God designed the local church to organize His disciples for ministry. We have the privilege of laboring joyfully together in the Great Commission as one body.
One Body
Romans 12:5-21
- This passage will remind us right from the beginning
- That we are one in Christ
- We are members of His body
- While quite different in many ways, we have unity
- Those of us who know Christ as Savior
- Have the wonderful privilege of working together for Him
- And God has gifted each of us in a unique way to do it
- He has assembled and gifted His family for ministry
- Because of Him, we are capable of doing the assigned work
- “One Body” is our theme today
- From Romans 12:5-21
- Let’s read our entire passage of the day
- Then take a closer look…
Romans 12:5-21
5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
- With the context in mind, let’s start at the beginning…
Romans 12:5
5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
- We are referred to as the “body of Christ”
- And we are connected
- We have something eternally in common
- Each of us “in Christ”
- And we are connected this way for a reason
Romans 12:6-8
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
- No doubt believers are different in many ways
- One way is our gifting
- He has assembled those with just the right gifts (those He provided)
- There is certainly a sense in which all believers in Christ
- Worldwide – are connected
- God has chosen to assemble us for ministry in a local way
- This is His practical arrangement for ministry
- Local churches assemble and must live out these principles
- And some of these gifts are mentioned for us
- Of course, many of these things all Christians must do
- But God gifts people in special ways
- It talks about prophecy
- This is the proclamation of truth
- For us it will not be truth about the future
- Any predictions about what “will” happen (unless it comes from scripture)
- Instead we should exercise faith in telling what we know (already) from the Bible
- The idea of ministry here is service
- All must serve, but some will have special giftedness to do so
- It will often be obvious to us that they serve people in a certain way
- They (perhaps we) are gifted to minister to people
- Teaching is more obvious to us
- We know those who are gifted to teach
- They have a way of conveying information that comes only from God
- We learn because they have insight on how to prompt us and inspire us
- Exhortation is coming alongside – providing encouragement in a special way
- Some are gifted to do this
- They have the right personality traits and an understanding, an empathy
- This goes beyond a technique
- Perhaps the one that “giveth” is one that can organize and distribute
- They give, but they can do it in a way that is organized and strategic
- God gives them special ability to see needs and find ways to meet them
- The one that “ruleth” is gifted to lead and oversee and administer
- They, perhaps, can see the bigger picture because they are gifted to do so
- Their traits lend themselves to administration, so they must work hard at it
- And some have the gift of mercy
- They are gifted to perhaps deal with those who are sick or needy or elderly
- They see needs, they are gifted to deal with needs
- And they must work with cheerfulness
- For anyone in the church, with any giftedness…
Romans 12:9
9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
- Our love should be without hypocrisy
- It should be authentic, genuine
- When using our gifts, we must do so in love
- And we should despise or “cast away as unclean” all evil
- Instead cementing ourselves or “joining fast to” that which is good
Romans 12:10
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
- Putting others first
- Knowing we are family
- In love and kindness
Romans 12:11
11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
- Never lacking work ethic (laziness, disregard, apathy)
- The idea of fervent in spirit means “to boil”
- It is to have a zeal for what is good
- In this case “serving the Lord”
- Also…
Romans 12:12-15
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
- We have responsibilities as disciples of Christ
- This is a list that should not escape our notice
- We could go through every concept individually
- But perhaps just rephrasing it would help…
“Be happy because of the hope you have. Be patient when you have troubles. Pray all the time. Share with God’s people who need help. Look for people who need help and welcome them into your homes. Wish only good for those who treat you badly. Ask God to bless them, not curse them. When others are happy, you should be happy with them. And when others are sad, you should be sad too.”
- Many of these concepts are foreign in the world
- But they ought to be common in the church
Romans 12:16-18
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
- This section can be rephrased this way…
“Live together in peace with each other. Don’t be proud, but be willing to be friends with people who are not important to others. Don’t think of yourself as smarter than everyone else. If someone does you wrong, don’t try to pay them back by hurting them. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. Do the best you can to live in peace with everyone.”
Romans 12:19-21
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
- As we live within and use our gifts within the church
- We must see our role clearly
- He is God
- We are here to provide an accurate picture of Him
- Treating people in the way He would want them to be treated
- Remaining far from evil
- And holding tight to good