How can church grow? Church never
means building but people like you and me who are in Christ. Are we growing or
not in him? It is a enormously significant question for us to examine ourselves
whether in growth or not. Love is the secret for growth. There are many kinds
of gifts given to church, the body of Christ. The gifts are for common good to
equip the saints, so that they may be growing strong and firm in the Lord. How are
we supposed to use the gifts of the Spirit? What is the most excellent way? In
fact, the First Corinthians Chapter 13 begins at the end of the Chapter 12. It
says, “And yet I will show you the most excellent way.” In the previous
chapter, Apostle Paul says that there is one Spirit who dispenses with
different kinds of gifts whoever and whenever and wherever he wanted to. Church
was born after the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ like through
the birth pain. It is made and built on the foundation and bedrock of the blood
of Christ. It is not made by human hands but by God, so it shall be run by him
and it has been running by the Lord himself who is the head of church. “And he
is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from
among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” (Colossians
1:18) God sent his Spirit to lead the church, having equipped the saints with the
gifts of the Holy One as he pleases. Each receives the gifts of the Spirit for
common good, not for boasting or promotion. How are we ought to use the gifts
of the Spirit? Apostle Paul explains the most excellent way.
“If I speak in the tongues of
men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a
clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of
prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith
that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I
possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1
Corinthians 13:1-3)
What does it mean by with love
or without love? The gifts of the Spirit are given for common good, so shall be
used for others. There is nothing wrong with the gifts of God as some
understand that way. Speaking in tongues, prophesying, mountain moving faith,
and giving to the poor are all legitimate and authentic gifts the Spirit has appropriated
for the church. So, using the gifts is the right thing to do. It is not right if
not using them. They have been given freely, so shall be used rightly. They have
not been given for boasting or looking down on others, which causes divisions
and quarrels. This is not the way it is. If anyone boasts about the works
manifested by the power of the gifts of the Spirit, they are nothing, no gain, no
reward. They have already been rewarded on the earth, so nothing left in
heaven. No, the gifts of the Spirit is never meant to be puffed up and boast
of. Rather, they shall be administered according God’s grace to build up the
church. Be cautious and watchful in doing all things whether church service, administrative
duties, or any chores because all believers in Christ are always ministering
the gifts of God. Our old self died to sin with Christ, so we no longer live but
Christ lives in us. The life we live now in the body, we live by faith in
Christ, who gave himself for us as an infallible token of love (Galatians
2:20). Our flesh has no value before God. It must be put away in doing all
things in Christ. As a matter of fact, we are not doing any thing but Christ in
us does all things. What we do is to let him do by denying and submitting ourselves
to him. Then, Christ in us does all things by the power of God, which raised
Christ from the dead. Yes, nothing can be done without the power of God. This
is what it means by manifesting the gifts of the Spirit with love. ‘Without
love’ implies being boastful of the gifts of the Spirit like children. Even
though the power of God may be released, without love it is nothing, no gain. Love
is inherently obedience without self to God. The genuine love of God has been demonstrated
by the Son of Man who selflessly and voluntarily offered his body as the ransom
sacrifice on that cross. He became nothing in the first place by being born of
a woman in the likeness of man. Then he obeyed the Father even to the point of
death (Philippians 2:6-8). That is God’s holy love (John 3:16).
“Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor
others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always
protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
What is love? Here the love
means agape, a selfless love, the sacrificial love of God. Two descriptive
words for love are positive and eight of them are negative. What love is
exactly what the Spirit does. What love isn’t precisely what the flesh does. The
desires of the Spirit and the flesh are hostile each other. “Those who live
according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but
those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the
Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed
by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to
God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the
realm of the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8) Living by the love of God
is possible and experienceable for those who are born of the Spirit. But it is
not an automatic cruise in exercising the agape love one another since the
rebirth in Christ, but a long process in learning how to love each other as
Christ loved us first while we’re still sinners. We’re now in the realm of the
Spirit in Christ. “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in
the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” (Romans
8:9) Currently what we’re experiencing is more failing and being defeated in
the flesh than being victorious and winning in the Spirit. So, we cry just as
Apostle Paul agonizes, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this
body that is subject to death?” (Romans 7:24)
Instead of being patient, we’re
apt to lose temper, easily being fallen into temptation to give up. Instead of
being kind, we’re prone to care self, closing the eyes not to see the other’s
need. Furthermore, we often do envy, wanting to get what it doesn’t have. We often
do boast, being arrogant and self-righteous over others. We’re often proud and
do force itself on others, dishonoring them. We’re often self-seeking, being “me
first.” We’re easily angered, flying off the handle. We often keeps record of
wrongs, keeping score of the sins of others. We often revel when others grovel,
being delighted in evil. We often fail to rejoice with the truth. We’re the
lump of failures and trespasses, miserably down falling in keeping the
commandment of the law, the new covenant, “Love one another!” The good news is
that it is not what we are any longer. That’s what we were. The old has gone
and we are new creation in Christ. We died to sin and now live for God in
Christ. We’ve been long accustomed to live the old way of life, so it takes a
while, probably lifetime to learn how to live a new life in Christ. This is
truly our hope in God, putting up with anything, trusting God always, always
looking for the best, never looking back, but keeping going to the end (Eugene
Peterson).
Since it is impossible for us
to keep the commandments of God, Jesus Christ died for our sins and transgressions
once for all. Christ’s death is our death, so we died with him. Not only so,
but also we were buried with him and rose again with him from the dead on the
third day. We now live his life by the power of the resurrection. This is the
new way of living in Christ. Nothing from me, everything from God, from a single
breath of air to loving each other. Though our experience doesn’t often meet the
promise of living in love, it is still God’s promise for us to reach to the
point where we will meet all the demands in love. We know that we’re not doing all
in love all the time. That’s true and real. It is also true that we have a help
available immediately when we recognize our total failure and inadequacy, even
wretchedness. Apostle Paul asserts, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through
Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law,
but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” (Romans 7:25) Furthermore, there
is the promise of assurance through the word of truth. “Therefore, there is now
no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus
the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and
death.” (Romans 8:1-2) Though we bump and make mistakes, God is patient and
kind till we reach the mature manhood in Christ. We’ll be there because it is
the promise of God. The mystery of Christ has been revealed, which was hidden
for generations and ages. It is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians
1:27)
“Love never fails. But where
there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be
stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and
we prophesy in part, but when
completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked
like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a
man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as
in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall
know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope
and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:8-13)
Love never fails! Love never
ends! This is not a mere slogan, but a true statement. There is one body of
truth in which there are many truths. We know some bits and pieces of the
truth. We cannot know all. Prophecies will cease, tongues will be stilled,
knowledge will pass away. It doesn’t mean those are meaningless and wasteful at
all. Rather, it means that there will be a time for the whole truth unleashed
and known as a bright day. When the day comes, all prophecies, tongues, and knowledge
will be adding up piece by piece, bit by bit as part of the glorious whole
truth. Those should be ceased and stilled when the whole picture comes into
realization visibly to our eyes. All the mysteries of lives will instantly
explained and known about the pains, heartaches, struggles, frustrations,
choices, ups and downs, everything. What and how we have done all those years
in this earthly time and space will be laid bare as daylight. It will be surprise
and surprise, a big one to all just as told in the parable of sheep and goats
recorded in the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 25 Verses 31 through 46. Both aisles are
completely surprised and lost when told what they did and didn’t by the Son of
Man in glory. The righteous and the unrighteous are expressing their surprise, knowing
the fact that they did or didn’t do things like giving, visiting, and helping
the needy. Love never ends! God is faithful in love forever. We see and know in
part, but will see and know in whole on that day. “And I heard a loud voice
from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people,
and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be
with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will
be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has
passed away.’” (Revelation 21:3-4)
Every born in Christ begins
with the stage of childhood. But they ought to grow to adulthood, leaving behind
childhood. Talking, thinking, reasoning are no longer like child when grown up.
The Corinthian church was still in the infant stage, having jealousy and
quarreling among them, not growing into mature manhood. “Brothers and sisters,
I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are
still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you
were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still
worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?
Are you not acting like mere humans?” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3) Grown-ups eat solid
food, being able to digest and understand the hard teachings of the Scriptures,
even loving the enemies. It is a stark warning that the entire congregation of
Israel had wondered around in the wilderness forty long years and perished
except two men, Caleb and Joshua. We now see a reflection as in a mirror, but
will see the Lord Jesus Christ face to face. “Beloved, we are God's children
now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears
we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2) So, we
shall keep on growing, leaving behind childish things like boasting about the
gifts. What is seen is part, what is unseen, whole. God is love forever. So, we
live now in his love, faith, and hope. These three, love, hope, and faith will
pass through death. “But for right now, until that completeness, we have three
things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope
unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.” (Eugene
Peterson) This is the excellent way of using the gifts of the Spirit, which is to
do it all with love, the agape love of God.
“When the Son of Man comes in
his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All
the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one
from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the
sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those
on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance,
the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry
and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to
drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed
me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit
me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and
feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a
stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see
you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell
you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of
mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,
you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you
gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I
needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did
not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help
you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the
least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46)
February 10, 2018
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2015-2018 David Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.
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