Review
Key word = “Mercies”
12:1 – Response
12:2a – Process
12:2b – Results
“offer” = present from Rom 6:13,16,19
Your body – where you go, what you say, how you drive, how you work…“body” = shocking to the platonic thinkers who considered a division between body and soul. Not the Jew… all one! How about us? Paul is not describing something you do when you are sitting or standing in church one fine Sunday morning! Not a metaphysical, out of body, mysterious experience… every bit of you presented to God – from head to toe with all your wants, desires, urges, glands, fears, hang ups… all on the altar!
“living Sacrifice” = singular in Greek.
“Spiritual” or “reasonable” = Intelligent, informed, understanding.
“Worship” Worship must be informed! “Logikos” = thinking the right way. Worship is a response to what God has done that understands, that is informed. It is a combination of spirit and truth! It’s the only response that a thinking, understanding, informed person could do… it makes sense!
As you do this you PROVE what the will of God is. It is a process of TESTING and VALIDATING… You are showing off God’s will to the world. John 15:8 “…bear much fruit and so PROVE to be my disciples!”
Fundamental value – Worship is the way we live, not what we do on Sunday Morning. – 24/7/365. Every day, every hour, every minute.
True worship cannot be divorced from service – you are giving something back! It is a response of the body! WE are practical Greeks who have separated mind and body…
Say one thing and do another – husbands and wives, parents and kids, kids and your friends – natasaret
You “love” the Lord, but you aren’t obeying Him… 1 Jn. 1:6 - if we say we have fellowship with Him, and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth
Committed to Christ, but inactive, uninvolved…
OR
Involved, busy, active, but no depth of relationship with Christ.
Let love be without hypocrisy!!!! Barna reports on morality among Christians – practically speaking, it’s no different from those in the world!
We cannot be truly sacrificed to God and not involved in His work.
What now? Sit and enjoy the view from the altar?
1. Living in Humility. V. 3
3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone 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.
“FOR” - !!!! Why is issue of PRIDE? A problem in just in Rome or churches in general? What happens when you start laying down your way to God’s way, you start seeing fruit, you start to understand and do the will of God… blessings come into your life? PRIDE!!!
Who you know, where you’ve been, what you’ve done… At least I am susceptible -
Key word in this passage = “GRACE” Paul pulls out his credentials “grace, given to me….” 1 Cor. 3:10; Gal. 2:9; Eph. 3:7,8
WHAT? To think rightly = “phronein” used four times in one sentence!
Using that mind that is being renewed by the Word of God, 12:2
Sophroneo to think clearly!
Wrong thinking = Boasting, claiming impressive gifts,
OR
Putting yourself down, failing to use your gifts, or using your gifts selfishly.
True humility does not over or under estimate God’s gifts.
Humility 1 Peter 5:5; 1 Cor. 4:6,7; Gal 6:3
1 Peter 5:5 … and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, forGOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.
HOW do I think rightly? By the measure of faith! Paul is not talking about saving faith (v.3,6) or saving grace (v.3,6)
Measure = “metron”
Instrument for measure OR
A measured quantity
Four different places in vs. 3 and 6
“grace given to me”
“God has allotted to each a measure of faith” NIV “given
to you”
“according to the grace given”
“in proportion to his (the) faith”
Either way it is humbling. God sovereignly gives each believer the exact gifts and resource so he can best fulfill his role.
To the measure of your trust in God
OR/AND
According to the very gifts God has given to you.
Right thinking/right living = because of grace, I will not think of myself more highly or lowly than I should.
CS Lewis quote from Mere Christianity – the truly humble man… will not be thinking about himself at all.
2. Living in Unity. V. 4,5
4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Wonderful example – everyone has a body - Body of Christ – 1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 4:12; Eph. 1:23; Col. 1:24
1 Cor 12:4-7 - Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Unity – each part of the body belong to all the others
Interdependence
Working together for the goal – Matt. 28:19,20 Great comission
What about an arm that said “ I just don’t feel like being a part of the body…”
I Cor. 12:14-26 “…if the foot says…”
Can you be part of the universal church and NOT be part of a local church? Unthinkable!
TV is not church… any more than watching football on Monday night is playing football. Sitting and soaking is not church!
Local church AND universal Church around the world through the ages.
We live in a culture of radical individualism. It’s all about ME. I pick what I like and what I want. I do what makes ME happy. I do not do what makes me Unhappy.
Long Ranger
Super Shopper
Shopping Mall church – everyone comes and gets what they want and leave!
EX: New Members dessert last night.
Right thinking/right living = because of grace, I will be a committed part of a local church body and I will celebrate being part of the universal body of Christ around the world.
<<trans>> “not all have the same function” KJV = Office.
3. Living in Diversity. V. 6-8
6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Not only have we been prove the will of God, but we have been EQUIPPED for the job. On Wednesday May 11, 2005 President Bush signed a $82 billion spending bill to give our troops armor, ammo and vehicles to do their job.
Spiritual gifts are divine enablements for ministry, characteristics of the Lord Jesus Christ that are to be manifested through the body corporate just as they were through the body incarnate." MacArthur
A God given ability to serve other people In a particular way.
There are five lists in the Bible with the gifts of the spirit in them.
#1. General categories of gifts.
1 Peter 4:10-11 - As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Speaking gifts or serving gifts = general categories of gifts.
Other commentators would add a third category of called “sign” gifts.
Prophecy insofar as foretelling future events before they happen, healing, tongues, interpretations, miracles. These are gifts that God used, or uses, to validate His message. Some say that these gifts have ceased today as the Word of God is now fully validated and we have God’s complete revelation to us.
#2. Four, or five, gifted people God gives to the church…
Eph 4:11-13 - And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,…” (Apostles and prophets also in 1 Cor. 12:28) These are individuals with combinations of gifts that come together for a unique purpose in the church… “…for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
#3, 4, 5. Rom. 12:6-8, 1 Cor. 12:8-10 and 28-30 overlap in some places and all mention gifts that others do not… leading some to believe that these are not a complete list, nor are they meant to be...
1 Cor. 12:1 “Pneumatikos” = “spirituals” Pneuma = Spirit, emphasizing source.
Rom 12 “Charismata” = “charis” = grace. grace gifts/ emphasis on the method of delivery.
- Prophecy; I Cor. 12:10, Rom. 12:6 - the ability
to receive and communicate messages from God to His people, literally "to
speak forth".
- There are some that say this gift ceased when the apostles died. There was no longer need for revelation of God when the Word of God was complete.
- “The gift of prophecy is a very different thing than the verbally inspired speech of the apostles and prophets who wrote Scripture. It is based on a spontaneous revelation from the Holy Spirit, but it is fallible and in need of sifting because our perception of the revelation and our thought about it and our delivery of it are all fallible. The Bible teaches that the very words of Scripture are inspired (2 Tim. 3:16). But the spiritual gift of prophecy is different from the inspiration of Scripture.” John Piper
- 1 Cor. 14:24, 25; 1 Cor. 14:5
- Helps, Service; Rom. 12:7; I Cor. 12:28; - the
ability to invest ones talents and abilities into the lives of
other members of the body, thus enabling them
to increase the effectiveness of their own spiritual gifts.
It includes every sort of practical help that Christians can
give.
- Deakonas – “deacon”
- Deakonas – “deacon”
- Teaching – Rom. 12:7 – the ability
to instruct and apply God’s
Word to the lives of people who are hearing.
- 2 Tim 2:2 - The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
- 1 Tim. 3:2 – elders
who teach, Titus 1:9 who hold fast the faithful word…
- Exhortation; Rom.12:8 – the ability to
minister comfort, consolation, encouragement and counsel to other
members of
the body of Christ.
- Parakaleo – “to call along side” comfort, entreat, advise, strengthen, console… Heb. 10:24
- Jn 14:15 – the Holy Spirit is our parakaleo.
- Acts 4:36 – Joseph gets a name change
to Barnabas “Son
of Encouragement”
- Giving; Rom.12:8 - the ability to contribute personal
material resources to the work of the Lord with liberality and
cheerfulness.
- Metadidomai = sharing and giving that which
is ones own… (
Luke 3:8, 11.)
- Metadidomai = sharing and giving that which
is ones own… (
Luke 3:8, 11.)
- Administration, Leadership; I Cor. 12:28, Rom.
12:9 - the ability to clearly understand the immediate and long
range goals of a particular unit of the body
of Christ and to devise and execute effective plans for accomplishing
those goals.
- 1 Tim. 3:4,5 in the home
- Tim. 5:17 in the church
- Acts 27:11 and Rev. 18:17 used of a person who steers a ship.
- “diligence” =
earnestness and zeal, even haste!
- Showing Mercy; Rom.12:8 - the ability to feel genuine empathy
and compassion for suffering Christians and non-Christians and
to translate that compassion
into cheerfully done deeds which alleviate the suffering.
- Hilaroteti – hilarious!
- Word of Wisdom; I Cor. 12:8 - the ability to receive insight into how given knowledge may best be applied to specific needs that arise in the body of Christ.
- Word of Knowledge; I Cor. 12:8 - the ability to discover, accumulate, analyze and clarify information and ideas which are pertinent to the growth of the body of Christ.
- Faith; I Cor. 12:9 - the ability to discern with extraordinary confidence the will and purposes of God for the future of His work, to trust God in difficult and demanding times.
- Healing; I Cor. 12:9 - the ability to serve as human instruments through whom God chooses to cure illness and restore health apart from the use of natural means.
- Effecting of Miracles; I Cor. 12:10 - the ability to serve as human instruments through whom God chooses to perform powerful acts contrary to the ordinary working laws of nature.
- Distinguishing of Spirits; I Cor. 12:10 - the ability to know with assurance whether certain behavior is from God or is demonic imitation.
- Tongues; I Cor. 12:10, 14:1-19 - the ability God gives to certain members of the body of Christ to speak to God in a language they have never learned and/or to receive an immediate message of God to his people.
- Interpretation; I Cor. 12:10 - the ability to make known the message of God to His people coming from one who speaks in tongues.
•• There are several we are leaving out; celibacy, poverty, martyrdom, hospitality, missionary, exorcism, intercession, because they are not specifically mentioned in the Bible as spiritual gifts or gifts of the Holy Spirit.
We are to EXERCISE them… Don’t want to focus on labeling the gift – the point is to be FAITHFUL in using it!
…in fact four of the gifts in the list in Romans 12 are actions that EVERY Christian is commanded to display
service – Gal. 5:13
exhortation – Heb 3:13
giving – Eph. 4:28
mercy – Luke 6:36
You might WANT to say “Oh, I’m not an evangelist, mercy, giver, etc. – guess I’m off the hook!”
Or Hang around with others who have the same gift? Teachers sit around and argue, mercy sit around and cry, servers… LEADERS! – like herding cats!
Don’t focus on gifts – focus on the giver!
Don’t focus on gifts – focus on what good the gift can give to others through you.
Brightest people in the world use about 11% of their brain. The church is the same.
You cannot live strong without others. Others cannot live strong without you.
Football team = not everyone can be the quarterback!
Right thinking/right living = because of grace, I will use my unique spiritual gifts for the encouragement and building up of others in my local church.
Application
Raise you hand if you;
Dr. Paul Brand in his book Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, writes of the amazing diversity and interconnected relationship within the human body. Speaking of the body’s cells he says,
“I am first struck by their variety. Chemically my cells are almost alike, but visually and functionally they are as different as the animals in a zoo. Red blood cells, discs resembling Lifesaver candies, voyage through my blood loaded with oxygen to fee the other cells. Muscle cells, which absorb so much of that nourishment, are sleek and supple, full of coiled energy. Cartilage cells, with shiny black nuclei, look like bunches of black-eyed peas glued tightly together for strength. Fat cells seem lazy and leaden, like bulging while plastic garbage bags jammed together.
My body employs a bewildering zoo of cells, none of which individually resembles the larger body. Just so, Christ’s Body comprises an unlikely assortment of humans. Unlikely is precisely the right word, for we are decidedly unlike one another and the One we follow.
The Body of Christ, like our own bodies, is composed of individual, unlike cells that are knit together to form one Body. He is the while thing, and the joy of the Body increases as the individual cells realize they can be diverse without becoming isolated outposts.”
"Extras":
|
[an error occurred while processing this directive]