Lesson 244: "Group Effort"
We continue to look for spiritual super-heroes! We search out super Christians who can serve, teach and cook up a great meal for church gatherings. Stop looking! There are no great men of God but a great God that uses flesh and blood men and women. Not larger than life but sluggish in the flesh that sometimes is not willing even when out spirit is. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the body is weak” (Matt. 26:41). There are no teachings on the spiritual gifts or the fruits of the gifts or the Christian life without emphasizing the Body of Christ. Although the gifts are given individual as the Spirit wills, the gifts’ results come from within a group effort. Christians are part of the Body of Christ and cannot effectively work alone, although many have tried. From the beginning God said; “it is not good for a man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18) and since the time He made a helper for Adam we have developed a network; an interdependence; a connection; and have become joined at the spirit (Rom. 12:5). Each gift God gives an individual is meant to lead us into a fuller “partnership” with outers who may have different gifts. Gifts you receive from the Spirit are not to make you superior to others but rather to build up, encourage and at times inform and/or teach other members of the Body. It is not wrong to seek out your gift or ask God for gifts; however, remember these gifts are free and cannot be earned (just like salvation).
When you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you received the Holy Spirit and it is He who gives the gifts (1 Cor. 12:11). The believers must seek to be led by the Spirit and not merely gifted by the Spirit. Spiritual maturity is not a sign that you are gifted but rather a sign that you are allowing the Holy Spirit to use the gift through you. Remember too, that Paul said you could have all the gifts, do all the church requires of you, but if you have not love you are nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-7). So yes! Gifts can be misused! You may be “turned off” by gifts simply because others boast and think too highly of themselves and the fact that “they only” are gifted (Rom. 12:13). When this happens, do not blame the gifts, the Holy Spirit or God. Some spiritually gifted people may be misusing their gifts simply because they do not know enough about the works of the Holy Spirit and have not fully committed themselves to the work of God through the gifts. Jesus described the Holy Spirit as the Counselor/coach but unless the student of the Counselor is willing to follow, the gifts are wasted. You can easily spot a true gifted follower (Gal. 5:22-26).
Exercise will wake up your physical body and give you energy, meeting your “health” needs; however all of this will not benefit anyone else. On the other hand, if you exercise your spiritual gifts, in love for others, the benefits to them will be overwhelming. Too, if you are feeling a bit down and feeling that your needs are not being met, perhaps you are not using your spiritual gifts to help others. I have been told that the quickest way to receive healing is to pray for someone else’s healing. Try it! We are not here to be ministered to but to minister to others; you know? Like Jesus (Matt. 20:28).
We humans get things done by using the parts of our physical bodies; the primary way that God gets things done on earth is by using the parts of His Body (His Church). The all powerful God has control over everything and could do very well without us but gives us the privilege, the honor, the wisdom and the knowledge through Christ within the Christian to be the arms and legs and heart to do His will on earth. “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Rom. 12:4-5). “After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it just as Christ does the Church, for we are members of His Body” (Eph. 5:29-30). Those who are in Christ belong not to themselves but to the Body as a whole; to each other; for the common good; to accomplish God’s will. It is absurd to think that an individual Christian can be truly healthy without others. If a part of a human body is cut off it will physically die; if a part (one person) of the Christian Body is cut off they will spiritually die. The human body will survive after the loss of a part but the part will be missed and in some cases the body will be crippled; unable to do all the things it used to do so well. Separating oneself from the Christian Body will leave the entire Body a bit crippled and leave the absentee much weaker when he/she is out in the world all alone. The Body will survive but your gifts and talents will be missed.
WHAT A DIFFICULT POSITION GOD HAS PUT “ME” IN BY HIS SAYING THAT EVERY DIFFERENT KIND OF PERSON HAS A VALUABLE PLACE IN HIS BODY. BY DIRECTING HIS HOLY WORD TO HONOR ALL AGES, RACES, LIKES, STYLES, ABILITIES AND PASSIONS (not to mention opinions); GOD REALLY MADE IT HARD ON ME. I HAVE BEEN TALKING TO HIM FOR YEARS ABOUT HOW THE CHURCH NEEDS TO BE RUN AND HOW EVERY MEMBER SHOULD BE MORE LIKE ME! AND HE JUST KEEPS SENDING PEOPLE LIKE YOU! EACH ONE DIFFERENT! Try with me to not only see Christ in your hands, feet and all parts of your body, but also to see Christ in the body parts of your brothers and sisters in Christ. They are, after all, part of you! “From Him the whole Body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Eph. 4:16).