TAKE YOUR PLACE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JANUARY 21, 2024.

SUBJECT: TAKE YOUR PLACE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST! 

Memory verse: "For as we have many members in one body, but all members have not the same function.” (Romans 12 vs 4.)

READ: Romans 12 vs 5 - 8:

12:5: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

12:6: Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them; if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;

12:7: or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, on teaching;

12:8: or he who exhorts, on exhortation: he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

INTIMATION:

All believers have their places in the body of Christ. Everybody recreated in Christ Jesus is a member of one body of Christ. God has planned with divine wisdom, the body of Christ; and the moment you are born into that body, you have your place in which to function. Just as the body has many parts, and each part has a specific function that is necessary to the body as a whole. The parts are different for different purposes, and in their differences work together as a unit. 

In the passage we read today, the apostle Paul uses the concept of the human body to teach how Christians should live and work together. Just as the parts of the body function under the direction of the brain, so Christians are to work together under the command and authority of Jesus Christ. God created you for a purpose as a member of the body of Christ.  He has no unused members. Just as there is no useless member in the physical body; all the members of our physical body have their own functions which they perform. The functions might be either dependent or independent of the other, but they coexist as one single body. 

God gives us gifts so we can build up His church. To use them effectively, we must (1) realize that all gifts and abilities come from God; (2) understand that not everyone has the same gifts; (3) know who you are and what you do best; (4) dedicate our gifts to God’s service and not to our personal success; (5) be willing to utilize our gifts wholeheartedly; not holding back anything from God’s service. God’s gifts differ in nature, power, and effectiveness according to His wisdom and graciousness, not according to our faith. Our role is to be faithful and to seek ways to serve others with what Christ has given us.

The gifts and abilities needed in the body of Christ is not limited to the list apostle Paul made in the passage. There are various units, organs and departments in the church; music, ushering, traffic, evangelism, counseling, children’s department, and so on. Everybody in the body of Christ is gifted with one ability or the other. When you identify your own gifts ask how you can use them build up God’s family. At the same time, realize that your gifts can’t do the work of the church all alone. Be thankful for people whose gifts are completely different from yours. Let your strengths balance their weaknesses, and be grateful that their abilities make up for your deficiencies. Together we can build Christ’s church.

Never suppress your gifts or refuse to use them, because that will be tantamount to rebellion against God. It’s very important to know that the price you pay for staying out of God's Will is quite expensive. You may pay it in sickness, in loss of money, or in unhappiness with your loved ones, and so on. When you are outside His Will you loose your inheritance in Christ as a child of God, and that can be terrible.

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to serve You and others in the body of Christ with the abilities, talents, and possessions You endued me with, that I may build my treasure in heaven, earn Your approval, and receive a crown of life which You have promised to those who love You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!