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It was seen 231.
Where pilgrims in this wilderness are dwelling as they can created things so pleasant now bear to us. Death stands, but onwards we are speaking, and will often lead in pride. The Holy Ghost is leading home to the land His Bride 231.
We didn't need to give her a problem.
We need to give you a call blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
Uh-huh.
Awesome. Uh yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm also not supposed to be anything.
Uh-huh.
Different times, maybe every day and I don't know. Well, I'll start with my health. I don't know if you can do anything. It's it's.
I've had on my heart, brethren, uh, given what we've had in these meetings already and in view of so many young people being here, that often there's questions about the ground that we take. Uh, sometimes we say we're gathered on the ground of the one body. What does that mean? Perhaps we could take up First Corinthians chapter 12.
There's any other feeling I'm willing to bow to my brethren too.
1St Corinthians, chapter 12.
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Verse one.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. You know that you were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as you were led. 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. Now there are diversities of gifts with the same Spirit, and there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh All in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit. Whipple.
4 To one is given by the Spirit, the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, by the same spirit, to another faith, by the same spirit, to another the gifts of healing, by the same spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, discerning of spirits, to another, diverse kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these worketh that one and the self same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. Whereas the body is one and half many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body. So also is Christ.
For by 1 Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ears shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now have God set the members, every one of them in the body, as it half pleased Him?
And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand I have no need of thee, nor again the head to the feet I have no need of you.
Nay, much more, those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary, and those members of the body which we think to be less honorable. Upon these we bestow more abundant honor, and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness, for our comely parts have no need. But God has tempered the body together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked. That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
And God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing helps.
Government's diversities of tongues are all apostles, are all prophets, are all teachers, are all workers of miracles, Have all the gifts of healing, do all speak with tongues, do all interpret, but covet earnestly the best gifts, and yet show eye unto you a more excellent way.
Chapters 12/13 and 14 kind of go together in the book of First Corinthians, brethren. And in chapter 12 we have the body presented and the different gifts that are given to everyone. Don't just think of just certain ones up in the front row. Listen to me. Everyone is given something to profit with all, and we need to be awakened to what the body of Christ is. It's a reality, brethren. And so we have the gifts in chapter 12.
In chapter 13, we have the love chapter, that which makes the gifts function in harmony. And then in chapter 14 we have the body functioning as it comes together as the body of Christ to function properly. We have principles that guide us in that chapter to show how it, how it works. So it's, uh, a wonderful 3.
Chapters and I don't think we can take up more than it depends, I guess how far fast we go, but uh, chapter 12 has got a lot of material in it. I'd just like to say as we begin this chapter that the House of God, uh, let's go back to the third chapter of, uh, this epistle and the.
Uh, verse 16 says no, ye not that ye are.
The temple of God, and that the temple of God dwelleth in you. Now that's plural.
The Spirit of God dwells in US collectively in the whole House of God. If you go to chapter 16 and verse.
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19 It says, what know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you. There you have that our bodies in individual form are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and we need to be exercised what that means in our lives in a practical way. But then when we're talking about chapter 1213 and 14, it is more the collective.
Uh, thought in mind the body.
The Spirit of God dwells in US collectively.
And so in verse one of chapter 12, he says, and you'll notice that the word gifts is not, uh, in the original. It's in italics. And the translators made it that way so that we know that it's not in the original.
The new translation, it puts a little parentheses and says manifestations. So it's not exactly the thought of gifts, but this thought of spiritual manifestations. If the Spirit of God dwells in US, is that manifest? And so that's the thought that it's given here. And how does the Spirit of God manifest himself in our midst? And so as we go down through the chapter, it's the question of spiritual manifestation. There are.
And in verse four it says there are diversities of gifts but the same spirit, so that the spirit is the one seen as giving the gifts.
In this chapter, but it is the manifestation of the Spirit through the gifts that the Lord has given or that the Spirit of God has given. So if we can keep that in mind, if you notice in chapter 14, the same thing follow after charity or love and desire spiritual. Again, it's in italics. It's manifestations. We should desire that the Spirit of God manifest himself in our midst.
Through perhaps, as it says later.
A word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, etcetera. And so the Spirit of God dwells in us. A wonderful, wonderful reality, brethren, but in our way of life so often.
We put away the thought of the Spirit of God dwelling in us to guide us into all truth, and we're guided by our own natural impulses. I have to confess, brethren, that I'm affected by the culture I'm passing through. And I think it's best if we confess it and confess it to the Lord and ask him to help us to be overcomers. But the Spirit of God dwells in US. Isn't that a wonderful truth? Not only individually, but collectively? And so as I look around at my brother and I say the Spirit of God dwells in YouTube, brother.
I have a tendency to talk too much, so I hope there's exercise not only in the front rows, but act back there in the back or two.
It might be helpful too, as we embark on this chapter in connection with the body of Christ, to just say a word or two as to what the body of Christ is in the context in which it's taken up. As to this aspect of the church, we know as we read through the New Testament that the church is taken up in various aspects to bring before us certain aspects of truth and responsibility as members of the Church of God. The Lord Jesus Himself introduced it as a building in Matthew chapter 16.
On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. It's referred to as Bob has already brought before us as the temple of God. That is, it's the dwelling place of the Spirit of God collectively. It's also taken up as the House of God in Timothy.
In connection with responsibility and how we are to behave as the House of God, because as I think it was brother Mark Carlson read to us this morning, we are the House of God. We there's a behavior that is connected with being part of the House of God.
It's also taken up as the bride of Christ. We're going to be married to the Lord in the coming day as his bride. It's also referred to as the wife of Christ and where there's going to be an ongoing relationship, and we're going to reign with him in that connection. It's also described as a city in her millennial glory and administrative position over the earth with Christ in the coming day. But here in Corinthians, it's more particularly the body of Christ. And we need to understand if we're going to understand our responsibility and the practical side.
Of what is taken up in this chapter, we need to understand what is the body of Christ? Just go back to the 10th chapter for a moment.
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For a verse.
In chapter 10 and verse 17, for we being many are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. Tomorrow morning, if the Lord hasn't come, we're going to have on the table a loaf of bread. And you'll notice that it's not more than one loaf. It's not two or three loaves. It's not crackers or wafers. It's one loaf because in the in first Corinthians 10, where he has taken up the is taking up the subject of the Lord's table.
The loaf there signifies every member of the body of Christ.
Every believer to the heart of God is represented in that one loaf. When we put it on the table unbroken, that loaf speaks of every believer alive on the face of the earth. When we break it in connection with the Lord's Supper in the 11Th chapter, it has to do It represents the Lord's body given in death for us. But in connection with the Lord's table, it has to do with every believer. And God looks down this this morning and he says there is one body.
Now, not only is the church taken up in various aspects, some of which we've just mentioned, but I think it's helpful when you take up Corinthians to see there are three contexts in which the church is taken up. Sometimes the church is viewed in her entirety from her beginnings at the day of Pentecost, from her birthday till her conclusion at or her fou till she, uh, concluded at the rapture. And so it's looked at as the, as the bride, the Lamb's wife and so on. If the whole Church of God, every believer from.
Pentecost until the church is completed at the rapture. Sometimes the church is looked at in its local aspect. Various apostles wrote to the church, the church at Ephesus, we, he, sometimes individuals hosted the church which is in their house. That was the local aspect. Like Matthew 18, where he speaks of the church in her local function and administration. But when it's the body of Christ, it is every believer alive on the face of the earth.
At one given time, my father is not functioning as a member of the body of Christ on earth any longer. He's going to be part of the bride and the Lamb's wife and the city in a future day. But as Bob said, this is very practical here. It's the function, the working together of the members on earth for the edification and building up of the people of God. And it is it to be it completely in the power and the leading of the Spirit.
Fit to see that as Bob pointed out that that one gifts does not appear in this post book. It doesn't mean the state doesn't occur in the chapter is being pointed out, but the first thing we find that the spirit does is exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and if we don't get hold of that then we'll become like the Corinthians and we'll make much of self gift was never given to make much of self. The word charismatic comes from the Greek word meaning gift. We don't make much of gift. We make much of the Lord Jesus Christ and that's what the Spirit will have us do.
Somebody gives you a gift. You don't thank the gift, you thank the giver of the gift, don't you?
That's important.
But as we are also affected, and I'll say this as a younger person, umm, by the world around us, we look at, uh, there's a lot of talk about self actualization. And I feel like a lot of times, and I've seen this in myself. Indeed, we, we believe that there's something from within us that will emerge eventually. And we're all called to do the work of an evangelist, for instance, to do the work and to see what the Lord manifests through us. We are to be conduits of his grace, his grace working in US and through us and by us. And I think, uh, one of the great conflicts of this first epistle has been pointed out.
Is largely that there's the carnal mind versus the spiritual mind. And to exercise spiritual judgment, they'll say I don't care if you judge me, but there is a spiritual judgment whereby we, umm, can learn. There are many gifts. And so he's setting things in order as we've mentioned.
Like to mention too, in connection with what Jim said about the body of Christ, especially as we function as members of the body in this chapter, it is focused on and perhaps these are key verses of this chapter is verse 12 and 13.
As the body is one and have many members and all the members of that one body.
Very many are one body, so also is and you can put the Christ, in other words, Christ the head in heaven. We, the members of his body united to him are called Christ, just like Adam and Eve in chapter 5 of Genesis were called Adam.
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Wasn't Adam and Eve? It was Adam because they are united together and we are so united to the Lord Jesus in glory that it calls us the Christ. And So what should people see in US, brethren?
They should see Christ and if we are led by the Spirit of God like he has been said, the Spirit of God is here.
To glorify the Lord Jesus, not us, not some human instrument that may have a gift, but the Lord Jesus, the giver of the gift. And so just notice how often that word one is mentioned, not only in verse 12, but in verse 13. Four by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit.
Notice how often one is mentioned.
We look around in the world, brethren, we go into Asheville and say, where are these Christians that everybody's talking about?
Would you ever get the idea from the public display that there is one body?
No, they say. There's quite a few different people, bodies of Christians here in Asheville or in whatever city you want to go to.
And that was what was mentioned earlier. I believe that the testimony, the public testimony is in ruins.
But the truth remains, there is one body, and to me it is such a precious thing to lay hold of. Every true believer in the Lord Jesus is baptized by 1 Spirit into one body. It's a reality, a present reality.
And we do have the privilege of going to other countries and meeting with Christians in other countries. Brethren, it is such a precious privilege to to realize the reality. Yes, it is true. There is one body and we're part of it by 1 Spirit bound together. And sometimes you can't even understand the language.
But you can feel the Spirit is the same. Oh, brethren, these are real things.
Right now, in 2013, it's a reality. There is one body. Isn't that precious, despite the confusion. And I say as soon as I start looking around at human instruments and see how nice this brother is that doesn't meet with us and this other brother and oh, this group of Christians over here.
The picture starts getting cloudy. Where I get the picture and clarity is in the Word of God.
And it's such a precious reality to go there and to say there is one body and every true believer, when he believes the gospel of his salvation is sealed by 1 Spirit and that spirit.
Binds us together in one body in Christ. The baptism of the Spirit of God is to form the Church. That took place at the beginning of the Church's history. It's not repeating.
We are added now to that one body by that one spirit. So it's important to have that clear in our minds if a person has received the Lord Jesus as their Savior and truth, and that person is now.
Uh, sealed by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God, then, is the power that unites US1 to another wonderful, precious truths of Christianity.
Just, uh, make a comment. Recently I had an opportunity to speak to a young person and they asked.
You think when God looks down upon the earth sees the division? I said absolutely, and they were shocked.
When God looks down upon Christendom, does he see division? Absolutely. He sees division. Now, that's not to say that there isn't a side of things where God looks down and sees one body perfect. When he looks down, he sees.
A bright as we have in Ephesians 5, that says that He might present it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle any such thing, but that it should be holy without blemish. But it doesn't take away from what we find in the first chapter of Corinthians where it says.
And I'll begin at verse 9, but verse 10 is the one I wish to emphasize. God is faithful by whom ye recalled unto the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. His fellowship is not our fellowship. We don't create it.
We are, we are called into it now at the state, you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing of it. There will be no divisions among you but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same judgment. When God looked down upon the Saints, their occurrence, He could see divisions that had not yet happened. He could see splits there in that assembly and he had to address it and he addresses it as a very close matter in the book of Corinthians. So please don't say that God doesn't see division or that division doesn't matter. It absolutely does matter. And no doubt it's a, if I can speak humanly, a source of tremendous grief that God should look down upon his people.
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And see them divided. But keep in mind also that the body of Christ is composed of individuals. It's not composed of assembly because I think there's a general view that the body of Christ is composed of assemblies. So therefore it doesn't matter where you go because it's all part of the body of Christ. No, the body of Christ is composed of individuals. I think these are vital things that were not vital, but important things to get hold of in our minds. And that's why it says there. Therefore it's the body one and members in particular. And I love that verse there in verse 25.
That's the hope of what this chapter will give us, is that there should be no schism or division among you.
Umm, there are three primary views, uh, earthly views of the church and I think, uh, it's good to outline them like Mr. Hyland has mentioned, provide a little context. The 1St is umm, and these are themes. You can find this in the Old Testament as well as the new. These are not, these are common human themes. And uh, the first view is the one we're almost familiar with, of course, which is the, what we call ecumenism, this belief that somehow the divisions in the church are a reflection of the diversity of God as we see in nature or in the species or etcetera.
Umm, and so we, we meet, uh, upon commonalities, uh, they call things like essentials and non essentials. But when we look at the scripture, for instance, in Hebrews, the, the heart that is attuned to Christ and wants not just what I can benefit from God, but what will give him pleasure, what will bring him into his guard and let him take this pleasant fruits. The heart that could tune to Christ and his glory And the father in his honor will look at Hebrews where it says, beholding the volume of the book that is written to me and will recognize there is no unessential part.
And to say that we have priced in common and yet disagree upon any part of scripture, it sounds like a high order that we would be of one mind of the same love, say the same things, but we recognize immediately that that's not enough. And then on the other side is, of course, those that would misread the text of Scripture. Instead of saying we strive to keep the unity of the Spirit, they say strive to keep the unity of the body most properly. Those higher traditions which many of us are probably not as familiar with, which would say there may be other communities of believers, but there is only one church and no salvation outside of it. Or at least that Vatican 1.
Referring to Roman Catholicism. So there's either the, the desire to bridge or to somehow amalgamate or the desire to dominate or to force unity. And I think we recognize just as umm, a true believer will recognize that it's not just free will or not just sovereignty, that there's an admixture there and that we are living analogies of God's purpose in our lives. We'll recognize that we neither can make the body one and yet it is possible that we can be one. And so we need to strive to keep that unity of experience. So those three, again, one is the ecumenical, the idea of bridging, of amalgamating.
Of of finding unity for unity's sake. Umm, the others that dominate is to somehow control the human factor.
And umm, the 3rd, and I believe the right one according to Scripture, is the one that tries to keep the unity of the Spirit where there is failure. We as members, as our brother just said, not as assembly is making up the church, but as individuals in particular, are we walking in such a way as to express the truth that there is one body? And in so doing we give glory to the Father and to the Son. Well, that's indeed.
Beauty of the Spirit exists regardless of what we do.
Striving to keep it is the outward appearance of what is already true in other states. That helped me as a young person. And I don't know who originated it, but it really helped me. And it was put like this. If you had a table in front of you and we're at the day of Pentecost and you had a table A and there were 120 or whatever pearls laying in front of you and you had a silver thread and silver chain there when the Spirit of God descended and the church was born.
And this uniting that took place, this baptism of the Spirit and this forming into one, as though a jeweler took those pearls that were individuals laying on the table and strung them on this silver thread. And now a new thing existed where individual valuable pearls existed. And this silver chain was there. Now they were strung together and a beautiful necklace was formed. And that was the church, the true church. It was also the body of Christ and those individuals now united.
And valuable in a way that had not been before that there's unity of purpose and so on that exists in all kinds of ways. But now there's this new thing. So from that moment on.
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Each new born again believer is a new Pearl strung on that necklace and put up on there on on this earth. And the display of that God sees it. He knows everywhere they are and they're all strung together. They may be divided in outward appearance and may not even understand or know what we're talking about, but they've already been put there. They've already been strung together by the Spirit of God and they exist. And if they look in this book and if they were beginning to study these things as we're talking about them today, they would begin to see what they really are.
And to see that these kinds of artificial unities and efforts of man to show something on the outside where compromise is made on truth that it's worth nothing. And to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit is to to outwardly manifest what we know this book says exists before God's eyes and by his purpose and his will according to what he has done already. So they're still individual pearls. They formed a necklace, but they still remain individual pearls. And that's what Nick was saying. And I believe that's very important to understand.
I would like to just for a moment go back to something Bob mentioned in passing because I think it's very important in taking up this subject. In the days in which we live, sometimes we hear the expression the church is in ruin. I don't believe that's an accurate expression it I know what people mean when they say that. But if I say the church is in ruin, I'm saying that the Lord has failed in what he said in Matthew 16 when he said I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The church is not in ruin. There's still one body, as we've been saying. God sees it in that way. What is in ruin is the testimony, as Bob has said, it's the testimony to the truth of the one body. Because the the keeping of the church has never been committed to man. The keeping of the unity of the body, thank God, has never been committed to us because 4000 years of man's history prior to the establishment of the Church of God showed beyond a shadow of a doubt.
That whatever is committed to man always breaks down. He's going to fail in some way or another.
Now we are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, but not the unity of the body.
And so it's the it's the testimony that is in ruin. And brethren, we all have to hang our heads. If we find ourselves gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by grace, and it's only by grace we still have to hang our heads. Brethren, we can't stand apart and pretend like we're not part of the failure and ruin that has come into the testimony to the truth of the one body. Another comment I'd like to make, and it's in connection with the second verse of our chapter.
And that is that this was quite a contrast. What we've been saying in this meeting so far this morning was quite a contrast to what the Corinthians had been used to under idolatrous worship. Because any of us who have traveled to heathen countries and idolatrous countries will attest to the fact that in idolatry you have confusion and disunity. Just go to a Hindu country. If you don't, if you can't find an idol to satisfy you, you invent one of your own. You get it, you get a new one. And there's all kinds of new deities being produced or conjured up in the minds of men.
All the time. And you have someone in this house worshipping one idol they have in their yard, and somebody else has another one down the street and somebody else at this temple. And so there's confusion and disunity in idolatry. And these Corinthians had been saved from idolatry. And now what Paul is telling them, you've been brought into a sphere of things where there's no longer to be confusion and disunity, but there is to be order and unity.
God, when God, when the Spirit of God, is given his place, it has brought us into a place where there is unity and there is no longer confusion.
Now that doesn't mean that God doesn't delight in diversity and distinction, and we're gonna get that in the following verses. And so every member of the body is unique. It's distinct. Every member of the body has a different function. God delights in diversity and distinction in creation and in the body of Christ as well. But brethren, disunity and confusion is not of God. If there's disunity and confusion, it is because we are not.
Acting in the power and the leading of the Spirit of God if you're taught of the Spirit of God on all things.
And I'm taught of the Spirit of God on all things at all times where there's going to be complete harmony. We're going to be in fellowship with one another, and we're going to be of one mind on all things. Sad to say, as we see, that isn't always the truth practically of the matter, but that is what God desires for His church. I think that theme of diversity, I want to dwell on that for a second, if I may, because I think there's an inherent, especially in the West in the last 450 years, an inherent fear.
00:35:24
Of of losing our identity the more we, we unite to one another. And I think we have to remember that in Christ, though we already made one, that is the source of all diversity. There is, he is the source of all things. Apart from him there is nothing. I mean, consider, consider any of the issues of the modern world. All of them tend towards unison. I mean, think of, of, of what the analogy of homosexuality is, is it's a predominant issue. It tends towards unison, towards losing one's identity and seeking to find in the world a reflection of oneself.
Ultimately, instead of a, instead of a submitting of one to another that is different than ourselves, which is the analogy of marriage and what Christ and the church represent to us. So that harmony and diversity is what we is, what we see and, uh, what we should strive for. And I think that's a wonderful thing to remind ourselves of is that when we talk of oneness, we're talking of coming into the completeness of who we are as diverse, not of losing our identity. And I think that's what the world will often say. And so there's the analogy of the great house, for instance, and a lot of Christians will say, well, there's no diversity of worship in the gathered Saints. I can't dance if I want to dance and I can't, you know, reflect my specific culture.
Umm, and so we go to these places and you'll have basically that you're turning into clubs of various kinds of mutual admiration societies, etcetera. Umm, and even CS Lewis, though I love CS Lewis, he said, well, think of it like this. He said, it's a great, it's a big house. I don't know if he, I hope he was an ironist and so I hope he understood he was actually doing this, but he, he basically was reflecting what second Timothy is all about. He said, well, you can choose, it's a great house. It's all the House of God. You can choose this room if you like green and plush carpets and this one if you like more of a bare essentials of things. And when I realized was that if we focus so much upon preserving our sense of dignity and our own individuality to such an extent that the only things and criteria whereby we judge where we should meet.
Is based off what I get out of an experience or when I get to express about myself. Then when in effect, we are like children who, leaving the Father's table, take the food from the Father into our own rooms and enjoy it there. And indeed we will be fed. Indeed the gifts of the God are without repentance. But what has the Father suffered by as being absent from him? I Unfortunately, I have done that before. I've left the my father and mother's table and I've gone to my room. What I was food kept from me. No was shelter kept from me? No Is the Word of God kept from the church at large? Will the Spirit move where the Word of God is opened and him and and given space?
Of course he'll move, but what does it matter to his heart? We may be in this great house, but should we not rather be with Him at the table? Because not that we will benefit anymore, although we will in a spiritual way, but that He would benefit and that it gives Lori an honor to him. I think too often we we begin our journey and our search for both identity and proper worship with the self instead of with what matters to the Lord. Well, with what He said we are with what He has given to us.
The thing about this, all of this stuff that goes on in our client, even amongst groups of Christians with self esteem and all, and about the self and all of that, and the focus on that is that when it's defined other than the way God defines it, it can be taken from you. But when you believe this book concerning what God says about you, when you believe this book concerning about who God says you are and that you are loved and you have value and you have significance because of what He says and because His love is upon you and He has chosen you, no one can take that from you though you be in the darkest prison on this earth.
The very picture of a body shows diversity. Just look at everybody here. Their ears look a little bit alike. The eyes do, but the nose and the ears don't. So there's diversity in the way the Lord has made us up and the individuals that we are talking about, the illustration of a, of a necklace with pearls, if you have different sized pearls or other things on there and look at these individuals, uh, there are kinds of necklaces that are made-up that are all different kinds of things. There's lots of diversity, but just looking at the body that's used here, uh, there is so much diversity there, but it's the way God made it.
That diversity to identify how God made me. Now we have natural gifts that we talk about which are in here, that abilities, and we should use those for the Lord too. But there is an individual gift that at least one, a spiritual gift that has been given to every believer. Every true believer has it and they may not know what it is in the beginning. And let's say, umm, someone gives a young child a very expensive phenomenon and a special diving watch or something that does all kinds of things and the child looks at it and goes, what's that?
Well, you'll know when you're older and you'll learn about it and the, and the giver of the gift can tell you what that gift is and, and how you're going to be able to use it as time goes on. But it's his gift that he's given. It's not you deciding this is what it is or this is what the place I want. It's discovering how he's made you the gift that he's given to you and then the place that he has. And then it's the real thing. And when you, when you find all that out, then there's true significance because you're in the place and doing the thing that God has created you to do.
00:40:24
So in these verses two and three, we have what, uh, was true of the Corinthian believers.
They were from a Pagan culture and as such they were moved by unclean spirits in their idolatry. And in chapter 10 it definitely says that there are spirits behind.
Demon spirits behind idols and so they were used to that. Now they are Christians and so he gives them two tests in verse three of the working of the Spirit of God. He says I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit.
Of God calleth Jesus a curse.
If you're really speaking by the chapter Spirit of God, what you say will not dishonor the Lord Jesus.
And that no man can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Ghost. In other words, if you are speaking by the direction of the Holy Spirit, it will be to give the Lord Jesus his place.
Of authority in our midst, He is the head. And so from verse 4-5 and six, you have the whole Trinity mentioned, the Spirit in verse four, the Lord in verse five, and God in verse 6.
And what has been mentioned about diversity is beautifully united to unity. And I suggest, brethren, that although the illustration of a necklace is helpful, that is not the illustration it gives in this chapter. It's of a body. And we all have our human bodies. How many members? There's lots of members. How many body? One body, but many members. And this is.
The beautiful thing about the body is that there is diversity and there is unity. Verse four, there are diversities of gifts.
And there the word gift is right properly there, but the same spirit. So the spirit, the gift that I may have been given is not the same spirit that you have been given, but it's the same spirit that has given both gifts. And So what I say, what Brother Jim says, what Brother Nick says, I trust there's not contradiction in it. There might be balance. And sometimes we have to wait for spiritual growth, don't we? We don't see things exactly the same.
What am I gonna do? And if I don't see things exactly as you see them, Brother Nick, what am I gonna do about that? Am I gonna force it? No. I'm gonna seek to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. And so we wait on the Lord. And sometimes we have to grow up a little bit. You can't expect a child of five years old to understand algebra. What's wrong with that child? Just give him some time. He'll grow up. He'll understand. The time comes. But we have to be as patient with one another, too, brother. And it's not forcing matters.
But it is waiting on the Lord. And in these meetings like this, it says in chapter 14, the prophets speak two or three and the others judge. We don't judge persons, we judge what is said. We measure what is said by the word of God and by one speaking and another speaking. There is a balance of truth that brother and I have come to value deeply. I've sat in reading meetings since I was a boy.
But increasingly, I value the simplicity of balance that there is in public meetings where there is liberty of the Spirit, so that the prophets speak two or three and the others judge. That means that if there is a mistake made, and can you make mistakes, Brother Jim? Yeah. And so I make mistakes, too. What am I going to do about it? That's what our brethren are here for. And if I say something, that's not quite right, brother.
Tim, I hope you say something about it.
That's the way the body works. And so my right hand is trying to lift something heavy and I can't quite do it very well. What happens? This other hand comes along to help brethren. That's the function of the body of Christ. And so there's diversity. And I marvel at seeing the diversity, the brethren, its uses and unity. And then we go on to the verse five. It says there are differences in administrations, the way we minister.
00:45:02
The way we do things, the way we speak.
It's not always the same.
But the same Lord. And so there's one Lord, brethren, and then there are diversities of operations.
But the same God which worketh All in all wonderful brethren to see this now I sometimes find that when we talk about this, sometimes people think that we're the ones that have it all straightened out and we we do things right here. You know what I find happens if we start thinking that way, we mess up royal.
And I think the Lord allows that so that we realize rather this is the desire to do this, to put it into effect, but to think that we've got it all straight, we're learning, brother, let's continue to learn. On the day of Pentecost, there were three unique things that happened when the Spirit of God descended. Two of them have already been pointed out, and that is that the Spirit of God came to dwell. Each individual believer came to dwell collectively in the Church of God, the new unit that was formed on the day of Pentecost.
But that's the Spirit of God also became the link between the members of the body here on earth and their ascended head, the Lord Jesus in heaven. And that's how we can have this truth before us, because how can we function as members of the body of Christ? How can there be diversity with unity? It must be by the leading of the Spirit of God. And it is possible, brethren, because we are linked by the Spirit of God to our head. And when it's the illustration of the body as we have here in Corinthians.
It's the head in heaven and the members on earth. We understand this in a natural sense, don't we, That all our members of our, the members of our natural body take their direction from the brain. They take their direction from the head.
I just mentioned it in passing, but it's a helpful study to take up the contrast between Ephesians and Colossians because in both Ephesians and Colossians you have the subject of the head, the glorified head, Christ, and the members of the body on earth. Just a couple of things in passing that are helpful to see as distinction. In Colossians we find that we, as the members of the body of Christ on earth are incomplete without our heads.
Because the Lord Jesus in Colossians is the head of the body. We cannot function properly without taking our direction from the head or, as we often use the expression, we need to hold the head. Why is there sometimes confusion and disunity amongst the people of God? Again, it's because we're not taking our direction from the head. And I don't want to speak in a mundane way, but if I can put it simply, in Colossians, a body without a head is an incomplete unit.
But wonder of wonders, it's just the opposite in Ephesians. In Ephesians it's what the church is to Christ. You realize that we're the fullness of him that filleth All in all. I can hardly take that in. What he what you have in Ephesians is a head without a body is incomplete as well. Not just a body without a head, but a head without a body. And Christ is incomplete. I, I, I can't. If it wasn't for Scripture, we wouldn't dare to say it. But Christ is incomplete without the members of the body here on earth, where the fullness of him that filleth All in all. But the point here is we must.
If there's going to be diversity with unity and if we're there's going to be these these spiritual manifestations and the proper use of gift and ability, it must be that we take our direction from the head. And if I can just sum up what Bob said in these 3 verses. In verse four, the Spirit gives the gifts. In verse five, the Lord leads in the gifts and services. And in verse six, it's God who produces the results. Now that doesn't leave any room for us, does it? Yes, we're the instruments. We're the members of the body that he delights to use. But if there's any.
Blessing brethren, it's not of ourselves, it's in the power of the spirit with the, uh, Lord himself, uh, leading and God giving the results and producing the fruit in the end. I'd just like to reiterate what you just said, Jim, and the, and the difference between these versus fi uh, 4-5 and six, as you said, the Spirit of God is the one who imparts the gift, uh, to the member of the body of Christ. And as a soul grows and develops in their spiritual.
Uh, life and matures, the gift will, umm, as it were, become a service, uh, or a ministry. I noticed in my margin the administration in, in verse six, uh, uh, in verse five, uh, there are differences of administration, but the same Lord. And so as, as the young people sit here, maybe you're even wondering, well, what is the gift that God has given me? What is the gift of the Spirit of God?
00:50:17
As imparted to me and as we walk with the Lord, read his word, umm, Grove and the things of the Lord, it will become apparent that special ability, that special interest, uh, that the Lord has given us, umm, the, the special umm, ability that we have to be able to help to our brethren. But then oftentimes that will in some ways become a service.
God will take that gift and he will begin to use, use that gift in service. It becomes a ministry. Not that we want it to be too occupied with exactly, uh, what ministry we have, but when we realize God has, has a desire to use the gift, then we go to him about the service. We don't go to the Spirit of God about the service. We go to the Lord about the service because he is the one.
Who gives direction in the service? It's a beautiful thing when you have something laid on your heart. Maybe it's in connection with the gift God has given you. And you realize, umm, that God has a desire to, to use that gift in a service for him. And when that becomes apparent to you, you go to the Lord because he's the administrator and you ask him, Lord is this is it? Is it your mind to use that which you have given me?
In a ministry or the body, umm. And so I just wanted to give that a little distinction between those two versus.
I would like it to maintain the fact that, uh, Speaking of gifts, it isn't just for our older brethren that has been brought out, but we can encourage the younger ones. Uh, perhaps we can, as our older ones can see a gift in one of our brethren is to encourage that brother that perhaps he has a gift for the Lord or something that he can do for the Lord. I'll give you an example of the last Saint Thomas conference.
There was a young lad I would gather to be about 10 years old, a boy who was helping his father doing the recording.
And he was busy doing the labels on the recordings for ministry for the Saints. And I was impressed by that because I thought, here's a young lad who's doing something for the Lord. Sure, he's helping his dad, which is fine, but he was doing a service for the Lord. And when I passed by him and saw what he was doing, I said, dear brother, I encourage you to keep that up. You have a gift. You are doing something for the Lord that you could do. And.
We should try as older brethren to see the gift amongst our brothers and sisters in Christ. If we could see something in them and say keep up the good work or the Lord is using you for this or for that, that we must keep in mind and encourage them.
I think, too, we need to keep in view that there's a difference in Scripture between natural ability and spiritual gift. Now, God will often link natural ability and spiritual gift. God isn't going to give a person the gift of an evangelist and give him open doors to address large crowds if he has a speech impediment or he doesn't have a good clear voice. And so God will link natural ability with spiritual gift. I'm thankful for those who have the natural ability to go to other countries and to be able to take the conditions and the food and the.
And the and so on. And so God does that. But we want to be very clear that there is a difference.
And so when we speak about spiritual gift, it's those gifts that are given for the edification and building up of the Church of God.
We have some of them list listed in Ephesians where he says he's given to the church, some Pennsylvania, uh, some apostles and prophets. Those are those that laid the foundation truth for us. And then he says evangelists, pastors and teachers, those are spiritual gifts that God has given us, but God has given us everyone as members of the body of Christ, gifts and ability. And I believe it's important for us to get before the Lord.
In our individual exercise as to what the Lord has given us as to gift and ability.
The reason I say that is I believe it's important for us in our own souls to know what that gift is. Timothy was given a gift and he was to stir it up. He had to know what it was to stir it up. You can't stir up something or use it.
00:55:13
If you don't know what it is now, it's not to say that immediately God is going to tell us what that gift is. We as as as has been said little services for him that we do they they developed and after a while there's maturity in our Christian life and exercise and the Lord perhaps will show or will always show us if we're really exercised. But I believe it's good brethren for us all, brothers and sisters alike, no matter how young we are here today if we know the Lord.
Be before the Lord. What does He have for us? What little gift has He given us? It might not be some outward manifest big gift that we think of as an outward manifestation. It may be some little fit service, some little gift that He's given us. But the exercise, and when He does show you, then stir it up, use it for His glory. And I believe that often the Church of God suffers a loss, and even local assemblies suffer a loss because there are those who do not stir up and use the gift that God has given them for the blessing of the Saints.
And I think we need to be careful how we encourage those. There are those who definitely have a gift and Paul said to Timothy, like has been mentioned that stir up the gift of God, which is in you and one place it says by prophecy.
I take it that someone discerned and Timothy a gift in a certain way. We don't really have registered what his gift was, but, uh, evidently someone did and they must have spoken a word of encouragement in the right direction. But what I find sometimes happens, brethren, is that when somebody tries to encourage somebody and compliments them lavishly, we tend to turn in ourselves, Oh, I have a tremendous gift. I can be a help to God's people. And if you're not looking to the Lord in the use of your gift.
You're gonna start being a hindrance to your brother and not a help. So let's keep the focus on the Lord. Brethren, thank God for the gifts He gives, but let's not focus on ourselves, not be turned in on ourselves, be turned toward Christ, into be occupied with Him and to be exercised to be directed by Him. Notice here in our chapter verse 7.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone to profit with all every man, that is, every woman too, because the the women have gifts just as much as the men. They do not take part in public ministry, but they have the gifts just as much as men do. And they are to be exercised, we read about.
Phillip the evangelist who had four daughters, which prophesied, Where did they prophesied? It doesn't say. But evidently they spoke the word of God to edification, exhortation, and comfort in some way that was in keeping with their position as women. And so there is a real important point here, that the manifestation of the GI of the Spirit is given to everyone. That's the exercise about that. Brethren. Don't sit on the back of the row and say I'm gonna not take part. I'm not gonna be.
Here to say anything, you sit down in the presence of the Lord Jesus with the Spirit Lord. I don't know very much, but if you wanna use me, I wanna be ready to be used. If there is that Spirit with us, then I think the Lord could show Himself there would be a manifestation of his presence amongst us and we need to be exercised about that. Brethren, it it grieves me to see sometimes, and I have to say that there's been times when I've come to meetings. I was younger.
With the attitude, I'm not going to say anything here. If I say something, I might get corrected and we get, we really quench the Spirit when we do that. Spirit of God is a living.
Uh, person of the Godhead that dwells in his people. Oh, that that truth would.
Come upon us, brethren, that we would enjoy it as we properly should, and that that we might give the Spirit of God liberty to use us. I have been guilty of quenching the Spirit of God sometimes by not speaking when I should speak.
And more often speaking too much when I should shut my mouth and remember downtime down in southern Mexico one time just mentioned this as an illustration. I was traveling around with Brother Ramon Alarcon and, uh, Doug Buchanan and we had a afternoon reading and then the me. The meeting in the evening was a gospel meeting and Ramon spoke first. He was the leading brother and he was had a real gift in the gospel.
And then Doug split up and and Doug sat down. Everybody was looking at me.
01:00:05
I just didn't have anything.
I looked around and says, oh man, they're waiting for me to get up, I'd better say something. And I got up and I don't remember what I said, but it wasn't the spirits leading. While I was speaking, another young brother got up and went and whispered in Ramon's ear and then went and sat down. Well, when I got done talking and finally sat down, uh, Ramon was very prompt and he shut the meeting because the meeting time was up.
But he said afterwards, too bad there wasn't any time Brother Anhel had something to say and uh, to that it wasn't any time. You can imagine how I felt. I was guilty of speaking when I should have kept my mouth shut. So the Lord help us, brethren, the important thing is that you exercise when we come into the presence of the Lord and He is a present with us, even though we do not see Him be exercised as you sit down in His presence. Just don't sit down and then kind of shut your eyes and doze off.
The exercise.
In the presence of the Lord to everyone is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit with all. And sometimes the sisters may say, well, what profit are we? We can't speak in the meetings. It's the interest of the sisters that sometimes supersedes the interests of the brothers. That definitely have an effect on the liberty that the Spirit has in the meeting. And I must say, there have been times in meetings when I felt real liberty, and there's been times I have not felt liberty. And I say, why?
It could be because of my own spiritual state, but it could be that there are others who have sat down in the meeting.
With a predetermined idea, I'm not saying anything. And that quenches the Spirit of God. Let's not be that way, Brandon. Let's be exercised in his presence.
Thank you to note that in between verses 3 and verses 13 of our chapter that the Spirit is referred to 10 times. Between verses 3 and 13, if I were to say something to one of my children three or four times, they would start to get the idea that I meant what I said and it was important. What we have here 10 references to the Spirit in verses 3 to 13. And it's instructive for us to know what is the Spirit talk about. And I'd like to greet a few verses in other umm, books that would help us with that in John chapter 16.
It says John 16 and 13. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show and sing to come. He shall glorify you, for He shall receive of life, and shall show it unto you all things that the Father hath. Our mind therefore said high, that He shall take of mind, and shall show it unto you.
So the Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and He will guide us, and He won't speak of Himself, but He will show us things to come. He will glorify Christ, and He will receive a mind and show it unto us. So that's the evidence. That's how the Spirit works. The Spirit of God glorifies Christ. And then in Ephesians chapter 3, it says that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner manner, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye being rooted and grounded in love.
May be able to comprehend with All Saints what is the breath and length and depth.
And high and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. So the Spirit of God, not to faith of himself, but will show us things to come, will point us to Christ, will strengthen us by his Spirit and the inner man, and will show us the beauty, the wonder, the majesty of the love of Christ. And then in a practical way we find that there's the fruit of the Spirit. It's not fruits plural, but it's fruit. The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is love.
Enjoy these long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. So that's the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit. And in Paul's second epistle, we we find we see how the Spirit works. If some of us have been just a college or university and many others maybe are there right now, and they speak through the intelligence, the mind and the intelligence. But how does God speak by his Spirit in 2nd Corinthians 3?
The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 3 and verse two, it says, Ye are our Epistle written in our guitar, known and read of all men. For as much as ye are manifestly declared to be the Epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with a but with the Spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And then in verse 7. But if the ministry of death, written and engraven in stone, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the faith of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away, how shall not the administration of the Spirit be rather?
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For administration of condemnation to glory, much more that the administration of righteousness exceed in glory. Verse 17 Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all with open faith, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord, so the Spirit points us to Christ.
He transforms us by His spirit in the inner man.
Displays the fruit of the Spirit and through the work in the arts and in the conscience of the will, conforms us to the image of Christ.
I think that's what Paul says in the beginning of this epistle as well. In the second chapter he says, albeit we speak in verse six of chapter 2, albeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the Princess of this world that comes to naughty. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the Princess of this world knew. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory from the verse 10. But God hath revealed them unto us.
By his spirit.
For the spirit searcheth all things, yay, the deep things of God. And I think what's, uh, what's wonderful is that we have to remember this is a mystery that is being manifested to us. And our brother mentioned it 10 times that the words that the word spirit is mentioned here. And it indicates to us, as with all things that are, that are mysterious to humanity, that our rationale cannot necessarily combine or yoke equally. You'll notice there's this constant antithesis, this constant parallelism that Paul uses here. There's many and then the one and the many and the one. And we're ultimately left with that final image in Revelation where the apocalypse, everything is revealed and we see that tree again, one tree varying 12 manner of fruits, each fruit according to its season.
And I think this gets into the question of umm tradition, which is why many brethren may not speak up. And I think our brother mentioned that earlier. Umm.
Since the analogy of the body is being explored here, I think it's appropriate to examine ourselves in terms of how God has designed us since he uses our body as an example of what the church is to be. And one of the things that I think we all recognize is that we are both creatures of habit, but we're also easily bored, which is kind of interesting. So we, we like routine and I think it's important that it's one spirit. And yet distinctions, I think is the word, uh, Darby uses distinctions of administrations or ministries, but the same Lord. I mean, there's one authority, though, different distinctions in that, in that ministry.
There are diversities or distinctions of operations, but the same God which worketh All in all, and he's having to parallel those two things and and to fill out this whole explanation course because so often.
We'll have, umm, you know, on the one hand, we'd love to hear a brother get up and speak in a way that we've grown accustomed to. But sometimes we find it refreshing when a brother speaks up in a very different speech pattern. Perhaps he's from a different locality than we're used to or from abroad, or perhaps was raised in a slightly different tradition and didn't pick up the, the patterns of speech that we develop over time, that all communities develop over time. And I think this, this is an exercise here that too often if we're not, if we're not careful, we can begin to follow in a tradition of things, a way of saying things. Umm, but what I think he's, he's pointing out to us here is it's a profound mystery that we being many are one.
And that there are very many distinctions or waves of ministering the word. The gift is the same and the giver is the same. The authority is the same, the lordship is the same. And yet we will find that, uh, oftentimes, umm, in the systems of this world. Exercise, I think is the thing that comes across Europe. I was going to go off on an anecdote, but I think the main thing to focus on is that exercise is what he's Speaking of. This is a living entity, Both, umm, theme and variation. That we both have singular themes and yet we variate upon that theme. You see that in the diversity of creation. It all speaks of 1 Lord. So often we focus on the diversity of things and we stop there without looking for the unity.
Or perhaps we start with the unity and therefore try to control things and so therefore those that are not like us. Umm.
We, we eschew or we shame. Umm, I think it's important that we view that there are both diversities of gifts, umm, but the same spirit. There are distinctions in the way those gifts are manifested, as we've been talking about, but one Lord always. And I think we can avoid the pitfall on the one hand of trying to be just loosey goosey and everything just goes. And on the other, this kind of rigid conformity that the Pharisees sought, umm, which they had reason to afford, but umm, they did it in the wrong spirit.
01:10:10
Verse 11 But all things work at that one and self same spirit dividing every man severely as he will, he will what he does, he's doing it. It's his power, it's his direction. Jim had mentioned that often God, uh, connects someone's natural abilities with any gift, but sometimes he doesn't. David Raine is an evangelist who thought that I did because he's got cerebral cerebral palsy. They told him you'll never speak. Nobody will ever ask you to come. You'll never get married. You'll never have children. You're gonna, you'll never be anything.
Yeah, he can't get enough places around the world to go preach the gospel. And when he comes, everybody listens. People are usually bored or not bored. He can be understood that he speaks in a funny way and he reaches souls and souls are saved. Sometimes Lord says I'm going to do it like this. And the gift is manifest and it's there. And when you hear it and you see it, you go, that's from the Lord and and that's what you want to see. Somebody may be different or rough around the edges, all kinds of things, but if it's really the Lord, you go. There it is. I see it when we see Christ in each other in any way.
Shape or form, when you see it, you go, there it is. That's the thing that I see in that person. And it's Christ and it's manifest in this way. You know, sometimes in a small assembly someplace, there may be just a few and there's a brother there and he, there's several brothers and they come and they're there on Wednesday night or in a reading meeting and they're tired and their children are tired of listening to them and hearing their stories or whatever. And it's difficult. Umm, I was talking with a brother once and I said, you know, every day at your job and in your life and what happened to you when you were a child.
There are stories in your life and that this, this brother's family, uh, his children said they hardly know anything about their dad's stories because he doesn't tell them. And I was telling them there are things that happen to you that God taught you and that if you think back on that, you're reading a portion of scripture or maybe the day before, the days before, you know, in the reading meeting, you're going to have this before you. There's stuff that happened. Tell that, you know, ask the Lord to help you. And then when you're sitting there and that meeting comes and even when you're tired, start telling those stories. You look at your children, they're gonna be paying attention. There's.
The interest is there and it's relatable and you can get those things across. You know, the Lord used parables and stories and in one fashion to use it to hide it from those who weren't really listening and others. It made it more simple to understand if you really had ears to hear. But stories tell us and teach us spiritual truths and get us to connect to maybe one aspect of something. And even the illustrations we're talking about, about the body of Christ in the chapter that we have, if we look at that and then think it through, it'll help us with those understandings. So every single person in this room has a gift. Not every single person here knows what their gift is. But as our brother was saying, we need to come to a place where we understand that and over time that we will.
Somebody said once, no matter what age you are, if you know the Lord Jesus as your savior, if you see a need, go fill it. Sooner or later you'll start seeing that there's some needs that you're happy feeling more than others. It will probably be connected with something that the Lord has given you, and then over time it will be developed. One brother was telling me, uh, uh, Norman Berry years ago and that when he first, uh, was speaking someplace, he overheard a brother say that brother has no gift. Well, something changed. Something happened. There's development too, over time. Our brother over here was talking about encouraging a little boy about doing something.
Some of the gifts that you noticed, you think back in your life, there are those speaking gifts. I, I, I loved it as a little boy glued when Albert Haywell would preach the gospel. You know, there was something there that was very special. But there are other things that are more hidden and not so open. The gift of health. You think about this in your life over your time, however long you've been around, there are certain people who are there when, if they're needed, there are certain people who come and they help and they really help and they know how to do it. They're not just, you know, saying, OK, I'll be helping you, but they're there. And time and time again, they're there and they're supporting people. And you don't even always know about it. And you'll hear that they were there and you didn't even know they were there helping. There are things like that that don't get much attention, but they're needed because other things wouldn't get done without it.
It's there, it's from the Lord, it's his doing, it's his work, and if we ask him, he will show us.
In the context of this chapter, then what we started with was the aspect of this was an idolatrous country or city, Sorry. And in this city, there are many spirits and people love to say things like I'm a spiritual person, which is just an inane response because there, I mean, there's many different types of spirits. They're not qualifying, You know, what kind of spirit am I following? And So what our brother has mentioned, and I think what we're mentioning here is that when we, we will proceed, there are many diverseities in which this will occur, but we should all see the same spirit emerge. We should say that's the image of God if we do not see it. And so we need to begin with ourselves, I guess. Umm, I think back, umm, one of the brothers mentioned earlier the idea of being so taken with the things like the bride was in song of Salman. She said, look not upon me. He says, no, you're this, you're that. And the other, she says, you know what I kind of AM. And then she looks around and he's gone again, you know, type thing or in Ephesians, uh, the 2nd epistle to Ephesians. I often call it in Revelation where you've thrown this out and you won't have Antichrist and the Nicolaitans. But you've left your first law. We can be so taken with our own. Gift or the, you know as you mentioned the affirmation, that our brother can give but we'll
01:15:26
that will be distracted from what should be manifested, which is him in the 1St place. He said that which I have called clean, called are not unclean. And then we're so taken with our cleanliness and we forget. And if we're not paying attention to whether or not we are actually putting forth the image of God in us, the Christ that we are becoming, the Christ as it were, then what people perceive in us will be simply our talents. And there's all sorts of appeals, there's credibility appeals. There's people that are very logical. There's people that are very a lot of pesos or emotion they can emote very well.
And will people will start because we are image bearers, we forget that we are created as image bearers. We will, we will, umm, reflect someone's image. You may say I'm a non conformist just like everyone else. Your, your image, you're an image bearer. And so if we want to build up the church, because we mentioned that the profit is all profit with all, then we have to focus on the fact that we are moving by the spirit, by the spirits leading and that those that see us are seeing Christ in the words we speak, seeing Christ in us and our actions, etcetera. So that when they in turn follow after, like Paul is maybe followers of me as I am of Christ, they're not following your form or the way you did it, because we'll find things impressive and we will try to bear someone's image. So make sure that the image that they're bearing.
Is priced in you the hope of glory. And I think that's one of the things we've mentioned here. So, umm, that's, that's been what I, what the Lord has been laid on my heart as as this meeting is progressing, it's, uh, it's an edification. What image are we seeing? And are we causing others to, causing others to take up crisis image? And that's regardless of how and in what way that gift is, uh, manifested. Could we sing #31.
Uh-huh. And we are going to do the surprise and they roars against the columns and come to the bottom of that.
Uh, well, pretty many times in dresses I'm going to have a.
And, uh, getting, uh.
We don't know how to survive.
In the room.
Renaissance.