Spiritual Gifts Pt. 2: The Gift-Getters

For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way.

INTRO: Today is Pentecost Sunday- the Jewish holiday on which God poured out His Holy Spirit upon the disciples as recorded in Acts 2. It is fitting that we are in the midst of Paul’s teaching on Spiritual Gifts. If you missed last week, we focused mainly on how the reality of Spiritual Gifts demonstrates to us the character of God- His uniqueness, His generosity, and His sovereignty.

I wonder- How many of you have taken a spiritual gifts assessment and know or at least have an idea of how God has gifted you for His church?

Sometimes, because we lack understanding, we fail to put to use these gifts.

ILL: I remember as a teenager, receiving a graphing calculator. This calculator was supposed to help me in classes like pre-calculus. The problem, for me, was that I never really understood how to use it. I never truly used that thing at its potential because I failed to understand it nor did I understood calculus… it was a recipe for failure.

If we were to examine the gifts you have been given and how you are using them, what would it reveal about your understanding of God’s plan for you and for His church?

This morning, we will be looking at Pt. 2 of our Spiritual Gifts study. Today, we will spend time looking at what these spiritual gifts show us about the church and our role in it. This, I believe, is a very pragmatic lesson, so hopefully you will see the value in the time we spend studying together.

My prayer is that we will leave here with a clear picture of our purpose and a renewed desire to engage in it.

So, if you picked up a bulletin, I encourage you to make use of the sermon guide and follow along as we study Spiritual Gifts Pt. 2: The Gift-Getters.

We pick up our study in v. 12 as Paul highlights how Spiritual Gifts illustrate

The Divine Design of the Church (12-19)

Last week, we saw the recurring language Paul used to stress unity among the church members. That spills over as we see Paul describe God’s design for the church. Look with me at v.12-13 (READ)

Do you see the unifying language there? The church is one body, unified in Christ, yet with many members.

Paul uses the human body as a visual that everyone can easily see. Everyone there- and this might be shocking- had a body. He didn’t need to send them a PowerPoint diagram!

The church, Paul says, is one body. Because Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you are a member of this body. We see the reference back to the Lord’s Supper and Baptism - the 2 ordinances of the church (v.13) that symbolize this truth. Social class was not a factor, race or ethnicity was not a factor. The only factor is that we have been born again to a new life- a new identity in Jesus Christ!

And so, Paul points us back to God’s design for our bodies to help us grasp this more fully. Let me read 14-19 again (READ)

So, let’s pull out a couple truths here:

A church is not a single person nor a single gift set.

Again, we remember that in Corinth a lot of folks really emphasized and desired a certain gift. But Paul reminds them that there are a variety of gifts and for a good reason. Just because you are not gifted like another person does not make you an outcast, but actually proves the point that the body is made up of different members.

The imagery is kinda funny here. Can you imagine if you were only a hand…(there was a tv show about that…) or only an eye? - Let me ask you- is a hand any use apart from the body? Is an eye any use outside the head?

Now, we understand that notion to be absolutely absurd. The way our bodies work, you can’t just take parts and separate them… how healthy would your body be if just a single member? So also, a church is not a single member or gift.

A church is not accidental (18)

God, in His wisdom and sovereignty has placed each of you here and gifted you just has He desired.

In conversations with many of you, I’ve asked- what brought you to be a part of LRBC and the answers are as diverse as the people. But, even as we might think it to be coincidental or random, we must recognize that God has designed this church- He brought you here, he brought me here. This is His plan for this season. It’s purposeful and strategic, not accidental.

Discuss: Why is it important that the church be diverse in giftedness? How might a church’s makeup indicate its health?

Spiritual gifts, in all their varieties illustrate to us that God has designed His church as a single body. Of course, to better grasp how we fit, we need to dig our toes in a little deeper. Paul’s explanation in the following verses helps us to see

The Mutual Dependence of the Members (20-26)

Let’s read v. 20-26 again. (READ)

Paul reiterates the necessary unity of the church. If we are going to accomplish our mission, it will take every member using his or her giftedness faithfully.

A church is not just a gifted speaker or musician… That’s certainly helpful, but folks the only thing that will accomplish is an audience. But,

You are not an audience to be entertained; you are a church- an army of saints to be equipped to fulfill the mission of Christ!!

We cannot function like we do not have need of one another. There would be no effective ministry to our kids without compassionate volunteers who pour into them. There would be no outreach to our community without the administrative volunteers who sort out all those details. We need people who are encouragers, people who are planners, people who are doers, people who are generous and people who are thoughtful...

And we can see and recognize many of the folks who we know are hands-on in the ministries of LRBC. But there are others who you may not see, but are doing very important work.

You might be thinking that you cannot do a lot of the ministry that you see, but just like the human body has parts that are unseen, so does the church. And the unseen parts are often pretty vital.

ILL: Think about it: you may not be a visionary or a teacher or a counselor, but you might be a problem solver or a coordinator or an artist. Just because we cannot see the heart or lungs, it does not make them less important than hands or feet!

And so, just as my eyes are dependent upon by feet to take me where I see and my stomach dependent upon my hands and mouth to give nourishment, so are each of us dependent upon one another so that we can function and be healthy.

Specifically, we can point out

3 areas of mutual dependence:

Mutual Engagement - We must all be actively engaged in the mission of the church. (21-22)

I want you to imagine if you showed up to work and parts of your body decided not to come in with you. How effective will the carpenter be if his hands don’t show up? How effective will the doctor be if his eyes laid out of work? How would the 911 operator accomplish his job if his tongue had other plans for the day?

As a body- we cannot accomplish the mission of the church without the engagement of every member.

Mutual Support - Good health requires the whole body. (23-25)

If we want to become stronger and more mature as believers, we need the help of one another. The members that lack need support (24). An arm cannot take itself to the gym. An itchy back cannot scratch itself. We need the support and accountability of one another in order to be healthy. (25)

Mutual Care - We must care for one another. (25)

A few weeks ago, I hurt my knee. You know what, my whole body was affected! I limped, I couldn’t sleep well… I needed the care of my other members to restore my knee.

As a church, when one member is hurting, we are all affected and we hurt with them. We walk alongside them. Similarly, when one member receives honor- the whole body rejoices!

God designed the church to be a unified body made up of many members. Part of that design is that we are mutually dependent upon one another. If we hope to accomplish our mission, we must grasp this.

Discuss: How does the human body help us to understand the interdependence of the church body?

But finally, I want to point to the final key Paul gives. Spiritual gifts illustrate

The Deliberate Duty of the Church (27-31)

Even as we have talked about the unity of the church, we have to understand that the mission of the church is not simply to be a doer of good works or a gathering for head knowledge. No, the duty of the church is distinct from every social and civic charity.

Paul states it plainly in v. 27: (READ)

What does it mean that we are Christ’s body? It’s a picture of our clear identity- we are crucified with Christ, Paul tells the Galatians

Galatians 2:20 NASB95

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Our clear identity gives us clarity in our duty. We exist to glorify God by living out the calling He has placed upon us as being one with Christ.

This duty is lived out in the context of the local church.

V. 27 says, “… and individually members of it.”

Let me just pause here and address something that seems to come up time and again.

I have heard so many times people say they are Christian, but they don’t want to be part of a church. Here is the thing- yes, that’s possible. But if you desire to be faithful to God’s design, - to fulfill His mission and calling upon your life - then you cannot do that in isolation from the local church.

Think back to Paul’s comparison between the human body and the church: Unless the members of our body are connected, they will die… I'll let you connect the dots on that analogy.

God not only established the church, but He appointed roles- leadership roles (Apostles, prophets, and teachers) and then various service roles (miracles, healings, helps, administration, tongues).

The duty of living out our calling as Christ’s body can only be accomplished in the church. And this with the understanding that we all have diverse roles.

Not all people will be leaders, nor will all be teachers or administratively gifted folks. But, together, we are the body of Christ.

There’s one final note to make about this duty that is found in the first half of v.31. This is a transitional verse, but it gives us a command to desire earnestly the greater gifts, which presumably are those that are listed in v 28.

There can be much discussion around this, but what I believe we need to see is that as God gives out these gifts, it is our duty to desire that which will allow our lives to honor God through the building up of His church.

Desire for God to give you gifts to teach others so that you will be an effective disciple-maker.

Desire for God to gift you with boldness to proclaim the Gospel to the unsaved.

Desire the gifts that allow for missional work to plant churches and reach the lost.

This glorifies God and builds up His church.

As we wrap up our time together, there is much that you can and should take and apply to your life. As a Christian, you have been given spiritual gifts according to God’s design and mission for His church.

If we are going to be effective, if we are going to be faithful, we must understand how God has gifted us and placed us here in this church. This morning, I am asking you to respond to God’s call on your life.

Let me ask you- do you feel like there is something missing in your life? It may be that you are not using the gifts God has given to His glory. Perhaps you are like the servant in the parable of the talents who buried his talent in the ground, thinking he was being faithful yet who received harsh condemnation from his master.

I pray that is not you this morning. Folks, let us be faithful

Discuss: If the church is Christ’s body, and you are a member of it, what does that mean about your commitment and engagement in the church?

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