Flexing Your Muscle

“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men." Ephesians 4:7,8 NKJV

Once we make the decision as a believer to grow our spiritual muscles, the question we logically ask ourselves is what should I be doing  as a member of the body. As often as we probably hear the message to be "busy" doing Gods' work, the logical question for many might be "what should I be doing?" That question is in fact, a very good one, for it should be obvious that for the body to function effectively, we can’t all be doing the same thing. Fortunately for us, God has personally taken care of the confusion that could arise by giving to each of us a special gift, or gifts, that He intends for us to use while fulfilling the responsibilities of our service to Him.

“Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.”   1 Corinthians 12:27-31  NKJV

Now experience has taught me that the subject of spiritual gifts can be confusing, and occasionally even the source of some controversy. Our God, however, is not a God of confusion so it stands to reason that any confusion or misunderstanding about gifts comes from man and not from God. I want to spend some time discussing what the Bible has to say about the gifts He has chosen to bestow on us, and the purpose behind His instruction on how we go about exercising those gifts.

The best way to look at the subject of spiritual gifts is to look at them the same way that God does, and that is as a picture of a human body and how it works. It may be an oversimplification, but let's imagine our physical body made up of four distinct divisions. One would be the structural system made up of the bones and muscles which support the entire body. Without it, our bodies would simply collapse so obviously it's quite important. Second would be the nervous system, by which the muscles and bones are told what to do and what direction to do it. Third would be the digestive system by which we take in the nourishment we need in order to grow and receive the energy needed to fuel the body. Last would be the circulatory system which takes the fuel we consume to the rest of the body in order to sustain life.

When we look at these verses in Ephesians we see that Paul divides the gifts of the body of Christ into two distinct ministries. The first we could call the support ministries, and the second would be the working ministries. Look closely at the following verses. 

“And He Himself gave some [to be] apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ”   Ephesians 4:11,12 NKJV

You can see that Paul states there are four specific gifts given to some individuals solely for the purpose of "equipping" other saints for their specific work of ministry. Let's look at these four gifts in light of the four "systems" of the body we have already mentioned.

These verses describing the gifts seem to correspond directly the picture of the body we have already painted with its four distinct divisions. The first gift listed is that of “apostles”, whose job it was to lay the foundation or the support structure upon which the body of Christ would be built. Second are the “prophets”, who were the individuals who spoke by inspiration of God, revealing His words to men. You could compare this to the nervous system of the body which tells the structural system what to do. The third gift Paul tells us is the gift of “evangelists”, which is how the body of Christ grows larger. You could look at this as the digestive system in our bodies where all that we need in order to grow is stored for distribution resulting in the growth of the body. Last is the gift of “pastors and teachers”. In the Greek, this is actually a phrase, so Paul is using two words to describe one gift. We can see where this gift is like our circulatory system which we have already described as giving life to the body by circulating the nourishment we need in order to remain healthy.

These "supporting" gifts are the foundation of the heath and effectiveness of the body of Christ. Without them, the body would collapse and be unable to perform the work for which it was intended. Paul makes it clear that God chooses which gifts to bestow on certain people; therefore He chooses those to whom He wishes to place the responsibilities of gifts supporting the body. 

Unfortunately, many might look at this picture and ask "what more is needed"? But remember I said there are two divisions in the body. There are the "support" ministries which we have discussed here, and then there are the 'working" ministries. In order for the body to perform effectively, there is a division of responsibilities that many seem to miss when discussing spiritual gifts. You could look at the support ministries and think they would be able to do everything necessary, but this is not what Paul has described. Look closely at verse 12.

“for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,” 

The support gifts are for the purpose of preparing the "saints" for their work.

“And He Himself gave some [to be] apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”   Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

After the support ministries, Paul now introduces us to what we call the working ministries. There are several lists of gifts to be found in the New Testament, each not quite complete, so we will put them all together and see what we find. What we find are as follows; wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, helps, administration, exhortation, and tongues. To help us understand each of these better, I thought I would list each separately below with their Greek definitions and usages from the Strongs concordance.

wisdom-"sophia"... wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters

knowledge-"gnōsis"...knowledge signifies in general intelligence, understanding

faith-"pistis"...the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ

healing-"iama"...a means of healing, remedy, medicine

miracles-"dynamis"...strength power, ability

prophecy-"prophēteia"...a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; esp. by foretelling future events

discernment-"diakrisis"...a distinguishing, discerning, judging 

helps-"antilēmpsis"...in NT, to aid, help

administration-"kybernēsis"...a governing, government

exhortation-"paraklēsis"...a calling near, summons, (esp. for help) importation, supplication, entreaty exhortation, admonition, encouragement

tongues-"glōssa"...the language or dialect used by a particular people distinct from that of other nations

I think it reasonable to assume that some of these definitions surprise you, for when it comes to teaching about the gifts, there is plenty of disagreement within the body as to their meaning, uses, and even necessity. However, if we examine the context in which Paul writes about the gifts, we can see that controversy and misunderstanding is nothing new. In writing to the church at Corinth, Paul goes out of his way to say a lot about their use, and misuse, even going as far as to list them in order of their importance. All this obviously in response to some in the church believing and teaching that certain gifts were more desirable than others, and which could also then be regarded as an indicator of personal status within the body.

Paul addresses these problems in the course of three whole chapters, which we find in the book of 1 Corinthians, chapters 12-14. In these three chapters I believe Paul makes at least three main points.

The first is that it is God who chooses what our spiritual gift is to be, and not us.

“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”   1 Corinthians 12:11 NKJV 

All too often we find those in the body trying to tell us what our gift should be, rather than encouraging us to look for and accept whatever gift it is that God has chosen for us. The point Paul makes here is that it is not we who choose our gift, but rather it is God who chooses to give us the gift He feels we need to perform the work He has chosen for us within the body.

The second is that the parts of the body, each with its own gift, must work in harmony with the others.

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also [is] Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.”   1 Corinthians 12:12-14 NKJV

Paul now has to spend the rest of chapter 12 explaining that the body is made up of many individuals, and while all do not have the same gift, each is just as important as the next. Paul makes the point that in order for the body to work effectively, each part must perform the function it was designed for if we are to accomplish the responsibility of reaching an unbelieving world for Christ.

Third Paul tells us we can desire the greater gifts.

“But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.”   1 Corinthians 12:31 NKJV

Now there are two words in this verse that explain exactly what Paul is trying to tell us, and those are "desire" and "best". Desire in the Greek is "zēloō" which means "to desire earnestly, pursue", and best in the Greek is "kreittōn" which means "more useful, more serviceable, more advantageous". Now if we look at all the lists Paul gives us, it is the "equipping" gifts we talked about which are always listed first. What Paul is saying here is that although we should not seek to have a gift which God has not given us, it is perfectly alright to "pursue" the equipping gifts.

How is that you ask? It should be clear that the equipping gifts are given as a result of spiritual maturity and come after a believer has proven himself worthy by study and application of his faith. New believers do not, and should not, try to teach other believers in the body the day after they make a decision for Christ. I believe what Paul is saying here is that if you apply yourself to attain growth and maturity, God may choose to reward anyone with the serving gifts one of the greater gifts in order to equip other believers for their service for God.

The bottom line is this; are you using your gift? If so, are you striving to grow in order to receive one of the equipping gifts? As members of the body, Paul makes it clear that the life of a believer is a life of doing.  As always, though, in order to experience this life we must first choose to become part of the body of Christ. If you are reading this and have never made the decision to accept Jesus Christ into your heart and accept the free gift of eternal life He has offered you, I urge you to do so right now. You can do that by praying this prayer and accepting the gift of eternal life God has offered you by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

Father, I know I am a sinner in need of salvation. I believe you sent your Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin, and I ask you now to forgive me of my sins. I want to receive your gift of salvation so please come into my heart and help me to live and follow you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

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Be Still

“God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.” Selah

Psalms 46:1-11 NKJV 

If you recall, I talked a couple of weeks ago about my fitness commitment and how the principles involved can be applied to our spiritual fitness as well.  One of the ways I have chosen to incorporate both at the same time revolves around my morning routine and the very first thing I do upon waking.  Actually it would be the second thing because I am one of those people who needs his cup of coffee first thing in the morning.  After that, however, I take my morning walk which takes about an hour or so. Because I am such an early riser, one of the most beautiful things I get to witness is the sunrise over the mountains where I live.

“I rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help; I hope in Your word.”   Psalms 119:147. NKJV

I have mentioned often that Psalms is one of my favorite books in the Bible and the reasons for that are many.  One of those reasons is that I get the impression David was an early riser just as I am and one of the first things he always seemed to do is start his day by talking with God.  Just as my morning walk sets me up physically for the rest of the day, being alone with God and talking with Him sets me up spiritually for the rest of the day as well so I use the time I spend walking as an opportunity to converse with my Father.

“To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.”   Psalms 19:1-14. NKJV

It was in my teens when I first memorized the entirety of Psalms 19, and it became my habit to recite it every morning when I walk and talk with the Lord.  It seems evident to me that David not only understood the importance of talking with God, but also realized he needed God’s guidance to live according to His precepts.  Asking God for help every day is something I not only want to do but something I need to do in order to try and avoid the trials and temptations I face on a daily basis.

“My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.”   Psalms 55:3. NKJV

Another of the reasons that I enjoy my early morning walk is the stillness and quiet one enjoys at that time of day.  I find it amazing that I can hear sounds that I know originate miles and miles away.  One of those sounds is God’s voice as He talks with me, and I can hear Him much clearer in the stillness and quiet of the morning when there are no other sounds and distractions to interfere with our conversation.

“But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.”  Psalms 88:13. NKJV

So all this said, if I were to give anyone advice on starting a personal spiritual fitness plan I would suggest they include the following three steps.

1. Alone.  Find a time each day where you can be alone with God without any outside distractions interfering with your conversation.  One on one time is the best way to discover what God wants you to know about your own journey and meaningful conversation between just the two of you is the key to understanding what that might be. 

2. Speak.  Did you notice how important it was to David to speak with God?  Acknowledging the importance of personal communication with our Father is the first step to growing our spiritual muscles.  As I said previously, my first action on my morning walk is to quote scripture and thank Him for another day of life.  It’s only then that I move on to what is on my mind and asking what wisdom He can share with me.

3. Listen. Now some might think this is what many would call a “no brainer”, yet believe it or not, all too many simply tell God what is on their mind but never listen to His response.  My personal revelation about listening to God is just how often He tells me something I did not expect.  Remember, what is on our minds is not necessarily what is on God’s mind and being quiet and listening is the only way to discover what that might be. God doesn’t yell, He speaks. “Be still, and know that I am God.”

“Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.”   Psalms 143:8. NKJV

As I see the signs that this world is fast approaching its time of judgment this passage from Psalms 46 is a comfort to me.  Knowing I can run to God for “refuge and strength” is a comfort that nothing in this world could replace.  If I could sum up everything about my daily morning conversation with God it would be this, “Be still, and know that I am God”.  What a comfort knowing that is.

“Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”   Lamentations 3;22-23. NKJV

It is important to note, however, that in order to enjoy all that God has promised us, it is necessary first to have a personal relationship with Him. If you are reading this and have never made the decision to accept Jesus Christ into your heart and accept the free gift of eternal life He has offered you, I urge you to do so right now. You can do that by praying this prayer and accepting the gift of eternal life God has offered you by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

Father, I know I am a sinner in need of salvation. I believe you sent your Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin, and I ask you now to forgive me of my sins. I want to receive your gift of salvation so please come into my heart and help me to live and follow you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

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Be Like Sheep

“A Psalm of David. THE LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.”    Psalms 23 NKJV

Have you ever really stopped to think of how nice a life sheep have? It may seem strange to consider, but since the Bible is full of verses telling us that we are like sheep, are compared to sheep, should be like sheep, and best of all God is our shepherd, I think it appropriate that we should spend a little time examining sheep. If I were to write a book titled “your best life now”, it would be pretty short because after all, according to the Bible all we have to do is be like sheep! This Psalm by David certainly appears to support that idea by stating first of all that the Lord is our shepherd.

David is just one of the figures in the Bible who, like us, experienced many trials in his life. Yet he also had a habit of writing Psalms about what he was feeling when going through hardships,  much like many of us keep a diary or journal. The book of Psalms is a window to David's feelings about God during different times in his life, and it is from one of his most famous Psalms that we find all we need to know about being comforted during trials. Even though most people, both believers and non-believers, are familiar with the 23rd Psalm I think many have never really looked at it point by point and really thought about what David is telling us. So allow me to share just a few of my thoughts about this passage for your consideration, and you too spend this week thinking and praying about what God might want you to learn from His words.

“THE LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” 

So we get the best one first; God will provide all our needs. Since I'm sure most of us spend a considerable amount of our daily lives worrying about tomorrow, God has already promised to take care of our needs. If so, why do we worry? Is it because we don't believe God, or is it because what we think we need is somewhat different than what God thinks we need?

“He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.”

Ever lie down in a pasture and just stare up at the clouds? It may sound funny but I did that a lot as a kid, and let me tell you from experience that there is nothing so peaceful as doing that. The word for restore in the Hebrew means to return or go back, and I often find myself looking up at the clouds today and thinking back to those times when I had not a care in this world. Why still waters? Did you know that sheep won't drink from a running stream? They need still waters in order to drink. God says He will lead us to green pastures and still waters but the real question is do we follow where He leads or do we insist in going our own way?

“He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me.”

The Hebrew word for paths is “ruts” or a very well worn path. If you have ever driven on a dirt road with ruts you know what it is like to try and turn out of them. It's pretty difficult and takes some effort to get the wheels to turn and then get enough grip to ride up and out of them. On the other hand, if they are well worn and deep you can actually take your hands off of the wheel and just let the car go and the wheels will stay straight and follow wherever the road takes you. Here we are told that the paths of righteousness are like that. It should be easy for us to do what is right, and hard to turn towards evil. Even though we might be tempted to turn because we see ourselves being led towards what appears to be the “valley of the shadow of death”, remember two things. One, we are being led by God and two, it is just the “shadow” and not the real thing. If we keep our eyes on God He promises us we will walk “through”, which means we come out the other side!

“Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

Now here is the part we are all interested in. In times of trouble we all have one thing in common, and that is looking for something to comfort us. Here we are told by David that in these situations we can be comforted by God's rod and staff. If you look closely into the life of a shepherd, you will find that he normally carries two things with him at all times when leading his flock, a rod and staff. The staff of course, is the long branch with the hook on the end which the shepherd uses to direct those sheep who tend to want to wander, in the direction he wishes to take them. The rod, on the other hand, is used to defend the sheep from anything that might seek to do them harm.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.” 

God wants our enemies to see how He chooses to take care of us, so He blesses us in such a way as for others to see that He is providing for us. The Hebrew phrase to anoint literally means to grow fat or prosper, so the picture here is that God goes out of His way to make sure that those who might wish us harm see that He is providing us with all that we need. So much so that He uses the picture of a cup running over to illustrate His generosity.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life.”

I have often heard mercy defined as not getting what we deserve, so when I read this part of the Psalm I get the feeling that we are being told that getting what we don't deserve, "goodness", and not getting what we do deserve, "mercy", follows us all our lives if we but choose to allow God to direct our path. I think the reason this verse says “follow” is that these two benefits are a result of making the right choice, and not trying to go our own way and pursue things that God already says He will provide us. 

“And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.” 

Are you familiar with the song that says “better is one day in Your house than thousands elsewhere”? Our promise is that we will spend eternity with God in His house, and that promise is one that should give us all the comfort we need when the going gets tough. Eternity with God is the very best gift we could ever receive, and it is available to anyone who chooses to allow God to come into their lives. If you are reading this and have never made the decision to accept Jesus Christ into your heart and accept the free gift of eternal life He has offered you, I urge you to do so right now. You can do that by praying this prayer and accepting the gift of eternal life God has offered you by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

Father, I know I am a sinner in need of salvation. I believe you sent your Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sin, and I ask you now to forgive me of my sins. I want to receive your gift of salvation so please come into my heart and help me to live and follow you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

These are but just a few of my thoughts on this Psalm, and my hope is that you spend your week considering these verses and enjoy the comfort God promises us when we follow after Him, the Great Shepherd. Be like sheep, it's a great life.

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