MEMORISE:
But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. 1 Corinthians 12:11
READ: 1 Corinthians 12:1-12
1Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
MESSAGE
There is one silent source of confusion in the body of Christ which must be addressed for the sake of the advancement of God’s kingdom. It is a combination of attitudes and feelings known as the “complex”. A complex is a mental or psychological state that should be alien to the Body of Christ. It manifests itself as inferiority or superiority complex. Ironically, the church has lived with this issue through the ages. Apostle Paul in today’s text warns us against the manifestation of such attitudes- whether as inferiority or superiority complex. How does the issue of “complex” operate in the Body of Christ? It is through the exhibition of spiritual gifts. There was an issue with the demonstration of spiritual gifts in the Church at Corinth, whereby some offices were considered superior and some other spiritual gifts were looked down on as inferior. Against this background, Paul wrote to the Corinthian brethren to enlighten them on the distribution and operation of the different offices and spiritual gifts in the body of Christ. The analogy of human body parts used by Paul to explain this spiritual truth is very profound. In 1 Corinthians 12:17, Paul rhetorically asks,
“If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?”
The truth is that the whole body cannot be the eyes; if this where the case there would be no movement, which is the prerogative of the legs. Therefore, if the eye cannot do without the legs and the ears cannot do without the nose, why should the eyes or ears think that they are superior to the legs or nose? Unfortunately, this was the situation in the Church at Corinth, as is the case in a typical church organization today. We must recognize this reality and work towards eradicating the anomaly by continuously teaching ourselves the truth of God’s word. The most important thing about spiritual gifts is that their recipients must use them for the edification of the Body Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13, 1 Corinthians 12:7). Another mystery of spiritual gifts is that those gifts which some consider as less important are equally as important as those held in high esteem (Corinthians 12:22-25). For example, if we ignore the ministry of intercession because intercessors are often not known or seen like the evangelist and minstrels, the Church may become a comfortable zone for demons to operate, and then the preacher and the choir will preach and sing with no effect. The Church must begin to appreciate the gifts of God in each member of the Body of Christ and celebrate them for who they are as very important and valuable. There should be no complex of any kind.
ACTION POINT:
Identify the spiritual gifts God has deposited in your life and begin to use them for the advancement of God’s kingdom in your local church assembly.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 17-18; 1 Corinthians 7:17-40
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 15: NEARER MY GOD TO THEE.
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!
Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness comes over me, my rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!
There let me see the sight, an open Heaven;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!
Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!
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