Gifts and Ministries - PART 1

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. (Romans 12:6)

It is time now to build up the members of the Body of Christ to maturity, as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ. According to the Scripture, the Body is built up by that which every part supplies. This being the case, we who are leaders must do all in our power to assist each believer in learning what his gifts and ministries are and how and when to use them.

Every member of the Body of Christ has been given one or more gifts or ministries by which he or she is to build up himself or herself as well as the other members, as the Holy Spirit directs.
No member is excluded. All have a service to perform to the Body, just as every part of the human body has a service to perform.
As far as I can see in the Scripture, a gift or ministry is not given to a local church but to the universal Body of Christ.

But how many Christians know what their gifts are? How many are truly obeying the Holy Spirit in the use of their gifts? I expect, very few. And this is why we do not come to maturity. The members of the Body of Christ can come to the stature of the fullness of Christ only as each part is operating.




It is evident that God is going to have to make some changes in the churches of the United States, perhaps forcing us to adopt communal patterns of living and economics, if we are to see widespread participation by all the members of the Body of Christ.

I have heard glorious prophecies go over people as members of a presbytery have laid hands on them. Yet these individuals have grown old and have died without the promises being fulfilled. Were the prophecies not of God? I do not believe this was the reason they did not come to pass.

Why, then, are so few members of the Body of Christ effectively functioning in the ministry they have been given? Probably several reasons.
Many believers do not present their body a living sacrifice, as we all have been commanded to do.
Many believers do not set aside their own interests, take up their cross, and follow the Lord Jesus.

Many believers do not understand they have been called to be a saint, a person set apart for God's special use; and that once an individual has been called to be a saint he or she has no other calling. Whatever work he may do to support his family, the work is not his calling. His calling is to be a holy one of God, a member of the royal priesthood.

Many believers do not understand they have a gift and are required to use it diligently, or face having the gift removed and they themselves thrown into the outer darkness. The role of Divine grace (forgiveness) has been emphasized at the expense of the duties enjoined on every believer.

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:16)

The pastor-congregation form of organization tends to work against the widespread operation of ministries and gifts on the part of the believers. In America, it seems we have to have pastors who rule over the local churches. In a sophisticated culture the pastors serve as chief executive officers of the legally established organizations, which the churches are. But far too often the pastors take on also the role of priest. They receive the spiritual proxy of the members and stand between them and God. In such a system of role expectations the believers can hardly be expected to pursue their own gifts and ministries with the required fervency.
The pastor is viewed as holier than the people. How can this be, seeing he and the members of the congregation are integral parts of one body?

Another factor that militates against the widespread use of gifts and ministries is the unscriptural emphasis placed on evangelism. It is as though evangelism is the only gift and ministry given to the members of the Body of Christ. The Scripture does not support this extreme emphasis. The result is the great majority of Christians, whose gifts and ministries are other than evangelism, have no idea of the unique calling the Holy Spirit has placed on them. Since they do not have the grace to evangelize, they give up the idea of having a significant ministry.

The above may be a few of the current reasons for the lack of the widespread functioning of the gifts and ministries of the Body of Christ. They may be explanations, but they are not excuses. If each saint is to grow to maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ, then every believer must recognize his or her calling as a saint; find out what God expects of him or her; and make the Lord's calling on him or her the number one priority of his or her life. This is an absolute imperative today, as America is being submerged in a cesspool of moral horrors.

Let's go back to the first reason for the lack of the operation of gifts and ministries in the churches: many believers do not present their body a living sacrifice, as we all have been commanded to do.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1,2)

Now, I do not know how many Christians take the above passage seriously. One thing is certain, however. The only way we ever are going to find out God's will for ourselves is by presenting our body a living sacrifice.

What does it mean to present our body a living sacrifice? It means to obey the Lord strictly, even though the body usually rebels against God's standards.

To be continued.


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