Equality or Unity
Morris, the loudmouth mechanic, was removing the cylinder heads from the motor of a car when he spotted a famous heart surgeon who was standing off to the side, waiting for the service manager to come take a look at his Mercedes.
Morris shouted across the garage, "Hey Doc! Is dat you? Come on ova’ here a minute."
The famous surgeon, a bit surprised, walked over to where Morris the mechanic was working on the car.
Morris straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag, and asked argumentatively, "So, Mr. Fancy Doctor, look at dis here work. I ALSO open hearts, take valves out, grind ’em, put in new parts, and when I finish dis baby will purr like a kitten. So how come you get da big bucks, when you an’ me is doing basically da same work?"
The surgeon leaned over and whispered to Morris the loudmouth mechanic, "Try doing it with the engine running."
2 Samuel 23:8-12, 18-23
These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains, he was called Adino the Eznite, because of eight hundred slain by him at one time; 9and after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had withdrawn. 10He arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword, and the LORD brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to strip the slain.
11Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into a troop, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. 12But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the LORD brought about a great victory.
For the sake of brevity here, I am leaving out the story of three more mighty men who broke through the lines of the Philistines to get water for David from Bethlehem. They endangered their lives just to satisfy the needs of their king. So moved by their act of bravery, David could not bring himself to drink of the precious water he so yearned for. Instead, he poured it out on the ground as a drink offering unto the Lord.
18And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred and killed them, and had a name as well as the three. 19He was most honored of the thirty, therefore he became their commander; however, he did not attain to the three.
20Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day. 21And he killed an Egyptian, an impressive man. Now the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear. 22These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name as well as the three mighty men. 23He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David appointed him over his guard.
The Three Mighty Men
1. Adino……..Ornament
His was a great feat…..800 men killed by one man in one battle. It made him chief among the "mighties" It seems that the mightiest man or the one who had accomplished the greatest feat was considered chief among the mighties.
2. Eleazar……..God is Helper
His was also a great feat…..A man, standing with his leader in the midst of an army, his comrades having run away, fighting and killing so many that his hand actually stuck to his sword. The other soldiers returned only to take the spoils.
3. Shammah……...To Stun, or Devastate, or Astonish
A great accomplishment. Shammah defended the battle ground alone after all Israel had fled, and God gave a great victory.
4. Abishai……..Father of a Gift
He also accomplished a great feat. He killed 300 men at one time with his spear. Made a great name for himself, but did not make the top three.
5. Benaiah…….God has Built
He had done many great things, three of which are listed here.
He slew 2 lion-like men of Moab.
He slew a lion in the midst of a pit in the middle of winter.
He slew an Egyptian who had a spear in his hand. He went to him with only a staff, plucked the spear out of his hand and killed the man with his own spear. Not so great?? The man was 10ft 5 in tall with a spear like a flag pole.
But he did not make the top three.
Now, having said all of that…..Turn quickly to
1Corinthians 12:18-28
But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 19And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 20But now there are many members, but one body. 21And 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." 22On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23and those members of the body, which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our unseemly members come to have more abundant seemliness, 24whereas our seemly members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. 28. 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.
“First . . . second . . . third” (The top three) was normally a designation of rank; most of the gifts after the first three seem to be listed randomly.
Romans 12:1-8
I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
3For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Stating it in just about the most simple terms I know, THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, THE BODY OF CHRIST, IS THE ASSEMBLY OF REDEEMED PARTS (saints). And stating it in what is one of the most important teachings in the New Testament concerning Christ and the church, Paul compares the life and service of the Christian church to a true unity, which can only be wrought by the Holy Spirit!
Paul wrote specifically to the first century Corinthian believers to remind them that 1 Cor. 12:12
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.
Then he continued 1 Cor. 12:13-14
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. 14For the body is not one member, but many.
Now, in our local church, We know that we are not an end in ourselves. We need to take a close look at the church, the Body of Christ, as a whole. If we are going to be what we ought to be in our home church, we must start thinking of ourselves as part of something so much bigger that God is doing throughout the entire world. Looking at the "big picture" gives us a real sense here that we actually "belong" …….. Belong to something that God has brought into being, belong to something that is worthy and valuable, belong to something that is going to last forever.
You know, sociologists and psychologists tell us that a rejected child, one who no longer belongs to anyone, will develop dangerous mental and nervous traits. They tell us that neighborhood kids who roam and terrorize the streets come mostly from homes where they have been rejected. Many of our young children cannot remember being loved by a mother or a father, so they come together and find some sort of answer to their own need for belonging….. and form or join a gang. This need to belong is stronger than almost any other emotional need that we may have. Gangs are proof that we will do negative things, wrongful things, hurtful things, sinful things …. just to belong. I am talking with you today about a belonging of our own, to the whole church, the Body of Christ, and the fact that in our local church, Christian Life Fellowship, we have the amazing sense of belonging to a fellowship of the redeemed parts throughout the entire world!! We belong.
Having said all this about belonging to the church, the Body of Christ, let me make a couple of qualifying remarks…….and once again I use the Scripture to do so.
1st, Romans 3:23 says
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
2nd, Acts 10:34-35
And opening his mouth, Peter said:
"I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, [35] but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him.
We are all equal in that we have all sinned, and we all will be received by Him if we fear Him and do what is right.
I have posted a large print sign on my desk of 2 Chron. 31:20-21 to remind me that if I am true to the Lord and His will for my life and do it with all my heart , I will prosper.
2 Chron. 31:20-21
And thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah; and he did what was good, right, and true before the Lord his God. [21] And every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.
Now, let’s go back to 2 Samuel And put it all together.
Morris the loudmouthed mechanic and the famous heart surgeon have two things in common. They belong to a unique group of individuals who operate on sick or damaged parts, and they both got paid for their work.
Does that make them equal?
NO!!!
Adino, Eleazar, and Shammah all had two things in common. They belonged, and they served the king.
Abishai, Benaiah, and the thirty+ other mighty men also had two things in common. They belonged, and they too served the king, but they didn’t make the top three. Did that make their service to the king of any less account??
NO!!
Did that make them less valuable to the whole of Israel??
NO!!
Did that make them less important in God’s sight?
NO!!
Were they glad that they still belonged to the king??
YES!!
Were they all journeying towards a common goal??
YES!!
Here, then is the lesson for the church today. When you feel rejected, unimportant or of no value to God;….. slighted and hurt because you don’t make the "top three", remember, we all serve the same King! Our jobs are so big that we need to be constantly aware that we need each other to accomplish them, and that we fit where we fit.
Proverbs 20:12
The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The LORD has made both of them.
Some of us are eyes, some of us are ears, and some of us are elbows.
Equal??
NO!!
Unified in the Body of Christ with Him as the head??
YES!!
We need not be so worried about equality, but strive for and maintain unity. Seeking equality will divide us and put us into a caste system. On the other hand, unity brings us together in God’s Love and in His divine plan to reach a dying world who needs to "belong". I challenge you first of all this morning to examine your heart and your life to make certain that you know beyond a doubt that you are a member of the Body of Christ ~ knowing that your sins have been forgiven and that you belong. And secondly, I challenge you to find where you fit in that body and like Hezekiah, follow God’s word, do what is right and good and do every work in the service of the house of God (the local church) seeking God and doing the job with all your heart, and the Kingdom will prosper….You will prosper.
EQUAL????
NO!!!
UNIFIED IN CHRIST???
YES!!!
