Monday, June 29, 2020
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Valuable Members of the Body; Romans 12:1-8
Today is Pentecost—we celebrate that Jesus gave the gift of the Holy Spirit. When we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, through faith in Jesus Christ, the Spirit empowers us with gifts of grace to fulfill Christ’s mission in the earth. The Spirit first makes us members of the Body of Christ and gives us a place in that Body to help it function and grow.
In Confirmation class, one of the Scripture passages we look at is I Corinthians 12, like Romans 12, it is written by Paul and talks about how we are members of the Body of Christ--that we have been given different gifts of grace, and how all those Body parts are important. You may notice that there are some gifts that Paul lists here that are different than the ones in I Corinthians 12. Some are the same and some are different. There are so many different gifts that the Spirit can give us, but they are all important and needed, and God is going to make sure that the Body is given whatever gifts are needed to fulfill God’s mission.
One of the things that is said far too often in churches is “Youth are the future of the Church.” I’m here to tell you that youth are the church. You 5 folks being confirmed today are entering into formal membership of the Church. You are no less important than any other member. This is what I Corinthians 12 tells us. No one can say to another body part, “I don’t need you.” Your value to God isn’t dependent on age, gender, race, social status, income. No, you are valuable because the Holy Spirit has made you a part of Christ’s body and has uniquely gifted you and placed you in that Body to help God’s kingdom grow on earth.
In I Corinthians 12, Paul tells us that we shouldn’t think of ourselves or others as less important members of the Body of Christ, but to value one another. Here in Romans 12, Paul also tells us to remember that every body part is important, but not to think too highly of ourselves. We are to look after others and serve one another. Last week in the women’s Bible study, we were reminded that Jesus said that those who want to be great in God’s kingdom must learn to be the servant of all. And we do this in response to what Jesus has done for us. He has been our example of a servant, laying down His life for us. If we were to have read Romans 11, we would read about the wonderful things God has done for us in making us people of God. Romans 12 begins with the word “Therefore,” and one of the basics of Bible study is when you see “therefore” go back and read what it’s therefore. Because God has done so much on our behalf, we are called to lay down our lives in surrender to God. The only thing that limits our effectiveness in the body of Christ is our lack of surrender. The more we surrender, the more useful we will be. The more we control we allow the Holy Spirit to have in our lives, the more God can and will accomplish through us.
The women’s Bible study has been looking at Jesus in the Old Testament. One of the early lessons we did this year was on the story of Abraham offering Isaac as a sacrifice. Some people have a hard time with this story because it can seem like spiritual child abuse, esp. if we get our theology from pictures or Bible story books, where Isaac is depicted as a child. But the word used to describe Isaac puts him at the youngest 13 and at the oldest in his late 20’s. And Abraham would have been well over 100. So who do you think was stronger? In fact, the Bible tells us that Isaac carried the wood for the altar. This isn’t just a few logs of firewood. Isaac was strong enough to resist his father, but he didn’t. He allowed himself to be offered. Just as the ram caught in the thicket was a picture of Jesus as our substitute sacrifice, Isaac too is a type of Christ as a willing sacrifice. This is the same picture we see here in Romans 12:1-2. We are to offer ourselves up to God as living sacrifices because of what Jesus did for us. This is our highest and holiest act of worship—to fully surrender to God. This act of surrender is shown in how we live our lives. We have these spiritual gifts to share with one another such as those listed in 6-8, but the rest of the chapter also lists actions that characterize those who surrender their lives to Jesus. These actions are blessed by God. In fact, I see them as ways to live out the Beatitudes that Jesus teaches in Matthew 5.
The Holy Spirit empowers us to be effective members of the Body of Christ, not only through gifts of grace but by molding our character and enabling us to live out Christ’s commandments to love God and to love one another in practical ways.
May you grow in your understanding of what it means to be a member of the Body of Christ and may you live more and more in the power of the Holy Spirit as you offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God.
In Confirmation class, one of the Scripture passages we look at is I Corinthians 12, like Romans 12, it is written by Paul and talks about how we are members of the Body of Christ--that we have been given different gifts of grace, and how all those Body parts are important. You may notice that there are some gifts that Paul lists here that are different than the ones in I Corinthians 12. Some are the same and some are different. There are so many different gifts that the Spirit can give us, but they are all important and needed, and God is going to make sure that the Body is given whatever gifts are needed to fulfill God’s mission.
One of the things that is said far too often in churches is “Youth are the future of the Church.” I’m here to tell you that youth are the church. You 5 folks being confirmed today are entering into formal membership of the Church. You are no less important than any other member. This is what I Corinthians 12 tells us. No one can say to another body part, “I don’t need you.” Your value to God isn’t dependent on age, gender, race, social status, income. No, you are valuable because the Holy Spirit has made you a part of Christ’s body and has uniquely gifted you and placed you in that Body to help God’s kingdom grow on earth.
In I Corinthians 12, Paul tells us that we shouldn’t think of ourselves or others as less important members of the Body of Christ, but to value one another. Here in Romans 12, Paul also tells us to remember that every body part is important, but not to think too highly of ourselves. We are to look after others and serve one another. Last week in the women’s Bible study, we were reminded that Jesus said that those who want to be great in God’s kingdom must learn to be the servant of all. And we do this in response to what Jesus has done for us. He has been our example of a servant, laying down His life for us. If we were to have read Romans 11, we would read about the wonderful things God has done for us in making us people of God. Romans 12 begins with the word “Therefore,” and one of the basics of Bible study is when you see “therefore” go back and read what it’s therefore. Because God has done so much on our behalf, we are called to lay down our lives in surrender to God. The only thing that limits our effectiveness in the body of Christ is our lack of surrender. The more we surrender, the more useful we will be. The more we control we allow the Holy Spirit to have in our lives, the more God can and will accomplish through us.
The women’s Bible study has been looking at Jesus in the Old Testament. One of the early lessons we did this year was on the story of Abraham offering Isaac as a sacrifice. Some people have a hard time with this story because it can seem like spiritual child abuse, esp. if we get our theology from pictures or Bible story books, where Isaac is depicted as a child. But the word used to describe Isaac puts him at the youngest 13 and at the oldest in his late 20’s. And Abraham would have been well over 100. So who do you think was stronger? In fact, the Bible tells us that Isaac carried the wood for the altar. This isn’t just a few logs of firewood. Isaac was strong enough to resist his father, but he didn’t. He allowed himself to be offered. Just as the ram caught in the thicket was a picture of Jesus as our substitute sacrifice, Isaac too is a type of Christ as a willing sacrifice. This is the same picture we see here in Romans 12:1-2. We are to offer ourselves up to God as living sacrifices because of what Jesus did for us. This is our highest and holiest act of worship—to fully surrender to God. This act of surrender is shown in how we live our lives. We have these spiritual gifts to share with one another such as those listed in 6-8, but the rest of the chapter also lists actions that characterize those who surrender their lives to Jesus. These actions are blessed by God. In fact, I see them as ways to live out the Beatitudes that Jesus teaches in Matthew 5.
The Holy Spirit empowers us to be effective members of the Body of Christ, not only through gifts of grace but by molding our character and enabling us to live out Christ’s commandments to love God and to love one another in practical ways.
May you grow in your understanding of what it means to be a member of the Body of Christ and may you live more and more in the power of the Holy Spirit as you offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God.
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