Grow With Pastor Joe

Last week we set out to cover Romans 12:3-5. We did that in this blog, but it didn’t make it that far in the preaching of the sermon. Shortly before preaching time, the Lord showed me the need to split it up. So, last week we only covered Rom. 12:3 (Our Responsibility) and this week we will cover Rom. 12:4-5 (Our Relationships) in order to lay the foundations of spiritual gifts as seen throughout the rest of this chapter of Romans. As Paul moves through this practical section of his letter, we see that all of the practical life of the Christian flows from the doctrinal truth and transformation of the gospel. As the believer learns to live with praise in their hearts to God for His grace and glory (11:33-36) they then consecrate themselves unto God (12:1), are transformed by the renewing of their mind (12:2), which leads to have a proper outlook and humble attitude regarding their life in Christ. Our responsibility to be consecrated and transformed by giving the Holy Spirit access and authority over all areas of our life leads us to humbly live in a faith filled relationship with Christ and His Church as we operate by His grace while using the gifts that He has given us for the good of the church and the glory of Christ. Rom. 12:3-8 is designed to give us the life transforming truth that we are responsible to humbly and faithfully serve with our gifts of grace within our relationship to Christ and His Church. Simply, your gift may be yours, but it is “of Him, through Him, and to Him” (Rom. 11:36). It is not for your glory, but His. It is not for your own good, but for the good of others. You need the gift of others, and they need yours. God has a place for you to serve and contribute to the life of the local church.

            Charles Shultz, the creator of the widely known “Peanuts” cartoon series, helps us to understand this passage in an old cartoon. In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn’t. “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus. “These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually they’re nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.” “Which channel do you want?” asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, “Why can’t you guys get organized like that?” While the cartoon is funny, it is true in many ways. Lucy’s fingers can each do something, but boy, what power she has when they all come together. When it comes to the local church, each individual believer can live on their own, but we thrive together. This is God’s desire and design from the beginning. You see, the moment you were saved, a million things happened that you and I get to spend the rest of our life and eternity discovering. However, one of the most important, but ignored is that you were brought into an eternal union with Christ and His Church. Now, our union with Christ and His Church are a package deal that can’t be undone. When you belong to Jesus, you belong to His flock, His body, His bride, His church. Our union to Christ and His church is expressed and experienced through continual committed communion with Him and one another. We aren’t living in the fulness of our union with Him when we are living faithfully in communion with His Church. You say, “Well, I’ve been hurt in church and by church people. I come because I need preaching, and the Bible says I should come. However, I don’t come here for anybody else.” My friend, everyone has been hurt and disappointed by people, but not Christ. If you are honest and honestly living in faithful fellowship with Christ and His Church, then you’ll admit that you’ve been helped by the church more than you’ve been hurt. God’s program for our life is one of consecration and transformation that leads us to the operation of our spiritual gifts for the good of the Church and glory of Christ. The gifts of grace are given to us so that the local church can operate God’s program which is built on relationships. Everything is vertical, then horizontal. If you get out of whack with Christ, then no wonder you are disconnected to the local body that you belong to.

            We will see today the second part of the foundations of spiritual gifts, which is our relationships. Take a big breath and a deep gulp. We are going to examine in these verses our unity, diversity, and mutuality so that we may truly live the consecrated transformed life that God has designed and desired for us to live in. Rom. 12:3-5 (we’ll focus on 4-5 today) says, “³ For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. ⁴ For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: ⁵ So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”

            First, let’s look at our relationship of unity. Have you ever noticed that everyone loves the idea of unity as long as everyone else is united to what we believe or prefer. Heaven help those that disagree with us. Before we dive too deep into this, look back at these verses that are put together. Last week we dealt in depth with the third verse specifically dealing with having a hurtful or helpful attitude. If you are thinking too high about yourself, too low about yourself, or become indifferent, then you aren’t going to be thinking clearly about your relationship to Christ’s Church. This will lead to disunity within the church. If you have a superiority complex, inferiority complex, or imposter complex then you are always going to hurt the unity of the church, and you will not be able to use your spiritual gifts to the fullest degree. Our relationship of unity rests on the eternal truth that we are eternally bound to Jesus and His Church. My body is bound to my head and my head to my body. To lose my head would mean that I’d lose my body. The illustration of the Church being the “Body of Christ” is used over thirty different times in the New Testament. God wants us to see ourselves as one cohesive united body that is forever attached to itself and the head, the Lord Jesus Christ. As Rom. 12:4-5 shows us, we have a relationship of unity. Notice the phrases, “in one body…one body in Christ.” If you are bound to Jesus, then you are bound to His Church. Yes, we are each an individual believer or member, but we are members not of our own body, but His. This relationship of unity teaches us that we are incorporated into the Body of Christ. We have been made a member of a greater, unified, cohesive body that is submitted to Chris the head. Our unity doesn’t diminish or damage our individuality or diversity of gifts and vice versa. You are one saved member for the good of the body of glory of Christ. Your life is to flow vertically then horizontally from your union to Jesus Christ. Our relationship of unity is not just that we have an eternal union to Christ and His Church, but it is that we now live in communion with Christ and His Church. We waste and neglect our union when we aren’t living in humble, faithful, constant communion with Jesus and His Church. It is not enough to be positionally incorporated (union) into His Church, you must be practically involved (communion). Remember, we don’t create unity, but we have the responsibility to cultivate and maintain it through a constant life of consecrated communion with Christ and one another. When we aren’t walking in communion vertically, then we won’t be walking in communion horizontally. If you are easily bothered by you not getting your way at church it’s because you aren’t truly fellowshipping with Christ. The unity of the local church is constantly being impacted and influenced by our own personal walks with Christ. If we aren’t living out by faith Rom. 12:1-3, then we can’t live out Rom. 12:4-8 and beyond.

            Second, let’s see our relationship of diversity. As you know, everyone is different. We look different, think differently, act differently, have different gifts, talents, and preferences galore. Nobody is like you. There is only one of you, and yes, that is a good thing. Could you imagine two of you? Look at the phrases in the text that show us our diversity, “as we have many members…all members have not the same office…so we being many…” is evident that we are each different by design. God made you to be who you are in Christ for the good of the church. He specifically crafted and fashioned your spiritual giftings with you in mind and with His Church in mind. God has blessed us individually to lead us to bless the corporate body. The Church needs your surrender and service through the gifts of grace given to you. Someone needs your gifts. The unity and usefulness of the local church depends upon the diversity of believers each doing their part and being who they are in Christ. You are one ingredient in the recipe of the Church. Though we have a diversity of gifts (we’ll cover that next week), yet we have one singular goal. Our goal is the good of the church and the glory of Christ through the functioning of the diversity of gifts in unity with Christ and one another. 1 Cor. 12:1-7 helps us to understand the dichotomy (division or contrast) of our Christian life that contains both unity and diversity within our local churches. 1 Cor. 12:1-7 says, “Now 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.” Our diversity enables us to experience and exercise our unity with one another in Christ. We aren’t robots or clones. Ephesians 4 depicts in great detail these truths and I encourage you to go read and study it to better affirm and apply Romans 12 to your life. Embrace your diversity in Christ to better experience your unity to Christ and His Church. It takes all kinds. If you apply Rom. 12:1-3 then the diversity of gifts, personalities, and preferences within your local assembly won’t bother you so much as they will start to bless you. Without our diversity our unity would only be outward uniformity. Be who you are in Christ and exercise your diverse gifts of grace for the unity and usefulness of the local church.

            Third, we need to see our relationship of mutuality. This is where we put these verses and truths together. Through mutuality we exercise our diversity of gifts to experience the unity that we have with one another in Christ. The Church doesn’t exist to solely benefit you, but it benefits you to be beneficial. We are gifted to give. We are blessed to bless. We are helped to help. We are strengthened and served to strengthen and serve others. This is real Christianity. Church isn’t so much about what you get, but what you give. And as we all get and give then everyone else will get something too. The mutuality of our relationship to Christ and His Church is seen in the phrase, “every one members one of another.” We are united through diversity and mutuality. All relationships must be mutual. When I finally confessed my feelings to Camee before we were dating (I lured her into hanging out with me through mutually sharing testimonies, but it backfired into me being so nervous that she asked what was wrong, and I had to confess that and I quote, “Dang it Camee, I like you”) her response was, “The feeling is mutual.” Praise God it was. If it wasn’t we wouldn’t have dated or gotten married. The foundation of spiritual gifts hinges on our responsibility to the relationships we have with Christ and with one another in the local church. Our unity (and diversity) demonstrated the fact that we are interrelated. We are many individual members who make up one singular cohesive body. This also means that we are interdependent upon one another. Now, understand this, the only one that you can depend on that won’t let you down is Jesus, however that should not stop you from depending upon the diversity of gifts in others. You need others. You need the church. Yes, you can live and have a relationship with Christ outside of Church. You should, as a matter of fact; it directly correlates to the life of the church. However, you can only truly thrive in your personal walk as you are incorporated, involved, and interdependent upon God’s gracious work through other members of the same body that you belong to. This relationship is built on love, humility, and faith (See 1 Cor. 13; Phil. 2:1-5). As we learn to love Christ, then we’ll learn to love His Church and live, not for ourselves, but for the good of the Church and glory of Christ. The Church is counting on you to live in mutuality and understanding that this relationship with the local church goes both ways. God didn’t design you to be a leech or mooch. If the local church is going to be a healthy, vibrant, and growing body that is used of God to impact a community (that’s God’s design and desire for the local church), then it will be through our mutual living for one another through our diversity and unity. We are to be engaged, encouraged, and equipped to then be employed for the good of the local church through the gifts of grace given to each of us. God had others in mind when He gave you your gift and He had you in mind when He gave someone else their spiritual gifts.            

Don’t forget these truths. Yes, you are diverse and still an individual, but your personal walk is not just for you, but it is for the good and growth of others. Everything that we are doing (or not doing) is either helping or hurting the unity and usefulness of the local church. Ask yourself, “Am I here for what I can get or what I can give?” God wants you to embrace and enjoy the unity, diversity, and mutuality of our relationship with one another in Christ. We can only truly embrace, enjoy, and encourage all three if we live a life of consecration and transformation from the inside out (Rom. 12:1-3). God wants you to enjoy being who you are and what you are and what you have while being able to do the same for others. The unity, diversity, and mutuality of our relationships with one another in Christ is a give of grace for our eternal good. Don’t waste His gift of grace. Don’t neglect the Church or waste your giftings. Remember the big picture. Before we can ever truly allow our spiritual gifts to function for the good of the Church and glory of Christ, we must see the foundations of our responsibility and relationships so that God gets all the glory in His Church that He desires and deserves. What are we doing today to help the unity for tomorrow? Do we enjoy the diversity or do others bother us so much that we lose focus on Jesus? Is our relationship to the local church mutual or is it a one way street? May we by faith and humility give the Lord access and authority over all parts of our life so that we may see the unity, diversity, and mutuality of the local church flourish.