intended for a religious hierarchy to develop. Everyone has a gift en abling him to operate for the Sav iour's glory. Gifts may differ but all are necessary. Jesus told His dis ciples, "Whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister, and whosoever among you will be the chiefest shall be servant (slave) of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many." There is no need for us to be concerned about our authority. We should be willing to serve even if we have to take what may appear in our eyes to be a lesser place of honor. The pastor actually has the job of perfecting the saints so that they might do the work of minis try in the building up of the body of Christ. The purpose is shown to be spiritual development (Romans 12:13) so that we "may grow up into Him in all things." This entire chapter shows us the importance of developing the "we" concept. The next in the list of gifts is that of teaching. Such an individual must learn the Scriptures so that he or she may relate truths to others. The important thing is pos sessing a consistent life to back up the communication of the Word. This also calls for a sincere inter est in people if you would be an effective teacher. Do you not re call someone who bore great in fluence on your life because of the personal concern they had for you? This is extremely important. In fact, all of these gifts require a heart for one another. This adds emphasis to the last phrase of verse five. "Every one members one of anoth er." It is not the "I" concept but the "we." Let us dedicate ourselves to such a purpose so that we may
with just a little patchwork. The Lord wants to renew our minds setting them on Christ and His eter nal purposes. Put Cod in the right place and man in the right place. This is the key to revolutionizing our lives! BODY CONCEPT While being interviewed recent ly, a basketball coach was asked what the greatest task he had to face. He sagely replied, "To bring the basketball player from the T concept to the 'we' concept." Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit endeavored to do this with the church at Rome. The founda tion was laid in the first chapters of the epistle. Man is hopeless apart from the work of Cod's grace in his life. Above all else the Apostle wanted these people to make an impact for God. Changing the "I" to the "we" concept is clearly shown in Romans 12:5. We are members one of another. Each is ministering by the grace of God through faith. This is not in our own strength but by the power of the Holy Spirit. Gifts have been given to the church for this ministry. It enables us to work together as a unit. The gift of prophecy is special and was used for imparting and proclaim ing the Word. We find this in I Peter 4:10. Our task is to empha size Scripture by lip and by life. Prophecy can mean both foretell ing as well as telling forth. It is our privilege and responsibility to pro claim this Word without exaggera tion or self-seeking. God wants us to be excited about His truth. The next gift listed is that of ministry. The word refers to a "ser vant." In English we would use the term, "deacon." The Bible never
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