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How
the Body Works
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Equipping
the Saints How the Body Works - Unity in Diversity How the Body Works - A Look at the Gifts How the Body Works - Love is the Best |
How
the Body Works Study
5 - Love is the Best 1
Corinthians 13 This awesome and well-known passage is familiar to everyone. Joni Mitchell has even sung it. The words ring true. They contain a timeless idealization of what we know and want for love to be. It is read often at weddings, Valentines Day, and other special occasions. The words "Love Suffers Long" are quoted with a knowing nod, followed by, "Yes, and I have suffered a long time." The full weight of Paul's brilliant and passionate discourse on love is missed however, when it is lifted from its context. To really understand what Paul meant, we need to read it in conjunction with what he had just said. And certainly, we cannot fully understand 1 Corinthians 12 apart from Love. Summary: God does not want us to be ignorant. We used to be ignorant when we were following the ways of the Prince of Darkness. Not any more. We have the Holy Spirit within us, who bears witness of that which we know to be true. Jesus is indeed Lord. We don't curse Jesus any more. We exalt Him now. We are all different, and at the same time we are all one in Jesus. God has given his gifts to everyone, and no one has been left out. The things that make us unique that are evidence of the working of the Holy Spirit. The fact that they are from God, imparted as He wills gives us nothing to brag about. There is no room for pride, because we have done nothing but receive what we have been freely given. They are given for the common good. The Spirit is the source of the gifts. God is more interested in our spiritual condition, than our gifts. Christ is the Head, and we need His will to be done, not ours. God's Design for the Church is so far beyond what we can imagine. He wants us to be in unity. We have been baptized into Him. If we are separate from Him and from His people, we will be dry and barren. No one is any better than anyone else. From the highest to the lowest social standard, we are all equal down at the cross. We all need each other. It is really arrogance that says "I don't need anybody." Yes there is good and bad in the church, but Jesus already told us it would be that way. It is up to Him to take care of the weeds, not us. It is absurd to think that we could function without any of the individual parts of the body. In fact it is the vital internal organs that no one can see that keep us alive. The things that we choose not to honor, the Lord loves. We need to love what the Lord loves. If one part of the body is suffering, the whole body will suffer. If one part is honored, the whole body will rejoice. Yes, there are many suffering parts, but we need to get past the place of suffering to the place of rejoicing. This will happen as we respect those who are different, and use what God has given us to empower others to walk in God's calling for them. God has appointed us. He has the Master Plan. Are we all the same? No! We need to desire the greater gifts.
And
now I will show you the most excellent way! Love
is the Best! I could talk for hours with the eloquence and speech of the most gifted men and the loftiest angels, but if I don't have love it'll sound like I'm banging on gongs and cymbals. I could have the gift of speaking forth the Word of the Lord, having deep understanding and knowledge of things that others cannot see, and be walking so close to Him that He shares His secrets with me. But if I don't have love you might as well take all that I know and throw it on the scrap pile. It means nothing. I could have awesome faith that every time I see a mountain in my life I can see "get out of my face" and it will happen. I could be a most excellent teacher and be able to expound deep biblical truths so that they are understandable, but if I don't have love, I am nothing. I could even stand for truth in such a way that I become an offense to the powers of government or religious powers to the point of giving up my body as a martyr. I could be burned alive, but if I don't love the ones who destroy my own body, I gain nothing.
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