Lesson 21: Serving in the Church Life by Using Our Gifts


	Lesson Twenty-One Serving in the Church Life by Using Our Gifts In this lesson, we will cover: I. Desiring to Serve God (Rom. 12:1) II. Principles of Service A. Serving as a Slave (Rom. 12:11) B. Serving in Spirit (Rom. 7:6) C. Serving by Using our Gift for the Building Up of the Body (Eph. 4:12, 16) III. How to Serve (Acts 6:4) A. Serve by Praying (Acts 1:14; 11:5) B. Serve by Ministering Christ as the Spirit (Rom. 7:6; 2 Cor. 3:6) C. Serve in the Church Life (Acts 13:1; Col. 1:24-25) Epaphroditus' Way Of Serving The apostle Paul showed his appreciation for Epaphroditus when he called him "my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need" (Phil. 2:25). Who was Epaphroditus? Was he a great evangelist or teacher or some highly gifted servant of Christ? C. H. Mackintosh writes, "We are not told that he was a great preacher, or a great traveler, or a profound teacher in the church of God. All that we are told about him…is that he came forward in a time of real need to supply a missing link, to 'stop a gap,' as we say." Mackintosh also writes, "[Epaphroditus] did not aim at doing some great showy thing, something which would make him very prominent, and cause his name to be blazed abroad as some wonderful person. Ah! No, Epaphroditus was not one of the pushing, self-confident, extensive class. He was a dear self-hiding, lowly servant of Christ, one of that class of workmen to whom we are irresistibly attracted. Nothing is more charming than an unpretending, retiring man, who is content just to fill the empty niche, to render the needed service, whatever it is; to do the work cut out for him by the Master's hand." Mackintosh adds, "[Epaphroditus] put his life in his hand to serve other people; and when at death's door, instead of being occupied with himself or his ailments, he was thinking of others." Reference: C. H. Mackintosh, Things New and Old. Desiring To Serve God It is normal for a believer - both young and old - to have a desire to serve God. This is because God's great love inspires us to love Him and to give ourselves to Him in the way of service (John 3:16; Rom. 12:1). Furthermore, God's life within us possesses all the necessary elements that are required of us to serve God to His satisfaction. God has always desired that His people would serve Him. For example, during the Old Testament age, God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt in order that they might "be unto [Him] a kingdom of priests" (Exo. 19:4-6). The priests in those days were serving ones. Today, in the New Testament age, God's desire remains unchanged. He wants all His believers, who are living stones, to be built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5). First Peter 2:9 goes on to say that as a royal priesthood, all believers are priests who serve the Lord by telling out His divine virtues. Accordingly, our service to God satisfies God's desire for all believers, thus making Him happy. Principles Of Service Serving as a Slave According to Romans 12:11, believers should be "fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." The word serving here carries the meaning of serving as a slave. Before we were saved, we were slaves to sin, and we were serving sin as our master. But the Lord saved us and bought us with a price. Now we are His purchased slaves. It is therefore our privilege to serve Him now as His slaves by consecrating our bodies as "a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is our reasonable service" (Rom 12:1; see lesson 17). This is why the great apostle Paul would also consider himself a slave of Christ and of God (Rom. 1:1; Titus 1:1). Serving in Spirit The Bible tells us that believers should "serve in newness of spirit" (Rom. 7:6). As believers, we are born of God in our spirit (John 3:3, 6). We are joined in life to our God, who is Spirit, in our spirit (John 4:24; 1 Cor. 6:17). Therefore, when we serve Him now, we should serve in this new state of life that we have with Him. In the new state of life, our spirit is the unique source of energy for our service. This is what it means to serve in newness of spirit. Once again, the apostle Paul is our pattern. After he was saved, he said, "God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son" (Rom. 1:9). Paul's serving was entirely in his spirit. In his spirit Paul was energized to serve. He even told his coworker Timothy to do the same: "I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you...For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:6-7). Today it is the same for us. In order to serve God in spirit, we must know our human spirit (see Lesson 8). We must also strengthen our spirit through confession, prayer, calling on the name of the Lord, and coming to the Word (see Lessons 11-14). Serving by Using Our Gifts for the Building Up of the Body Serving is not merely a matter of doing things for God. Rather, serving is a matter of laboring for the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:12, 16). For this reason, God has given gifts to all the members of the unique Body of Christ according to grace. "So we who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another…having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us" (Rom 12:5-6). God's life is full of grace, and with this grace comes many different gifts. We all have received some gift in grace. Therefore we all can participate in the building up of the Body. "To each one of us grace is given according to the measure of the gift of Christ" (Eph. 4:7). This is wonderful! However, the gifts in grace are not given for you to achieve your own purposes. They are not for building up your own Christian work or ministry. They are not for uplifting you to some position in any religious hierarchy. Rather, your gift in grace is to be used for God's purpose, that is, the building up of the Body of Christ (Eph 4:12). We also need to be perfected and trained to use our gifts in grace (Eph. 4:12, 16). This is why God gives special gifts to the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:8-11). These specially gifted members are the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers mentioned in Ephesians 4:11. God is so wise! He knows that we need the gifted members to help us experience grace and grow in His life so that we can participate in the building up of the Body of Christ. He also knows that we need them to help us discover and use our God-given gifts in the Body of Christ. The gifted members are a great treasure given to us by God! We should appreciate all those who are more gifted and mature than we are. How To Serve According to Acts 6, the twelve apostles served by giving themselves "continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (v. 4). The same chapter also tells us that the apostles could not simply leave this service of prayer and ministry to do other things (vv. 2-3). This record by itself shows how important it is for us to serve by praying and ministering. Serve by Praying After His resurrection, the Lord charged His disciples to go to all the nations, disciple them, baptize them, and teach them all that He had commanded (Matt. 28:19-20). The book of Acts then tells us that before the disciples carried out the Lord's charge, "they all continued steadfastly…in prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers" (Acts 1:14). It was after this time of prayer that the Spirit was poured out on the Jews on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-5). Later, the Lord told Peter to spread the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10:9-48). When the Lord was telling Peter this, Peter was praying, for Peter himself testified, "I was in the city of Joppa praying" (Acts 11:5). These cases in Acts point out an important aspect of the Spirit's move and work on the earth - His move and work need our prayers. Thus, when we serve God, we should pray. Service and prayer go hand in hand. Prayer must initiate and carry out our service. No wonder Paul would tell Timothy, "I thank God, whom I serve...as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day" (2 Tim. 1:3). Serve by Ministering Christ as the Spirit According to the original language of the Bible, to serve can also mean to minister food (Rom. 7:6; 2 Cor. 3:6). For example, a waiter serves food in a restaurant, and a mother serves food to her children. Likewise, today we can serve others by ministering Christ as "food" to them. Every one of us can minister our experiences of Christ to others. Christ has become the life-giving Spirit so that we can touch Him and experience Him (1 Cor. 15:45; 6:17). By touching and experiencing Him as the Spirit in our spirit, we receive the spiritual food supply. This food supply not only satisfies our own spiritual hunger but is also needed to nourish others. This is how God makes us "sufficient" - that is, adequately equipped - as ministers of the new covenant of the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:6). There are a number of practical areas where we can minister Christ to others. We can minister Christ by preaching the gospel. For example, the Lord sent His disciples, two by two, into every city and to enter into houses with the gospel (Luke 10:1-20). This kind of outreach allows us to minister Christ to unbelievers. We can also visit other believers in their homes and minister Christ to them so as to warm their hearts, encourage them to go on with their Christian walk, and console them in difficult times with words of life. Furthermore, we can minister Christ when we come together with other believers to take care of the church's practical affairs, such as cleaning or preparing a meal. Opening ourselves to the Lord and to one another while we are serving will allow Christ to flow among us. Serve in the Church Life The Bible shows us that we should use our gifts in the church. "Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers" (Acts 13:1). Also, Paul told the Colossian believers that he was a minister of the church (Col. 1:24b-25a). In addition, he told Timothy that those who know how to manage their own house could take care of the church of God (1 Tim. 3:5). In the same principle, every one of us should serve in the church in our locality. The Bible says, "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (1 Pet. 4:10). This means that the gift that we have received enables us to minister to others the very grace of God that we have enjoyed. The words to one another in this verse show that our ministering is a corporate matter. We should therefore learn to minister together with other believers. We can minister Christ, for example, in the church meetings by praying, by singing hymns and spiritual songs, and by sharing our light from the Bible. This kind of corporate ministering is part of the church life that every believer should participate in. Discussion Questions 1. Do you think you are able to serve God? Why or why not? 2. What are the principles for serving God? How would you apply them to your present (or future) service to God? 3. Based on what you have read in this lesson, describe how you would serve God (especially by praying and ministering). Practical Tips Prayerfully identify those who have been helpful to your perfecting. The Lord has given you some gifted members for your perfecting. Pray to the Lord that He would show you who they are. When the Lord has answered your request, spend time with these ones and humble yourself to learn from them. Then you will be perfected to serve the Lord properly. Spend definite periods of time in praying, singing, and touching the Word of God. Since the Lord desires you to serve in newness of spirit, you need to take time every day to be in the spirit and enjoy the fresh presence of the Lord. Write some verses from the Bible or a song on a piece of paper and carry it with you. Look at it several times throughout the day. Try to memorize the verses or the song so that you are continually setting your mind on your spirit. Practice sharing the Christ whom you have experienced with others. The goal of your serving is to build up the Body. The more time you spend with other believers, the more you will have a feeling for the members in the Body. Serve them through spiritual fellowship and minister to them by taking care of their practical needs. Practice to share the Christ whom you have experienced in the church gatherings. The church in your locality may gather together several times a week. During these gatherings, exercise to pray or speak in a way of nourishing others so that they can grow in the Lord. You need to do this based on your real experiences of Christ as the Spirit in the word of God and in your circumstances.