The Gift of Interdependence

Transcript

If I’ve not had a chance to meet you, my name is Greg Taylor, I serve as one of the pastors here and this morning we’ll continue in our series going through 1st Corinthians. I think this is a pretty interesting thing that’s occurred this week. As I have been studying this text for the last few weeks preparing, the Lord has seen fit to bring some pretty serious things in our congregation to a few people. And we’re going to see in this text this morning how we are to care for one another. When one member suffers, we all suffer. And we felt that this week with Karina’s family and several other things that are going on, Leandria’s father and whatnot. But what I’d like you to do before we get started this morning is I’d like you to just look around the room. I’d like you to look around at the other people that are here in the sanctuary this morning.

And I’d like you to see that we have many members, but we are one body. And this is God’s gift to us, that we are interdependent. If you brought a Bible with you this morning and I’m always thrilled when I see people bring what I call a paper Bible to church. If you brought a paper Bible to church, open to 1 Corinthians 12. If you didn’t bring one, you can use your phone. And we have Bibles under the seats in front of you. It’s on page 902. So 1 Corinthians 12. I’m going to read from verses 12 down through 31, which will basically finish this chapter. Although the very last part of verse 31 we’re going to leave for next week. You’ll understand that as we get there. And this is a lot to read this morning, so I’m going to give you a break this morning and let you stay seated as we read this morning.

So hear now the word of the Lord to you. For just as the body is one. And has many members. And all the members of the body, though many are one body. So it is with Christ. For in one spirit, we were all baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks. Slaves or free. And all were made to drink of one spirit. For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body. That would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body. That would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye. Where would be the sense of hearing?

If the whole body were an ear. Where would be the sense of smell? But as it is. God arranged the members in the body. Each one of them as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 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. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. 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. Which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body. Giving greater honor to the part that lacked it. That there may be no division in the body.

But that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ. And individually members of it. 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. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let’s bow our heads and pray this morning. Our Father and our God, we ask you this morning. To help us to see this word from you with the importance that it should carry.

The Patriot Way

In our lives as we are many members. And one body. Let the external work of the words from this sermon be made effectual. By the internal work that you alone can do. By the spirit empower us. And apply it to our hearts to hear it. To do it and conform us into the image of our Lord and Savior Jesus. We pray all this will be done to the glory of Jesus. And we ask it in His name. Amen. If you know anything about professional football. In this century. The most successful team, coach and quarterback combination. Has been the New England Patriots. Coach Bill Belichick. And their quarterback Tom Brady. In the 19 seasons between 2001 and 2019. The Patriots with Brady and Belichick. Led the team to nine Super Bowls. Winning six of them. Brady had a rather inauspicious beginning in pro football. Not being drafted until the seventh round.

You don’t know what that means. That means every other team passed on him at least six times. Brady also missed one entire season. Due to an ACL injury. The Patriot way which is a phrase that was used to describe the methods. That Belichick used to coach and run the organization. Prevailed regardless of the challenges New England faced. From players leaving in free agency. High quality assistant coaches leaving to become head coaches elsewhere. To the Patriots always drafting near the bottom. Of the first round. The Patriots success just kept on rolling. Belichick was a master. At reloading talent with little known players. That most teams didn’t draft. But who had talent and grit that he saw in them. Once in the organization he coached the players. To put aside self. And to buy into the team concept in order to win. Brady coined the phrases. Do your job.

No days off. He was relentless at studying defenses to exploit any and all weaknesses. Making everyone on the team better. By pushing his teammates through his leadership. Now while the New England Patriots were winning Super Bowls. And Tom Brady was winning MVPs. For those same 19 seasons. The Cleveland Browns had just two winning seasons. As well as the distinction of one winless season. 0 and 16. The Browns since they returned to the NFL in 1999. Have been a mediocre. Subpar losing organization. The very antithesis of the Patriots. Since 2001 when Brady began his career with the Patriots. The Browns had 30 quarterbacks. Which is as one sports writer called it. Due to a mountainous level of ineptitude in the team’s personnel and scouting departments. During that same time while Belichick was the only coach the Patriots knew. The Browns went through 11 head coaches. One franchise.

Had no team concept. No real leadership. No sacrificial mentality of self for the whole. And their results were abysmal. The other team. Had buy-in. Functioned not for individual honors. And positions but for the benefit of the whole. Now just as a football team needs all of its players. Using their various talents and skills and positions together at the same time. Setting aside self and individual accolades for team in order to be successful. The members of the church must live not for self but for the whole. They must use their gifts and their positions to care for each other. In order for the church to function in a healthy way. Now I’m very thankful that the church doesn’t need brilliant coaches. Or men with perfect leadership mantras. As in football or other spheres of life. Because it has been made by God. As a cohesive body made up of many members.

To achieve God’s purposes in the church. And in this world. In our text this morning. Paul is telling us. That as God made the human body and its parts all different. They all play a vital part in the health. And the life and the longevity of the person. And in a similar way. God has arranged the different members of the body of Christ. Within local churches to function in cooperation with each other. To care for each other. And to achieve his purposes. When you were converted to Christ. By the grace and the work of the triune God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You were made a member of the church. And each of you is an important part of the whole. You have been gifted. And you hold a place in the church in order to serve. So let me ask you this morning. How do you see your gifts and your role and your service.

In Trinity Church as contributing to the greater good of the whole? Would you say that you are serving well? That you are caring well for others? Or do you only serve those people that are mostly like you? Or maybe you would have to say that you’re not really contributing much at all. Or maybe you’re not even part of the local church. Well these are some very important questions to ask yourself. And you should take some time and assess where you are in relation to service. And participation and cooperation in the church. Now in these 19 verses we’re going to look at this morning. Paul is going to use the word body 19 times. And he will use the word members or parts 13 times to get across to us. The importance of the members working together in unique ways. So that the church functions as God designed it.

Many Members, One Body

For its health. The same way a human body’s parts must function together for it to work as God designed it. And for it to be healthy. And to better see this morning I’ve divided up our text into five parts this morning. First we’ll look at many members. One body. Then we’ll look at every member important. Every member interdependent. Every member caring. And every member appointed. So let’s get started this morning with our first section. Many members one body. This will be verses 12, 13, 14 and 20. Look with me at verse 12. Just as the body is one and has many members. And all the members of the body though many are one body. So it is with Christ. For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks. Slaves or free. And all were made to drink of one spirit.

Look also at verse 20. As it is there are many parts yet one body. So Paul gets started in verse 12 with the word for. And what this is doing is pointing back to verses 4 to 11. Of the chapter earlier in the chapter that Jan preached on last week. He’s expounding now on what he said earlier. About how spiritual gifts and service are given by God. For the common good of the whole. The gifts God gives vary. And they are empowered in us by God as He wills them to be. Just as the body is one and has many members. And all the members of the body though many are one body. So it is with Christ. Paul is using a metaphor of the human body to teach on the church. The body of Christ. When Paul says so it is with Christ. Look at that there.

It’s a shorthand for the body of Christ. It means the church. Paul said something in Colossians similar. He said He, Jesus is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning. The first born from the dead. That in everything He might be preeminent. In our membership class when we go through the second session on leadership. We make a general statement. A general leadership statement that is taken from this verse in Colossians. And from 1 Peter 5.4. And it is this. Jesus Christ is the head of the church. The chief shepherd of the flock of God. The church does not belong to any man. It is not dependent upon any man. Christ is the head over the church. When church elders stray from this it usually ends badly. With a lot of people getting hurt. And it should be interesting to us that the Holy Spirit chose the human body.

To be the metaphor for the church. The church shares its name with the body. I want you to think for a minute about a human body. It’s a miracle creation by God. Your body has 37.2 trillion cells. 206 bones. 600 muscles. Your heart beats about 100,000 times a day. You have 60,000 miles of blood vessels. Your digestive tract is 30 feet long. You have 22 square feet of skin area that weighs 8 pounds. This is mind-boggling. Don’t ever let anyone tell you this evolved after millions of years of mutations and natural selection. God created man in His own image. He created him male and female. Now we’re not here to have a talk on anatomy. I’m simply showing you that our bodies are quite diverse and unique in their design. This was all done by our Creator God. So is the church a miracle creation of God.

It is diverse. It is unique. It is the creation of God to achieve His redemptive purposes in the world. You were made a part of that when you came to believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Look at verse 13 with me. For in one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit. It was very similar language to what we saw last week. We saw this over and over a couple of times. One Spirit. One and the same Spirit. And it is by and it is in one Spirit, the Holy Spirit. The third person of the Trinity that we are brought into the body of Christ. This phrase here, baptized into one body, is referring to the conversion work of the Holy Spirit. Which begins with the divine act of regeneration

done by the Holy Spirit in a person’s heart. The changing of the heart of stone into a heart of flesh. It is that divine work the Spirit does to bring a lost sinner to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Sinclair Ferguson says this about the verse. He says, at the point of faith, we participate individually in the effects of the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. Paul indicates that all believers are baptized with the Spirit and drink the water of the Spirit. Now before we move on this morning, let me stop and ask you, have you come to know the Lord Jesus by trusting in Him for the forgiveness of your sins? If you are here this morning and you are not a Christian, we’re so glad you came to church. But you must know that you are a sinner, as we all are. All we like sheep have gone astray.

You have sinned against a God who is holy. R.C. Sproul called what we have done cosmic treason. Committed against God. You need to be made right with Him. And that is not something you can earn yourself. It can only happen through humbly coming to Jesus Christ. Turning away from your sin. And asking Him to forgive you. Be your Lord and be your Savior. It is by faith alone through Christ alone. There’s a little prayer in the bulletin called the prayer of faith. And I would encourage you to read through that. And if it expresses the desire of your heart this morning, use it to pray a prayer to God and ask Him to forgive you of your sins. There’s no magic in the prayer. The words are not a formula. It expresses the intentions of your heart. You are always welcome to come after the service

and speak with myself or anyone you’ve seen up here this morning. We would love to have a conversation with you about the Gospel. And none of us knows how long we have. None of us knows. We have today. It’s not something to delay. Come to Christ. Let’s look back again to verse 13 with me. In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit. It’s really interesting how this ties back to chapter 10. When Paul was speaking about the Israelites during the Exodus, he said all were baptized into Moses, in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all ate the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Notice the similarity here. Baptized and drank.

The Israelites were baptized into Moses in the old covenant. We are baptized into the church and into the new covenant, when the Holy Spirit brings us to faith. Notice Paul says Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, all were made to drink of one Spirit. It doesn’t matter your ethnicity, your gender, your social status. All were made to drink of one Spirit. And as one commentator says, and I love this, he says this is the common experience of all Christians of the enjoyment, refreshment, and abundant blessings that the Spirit bestows on all the people of God. Now this reference here to all were made to drink of one Spirit is something Jesus referenced in John 7. He stood up and cried out, if anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

He said this about the Spirit whom those who believed in Him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Christ was not yet glorified. I want you to know if you’re here this morning and you’re a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you. Pointing you to Jesus constantly. That is His work. He shines a spotlight on Christ constantly. Paul told the Ephesians, he said in Him, that’s Jesus, you also when you heard the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your salvation and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory. This is the thing all of us share. All of us have this in common. We are indwelt by and we have the Holy Spirit. You may be alone,

but you never truly go anywhere alone. You always have the Spirit with you. Now verses 14 and 20 are pretty similar. Let’s look at those. 14, for the body does not consist of one member, but of many. And verse 20 in essence builds on 14. As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. Paul’s a little bit redundant in this section, but for purpose. One member does not make up a body, just as a body must have many members or parts. Peter said, like living stones, you are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. So like a human body, the church is made up of many members. It is one body. And it is God who has placed the many members into this one body. The body of Christ, the church.

Every Member Important

Now let’s look at the next section. Every member important. Look with me at verse 15. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body. That would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body. That would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them as He chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? So the foot wants to be a hand and thinks because it is not a hand

that it is not part of the body. The ear wants to be an eye. And like the foot claims that since it isn’t an eye, it is not part of the body. This seems to be dealing with people who feel that because they may not have some official role or office in the church, or because they don’t have some perceived special gift, that they are not as important. Or even that they are not part of the church. And it is simply not true. Look at verse 17 again. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? Every member is important. We need everyone for the body to function. Gifts in calling are not given so a person can have status or power or some special gift to show off,

but so they can serve in the way that the Sovereign God has appointed them to. Verse 18, but as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them as He chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? This is essentially what he said in verse 14. It is that one member does not make a body. Imagine for a moment. Let me use another football analogy here. Imagine for a moment that if Tom Brady said, I have no need of a left offensive tackle. Some of you are saying, what does that even mean? I don’t know what that means. But if you know football, the offensive tackles, there’s two of them on one left, one right, next to two guards and a center in the middle. They block. So the left one, if you’re a right-handed quarterback, protects your blind side.

Tom Brady would not have completed many passes if he didn’t have a left offensive tackle. Every member is important. They’ve been placed there by God according to His will so that the body functions as it is intended for God’s purposes. Now let’s move on to our third section. Every member interdependent. Look with me at verse 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. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. And on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, we bestow the greater honor. And on our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty. Which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body giving greater honor to the part that lacked it

that there may be no division in the body. Now this section serves to make three important points. The first is somewhat of a rebuke to the people in Corinth. Because remember, they saw certain gifts as much greater than others. We’ve talked about this before since we’ve been in this study. They valued oratory gifts. They valued sign gifts. These were highly valued by the Corinthians. But one member or part of the body cannot say to another weaker or less honorable member, I have no need of you. You might remember back to when we were in chapter 4, Paul used some real biting sarcasm with the Corinthians over their attitude and their judgment. They were judging Paul and others. And he said to them, we are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. He was trying to get their attention

by hitting them with some sarcasm. They needed to know what they did not know. He’s trying to correct their wrong thinking. In chapter 4, that was about judging. Here, it’s about how God has arranged many, many types of people and gifts to create a functional body that He chooses. This is so important when Paul says, on the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. The word for weak carries with it the sense of sickness. So it is even those among us who are weak or who are sick are not just there for nothing. They are said to be indispensable. It means they’re necessary. They are needed. They are important. The second thing that this section seeks to point out is that all of the parts are interdependent in order for the body to function as God intended it. And this is now the seventh time

in this chapter that we’ve seen Paul refer the Corinthians back to God as the author of gifts in people. As the one who has arranged it all. And he’s going to point this out again an eighth time in verse 28. I want you to notice this word compose. God has so composed the body. Think for a moment about an orchestra composer. He chooses various parts of the music to be played by various instruments at various times in various ways. And the result is a beautiful piece of music that if just one part is removed will adversely affect the whole. It won’t sound right if the timpani is missing. Or if the trombones play the wrong notes. And oh, what a composer God is. And what He is doing in composing His church. It is truly a miracle. This is also why the Bible knows nothing of a Christian

who is not serving and who is not connected deeply to a local church. Albert Moeller says there simply is no model in the Scripture for unchurched faithfulness. We need each other. We need the body of Christ. We need the preaching of the Word of God in the setting of the local church. If you’re here this morning and you’re not part of a local church body, in our context, in most churches like ours, and that means being a formal member of a church, may I ask you why? It doesn’t have to be this church. We do not pressure people to become members of this church. But we do strongly urge Christians to be members somewhere in a Gospel-preaching, Christ-centered, Bible-believing church that has a plurality of elders who can shepherd and protect you and other believers who can walk alongside you and help to disciple you,

Every Member Caring

pray for you, serve you. Kevin DeYoung says the man who attempts Christianity without the church shoots himself in the foot, shoots his children in the leg, and shoots his grandchildren in the heart. The third thing that Paul points out in this section, which is really important for us to see in our day, is at the beginning of verse 25. Look at it with me. That there may be no division in the body. God did not create the church to have division in it. He created all the members interdependent to work together and to care for each other. And this division statement points back to previous chapters. Remember just a few weeks ago when we were in chapter 11, Josh showed us that there were divisions where people were not caring well for one another and especially as it related to meals and to the Lord’s Supper.

We’ve seen in numerous of the previous sermons as we’ve gone through this letter that unity is a major theme Paul is trying to correct in the Corinthian church. Now I want you to see that the antidote to disunity is found in our next section. Every member caring. Look again at verse 25. That there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. That’s beautiful. The antidote to division is caring for each other. Knowing that it is one of our key roles as church members. This is highly practical for us. This implies that all the members are involved. There is participation by everyone. And it’s going to be a lot harder

to have an ax to grind with someone that you’re in fellowship with. That you’re serving and that you’re praying for. And when someone in our midst is suffering, it should grieve us and we should suffer alongside them. We have had over the years some of our members suffer some really, really difficult things. So I was finishing this last week and I began to think about this idea of how we should suffer when other members suffer. Just in our small body of 165 members, in the first eight months of this year, I compiled a list from my notes and prayer lists and I came up with 16 very substantial episodes of suffering that our members have been through and many are still going through. Just this week on Wednesday, most of you probably know our sister Karina Perry lost her mother. She had been dealing with a brain aneurysm

for three months and on that same day, Surgeon Margaret had their baby. One member suffering. One member rejoicing. How are we doing at this church? Caring for each other? I’m mostly encouraged by how well you care for one another. I feel like we’re pretty quick to check in on people and take them a meal. And those things are all good things. But let me ask you this. How many times have you prayed for the people and their families who are in the midst of serious suffering and grief? How often have you suffered and grieved with them before the throne of grace? It should trouble us deeply to know someone in our church is in bad shape. And I realize that we can’t physically all check in on each other every day, but you can send a card to someone. You can send a text to someone.

You can make a phone call when it’s appropriate. And you can and you should pray. Charles Spurgeon said, No man can do me a truer kindness in this world than to pray for me. You keep a list of all the people that you hear about week to week when you come to services who need you to be praying for them? If not, let me encourage you to make a list. Get busy praying for the members in this body who need you. Take some time in the next day or two. Do an assessment of how you are honestly doing at your overall participation in the church as it relates to caring for the body. A part of that involves body life by being here physically. Attending church every Sunday and being here not just on time, but arrive early with an attitude that says, who can I serve this morning?

Who needs a kind word from me? Or a prayer? Who needs me to pray with them this morning? It also includes being with and serving people during the week as you are able. I saw an article recently that was encouraging Christians to prioritize church attendance. The author said the following. He said an increasing number of people miss church on Sundays. The average number of weeks that active Christians attend church is decreasing. The benchmark of at least 48 Sundays per year that marked true church commitment when I was growing up has sunk below 39 weeks per year. No one knows where it will bottom out. Now I realize that a few of you have jobs that require you to sometimes work on Sundays. I’m not talking about that. I know there’s always the flu season and sick children that reduces our attendance a bit. I’m not talking about those occasions.

But making church attendance and participation a priority should be very, very important for God’s people. It is an important part of your spiritual formation. And there is no substitute for it. A podcast doesn’t substitute for Sunday service. And I can tell you, when I miss a Sunday, I can feel it the next week. Spurgeon used to say, the church should be the dearest place on earth to us. Where else would you rather be on a Sunday and during the week than with God’s people? Missing Sunday services is to deprive yourself of spiritual food. It is to forsake the largest spiritual meal of the week. And then you wonder why you get to Wednesday and the wheels are falling off your week. Tim Challies says, to run well, you need to serve the local church. You may be tempted to approach church hoping that you’ll get a lot out of it.

But it is far better and far godlier to approach church asking what will you be able to give to others. Now when someone in our church is honored, we should rejoice. I love how a baby is born and we pray in the service the following week and ask God to save that child and give those parents grace and wisdom. We should make a big deal about those things and rejoice. Somebody earns their degree or gets a new job or gets a new house. Rejoice in those good gifts that God gives to His people. Now notice this section closes with Paul saying, now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. This is Paul’s way of saying this local body in Corinth. And the body of Christ is both universal, it’s the big C church, right? We referenced that in the Creed. We’ll do that in a little while here.

Every Member Appointed

One holy, apostolic Christian church. But it is also this church, Trinity Church, little c. I love this quote from Paul Gardner. He says, while it is certainly possible to speak of the worldwide church as the body of Christ, it is important to note that Paul sees each local church in this way. Each church will have a variety of gifts given by the Spirit to God’s people. For this is how God composes the body. By implication, this means that not all local churches will look alike or even contain with them the exact same list of gifts. So friends, you have received the call this morning from God and His Word that you as a member should be participating in some way for this body. Every member caring for every member, especially for those who are suffering. Now let’s conclude this morning with our last section, Every Member Appointed.

Look with me at verse 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. What Paul’s doing here is listing members and gifts that some members are given as an example of the diversity of both members and gifts. This list is not meant to be comprehensive. This is similar to what he told the Ephesians in 4.11. He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers. Notice Paul says that God has appointed in the church. This is another example of God’s sovereignty in distributing gifts and appointing members for various roles and offices as He chooses. Now some people believe this list is ranked by importance. But that would likely go against what Paul has said earlier that the weaker members are indispensable and that there be no division in the body.

But there may be a sense in which the first three members are key to the ministries of the Word. As Gardner says, this may be Paul’s way of emphasizing the initial and continuing foundational ministry of the Word without which the church could not long survive. Now look at verse 29. Are all apostles, are all prophets, are all teachers, do all work miracles, do all possess gifts of healing, do all speak with tongues, do all interpret? Seven rhetorical questions, all meant to emphasize once again that not all members of the church receive from God the same calling or the same gifts. This is what makes for such diversity into unity within the church. We need to see that it is God who has appointed positions and gifts and we need the variety of these members and gifts to make the local church complete. Now look with me at verse 31.

But earnestly desire the higher gifts. As I got into studying this, I realized that this is a really difficult text for translators. There are many, many opinions on exactly what this means. And I am not going to give you all the different possibilities. It could mean this. It could mean that. Rather, I’m going to focus on one word here. And it is the word desire. And the word that comes from is the word from which we get the word zeal and zealous. So this is not so much a call to seek out some specific gift or some greater gift, but it is rather to seek for the empowerment from God that is for gifts that will provide for the greater good of Christ’s church. To do that requires a view toward the more excellent way, which is to do all things in love, which we will see next week

in chapter 13. I will close this morning near where I began, and I will remind you that when you were converted to Christ by the grace and the work of the triune God, you were made a member of the church. And each of you is an important part of the whole. You have been gifted, and you hold a place in the church in order to serve. Let me encourage all of you to be serving as God would have you serve. There is something every one of us can and should be doing to care for each other and to fulfill the mission of the church, to make disciples, and to bring glory to our Lord and our King and our Savior, Jesus. Thankfully, your level of service is not what makes you right with God. Isn’t that wonderful? If you’re a Christian, you are right with God

only because of Jesus and what He has done for you. He died to forgive you of your sins. He was raised for your justification, and you receive His righteousness, which is what God looks at when He sees you. He does not see your sin. He sees Christ and His righteousness. And this is the good news of the Gospel. The greatest news there has ever been or ever will be that sinners like us can be made right with God and have eternal life. This is why we serve. Because it is His body composed by Him for us. And it is truly a gift that we are interdependent. We are privileged to be placed in the body and blessed to be able to serve in it. And this is truly the heavenly work that we get to do. Let’s pray. Our Father and our God, we are thankful

that it is You who has composed the body of Christ according to Your will in order that we may fulfill the mission of the church to make disciples. God, help Trinity Church to be a local body that counts every member as important, that realizes we are interdependent, and that will provide the care that every member needs. Lord, help us now to finish this worship service by offering You the worship that You deserve. And then to go out from this place with humble hearts that seek to bring You glory and that desires to be made more Christ-like. God, help us put aside the stupid and the petty and the unimportant. None of us knows how long we have. God, ignite a fire in us to serve Your body and to care for each other and to pray for each other daily and to grow in holiness.

We need You desperately, God. We ask and pray and commit all this to You in the name of our great Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.