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Topic: Gifts (of the Spirit or service) (11/22/07)
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TITLE: The Carnal Use of the Gifts | Previous Challenge Entry
By Melody Bowen
11/26/07 -
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'Why exactly were the gifts of the spirit given? Were they not given for the purpose of building up the body of Christ till we all come unto the perfect man?
Today the Church taken as a whole is guilty of using the gifts for the purpose for building their denominations, of using what was given to make us one, for the use of division.
This abuse of the gifts is the reason the world lies in darkness, for our Lord told us "IF" we were one then the world would know the truth.
In Eph 4:11-14 we see a list of the gifts and the purpose for which they are given us;
[11] And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
[12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
[13] Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ
[14] That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
In 1 Cor 3:3-4 Paul indicts the Church of Corinth of being carnal, the reason being that they were dividing into sects.
[3] For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
[4] For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
The church is supposed to be one. If we were one, we would be a light and we would be salt. Are we using our gifts to edify? Or are we abusing them? In John 17:21-23 we see the promise of oneness.
[21] That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
[22] And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
[23] I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
Have we traded that oneness for the sake of our cherished opinions?
We fight and we argue and our Churches split because we cannot agree on fine little points of opinion. They seem so important. Must we fight for our opinions? Are not the gifts given that we might grow into the likeness of our Lord?
James says:
[James 4:1] From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
And Paul defines it as heresy. We must show who is approved, after all. Paul when rebuking the church of Corinth says it plainly.
[1 Cor. 11:18-19]
[18] For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
[19] For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
May we seek the face of our God to bear one anothers' burdens, and walking in the spirit seek to edify the body of Christ, that we might grow up and being mature use our gifts to minister godliness and Christ-likeness. That is the only reason they were given, let us who are mature turn from the abuse of the gifts that God gave us to build up and not to tear down...
*All scripture taken from the KJV
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Since the main purpose of the Challenge is to stretch and challenge your own writing gifts, it's difficult to comment on this entry: there's more Scripture than your own writing. Could you add some anecdotes next time, or some object lessons?
I would have loved to see a bit more exposition in your piece, as it is mostly scripture. (A good thing to quote certainly, but a bit more of your own words might make it more engaging.
Keep writing!
Thanks for the nice comments on some of my writings. If you want to email me, you can do so at [email protected]. You mentioned you'd like to talk with me. I sometimes write on controversial issues, but I believe it is Spirit-directed...God bless you