- I am the vine; you are the branches.
- If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;
- apart from me you can do nothing.
- ......
The Body Of Christ - The Church - Part 3
1. If you do not have the Spirit of God inside of you, you will find it easy to curse Jesus and pretend to love him or call him Lord, especially in difficult times. Only those with the Spirit of God inside them can love and worship Jesus, regardless of their circumstances.
1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
2. The one and only Holy Spirit give us different kinds of gifts for the Body of Christ; The one and only Christ Jesus, who is our Lord and Savior, give us different types of opportunities to serve in the Body of Christ, and the one and only God, our loving Father, does all kinds of workings (functions) in all the gifts and services and everyone in the Body of Christ.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
3. Each person in the Body of Christ is given a gift from the Holy Spirit so that they can be a blessing to everyone in the Body of Christ.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
4. We have one body composed of various parts (eyes, ears, nose, etc.). Jesus is the body of Christ, and each one of us form various parts of the body of Christ. So, the parts of our body make up our one body, similar to the parts of the Body of Christ that form the Body of Christ. Since you have the Spirit of God, you are part of the Body of Christ, the Church.
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
5. I am so grateful that God, Himself “placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be,” and He made sure that each part of the body would have great concern for each other, regardless of their status.
18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
6. God places each person wherever He wants them in the Body of Christ with the gifts He has given them. Make no mistake; there are false apostles, prophets, teachers, etc., in the Body of Christ, and Jesus addressed them all over the Scriptures, including the Gospels when He came into the world and also in Revelation 2 and 3.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.