August 5, 2019 FOR THE COMMON GOOD
1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 14 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For the body is not one member, but many.”
Believe it or not, like it or not, others in the body of Christ need you, and you need them.
The way that God designed the body of Christ goes against the culture in which we live where independency is the norm. From the verses above, we learn that each believer is given a particular expression of the Spirit of God. God has gifted each believer with a certain spiritual gift(s) and it is by each member exercising these gifts that the body of Christ is edified and built up in the faith. If we are not connected to other members of the body, then we are lacking what others can supply through their expression of the Spirit of God, and they lack what we can supply. God is concerned about the ‘common good’ of the body, and through the work of the Holy Spirit in each member, He gives what is needed in order for individual members and the body as a whole to be spiritually healthy and maturing in the faith. If we believe that we do not need other believers, then we are in conflict with the scripture. See 1 Corinthians 12. For us to grow in the faith and for the body to function as God designed, we must understand that each one of us has been given a ‘manifestation of the Spirit for the common good,’ and we must be about expressing the gift given to us by God. We did not decide to join the body of Christ-God has placed us in the body just as He desired. 1 Corinthians 12:18. Each of us have contributions to make to the other members that no one else can make. When we understand the importance of each having a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good, we see that participating in the body (the church) is really non-optional if we are to be spiritually healthy. Expressing our spiritual gift is not reserved for the Sunday morning meeting; functioning in our gifting is a way of life. If you are not familiar with the various spiritual gifts, study the various section of scriptures that list the spiritual gifts and how they operate. Often, other believers can recognize our spiritual gifting quicker than we can; if we are walking in the Spirit and not according to the flesh, our spiritual gifting becomes evident when we spend time with other believers. God loves His church, and He loves us, and He has gifted each of us in such a way that we can grow in our faith and be spiritually healthy-so let us find our place in the body where we do experience the ‘manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.’
1 Corinthians 12:11-12 “But one and the same Spirit works all things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. 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.”
Blessings,
Buddy
August 5, 2019 FOR THE COMMON GOOD
1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 14 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For the body is not one member, but many.”
Believe it or not, like it or not, others in the body of Christ need you, and you need them.
The way that God designed the body of Christ goes against the culture in which we live where independency is the norm. From the verses above, we learn that each believer is given a particular expression of the Spirit of God. God has gifted each believer with a certain spiritual gift(s) and it is by each member exercising these gifts that the body of Christ is edified and built up in the faith. If we are not connected to other members of the body, then we are lacking what others can supply through their expression of the Spirit of God, and they lack what we can supply. God is concerned about the ‘common good’ of the body, and through the work of the Holy Spirit in each member, He gives what is needed in order for individual members and the body as a whole to be spiritually healthy and maturing in the faith. If we believe that we do not need other believers, then we are in conflict with the scripture. See 1 Corinthians 12. For us to grow in the faith and for the body to function as God designed, we must understand that each one of us has been given a ‘manifestation of the Spirit for the common good,’ and we must be about expressing the gift given to us by God. We did not decide to join the body of Christ-God has placed us in the body just as He desired. 1 Corinthians 12:18. Each of us have contributions to make to the other members that no one else can make. When we understand the importance of each having a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good, we see that participating in the body (the church) is really non-optional if we are to be spiritually healthy. Expressing our spiritual gift is not reserved for the Sunday morning meeting; functioning in our gifting is a way of life. If you are not familiar with the various spiritual gifts, study the various section of scriptures that list the spiritual gifts and how they operate. Often, other believers can recognize our spiritual gifting quicker than we can; if we are walking in the Spirit and not according to the flesh, our spiritual gifting becomes evident when we spend time with other believers. God loves His church, and He loves us, and He has gifted each of us in such a way that we can grow in our faith and be spiritually healthy-so let us find our place in the body where we do experience the ‘manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.’
1 Corinthians 12:11-12 “But one and the same Spirit works all things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. 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.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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