Bible Reading Challenge 38
1 Corinthians 12:27-31
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 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. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.
And I will show you a still more excellent way.
Stop! Before you go any farther, I need to remind you what comes before these verses. Paul has spent the entirety of chapter 12 talking about one thing, UNITY! He has taught how the body of Christ (His Church) is one body made up of many members, and that each part of the body (every individual Christian, every includes you!) has different gifts given by God that are meant to be used in the church to carry out our mission to glorify God by sharing the gospel with the lost and helping each other grow in relationship and obedience to God. Paul is absolutely clear that EVERY single gift and EVERY single person is needed for this task, and we must fight hard against our natural temptation to elevate certain gifts above others (for us, this is normally the flashy gifts that put some in front of others like teaching/preaching, being more extroverted in personality, etc, while we tend to undervalue gifts that are used more in private or in the background).
So, I want you to have these ideas of unity and of all gifts being of necessary and equal value to the church before we discuss this passage and what it means for us.
In these verses Paul does something he hasn’t yet done, he describes the lists very clearly in a list and almost seems to be ranking them. But that can’t be right, we just talked about how all gifts are needed and should be valued equally. We also can’t assume that Paul was just being thoughtless with his language, this is the inspired Word of God, even the order of the words in it matters (it is also very clearly in the Greek first, second, and third). So what does it mean?
Paul here is establishing that though gifts are equal in value, there is an authority in church life given to those with certain gifts if/once they have the character to match. This authority is specifically concerning the first three gifts Paul lists, and is specifically for the interpretation and application of God’s Word for church life.
The highest authority is to the apostles, this is a very limited group including those who saw Jesus Christ in the flesh and were appointed by Him for this task. There are no more apostles today.
After the apostles come the prophets, those bringing a specific message from God to His people. It is not for me to decide for you whether there are prophets among us today, but if there is one claiming to be so, let us hold them to God’s standard for true prophets. That standard is 100% accuracy, in every single word (Deuteronomy 18:15-22).
Then teachers, this is the most common authoritative gift left to us today. This includes those in church leadership, specifically what the new testament calls shepherds or elders, what we nowadays most often call pastors. The gift of teaching alone does not qualify someone for this role, they must also demonstrate other applicable gifts and most importantly have the character to handle these gifts and their role. However, if one does not possess the gift of teaching to authoritatively (not perfectly) handle the Word of God for church life, this would disqualify from the role of pastor.
Paul then gives a non-exhaustive list of some other spiritual gifts, and these are not ranked in any kind of order (this is why Paul switches from first, second, third to then, then language). However, Paul does put tongues at the absolute last place because he knows the Corinthians overvalue that particular gift.
BIBLE READING TIP: Notice I’m not discussing healing, miracles, other such spiritual gifts that we don’t seem to see at all or as often now. This is not out of fear or avoidance, rather they are not the main point of this passage. There are two camps throughout church history and we don’t need to fight over this. Some say these miraculous gifts were needed to establish the church and are no longer necessary, others say they continue today. While an interesting discussion, that is not the main point of this passage (always try to focus on the main point of a passage!!).
Sorry I know that was a long bit of teaching, but it is important for us to know. So what do these verses actually mean for us?
You have at least one spiritual gift, and you must use it for God’s glory, most often this is not only in church life but you can use it in your personal life as well! We need you to use your gifts or we are failing at part of our mission as a church!!
Be very careful of what gifts you tend to over or under value, specifically seek to honor those with gifts you undervalue (this will greatly help you in this struggle)
Genuinely desire spiritual gifts from God so that you can use them for His glory! Do not be afraid to want or even ask for gifts from God!! Just be careful you don’t try to force something that isn’t you.
PS: Come back next week to learn about the even better and more important thing than these spiritual gifts.
Bible Reading Challenge 337
1 Corinthians 12:21–26 (ESV)
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.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 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, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
You Play a Part
Whether you’ve been a member here for decades or a visitor for just a few weeks — you play a part.
Whether you are young or old, rich or poor, working or retired — you play a part.
Guess what? We need you to play your part!
It’s easy to sit on the sidelines of faith — to attend, observe, and absorb religious activity without ever engaging in it. But Scripture doesn’t describe a spectator version of Christianity. The believers we see in the Bible are active participants in God’s mission — living in response to the work of Jesus on the cross and in the tomb. That doesn’t mean we are perfect, but it does mean we are purposeful.
At FBC Farmers Branch, we don’t need fans — we need players.
We need you to use your God-given gifts, personality, and experiences to invest in this church family. God has uniquely gifted you and intends for you to use that gift for the common good and for His glory.
So remember this truth:
👉 You play a part, and your part matters.
I want to challenge you — respond to this email and share one way you’re serving or feel God leading you to serve. That could be in our church, in your home, in the community, or at your workplace. Let’s celebrate the many ways God is working through His body — through you.
Bible Reading Challenge #36
1 Corinthians 12:12–20
12 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. 13 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.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 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. 16 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. 17 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? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
One and Many.
These are the key words Paul wants us to grasp.
ONE:
You have been uniquely gifted by God. He formed you in your mother’s womb and shaped you with intentionality and purpose. No one is exactly like you.
MANY:
While you are unique, you are not alone. You are part of God’s global Church—made up of countless believers around the world—and also part of a local congregation that God has placed you in to display and expand His kingdom. It does not all depend on you. You are not on a solo mission.
In God’s perfect design, He assembles a diverse group of people to work together with a unified passion in a variety of ways. That is the beauty of the Church. We are not meant to be the same.
A church full of Jordans (or anyone else!) would have plenty of ideas, but not nearly enough clarity or follow-through. And that’s true for any of us—our gifts are intentionally limited so that we depend on one another.
A major point in this passage is that we must not focus on what we are not, but instead lean into what we are. Use your gifts for God’s glory and for the good of others. That’s the purpose.
If each of us remains faithful and obedient in our own lane—serving where God has placed us—the Church will operate in a way that is pleasing to God and fruitful in its witness.
Reflection Questions:
Where do you see God using your gifts right now in the church?
Do you ever find yourself comparing your role to someone else’s?
How can you better celebrate and depend on the gifts of others this week?
Bible Reading Challenge #35
1 Corinthians 12:8-11
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Below is a cluster grouping of Spiritual Gifts that helps you see areas that overlap and work together.
Nurturing Gifts: Focused on building fellowship, visitation, small groups, Sunday school, and member care. The focus is primarily turned inward.
• Wisdom
• Shepherding
• Exhortation
• Helping
• Discernment
• Faith
• Compassion
Outreaching Gifts: Tend to be very missional in nature, serving the community in a variety of ways and reaching out to people in the area. The focus is on the world.
• Apostleship
• Evangelism
• Working Miracles
• Compassion
• Healing
• Servanthood
• Prophecy
Witnessing Gifts: Emphasizes worship, Christian education, and church growth. Faith sharing is central to the life of the fellowship. The focus is local.
• Knowledge
• Faith
• Prophecy
• Teaching
• Evangelism
• Exhortation
• Healing
Organizing Gifts: Benefits are seen as highly structured, very organized, and program-rich. The focus is on the institution.
• Knowledge
• Administration
• Giving
• Leadership
• Helping
• Teaching
• Wisdom
After looking over this list:
Where do you see yourself gifted?
What areas do you most often work in?
What do you think others would say is your gifting?
For a more indepth understanding of each gift, click here - https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/gbod-assets/generic/Spiritual-Gifts-Definitions.pdf
Bible Reading Challenge #34
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.
2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.
3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says, “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except in the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;
6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Spiritual gifts are divine enablements for ministry that the Holy Spirit gives to all believers, and they are used for the building up of the church.
Before diving into the main section of this passage, Paul gives us a warning to remember: there will be many false teachers seeking to deceive for their own gain. Whether it is prosperity preaching, healing hoaxes, or money manipulation, many have used the umbrella of religion to dupe and exploit people searching for hope and help. If Jesus is not Lord in the teaching you are listening to, then the teaching you are taking in is false!
From this point on, Paul speaks very practically about the makeup of the church. Two main truths stand out in verses 4–7.
First: while there is great diversity in the church, there is only one God. We all have different skills, passions, and opportunities, but we are knit together by the same God. This same God does not play favorites, but loves all equally, even if we are not gifted the same way. We must focus less on comparing our gift and more on using our gift.
Second: the gifts given by the Holy Spirit have one purpose—the common good. You are not gifted by God to make your name great. You are not gifted by God to lead the biggest group. You are not gifted by God for your own glory. You are gifted by God for the common good. Yet it is common for us to exalt certain gifts and look down upon others. But while that may be common, it is not correct.
Before we dive into what your gifts may be, I encourage you to consider this: the God of the universe has specifically gifted you for a specific purpose. He made you unique, and your uniqueness matters. Take time to sit in the enormity of that truth—that the infinite God deals personally with you!