By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at verses 3-8 of chapter 12.
1.1.1. In that
study, we saw that having exhorted us to present our bodies as a living
sacrifice to the Lord which is our reasonable service of worship that Paul
immediately exhorted us to humility and not thinking more highly of ourselves
than we should.
1.1.2. Then, Paul
began to exhort us as to how that we ought to view ourselves not as an
individual out their living for the Lord but rather part of the body of Christ,
or as he called it individually members of one another. Christianity was meant to be lived out in
community and the church is Christs body.
1.1.3. Paul then began
to discuss the various spiritual gifts and how that we need to exercise our
spiritual gift we have been given in a diligent manner and with zeal, going all
out.
1.1.4. We discussed
the spiritual gifts of prophesy, exhortation, teaching, giving, serving, and
mercy.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at verses
9-15.
1.2.1. Having
previously discussed how that the various spiritual gifts should be used in the
body, with the emphasis being upon being diligent and zealous in using those
gifts, Paul for the rest of this chapter will give us various exhortations
regarding how we need to conduct ourselves in the body of Christ so as to
maximize healthy body life.
1.2.2. How we treat
each other in the body of Christ is a testimony to the world of the character
of our Christian lives and it also has a big impact upon how the body of Christ
itself fares.
1.2.3. The various
exhortations Paul will give in this chapter emphasize maintaining your conduct
upon the basis of what living out Gods agape love requires of us.
1.2.4. How we treat
each other in the body of Christ is a direct reflection of our vertical
relationship with the Lord. In
other words, we will love others to the same degree and in the same way that we
are experiencing the love of God in our own lives, which is the result of the
vitality of our spiritual walk with Christ.
The body of Christ then becomes a vehicle given to us by God for
receiving the love of God as well as dispensing it.
1.2.5. Paul exhorts
us in all of his epistles many things concerning how we are to interact with
each other in love in the body of Christ, including :
1.2.5.1. Galatians
5:13, 13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not
turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love
serve one another.
1.2.5.2. 1
Thessalonians 5:11, 11 Therefore encourage one another and build
up one another, just as you also are doing.
1.2.5.3. Ephesians
4:32, 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each
other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
1.2.6. I know that in
my wifes and my life that one of the main things that the Lord did in
preparing us for ministry was allowing us to experience many things in our
relationship with the body of Christ that made us realize how precious that
body life really should be and how that the body of Christ is meant to be a
family relationship. The training ground
for us to learn these lessons was that of having a home fellowship ministry in
our home church and then ministering to a family for 2 ½ years in which the
wife was dying with cancer. We were able
to get a glimpse of the body of Christ at its highest pinnacle as our home
fellowship and church ministered the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs
of this family up until the day that the woman died and was buried. Just being made known of a need would result
in that need being met by those in the body being made aware of the need, and
the body there was a fair-sized church.
2. VS 12:9 - 9 Let love be without hypocrisy.
Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. -
Paul tells us that love should be without hypocrisy and that we are to
abhor evil and cling to what is good
2.1.
Paul exhorts the body in this verse to exercise a pure
love toward each other and those of the world, a love which is
hypocritical. Paul exhorted Timothy
about the importance of maintaining this same type of love in 1 Tim. 1:5, 5 But
the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and
a sincere faith.
2.2.
Churches have notoriously been guilty of not treating
everyone with the same kindness and love, and thus being hypocritical in their
love. James wrote about the sin of
showing partiality in the body of Christ in Ja.
2:1-5, 2:1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus
Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your
assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in
a poor man in dirty clothes, 3 and you pay special attention to the one who is
wearing the fine clothes, and say, You sit here in a good place, and you say
to the poor man, You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool, 4 have
you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil
motives? 5 Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this
world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those
who love Him?
2.3.
Next, Paul gives an exhortation to Abhor what is
evil. The Lord desires that a
Christian hate every evil way and avoid them at any cost. It is a sad thing in our day when we have
become so sensitized to day after day seeing and hearing about horrible and
evil things being done by people that we do not abhor an evil deed.
2.4.
Conversely, Paul exhorts the church to cling to
what is good. Whenever something or
someone is found to be upstanding and of good moral character, it or they
should be held onto tightly, for there is not much of what is truly good in
this world in which we live. In Phil.
4:8, after Paul exhorted the people to be anxious for nothing and to take everything
to God in prayer and that in so doing they would experience the peace of God
which passes understanding, he then went on to tell them the kinds of things
that we ought to allow our minds to dwell upon, 8 Finally,
brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever
is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any
excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
2.5.
Jon Courson writes that we
should abhor evil in our lives just the way we would abhor having a cow pie in
our house. We probably would not want to
keep a cow pie on the floor of our house because of its odor, mess, and
potential for flies and disease. In the
same way, we should not leave any trace of sin in our lives either, thinking
that we might need to have it around at a later date for some reason. We wouldnt think that its OK to keep just
one cow pie in our house since weve gotten rid of all of the rest of them in
our house.
2.6.
Paul writes in 1 Thess. 5:21-22 that we Christians
need to pray for and exercise discernment in every area in our lives and in the
life of the church, and that we must remove any evil and hold to those things
that are found to be good, 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast
to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.
3. VS
12:10 - 10 Be devoted to one another
in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; - Paul tells us that we ought to be devoted to
one another in brotherly love and give preference to one another in honor
3.1.
In this verse, Paul exhorts Christians to be committed
to one another in brotherly love.
In the body of Christ, we must all be devoted to each other in genuine
non-hypocritical love. Are you devoted
to all of your brothers and sisters in Christ?.
3.2.
Can you imagine what the body of Christ would be like
if everyone would love each person with a love that is pure and devoted? Well, Paul enjoins Christians to give
preference to one another in honor, which means that he asks them to defer
to their brother in honor. In
other words, they were to honor their brothers and sisters in Christ
to such an extent that they would bend over backwards to accommodate and serve
them.
3.3.
In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Paul gives us several
definitions of how Gods agape is supposed to look when we are
expressing it to each other in the body of Christ, 4 Love is
patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is
not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own,
is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does
not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears
all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love
never fails
Note that we in the
body of Christ are always to think the best of each other, hope the best about
each, and always give each other the benefit of the doubt. Spreading tales or yours
or anothers non-glorifying comments about someone in the body of Christ, which
is gossip, is not expressing love.
3.4.
Oh how we Christians need to be devoted to one
another in brotherly love. We need
to look out not only for our own needs and concerns, but also for those of our
brothers and sisters in Christ. When
they hurt, we must hurt. When they cry,
we must cry. When they rejoice, they
must rejoice. Their needs must be
considered by us to be our needs as well.
4. VS
12:11 - 11 not lagging behind
in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; -
Paul tells us that we are not to lag behind in diligence but be serving
the Lord fervent in spirit
4.1.
In this verse, Paul continues on in general
exhortations applicable to all of the church.
He writes that we should not be lagging behind in diligence. What God has given us to do, we should do
with all of our might. Solomon wrote
about this in Ecc. 9:10, 10 Whatever your hand
finds to do, verily, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or
planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. Solomon understood that since you will not
have the ability to do things after this life, then it is much better if you do
things in this life that you do them whole-heartedly.
4.2.
Next, Paul says that in our serving of the Lord that
we should be fervent in spirit.
In other words, Paul is writing that the Christian should serve God with
zeal. His whole heart should be into it.
4.3.
Pastor Lance Ralston writes:
Look at the words Paul uses in this
passage:
v. 9 - love,
abhor, cling
v.10 -
affection, honor
v. 11 - diligent,
fervent
v. 12 -
rejoice, hope
Paul had no idea of the Christian
life being some kind of dry, stony-faced
warm koolaid and soggy cookie affair. It was a thing of great passion and intense
emotions. Life is something to be LIVED,
not merely endured!
4.4.
The Greek word translated fervent here means
to boil over. We get our word
"zeal" from it. It is the same word that is used in Rev. 3
when Jesus said that He wanted the Laodiceans to be
hot. They weren't, they were lukewarm,
and Jesus said they made Him sick to His stomach, so much so that he would spew
them out of His mouth.
4.5.
We Christians would be wise to follow the worldly
advice that my dad gave to me as I was growing up, A job is not worth doing
if its not worth doing right. He
applied this to every situation in his life, especially concerning his work.
This is a good perspective concerning how we ought to serve the Lord as
Christians, is it not? Half-hearted
ministry, half-hearted service, half-hearted following of the Lord will only
result in discontent in our lives, and really we will just be wasting our time
serving the Lord with that kind of attitude.
There will be no lasting fruit.
We must be diligent in our serving and following of the Lord!
4.6.
It has been pointed out that the process of
backsliding can be seen in the disciple Peters life on the night Jesus was
betrayed in the
4.7.
We should savor every moment of this life and look at
them as opportunities to glorify and to serve the Lord. We should not look at life as drudgery, but
rather as a gift, a godly challenge, and an adventure of faith in order to see
what the Lord might do in our life today.
4.8.
Remember, Jesus solemnly warned His church in the book
of Rev., chapter 3 verses 14-16, 14 And to the angel of the church in
Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful
and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither
cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. 16 So because you are
lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
4.9.
Rather than have us serve the Lord with a half-hearted
zeal, He would rather have us turn completely away from Him. He wants our love and zeal for Him to burn
white hot, and if we will serve Him with such zeal, He will bless us and use us
as His instruments in this world. There
are far too many lukewarm Christians in this world, and we dont want to merely
be another one of them ourselves.
4.10.
We must stop thinking that we can live on the fence
with one foot in the world and one foot in heaven. We are no good to God there, and we will
never be fulfilled in our life in that place.
Paul wrote in Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, do it with all
your heart to the Lord, and not to me."
4.11.
As an illustration of this truth, the prophet Haggai
prophesied to the Israelites concerning their being lukewarm in not being
concerned about the building up of the house of the Lord in Hag. 1:2-8, 2 Thus
says the Lord of hosts, This people says, The time has not come, even the
time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt. 3 Then the word of the Lord
came by Haggai the prophet saying, 4 Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in
your paneled houses while this house lies desolate? 5 Now therefore, thus says
the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways! 6 You have sown much, but harvest
little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there
is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough;
and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes. 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts, Consider your
ways! 8 Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may
be pleased with it and be glorified, says the Lord. We Christians must be careful not to put
pleasure nor our own plans and goals ahead of the Lord and the plans and goals
that He wants for our lives in the body of Christ. All of these selfish motivations are just
idols in our lives if we are not fulfilling His plans and goals for us.
4.12.
Someone once likened the church to a football
game. In the stands you have lots and
lots of spectators. The root for the
people on the field but themselves do not participate. They sneer and boo when a play is not made or
a penalty committed but they themselves do not participate. On the field you have a small group of
sweating and overworked players who are doing all the work and greatly in need
of a rest. Yet, the church should never
resemble a football game. Our zeal must
push us to action for the Lord, we must never be content to be a spectator or a
cheer leader for others. We should not
just make a lot of noise, but rather we should roll up our sleeves and work and
bear real fruit for Gods kingdom.
5. VS
12:12 - 12 rejoicing in hope,
persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, -
Paul tells us that we ought to be rejoicing in hope, persevering in
tribulation, and devoted to prayer
5.1.
The Christians hope is confident expectation
that what the Lord has promised He is able to do and will in fact do. The Christian has tremendous hope in
Christ. He has hope of the
assurance of eternal life (1 John 5:11-12) and rewards for those investments he
makes in eternity, as well as hope in this life that the Lord will
bless him as he exhibits faithfulness to the Lord. As Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:4, ...He has
granted to us His precious and magnificent promises..., and because of
these numerous wonderful promises, Paul writes that we ought to be rejoicing
in hope.
5.2.
In order to rejoice in hope you have to study Gods
Word to know what our hope as Christians consists of, and you must consciously
meditate upon the hope that we have in Christ in order to then rejoice
in it.
5.3.
We Christians must take the command to rejoice in the
Lord seriously. We are commanded to
rejoice in the Lord in Phil 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I
will say, rejoice!"
5.4.
Because Jesus has overcome the world, we Christians
can have peace in the midst of tribulation since we know that if we
will just give our trials and temptations up to the Lord in prayer that He will
overcome them giving us victory in each and every one of them. As we give them up trusting God to take care
of them, we will persevere faithful to God through them.
5.5.
We Christians have to also be persevering in
tribulation. Tribulation
is promised to the Christian by Jesus in John 16:33, 33 These things I
have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have
tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.
5.6.
Those who teach that the Christian should have no tribulation
in the world are wrong... This word for
tribulation in the Greek, thlipsis,
which means a tremendous crushing pressure. This world and the god of this world, Satan,
presses in upon the son of God and tries to crush him. However, Paul writes that the Christian is to
persevere in his seeking after and following the Lord faithfully regardless of
the tribulation which he will endure in doing that.
5.7.
Finally, Paul writes that we as Christians are to be devoted
to prayer. He does not tell us to
pray when it is convenient, when we feel like it, or that prayer is an
option. He says they are to be devoted
to prayer. As an example of what
being devoted to prayer can be like we had a woman in our church in
Helena, MT who was so committed to prayer that when she finished her prayer
list daily she would get out the phone book and go down the list of people
praying for each one to come to know the Lord.
5.8.
We Christians must realize that prayer is
something that in order for us to persevere in it, we must be devoted
to it. We must plan for prayer ahead
of time, discipline ourselves to do it, and discipline ourselves to be
steadfast in prayer.
5.9.
In Acts 2:42 we find the secret of the power of the
early church, 42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the
apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
5.10.
In Col. 4:2-3, Paul wrote about continuing in prayer,
being alert in prayer, and about praying for doors of effective
ministry to be opened through prayer, 2 Devote yourselves to prayer,
keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same
time for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we
may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned.
5.11.
Do you have a prayer list that you pray through every
single day? Do you pray for everything
that you will be involved in all throughout the day, whether or not you are at
work or at home? Do you pray for the
church, your pastor, and the people of your church on a regular basis?
5.12.
If you were to graph out your Christian walk, placing
on it those points where you were close to the Lord, being devoted in prayer,
and serving Him, would there just be a point here or there on the graph? Or, would there be a straight line full of
points? God wants your life and my life
to be a straight line full of points where we have been devoted to prayer,
serving Him with all of our heart, and doing the things that He wants us to do.
6. VS 12:13
- 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. - Paul tells us that we need to contribute to
the needs of the saints and practice hospitality
6.1.
Paul writes in this verse that we as Christians ought
to be contributing to the needs of the saints. When our brothers and sisters have needs,
then we ought to pray about whether or not the Lord wants us to step in and
help. The Christian life is to be lived
openhandedly!
6.2.
Paul writes here that we as Christians are to be practicing
hospitality. That is we ought to
see our household as being owned by the Lord and at His disposal for blessing
others, especially when believers may need housing from time to time.
6.3.
Too often, I think that we as Christians think that
surely someone else will step up and help someone out who has needs, rather
than thinking that perhaps that the Lord is wanting to use us to meet the
need. If God places someone with a need
in our life, it is a very good likelihood that He wants to use us.
6.4.
In her book Open Heart, Open Home, Karen
Mains gives some very practical advice which differentiates between
entertaining and hospitality, Entertaining says, I want to impress you
with my home, my decorating, my cooking.
Hospitality says, This house is simply a gift from my Master. I use it however and whenever He
desires. Entertaining needs to
impress. Hospitality aims to serve. Entertaining puts things before people,
saying, As soon as I get the house clean, Ill start inviting people over. Hospitality puts people first saying, No
furniture? No problem. Well eat on the floor. Entertaining subtly declares, This house is
mine - an expression of my personality, and my ingenuity. Hospitality whispers, What is mine is yours. Enjoy it anytime
7. VS
12:14 - 14 Bless those who
persecute you; bless and curse not. -
Paul tells us to bless those who persecute us and to not curse them
7.1.
This verse is reminiscent of the Sermon on the Mount
as recorded in Matt. 5:43-44, 43 You have heard that it was said, You
shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. 44 But I say to you, love your
enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. In that sermon Jesus said that a Christian
was to love his enemies and to pray for them, and in this verse Paul writes
that a Christian is to bless his enemies, and not to curse them.
7.2.
To harbor bitterness and unforgiveness
towards those who persecute us and treat us badly is to pronounce a curse
upon them. Also, to speak badly of them
and gossip is to pronounce a curse upon them.
7.3.
Christians should only hope the best for those who
persecute them and treat them badly, for this is to bless our
enemies. To try to find ways to act
towards people in kindness is to bless them.
7.4.
Sometimes we as Christians lose sight of the fact that
kindness is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Those who call themselves Christians are
sometimes the most arrogant, vengeful, mean, spiteful people you might
meet. Somehow Christians begin to think
at times that it is the Lord that is leading them to persecute those who
persecute them. However, we Christians
are exhorted never to take vengeance into our own hands, but to leave it up to
the Lord to settle accounts with people.
7.5.
Jesus spoke of this same heart in Matthew 5:46, For
if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax
collectors do the same? The tax
collectors were looked upon as the very dregs of society, and Jesus said that
we are no better than they are if we simply love those who love us. This ought to challenge us to love our
enemies as well as to love the unlovely.
8. VS
12:15 - 15 Rejoice with those
who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. -
Paul tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who
weep
8.1.
Since we Christians are all members of the same body
of Christ, Paul exhorts us to empathize with each other in all things, to
sincerely care about the concerns of one another.
8.2.
Caring about and empathizing with others concerns
pertains to both good and bad situations, therefore Paul writes that we are to
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
8.3.
A lot of times it is easier for us Christians to weep
with those who weep than it is for us to rejoice with those who
rejoice. We can let envy and
jealousy take a hold of us when our personal lives are suffering lack and a
brother or sister is being blessed in a certain area where we are lacking.
8.4.
We must never rejoice with those who weep and weep
with those who rejoice, for that is not a loving thing to do. However, that is often what Christians do.
8.5.
We Christians must learn take our eyes off of
ourselves and care about and empathize with the concerns of others, whether
good or bad. When we get to that point
in our life, we will find what real living is all about. We will also seldom get bogged down with our
own troubles since we are trying to help others with theirs.
8.6.
We must see people for who they really are, and as
people for whom Christ died, if we are going to be able to win them to
Him. We must never view people merely as
adversaries.
8.7.
When we empathize with others, then often down the
road and after they know they can trust us they will open up to us in their
time of need, and we will consequently be able to minister to them. This will be a blessing to us as we are then
able to bless them when we share the gospel with them of how they can come to
have eternal life through Christ and His death upon the cross for their sins.
8.8.
Remember, a sorrow shared is half a trouble; a joy
that's shared is a joy made double!
9. CONCLUSIONS:
9.1.
As we consider how to apply this message to our lives,
lets do those things in our life that will make for the healthiest of body
life. Likewise, lets avoid doing those
things that destroy body life and ruin our witness to the world around us. In essence, lets learn to always and in
everything walk in agape love, imitating Christs love for us.