But one and the same Spirit
works all these things,
distributing to each one
individually as He wills.
For as the body is one
and has many members,
but all the members of
that body one body,
being many,
are one body,
so also is Christ.
1Corinthians 12:11-12
Once again there is clearness of understanding, that is, that the Holy Spirit is a Person, and gives, distributes, and in the above verse so plainly accounts, it is by His will that He does so, making Him to be exactly what the Bible teaches; God. The gifts of the Spirit are many and various yet all have one purpose, to profit the Church. The gifts of the Spirit are likened to a human body which has many parts, many different functions, still remain one, one body. Every Christian believer has been given a gift(s) and some are similar to what gifts others may have, but each gift although similar operate in an unique way: "But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleases" (1Corinthians 12:18). Don't miss this conjoining of the Spirit with God, both are said to have an input in giving of spiritual gifts. Though different in Person and in operation, both are the same, both are One. All parts of the body are needed and no single part is less important than another, the whole body is a complete organism and is in need of each part. This is true of the Church where there is diversity of gifts as distributed by the Holy Spirit for the profit of the Church, and when each gift is used as intended by God the Church is complete and all are in harmony with each other. It is when there is a part that is lacking in its use, that is, being misused, or not used at all that the body of Christ which is the Church, suffers. This is why it is important to understand and use the gifts of the Spirit properly. The Church is the light on a hill and should shine brightly, but when there is dimness within the body the light does not shine as God intended. By God's decree we are in this world, we are where God decreed for us to be, and we are to be His arms and legs, His body in this world. He has not taken us out of this world and He has not usurped our naturalness, but as having been chosen by Him before the foundation of the world to be His body then He has a purpose for us; that purpose is revealed in His word. We don't just call ourselves Christian, we are Christian, we have been born again, we are a new creation: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). Paul in writing to the Romans makes it plain that we have been made new by being baptized into the death of Christ and that we have already been raised from the dead by God, therefore we walk according to the Spirit: Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). Paul adds: "but now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter" (Romans 7:6). The gifts of the Spirit are not to be given so that we may use them as we desire as many do inasmuch as they in some euphoric way apply what they believe to be a gift of the Spirit to their lives. This is wrong! Yes, we grow from being a babe in Christ into maturity in Christ and the gifts of the Spirit aid us in our growth, but when we become mature we no longer no baby food, we are to use the gift given to us to not only profit the Church but to fulfill the command to make disciples. Paul in writing to the Corinthians was not given commendation to them for having gifts of the Spirit. No! He was admonishing them, instructing them as to what the gifts are and why we have them, in fact he was condemning them for their misuse of those gifts. They thought that they were being "Christian" but were not, only that the world saw them as being a religious group of people who practiced some form of religiosity and gave cause for ridicule. The same is happening today, Christians are ridiculed often by the world because of this misuse of the gifts and not because they live by word of God: "And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it" (1Corinthians 12:26).
Let Him kiss me
with the kisses
of his mouth--
For your love
is better than wine.
Song of Solomon 1:2
Remember Your Creator
Richard L. Crumb
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