Gifts in the Body of Christ

 

Eph 4:10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 

11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 

12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 

13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 

14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 
 

The purpose of the church, the local body of Christ is to present to an unbelieving world, the truth of the Gospel. To live lives worthy of our calling. That the world might see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven.

Ephesians 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
Matt 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

When Jesus Christ ascended to His Father, He left us, the church a commission.

Mark 16:15-16  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

He also said:

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen

 
The Apostle Paul goes to great lengths to explain to the church, exactly what it means to be part of the Body of Christ.
He uses an analogy of the human body to help us understand what it means to be an individual member of the body.
 

1Co 12:12  For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 
1Co 12:13  For 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. 
1Co 12:14  For the body is not one member, but many. 
1Co 12:15  If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 
1Co 12:16  And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 
1Co 12:17  If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? 
1Co 12:18  But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 
1Co 12:19  And if they were all one member, where were the body? 
1Co 12:20  But now are they many members, yet but one body. 
1Co 12:21  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. 
1Co 12:22  Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: 
1Co 12:23  And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
1Co 12:24  For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: 
1Co 12:25  That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 
1Co 12:26  And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. 
1Co 12:27  Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. 
1Co 12:28  And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. 
1Co 12:29  Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? 
1Co 12:30  Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? 
1Co 12:31  But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way. 
 

No matter what form of leadership structure a church has, whether Pastor and congregation, Elders and Deacons, Vicar and Laity or President, Vice President and Secretary or any other form of church leadership. There is still a need for the body of believers to grow in grace, to come to maturity.

Since the Body of Christ can only come to maturity by every member contributing to the life of the church, it is apparent that the various leaders and believers of the local church must begin to recognise that no office is holier, or more important than another.
It is true also that the believers cannot give their individual spiritual responsibility to their leaders. Each member is as important as each other member.
Everyone needs to play their part, just as every organ of a physical body plays it part.
The body is not a one organ body and neither is the church a one man band.
 

1Co 12:21  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. 

The fellowship cannot leave all the work, (the preaching, the teaching, the counselling, the administration etc to one man.
 

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:16)

This means, it is the responsibility of every member of the local body to function in their relative positions in the body, to be a healthy church.

If one sees their part as simply attending a church service as a duty, it could be that what happens, is the pew seats become more polished and over time the attendance could become spasmodic and they may even stop attending all together.

However, if we envision the Church as the Body of Christ, and each disciple a member of that one body, and perceive that our purpose for assembling is to make our contribution to the building of the one body, as well as to receive strength ourselves, then church attendance ought to take on a very different significance.

The reason that God places individuals in a fellowship of believers is to strengthen that fellowship by the use of individual gifts of Christ to His church.
 

Ephesians 4:13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

God has provided a variety of ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit by which the Word of God can be brought to the mind and heart of the disciple, by which the believers can be brought to the full stature of Christ.
 

(Ephesians 4:11,12) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
 

Notice: that all do not have the same gift. Notice it says “some” apostles, “some” teachers and “some” evangelist, Pastors and teachers
.
Neither is this an exhaustive list of gifts.

Romans 12:4-8 - "For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."

1 Cor 12: 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.

If the church is to grow in stature, then the church must have a full quota of ministries.

Now whilst some of these gifts have ceased or faded away, there are those that have continued and are still relevant in the body of believers for the work of the ministry and the edification and upbuilding of the church.
 

1Co 13:8  Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 
9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 
10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 

Whether one is a Cessationist, (believing that the revelatory gifts have ceased), or a Continuist, (believing that they still continue today), it is irrelevant to our lesson. Whatever gift is given, they are all for the same reason and that is to edify and build up the Body of Christ in the local church.

There are Christian churches today that are pouring all of their resources into gaining new converts, through evangelism. Whilst this is correct and good, it is not a balanced emphasis. While some resources should be pointed toward preaching and sharing the Gospel with those who never have heard, the major effort should be to bring to maturity those who already believe. (Discipleship)

It is no use sending ill taught Christians into the world to preach the Gospel. The idea is to educate and help to maturity, those that God has saved and brought into the church fellowship. This is what discipleship is all about.

Why is it important?

Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 
 

Jesus not only said, “Go into the world and preach the Gospel” but He also said “Make disciples of all men”.
 

If we are to have the milk and solid food of the Word of God we must have the full set of ministries God has provided.

1 Peter 2:2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
1 Corinthians 3:2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready,
Hebrews 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

It is so important for those mature members of a fellowship, to teach the new believers how to study the word, to pray and to act as representatives of Jesus Christ and the Gospel.

This leads to the question, how do we find all the gifts in a church?

The fellowship must engage in prayer, praying that God will restore all the gifts needed to fulfil the task of bringing the local body up to the stature of Christ. We must examine the scriptures and examine our own lives in light of the word.

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: (Ephesians 4:13)
 

If the church does not mature in the faith and there remains immaturity in the church, then the witness of the church will be minimal and it will leave the church open to false teaching and false doctrine and it will continue to experience a falling away of those that have made a profession of faith.

It is imperative that each member seeks God and the brethren, on where their ministry lies.
It may become very obvious what ministry certain ones have.

For example, Leaders and Teachers emerge and are easily recognisable. Helpers show themselves by volunteering themselves for service. God may give you a burden for prayer, a burden for giving or hospitality. There are those who seek to serve in Administration, Secretarial duties or Treasurer. One can find out what is their particular gift by trial and error, by volunteering. Another may have a longing to Minister in song or be part of the Worship team. There is Sound systems, General maintenance and Cleaning. There is Tea making, Baking and Visiting .
Sunday school and Youth work and there is a gift of Generosity.

Ask yourself the following questions. If you answer "yes" to many of them, then you may have the spiritual gift in that area:

Do you enjoy helping others get things done?
Are you someone uncomfortable with attention, who would rather be behind the scenes?
Do you prefer to support others versus lead them?
Do you find yourself offering up your help when someone is in need?
Do you have a burden for babies, children or youth?
Do you find that you are burdened about the lonely or the sick that need visitors.
Do you find that others in the church come to you for certain things?

What is essential is to recognise that one gift is no more important than another.
The body needs all the individual members.

There are body parts that are on show. The head, the face, the hands and the feet etc.
However, they are no more important than the internal organs. All are essential to the body being healthy.

The Holy Spirit has distributed a wide assortment of gifts and ministries to the members of the Body of Christ that the Body may be brought to full stature.
 

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (I Corinthians 12:4)
 

These gifts are given to us by the Lord with the understanding that we are to learn from the Holy Spirit how and when they are to be used.
However, it is sometimes the fact, that members of the churches, for the most part, do not know what their gifts are. Many who do possess gifts, do not understand how or when to use them.

Because the gifts and ministries are not operating properly, the Body of Christ remains to this day a valley of dry bones. The gifts and ministries must be functioning if the Body of Christ is to be brought to maturity and unity.
 

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. (I Corinthians 12:7)
 

The Spirit of God is the one who gives the ministries and gifts as He has determined in His own sovereign counsel, although it is wise on our part to covet ministries and gifts and to pray for them

In Romans the Apostle Paul advises each of us to do something that will help in finding what our ministry and gifts are.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 
 

It is imperative that we grasp the importance of the assignments that God has for each of us and hasten to give ourselves to the offices to which He directs us.

However, if we fail to step up to our calling, God will give it to another, who is willing.
God will take it from us and give it to another.

Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:28-30)
 

May we not miss the opportunity to play our part in the work for Christ. May each of us be sincere in discovering where in the local body, we fit.

May Christ be glorified in the church.

​

​

​

​

​