in verse 11.
- Paul uses an illustration of the body to describe the Spirit of God working in true believers’ lives (vss 12-26)
- The measurement is Jesus Christ. Ephesians 4:13. Hence the unity. Use the word standard for measurement and that’s the idea.
- Not everyone is doing the same thing.
- Be humble because you’re not the standard.
- Be unified because, again, you’re not the standard.
- You’re not limited to a single “gift” either. You can participate in the Lord’s ministry in multiple ways. The reality is that a Christian may exhibit all of these gifts depending on what time they are in life. Depending on their circumstances in life.
- You may find yourself at a time in life when you’re making a lot of money and can afford to be much more generous than other times. That’s the grace of God and so with that gift, Paul says, give with simplicity.
- You may be at a point in your life where you’ve learned the scriptures enough to pass them on to others. This doesn’t happen when you’re a teenager or because you read a commentary of some personality you like. But you may actually know the scriptures and have an opportunity to pass on your wisdom.
- Nobody is pigeonholed into one grace. Sometimes these are seasonal, sometimes these are based on your diligence. We’ve made too much of having A SINGLE GIFT. There are seven gracious gifts listed here. In the OT Israelites would bring their gifts to the Tabernacle and to the altar.
Prophecy
- 1 Corinthians 13:2 understand all mysteries and all knowledge
- 1 Corinthians 14:1-3 it is a speaking gift that edifies the flock.
- according to the proportion of faith – It means don’t preach above what’s been revealed to you. If you read it in a book by a guy you like, that doesn’t mean you know it’s true.
Ministry
- Help as the first time the word shows up in the Bible in Exodus 24:13
- Service, wait as in waiting tables
- you’ll find deacons had this gift – Acts 6:1 … daily ministration (ministry)
- “support staff”, when a burden began to encroach on the apostles in Jerusalem so that they could not do the work God called them to, these ministers provided the support so the apostles could do what they were called to do. In that way, it was a gift that was largely logistical, but the men had to be spiritually qualified for the job (Acts 6:3)
Teaching
- Ability to take a principal or a truth and deconstruct it, then reconstruct it, and pass all of that on to someone else (1 Timothy 1:3).
- When you buy a desk at Wal-Mart it comes with something called instructions. That is the teacher taking a deconstructed object, identifying the pieces, where they go, how they fit together, and constructing a useful object. Exodus 18:20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
- Paul said he was a preacher, apostle, and teacher of the Gentiles in 1 and 2 Timothy.
Exhortation
- Moving someone to make a decision.
- Luke 3:18 John the Baptist exhortation means getting someone to make a decision and change their course of action.
Giving
- Simplicity means to give without expectation or ulterior motives.
- To give to be a blessing.
Ruling
- with diligence
- Proverbs 12:24 The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.
- Diligent is a careful accounting of something. The gift of ruling is someone who carefully accounts for your soul (Hebrews 13:17).
- The opposite of diligent is negligent.
Mercy
- with cheerfulness
- grace to be merciful without being bitter against them
