"For the Common Good"

Victory Can Be Yours!

Article #37 – “For the Common Good”

            There is way too much time wasted with believers desiring to know what their God given gift or gifts are.  To serve God, step out in faith and the Holy Spirit will provide the gift or gifts that are required to perform the task at hand.  There are a variety of gifts, and a variety of ministries, and a variety of effects.   Ponder these words again from 1 Corinthians 12.  “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (Vs 7)  Who is to receive these gifts?  “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.” (Vs. 11)  This is how God uses His people to accomplish His purposes, if, we are willing and desire to serve Him.  His people consist of every believer with all of them making up the Body of Christ.  “For the body is not one member, but many.” (Vs. 14)  As members of the body of Christ, we all have different roles.  “But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.” (Vs. 18) 

            This is somewhat redundant from last week’s writing but it is so important that we understand that we are individual members of the body of Christ and as a member of the body, we have the power of God at our disposal to serve Him in ways that we cannot even imagine.  Remember from Ephesians that God has prepared work for us to do.  “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)  Who is Paul talking about, he is talking about you.  We may not know, until we go to be with the Lord, what work it is that God has prepared for us.  It could be things like helping others, sending cards of encouragement, being a prayer warrior, Bible teacher, song leader, witnessing to others, being a leader in the church, Help in the kitchen at dinners, or any number of other things to serve God.  God is the craftsman, and created us to do the works He has prepared for us.  It appears that we are to do this work, possibly in spite of ourselves, “that we would walk in them”.  We just need to desire to serve God, step out in faith, and be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  “All are not prophets, are they?  All are not teachers, are they?  All are not workers of miracles, are they?  All do not have gifts of healings, do they?  All do not speak with tongues, do they?  All do not interpret, do they?  But earnestly desire the greater gifts.  And I show you a still more excellent way.” (1 Cor. 12:29-31)  You see, God wants His children to do His business for Him and for that He is going to be passing out great rewards.  Those rewards will include reigning with Him in eternity.  Can you even imagine working, or reigning side by side with the King of kings and the Lord of lords?  Wow!

            You, too, can have victory in Jesus!  Next week we will look at “the more excellent way”.

Lowell Parrish