November 10, 2018 TO EACH ONE
1 Corinthians 12: 1, 7 “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.” “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Through a super-natural act of God, each believer has the Spirit of God living in them for the purpose of revealing Christ, for leading and guiding, and for power to live the Christian life. In various places in the New Testament, there are scriptures that list the various spiritual gifts and give instruction on the use of these gifts. When a believer is walking in fellowship with God, his or her spiritual gifting is obvious to all; you do not have to convince a believer to express his gifting-it just happens. Believers need to be instructed in regards to expressing their gifting within the body of Christ, and there is a place for encouraging believers to put their gift to use. With that background, today I want to remind us and encourage us in the fact that God has given to us the Holy Spirit and each of us have been given a specific spiritual gift(s); Paul said that he did not want believers to be unaware of this reality. It’s important to know that spiritual gifts or not given to exalt us or to make us feel ‘special’. God loves His body, the church, and He makes every provision for the body in order for it to be healthy and to fulfill its purpose. It is God’s design that the members of the body need each other and God uses the spiritual gifts of the individual members to contribute to the body that which is needed for maturity, encouragement, and instruction. In verse 11 we read: “But the one and same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.” Not only is it awesome to know, it’s also crucial to know that you and I as members of the body of Christ, can ‘manifest’ the Spirit for the common good of the body. It is a sad commentary that many believers in our day do not know their place in the body and are unaware of the fact that they are needed in the body and that they need the body. Paul illustrates this point of members needing each other in verses 18 and 21: “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.” “And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you.’” The church is not to be a place where we go just to hear a good sermon and hear good music; the church, as God designed it, is to be a place where we go not only to be blessed, but also to bless others as we employ our spiritual gifting and to be a part of God expressing Himself to the body. We need to develop the mindset that being active in the body of Christ is not an option, but is necessary for us and for others if we are to mature in the faith. If you are a believer, God has given you a spiritual gift and a unique way for you to manifest the work of the Spirit to others. Let us reject the cultural theme of individualism and let us embrace the fact that God has placed us in His body, the church, where He has gifted each member for the edification of the body.
1 Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
Romans 12:6a “And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly.”
Blessings,
Buddy
1 Corinthians 12: 1, 7 “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.” “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Through a super-natural act of God, each believer has the Spirit of God living in them for the purpose of revealing Christ, for leading and guiding, and for power to live the Christian life. In various places in the New Testament, there are scriptures that list the various spiritual gifts and give instruction on the use of these gifts. When a believer is walking in fellowship with God, his or her spiritual gifting is obvious to all; you do not have to convince a believer to express his gifting-it just happens. Believers need to be instructed in regards to expressing their gifting within the body of Christ, and there is a place for encouraging believers to put their gift to use. With that background, today I want to remind us and encourage us in the fact that God has given to us the Holy Spirit and each of us have been given a specific spiritual gift(s); Paul said that he did not want believers to be unaware of this reality. It’s important to know that spiritual gifts or not given to exalt us or to make us feel ‘special’. God loves His body, the church, and He makes every provision for the body in order for it to be healthy and to fulfill its purpose. It is God’s design that the members of the body need each other and God uses the spiritual gifts of the individual members to contribute to the body that which is needed for maturity, encouragement, and instruction. In verse 11 we read: “But the one and same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.” Not only is it awesome to know, it’s also crucial to know that you and I as members of the body of Christ, can ‘manifest’ the Spirit for the common good of the body. It is a sad commentary that many believers in our day do not know their place in the body and are unaware of the fact that they are needed in the body and that they need the body. Paul illustrates this point of members needing each other in verses 18 and 21: “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.” “And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you.’” The church is not to be a place where we go just to hear a good sermon and hear good music; the church, as God designed it, is to be a place where we go not only to be blessed, but also to bless others as we employ our spiritual gifting and to be a part of God expressing Himself to the body. We need to develop the mindset that being active in the body of Christ is not an option, but is necessary for us and for others if we are to mature in the faith. If you are a believer, God has given you a spiritual gift and a unique way for you to manifest the work of the Spirit to others. Let us reject the cultural theme of individualism and let us embrace the fact that God has placed us in His body, the church, where He has gifted each member for the edification of the body.
1 Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
Romans 12:6a “And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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