ADDRESSES ON ROMANS
but many" (I Cor. 12:12--14). Turn to this twelfth chapter of I Corinthians and read every word of it prayerfully. There the apostle is telling us the same thing which he wrote to the Roman Christians in that portion of the epistle which we are now considering. He is saying to all Christians that just as the ear, the eye, and the foot need one another in the physical body, so also the strong and the weak, the high and the low, need one another in the Body of Christ. "And whet4er one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it" (I Cor. 12: 26). To every member is not given the same gift. God calls some to prophesy; that is, to tell forth His Word-not to foretell in this age, when we have the complete revelation of the Holy Scriptures, which proclaim the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. Now that He has already come and suffered and died and risen again; now that He has sent His Spirit into our hearts to teach us of Himself, we need only tell forth this message of salvation. This is the meaning of "prophesying" in this present age. God calls others to minister, or to teach His Word, or to exhort and encourage fellow--Christians in the faith. To others He entrusts money to be used for His service. And to yet others He gives authority over the local assembly. To all He commits the sacred trust of showing "mercy, with cheerful... ness." You see, my friend, being a member of the Body of Christ carries with it a grave responsibility. It impels us not to act independently of other members. It obligates us to use the gift entrusted to us for "the furtherance of the gospel," not with envy or strife, but seeking the edification of the whole Body. Just as I need your gift, so you need mine. Just as my body needs my little finger, so we need ·the least member of the Body of Christ. I would not part with my little finger for many thousands of dollars. Neither could we part with the most humble member of the Body of Christ. Would it not be wonderful if every Christian exercised his gifts in grace and Page 228]
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