Gifts of the Spirit 2: the body of Christ. 1 Cor 12:12-27 WBC 12/9/4am
THE HAND
Illustr: On Alice¡¦s (& Charlie¡¦s) birth Pam and I both spent time just gazing at them- and at their hands and feet!
- hand (PPT): perfectly formed, in every way. Just smaller
- ready & perfectly formed for action and usefulness later in life
o chubby palm, little fingers, fat thumb
o muscles, tendons- in all its complexity
= just part of a wonderfully formed and planned body
- each bit custom designed
The Alpha course is so great. Towards the end it asks the question ¡¥what is the church?¡¦
- as people mainly think it¡¦s a building!
3 images in the Bible (all with B):
building, yes- but building of living stones, people, priests
- 1PE 2:4 As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
o You are God¡¦s priests! Ministers. Made for ministry & saved to serve
o Relevant because this passage shows some of the WAYS
Bride: Rev 19:7 (preached 7th Dec am last year)
Body:
THE BODY OF CHRIST
Here (v12) Paul describes a body
- and then says ¡¥so it is with Christ¡¦
We immediately say:¡¨ yeah, the church, that¡¦s right¡¨
- but we miss something fundamental in going straight to that correct conclusion
- Paul hasn¡¦t mentioned the Church, yet. Saves that for v 27, 28: ¡§Now you are the body of Christ¡K and in the CHURCH¡¨
Before then he wants them to see the full significance of ¡¥body¡¦ and so spends 13 verses only using that term
So- what would/should this mean to a first-time reader?
- = ¡§well, you know a physical body? It¡¦s like that with Jesus¡¨
- ¡§Jesus had a physical body on earth, right?
o > He still has¡¨. ¡§You are it¡¨
„« ¡§YOU (pl) are the body of Christ. Physically here on earth¡¨
Jesus still exists, as a distinct individual person
- (has always done so. Eternal. Pre-existent)
But with regards to His workings here on physical earth
- YOU (pl) are it
Do you see why this is placed in the context of gifts of the Spirit, movings and manifestations of the Spirit? Spiritual dynamics
- Jesus does them, now, THROUGH YOU
In fact: the Spirit mentioned here (v7, 13) is the Spirit of Jesus.
- (Another word for the HS who does Jesus & the Father¡¦s stuff). Acts 16:7, Phil 1:19
Get this: while on earth Jesus healed, helped, brought God¡¦s word, gave words of knowledge, understood the source of spiritual phenomena, worked miracles
- all the list of v 7-11, 28-31, chapter 14, Roms 12, Eph 4, 1 Cor 7: 7 singleness, Phil 1:29: suffering
- ALL in Himself. All the gifts
Now- those gifts are STILL operative- but through YOU (pl)
And each of you has been hand crafted and prepared ¡¥just right¡¦ to ensure that the whole body¡Kgiftedness¡K of Jesus is here and functioning
- just like that little hand. Prepared in advance to do good works. Prepared to show God¡¦s holy arm
¡§Why doesn¡¦t Jesus show Himself?!¡¨
- he¡¦s busting to. Through you. Me
Do you see how important you are to all this? How needed you are? How planned and strategised by God your involvement has been?
- He brought you to Himself¡K and He brought you HERE for a specific purpose. Into the body.
o We¡¦ve got to release you into your gifts or Jesus won¡¦t be shown fully¡K body built up
¡§BUT I DON¡¦T FIT!¡¨ (v15)
Or maybe you think you don¡¦t have any gifts of the spirit
- then you¡¦re like that hand. It doesn¡¦t know what it was engineered for, yet
o has to discover it. Grow in it. Into it
Now- let me take a detour but within the scope of these verses and an essential question within the topic of ¡¥gifts¡¦
- >= when are these gifts given?
- This is a big question, and one that we should ask if we are ¡¥spiritually inclined¡¦
- It¡¦s one that has exercised me for 15 years, and 17,000 words (thesis for BU)
- = is this talking about gifts given at ¡¥regeneration¡¦ or birth or what?
A traditional viewpoint is ¡¥it¡¦s only talking about gifts given at spiritual re-birth¡¦. Nothing before that counts
- justify it with v12,13 ¡¥it¡¦s in the context of spiritual birth¡¦
But what does 12 & 13 say- ¡§that you were birthed in the same way into one body¡¨
- it¡¦s making the point about one body and unity. Not when gifts are given
- in fact: nowhere does it say anything about WHEN gifts are given
o it¡¦s all about HOW to use them
- it is true that many gifts are shown as given at the laying on of hands
o but that¡¦s not presented as the whole story
The point I¡¦m making is- the focus of Paul and scripture is not about when a gift is given but that it should be used
- by Jesus, for God, under the HS¡¦s direction, for others, to Jesus¡¦ glory
- and THEN it is truly being used as a ¡¥gift of the Spirit¡¦
You don¡¦t have to agree with me here- but there ARE hints within scripture and anthropology that SOME gifts may be given BEFORE someone becomes a Christian
- and Jesus is waiting for them to be used by/for Him
o and when done so will be seen most powerfully
- ie: admin, money, helps, and others
- Roms 11:29 ¡¥The gifts and call of God are irrevocable¡¦
o Certainly this means God gives a gift and he won¡¦t take it away: you can even use it for selfish means (Balaam, Num 22)
o Actually it¡¦s literally: ¡¥the gifts & call of God are without repentance ¡¥
- Before repentance?
- True: some of you were called before you repented! You just ignored it
- I reckon- some given gifts and then they leg it with the gift and make money from it! Use it for self
Illustr: Micheal Jackson. A gift from God that should be used to build up Jesus¡¦ body and to glorify Jesus
- (imagine worshipping to ¡¥eek, ow!¡¦)
I realise I¡¦m beyond what is clear in scripture, here- but what I¡¦m saying is: scripture IS clear (with a loud silence!) that what matters is how a gift is used and for whom (not exactly how/when it came)
- you got a musical gift? God gave you that! Hand it, sacrificially, over to Him, and ask Him to take it, fill it and use it to His glory
o then as you learn to use it under his direction, like the hand learns, it will become a ¡¥gift of the Spirit¡¦
- how we need that! It¡¦s not musical excellence
Illustr form ¡¦96: Thinking about Oasis band, where one brother has gift of songwriting & other of singing. Basically they use the right gift to produce a marvelous team... effect. Asking God what is the difference between their gifts and spiritual gifts. looked down at beautiful moth on the ground & felt as though the Lord was saying the gift is the caterpillar, but a miracle must happen for it to become the beautiful moth/butterfly... spirtual gift. But the gifting is there in an untransformed state beforehand.
So- the question is: is Jesus Lord, and are you using your gifts in the context for which/whom they were designed
- that¡¦s when they will be most powerful
o even intuitive gifts, counselling gifts
o ¡§your ransomed powers for His sole purpose use¡¨ (go forth and tell)
Let me be risky and frank. I reckon this same principle applies to spiritual phenomena.
- Ie, I know people who were disturbed by ¡¥foreknowledge¡¦
o Also sometimes of a disturbing nature: who will die
o (now, that¡¦s not unbiblical. 1 ki 22:25)
- and nobody would help ¡¥pastor¡¦
The same principle applies:
- RENOUNCE anything not of Jesus. Hand it over to Jesus.. To be taken away completely. Or to then given back, and trained, grown, developed
o (I know people who have had to do this with music!)
IF God gives it back it can then be used as it was designed! Not just picking up junk from the spiritual Ethernet.
- for Jesus. In/for the body- that¡¦s why ¡¥the body¡¦ is in here
You see: we have ¡¥frozen out¡¦ all kind of people, gifts from the church because they haven¡¦t fitted the ¡¥trend¡¦/culture of the moment
- hence they have thought ¡¥I don¡¦t fit¡¦:
- eg: mystics (¡§weird¡¨) . Those not ¡¥touchy/feely¡¦ (¡§not spiritual¡¨). Those with drive/leadership? (¡§trouble¡¨). Men (¡§not female!¡¨). Doers¡K. And so on
The whole point of this passage is: the sheer diversity of the body
- and if we don¡¦t have the full package of gifts
o YOU are impoverished through not being able to exercise them
o WE are impoverished, too.
You see- it¡¦s not just about YOU. The body is not about the hand- it¡¦s about the BODY¡K
- and the BODY suffers if you don¡¦t come, use your gifts
With regard to this bit: ¡¥I don¡¦t fit¡¦
- Paul says: yes you do. And whether you like it or not , you are part of the body: 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
- God fashioned you: genes, talents, experiences, what you also received on conversion to make YOU a GIFT to His body
o You are that hand
o Now: grow up
The body needs you.
¡§I DON¡¦T NEED YOU¡¨
And you need the body, too.
It¡¦s wrong to be isolated. A loner. A leaver rather than a joiner
- we¡¦ll keep you growing, balanced, humble!
I¡¦m sure none of YOU do- but some do fee they don¡¦t need anybody else
- probably it¡¦s hurt, fear and inferiority
- sometimes it¡¦s self-centredness and superiority
o ¡§it¡¦s all about me, Jesus¡¨
Let that go. Find healing here, today.
Here¡¦s what the HS wants to work in you. Even as part of this series on Gifts of the Spirit &building up the body:
¡§I NEED YOU. I BELONG. I AM PART OF CHRIST¡¦S BODY¡¨
Look at your part of the jigsaw
- who¡¦s got a hand?
- At the end- bring it up and make up the picture of Jesus¡¦ body on the comm. Table
o Interestingly (wrt gifts) it¡¦s ¡§Jesus healing the blind of Jericho¡¨, 1650, Nicholas Poussin.jpg
SING: for the beauty of the earth (Rutter)
Read: word given (by Roland Burberry, 27,.06.04 ), test it
At the morning service today when the message was being preached by Ewen on 1 Peter 2 the living stones for God¡¦s house. My heart was quickened and I was aware that my thoughts were directed towards a different picture that supported exactly the message! A picture of a forge like found in a blacksmiths. The forge was fuelled and just lit and the blacksmith was encouraging the fire to catch. A wind from a air pump was blowing across and through the coals and the fire was taking hold and breaking out. I was directed towards the many many coals in the fire; and being led to view them as being many individual Christian people and the forge was the place of worship and the place to be heated by the flame and the wind. I was directed to see that some coals black, some were red, orange, yellow and some white hot. Sparks were flying from the forge fire and the coals were being riddled (shaken) so that the heat would increase. Then the smith set a sword blade in the fire and the steel was heated until white hot. I was directed to view the sword was just one of many all were double edged and all were being sent out to fulfil purposes. Many purposes by many people a growing tide of gods word into peoples homes.
More coals were added to the fire and the flames immediately turned them red, orange, yellow and white hot. Some of the original coals were being cleared to make room and the ashes were being collected. I discerned that the ashes were to be scatted over the seed beds to bring on growth and future harvest.
The message of the picture for me was one of spiritual agreement and oneness in purpose and direction. Of a collective group of coals (Christian people) being used by the blacksmith (Christ) in the forge (the Church in Praise and Worship collective and continuos ). I see it as confirmation of the direction of the Spirit and the Word with the people of God being heated so as to be sent out into the community on each Monday morning. At each weekly service the people yearn to return again to the forge to be heated again and again sometimes red, yellow and even white. Each coal special and unique but each essential to the task. They are used over and over until they are finally ashes then they are used to enrich further the ground (the harvest fields)
When Liz brought her message following the picture my heart continued to be quickened and my thoughts remained in the picture. I believe this was a confirmation of worship and work and work and worship and that the lord is going to move people new people of all ages to be coals in the fire and that this is the beginning of a new move of the Holy Spirit.
It speaks of Worship and Word being the key and Worshipers having to be in the presence of the Lord together to be effective in producing a harvest.
