The Spirit Creates One Body
Or
One Body; Many Members
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
Commentary
By
Jed Greenough
When you
read today's scripture did you wonder what the purpose was? Well if you don't
remember we were told in verse 7 that the gifts of the Spirit were for the
common good, meaning all those where you worship.
This week as we continue on in this same chapter we see that every one of us and our gifts are necessary and indispensable. We cannot say we aren't and no one else should either. But it does happen directly or indirectly.
Reasons can be nefarious at worst and negligent at best. With some wanting to control power and others just going through the paces. Surely in most cases it is somewhere in between.
There are solutions and among them:
Stop teaching that the early gifts of the Spirit were for the necessary growth of the early church and not for today.
Preach often on the subject of our gifts.
Seed new churches instead of growing ever larger ones.
Help especially new Christians to realize and utilize their gifts.
If a church's finances are worth having a treasurer than a church's people are worth having a person in charge of making sure EVERY person plays a part.
Lets say you injure your thumb on the hand you use most. You quickly find out how much you use it and need it. One can adapt in most cases but it never ends up being as effective or feeling right.
We might think we have pretty smooth running churches but imagine how effective and how right they would feel if everyone truly did play a part.
This week as we continue on in this same chapter we see that every one of us and our gifts are necessary and indispensable. We cannot say we aren't and no one else should either. But it does happen directly or indirectly.
Reasons can be nefarious at worst and negligent at best. With some wanting to control power and others just going through the paces. Surely in most cases it is somewhere in between.
There are solutions and among them:
Stop teaching that the early gifts of the Spirit were for the necessary growth of the early church and not for today.
Preach often on the subject of our gifts.
Seed new churches instead of growing ever larger ones.
Help especially new Christians to realize and utilize their gifts.
If a church's finances are worth having a treasurer than a church's people are worth having a person in charge of making sure EVERY person plays a part.
Lets say you injure your thumb on the hand you use most. You quickly find out how much you use it and need it. One can adapt in most cases but it never ends up being as effective or feeling right.
We might think we have pretty smooth running churches but imagine how effective and how right they would feel if everyone truly did play a part.
For
Discussion:
1.
Discuss
where your church is strong with utilizing people’s gifts.
2.
Discuss
where your church is weak in this regard.
3.
Discuss
your gifts that others might not know you have such as healing.
4.
Discuss
how the body is affected by those who are not playing a part and how this is
like a human body missing a limb.
5.
Discuss
how God, according to this scripture, is the one that puts this body together
just as He does the human body.
6.
Discuss
verse 26.
7.
Discuss
verse 31.
Upcoming Lessons
5-24-15 Gift of Languages Acts 2:1-7, 12; 1 Corinthians 14:13-19
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW
INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by
permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved
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