Sunday,
August 18, 2013
THE GIFTS OF THE
SPIRIT AND THE BODY OF CHRIST
I Cor. 12:1-26
Let's suppose you have a son,
Abraham, who is a fifth-grade student at La Luz Elementary. Recently a new family moved in next door to
you. You have met them and are becoming
friends, especially since they have a son who is also a fifth grader at La Luz
Elementary. His name is Jerome. This common bond certainly gives you plenty
to talk about. Everything is going along
just fine until Jerome is placed in the "gifted program." Now you are constantly hearing about what
Jerome is doing in his gifted class. You
expect the newspaper to come out any day and schedule a press conference for
Jerome and his family. Surely the whole
world needs to know about Jerome's achievement.
You try not to let it bother you, but it's not easy. You are not likely to say to your neighbors,
"I am so glad that your son is in smart enough to be in the gifted program
and mine is not."
Gifts are wonderful, but they can
have a tendency to drive a wedge between people. Consider a five-year-old who receives a new
doll. Julie loves her new doll, but so
do Sally, Bonnie, and Crystal. You would
think that the presence of this new doll would draw the girls together. They all like Julie's doll and surely they
will have a great time sharing it together.
It doesn't usually work that way.
Most of the five-year-old Julies in the world are not wild about sharing
their new doll, especially if Sally, Bonnie, and Crystal don't treat it
right. And Sally figures she has more
right to it than Bonnie or Crystal, because she is Julie's best friends. It's amazing how a gift can sometimes bring
out the worst in people and situations.
We have begun to look at the gifts
of the Spirit. Our inclination is to
say, "Well, the gifts of the Spirit certainly aren't like that. They do not cause division or anything of the
kind." I remind you of what I said
last week: "Corinth was a divided
church." It wouldn't be right to say
that the presence of the Spirit's gifts caused division, but the receiving of
those gifts certainly contributed to the division in the church. It wasn't the fault of the Spirit who
distributed the gifts, but the receivers of those gifts used them in a way that
was divisive and destructive. Paul
apparently wrote chapters 12-14 to deal with this problem, as he begins chapter
12 with the words, "Now concerning spiritual gifts."
This morning I want us to take a
general overview of chapter 12 to discover how Paul dealt with this division
that surrounded the gifts.
I.
The Danger of Spiritual Gifts
Now when I talk about the danger of
spiritual gifts, I must be very clear in what I mean. The gift itself is never the problem. The problem is within the receiver. However, in the church of Corinth, and in
churches today, the gift can be the occasion that brings out the works of the
flesh in the believer. It shouldn't be
that way, but because sin has not yet been obliterated in the Christian, that's
the way it is.
So how do we know this? From what we read in chapter 12. As I mentioned last week, in his introduction
to spiritual gifts, Paul uses the word "spirituals" (translated
"spiritual gifts" in most versions, but the word "gifts" is
not in the text). He was most likely
using the word that at least some of the Corinthian believers preferred. It seems there was controversy over whether
or not the possession of a gift from the Spirit meant that a person was
spiritual. In other words, was the
manifestation of the Spirit through gifts a mark of true spirituality? Some likely said, "Yes," while
others denied it. The opening words of
verse 1 -- "now concerning" -- indicate that they were asking Paul to
speak to this issue which was causing division.
This idea is confirmed by the latter part of chapter 12, where Paul
describes the church as the body of Christ.
We will come back to that in just a moment.
So what are the dangers that are
occasioned by spiritual gifts? Think
about it for a minute. When an
individual receives a specific gift that other individuals do not receive, what
is a possible danger? Let me suggest three: pride, envy, and discouragement -- pride in
the one who receives, envy or discouragement in the one who doesn't receive.
Let's consider one of the gifts in
Paul's list -- tongues. Along with
interpretation of tongues, this gift stands at the end of the nine listed in
verses 8-10. Most of us did not grow up
in a background where speaking in tongues was practiced, but most all of us
have at least secondhand knowledge of it.
One of the most common objection to speaking in tongues is what? That it becomes the source of pride. So and so has the gift of tongues and now he
thinks he is better than other Christians.
Obviously, that is not always true.
However, even many charismatic leaders will acknowledge that this is a
serious problem. On the other hand,
there are many who don't have the gift who are envious of those who have
it.
But now let's get closer to
home. While some of you have come from
that kind of background, many more of you have come out of a different
background, but the problem is the same.
I, along with many of you, were raised in an atmosphere where preaching,
teaching, and singing were the treasured gifts.
They are the up-front gifts that get lots of attention. Is it possible for a believer who has one of
these gifts to become proud as a result?
Absolutely. The greater the
supply of the gift, the greater the temptation to pride. Can a preacher become puffed up with
pride? You better believe it. And we are not just talking about TV
evangelists.
Look at it from the other angle. Can other believers become envious because
they don't have those gifts? Yes. If they are not jealous, they can become
discouraged because they don't possess those particular gifts. Of course, discouragement is much more
comfortable, because we don't identify it as sin as readily as we would
jealousy. And if we don't let the Lord
deal with our discouragement, it leads to greater self-focus.
We might ask, "Why would God
even give gifts, if they become the occasion of such problems in the
church? Surely God knows that is great
possibility." I think that is a
fair question. We understand that God is
wise and that He makes no mistakes. So
does the Lord give us any insight concerning his plan?
II. God's
Corrective Instructions
I want us to spend the rest of our time
looking at I Cor. 12:12-26. Remember,
Paul is dealing with their questions about the place of spiritual gifts. It seems pretty clear that the division in
the church spilled over into this area of the gifts of the Spirit. If they were the occasion of division and
that was not what God intended, what would Paul say to bring correction to
their way of thinking?
Let's go ahead and read I
Cor. 12:12-31...
For as
the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body,
being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all
baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and
have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one
member but many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am
not of the body," is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear
should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it
therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the
hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 18 But now God
has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 19 And
if they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now indeed there
are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I
have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need
of you." 22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be
weaker are necessary. 23 And those members of the body which we think to be
less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts
have greater modesty, 24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God
composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25
that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have
the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members
suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 28 And God has
appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers,
after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties
of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all
workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with
tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I
show you a more excellent way.
Paul begins by reminding those
Corinthian believers that they are one.
He has already emphasized this unity in verses 1-11 by telling them that
while there are different gifts, ministries and activities, they are all from
the same Spirit, same Lord, and same God (12:4-6). As surely as there is unity in the Godhead,
there is unity in the church. In verse
11 Paul makes it clear that the gifts listed in verses 8-10 come from the same
Spirit. Now in verses 12-13 Paul is even
more emphatic. Though the human body has
many parts, it is one body; so also is Christ (12). "By one Spirit we were all baptized into
one body" (13). The church at
Corinth was divided, but Paul wants them to understand that they are all on the
same team. They are part of the same
body. The body isn't divided; it is
one.
I want you to notice again the words
at the end of verse 12, "So also is Christ." I would expect Paul to say, "So is the
church," but that is not what He says.
Jesus Christ is so identified with His church that Paul can simply say,
"So also is Christ." When we
talk about the church being the body of Christ, this is not some little gimmick
to whip us into line. The church is
indeed the body of Christ. Jesus cannot
be separated from His church. That is
why on the road to Damascus the Lord said to Saul (Paul), "I am Jesus,
whom you are persecuting" (Acts 9:5). Was Saul persecuting Jesus? Jesus had already been crucified. How could Paul persecute the One who had
died, risen, and was sitting at the right hand of the Father? In that he was persecuting the church, he was
persecuting Jesus. Yes, the church is
the body of Christ.
If you count carefully, you will
find the word "one" used five times in verses 12 and 13. Isn't that amazing? Do you think maybe Paul was trying to tell
them something? Their bickering and
division were not characteristic of the body of Christ, for it is one. Paul wanted them to understand that they were
on the same team. As all the members of
the body function together to serve the one body, so must the members of the
church function together to serve the whole.
In verse 14 Paul acknowledges that
though the human body is one, that body has many members. Consider your own human body. It has a eyes, nose, ears, mouth, hands,
feet, etc. Yes, many members. Does that mean that it isn't just one
body? Of course, not. It is still one body. Verse 14 is Paul's introduction to a more
detailed discussion of the way the body functions. In the verses that follow, he will deal with
the dangers presented by the distribution of gifts. As he does, Paul will present the corrections
necessary.
As Paul calls to mind various
members of the body -- foot, hand, ear, eye -- we must understand that the concept
of gifts is never far from his mind. In
verse 15, why is it that the foot might say, "Because I am not the hand, I
am not of the body"? It is because
the foot is looking at its own gifts or abilities and comparing them with the
gifts (abilities) of the hand. The same
is true of the ear and the eye. The foot
makes a comparison and concludes that the hand is much more valuable to the
body than the foot, therefore there is really no need for the foot at all. It might as well just not be a part at all. The same goes for the ear, when it compares
itself with the eye.
Do you see it? Here we have the danger of
discouragement. Here are two parts of
the body which might be prone to discouragement, when they consider what seems
to be the inferiority of their own gifts.
Within that discouragement there may be envy as well. How the foot wishes it could do what the hand
does. How the ear longs to be as
valuable as the eye.
That's the danger, but where is the
correction? Notice that in both cases,
Paul asks the rhetorical question:
"Is it therefore not a part of the body?" What is the obvious answer to his
questions? Of course, it is a part of
the body. The subjective view of the
foot and the ear does not change the fact that they are parts of the body. Not only are they parts within the body, but
they are vital parts. That is what Paul
is saying in verse 17, "If the whole body were an eye, where would be the
hearing?" This entire argument has
the gifts in view. If the body were full
of eyes only, would it have the ability to hear? No.
The absence of the gift of hearing would greatly impair the body. And the ear ought to remember that if the
nose, which appears to be inferior to the ear, decided to become like the ear,
then the body would be without the gift of smell.
It doesn't take a genius to figure
out what Paul is doing. He is telling
them that every member of the body is vital precisely because it has a unique
and valuable gift which allows it to make its own contribution. So it is with the body of Christ. Rather than feeling discouraged because his
gift doesn't seem valuable, every member must remember that it is the presence
of this gift that enables him to make a contribution to the body as a
whole. Paul drives the point home in verses
18-20, "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the
body, as it hath pleased him. 19 And if
they were all one member, where were the body?
20 But now are they many members, yet but one body."
Don't forget who put the body
together. God has set the members in the
body. And where did He get His direction
for the assembly of the body? He did it
as it pleased Him. "For who has
known the mind of the Lord? Or who has
been His counselor?... For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to
whom be glory forever. Amen" (Rom.
11:34,36). And when He assembled
the body, His Spirit distributed gifts to the individual members as He willed
(12:11). Did He make any mistakes? Should the Spirit have given the ear the
ability to see? Should the Spirit have
given all of us the gift to teach? If
God had given to each of us the same gifts, then we wouldn't truly be a
body.
Paul isn't done yet, for he hasn't
yet addressed the danger of pride. Verse
21, "And the eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you;'
nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'" Do you see what the apostle is doing? He is acknowledging that it is possible for
certain parts of the body to compare their gifts with other parts and conclude
that their own gifts are so much superior that they don't need the parts which
have the lesser gifts. Not only is it a
possibility, but it was a reality among some of the Corinthian believers. Because they were eaten up with pride, they
lost sight of what the body of Christ is all about.
Now in verses 22-26 listen to
the extended instructions Paul gives to those proud members of the body...
No,
much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.
23 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these
we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24
but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given
greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25 that there should be no schism in
the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members
suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Those members of the body which
seem to be weaker are necessary.
Paul does not refer to the weaker parts of the body, but only to those
which seem to be weaker. In other words,
those brothers and sisters which seem to be weaker, which seem to be less
important, are necessary. Underline this
verse; highlight it; memorize it; chew on it; believe it and act
accordingly. If there were indeed weaker
parts of the body, Paul would have said so, but he did not say it. The apparent "weakness" of a
particular member of the body of Christ is so designated only by those who are
proud. If you view certain members of
the body as weak, then you do not see the body properly.
Let me illustrate. Suppose the Lord came and said to us, "I
need one of the members of your church somewhere else. I will let you choose the one you can
spare." "No, Lord, you choose
the one you want." Suppose the Lord
were to reply, "That is kind of you, but I am going to let you make the
choice. Choose the one you can
spare." Who would it be? Would we choose one of the pastor/elders? What about the one who does most of the
preaching? Or would we spare the one who
doesn't seem to be doing anything?
Recently I was talking to a brother
who has moved to a very small community in Colorado. They are way out in the
sticks. He says it is 20 miles to the
nearest store. The church there is
small. They have a pastor, kind of. He is a man who lives in a larger city and
comes out to preach for them on Sunday morning.
That's all he does. As my brother
was telling me about the situation, he was rejoicing. He says that the people "pastor one
another." When a need arises, some
of the brothers and sisters meet it. He
marvels at the love and care in the church.
Though it may not be by its own choice, the church finds that it can
spare a pastor as easily as it can spare anyone else. Though this may not be a good long-term
solution, the people are discovering that every member of the body is vital and
necessary.
Conclusion
Do you see how this whole concept of
the body of Christ hinges on the distribution of gifts? That is why chapter 12 does not begin with
the body concept and then move to a discussion of gifts. Instead, Paul begins with the controversy
over gifts and then uses the body metaphor as a corrective explanation as to
how the gifts are to work. In the human
body, if there had not been a wise distribution of gifts and abilities, the
body would not function with such efficiency and ease. So it is in the body of Christ.
Let's drive home one last
point. Underlying the danger of pride,
envy, and discouragement is the common practice of comparison. In Paul's instructions, we see the ear
comparing itself with the eye and the foot comparing itself with the hand. Out of that comes envy and
discouragement. Then behind pride we see
the eye comparing itself with the ear and the head comparing itself with the
foot. As we read these words, we
instinctively understand that this never happens in the human body. The eye just goes about its function of
seeing, never comparing itself with other parts of the body and what they are
able to do. The eye is able to see into
the refrigerator because the feet carry it into the kitchen and the hand
reaches out and opens the door. So it
must be in the body of Christ. There is
no room for comparison. Why? Because we are one body. Comparison only takes place where there is a
lack of oneness. Instead of comparison,
we need a healthy dose of appreciation for every part of the body of Christ.
I played basketball in high
school. Basketball is truly a team
sport. During my junior and senior years
there were three of us who carried most of the load when it came to scoring. We had played together since the sixth grade
and loved every minute of it. But in
case you haven't noticed, a basketball team has five players on the floor at
any one time. So the three of us were
joined by two other teammates. Suppose
we took the attitude, "There isn't anyone else on the team who can shoot
and handle the ball as well as we can.
So regardless of who the coach puts out here with us, we don't really
need them. All they will do is bring us
down. So let's just ignore them and keep
the game to ourselves." What would
happen? It wouldn't take the other team
long to figure out what was going on and they would make the kind of
adjustments that would smother the three of us.
The only way we were going to be effective is to work with the other
teammates, capitalizing on their strengths.
And that's what we did. I
remember a teammate named Fred. He
wasn't much at shooting and ball handling, but he was big and he could
jump. He became our leading rebounder. Then there was Mike. He wasn't flashy at anything, but he didn't
make many mistakes. He was
dependable. What we realized is that we
were a team. Every player must be
valued, supported, and utilized according to his abilities. There was absolutely no value in comparing
ourselves to our teammates. The number
of points on the scoreboard reflected the accomplishment of the team, not those
of any individual or small group of individuals.
Brothers and sisters, we are one
body. We are on the same team. Pride, jealousy, and discouragement have no
place in a Spirit-gifted and Spirit-empowered church. Gifts are God's idea and they are given to
build up the body for the work of ministry, all for the glory of God.
It is obvious that our enemies, the
devil and the flesh, have done a masterful job of taking God's gifts and using
them for their own ends. How else can we
explain the controversy that surrounds the very gifts God gave to bless His
church and make it a blessing to others?
Perhaps you are among those who might think, "Why do we even need
to consider the gifts of the Spirit? It
seems like when the gifts are brought up, trouble follows. Let's just love God and our neighbor and
forget about the gifts?" Because
the same Lord who told us to love God and neighbor "gave gifts unto
men" (Eph. 4:8). Furthermore, if we
take the attitude of. "Forget the gifts because they are controversial,"
we are likely to take that same attitude
about the Holy Spirit. We consider the
gifts because God's Word teaches us about them.
On the other hand, we must never
separate the gifts of the Spirit from the gospel. The gifts must never be our focus; our focus
is the Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us. Jesus said, "I will build my
church." The gifts are a part of
that building process, but they must never eclipse the Head of the church, the
Lord Jesus Himself. Remember what Jesus
said of the Holy Spirit, "He shall glorify me" (John 16:14). When the gifts are functioning
properly, Jesus will be glorified. That
is precisely why Paul had to bring correction to the Corinthian church --
because they were viewing the gifts in such a way that they took away from
Christ instead of bringing Him glory.
Praise God that it doesn't have to be that way. May the gifts with which we have been blessed
build up the body of Christ for the glory of God.
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