Verse of the Day

Live the Difference
Live in the Difference 
1 Corinthians 12:27-31 

For more than a year, a little old cleaning woman, who was living “on the wrong side of the tracks,” had been trying to join a popular, fashionable downtown church. The pastor was not eager to have a seedy looking person in faded, out-of-style clothing sitting in a pew next to his more affluent members. When she called for the fifth time to discuss membership, he put her off again as had been his practice.

“I’ll tell you what,” said the pastor, “you just go home tonight and have a talk with God about it. Later, you can tell me what He said.”

The poor woman went her way. Weeks moved into months, and the pastor saw no more of her. Then one day, he encountered her scrubbing floors in an office building, and felt impelled to inquire, “Did you have that little talk with God?”

“Oh, my, yes,” she said, “I talked with God as you suggested.” “God said for me not to get discouraged, but to keep trying. He said that He Himself had been trying to get into your church for twenty years, with no more success than I have had.”

We might smile at the story, the problem is, if it is true, it is an awful indictment. You see, when we consider ourselves superior, we disinvite God. For we have taken the place that rightfully belongs to Him alone. We make God unwelcome.
 
The Corinthians were living in that contradiction.
There were some in the Corinthian church that were feeling superior. They had focused on the “showy” gifts and had, in effect, claimed a superior spiritual status. In particular, there had been an improper focus on the gift of tongues.

So, as we have been studying the 12th chapter of Corinthians, we have seen that Paul has been actively refuting that thinking. Because, whether they realized it or not, they had disinvited God.
They were abusing the good gifts that God had given them.

You have probably realized by now, that our theme this month has been that… Spiritual gifts are for everyone.

If you are a believer today, you have been given one or more spiritual gifts. You did not receive these gifts because you earned them. They came to you because of God’s grace. As the apostle Paul corrects the Corinthians’ use of these gifts, he outlines how they came to be in the church. They come because of God’s work in our lives.

The first work is that… We have been placed into the body.

Note v. 13…For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 

When we received Jesus as our Savior and our Lord, and we came into relationship with Him, and a very special thing happened. The Holy Spirit came into us.

We became a temple of the Holy Spirit. We became His residence. And in turn, He placed us into the body of Christ. You and I became members of something much bigger than our individual selves.
It is simply the marvelous introduction into the body of Christ, the church.

But this is not all that God has done for us.
For the second work is… We have been designed by God (v. 18) But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 

Each one of us has been specially designed by God.
God has arranged us just as He wanted. We are unique. God has used His creative ability to make each one of us different. We are to live in this difference. We are to enjoy this difference.   

Remember that acrostic “SHAPE”? We use it to describe the “shape” God has made us.
S stands for spiritual gifts.
H stands for heart and passion.
A stands for abilities and gifts.
P stands for personality.
And E stands for experience.

God takes all these things, and this gives us a certain shape or design. So, note, since God has made you the way you are, you are important to Him. The fact is, nobody is a nobody in the body of Christ.

But God is not done yet.
There is a third work… We have been combined together (24-25) … But God has so composed the body…that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

Something very miraculous is happening here. You see, you have not only been placed in the body… You have not only been individually designed… Everyone of us has been especially combined together. This church has been called together by God to serve Him. We have been called together to work together.

You and I have not been designed to work independently. We have been called to be interdependent. You see, in order to be healthy, we need each other. So, we have been placed into, designed for and combined together into the body of Christ.

Now, before we come to the main text, we need to understand the social dynamics of the local church.

Those of us that have been in ‘church life” a while need to remember and we need to be ready to apply what we have just studied. 

We all have a tendency to like new faces. As we just learned, new people bring in a new combination of gifts, and talents, and experiences. What we need to remember, is that God has brought them here.

I need to emphasize this because new people bring change (yes, I just said that dreaded word). So, we can’t be caught saying to new people that God has brought here, “This is how we do things here at Maranatha; you just sit back and relax and let us do the driving.”

That doesn’t make a lot of Biblical sense. Now to be fair, when someone new comes in, I think it is wise to demonstrate patience, even when they have lots of good ideas. Take the time to get to know and love the people God has brought into our life.

You see… WE USE OUR INDIVIDUAL GIFTS FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL.

We are here for each other. We are to live the principle of “unity in diversity.” So… we will find in our study of I Corinthians 12:27-31 three factors we must know in order to be a benefit to all.

Lets read again, (27) Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (28) And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. (29) Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? (30) Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? (31) But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. 

I. The first factor is the CIRCUMSTANCES. Verse 27 gives us the situation, the circumstances, that are foundational in our understanding of the church. Together, we make up the body of Christ.

Back at the beginning of this letter, Paul told the Corinthians that they were not lacking in any gift (1:7). They had been perfectly equipped to represent and serve the Lord. As a local body of believers meeting in the city of Corinth, they were Christ’s body in miniature. They were a living representation of Jesus.

And the same is true for us today. As a local body of believers meeting in the Copper Basin Area, we are Christ’s body in miniature. We are a living representation of Jesus. And as His church, we are fully equipped to serve Him. We are able to do this because every believer is fully equipped to serve.

Every one of us is equipped to serve Him because… Individually, we are a component of the larger whole. There is no such thing as a solitary Christian. There is not one of us that has been designed to stand alone in our Christian walk.

Through my years of ministry, I have seen Christian after Christian cut off relationships, leave church fellowships, and expect spiritual health. It doesn’t work that way. We can’t leave the church and expect everything to be alright. After all Jesus died for the Church.

The church has become lazy as people get caught up in the world more than they get caught up in the church where God has placed them, as if that is biblical criteria for leaving. What is biblical is that we are always to see ourselves as a part of the whole body of Christ.

Now we come to… The second factor CONGLOMERATION (28).

Imagine the Master Carpenter’s tools holding a conference: Harvey Hammer presides, but several suggest he leave the meeting because he is too noisy. Harvey Hammer replies, “If I have to leave 
the shop, Sally Screwdriver must go also. You have to turn her around again and again to get her to accomplish anything.” Sally Screwdriver speaks up. “If you wish, I’ll leave. But Peter Plane must leave too. All his work is on the surface. His efforts have no depth.” To this, Peter Plane responds, “Roberta Ruler will also have to withdraw, for she is always measuring folks as though she were the only one who is right.” Roberta Ruler then complains about Samuel Sandpaper, “He ought to leave, because he’s so rough and always rubbing people the wrong way.”

And so goes the discord. In the midst of this discussion walks the Carpenter of Nazareth, who then uses each tool to make a piece of furniture that is both useful and beautiful. And so it is with us… individually, it may not seem like we have a lot to offer, but together, we make that which is useful and beautiful for the glory of God.

So, remember, it is God that is responsible for our diversity. But we are not only diversified by the power of God, we are also unified.

In verse 28, we are given another list of spiritual gifts. As with verse 11, we find that it is not an exhaustive list. It is representative of the gifts God has given. Here he repeats some, deletes a few, and adds others.

First, there is the… Apostle. I believe the gift is alive and well. For the person that is gifted in this way has a special ability to fulfill God’s mission for the church in the world.

Second, there is the… Prophet. As we explained before, this gift is not one of predicting the future.
That misses the basic responsibility of the prophet which is to speak God’s words. The person with the gift of prophecy speaks God’s words. When God has laid something on their hearts, they follow through and speak it.

Next, there is the… Teacher. Those with the gift of teaching know how to explain God’s truth so that it can be understood. They are good at studying and interpreting the Word.

The fourth set is… Miracles & Healing. These are two different gifts, but I have combined them in that they are similar in nature. Both are supernatural, that is, they interrupt the natural process to accomplish a greater good. 

While some debate whether these gifts are still active, suffice it to say, it is rather self-evident if you possess the gift. It is evident to you and to the others it has affected.

The fifth gift is… Helping. People with the gift of helps offer special acts of assistance that take the burden off of someone else so that the purpose of the church might be accomplished. It is practical.

It is the work behind the scenes. It is a gift, I believe, that is widely needed and distributed. It is immeasurably important to the life of the church, and though it is not glamorous or showy, it is to be highly prized and appreciated.

Next, we have… Administration. The meaning of the word here is to steer and pilot a ship. In other words, people with this gift keep the church on course. They have the ability to give oversight and guidance. These people are able to mobilize, motivate and direct others toward the biblical objective.

Finally, we have… Tongues. This is the gift of language. A person with the gift of tongues is able to speak a language that they do not know naturally but can speak by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. 

All the gifts had been given by God. And all the gifts had equal value. They were all good!

The third factor is CONTEXT (29-31).

Paul wants them to understand that… No person has it all. And, in turn, there is not one gift that is intended for all. Not everyone is the same. Paul asks the question with an expected answer of “no.”
Are all apostles? No. Are all teachers? No. Do all speak in tongues? No.

This understanding stands opposed to those that say you must speak in tongues in order to be saved, or in order to demonstrate that you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit.

God is sovereign and it is He who decides who gets what gift. So, with gratitude, we should accept the ministries we have been given by virtue of our gifts and use them faithfully. When it comes to our spiritual gifts, there is no room for pride.

I like the story of the arrogant, prideful lion, who wanted to remind the other animals how great he was. He went to the gazelle and roared, "Who is the king of the jungle?" Trembling, the gazelle answered, "Why, you are, mighty lion." 

He went next to the giraffe and roared, "Who is the king of the jungle?" Fearful, the giraffe answered, "Why, you are, mighty lion." 

Next, he went to the monkey and roared, "Who is the king of the jungle?" Startled, the monkey answered, "Why, you are mighty lion." 

Finally, he went to the elephant and roared, "Who is the king of the jungle?" The elephant reached out and grabbed the lion with his trunk, slammed the lion to the ground several times, and flung him into a large boulder. 

As the lion lay there, he said to the elephant, "Just because you didn’t know the answer, you didn’t have to take it personally."

Pride gets in our way. And this is what happened to the Corinthians. Their emphasis on tongues got them off balance spiritually.

The more excellent way is something much higher and more important than the spiritual gifts. It is a quality that is much higher than all the gifts combined. The more excellent way is something that can be possessed by every Christian. 

This is what the focus will be in chapter thirteen. It is the way of love and was a huge need in the divided Corinth church. It continues to be a huge need today. Unity and diversity must be balanced by maturity, and that maturity comes with loving God and other people. 

We are to keep our perspective about the “higher” gifts. Rating gifts in importance makes no sense in light of the context, since it is God that distributes them. 

And since man has created the chapters and verses in scripture we tend to read them like that but to finish this portion of the argument, Paul says… There is a better way.

We will study it next week. But I will tell you what the better way is with one word: Agape! Love!

For now, though, let me ask these questions…
1. Will we use what God has given us?

I encourage you to learn about spiritual gifts.
I encourage you to discover your spiritual gifts.
And I encourage you to seek opportunities that they might be used.

Next…2. Will we use our gifts for the church?

The competition often lies within ourselves. Many times, we are wrapped up in our own life and own concerns. So, if you ignore your gifts and your purpose, do you know who gets hurt. We all do!
We all suffer!

And…3. Will we see to it that the church accomplishes its purpose?

If we want to see progress, everyone must work and everyone must work together. If we want to see this church accomplish its God-given purpose, then not one of us can be caught on the sidelines as spectators. Each one of us needs to be in the game, doing our part for the glory of God.

Use your gifts…because God has specifically designed you the way you are.  Amen.