INGREDIENTS OF A HEALTHY CHURCH-PART 2
1 CORINTHIANS 12:7
Last week I began to look at the ingredients of a healthy church... and I began with the unity that must take place if we are to ever experience the move of God that is promised in these last days.
We need to be a church that accepts one another...even if we don't always agree on each and every little thing. That takes work...and forgiveness...and a desire to put God's will above our own. Today I want to continue on with the next ingredient, and for a text I am using 1 Cor. 12:7 READ
To be a healthy church we must be in the business of ministry. But what exactly is "ministry." I believe a good biblical definition of ministry would be "meeting the needs of others through the exercise of spiritual gifts."
The central function of ministry is for each person in the body to be personally committed to meeting the needs of others in the body. And the motivation for ministry is to achieve the common goal...which is the equipping of the saints for the spread of the gospel.
But there is no way we can ever find the necessary motivation, let alone the ability to adequately meet the spiritual, emotional, relational, and even financial needs of this fellowship the Bible calls the body...not in our own power. I have come to believe that ignorance of spiritual gifts may be the major cause for the lack of church growth today...not only here but across the whole country.
And it is also likely to be the source of much of the discouragement...insecurity... frustration...and guilt that plagues many Christians and stifles their effectiveness for God. Is this really the church God wants it to be? Are you really the Christian God wants you to be? If we were all to be perfectly honest in our evaluation of those questions, we'd probably have to answer in the negative.
And that simply means that we must discover the most basic step any Christian needs to take in determining God's will for his or her life...and that is to know your spiritual gift...or gifts!
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed...and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness...but why? So that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
So just to have an understanding of the Bible is not what it was given for...it was given to equip us for work...for service in the kingdom! And that brings up the question that I am asked more than any other.
What is it that I am to do personally...where do I fit in... how can I be a real part of the ministry of this church...What is His specific will for me?
One of the verses most often given to new Christians to memorize is Romans 12:1-2. It was one of the first that I memorized when I got saved...and I've never forgotten it. READ Rom 12:1-2
I believe that the last phrase of this passage is what makes it so appealing to new Christians. Doing His will...His good, pleasing and perfect will is the sincere desire of every person who has truly been born again.
When a person realizes that Jesus paid the ultimate price to save them, when it really sinks in...the first thing they normally say is, "Thank you God. I love you for what you did for me...and I want to serve you. Just tell me what you want me to do." At least that's the way it was for me...and many others I know.
But just what do we actually learn from these verses about finding His will for our lives? Now, I can see that the more I tried to follow these verses and kept myself from the world...the more I would be closer to Him and able to better understand His will.
And as I look back I can see that God, by His grace, did give me guidance as I tried not to conform to the world but rather tried to renew my mind and bring it more in line with His Word. But in order to understand the really practical way of finding the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God...we need to look forward to verses 3-6...not back to verses 1-2. READ 3-6 a
The key to coming to practical terms with the will of God for our lives is to "think of ourselves with sober judgment" as it says in verse 3. That means each of us needs a realistic self-evaluation as a starting point. I like the way the Phillips translation says it, "try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities." And in order to do that two steps need to be taken...one negative and one positive.
Negatively - we are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to. When we evaluate ourselves there is no room for pride. Sober judgment always involves humility. On the positive side, we need to recognize that part of our spiritual being is a "measure of faith" that God gives to each of His children. And the Scriptures say that every Christian receives a different measure...making each of us unique.
But unique in what way? Well, before Paul answers that question he gives the analogy he uses to explain spiritual gifts...the human body. And in verse 4 we find the key to unlocking the biblical teaching on spiritual gifts.
And this analogy simply requires us to recognize that our physical body is made up of many members...and that each one has a different function. Let me illustrate...Everyone reach down right now and pick up a hymnal...with your ear. Okay, then everyone close your eyes...tell me how many fingers I am holding up by looking through your index finger. What do we learn from this simple exercise?
Bodily members are designed to do their own specific thing...and no more. And we make a big mistake if we expect them to do what they are not designed for. In v. 5 Paul goes on to say that the church operates exactly like a human body. Each Christian is a member of the body of Christ...and each has a particular function to perform.
And because we are a body...we need each other. But that leads to more questions. Like how do I know whether I am a hand or a foot or an ear...how am I supposed to function? What is my specific place in this body of believers?
Before we answer that we need to take a look at how God organized and designed the church to operate. First, God did not plan for the church to be organized around the model of a dictatorship where one person rules...good or otherwise.
But on the other hand, He never intended that it should be a democracy where every member rules. We in America pride ourselves so much in the democratic system and we have carried that over into the church...and that's done as much to destroy the work of God as anything could.
We are not to run the church based on human consensus. Instead of a dictatorship or a democracy...God chose to make the body of Christ a living organism with Christ as the head...and each member functioning in that body according to their spiritual gifts...given by Him.
No local church will be what it should be, what Jesus prayed it would be, or what the Holy Spirit gifted it and empowered it to be - until it understands spiritual gifts. It is an important, crucial key to becoming a healthy church.
It can't be a mere coincidence that in all 3 of the most explicit passages on spiritual gifts - Romans 12, 1 Cor. 12, and Ephesians 4 - that the gifts are explained in the context of the body.
In 1 Cor. 12:18 we read, "But in fact, God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be." This means that no only did God organize the body...but He also has gone so far as to determine what the function of each of the members should be.
It's not a matter of us simply choosing what we think would be a good for us. We've already been hand-picked by God for a specific task and ministry. And do you realize what that means?
It means that I you are so important to God and to this church that He has designed a special place and a special ministry for you to do that no one else could do as effectively as you can. You are a part of His plan for this church!
So when we organize our church around spiritual gifts, we are simply uncovering what God has already desired for us. You see, every Christian is a unique member of the body of Christ...and your whole identity in this church is determined, to a significant degree, by the gifts you have been given.
The health of this church and any growth we hope to experience depends on this fact. And when we recognize our individual gifts and decide to use them for God's glory and the building up of His church...then we will become an effective force in this community and the world.
But we must understand that gifts are for use within the context of the body. Individual Christians that are disconnected from the body are not very useful. Spiritual gifts aren't designed for Lone Rangers. Most everything God does in the world is done through Christians who are working together, complementing each other with their gifts in the local congregation.
I think that Romans 12:1-6 is clear enough to teach us that God's plan is for members of the body of Christ to be very aware of the part each one plays in the body, being what Ephesians 4:16 calls "properly joined together."
To wrap this all up I want to take a look at the benefits of Spiritual Gifts. What happens when you decide to discover, develop and use your individual spiritual gifts? First of all, you will be a better Christian and more able to allow God to make your life count for Him.
People who know their gifts have a better handle on their "spiritual job description." They find their place in the church with a lot more ease. And isn't that something we all want...to not only know there is a place for us here...but exactly what that place is.
If we had a church of people who really knew their spiritual gifts...our nominating committees or "draft boards" would be a thing of the past. Instead of going crazy trying to find people to fill empty slots, we'd have to screen all the applications for work.
Christian people who know their spiritual gifts also tend to develop healthy self-esteem. They understand the importance of their gifts and also the need in the body for that particular gift.
They learn that no matter what their gift is...they are important to God and to the church. Crippling inferiority complexes drop by the wayside when people begin to think "soberly of themselves."
Humility is a Christian virtue...but like most things it can be overdone. And some Christians are so humble they are virtually useless to the body. But that is false humility...and it is often stimulated by ignorance of spiritual gifts.
People who refuse to name and use their gifts on the grounds that it would be arrogant or presumptuous only show their biblical ignorance on the whole subject.
And some have an even trickier motive for not wanting to be associated with a gift...they don't want to be held accountable for its use. I know many who use so-called humility as a cover-up for disobedience.
But most people who know their spiritual gifts are not bogged down by these kinds of negative attitudes. They love God...they love their brothers and sisters in Christ...and they love themselves for what God has made them to be. And that is healthy!
While I'm on the subject...I know it's common for Christians to speak of their "calling." Part of our vocabulary is that "God called me to do such and such," or "I don't believe God is calling me to this or that."
But I think it is helpful to recognize that a person's "call" and their spiritual gifts are very closely associated. God does not give gifts that He doesn't "call" us to use. And He doesn't call someone to do something without equipping that person with the necessary gifts to do it. We need to always keep that in mind.
Secondly, not only does knowing about spiritual gifts help individual Christians but it helps the church as a whole. Ephesians 4 tells us that when the gifts are in operation the whole body matures.
And when the church matures, it also grows. Ephesians 4:16 says that when the body is functioning well and each separate part works as it should, it grows. There is a clear biblical relationship between spiritual gifts and church growth.
But the third, and most important thing that knowing about spiritual gifts does...is that it glorifies God. 1 Peter 4:10-11 advises us that "each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms...
...and then it adds the reason why.."so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be all the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." What could be better than for our lives and our service in the body to bring glory to the One who gave us life?
That's what makes ministry so rewarding...giving back our lives to the one who redeemed us and saved us from eternal damnation. It is a gift of love for the one who loved us.
But I would be less than faithful to my calling if I would leave out the danger of having spiritual gifts. And according to 1 Cor. 4:2, that is that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
The key to this truth is found in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. Three men in the business world received different quantities of capital. Their responsibility was to use that resource for its purpose in the business world...to make money.
2 of the 3 doubled their money...and when the day of accounting came, they were called "good and faithful servants." Faithfulness was directly related to success.
The other man was timid..and a negative thinker. He couldn't recognize the potential of the resource he had. And he did nothing with what he had been given...and he was judged a wicked and lazy servant. And in v. 30 of that chapter he was even called worthless.
The lesson is clear. Every spiritual gift we have is a resource that we must use...because we will be held accountable for it at the judgment. Some will have one...some two...some five. The quantity doesn't matter.
But the gifts we do have must be used to accomplish the Master's purpose. And there is no better time than now to begin to prepare to answer that question each of us will eventually hear from the Lord... "What did you do with the spiritual gift that I gave you?"
