Fellow-Redeemed in Christ,
When God knitted you together in your mother’s womb, he formed you with different members that work together as a unit to serve the body. So it is with the church. The Holy Spirit calls people with different gifts together in order to work as one for the body’s good. In this case, it is the spiritual body of Christ, the holy Christian Church.
After Paul exhorted the Romans to offer themselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God in view of God’s mercy, the inspired apostle went on to list some of those gifts. The Holy Spirit also exhorts believers to use those gifts in the new attitude he has created in our hearts.
We’ll look at those two aspects of our Christian stewardship under our theme, We Really Desire to Serve the Lord. First, he has endowed us with a variety of useful gifts; second, he has made us different toward one another in Christ.
God employs specific gifts to accomplish his purposes for the church. What are those purposes? They are that God’s people share the Word of salvation, that we care for one another, and that we show mercy and compassion to all. The Spirit lists gifts here that accomplish those purposes. They are prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving generously, leadership, and showing mercy.
We really desire to serve the Lord with these varied and useful gifts. How do I discover which gifts I have? What is to be my attitude toward my spiritual gifts and the spiritual gifts God has given others? Those are good questions.
It is with that “sober judgment” we talked about last week that I can examine and discover what the Lord has endowed to me. With the renewed mind the Spirit has given me, I learn to appreciate that my gifts and my neighbor’s gifts all are necessary. I strive not be jealous or envious of gifts I don’t have. I grow to be thankful and ready to use the gifts I do have.
If prophecy is our gift, we are to do it in accordance with our faith. Faith here means the sum of all we believe, like in “the Christian faith.” With the gift of prophecy we are to share only the sum of God’s Word and not our own ideas for the building up of others. If service, we are to be ready to carry out even menial tasks with willingness. If it is teaching, then use your ability to explain the truths of God well so that others learn them.
If encouraging, help others get over the fears, and doubts that attack us. If giving generously, support the Lord’s work. If leadership, then govern in a way that guides others the way the Lord wants us to go. If showing mercy, have compassionate for the less fortunate and hurting.
The way we are to carry out those gifts is simple; just do it. Recognize your gifts and put them to use. Where is my body if my arm doesn’t want to function? Or my legs don’t want to work? The body becomes paralyzed or crippled. So it is in the church. God endows all of these gifts for the common good of the one body, the church, and by extension, the Christian congregation.
Through Paul, the
Spirit ties the use of our spiritual gifts to love. Love is how we are
different toward one another in Christ. Because of God’s mercy toward us in
Christ, we have the fruit of love in our hearts for one another. Recall not the gifts of the Spirit but the
fruits of the Spirit Paul lists in his letter to the Galatians: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”[Gal. 5:22,23]
We really desire
to serve the Lord . This manifests itself in the love we share with one another
as brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul
uses other words that express our willing, loving use of our gifts, “Hate what is evil..be devoted to one
another..Honor one another above yourselves…Never be lacking in zeal, but keep
your spiritual fervor…Be joyful …patient…faithful…Share…Practice
hospitality…Bless those who persecute you…Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn
with those who mourn.” The last
verse of our text is one we use in our liturgy, “Live in harmony with one another.”
We would not have spiritual gifts and could not use them for the common good were it not for the difference God has made to our hearts. We know all too well how often our sins get in the way of that love. My impatience, pride, jealousy, resentment can lead to words and actions that do not work for the common good. Such words and actions can cause harm and division. Then self-interest takes over just as if one part of my body would try to take over the function of the entire body. The result is disastrous.
“In view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and please to God, this is your spiritual worship.” I will suggest another way of understanding “in view of” rather than “because of.” Think about “in view of” as seeing something like when you stand at an overlook or viewing place along the highway. You to think, “How glorious, and how wonderful.”
Members of Christ and Bethlehem, identify and carry out your parts in the body of the church with eyes fixed on the glorious and wonderful sight of Jesus’ cross and empty tomb. These are the sights that comprise the essence of our Christian, and Lutheran faith. These are the sights that compel us to function not with self in mind, but with those sitting around us on our hearts. Amen. <SDG>