Alright brethren, let's turn
to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. We'll have some things repeated
here from Sunday. But that's what the gospel is.
It's repetition. And it's so needful. Repetition.
But there will be a few other things I want to show you before
we move on to our next chapter. 1 Corinthians 12, 27. Now, ye are
the body of Christ, and members in particular. Ye are the body
of Christ, and members in particular. The body of Christ doesn't mean
Christ's physical body. We're not talking about Christ's
physical body. We're talking about Christ's
mystical body, His spiritual body, His church. The human body
that you and I have was made by Christ. And it was made by
Christ to illustrate Christ's mystical body. That's what the
human body was made for. One reason it was made to illustrate
Christ's spiritual body, the church. Our human body has a
head, which rules the whole body. Well, Christ is the head over
all things to the church, which is His body. Christ is the head. Just like your body has a head
that rules everything in your body, Christ is the head. who
rules the whole body. And he gives to each member what
he will. Every member has what Christ
gives. The measure of grace of the gift
of Christ. And he puts each member where
he will in the body. And he fulfills his purpose for
his body using the members. This is all the work of Christ.
This is what He does. Now, knowing that He gives us
grace in the measure that He would have us to have, and that
He puts us in a body where He would have us to be, and He's
fulfilling His purpose with each of us in His body, that's why
we're not in competition with each other. God's true people,
believers, are not in competition with each other. His preachers
are not in competition. His people are not in competition
because we are what we are by the grace of God. We don't have
anything to boast of. Everything we have, we got it
freely given to us by God's grace. He's put us where He will in
the body, gifted us how He will in the body, and He's working
His purpose in the body. So it's all of Him. We don't
have any room to glory, any room to boast. Now, our human body
has many members. We're talking about, you got
fingers, you got a hand, you got eyes and ears and a nose
and a mouth. You got inward members. You got
a liver and lungs and all these different members, a foot, all
these different things. but it's just one body. All those
members are different, and all serve a different purpose, but
they comprise one body. Now look at verse 12. For as
the body is one body, and has many members, and all the members
of that one body being many, or one body, so also is Christ. So also is the body of Christ. For by one Spirit, by one Spirit,
are we all baptized into one body. Whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free, and we have been all made to drink
into one Spirit. For the body is not one member,
but many. You see, it's just one. One. Each chosen child of God is a
member of Christ's body. And whether we're in heaven,
whether they're in heaven or in earth, whether they've been
born again by His Spirit or yet to be born the first time, everyone that God chose in eternity
is a member of Christ's body. Every one of them. And we've
got one head and that's Christ. And this has been the case since
time, before time began. And it will be the case when
time is no more. God has made us one body, the
body of Christ. By divine election, choosing
us in His Son, our head. And in our human body, each member
is different. Each member is different. Each
member serves a different purpose. But each member, because of that,
is needed so the whole body will be complete. Cancer is so deadly
because what it does is it causes a member of the body to work
opposite to the other members of the body. That's basically
what it does. And so therefore, it causes the
body not to be whole anymore. It causes the body to fight against
itself. And that's why it's deadly. But God's grace causes all the
members of His body to work together for one purpose, for God's purpose.
God working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
It's all by Him. And in Christ's body, each member
of this body is saved by the same grace of God. One grace
that saved us is the grace of God. We're saved by one Spirit,
the same Spirit. You who believe have the same
Spirit in you that the Apostle Paul had in him, and that Moses
had in him, and that Adam had in him, and Abel had in him.
There's just one Spirit, one life-giving Spirit, and every
believer that shall ever have eternal life is born of that
one Spirit. And we're made to drink into
that one Spirit by regeneration. We're made by Him to have an
understanding of the knowledge of the Son of God. By that one
Spirit. We're equally, therefore, precious
to Christ. Equally precious to Christ. Look
at verse 15. If the foot... Talk about your
foot now. Imagine this. This seems sort
of... Overly simple, really. But it's really profound. If
your foot should say, well, because I'm not the hand, I'm not of
the body. If your foot should say, here
I am, I'm covered up, I'm down in the dust, nobody sees me,
nobody recognizes everything that I do for the body. And there's
the hand, out front, before everybody, clapping, getting praise itself
for all the mighty things it does. And so the foot says, so
I'm just not of the body. Well, does that make it not of
the body? No. It's still of the body. Look
here in verse 16, and if the ear shall say, because I'm not
the eye, I'm not of the body. The ear is not seen like the
eye. You don't hear young fellas fall
in love with a woman and go, oh, she just has beautiful ears.
She's got beautiful eyes. So if the ear should say, I'm
not of the body, would that make it not of the body because it's
not the eye? No. Verse 17, if the whole body
were an eye, where would be the hearing? And if the whole were
hearing, where would be the smelling? But now, hath God set the members? You see that God set the members. God set you where you are, just
like He put your bodily members where they are. God has set the
members, every one of them, in the body. God did. He put every single one of His
members in Christ's body, just like He put your physical members
in your body. And He did it as it hath pleased
Him. If I don't like where God's put
me and I'm not content with where God's put me and how God's gifted
me and how God's using me, you know what I'm doing? I'm complaining
against that which pleases God. God's put me where He will because
it pleased Him to do that. And God's put you where He will
because it pleased Him to do that. So we shouldn't complain
against what pleases God. We want whatever pleases God,
pleases us. Please God. Now look at verse
19. And if they were all one member,
where would be the body? But now are they many members,
yet but one body. And I cannot say unto the hand,
I have no need of thee. I can't say of the hand, I don't
need you. Nor again the head to the feet,
I have no need of you. Every member depends on every
other member. Now that's so of Christ. Each
member is equally important. Each member is equally needed.
Each member is equally dependent on each other member. Because through each member,
through every part, each member is Christ who is providing every
other member what we need. And through each member, Christ
is edifying the whole body. And for this reason, brethren,
we need each other. We cannot say, I don't have a
need of that member. There's no way. No way. We need each other because we
need Christ. Christ works through each member. Go to Ephesians 4 and mark it
because I won't probably come back there. But Ephesians 4.
I've quoted this verse many times but this is so important to understand. This is what I truly see modern
day false religion does not get this. If they understood this,
they would quit using all these extra man-made means they use
to try to make people obedient. Watch this right here. This is
so. Ephesians 4, 16. From Christ. You see there in verse 15, he
said, the head is Christ. And then he says, from the head.
From whom? The whole body is fitly joined
together and compacted by that which every joint supplies. Or you could say which every
member supplies. Every member is supplying what
the whole body needs. Now you know you don't have any
supply in you and I don't have any supply in me. So where is
that supply coming from? He said from the head, from Christ. Watch. According to the effectual
working. in the measure of every member,
of every part. It's by Christ working effectually
in whatever measure He will. He gives a measure to one, and
a measure to another, and a measure to another, and it's a different
measure. But He's working effectually in measure in every single member,
so that each member is supplying what the whole body needs. And
so then, Christ is making increase of the body unto the edifying
of itself in love. Christ is doing that. That's
why we need each other. That's why we have to have, each
member has to have the other. Christ is working through each
member. Each member. To supply what every
other member needs, which the whole body needs. It's so simple
when you look at our body and you realize that's true of our
body. The head takes the food and from the food it goes into
the stomach and it goes throughout to all the other members of the
body. And these, you have blood vessels to carry blood to different
parts of the body. Veins and you have ways that
these nutrients are carried through the members to all the various
members of the body. If I sever my hand from my body
and lay it over here and I take food in my mouth, guess what?
That hand is not going to get anything from it because it is
separated from the body. Can that hand say, well I don't
need the body, I can live on my own. How is the hand going
to eat? It don't have a mouth. It has
been separated from the head. It has been separated from the
other members through which Christ is giving what it needs. And so that's why you and I,
we can't, whatever happens in the church of God, what we have
to do, if we know anything at all about how rare the gospel
is in our day, and how what a rare and precious thing it is for
God to give you the privilege to be in His body, to be under
the sound of His gospel. You know what we need to do?
Whatever there is that has any kind of, causes any kind of friction,
We need to cover the sins of one another, overlook it, point
each other to Christ, and continue under the sound of the gospel.
Because otherwise we'll be like that hand severed from the body.
And we will wither and we will die. And it will be no good anymore. That's why we have to have...
He's done it this way on purpose so that we have to have each
other. Because we have to have Christ. Now, the purpose of God in this
is so that there cannot be any division in Christ's body. Look
at verse 22. He says, Nay, much more those
members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary. And those members of the body
which we think to be less honorable, or to be more feeble, or to be
sick or hurt, that's what he's talking about, Upon these we
bestow, we put on them more abundant honor. We, if there's a need,
we give to that need more abundantly. However that person needs to
be ministered to. And then our uncomely parts have
more abundant completeness. Now he's talking about still
using the human body as an illustration. And you think about this. We
all got some ugly parts. We put clothes on them so that
the ugly parts now are comely. You know, I don't want to see
anybody walking here with an old ugly foot shining. We put
a shoe on the foot so it covers up the foot and it's more comely
that way. But it takes other members to
put that shoe on that foot and make it more comely. Same way
with the body of Christ. You have some members who are
going through trials or whatever it is and it's the Lord who's
given that need. The Lord put the members in the
body as it pleases Him. He puts a member in the body
and it's Him that gives the measure that that person has. So there's
a member of the body that maybe doesn't have the measure of faith
you have. Always doubting, always troubled. Why did he do that? He gave that need. Christ gave
that. He put them there on purpose. So that here's some others he's
given more, a greater measure of faith. And what can they do?
They can minister and encourage that one who doesn't have the
faith. so that they're more comely in their faith now. They're ministered
to because He did it, He gave the need and He gave the provision
to meet the need because it was necessary so that we're taking
care of one another. Now look, look at this in verse
24. For our comely parts have no
need. If He's given you a blessing
and given you a measure to where you're not in need, then you
don't have a need right now. But God has tempered the body
together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked. See, God did it. He did it this
way on purpose. Why? Verse 25, that there should
be no schism, no division in the body. Now, that's the purpose
of it. Now, this is not wishful thinking
on God's part. He didn't do this this way and
just hope that there won't be any schism in the body or won't
be any division in the body. No, there is no schism in Christ's
body. There is no division in Christ's
body. Now, I know when you hear that, some people say, well,
when I look at the visible church, I see a whole lot of division.
Well, not everybody that claims to be the church of God is the
church of God. But the fact of the matter is,
before the eye of God in Christ, there is no division at all. I've said to you before, divisions
of the flesh. But what God creates, there is
no division. There is no division. We're one
with our triune God in Christ, and our God's not divided, and
He can't be divided. And therefore we're not divided
in Christ and we cannot be divided in Christ. God made us one when
he put us in Christ and blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in Christ. Look at Ephesians 1.4. Why did
he do that? It tells us there. And I want
to give you the proper meaning of this. Ephesians 1.4 says according
as he's chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world for
this purpose right here. That We should be holy and without
blame before Him in love. Look down at verse 6. To the
praise of the glory of His grace, that means it is not dependent
on us, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Because
God, when God took His people and put us in Christ, we were
separated from all other people. Holy in Christ. And when He put
His people in Christ, in Christ we were without blame before
Him. In love before Him. Accepted in Christ before Him. So that even though we fell in
Adam when sin entered in and we fell in Adam and we became
separated from God in ourselves and separated from one another
in ourselves, yet the reason God didn't destroy this world
is because in Christ He had a people who before Him are still one
in Christ. No schism, no division in that
body. We're one in Christ. And therefore,
He's going to call that people and He's going to make us to
see this oneness and understand this oneness and experience it
in our own hearts by His grace. Listen to this song by John Kent. To which Jesus and the chosen
race subsists a bond of sovereign grace. that hell with its infernal
train shall never dissolve nor rend in twain. This sacred bond
shall never break, though earth should to her center shake. Rest,
doubting saint, assured of this, for God has pledged His holiness. Hail, sacred union, firm and
strong, how great the grace, how sweet the song, that worms
of earth should ever be one with incarnate deity. This will never
change. There is no schism in His body.
There is no schism. All that remains to be done is
for Christ to send the gospel to His lost people that He's
redeemed by His blood and send forth the Spirit and regenerate
us in our hearts, make us to be born into His body, make us
to drink into that Spirit and show us what He's done for us,
bring us to faith in Christ. That's what verse 13 is speaking
about. People have used verse 13 when it talks about being
baptized into one body by the Holy Spirit and made to drink
into one body and they try to make that to be what happened
at Pentecost. And they say by that, and they
use that to say now by that you get these extra measure of gifts.
This is the go-to verse by your charismatic folks and your Pentecostal
folks. But what he's talking about there,
brethren, is to be born of the Spirit of God, and that's how
you're born into the body of Christ. That's how you're made
to be willing to drink, to have life by the Spirit of God, by
His working in you. It's irresistible. You've got
as much to do with it as you did your first birth. That's
what he's talking about. Remember in Romans 8 where he
says, you that are born of the Spirit, you're no longer in the
flesh, you're in the Spirit. And that's what he's talking
about. That's why he uses the word baptism. Because we're in the realm of
the Spirit. We're immersed in the Spirit
when you're born of God. There's a new man who's nothing
but Spirit. There's a new man who's nothing
but Christ in you. So that it can't be anything
but that. That's what he's talking about
right there. He's not talking about this thing of getting some
extra measure of gifts by the Holy Spirit. He's talking about
being born of God and made one with Christ. And that's all that
remains to be done is for Him to call the last one and make
us one with Him. And this work, this regenerating
and this calling and this edifying of His people is the one reason
Christ gave preachers and why He gave gifts. I think, I don't
think, I know this. Men have lost the meaning of
why God gave these gifts to begin with. There's been so much division
created by these gifts by folks who claim to have them. and try
to set themselves up as being superior to others because they
think they have these superior gifts. And they've lost the meaning
of why the gifts were even given in the beginning. The gifts were
given for one reason. God gave preachers for one reason. Apostles and prophets and teachers
and evangelists, He gave them for one reason. To preach Christ. And He gave them gifts to be
able to do that for one reason. To give Christ all the glory.
and to call out his lost people and edify his people in Christ. That's the one reason. The one
reason. Till we all come in the unity
of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of fullness of Christ,
till every finger and every thumb and every elbow and every arm
and every leg and every foot, every elect child of God is made
to be one complete total body. with Christ as the head. That's
why He gave them. And they'll continue to be until
that's accomplished. Now then, God's purpose in making the body
of Christ like this is so that each member who's called into
the body now regards each other, they regard their fellow brother
and their fellow sister as their own selves. Now listen to this, as their
own selves, because we're members one of another. We're in one
body, verse 25. See, there's no schism but that
the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer,
all the members suffer with it. Or one member be honored, all
the members rejoice with it. Now this is so. This is not wishful
thinking on God's part either. This is so. Everybody in whom
the Spirit of God dwells and the Spirit of God teaches and
in whom Christ abides, they have the same care one for another. One for another. It's just like you have the same
care for every member of your own physical body, because it's
your body. It's your body. If one part of
it gets hurt, the whole body hurts. And so it is with His
body, because we're one. Remember what He said in Ephesians
4.29? He said, No man ever yet hated
his own flesh, but nourisheth it and cherisheth it. even as
the Lord the Church. For we are members of His body
and of His flesh and of His bones. And when He makes you to see
that, He makes you to know that every other member that's a member
of His body is your own flesh. It's your own body. That's doubly
blessed for a man and a wife. You know that? Not only are we
one as husband and wife, we're one as brethren. We're one body
in the body of Christ. And so you cherish one another
just like a husband cherishes his wife and nourishes her and
protects her. You do that to your members of
your own physical body. And so it is with this spiritual
body. You want to get me riled up?
You want to get me upset? Let somebody come along and start
running down one of God's people and one that I'm responsible,
especially one that I'm responsible to minister to, and take them
away from the gospel, you'll have somebody riled up if you
do that, because that's like my own flesh and blood you're
doing that to. And that's so with God's people. That's how
God's people regard each other. That's not how it ought to be.
That's how it is. That's how it is, where the Spirit of God
works. Remember how He said, If a man said he loves God but
yet hates his brother, how does the love of God abide in him?
Christ said, this is how all men are going to know you are
my disciples, that you love one another. And He works that in
His people. You know what the comment I heard
after our meeting here? That's a congregation who you
can tell is loved by their pastor and their pastor's wife and who
love their pastor and their pastor's wife and one another. You couldn't
have given me a better compliment of anything. That's the best.
I mean, a father and a mother work to provide for their children
and teach their children and raise their children so that
they're known as being one. They're known as honoring their
father and their mother and honoring one another because they love
each other. That's a great, great... That's what we strive for. That's
what I as a preacher strive for by preaching the gospel. So,
and that's why it concludes by saying verse 27, Now you are
the body of Christ and members in particular. I pray God will
give us an understanding of this. This is a profound oneness, brethren. It's so mysterious, but it's
such a blessing. It's such a blessing. We're members
of one another. Equally useful, equally important,
equally needed. No one can boast over the other
or be downtrodden because they don't have what another has.
We're one. We're one. Most of you know I bought a Harley. And when you look at that Harley,
you just see everything that's on it. But there's a little piece
down under the carburetor, a little rubber piece, that is not working
properly. And it allows a little bit of
gasoline to drip down on the motor from that one little piece.
You wouldn't see that little piece if you was looking at that
Harley at all. But you see, that one little
piece is just as necessary as all of those other pieces that
you see. And it's necessary to make all those other pieces work
properly and it to be one bike. That's so with the church. That
member that might not be noticed, it might not be, you know, you
think is needful, it is just as necessary, just as loved,
just as saved, just as graced, just as blessed, just as honored,
just as needful as the rest of the body or else the body won't
be complete and it won't function properly. Just as needful. Now
I had something else to show you here, and I really want to
cover this before we move on. Let me just very quickly show
this to you, okay? It won't take but a minute, and
I think we need to say this before we move on. Go over, or just
look at 1 Corinthians 12. See, there's many offices, and
there's many operations, and there are many gifts, but not
all are in these offices, and not all have these same gifts,
but that doesn't mean that there's any better or any lesser. He
says there in verse 28, God has sent some in the church, first
apostles, secondarily prophets, later we're going to see by prophets,
he's talking about preachers. Thirdly, teachers, after that
miracles and gifts of healings, helps governments, diversities
of tongues. Are all apostles, are all prophets,
are all teachers, are all workers of miracles, have all the gifts
of healing, do all speak with tongues, do all interpret? No.
They don't. They don't. Yet each member is
as needful and important to the whole body as the other. Every
one of them. That's the point he's making.
There's no clergy and laity in God's church. There has to be
a preacher, there has to be a pastor to lead and teach and all that.
But He's not elevated and others lower. There's no clergy and
laity. There's no greater and lesser. We're one in Christ.
One in Christ. I'm a sinner saved by grace just
like you are. And that's so with everybody
in the house. We're sinners saved by grace. Christ is our one righteousness. Christ is our one holiness. He's
our one way, our one truth, our one life, and we're all one in
Him. And He's all and in all to each of us that are saved
by Him. Now, this is what I wanted to show you before I move on.
Turn to Acts 8. I think this is so needful. He's
not suggesting here that the church still has these same offices
in our day. That's not what he's saying.
Not some of them exist today, but not all of them exist today.
Nor is he saying that these extraordinary gifts exist today. Some, we do
have some gifts, but not like they had in the early church.
Now let me show you why this is so. Christ called his apostles
personally. And we don't have apostles today.
Because they were called personally by Christ. And he gave them a
gift to do something that he didn't give everybody else. On
the day of Pentecost, Christ Himself poured out the Holy Ghost
showing that His kingdom was established. But after that,
the only ones He gave the gift to use were the apostles to give
the Holy Ghost to others and those gifts. They could lay their
hands on others and through them Christ would give the Holy Ghost
and He would give those extra measure of gifts only through
the apostles. Now let me show you that. Look
at Acts 8.14. Philip was a deacon. He had gone
and preached the gospel and God saved some folks. And it said
in verse 14, when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard
that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them
Peter and John." These were apostles. "...who when they were come down
prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For as
yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized
in the name of the Lord Jesus." That doesn't mean they weren't
born of the Spirit. They were born of the Spirit of God. Every
man has got to be regenerated or he can't believe God. But
they didn't have the Holy Ghost and have these ability to work
these early church miracles. They didn't have that. That's
what he's talking about, about giving them the Holy Ghost. Now
watch. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the
Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw, watch this
word, that through laying on of the apostles' hands, the Holy
Ghost was given. Look over at Acts 10 and verse
44. He sent Peter down to Cornelius'
house to preach the gospel. And it says, verse 44, Peter
was an apostle. While Peter yet spake these words,
the Holy Ghost fell on all of them which heard the word. Then
in chapter 11 and verse 15, he says this, As I began to speak,
the Holy Ghost fell on them as on us at the beginning. You see,
the Holy Ghost gave Cornelius in his house extra gifts so it
was a visible sign to Peter and to the other believing Jews that
God indeed had an elect people among the Gentiles. These were
Gentiles. And he fell on them just like
they did back at Pentecost. But even then, who did he use?
He used the apostle Peter, an apostle. Look over at Acts 19.6. When Paul... Some folks came
down to be baptized. These baptized men came down
to be baptized to Paul. And look. And when Paul had laid
his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they
spake with tongues and prophesied. That was through the Apostle.
Through the Apostle Paul that Christ did that. Then in 1 Timothy
4.14, Paul says this. to Timothy. Neglect not the gift
that's in thee which was given thee by prophecy with the laying
on of the hands of the Presbytery. Now, in 2 Timothy 1.6, the Apostle
Paul says he was a member of that. He was an elder. Remember Peter said, I'm an elder
too. That's who the Presbytery was made up of. And so when Apostle
Peter, Apostle Paul laid his hands on a man, Through them,
God gave the gift of the Holy Ghost and these other gifts.
Paul said in 2 Timothy 1.6, I put thee in remembrance that thou
stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on
of my hands. He said that to Timothy. Now,
sometimes men laid their hands on other men as a mere symbol
that God, by His hand, had separated them for a particular work. Remember
when the Holy Ghost said, separate Saul and Barnabas for me? And
then the church laid their hands on them? They didn't communicate
anything to them when they did that. They laid their hands on
them symbolizing God has laid His hands on them and separated
them for this work. But the apostle The apostles
could lay their hands on somebody and pray and Christ would give
them the Holy Ghost and give them this extra gifts as at the
beginning. Now here's the point of that.
Well let me say this too. There's only one other man other
than an apostle that God did this through. That was Ananias. And he only did it once. And
it was simply because Christ was calling Paul the apostle. And he used Ananias to go to
him, and he put his hands on him, and he said, Brother Saul,
receive thy sight. And immediately scales fell from
his eyes. That's the only other man he
used it for, but it was when he was calling Paul to be an
apostle. And of course Christ couldn't
personally put his hands on him, so he sent a man and did it.
You understand that? And I think the reason he didn't
use an apostle to do it is so that we wouldn't imagine that
it was through some power of an apostle that it happened.
It was just an ordinary man because that way we see it was Christ
who made Paul an apostle. You see what I'm saying? So here's
the point of it. Here's the point of it. Whenever the last apostles died,
the giving of this extra measure of gifts ceased. Because they
were the only ones that could do it. So the giving of the Holy
Ghost like that ceased because it was only through the apostles
after Pentecost that the Lord gave it. So it ceased. And when
those that had these extra gifts died out, the miracles, those
extra miracles ceased. Because at that point, the Scriptures
were finished. They were complete. And they
didn't need to be confirmed by signs and miracles because now
we can pick the book up and we can turn here to support it in
the New Testament and in the Old Testament support it. We
got the whole Word of God. They didn't have that. So they
had to be confirmed with signs and miracles. But that's how
you know that they've ceased brethren. They've ceased. Now
here's, let me put all this together and let me send you home. Paul's not declaring that today
we have those same gifts. But the principle that he's teaching
still applies. And what it is, is this, just
as God placed members in His church and put them in different
administrations, some were apostles, some preachers, some teachers,
just as He did that, just as He gave different gifts, so today
we have different offices and we have different gifts. We have
different gifts from the early church hand. But here's the point,
though we're not all in the same office and all don't have the
same gift, not even that the early church had, that makes
none of us today any inferior to those saints in the early
church. Nor does it make any saint in this body inferior to
another one. We're all equal and we're all
needful. even though all don't have the
same office and all don't have the same gifts. That's the point.
The principle is the same and it lasts even though the gifts
and the administrations are not exactly the same. You get the
point? But look at verse 31. He says,
But covet earnestly the best gifts. We're going to see later
in another message the best gifts are those through which the gospel
is preached clearly to needy sinners. That's what he's talking
about. And then next time, Lord willing,
we're going to see this. And yet I show unto you a more
excellent way. And that more excellent way,
something better than any gift whatsoever, is having the love
of Christ in your heart. That's better than anything.
That's better than anything. We'll see that next time. Now,
if somebody hears this, and they're proud of their flesh, They've
always thought gifts existed, been fooled by it, taught that,
and all that mess. The pride of their flesh is not
going to let them let it go. You know, we can't admit we're
wrong. That's pride that won't let a
man just go, okay, I'm wrong. We try to go on and on defending
our wrong way and just get steeped more and more in the wrong way. Even in little things, we just
can't say, okay, let me stop this, I'm wrong. That's pride. But the grace of God will make
a man give it up. He'll make him give it up. And
there's no shame in saying, I've been wrong, I've been fooled.
There's no shame in that. God said His people won't be
ashamed. So when you hear the truth, and
God gives you grace, repent by His grace and believe God and
leave everything else out. And you won't be ashamed by that.
You won't be ashamed by that. And I pray God will make us do
that. The gift of God is to be one with Christ and with brethren
in His body. That's the gift. I pray God will
make us see that. Amen. Let's pray together, brethren. Our Lord and our God, we thank
You. Thank You, Lord, for making us
one, for giving us the privilege of being one in Christ with You
and being one with our brethren. That is truly a privilege. That
is amazing grace, Lord, that You've worked. And we really
thank You for that. We praise You for that. Lord,
don't let us be severed from the body. Don't let pride make
us want to be severed from the body. Lord, keep us clinging
to your body. Make us to know that we need
our brethren. Make us overlook wrong words
and wrong looks and petty things and just make us, Lord, wait
on you and trust you to work things out in your body. And
Lord, keep us ever clinging to Christ. Forgive us our sins,
Lord. We ask it in His name, for His
honor. Amen.