Unity In The Church Pt 2

Raul Ries: When you go and study the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it's not what you want, it's what God wants and how God has set it up. God brings the balance. God knows exactly where you and I are needed in the body of Christ. And yet what are we doing? We're always trying to change it. And you can't change it. You'll throw it out of whack. It won't be balanced.
Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio. The Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. It's good to have you with us today as we continue our study of First Corinthians. Today, Raul will assure you that you are a valuable member of Christ's body. God has given you a unique set of gifts to help build His kingdom and He can direct your use of them. Stay with us for a challenge to avoid harboring jealousy toward those with different gifts, choosing instead to enjoy the variety of talents among believers. Today's study is titled "Unity in the Church." Here's Raul Ries in First Corinthians, chapter 12.
Raul Ries: Paul was talking about the ministry of the same body and he's talking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In verse 11, he ends up saying, "But one and the same spirit works all things, distributing to each one individually as He wills." I love that scripture because here Paul is telling us that God gives to each one of us the gifts that He desires, the gifts that we need. Many times, we become jealous sometimes and we covet other people's gifts that we don't have. And yet if God wanted to give you those gifts, He would have given them to you. We need to be content in whatever God gives to each one of us individually. I mean, think of how many people don't want to be a toe. Why? Because a toe is always in darkness and it smells, right? Nobody wants to be a toe. Everybody wants to be in the face, a nose, an ear, or a mouth. And yet God knows exactly what He's doing in the body of Christ, having the head, which is Him, and then different parts of the body to become one because every part in the body is needed. And this is important because if you don't want to be that part that God's called you to be, then the body is going to be lopsided, out of balance. And God places those people as part of the body where they are needed. You are needed in that place as I am needed in the place that God has set me in the body of Christ. Now we pick it up in verse 12-13 and here he talks about experiencing the same baptism. Notice how he starts: "For as the body is one and has many members"—underline that. You see what he's saying? There is one body, but there are many members. They're not all the same. God has created the body that way so that the body can function correctly and fully and completely. And what he's trying to say here is that the human body is an illustration of the unity and diversity in the body of Christ. The diversity. I love that. Look what else he says: "But all the members of that one body, being many, are one body and so also Christ Jesus." So even though the hands and the feet, the eyes and the ears, the mouth and the nose, they're separate parts of the body, yet it's all one body. They all go together in that same body. We're not way out in left field or right field or anywhere else. We're right here together. My hand, my foot, whatever it is, it's needed in the same place of the body in either to walk, to touch, or to grab something. It's always what God created oneness. Look what he says verse 13: "For by one spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or whether Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink into the one spirit." Notice that. And then the diversity of the gifts, verse 14 to 20. Notice the different functions. Verse 14: "For in fact, the body is not one member, but notice, many members." You see? Many members. That's what's really cool about Paul saying here, he's talking about the variety of the members that are in the body of Christ, in the human body. And yet spiritually speaking, look at the variety that God has given to us in the body of Christ. You have musicians, you have teachers, you have preachers, you have evangelists. I mean, you have ushers, you have Sunday school, you have nursery helpers. You have all these people that have not only a fitting part in the body of Christ, and yet think of how many people don't use the gifts that God has given to them, but they sit on them and they never ever use them for the glory of God. And yet God wants you to use the gifts that He's given to each one of us individually here. Every one of us, the foot, leg, hand, whatever it is. So that's why in verse 14, he says, "For in fact, the body is not one member but many." And then he says, "If the foot should say because I am not a hand and I am not the body, is it therefore not of the body?" I mean, without the foot, you can't walk. And then at the same time, why should I want to be a hand or why should I want to be part of another body when God has called me to be part of the balance of the body to be able to walk? That's very needed in the body. And then look what he says: "And if the ear should say because I am not an eye, am I not of the body? Is it therefore not of the body?" The ear is very important. Why? Because it gives hearing. It gives hearing. Without an ear, we wouldn't be able to hear anything. Just like the foot, we wouldn't be able to walk. So the foot and the ear are very important in the body of Christ. He's bringing different parts of the body to show the importance of every little part in the body that is needed in the body of Christ. Verse 16: "And if the ear should say because I am not an eye, am I not part of the body, is it therefore not of the body?" Verse 17: "And if the whole body were an eye"—can you imagine one big eyeball walking around? Oh man, that would be gross. Imagine that. Where would the ear be? "If the whole hearing were to be the smelling." And then he says, "But now God has set the members"—check this out—"each of them in the body just as He pleases." Not you, He pleases. Underline that. When you go and study the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it's not what you want, it's what God wants and how God has set it up. God brings the balance. God knows exactly where you and I are needed in the body of Christ. And yet what are we doing? We're always trying to change it. And you can't change it. You'll throw it out of whack. It won't be balanced. So I love the way Paul brings about this whole thing concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the way the body needs to be built. And then he says in verse 19, "And if they were all one member, where would the body be?" But now indeed there are many members and yet one body. Notice that. Even though there are many members, it's still the one body, the one church. Think of all of the churches that are surrounding us in this area, Orange County, L.A., San Gabriel Valley, Pomona Valley, Chino Valley, all these churches. And the churches that are right on and teach the word of God and they really truly are believers, think of the gifts and talents that every church has. And that's why no church is alike like other churches. Every church is individual. God chooses every church to be individually a person or a body for the community to assist the community in whatever the needs may be. They're not the same. Even though people have Calvary Chapel on their signs, even though we have the same philosophy, yet in the body of Christ, there are different members and they don't do things the way we do. Yes, they teach the word of God like we teach the word of God, but every church is different. It's not the same. And I like that there's variety. Variety for every church to have as God has given to each one of us. And then check this out. Verse 21 to 26 now: the promoting of unity. "And the eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need for you,' so get out of here. We don't need you. Nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'" Can you imagine if you have no head, how are you going to get around? I used to watch when I was a kid, they'd cut the chicken's head off and then they'd let them run. Oh man, that chicken goes everywhere, but doesn't know where it's going. It's done. Sooner or later, it's going to die. Imagine not having a head and walking around downtown or walking by your neighborhood. People would say, "Man, who is that? I don't know." I mean, the body would not be complete. It would be incomplete. God has this variety of people and gifts and talents that He's given to all of us and it's all because of the unity of the Holy Spirit. Not disunity. Not disunity, but unity.
Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. It is our privilege to equip you with scripture to strengthen you on your faith journey. Visit us anytime at somebodylovesyou.com for Bible-based resources, including Raul's motivational series titled "Unity, Holiness, and Love." Now back to more of our lesson, "Unity in the Church."
Raul Ries: Verse 22, he says, "No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker," notice, "are necessary." They're necessary here. He's making the message clear here. And then he says, "And those members of the body which we think to be the least honorable, on these we bestow greater honor and our presentable parts have greater modesty." I mean, think of how many people honestly would love to be five toes? I mean, when you put your socks on, it's always in darkness and it smells, right? And think of always the hands that are out here moving around or the eyes or the nose or the ear. And yet without my toes, without my feet, the body wouldn't be able to stand. There would be no balance. I would have to be in a wheelchair. And yet the way God has created the body with feet and hands and eyes, nose, ears is so that the whole body can function properly as God created it in the same way with the gifts of the Holy Spirit of God. I can remember back in Costa Mesa when we were back in the 1970s and after the services, Thursday's night was the midweek service for Chuck. And Sunday morning, he would have three services. Sunday night, he would teach through the Bible. Sunday morning would be topical. And then on Thursday nights, it would be in-depth studies. But after the in-depth study of that evening, they would always get up and say, "Okay, now for those of you that want to stay and you have needs in your life, we're going to have an afterglow service in the fellowship hall." And anybody that wants to go to the fellowship hall, you go ahead and you go there. And probably it wasn't a lot of people, but there must have been close to about 100 people. And those 100 people, they would start by worshiping the Lord, singing songs, praying. And then the elders of the church would say, "Okay, we're going to now exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit." And it was just incredible to see the power of the Holy Spirit. The way it would fall. People would get healed. I mean, incredible stuff. People that would bring their friends that were demon-possessed, the demons would be totally coming out of their bodies and they would be set free. One of the things that is lacking today in every church and even in this church is that we used to have the afterglow services where people would come to be prayed for and to lay hands on and then to wait upon the Lord to move through the power of His Holy Spirit. And to have God speak through words of knowledge, words of wisdom. All of these 21 gifts that are given to us, they need to be exercised, you see? Not with a big congregation, but in the congregation where like Sunday mornings, the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, and prophecy is constantly exercised by the pastor teacher as he's teaching. But the other gifts of the Holy Spirit should be exercised in a smaller scale like in afterglow service where people go there just to sit and wait upon the Lord. It is so awesome to sit and wait upon the Lord, man. I love doing that. I think that's something that is lacking in the body of Jesus Christ, where we really fully give our hearts to Jesus Christ and we say, "Lord, here am I. Lord, use me." And not always speaking but just listening. Wait and listen to what God has to say to you. And usually, I don't hear a voice, but usually as I start reading my Bible, God will speak to me. Right out of the word of God. And that really excites me because throughout the day, I just kind of mark my Bible where God is speaking to me. I don't tell anybody. And if He gives me a prophecy, I just write it down, put the date on it, and I wait upon it when it comes to pass, then I can share with people what God's done. Because it has to be approved. And think of all the gifts that are here in the body of Christ tonight, every one of you here. And then on Sunday mornings, three services, think of all the people that are gifted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And yet if we're living in the last days, how much more do we need to wait upon the Lord for Him to speak to us and to be empowered like in the book of Acts chapter two where the Holy Spirit came and baptized them with the Holy Spirit and gave them dunamis power to be able to go to work next morning, to go to school, and to overcome sin because of the in-fill of the Holy Spirit in my life and to say no to sin and yes to God. And you don't have to be perfect. God uses imperfect people. Imperfect people that are willing to yield themselves to God fully and completely. And I just really pray that tonight the Lord will really speak to our hearts as we're studying the different parts of the body of Christ and the gifts that God has given to you and how we're all one body and yet God wants to pour Himself into that one body, which is us. Look what else he says verse 23: he says it again. "And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable and on these we bestow greater honor and our presentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need, but God composed the body having given greater honor, notice, to that part which lacks it." The part that is weaker and lacks then God takes care of it. God knows exactly what part is needed in the body of Jesus Christ. Every one of us are needed in the body of Jesus Christ. Don't ever feel like God doesn't need you. He needs you. And He wants you. And the reason He wants you is because He wants you to pour yourself out to Him, empty yourself out and then open your heart and say, "Jesus, fill me now with your Holy Spirit. Baptize me." God wants to move in an environment that is spirit-filled. An environment where there's unity, not disunity. An environment where there's love. An environment where people want to be servants and they're actually dying to themselves, taking up their cross and following Jesus Christ. Then God will take that group of people and He'll pour His Holy Spirit upon us and then God can use us. Fully committed to Jesus Christ. Can you imagine how dangerous that would be to Satan and his demons? That's why he hates us. Because God uses us. And God wants to use your life even tonight. But you got to be open to the Holy Spirit for God to really come upon your life and to pour Himself in you and through your life so that you can be a vessel of honor to the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why Paul here just really pours his heart out as he's writing this letter because of the confusion and the carnality within the church. Look what else he says. Verse 24, he says again, "But our presentable parts have no need, but God composed the body having given greater honor to the part which lacks it, that there should be no schisms." There it is. If there's division, then God can't move in the body of Jesus Christ. He can't move. When there's division, He cannot move the way He wants to move. He says there shouldn't be any divisions in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. We need to be loving. We need to be caring. We need to be united, not divided. And if we can have that in the body of Christ, can you imagine the power that the church can have in these last days? In these last days that we're living in where Satan is killing so many people. So many people are perishing. So many people in the church are hurting. So many people even here tonight are hurting and you're struggling in your life in Christ Jesus because Satan has been beating you up. And yet if God is for me, then who can be against me? God is for us, you guys, and you need to humble yourself before Him. Verse 26: "And if one member suffers, notice what he says, all members suffer with it." Notice the love and the unity. I mean, if somebody's suffering, we're not laughing or making fun of them. Hey, you hurt, I hurt. And then he says this, look: "And if one member," verse 26, "suffers, all the members suffer with it, or if one member is honored, then all members rejoice with it." We're not jealous. We're not jealous of you. We all rejoice together. And yet think of the schisms in the body of Christ when one is exalted and others are what? Jealous. We should be content where God has us in the body of Christ. Then verse 27, Paul reminds us, "Now you are the body of Christ and members," notice, "individually." Individually. And then he brings it up again, verse 28. "God has appointed these in the church: apostles, second prophets, third teachers, four miracles, and then gifts of healing"—no, gifts of healings, notice plural—"helps, administrations, variety of tongues." So here are all these gifts that are given to the body of Christ. You have to seek God what gifts He's given to you. Look again, the diversity of the members. Now Paul here is going to exhort us. He says, "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have the gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?" Of course not. No way. No way. So what does he say? What is the answer? What is the result? "But earnestly what? Desire the best gifts." Desire the best gifts. Go to God and ask Him what is fitting in your life. What God wants to give to you. And I'm open, God, whatever you want to give to me, I'm open. I don't want to covet anything, Lord God. You know the best what's best for me. I don't want something to be given to me that is going to destroy me or is going to put me on the shelf. I want God to give me the best gifts that He thinks that I can handle and not get puffed up and be humble and use those gifts to bring glory and honor to Him. That's the greatest thing to do. And then he says this, blew me away: "And yet I show you a more excellent way." And what's that? That every gift of the Holy Spirit cannot be exercised apart from love. Apart from love. You know why a lot of people in the body of Christ can't really use their gifts of the Holy Spirit? Because they have no love. Love is the key. You got to have love to operate the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, they're of no value. No value at all.
Guest (Male): As you make yourself available to be used by God, you can boldly follow His leading with confidence that He'll equip you with everything that you need to accomplish His perfect will. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. If you'd like to hear today's message in its complete form, we'll be happy to send a copy to you for a donation of $5 or more. Just call us at 800-634-9165 and mention today's study, "Unity in the Church." And for more insight into how you can put hands and feet to your faith, we'd like to offer you Raul's 11-part series, "Unity, Holiness, and Love." Every lesson explores how to honor the Lord in a very practical way, from stewarding your resources with integrity to managing conflict with grace. You'll also learn more about maximizing your spiritual gifts for God's glory. Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order this 11-message study. We'll send you "Unity, Holiness, and Love" on CD for $23 or if you prefer, on flash drive for $14. That's 800-634-9165. Or write to Somebody Loves You Radio, P.O. Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California, 91765. The Somebody Loves You worldwide YouTube channel provides a wealth of connections to scripture, including podcasts of all of these programs. And Raul's Straight Talk program also streams every Tuesday at 10 a.m. West Coast time on that channel. This is a listener-supported ministry and we are so thankful for your partnership. Every contribution helps us keep sharing the transformative instruction of God's word. Join us next time for more inspiration from First Corinthians. We'll learn to keep pursuing more in our relationship with the Lord, growing in maturity as we spend daily time with Him in the word and in prayer.