Called Together

We have been talking about how God is calling us as individuals but I want to examine how callings interact with each other

From what you can see how does a modern church start and grow?

Why are there so many churches - what does that say about the body of Christ?

How has capitalism and the worlds system effeced the way we view our gifts?

what is the purpose of our gifts

1 Corinthians 12:1–3 NLT

Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.

;-

First Paul establishes what we already know: these gifts are given and governed by the spirit of God

gen 1

Genesis 1

By why does Paul talk about idols in this beginning to a log lesson about gifts?

Derek Prime writes in opening up corinthians

Paul establishes the foundations of his answer in six ways:

1. It is important not to be ignorant about spiritual gifts (v. 1).

Literally, Paul’s term in verse 1 is ‘spiritual matters’ but verse 4 and Paul’s use of the Greek word charisma indicate that spiritual gifts are his subject.

2. More important than spiritual gifts, however, are new birth and the great proof of spiritual birth—the confession of Jesus as Lord (vv. 2–3).

To call Jesus ‘Lord’ (v. 3), and really to mean it, is the Spirit’s work in a person’s life, since the Lordship of Jesus is not a matter of human discovery but of spiritual revelation. Preoccupation with spiritual gifts can mean that Christians forget the far greater wonder of their new birth.

1. It is important not to be ignorant about spiritual gifts (v. 1).

Literally, Paul’s term in verse 1 is ‘spiritual matters’ but

2. More important than spiritual gifts, however, are new birth and the great proof of spiritual birth—the confession of To call Jesus ‘Lord’ (v. 3), and really to mean it, is the Spirit’s work in a person’s life, since the Lordship of Jesus is not a matter of human discovery but of spiritual revelation. Preoccupation with spir

To call Jesus ‘Lord’ (v. 3), and really to mean it, is the Spirit’s work in a person’s life, since the Lordship of Jesus is not a matter of human discovery but of spiritual revelation. Preoccupation with spiritual gifts can mean that Christians forget the far greater wonder of their new birth.

MSG I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.

Gifts shouldn’t be a distraction

Romans 12:1–6 NLT

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.

What do you notice about this text that you may not have realized before?

This passage says dont be over concerned with your gifts like the world is

what are some consequences of mixing up our priorities when it comes to gifts.

So how do we put this thing in perspective

MSG I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body

1 cor 12:12-18 MSG

You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.

14–18 I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it so? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.

every gift we have should function as one unit.

but what does that mean?

is that each church is its own body?

What if we took this body thing to the max

What if each person was a cell or part of a Cell?

churches as organs

Organizations as organ functions

so what would happen if we didn’t value one part of the body

Romans 12:7–10 NLT

If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.