VALUING WHAT IS BEST – 1 Corinthians 12:27-31

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on August 4, 2019 under 2019 |

Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; August 4, 2019 from 1 Corinthians 12:27-31

Theme: We should value those spiritual gifts that most benefit the whole body of Christ.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

The church—as it is defined in God’s word—is the most marvelous institution on earth.

Now; I now that there are a lot of people who would hear that statement and immediately disagree with it. They would say that there are too many faults and failings of the church to make such a statement. And it’s certainly reasonable to remember those faults and failings; because, after all, the church is made up of people. Even people who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus and are saved still have a great many faults and failings. But if the people of this world would disagree with that statement, it would most likely be because they are viewing the church on strictly human terms—and are not viewing it as God’s word defines it.

The Bible defines the church—the sacred and called-out assembly of those who have been saved by the blood of Jesus—as ‘the body of Christ’. And the Bible does not mean to use that phrase in a merely ‘sentimental’ sort of way. It means for us to take it as a proposition of definitional fact. It means that whatever else the church may be with its faults and failings on earth, it is truly, genuinely, authentically the body of Christ on earth.

The apostle Paul was writing once about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and of His ascension to the right hand of God the Father. And Paul said;

And He [the Father] put all things under His [Jesus'] feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:22-23).

Jesus, the Son of God, was born into the human family as one of us. He walked upon this earth in a human body as we also have. That physical body of His was raised from the dead; and has ascended into the heavens; and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father in glory. But He is so united to us as the people whom He has redeemed by His sacrifice on the cross that we now—together—constitute His body on earth. He is our spiritual Head. We are spiritual His body. He will never consider Himself complete without us; because we—as Paul has said—are “the fullness of Him who fills all in all”. That is something that is true of no other gathering of people—no other institution on earth. It is only true of the church.

The Bible tells us in several places that we are the body of Christ. In Colossians 1:18, Paul says, “And He is the head of the body, the church …” In verse 24, Paul rejoiced that he had the privilege of suffering in Christ for the sake of “His body, which is the church”. In Colossians 2:19, Paul warned about some people who did not hold fast to Christ …

the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God (Colossians 2:19).

Jesus greatly loves and cherishes His church. In Ephesians 5, the apostle Paul wrote;

For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones (Ephesians 5:29-30).

There is nothing more loved and cherished and valued by the Son of God—the King of heaven—than the church of His redeemed people; whether they are in His presence in heavenly glory, or are still on earth awaiting His return. It is His body; and every individual believer is loved by Him as a member of that body. Thought of biblically, the church truly is the most marvelous institution on earth.

And all of this means, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that we—as His redeemed people—should value the church too. If we love Him as we should, then we will love what He loves. If He cherishes and nurtures and values His body as its divine head, then we should love and value and cherish it too. We should thank Him that He loved us so much that He died on the cross to redeem us to Himself and form us into one body. We should love the way that He has distributed and arranged and gifted the members of His body. We should love and cherish every single member of His body—just as He does; and should encourage and exhort each member of His body do his or her part for the growth of the whole—all by the power of the Holy Spirit, and all to the glory and pleasure of our divine head.

And as we come to this morning’s passage in 1 Corinthians 12, we learn something else: We should also value and think rightly about the things that our Lord gave to the members of His body that most benefits and blesses and builds up His body as a whole. In 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, the apostle Paul wrote;

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 (1 Corinthians 12:27-31a).

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This was a very practical matter for the Corinthian believers. As you can see from this passage, they had many spiritual gifts from the Lord. In fact, as Paul told them at the beginning of his letter to them, “you come short in no gift” (1 Corinthians 1:7). The Lord Jesus had given them all that they needed in order to grow in Him and to be all that He wanted them to be. (The same is also true for us here in this church family. We can have confidence that the Lord Jesus loves us as a part of His body on earth; and that He has already given us—in one another—all the gifts that we need together for this church to grow in Him and to be all He wants us to be.) The Corinthians were falling short, however. And the problem was not because of a lack of what they needed. Rather, it was because of a failure to think rightly about what they had been given.

As we read on in Paul’s letter, we find that they were placing an inordinate value on certain gifts—the more ‘showy’ gifts. Specifically, they were over-emphasizing the gift of speaking in tongues. It wasn’t that ‘tongues’ itself was a bad thing. It was simply that it was not the most important thing—not the thing that most benefited the whole body. But the Corinthians were treating it as if it was the most important thing; and the whole body was hurting as a result.

Let me give you an illustration. Take my hair. (I know. It sort of looks like someone has already been doing that. But bear with me for a moment.) I’ll confess to you that, personally, I’m rather conscious of my hair. You wouldn’t know this to look at me now; but in high school, I had a reputation for always having ‘perfect hair’. Some of my friends would actually walk up together behind me and say, “Hey, guys; watch this …”; and then they’d reach over and completely mess up my hair. And after I’d swat their hands away and irritatedly say, “Hey! Knock it off!”; I would then simply pass my hand over the top of my head, and my hair would be in perfect order again. They’d all watch that, and laugh, and say, “That’s amazing.” I was very proud of that. It was the only superpower I had. I couldn’t play sports; but at least I had great hair. (My forty-fifth high school reunion is coming up next year, by the way. And if I end up going, I’m wearing a hat.)

Now; it’s okay to take care of one’s hair. But it should not become the most important thing to us. It isn’t essential. As we all know, there’s a lot of folks get by just fine without any of it. But what if my hair became the most important thing to me in the treatment of my own body? What if the only thing I took care of was my hair? What if I didn’t exercise, or eat well, or wash my clothes? What if I sat in front of a mirror all day combing it and trimming it and admiring my hair so much—since I figured it’s the thing that everyone sees first about me—that I neglected and devalued the truly important and essential things? I would eventually grow weak and sick. Hair is okay in its place; but it is wrong to put too high a value on it.

Now; that just might be one of the weirdest sermon illustrations I’ve ever used. But I hope it helps explain what was happening to the Corinthian church. They were placing far too much emphasis on something that, while important and helpful, was not essential to the building up of the whole body of Christ. They were doing so because that particular gift—the gift of tongues—was what people most saw and were most impressed by. It drew attention to the church members who were emphasizing it and making use of it. And as a result, the gifts that were essential were being neglected or devalued; and the whole church body was being harmed.

And this is what makes this morning’s passage so valuable to us. It teaches us that while we should appreciate the wonderful thing that the body of Christ is, and that we should value all the spiritual gifts that He has given for the good of His church in their proper place, we should be careful to most value those spiritual gifts that bring the greatest benefit to the whole body of Christ.

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Now; look with me at how Paul expresses this to us. The first thing he tells us—in verse 27—is that …

1. WE ARE ALL MEMBERS OF ONE BODY IN CHRIST.

He tells us; “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” That’s a wonderful statement; isn’t it? It affirms to us our individual distinctiveness in that we are all members of Christ’s body individually. But it also affirms our fundamental unity; because we are all members together of Christ’s one body.

Paul stressed this in the previous verses. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, he wrote;

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. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And 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.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it (1 Corinthians 12:12-26).

And we should praise God for this. What a wonderful thing the body of Christ is. What a wonderful thing it is to be a member of it. We should give ourselves whole-heartedly to being members individually of one body of Christ. I love what John Calvin wrote about this; and I honestly don’t believe I could say it any better than he did. He put it this way;

Whatever, therefore, any one of us has, let him know that it has been given him for the edification of his brethren in common; and let him, accordingly, bring it forward, and not keep it back—buried, as it were, within himself, or make use of it as his own. Let not the man, who is endowed with superior gifts, be puffed up with pride, and despise others; but let him consider that there is nothing so diminutive as to be of no use—as, in truth, even the least among the pious brings forth fruit, according to his slender capacity, so that there is no useless member in the Church. Let not those who are not endowed with so much honor, envy those above them, or refuse to do their duty to them, but let them maintain the station in which they have been placed. Let there be mutual affection, mutual fellow-feeling, … mutual concern. Let us have a regard to the common advantage, in order that we may not destroy the Church by malignity, or envy, or pride, or any disagreement; but may, on the contrary, every one of us, strive to the utmost of his power to preserve it (from Commentary on The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to The Corinthians, p. 412).

And I say “Amen!” Don’t you?

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But note next how we have been equipped—as individual members—to serve the body. Paul tells us—in verse 28—that …

2. GOD GIVES TO EACH ONE A UNIQUE SPIRITUAL GIFT.

He wrote; “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.” This isn’t a complete list of spiritual gifts, of course; because in other passages, he mentions others. But this list is sufficient to show us the variety of spiritual gifts that our Lord has given to His people in order to serve the body as a whole.

And do you notice that there is a priority given to them? None of them is being treated as unimportant or unnecessary. But there are certain gifts that show themselves to be the more essential ones. First is the gift of ‘apostles’. These are the foundational witnesses of our Lord’s life and ministry and teaching. They need to be given to the church only once; and their work is forever completed. They are essential. Second—that is, after the apostles—comes ‘prophets’. They are those that God has given to the church to give a revelational message from Him to His people. This may include the idea of a special, unique revelation—some of which were written down and preserved in our Bible; but it would most certainly include the idea of speaking-forth a message God has already given in written form from the apostles and prophets—that is, as in the idea of preaching. This gift necessarily has to come after the gift of the apostles; so that the message spoken-forth is in agreement with the witness that was given—once for all time—by the apostles. And third—after these two—comes ‘teachers’. They are those that God has given to the church to open-up and explain the doctrinal truths given by the apostles and the prophets.

Now; the way that Paul puts this shows us that these are the gifts that are essential to the health and well-being of the body. He then goes on to mention others; miracles, gifts of healings, helps, administrations, and varieties of tongues. The other things are not meant to be seen as unimportant. But it’s clear that they are being set forth as secondary and supportive of the foundational kinds of gifts. Paul, for this reason, deliberately puts ‘varieties of tongues’ last on the list—not because it is unimportant or because it should be ignored; but rather because it is not to be given the position of importance that the Corinthians had been giving it.

It’s important that we humbly submit to God’s order in the distribution and prioritization of His gifts to the church. We should not try to make our gift out to be more important than it is in God’s plan, or try to diminish the gifts that are foundational. In Romans 12, Paul wrote;

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness (Romans 12:3-8).

If we are careful not to demand that the supportive gifts be made into the most important and foundational ones, then the body will be able to function in a healthy way for all.

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And there is a very important principle involved in this. In verses 29-30, Paul tells us that …

3. NO SINGLE SPIRITUAL GIFT IS MEANT TO DO IT ALL.

He went on to ask a series of rhetorical questions; “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?” And the obvious answer to all of these questions is “no”.

In verses 4-11, the apostle Paul wrote;

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

And this is why it’s vital that each of us humbly submit to the role that God has given us in the body; and that we each do as He has equipped us to do. If one member of the body is frustrated by the role God has given to him or her—and then decides not to do as God has given them to do—then the whole body suffers the loss. As the apostle Peter put it in 1 Peter 4:10-11;

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 4:10-11).

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And so, if all of this is true, then …

4. WE SHOULD VALUE THOSE SPIRITUAL GIFTS THAT BEST BUILD UP THE WHOLE BODY.

After giving us that list, Paul writes in verse 31, “ But earnestly desire the best gifts.”

Now; I don’t take Paul’s command to ‘desire’ the best gifts to mean that we necessarily desire to ‘have’ them as our own. Clearly, no one person is meant to have them all. To ‘desire’ them does not mean ‘possess’ them. I don’t have to ‘possess’ all the gifts myself, and neither do you; because you have me and I have you. In having each other, we possess all the gifts. But rather, I take Paul to be saying that we’re to ‘value’ them and properly esteem them as God has wisely distributed them. We’re to be ‘zealous’ for the best gifts.

But how do we know which the best ones are? It’s interesting that Paul then goes on to say, “And yet I show you a more excellent way.” He is not saying that there is a better way than ‘earnestly desiring the best gifts’; but rather, that there’s a better way to evaluate which ones are the better ones. And do you know what follows after this? It’s the famous ‘love chapter’ of 1 Corinthians 13.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

If I love the body of Christ as our Lord Himself has loved it, and if I love you as part of that body in the way that the Lord Jesus loves you, then I will never seek to make my gift the most important one of all. I will only want to use whatever God has given me in order to love you and to build you up into the image of Jesus. And you’ll do the same with me. It’s the principle of love—that is, the pursuit of what will best build one another up in Jesus—that shows us which gifts are the best for the whole body.

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And therefore, dear brothers and sisters; my suggestion is that we not bother trying to figure out what our own gift is or to try to figure out how ‘essential’ it is. The Bible doesn’t really tell us to do that anyway; and it can be a bit like focusing too much on your own hair. Let’s just leave that to the Lord. Instead, let’s love one another; and let’s love how God arranges the body and distributes the gifts as He chooses.

Then, let’s each one yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit and let Him lead us in the meeting—in love—of whatever needs there are that calls us to meet in the body. Let’s just do the thing He sets before us to do. And as we do it in love, the blessedness we bring to others within the body of Christ will make it abundantly clear to us what our gift is.

EA