Spiritual Gifts, Part 3: Our Declaration of INTERdependence! I Corinthians 12:20-31

Our Declaration of INTERdependence!

I Corinthians 12:20-31

Introduction:  Next week my second youngest brother is doing a full Iron Man race down in Maryland. 100 mile bike ride, 2 mile swim, and a full 26 mile marathon run one after another! That makes me tired just saying it! Just to compete in a race like that requires a tremendous individual effort. Some sports, like like many events in track and field, or like wrestling, might have “teams” but the individual performances are usually emphasized.   Other sports require team work. Like relay races. Each member contributes, but the result is a victory for the team.  It doesn’t matter if you are the fastest runner in the world, if your team mate drops the baton, you are finished.  You need each other, and you know it!  So it is with the church. We each have a role to fill.  

Context: Last week we saw the error of a believer thinking they are of little worth, with nothing to contribute. Paul has been talking about the church as the body of Christ. Each member is important to the proper working of the whole.

       This week the emphasis seems to be on the error of thinking we can do fine alone, we don’t need the body.  We should recognize our value. Since God values us and has made us a part of His team we must have something to contribute!  Today’s verses balance that in saying that yes, we have value, we are gifted, we have a role to fulfill, but we are also in need of others in the church. We have something to give, but we also need to benefit from the gifts of others.  From our American perspective, one extreme might be viewed as weakness and the other as strength; but the point is both are wrong, both are sin. God has placed us in the body, He has “SHAPEd” us and gifted us to fill a specific role. So we have value, in fact each of us is important for the proper working together of the body.  We’re each a vital part of the team. The other extreme is equally wrong, thinking we are “self-sufficient.” None of us can do everything. None of us can do “just fine” on our own. We need the accountability and the encouragement of the church. The church needs your gifts and, guess what, you need the gifts of others in the church!  I think most of us vacillate toward one or other of these errors at different times in our lives, and we need to be reminded of God’s plan for us as a part of His church. He designed us to be interdependent. The point I want to emphasize is...

The Big Idea: We must guard against the sin of self-reliance, thinking we can live the Christian life and fulfill our calling on our own. We are created to be interdependent, we can do more together than we could do alone.

I. The Premise: God has designed us to be interdependent, we need one another (20-21).

²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. ²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."

“As it is...” This short phrase is repeated from v.18, tying this paragraph together with the previous context. God’s design for the body means there is no room for thinking one person is useless, or has nothing to contribute. It is God’s design, He has planned the body, He has called us, placed us, and equipped us, and for the body to complete we have to recognize and submit to that truth, acknowledging His work is good.  Remember in creation God spoke, and it happened, and He said “It is good.” Paul uses creation language in Ephesians 2:10 when he said, “You are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, unto good works, which God before ordained that you should walk in them...” God has a plan, diversity of gifted and called members, unified in the body, “...there are many parts, yet one body...” V.21 draws another implication from this illustration. We cannot be healthy apart from the body.

“The eye cannot say: ‘I have no need of you’...”  Rather than the error of thinking I have no value, the warning is directed to the one who might think, “I have no need of others in the church. I can go it alone. I have it together. People just get in the way, they slow me down!” It is not so uncommon to hear people say, “I read my Bible on my own, I don’t need to come to church!” Or, “Sunday School is valuable for those who need it, but I’d rather sleep in.” Or, “A small group? I am a private person, I don’t like all of that sharing!”  The truth is, we need one another. None of us is complete on our own. You are not an exception. God designed us to be interdependent.  We must guard against the sin of self-reliance, thinking we can live the Christian life and fulfill our calling on our own. We are created to be interdependent, we can do more together than we could do alone.

II. The Picture: As each part of the body is important in its own way, so also the members of the church (22-25).

²² On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,  ²³ and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,  ²⁴ which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,  ²⁵ that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

The idea seems to be that some are more or less prominent. Some parts are internal, hidden, but essential. Some parts we cover to preserve our modesty.  The result is that some of the parts that are unseen are most important to the life and function of the body!  I don’t think we need to push every detail, Paul’s point is simply this: prominent or not, visible or not, every part of the body has purpose and importance.  After all, whether visible or hidden, whether external or internal, each has a role designed by our Maker! Paul’s point is that we should recognize that God has designed the church purposefully, and we were made to be a part of the whole. We need each other. We need the gifts of others to be all that we can be, and they need us as well. 

       “...so that there should be no division...”  God’s purpose is unity; caring for one another, in mission, together, for His glory.  Psalm 133 is toward the end of a group of psalms of ascent, what I call “Songs for the Journey.” It spoke of a united community, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity!”  Like the dew on the slopes of the mountain, and the anointing oil poured over the Old Testament priest, unity is an outward indication of the election and blessing of God!  For the glory of God, for the sake of the lost, we need to be the body, united and useful for the Master.  Don’t let the enemy have a foothold! He is the one who would divide, who would tell us that we can do just fine on our own.  We must guard against the sin of self-reliance, thinking we can live the Christian life and fulfill our calling on our own. We are created to be interdependent, we can do more together than we could do alone.

III. The Possibilities: Being part of the Body means we should bear each other’s burdens, and we celebrate each other’s blessings (26-27).

²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.  ²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

“If one member suffers, all suffer together... in one member is honored, all rejoice together...”  At our small group on Thursday night Tim told of how, about 30 years ago, a nail gun malfunctioned and sent a nail through the side of his boot about two inches into his foot. That nail only went into one small part of his body. But the whole body suffered!  What a great illustration of the church. If you are hurting, God doesn’t intend for you to bear your burden alone. If you withdraw from the church or isolate yourself, you are not only hurting yourself, but you are diminishing the body, and ultimately hurting the mission God has given us. “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ...”! 

       And we share in each other’s victories and blessings. This too is the “one another” principle of the New Testament. We are one, and since we are all about lifting up Jesus, our attitude should be that expressed in the song, “If I should gain any praise, let it go to Calvary! To God be the glory!” We need to talk more about “God sightings” and rejoice together in what He is doing among us!  NB. the end of v.27: we are the body, and each of us is a member of the body. That means we need the rest of the body to be what God wants us to be.  We must guard against the sin of self-reliance, thinking we can live the Christian life and fulfill our calling on our own. We are created to be interdependent not independent.  We can do more together than any of us could do alone.

IV.: The Plan: God has placed us, He appointed our place in His church... (28-31).

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.  ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?  ³⁰ Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?

“And God has appointed in the church...” Notice first of all that God is in charge. He gives the gifts, He builds the church (cf. 12:18).  As Paul gets specific here the point is to again emphasize the diversity of gifts in God’s design. He is the architect and builder of the body.

“...first apostles, second prophets, third teachers...” What does Paul mean here? First, second, and third in terms of importance? That would seem to contradict the mutual interdependence and the singular importance of each member that Paul has been talking about.  At least in this first part, it may be that there is a chronological element, especially in putting “apostles and prophets” at the head of the list. It made me think of Ephesians chapters 2 and 3 where Paul is using a different metaphor to describe the church. There he describes it as a building.

¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,  ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,  ²¹ in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.  ²² In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit...”  (Ephesians 2:19-22).

Just a few verses down into the next chapter we read,

⁴ When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,  ⁵ which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.  ⁶ This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel...” (Ephesians 3:4-6).

From these passages it is clear that Paul is referring to the New Testament apostles and prophets who had a foundational role in the building of the Church. They were the recipients of the revelation, by the Spirit, of the mystery of the church. So it seems to me, when Paul says to the Corinthians, “...first apostles, second prophets...” he is not speaking in terms of importance, but rather chronologically. The first thing you do is lay a foundation. Jesus chose the twelve. After Judas fulfilled his role and died, Matthias was chosen to take his place. And then as one “born out of due time” Paul was uniquely commissioned by Christ himself as the “apostle to the gentiles.”  The foundation had to be laid. The apostolic revelation had to be given. And then the church would be built on that. During that transitional period there were New Testament prophets, men like Agabus (see Acts 11:28; 21:10) who brought revelation and direction concerning specific events. 

       Are there apostles and prophets today? I would say there are not, at least not in the strict New Testament sense. The foundation has been laid, you only do that once, but the revelation they brought needs to be taught and studied, and applied to our everyday life situations.  So after the apostles and prophets Paul mentions, “...third, teachers...”  They teach and help us apply the revelation God has given us, so that we can be strengthened and equipped to use our gifts for the building up of the body and for reaching out to the lost.

       The point of the rhetorical questions in vv. 29-30 is not to present an exhaustive list of gifts present in every age.  “Are all apostles?” Of course not! God gives the gifts that are relevant and necessary for the building of the church and for the carrying out of the church’s mission. And we are not all the same. Each of us is unique, and each of us is necessary. No one can fill every role, no one can do everything, but we can all do something!  We must guard against the sin of self-reliance, thinking we can live the Christian life and fulfill our calling on our own. We are created to be interdependent, we can do more together than we could do alone.

 V. The Perspective we need: humility motivated by love  (31).  I am going out on a limb and giving a “minority report” with respect to the translation of the first phrase in v.31. If you have an NIV Bible you can find in the margin or in a note at the bottom of the page. It is grammatically defensible, and seems to me to make the most sense in the context...

“But you seek [zealously] the [so-called] more excellent gifts...”

There is some question of the translation here. The grammatical form of the word “seek” could be either an imperative (“Seek first...”) or an indicative, “You [indicative] seek...” or “You are seeking...”  The form is exactly the same, so we need to determine from the context which Paul intended.  Either he is telling the Corinthians what to do (if it is an imperative) or he is summarizing what they are doing (if it is an indicative).  The second seems more likely in this context.  The Corinthians viewed certain gifts as “more excellent” and by that they mean the more prominent and flashy gifts, and are pridefully desiring those, rather than stirring up the gift that God in His sovereignty has chosen to bestow on them. Paul is saying, "You are looking for more excellent gifts, let me show you a more excellent way!"

       “...and yet a more excellent way to you I make known...” Most English translations set the second phrase of v.31 off from the last paragraph and tie it in with chapter 13.  That is valid, since the chapter divisions and verse numbers are not a part of the original manuscripts, and Paul does give the details of the “more excellent way” in chapter 13. Remember this is a letter that Paul was writing to the Corinthians!  I do think we need to see that chapter 12 leads into and ties in with the exposition of “love” in chapter 13.  Just to reinforce that, we’ll see that he returns to the question of the abuse of spiritual gifts in I Corinthians 14.  The point is, that rather than the prideful lusting after certain, more visible or flashy gifts, things that might be abused by humans to draw attention to themselves, Paul wants us to know a “more excellent way.”  Love God, and love your neighbor. Biblical love should guide our worship, it should frame our life in the body, and it should motivate our mission to the world.

What is God saying to me in this passage?  We must guard against the sin of self-reliance, thinking we can live the Christian life and fulfill our calling on our own. We are created for the body, created to be interdependent. We can do more together than we could do alone.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?  How connected are you to the body?  If you are not, why not? 

       You have been “shaped” by God to be a part of the body. He has been working on you since before you were born, in fact He knew you from before the foundation of the world!  And if you know Jesus, the moment you believed, He endowed you with a spiritual gift, some exceptional capacity to encourage or build up others in their faith, or perhaps to share your faith with those who need to hear.  Are you seeking the Giver? Are you available and yielded to Him? Are you willing to step in where you are needed to do your part in the mission of the church? He has a plan for you!

       Some of us heard a webinar this week from a ministry called “oikos” (which is the Greek word for a house, or a household). They spoke about a principle called 8-15. Each of us has a group of people that we are close to, that we interact with on a regular basis, on average a group of 8-15 people. For most of us, that will include family members, people at work or school, and neighbors. A number of them are not connected to a church. They don’t go to a small group. They have little or no spiritual input into their lives. You are God’s missionary in your 8-15.  What do you do?  First make a list of those in your sphere of influence. Then pray. Pray that God would open their hearts, that he would stir up a hunger within them. Pray for opportunities to say something about what God has done for you. Then invite them to your small group or to a church meeting!

       God has created us and equipped us to be a member of the body. If you are not connected you need to be. I am convinced that it is essential for each of us to be a part of some kind of a small group where we can discover and develop our gifts, and where we can be encouraged and built up by the gifts of others. We need the transparency and accountability and koinonia that can only happen in that kind of setting. That is God’s design for the church!  If you are not yet a part of such a group, talk to me, or to one of the other elders and we will either get you connected or start another group where you can be! You were created to be a part of what He is doing, for your good, for mission of the church, and for the glory of God.  AMEN.