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Bible Study........................................................................Pages
from His Grace Magazine
by His Grace
Page 22 His Grace Magazine! April 2022
Romans 12
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"What is our function as Believers?"
Romans 12:45: "For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another."
Because we have been made sons and daughters through Christ Jesus by God's mercy, we belong to the body of Christ, which is the church. We offer our lives to God as an ongoing act of worship, which requires that we not conform to this evil age, but renew our minds and perspective so that we can see and understand what God wants, so that we can be used by Him to get it done. We are the means by which Christ functions within the world.
The church is a body with many members, yet it is only one body. They are all tied together by sharing the same life, and they are tied with the Head so that they function as His means of expressing His life in this world.
As we are being saved by God, we become more integrated with each other as believers. The body of Christ is the church...people born anew by the Spirit of God and added to this new creation by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When somebody asks you, "Have you been baptized by the Holy Spirit?", the answer is, "Yes," if you are a Christian. You couldn't be a Christian
without having been baptized by the Holy Spirit. You are made part of His body. It is not always accompanied by tongues, or healings, or fire, or even a chill down your spine. You do not feel it nor know when this takes place, but from that point on, when you exercise faith in Jesus Christ, there comes a flooding into your being the very life of Christ. All believers are both baptized by and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit baptizes us into the Body of Christ, He puts us into Christ; as Jesus says in John 14:20, "At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you." It is this dual ministry of the Holy Spirit, baptizing us
into the body, filling us with the Spirit so that we are both "In Christ," and He is "in us," that constitutes the mystery and the marvel of the church.
It takes many members to make up a church; we are all joined together to make one body. We belong to one another in unity and service, bringing the operation of God's kingdom in this world, just like our physical bodies have many organs and parts, but each part cannot exist on its own.
Some members of the church are more prominent and get the attention. But without the behind-the-scenes work of other members, the church cannot get off the ground.
For the proper functioning of the body of Christ, there has to be dozens of faithful servants humbly working behind the scenes, who don't care about getting the glory. Their desire is to make the church be all that God wants it to be.
Utilizing each other's gifts as a whole body is what brings meaning and fullness to the body of Christ. We are able to operate as God designed us, blessing the entire body.
In the apostle Paul's letter to the Roman Christians, he explains the different gifts and how each gift has its special purpose which God uses as a tool to work His good:
Prophesy - The believer proclaims a
Romans 12
divinely imparted message and brings light to something that is hidden. The Prophet applies the Word of God to a situation so that sin is exposed and relationships are restored. Usually, the Prophet would have a strong sense of right and wrong and speaks out against compromises and evil.
Serving - The believer is driven to demonstrate love by meeting practical needs. The Server sees projects through to the end and enjoys doing physical work.
Teaching - The believer is passionate about discovering and validating truth. The Teacher is concerned with the accuracy of information, especially church doctrine and is often gifted with research abilities.
Exhorting - The believer wants to see believers grow to spiritual maturity. An Exhorter encourages and is involved in the ministries of counseling, teaching and discipleship.
Giving - The believer wants to use financial resources wisely in order to give to meet the needs of others. The Giver finds the best buy, notices overlooked needs and maintains a budget.
Organizing/Ruling
- The believer accomplishes tasks and solves problems through analysis and delegation. The Organizer can discern talents and abilities of others and knows how those individuals can best serve on a project.
Mercy - The believer is sensitive to the emotional and spiritual needs of others. A Mercy-Giver is drawn to people in need and seeks to demonstrate compassion, understanding and love to them.
Our gifts are chosen for us by the Holy Spirit, and no matter what gifts we 'desire,' we are not going to get it unless the Holy Spirit has already chosen it for us. But we can earnestly desire that the higher gifts be manifested among us, which are those gifts that edify and help others. This is the purpose of the gifts.
Each of us, in our individuality, possess a unique role in the church. There is nothing more beautiful, more effective and more delicately balanced than the church of Jesus Christ. Spiritually, it is the most marvelous organism in the whole universe.
