Living In The Body
Read Romans 12: 3-8.
The response to God’s mercy is offering ourselves to God and seeking to grow into all that we have been saved to become.
• Why do you think Paul stresses humility as the first practical issue in addressing the Christian life?
• Paul seems to be addressing a wrong direction that being a living sacrifice can take in verse 3. What is it?
• Who is the only one that Christians should measure themselves against?
• What should be the fruit of that measurement?
• How does Paul view the Christian and the Church in verses 4 and 5?
• What is the emphasis of our place in Christ’s body?
• Our skills and gifts as Christians are different. What implication can we draw from that?
• How does that fact relate to Paul’s emphasis in verse 3?
• What does verse 6 suggest about any gifts that we have?
• That being the case, how does that affect our use of our gifts?
• If we have a gift, what does the body have?
• If the body has a need, what does one of us have?
• The list of gifts is representative, not exhaustive. (1 Corinthians 12:27-28) These are examples, not the final word.
• How should we bring God’s Word to bear on others? (cf. verse 3)
• Who should our service be about?
• What is the aim of teaching?
• Exhortation reminds us we are part of a body. How is it important in effect?
• What should our motive be in giving?
• What should be the character of those who lead?
• Why should mercy be mixed with cheerfulness?
Some comments.
Verse three continues from verses one and two which instruct us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices and be conformed to the renewing of our minds. At the same time it is a brief aside, this is not a self centered process that leads to pride and a sence of attainment, but is expressed in growing humility and service.
The idea of a ‘measure of faith’ is not so much centered on the amount of faith that God has given us, but on the perfect faith expressed by Christ. It is that which we ‘measure’ ourselves against and always find plenty of reason to by humble.
We are part of the body of Christ. Salvation is a corporate experience with individual implications, not an individual experience with corporate implications.
Even the fact that each of us have giftings, yet none of us have all gifts demonstrate that Christian community (ie the church) is clearly Paul’s expectation for believers.
‘Lone Ranger’ Christian is an oxymoron. It just doesn’t follow.
This limitation of our gifts should also promote humility, no-one can do it alone.
Our gifts are not given to us for our own sake, they are for other Christians. To withhold them is to deny others what God actually intends for them.
We see the fruition of our gifts in what they bring to others, not in enlarging ourselves. This is not a self-centered activity.
We have a gift, the body has a need. The body has a need, someone has a gift. This is not the same as a skill. Sometimes a skill will not be the gift the body needs. We need to focus on the body, not ourselves. We don’t tell the body ‘this is my gift, you better receive my ministry’.
The list is not exhaustive of gifts, but representative, there are others. This is about the way in which we express our gifts.
Bringing God’s Word in a corrective (prophetic) way needs humility. Everyone’s going to be corrected in this way sooner or later. (Again and again)
Service should be about the needs of others being met, not about attention being drawn to the server.
Teaching is about seeing others grow in knowledge, not in your knowledge being displayed.
Exhortation reminds us that no-one should be left behind, that the advancement of one is vital to the advancement of us all.
Giving is an expression of (cheerful) generosity.
Those who lead are committed to the advancement of those who follow, not in the status of leadership.
Mercy needs to be mixed with cheerfulness, lest our mercy eventually become a source of dissension and resentment toward others.
That’s your lot.
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