The Church - His Body

Q: What does the Bible say about the Church as the body of Christ?

The Church is referred to as the body of Christ, emphasizing the interconnectedness of believers as members working together for the glory of God. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul illustrates the Church as the body of Christ, where each believer is a member with unique gifts and roles. Just as a physical body has many parts that function together, the Church comprises diverse individuals working in unity to fulfill God's purposes. The members, whether visible or less prominent, are equally vital to the body, demonstrating that every believer has a significant contribution to make in the ministry and service to the Lord.

Q: How do we know the gifts of the Spirit are true?

The gifts of the Spirit are validated by the consistent teachings of Scripture and the historical practices of the early Church. The gifts of the Spirit, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, are evidenced by the ministry of the apostles and the early Church. God confirmed their message with signs, wonders, and various spiritual gifts (Hebrews 2:3-4). While these supernatural gifts were prominent in the early Church to validate the apostles, the underlying principle remains that the Holy Spirit distributes different gifts according to His will to serve the Church. Today, while we may not see the miraculous gifts in the same way, the presence of the Spirit continues in various forms within the Church, bringing wisdom, faith, and discernment.

Q: Why is unity important in the Church?

Unity is crucial in the Church to reflect the body of Christ, where each member collaborates in love and purpose. Unity within the Church is essential, as expressed in 1 Corinthians 12:25-26, where Paul emphasizes that when one member suffers, all suffer together, and when one is honored, all rejoice. This interconnectedness illustrates the body of Christ functioning as a whole, where every member plays a vital role. Love serves as the bond that holds the Church together, fostering an environment where believers can support and cherish one another, thereby enhancing their collective witness to the world. Without unity, the Church cannot effectively fulfill its mission, leading to division and strife.

Q: How do spiritual gifts contribute to the Church?

Spiritual gifts are given to believers to serve and build up the Church, enabling every member to play a unique role in God's plan. In 1 Corinthians 12:7, Paul states that each believer is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. This means that spiritual gifts are not for personal glory but are meant to be used for the benefit of the Church community. These gifts include wisdom, faith, healing, and others, which, when used collectively, help to mature the faith of the Church and advance its mission. Every believer's contribution is valuable, emphasizing that the diversity of gifts enhances the functionality and effectiveness of the body of Christ as it serves one another and the world.

All right, let's open our Bibles
now to the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 12. The purpose of this message tonight is fourfold. Number one, I wish to set forth
what the scriptures declare about believers' relationship to one
another as members of the Lord's Church, which is his body. The
believers' relationship to one another in the Lord's Church. And secondly, I hope to show
the value and importance to the Church and to the ministry and
to one another of every believer, every true believer, the value
and importance of each one. And thirdly, I wish to encourage
initiative and service to the Lord and to his church on the
part of every believer. we have a ministry. Every believer
has a ministry in the Lord's body. And fourthly, and there
are two parts to this fourth purpose, to give our Lord all
the praise for each one. You know, Paul said I thank God
for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. I thank God for you.
He gets the glory. He gets the praise. But it's
also to cause us to be thankful to and for one another. I thank
the Lord for you, and I thank him that he has brought us to
be one in the body of Christ. And I'm thankful for each one,
to and for each one. Also, I might add, to promote
the spirit of love and unity in the body of Christ, that there
be no division. All right, chapter 12, let's
look at each verse as God gives us some leadership and his spirit
of understanding. Paul says, concerning spiritual
gifts. Brethren, I would not have you
ignorant. In this early church at Corinth,
the Lord had given some great and unusual gifts, as he did
to the apostles. He gave the apostles these gifts,
unusual, supernatural gifts. He gave these gifts to the apostles
and also to some of the brethren in the Church, their covenant.
Let me show you what I'm talking about. Turn to Hebrews chapter
2, Hebrews the second chapter, beginning with verse 3, Hebrews
2 verse 3. Hebrews 2 verse 3 says, How shall
we escape If we neglect so great salvation, which at the first
began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by
them that heard him, by these apostles that saw him and heard
him, as John said, I saw him, I heard him and touched him.
God also bearing them witness, he bore them witness, their ministry. You see, these apostles went
forth to preach to a hostile, antagonistic world, Jew and Gentile. They didn't have the New Testament.
They went forth to declare in Christ the fulfillment of all
Old Testament promises and prophecies and pictures and types. And when
they went forth, they said, God sent us. How do we know God sent
you men? You're preaching contrary to
the Pharisees and contrary to the Sadducees and contrary to
the tradition of the fathers and the customs of the fathers.
How do we know? God gave them magnificent, unusual,
supernatural gifts to speak in other languages they had not
learned, to lay hands on the sick and they recovered, even
to raise the dead, to perform great and wonderful miracles.
He gave them words of wisdom. words of knowledge, discernment
of spirits. He even spoke to them as they
wrote the words I'm reading to you now, supernaturally. He gave these men gifts, and
these gifts were also given to some of the members of the Church.
Now, let's read. Here's Hebrews 2, verse 3. God,
verse 4, God bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders and
different miracles and gifts, supernatural gifts, unusual gifts
of the Holy Ghost according to his will. Now, one other scripture,
Mark 16. Mark 16. Now, these are gifts in the Church
today, as I'll show you in a few moments. unusual and supernatural,
God-given gifts, but not to this extent. And for that matter,
we don't need them. We have the completed Word. We
have the whole New Testament. I don't need to prove to you
by some miracle that God sent me to preach. All I have to do
is preach what God says. That's all. But now, when Paul
stood to preach, or John, or James, or these men, they couldn't
say, turn to the book of Philippians, turn to the book of Galatians,
turn to the book of Mark. They wrote these books. And when
they go in new places, preaching Christ is the fulfillment of
all the Old Testament scriptures. People listened to them because
they spoke their language. Unusually so. Now, Mark 16. And Christ said this to the apostles.
And I'd be foolish to try to put it in practice today to this
extent. In Mark 16, verse 15, he said
to them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he
that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs, see what I'm
saying, signs, he bore them witness with unusual, different They
were a sign of what? A sign that these men came from
God, that they spoke for God, that what they were saying was
truth. Signs. We don't need signs. We have
the Word. And these signs shall follow
them that believe, in my name shall they cast out devils. They
shall speak with new tongues, new languages, not gibberish,
new languages. They'll take up serpents. That
doesn't mean try to prove your faith by handling a rattlesnake.
Paul, on that island, put his hand to pick up a piece of wood
for the fire, and a snake, a powerfully poisonous snake, latched onto
his hand, and he shook it off in the fire. And these pagan
fellows stood there waiting on him to die, one of those snakes
that they talk about in Mexico, you know. And he didn't die. And they stood back and said,
But they heard him preach. They listened to him preach.
God gave this sign. Don't you try it. That's foolish. In my name, and if they drink
any deadly thing. And yet Paul wouldn't stand and
take poison and drink it to show off. He wouldn't do that. If
they do drink any deadly thing, say they were poisoned by someone
or got deadly water in a certain Kagan island or something, it
will not hurt them. And they lay hands on the sick,
and they shall recover. And those are the signs. And
some of the people in this church, before the completion of God's
word, had these gifts. And some were discouraged because
they didn't have them. All didn't have them. You know,
John the Baptist never worked a miracle. Not one. Not one. And some of the people in this
early church here at Corinth were discouraged because they
didn't have these gifts. And some of them, unfortunately,
because they were human beings, they were elated and puffed up
because they did have the gifts. And some people abused the gifts
and misused the gifts. And this caused strife and division
among them, and what Paul is saying here, I'm writing concerning
these spiritual gifts in order that you might not be ignorant. All right, verse 2. Now, you
know you were Gentiles, and Corinth, that's a Gentile city, a city
of philosophers and a city of human wisdom and a city of pagan
idols. You know that you were Gentiles,
carried away with these dumb idols as you were led." In other
words, he's saying this. If any of us have any knowledge
of God, if any of us have any ability, God-given ability, if
any of us have a gift, we have nothing of which to boast. We
have no reason to be boastful or proud, for when God found
us, we were nothing but pagan idol worshipers. We were worshiping dumb idols
when the Lord came and saved us and called us and revealed
Christ to us. So what we are, what we have,
should never lead to boasting or pride. Because what we are,
He made us. And what we know, He taught us.
And what we have, He gave us. That's what he's saying in verse
2. You've got nothing to be proud of. You folks that have the gift
to preach or speak in other languages or lay hands on the sick, you
were just a Gentile worshiping a dumb idol when God found you.
Wherefore, verse 3, I give you to understand this, that no man
speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus Christ a curse. And that no man can say that
Jesus is the Lord. But by the Holy Ghost. In other
words, every believer, whether he's exceptionally gifted or
not gifted at all, every believer has the Holy Spirit. I hear preachers
talk about today coming forward and laying hands on you and you
receive the Holy Spirit. My friends, what Paul is saying
here, it's the Holy Spirit who regenerated us. It's the Holy
Spirit who quickened us. It's the Holy Spirit who called
us. It's the Holy Spirit who revealed Christ to us. And a
man who does not know Jesus Christ does not have the Holy Spirit.
Nor can a man know Christ apart from the Holy Spirit. A man can't
call Jesus Christ Lord except by the Holy Spirit. So if you're
in the church and you call Christ Lord and Redeemer, blessed Redeemer
and Master, because the Holy Spirit revealed Christ to you.
If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of His.
So let that be established clearly, every person who knows God has
the Spirit of God. All right, verse 4. Now, there
are diversities of guilt. But the same spirit, in other
words, he's saying in the church there are different gifts, there
are different talents, there are different abilities, there's
different understanding. But it's the same spirit, it's
the same Holy Ghost who gives us anything spiritually that
we have. All of us have the heavenly gifts
in Christ Jesus, we have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification
and redemption. But on this earth, there are
different gifts given in the Church. But it's the same Holy
Spirit that gives those gifts. Now look at verse 5. And in the
Church, there are differences of administration, or different
ministries, different ways that men and women serve the Master.
There are different gifts, talents, abilities. And there are different
ministries in the use of those gifts and talents and abilities. But it's the same Lord, in other
words, it's the same Lord whom everyone serves, whatever they
do. Whether we take care of the building,
take care of the bookstore, take care of the office, take care
of the tapering, preach the gospel, give, serve the lunches, Whatever
we do, pray for one another, greet one another at the door,
exhort one another, sing specials, whatever we do, they're different
gifts. But it's the same Spirit who
gives them, and they're different ministries, but it's the same
Master we're serving. Whatever we do, we're doing it
for the glory of God. When you gave your offering today,
God gave you the gift to give. God gave you the power to share
when you let us in prayer. What a blessed prayer. God gave
you that prayer for us to heal. You see, it's the same Lord. We're not serving ourselves.
We preach Christ. We're not serving ourselves or
seeking Bangalore. Look at verse 6. And there are
differences of operations. And what does that mean, operations?
In other words, they're different effects. They're different accomplishments. They're different purposes served.
They're different results. They're different gifts, but
the same Holy Spirit gifted each one. They're different ministries,
but it's the same master that we serve. And God takes whatever
we do and whatever we give and accomplishes his purpose. There are different purposes,
different administrations and different purposes served. But
look at this. But it's the same God who is
working all and in all. It's the same sovereign God who
uses us when he will, where he will, and for whatever purpose
he will. That's important, you see, those
three things. They're different gifts, but it's the same Holy
Spirit that gave to me or to you out there, each one, in the
body of Christ, what we have. It's the same Spirit. And they're
different ministries. They're different ways that God
uses us, but it's the same God we serve. Whether we do little
or much, whether we do it often or once in a while, we're serving
the same Master. And God will raise up a man and
use him at whatever time for whatever purpose God's pleased
to use him. Now look at verse 7. But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit. What he's saying here is what
God does with this message tonight. What God does with that psalm.
What God does with that scripture and prayer. What God does with
these gifts, what God does with conversation you have before
this service, after this service. What God does with that discussion
we had with the men. What God does with your reading.
What God does is for the profit of his church. Not for my personal
profit, but profit with all. I wish we could get hold of that.
That the most insignificant word that's spoken in the name of
Christ, under the spirit of leadership of God's Spirit, for God's glory,
he'll take and accomplish the most unusual thing. If we could
get up in the morning and wonder what God's going to do today,
we may not find out for ten years, but just wonder what he's going
to do today. What do you do with that word
you spoke or that scripture you used or that service we had or
that encounter you had with someone? God is in everything. I believe that, in everything. He's in everything. He's in everything,
especially where his people are concerned. because all these
things work together for our good, and it's for the profit
of the whole body of Christ. All right. Now, verse 8 through
10, he talks about, I hear people call them the nine gifts, and
there are folks today who are trying to reenact these. And these unusual supernatural
gifts were present in those early days, and I'll show you in a
moment, they're present today to some extent. But these are
the gifts he's talking about that they had in that early church.
He said, for to one is given the Spirit, by the Spirit the
word of wisdom. And to another, now notice, it
seems like no man had them all. Or even maybe no man had two
or three of them. Maybe Paul did, the special apostle. But what he's saying is they're
different gifts. They're different ministries.
a different accomplishment. But to one is given the word
of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit. Like Paul could stand on that
deck of that ship and say, this boat is going down, but not one
life will be lost. And nobody else knew that. And
he knew it because God gave him that word of knowledge. And to
another faith by the same Spirit. To another, the gift of healing
by the same Spirit. To another, the working of miracles. To another, prophecy, declaring
things that will come to pass. Read Thessalonians, how Paul
prophesied of events that will take place in the future. He
even told things that were going to happen then. To another, discerning of spirits. You remember when Paul cast out
some demons, and then these sons of Seba came along. And they
found a fellow that was demon-possessed, and they said in the name of
Jesus that Paul preaches, come out. And the demons came out,
but they lit on those fellows and whipped them and ran them
out of the house naked. And the demons said to them,
Jesus we know, And Paul we know, but we don't know you fellas.
So be careful, you know, about things like this, the casting
out of demons. And to another, it says here,
prophecy, discerning of spirits. To another, different kinds of
languages, tongues, different kinds. Every time the word tongue
is used in the Bible, it means one of two things. This organ
in my mouth, and in your mouth, that's a tongue, and the other
is a discernible, understandable language spoken by somebody.
I guarantee you that's the truth. It never refers to some fellow
standing off here in the corner with his eyes rolled back in
his head, carrying on some kind of foolish talk. No, sir. And don't ever be taken up into
that. don't do it, I warn you, to another
interpretation of tongues. In other words, a man spoke in
another language and there were people present there that didn't
know that language, he'd interpret. And he could interpret a language
he never learned. That's the gift. All right, you
say, Pritchard, how do you say that these things are present
in 13th Street Baptist Church, in the body of Christ today?
First, there's a spirit of wisdom in his church, and that's accomplished
by the Spirit of God and experience and years and knowledge of the
Scripture. There's wisdom here. There's
wisdom in many of you. God's given you some unusual
wisdom, and we'd do well to seek that wisdom, seek your counsel. There's the word of knowledge.
There's people here who know the scriptures, taught by God. They know the mysteries of the
gospel. They have a knowledge of the ways and will of God.
I believe I can be a great help to young pastors. I've been a
pastor a long time. And by God's knowledge and wisdom
and experience, I can be helpful, if they'll let me, you know.
There's a word of knowledge. And there's little faith and
great faith. All have faith, but all do not
have faith in the same measure. You know, there are those who
are shy, and there are those who are reluctant to undertake.
A young minister friend of mine is undertaking a large project,
and he talks to me frequently, and he says, I believe that this
can be done, but I have some friends and close loved ones
who don't believe it can be done. See, that's faith. God's given
this young man faith. And that's present here. There are those who believe it
can be done. Others believe it can be done
to an extent, you know. And then there are healers. I
tell you, when you make peace, you're healing. There are those
with a gift to keep the unity, keep the direction, keep the
peace of the body. healing, that goes deeper than
just physical maladies, doesn't it? It heals someone's emotions,
or someone's difficulties. And there are miracles
of His grace every day. And there's the gift of prophecy,
there's the gift of preach. There's some of these men in
this church, ten years ago, they couldn't do what they're They'd
had a hard enough time standing here, let alone speaking. But
God's given them a gift to teach, to preach, to pray, to expound
the scriptures, to say, thus saith the Lord. There's a gift
to discern spirits and attitudes. Doctrines taught. You know, a
lot of people can hear a preacher, and I don't see anything wrong
with what he's saying. And here's a man with discernment.
He can say, I see something. I know where he's going, I know
what he's saying. That's the reason God gives us
pastors, with discernment. I know what can happen, I know
what their this leads. You want to avoid this, and so
forth. There's discernment. There are men who can preach
in other languages. Don't you believe that Bill Clark's
ability to speak in French is a gift of God? Don't you believe
that Walter Gruber and Milton Howard's ability to speak in
Spanish is the gift of God? I know that it is. I know that
it is. We were down there preaching
Mexico in January, and Milton is so fluent and so good in Spanish,
they think he's a Mexican. And one fella came up to him
and said, where are you from? Milton said, Tuchla. He said,
you speak English real well. That's a gift of God. These Iranian
doctors around here can't speak English very well. But that man, and Bill Clark,
when he went to France, God gave him the ability to speak in French
so excellently that the people thought he was a Frenchman. And
they listened to him. They thought he was one of them.
And I might add, there are people here who are blessed with the
ability to give. God's given you a good job, God's
given you a good income. Why do you think he gave that
to you? So you could spend it on yourself? Lavish in the lap
of luxury? No, he gave it to you so you
could give. So you could help. There are
those who have mechanical ability. There are those who show hospitality.
There are those who can cook, care for the body. There are
those who can comfort and minister to the sick. We've got a church
full of school teachers that teach our young people, that
set an example. That's a ministry. We've got,
I don't know how many nurses in this church, nine or ten I
reckon, who minister. Like one patient told me recently
how special it was when she came out of surgery and looked up
into the face of one of our young ladies here at the church who
was her nurse. It felt so good to know somebody, have somebody's
hand on you that you knew. You see, there's ministries.
There are those who encourage others. There are those who write
to others. There are those cards you send,
those letters. In other words, they're gifts
in so many, many, many ways. Verse 11, And all of these worketh
that one and selfsame Spirit, all of these services and gifts
and abilities are inspired and given and used by that same Holy
Spirit, who gives to every man severally as he will. I am what I am. by the grace
of God. I am what I am. Let me be thankful
for what I am. Let me be thankful for what I
have. Let me be thankful for the open doors. Let me be thankful
for the ministry God's given me, because what I am is by the
grace of God. And Spurgeon used to say this,
let's all remember our gifts are borrowed. You said that.
And he can take them back just as quickly as he can. Let's don't
give him cause to do so. That's right. He can take them
back just as quickly. He did in that parable, didn't
he? He gave those different talents, Cecil, and one fellow, he took
the one he had, he took it back and gave it to the fellow that
had a lot. Left him without anything because he wouldn't use it. Verse
12, For as the body is one and has many members, And all the
members of that one body being many are one body. So is Christ.
Now what's he talking about here? He's saying a person's natural
body. You're looking up here at a natural
body. It has many members. Fingers,
thumbs, feet and toes, ears, eyes, mouth, tongue, heart, lungs,
kidneys, all of these things. A body's many members. Many members. And all the members of that body,
being many, are still just one body. There's just one body up
here. So also is Christ's body, the
Church, one body. Read on now. For by one Spirit
are we all baptized into one body. This body, all of it is one body. And this
body of Christ, the Church, by the Spirit of God, calling out
his people has immersed them and brought them into one body
in Christ Jesus. Look, whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free, whether we be old or young, whether we
be male or female, whomever, and we've all been made to drink
into one spirit. For the body's not one member, verse 14, but many. Now here's
where some of the problems came along. Look at verse 15. Now suppose the foot would say,
because I'm not the hand, I'm not of the body. My hands are so visible, and they're so useful, and they
bring me water, they bring me food, they comb my hair, they
shave my face, they reach out and shake hands. My feet really
are not as conspicuous. They're not used nearly as much.
They're not as active. So suppose my foot says, well,
I'm not the hand, so I'm not worth anything. Oh, yes, you
are. You see what he's saying? I don't
have the gift this man has. I'm not as visible. I'm not as
Well known, I'm not as seemingly, he thinks, as useful. I'm sure
thankful for my feet. You don't see them, but I'm using
them right now. I'd miss just one little toe. Old Dizzy Dean, back in the 1930s,
hurt his big toe and it ended his career. That's right. If they hit him in the head,
it wouldn't have ended his career, but his big toe, that ended his
career. It says here, and if the foot
shall say, well, I'm not the hand, then I'm not of the body,
is it not of the body? If the ear shall say, because
I'm not the eye, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not of
the body? Suppose, listen to verse 17,
the whole body was an eye. Suppose everybody was a preacher,
where would be the heroes? Suppose everybody was a teacher,
where would be the learners? Suppose everybody was an organist,
where would be the singers? Suppose every believer was an
elder, where would be the cooks? You elders can't cook. Suppose every believer was a
father, where would be the mothers? Suppose every believer was a
missionary, where would be the supporters? Suppose every believer was young,
where would be the leader's experience? Can you not see the way God has
constituted the body of Christ? Each person from the oldest to
the youngest. Husband, wife, children, pastor,
people, elders, whatever, singers, prayers, givers, friends, companions,
every believer, every part of the body. Look at verse 18. But
now God has set the members, every one of them, every what? Every one of them. Every one. That's an important word there,
isn't it? Then about ever one, these children here, I just hate
to see that seat vacant right there, or that one right there,
ever one, ever one, as yet in the body as it pleased him. Now,
and if they were all one member, you wouldn't even have a body.
Do you know where beauty is? You know where real success and
accomplishment is? Working together. That's where
it is. Working together. That's the
way a body moves, even when you're walking. See, every member, every
part of that body is contributing to that step. They're just one
part seeing the legs. But yet the mind had to tell
them which way to go. And then the ears and the eyes of the
guards that tell them to watch out for this or that. Every act
of the body is an act of the body. That's what he's saying.
Where would be the body? But verse 20, but now are they
many members and yet just one body, one church. And verse 21,
now here's where some more problems came. Remember I told you some
of them had extremely extraordinary gifts, and some didn't. And these
that didn't, the foot shall say, well, I'm not the hand, then
I'm not the body. Or the ear shall say, well, I'm
not the eye, then I'm not the body. But now be careful, eye,
that you don't look down upon the foot. See, watch this now. And the eye cannot say to the
hand, I have no need of thee. I'd like to see that eye pick
up that glass of My thirst wants the water. My eye sees where it is, but
old Mr. Hand is going to have to dig
it up. I can't say to the hand, I don't
need thee. I'd like to see the eye scratch
when you itch, wouldn't you? And again, the head say to the
foot, I don't need you. Nay, nay, nay, nay. Much more. Now watch this. Much
more those members of the body which seem to be more feeble
or less visible. The word feeble there is not
without strength. It is less visible or necessary. Nobody here has seen my lungs,
nor have I. I'm sure thankful for them. And I'll tell you really the
most important member of the whole body, the heart. And that's what you're at, the
heart. Nobody ever talks about it. And yet it's so necessary. And
those members of the body which we think to be less honorable,
upon those we bestow a more abundant honor. My face is out in the
open, my hands are, but I've clothed this body, and we clothe
it, you try to do it attractively, you try to do it in such a way
that it might have much comeliness and beauty, and that's what he's
saying here, and those members of the body which we think to
be less honorable, upon these we restore more abundant honor,
and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. In other
words, we need to shower A lot of attention and affection and
grace and kindness upon those that are less visible. Isn't
that right? Less visible. Actually those
parts of the body which are not so visible, which are not seen
by the public are very important and we're careful to clothe them
and care for them. So let the church render great
honor, great love and great kindness to those who are less visible. Show attention and kindness. Verse 24, Our comely parts have
no need, but God hath tempered the body together, having given
more abundant honor to that part which lacked. Now watch this, that there should
be no divisions in the body, but that the members should have
the same care one for another, same love for everybody. And now watch this, and when
one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. One member, one little vertebrae. Know about that, don't you? One little care broken finger,
and the whole body. When this hand hurts, this one
does too. Every member of the body, when
one member suffers, Every member suffers. That's right. It just
goes through the whole body. That's where the church is. Or
one member be honored. All the members rejoice with
it. Now, you're the body of Christ.
And you're members in particular, every one of you. And God has
set some in the church, apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles. Gifts, healing, helps, leadership,
government, diversities of language. Is everybody an apostle? No.
Is everybody a prophet? No. Is everybody a teacher? No. All workers of miracles? No. Do all have the gift of healing?
No. Do all speak with tongues? No.
Do all interpret? No. Everybody has his own particular
gift and talent. I say just being you is a gift. You're unique and unusual. Your
personality, your contribution, your service, your ministry to
Christ is most unique and unusual. No one can take your place. And he says in verse 31, and
covet earnestly the best gifts. to be a better teacher, a better
preacher, a better singer, a better servant, to give more of myself. Like I said, this message is
to promote initiative. Well, I'm not worth anything.
Oh, yes you are. My Lord died for you. You make up his jewels. You're worth everything, and
covet the best gifts, but I'm going to show you something better
than gifts. And this is a gift of God. And this is the work of God.
And see, that chapter division ought not even be there. He's
talking about these, the body and the gifts. He says, I'm going
to show you something that's more important than all of these gifts. He says, though I speak with
the tongues of men and of angels, speak in other languages and
have not love? Well, I'm a sounding brass or
a tinkling cymbal. It's a useless gonging sound. It's a nerve racking to the ears
to hear someone speak who does not love. And though I have the
gift of prophecy and preaching and understand the mysteries
and have all knowledge and have faith so that I could remove
mountains and I don't love God and love people, love is grace. I am nothing. Gifts don't make
you what you are, Christ does. We're not trying to show off
gifts, we're trying to preach Christ. I'm nothing. And though I bestow my goods
to feed the poor, I'm a giver. I'm a encourager. I'm a builder. And though I give my body to
be burned, I stand for the truth. I'll die at a stake and don't
have love. It'll profit me nothing." So,
love suffers long, is kind. You read it when Ronnie was reading
it there. Those are the things. To love
God, to love his people, to love one another. That's the cement. That's the bond that holds all
of these members together. It's like the soul I have a body
here and I am a soul, and when the soul leaves, the same body
stands here and then it falls. It's useless. And the very soul
of the church is love for Christ. His love for us, our love for
him. If that leaves, burn it down,
because it's of no use. All right, Mike, come lead us
in again.

The Church - His Body

What does the Bible say about the Church as the body of Christ?

How do we know the gifts of the Spirit are true?

Why is unity important in the Church?

How do spiritual gifts contribute to the Church?

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The Church - His Body

What does the Bible say about the Church as the body of Christ?

How do we know the gifts of the Spirit are true?

Why is unity important in the Church?

How do spiritual gifts contribute to the Church?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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