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THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
church. There were divisions, th ere were moral conditions th a t were wrong, and th e re were social difficulties and ecclesiastical disturbances. In the eleventh chapter rebuke is' given con cerning troubles in connection w ith the Lord’s supper. In th e tw elfth chapter he deals first w ith sp iritual gifts and then w ith the m inistry of these spiritual gifts (th e gifts of th e Holy Spirit) and how the Spirit divides these gifts as He chooses. Then comes th e portion of th e chapter assigned for our lesson. The body is one and has many members (v. 1). It is of th e g reatest importance th a t teachers read carefully th e whole chapter. The body is not one member or one k ind of member only, b u t many. (v. 14). All believers are baptized, into one body by th e incoming of th e Holy Spirit, Who makes the body of th e believer H.i temple (1 Cor. 6 :19) and Who imparts to each believer, by th is indwelling, the etern al life of God. (Jno. 17:3 and Rom. 6 :2 3 ): “ F o r t h e w a g e s o f s in is d e a t h ; b u t th e S i f t o f G o d is e t e r n a l li f e th r o u g h J e s u s C h r is t o u r L o r d .” The body is one. There is perfect unity in a norm al b o d y S -it is a unit, one thing. The body of Adam was formed by God out of dust and made a perfect body into which He breathed th e b reath of life. All of its appointed p arts are organized for a special mis sion and are constructed to work h a r moniously w ith each other. The body is under th e direction of the head from which direction is given in the use of the various members. Now the Spirit uses th is homely, practical illu stration of th e body and members to teach th e church a g rea t lesson. (1 st). A member of th e body is not the whole body; he is a member; he is one. He may be a toe of the foot or a finger of the hand, perhaps th e index finger or th e thumb, but- he is only a member. All are essential b u t all are dif ferent. Even the rig h t hand does not
tak e th e place of the left hand, nor can th e eye tak e th e place of th e ear. The eye sees an object; the will directs the feet to move toward th e object and moves th e hand to lay hold of it. All are im p o rtan t in the act; all are essential; all play th eir p a r t’ in th e accomplishment of God’s purpose. (2nd ). Each member has a God- given p art to perform . The eye can see but it cannot take up and handle. The hand co-operates w ith th e eye and to gether they perform the operation. Here is the victim of disease; here the hos p ital; here th e table; th e nurse, the sur geon, th e anaesthetic, th e knife, th e bandages; every in strum en t and utensil play a part. All are_^ essential to the satisfactory completion of the opera tion. Who did it? Could th e surgeon say to the knife, “You had no p a rt? ” The church is th e body of Christ, Every member of th e body has his or her p art to perform in th e g reat work of saving and sanctifying souls. Are all to be pastors? No. Can all be evangelists? No. Can all be teachers? No. Can all be visitors? No. Can all deal w ith the old? No. Can all deal w ith th e young? No. Can all play musical instrum ents? No. Can all lead in song? Can all sing? No. Can all make large sums of money? No. Can all give th e ir whole time? No. Can all eat the same food? No. There is m ilk and meat. Can all work to-, gether? Yes, if they- are so inclined and they will, provided they are subject to the will of th e Head— Christ Jesus. (Eph. 4 :15 -16 ): “ B u t s p e a k i n g t h e t r u t h in lo v e , m a y g r o w u p i n t o h in t i n a l l t h i n g s w h ic h is t h e h e a d , e v e n C h r is t; F r o m w h o m t h e w h o le b o d y f it ly jo in e d t o g e t h e r a n d c o m p a c te d b y t h a t w h ic h e v e r y j o i n t s u p p lie th , a c c o r d in g t o th e m e a s u r e o f e v e r y p a r t m a k e t h i n c r e a s e o f t h e b o d y u n t o t h e e d i f y in g o f i t s e l f in . lo v e .” When our Lord fed th e five thousand as recorded in Jno. 6:1-14, a little fel low w ith a b asket and four barley loaves and two herring, played a g reat p art in the perform ance; he was essential; he
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