Book of Romans Lesson #31
Romans 12:3 – 12:8
January 28, 2015
By Rev. James May
The Apostle Paul, in Chapter 12, has begun a series of very practical teachings on how we should live our lives daily in order to please the Lord. In the first two verses that we covered last week, we discovered that God has only one demand, and the demand he makes upon us as Christians is something that God considers to be a very reasonable demand. Of course, what God demands is that we give all that we are in service to him and that we give our own bodies as living sacrifices to be used for the work of God and give him glory.
Thus we are all called to be servants to the Lord in this life. Though we may establish a sort of chain of command in the church for the sake of governing the church administratively and spiritually; there truly is no difference in our position in the Lord. All are servants and there is only One Master and One Head of the Church; and that is the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
Paul recognizes the fact that he too is only a servant. When it comes to being a Born Again Child of God, we are all on a level playing field. There is not one above another; no one more important than another; and certainly, no one loved more than another.
But even though Paul knows that we are all servants, he knows too that in the church there will be offices and positions that will be necessary to keep the church operating in an orderly fashion. Paul also knows that he has been given the great blessing of being in a position of authority within the church. Paul has been called to be an Apostle, a position that required him to teach, to lead, to establish and, at times, to discipline other Christians who were weaker in the faith than he was.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
What does Paul mean when uses the word “grace” in this verse? Grace, as Paul used it here, means that he has been given an apostleship, and with that position in the church, he is also given the authority and power to be an apostle. Because of this “grace” given to him, Paul knew that he was to command, give orders and give instructions to other leaders in the church.
The thing that we see in the church is that there are a lot of people who choose to take over a position and then use that position to usurp authority, and then use that authority to act more like a slave driver, or taskmaster. God called no one to be the leader. He is alone is the Head of the church. No matter what your abilities, or how strong they are seen In the church, You are still a servant, no higher or lower than anyone else.
The special gifts to lead and teach are not there for you to use as tools to gain power and rule with legalism. Those special gifts, given by God, are there to help you be a better servant to the people.
No matter what our position or authority in the church, no one has the right to think of himself/herself as someone more important than anyone else. You didn’t earn the right to have that grace that God has given; and none of us are lift ourselves so high on a pedestal that men look to us more than God for their answers.
A true servant of God will just be satisfied that a great work is being done. They won’t demand recognition. They won’t try to take over everything and rule as though they alone know what should be done.
Greater ability does not translate into a greater class of Christian. A pastor, a teacher, a prophet, an evangelist, or even an Apostle has no reason to think too highly of himself and demand the obedience and service of his peers. We are all servants together, working together as best we can to accomplish a work for the Lord.
One thing that I think we should all remember is that no matter how much we would want to, or how hard we try, we can never reach an equal position with Christ in the Church.
Jesus is the Head, the ministry of the church is only the neck, and the Body of Christ is only controlled by the Head, not the neck. Without the Head, the rest is Dead! Without the mind, the Body doesn’t function correctly. Without the Head, the neck won’t turn, bend or bow. Without the Head, all functions of the body cease. Not one of us is the Head! We are all servants of the Head, doing our work only as the Head directs.
I might be a part of the neck that is closest to the head, and perhaps someone may think of themselves as just a little toe, or a pinky finger that are a long way from the Head, but remember; when the Head is not connected, everything from the neck to the toes all becomes one together in death.
One other thing to think about is that unless you are connected to the Head, listening to the Lord Jesus Christ, hearing his voice and following his Word, then all you’re hearing are the words of another servant. I want to get my direction right from the Source; right from the Head; from Christ alone!
Servants can help one another, encourage one another and do a lot of great things to support one another along the path of life, but only the Head can truly give life! Jesus alone is your source of life and never forget it.
We are to keep ourselves in a well-balanced life, thinking with a level head and being serious about that which God is doing in us. God has given the gift of faith to every one of us so that none may say that he is better than another. We have faith enough to believe, faith enough to receive, faith enough to work and faith enough to be saved. Your faith is sufficient for all things; but it does need exercising to become stronger.
Romans 12:4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
Romans 12:5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
As I read these verses, my mind began to picture the different parts of the human anatomy that I studied back in high school and college. If you remember those classes, you will also remember how hard it was to memorize the names of every part that would be listed on the test. A diagram would be shown, with arrows pointing to the various parts, and perhaps each arrow would then refer to a number or a blank line where you had to write the name of the part of the body that was shown.
Here are a few examples of what I’m speaking about.
Now these are only two parts of the body. The first will be an ear and the second a heart, but look at all of the names of the parts that make up just these two parts; and I’m certain that in more detailed drawings for medical school, there are more parts of the parts of these parts that I haven’t learned about. The human body can get very intricate in detail and if you’re going to major in any medical field, it takes many years of education just to get to the beginning of what you need to know.
Looking at these drawings I counted at least 11 major parts of an ear and 31 parts of the heart.
Now what if the right coronary artery said, “I hate being in this position. I never get any rest. My work never stops. And to make matters worse, nobody pays any attention to me. I quit! I moving to different position in this body. I’ll bet the church of the ear has more going on than I do. They’re always hearing good things.” So, the artery stops doing its job, disconnects from its position and begins to move. How far do you think he will get? Suddenly we discover that the whole body is in real trouble, all because one artery quit doing his job.
Now that the Heart Church is in trouble, let’s go check out what’s happening at the Ear Church. Oh, wait, the Heart Church and Ear Church are a part of the same body. If the Heart Church suffers it affects the Ear Church too. They are interconnected within the same body.
Okay, so let’s say that the right coronary artery repented of its rebellion and quickly got back into its proper position and is now working as it should to do whatever the body needs.
But now there are sounds of discord and rumblings within the Ear Church. It seems that the eardrum has begun to fester and rebel. I can hear the eardrum now, “All I ever get to do is sit here and get beat on by everything that comes down the canal. I hear everything that’s going on, but I never see anything. I hate this job! No one cares and they are constantly poking at me with something. I’ll show them! I quit!”
So the eardrum quits and now what happens? He decides that he wants to be part of the eye so he can not only hear, but can see what’s happening in the world around him. But Lo and behold, he now can’t hear because he’s out of place, and he can’t see either because he was never created to be part of the eye. Now the whole body suffers again. The ears are deaf and infection has set in; a deadly infection that can poison the body. The eye becomes infected as well because there’s an eardrum trying to get into the eyeball and now the eye is becoming blinded too.
And in a short time, the entire body is in an uproar because the coronary artery started a rebellion, then the eardrum and ear got infected; and then the eyes started going blind; and now the whole body is hurting, and unless there is a healing process that starts immediately; the whole body is in danger of dying.
I know that all of this sounds ridiculous, but that’s exactly what happens anytime one of us decides that we are going to rebel against God’s perfect plan, quit doing what we’ve been created and called to do in the Body of Christ, which is the Church, and go hunting for some new thing elsewhere in the body without the direct leading of the Master.
We are all parts of the Body of Christ. And no matter what part you are, are what part of a part you are; it is essential to the wellness and operation of the entire Body that you stay where God put you and do your job that he has given you to do.
We know what happens when a part of this human body stops. It’s serious business that can lead to amputation, infection and even death. Do we not understand that the same thing happens when a part of the Body of Christ stops working? Churches die for lack of workers in the right places at the right times! Ministries cease to exist because someone just gets tired and decides to walk away! Other members in the church, the ministry, and those we are trying to reach will all suffer if we fail to do our part, no matter how small we might think that part is.
One red blood cell might not seem to be too important, but let me poke a hole in your arm and watch those red blood cells pour through the breach in your arm and suddenly they become vitally important!
One white corpuscle in your bloodstream might not seem so important, but let them refuse to do their work and you won’t have to worry about anything in life in just a few days
.
Everybody sees the outside parts; the parts of the body that get all the recognition; but nobody sees all of the parts on the inside that keep the body alive and well.
We all are a part of the Body of Christ. We all are interconnected; not only here in our own church, but in every part of the Body of Christ all over the world. When the Body works in unity; life is the result; and strength to do a lot for the Kingdom of God. The thing that keeps the body alive is that we all work together under the Head and do what we are called upon to do.
It’s like the Apostle Paul said, We are all members of one body and we all have a different position and work to do, but no matter who you are, or where you are in the Body of Christ, we are of the same body, working together for the same purpose and we are all equally called to serve the body and all equally as important for the body to be whole.
A complete body is one that has all its parts working together, and not one of us should be willing to allow one part to hurt any more than you would want me to pull just one hair out of your head.
Romans 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
Romans 12:7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Romans 12:8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
So here is Paul’s very practical teaching on being a part of a living, breathing, active and healthy Body of Christ!
Whatever position you have; and whatever gift the Head (the Lord) has assigned to you; do it with all of your heart! Dedicate yourself to the purpose that God has set before you.
What “grace” has Jesus put into your life? Has he graced you with a prophetic ministry? Then study prophecy, teach prophecy and prophecy of the greatness and wonder of God to the world and to the rest of the Body of Christ.
Has the Lord “graced” you with a gift to minister to others, giving them a helping hand or an encouraging word in times of need? Then get busy ministering. There are a lot of hurting people all around you, begging for someone to care!
Has the Lord “graced” you with the ability to teach, or to train others? Has he “graced“ you with the ability to lead others or to rule over, or be an administrator in the business of the church? Whatever God has graced you with; be about your Father’s business and make the Body of Christ as healthy in your area of ministry as you possibly can.
Never let it be said that the Body of Christ, and the work of the ministry suffered because you weren’t in your place, doing your job, at the time you were needed.
And above all else, guard your heart against Pride! Never think more highly, or more lowly, of yourself than you should. Pride pushes too far in either direction. It is a pride that we easily recognize that tells us that we are greater than we are and deserve more than we deserve. It is also pride that tells us that we are humbled, more humbled than another; and we take pride in our humility.
Let us not think of ourselves too highly because we know that we are all on a level playing field and we are all servants under one Head. And never too lowly for we must never forget that we are the “apple of His eye” and favored sons and daughters of God. Jesus gave his all for you. That’s how important you are to Him and to the Body of Christ!
In the process of fulfilling the calling of God upon your life, learn to enjoy the journey. Let the world see the joy that you have in serving the Lord and being a part of the Body of Christ!
