Romans
12:1-8 - The Body - Which Part Are You?
Intro : When we
hear the word Incarnation- first thing
some of us think of is Ice Cream !
A) But most of us think of the
Birth of Christ as a little baby there in the manger in Bethlehem
B) And of Christ earthly
ministry recorded for us in the gospels !
1) The word incarnate means "to
take bodily form."
C) When God chose to demonstrate to mankind His love
and the new life He
offered / He did so by
incarnating Himself—
1) by taking on our form,
sharing our human experience, and living
among us.
D) God became flesh and dwelt
among us. Jesus Christ was the incarnation of
God,
the God-man, God in human flesh.
But a common mistake I think we sometimes
make concerning the Incarnation is in thinking
that it ceased when Jesus - Ascended into Heaven.
A) But nothing could be further from the truth ! The process of the
incarnation is still going on.
B) The life of Jesus is still being manifested upon the
earth--but no longer through a single physical body, limited to one geographical
location.
1) Today, the body of Christ
performs the work of Christ around the clock and around the world.
C) It is a corporate body,
comprised of millions of individuals like you and me - This body is called the Church !
1) As Christ lives His life
through us by His Spirit who indwells us!
I find it
interesting that when you open the book of Acts in the N.T. you find that Luke
- Writer / (writing
to Theophilus - previous -Gospel of Luke)
A) Luke wrote there in Acts Ch.
1 in the former account I made O
Theophilus of all that Jesus began to do
and teach."
B) In Acts, the sequel to his Gospel, in which Dr.
Luke continues the record
of Jesus' work among mankind—
1) yet Jesus Himself only
appears in the first eleven verses of Acts!
C) In verse 11, Jesus ascends
into heaven. Yet the story of His work on earth continues for twenty-eight more
chapters. Now how can that be?
D) Because
the rest of the book of Acts is the story of the work of His new body, the church!
1) When the Church lives in and by the Spirit, the church is
nothing less than the physical extension of the life of Jesus to the whole
world.
D) Conduits through which Jesus desires to work
& minister! I hope that is a
reality in your mind in Your mind !
Christ Living in you through U!
E) The physical life of Jesus began at the moment
Mary conceived, and
has continued without interruption right up to this
moment! /2000 yrs
1) That
is an amazing and all-important concept!
F) What happened on a small scale
in Judea and Galilee twenty centuries ago continues on a worldwide scale today,
1) permeating every level of
society and every aspect of human life.
G) Once Christians discover and
lay hold of this amazing truth for their own lives, their outlook on life is
powerfully transformed.
1) Their relationship with God
becomes dynamic and exciting. Their
lives
become powerfully effective for God.
Now we noted
in our study last week that the Bible refers to the Church as a Sheepfold -
Good Shepherd / Army - General / Bride - Husband
A) A Building in which He is
the Architect & the Chief Corner stone! But the most often used example of
the Church is that of a Body !
B) In Which He is the Life -
force -( the Spirit ) and through which He is the head
C) Within this body is an
incredible Unity - v.4 Many members yet one body
1) Also a great Diversity - v.4
All the members do not have the same function !
D) Last week - we talked about
how that Unity is to be recognized & Maintained -
1) And why that Diversity is
Necessary & important ! - Not be good if the whole Body were an eyeball .
E) Wed. looked at first part of
Ch. 14 - noting that because of the Diversity there will always be differences
in perspective - doubtful things - gray ..
1) Paul relates how to maintain
a unity & love - despite those differences - Continue look at more on Wed.
F) MISSED LAST
SUN. OR WED. GET TAPES - KEY TEACHINGS FROM PAUL ON HOW WE ARE TO FUNCTION AS A
BODY
1) How maintain unity / understand diversity / and deal
w/ the
controversies
that sometimes end up causing Division when they shouldn’t!
But this
morning I want us to begin to look at the gifts that God has given to His
Church - and how these gifts are to operate . Paul begins
V.6 Having
then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us,
A) Within this diversity there
are different functions that are related to the different Gifting that the Lord
has given to each member of the Body.
B) We see the same thing w/ in
the human body - My hand has been uniquely designed to function differently
from my mouth.
1) Both have a place &
function - w/ my mouth I eat - and I can communicate - I can sing - I can eat .
C) W/ My hands I can Build
things / fix things / carrying things / write things I can hold my daughter -
1) Now you could say that my
hand has been uniquely gifted by the Lord to function in that way !
D) It is not a bundle of
lifeless mass connected to the end of my arm! No it has a uniquely ordained
& designed function . Gifting so to speak
And so too w/
in the body of Christ each member has been uniquely gifted by the Lord - to
fulfill a particular function & purpose.
A) One common area of confusion--and one fact we must clearly
understand--is that a spiritual gift is not the same as a natural talent.
B) It is true that talents such
as musical ability, artistic skills, athletic coordination, are also gifts from
God.
1) But they are not spiritual
gifts. They are gifts on a physical or social
level
only, given to benefit mankind in the natural realm.
C) Physical Talents can be used
to give God glory & they can be used in the work of the ministry but they
are different from spiritual gifts !
D) Spiritual gifts, are given to benefit mankind and the church
in the realm of the Spirit, & in the realm of an individual's relationship
to God.
1) Turn to Eph. 4 we will see
the definition of the purpose of
Spiritual gifts given to us by the Apostle Paul.
8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on
high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles,
some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the
equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith
and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning
craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but,
speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the
head; Christ;
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every
joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its
share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
A) Now we are going to break
this down in some detail in a later study - but let me just briefly point out
what the purpose of these gifts
are
B) V.12 To Equip the Saints - the members to minister to the World - and to
Build up each other = Edify / build up the body so that it would become
1) Mature - V.13
- coming
into the fullness of Christ !
C) Stable - V.14 Not tossed to & fro by winds of doctrine
1) Loving - V.15 - Speaking the truth in Love
2) And to see it
cooperating as a unit - v.16 joined & knit
together so that every part does it’s share causing the growth of the body for
the edifying of itself in Love
D) That is the Purpose of
the Church - Put simply - Build up each
other to reach out to & share the
love of Jesus w/ the World!
1) God has gifted us to fulfill
that purpose - / And it is vitally important to understand we do not generate
these gifts ourselves - but they are implanted in us by the Holy Spirit
But Talents on
the other hand are things that everyone / believer or unbeliever has been given
- but only Christians have spiritual gifts
A) Now it is quite possible, for a Christian to have a
talent for teaching, for instance, but not to have the spiritual gift of
teaching.
B) Now if a believer who had a
talent for teaching was asked to teach a Sunday School class, for example,/ he
would be quite capable of imparting considerable information and knowledge of
facts to his class—
C) but his teaching would lack
the power to bless and advance his students spiritually if he didn’t have the
gift of teaching !
1) That is why many who are
teachers in the academic sense - don’t do well in teaching in the Spiritual
arena - entirely different.
D) On the
other hand, many school teachers also possess, as Christians, the spiritual
gift of teaching and are greatly used of God in Bible classes and Sunday school
teaching / or leading a home fellowship .
It is also
quite possible for a spiritual gift to be manifested through the vehicle of a
natural talent.
A) This is frequently seen in the ministry of Christian singers.
B) We have all heard Christian singers with great
voices whose musical
talents would have pleased secular audiences
anywhere.
C) But in addition to their
talent, they possessed great power & anointing to impart spiritual
enrichment through their singing,
1) leaving their audiences
spiritually refreshed and strengthened.
D) So we must make that
distinction between natural physical talents & spiritual gifts - although -
talents can be used for the Lord
1) And when combined w/ a
spiritual gift - can be incredible powerful
E) Paul’s Point - we all have
gifts = find out what they are & use them !
Now this first
group of gifts that we are looking at today here in Rom. 12 are broken up into
2 groups - Those that expound the Word
A) And those which expand the
Work !
B) Now the first gift Paul
mentions is prophesy - : if prophecy, let
us prophesy in proportion to our faith;
C) Now Prophecy means more than
foretelling - although it can involve that - In the Old testament - the
Prophets predominantly - fore telling ministry
1) Predicting events that were
going to happen - largely the prophecies concerning the Coming of Jesus
D) Although - many times they
prophesied concerning - Israel’s coming Judgment - unless they repented !
But Prophesy
also means forth telling or speaking
forth the word of God
A) This is predominantly how it is seen in the N.T. although there are a
handful of times when it is seen in a forth telling predictive way - Agabus
B)Prophesy is the gift of declaring truth basically it is the gift of expounding
Scripture, making Scripture come alive.
1) The word burns w/ in the
heart of those who have this gift & they must get it out !
C) It derives from a Greek root
which means "to cause to shine," and is
linked with the prefix "pro" which means "before."
1) So a person w/ the gift of
prophecy is one who stands before and causes the word of God to shine.
D) The ministry of prophesy is
can be evidenced in the Church when a Pastor is preaching the word . And
something that was said was so God.
1) Family camp - Jack Hibbs
great teaching on Child like faith - most of us there felt prophetic word for
our Church.
E) I felt that way in the
studies that we did in Luke 10 - Lord impressed on my heart to preach - those
studies / one in Hungary - Rob Nash
1) Mary & Martha -
distracted from the one thing that matters /Reading
my mind - or describing my life over the last 8 months.
Prophesy can
be seen in a Sunday night meeting where we are just waiting on the Lord - or in
an afterglow - retreat
A) Simply - someone sharing a
word of Scripture ! It is exactly what the church or part of the body needed to
hear
B) This can also be evidenced
in daily conversations - where the Lord puts you in a place to share w/ someone
a specific word of scripture
1) And it is the perfect thing
for that person - God impresses deeply upon your heart this is what this person
needs to hear.
C) Sometimes - prophecy gets a bad
rap -by those who - hyper spiritual - talk king James - Oh my people - thou hast corrupted thy ways …..
1) I have a problem w/ that for
a couple of reasons - one you don’t see that in Scripture - in the N.T.
D) 2nd Paul says in 1Cor. 14:3 that he who prophecies speaks edification /
exhortation & comfort to men .
1) In other words prophecy is
that which is meant to encourage / build up / and comfort the body !
The next gift
Paul mentions is ministry - Now Prophesy declares truth - ministry depicts
truth .
AA) Jesus showed us this over
& over He would first teach & then He would touch !
B) Teach truth & touch people as
an illustration of what He taught !
A) I believe that the gift of
Ministry is the same as the gift of helps mentioned in 1 Cor. 12 - simply means
serving .
1)those
who are Deacons fall into this category - word deacon - means
servant ! Deacons will have the gift of helps or ministry
B) The person who has the gift
of ministry of the gift of helps is one who depicts the truth of God’s word by
being a servant !
1) Their lives are a living
testimony & illustration of the truths of the word !
C) Dorcas in Acts 9 was a lady
who seemed to minister in this way & when she died the early church was
deeply crushed?
1) Called for Peter - Please
come & pray that she would be raised
D) Why was she so loved ?
Because she was a minister in the truest sense of the word ! Loved God’s people & served them by
1) making garments & coats
for people in the Church.
E) Now I have to believe that
Dorcas wasn’t the only seamstress in the Church - so it wasn’t what she did -
it was the way she did it!
1) Joy & Cheerfulness -
loving & serving !
F) Name means Gazelle - one who
is bounding and free - not burdened or weighed down - Those w/ the gift of
Helps - Live to Help others
1) Helps Ministry - looking for
some people w/ that gift !
Next Paul
mentions teacher ! Prophet Declares
truth / Ministry depicts truth / Teacher defines truth
A) A prophet might share the word sporadically - might start off in a text
but moves around to point where - giving this word ! ( One thing to focus on)
B) A teacher shares
systematically - verse by verse - line by line - defining & explaining what
the word says & means
C) Jesus illustrated this in Matt. 5: 27,28 27 "You have heard that it
was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'
28 "But I say to you that whoever looks at
a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
D) Took the word & brought
definition to it ! Defined it & made it very applicable!
E) Teaching is the ability to impart knowledge and
information, to instruct
the mind/ Whereas
prophesying instructs the heart and moves the will.
1) Pastor Chucks model - most
Calvary’s follow - Sun. morning Preaching - Prophesy -Message for that particular
day Application.
F) Midweek / teaching - might include - prophesy but
it might not !
TEACHING
OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH - New Believers -
home group - just impart the word - one on one - discipleship
Next gift
mentioned is gift of exhortation - The person who has the gift of exhortation
is the one w/ the gift to develop truth
A) Person who comes along side of another & literally shows them how
to walk - how to minister by doing it w/ them
B) It is a very hands on type
of gifting - / in fact the word itself is extremely enlightening ! Parakaleo in
the Greek
1) Means one called along side
to help or to aid - it is derived from the exact same word used to describe the
ministry of the H.S.
C) He is referred to as the
Parakletos - or the one called along side to help!
1) So an exhorter’s primary
ministry is one of encouraging & coming along side to aid . Strongly urging
one to pursue a course of conduct !
E) What is interesting to me
about the def. of exhortation is it doesn’t say anything about - rebuking - but
that is how it is so often used today.
1) I have the
gift of the exhortation - they going around rebuking everyone & Jumping down their throats
F) Sorry but that is not what
the gift of exhortation means !
Seen in the
Church in teaching & preaching / in counseling / in men’s groups &
women’s groups / definitely in Discipleship
A) Seen outside the Church in -
coming along side people out of fellowship & helping them get in fellowship
- pick up give a ride.
B) Ministry that pursues others
to help them grow in the Lord - go on in Christ - go forward in ministry !
1) Ministry that Challenges to
go higher - not settle for mediocrity in our lives - in our walks - or in our
ministries !
First 4 gifts
expound the Word in Different ways - seeking to build up & edify the Body !
A) The next 3 are involved in expanding the work of God ! Next Paul says he who gives, with liberality;
B) Giving expands the work. Giving w/ liberality means giving with no strings attached .
1) It is giving to the Lord
freely & Cheerfully not expecting - any pay backs / not demanding to know
where money is going !
C) Some say I will only give if
I can - determine what this is going to be used for - Paul says don’t give that
way!
1) Give freely - freely you
have received - freely give !
Years ago, The Sunday School Times carried the
account of a Christian school for the children of "untouchables" in
India prior to World War II.
A) Presents from children in England
1)
On one occasion the doctor from a nearby mission hospital was asked to distribute the gifts.
B) In the
course of his visit, he told the youngsters about a village where the boys
and girls had never even heard of Jesus.
He suggested that maybe they
would like to give them some of their old
toys as presents.
C) They
liked the idea and readily agreed. A
week later, the doctor returned to collect
the gifts. The sight was
unforgettable. One by one the children filed
by and handed the doctor their toys.
D) To his
great surprise, they all gave the new
presents they had just received several
days earlier.
When he asked why, a girl spoke up, "Think what God did by giving
us his only Son. Could we give him less
than our best?"
A) Now all Christians are
expected to give - told in 1Cor. 16/ 3
principles
1) My giving is to be regular -
1st day of the week.
2) My giving is to be
systematic - let each one lay aside
something
3) My giving is to be
proportionate - as he has prospered
B) But those w/ the gift of giving
have been blessed w/ the ability to earn & give money for the advancement
of God's work,
1)and to
do so with such wisdom, humility, and cheerfulness
C) Maybe God has blessed you with the gift of
giving. If so, exercise it with generosity!
1) Give to others in need -
give w/ your whole heart ! More give / more given to give if that is your gift
!
Next Paul
mentions the gift of leadership : he who leads,
with diligence; A) Anthony Green won first prize & $5,000 Because he used duct
tape to patch the wing of the plane he flew from Guatemala to Honduras, in the
The Best Use of Duct Tape' contest. AMAZING
B) There are people in the Body
like Anthony Green. They know how to patch things up. They know how to make
things fly.
1) They have a feeling for how
things should happen. Theirs is the gift of LEADERSHIP of doing all things
decently and in order
C) Help keep things going &
functioning in such a way that the Lord can move & work !
1) Person w/ the gift of
Leadership / will be different from the person who has a natural talent for
leadership
D) In that they will have a
sensitivity to others through the H.S. / and it is apparent they are being led
by the Spirit in their leadership
1) Those w/ just a natural
talent - for leading will bull doze others & often times - do things in the
flesh!
The final gift mentioned in Romans 12 is
that of doing acts of mercy.
A) Its distinctiveness is indicated by the meaning of the word
"mercy."
B) Mercy is undeserved aid, aid
given to those who most people find repugnant and offensive--the sick and
deformed, the unwashed and foul, those with unpleasant personalities and vile
habits.
C) It differs from the gift of helps by being
directed to those who are either undeserving or who (like a child with AIDS or
a mentally disordered individual) is an innocent victim, treated as an outcast
by much of our society.
A) Love how active this body is - I would guess that many of you know your
gifts & know your function & place.
( Pray - confirmation - )
B) Some fresh enlightenment
concerning your gift & how the Lord wants you to use that gift here in the
fellowship & out in the World
1) Ministry list - many
reoccurring names - so & so is involved in everything - which is ok if you
have the time to be effective in all
C) But sometimes - the reason
there are a lot of reoccurring names on those list is because - no one else
responds to the needs
D) That is my prayer as we go
through - these list of gifts / if you are not active in using your gift - you
will become active !
1) Lord is looking for
sharpshooters - who can zero in on their area of gifting & go for it / 100%
for the Lord
E) Watch the Lord do some great things !