LESSON 3
“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. 28And 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. 29Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? 30Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? 31But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.” (1 Corinthians 12:27-31)
1. Jesus said, He will build His Church, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) What a wonderful thought to know we do not have to do anything here. Now Jesus did not say He was going to build His Church on Peter, but “upon this rock I will build my Church.”
2. What rock was Jesus talking about? Was it Psalms 118:22, Jesus “the chief Cornerstone that the builder rejected?” Yes, but not really. It was the revelation Peter had of Christ. “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:16-17) The Body of Christ is always built on revelation and not physical things. Revelation is the measure of how of God is in us.
3. The Church is not built on flesh and blood, nor can the strong arm of ability and intellect build spiritual growth and development within us. John drives this point home in His Gospel, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)
4. God has given “The Body of Christ, and members in particular” His goods to build His Body so that He can show us a more excellent way. What way is this? What way are we going now? “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) We are going our own way and not God’s way. We have turned from God’s “excellent way” to our own selfishness and ungodly desires.
5. Thus God set some of His spiritual goods in the church. Now please know these spiritual goods of God have been placed within the Body of Christ before time eternal. Here in Corinthians Paul was re-teaching the Body of Christ at Corinth these truths again because they (like sheep) have gotten off track. “Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. 18For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.” (1 Corinthians 11:17-18)
6. These spiritual goods of God has been given to us not so that we can see who can get the most power or ability in God, but to minister (be a servant to, a slave) to the Body of Christ. And so that we will have the ability in God to recognize the “more excellent way” of God’s eternal everlasting way we must walk with Him.
7. Now for God to build there must be a building program we must willfully enter into. It is like the word discipleship. For disciples to be made there must a dedication and commitment by people to the discipleship process to be made a disciple. So too for us to be built by God through His spiritual goods, we must willfully enter into God’s building program.
8. Please know God does not build on another’s foundation. God begins His building by first tearing down. What a strange way to build. God will tear down in us everything that is not of Him in our lives. He will pull down all of those strongholds (something we lean on for strength) in our lives that we have allowed into our lives. All of the unstable thinking, unstable attitudes, unstable dreams and visions, unstable plans, all that is unstable in us He cannot build His character and nature in us.
9. God will put down all of our religious thinking and pious approaches to God. All of our religious customs and traditions that keep us from making a Godly heart-felt approach to God. All of our emotional and mental ascent that leaves us falling short of the glory of God. Our glory has been touched and built up, but God’s glory has not been touched nor His heart.
10. Make no mistake my friend coming into God’s building program will help bring God’s greatest objective into our lives. It is painful when God begins to put His finger on things, that are not of Him, in our lives. It is painful when God begins to expose us for what and who we really are. It is painful when we discover who we really are, not who we want to be or things we are, or even what we tell people we are, but who we really are. My friend it will kill us. But that is okay again this is another objective of God.
11. This revelation of our self as compared to Christ happens as God is able to build His character into our lives as we enter into His building program. As we allow God’s work in our lives (our choice not God’s) and use the spiritual goods he has given us, we will begin to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. “2 Peter 3:18)
12. Paul talks about two Bodies of Christ; one in Corinth and the other in Antioch where the name “Christian” was first spoken. The question is which church do you want to be built like? In Corinth we have learned, ““Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.” (1 Corinthians 11:17) In other words Paul was saying it would have been better if they would not have come together to worship God inspite of every work of the Spirit in operation.
13. And the other church was Antioch, “But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, 11Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.” (2 Timothy 3:11) Which church would you want to be?
14. Most would say, Antioch until God begins to take them through His building program. Look at what happened to Paul at Antioch, “longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, and afflictions” who would want this when we can have our flesh and emotions satisfied like at the Church of Corinth? The one’s who desires to be developed and not delivered.
15. We read the word “delivered” at the end of 2 Timothy 3:11 and think God has removed Paul out from all of these bad things in His life, but not so. Oh no my friend the contrary is true. No where in the Bible did God deliver anyone from “persecutions and afflictions.” Daniel went into the lions den. The three Hebrew Children went into the fiery furnace. Jesus had to go to the cross, inspite of Him praying if it be the will of the Father for this to cup to pass from Him so be it.
16. We are built by God as He is allowed to develop us through tough and fearful areas and situation sin our lives. All of God’s spiritual goods (listed in 1 Corinthians 12:27-31) are for the perfecting and establishing of His Body so that we will be able to discover the more excellent way God has for us to go.
