Living in God's Family

·         TO USE YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFT verses 13-14

Spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. 5 There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. 6 There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service. 7 The Spirit's presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all. 8 The Spirit gives one person a message full of wisdom, while to another person the same Spirit gives a message full of knowledge. 9 One and the same Spirit gives faith to one person, while to another person he gives the power to heal. 10 The Spirit gives one person the power to work miracles; to another, the gift of speaking God's message; and to yet another, the ability to tell the difference between gifts that come from the Spirit and those that do not. To one person he gives the ability to speak in strange tongues, and to another he gives the ability to explain what is said. 11 But it is one and the same Spirit who does all this; as he wishes, he gives a different gift to each person.

and 28 In the church God has put all in place: in the first place apostles, in the second place prophets, and in the third place teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues.;

Romans 12:3 and because of God's gracious gift to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to the amount of faith that God has given you. 4 We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. 5 In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body. 6 So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God's message, we should do it according to the faith that we have; 7 if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach; 8 if it is to encourage others, we should do so. Whoever shares with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully.

Ephesians 4:7 each one of us has received a special gift in proportion to what Christ has given. 8 As the scripture says, "When he went up to the very heights, he took many captives with him; he gave gifts to people." 9 Now, what does "he went up" mean? It means that first he came down to the lowest depths of the earth. 10 So the one who came down is the same one who went up, above and beyond the heavens, to fill the whole universe with his presence. 11 It was he who "gave gifts to people"; he appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers. 12 He did this to prepare all God's people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ. 13 And so we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God; we shall become mature people, reaching to the very height of Christ's full stature.

"Having gifts that are different use them" Romans 12:6

"When each part works properly... the body grows. Ephesians 4:16

·         TO ENSURE CONTINUING PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD verse 16

Note Paul's desire Phil 3:7-10; - 7 but all those things that I might count as profit I now reckon as loss for Christ's sake. 8 Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be completely united with him. I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith. 10 All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death,

God's provision 1 John 1:5 - 2:2 

-  The Blood of Jesus Christ

-  The Opportunity to Confess

-  The Provision of an ADVOCATE.

TEACHING GOD'S FAMILY.   1 Tim 5:1-6:10 and 17-19.

The Church is represented by many illustrations: -

- As a Body 1 Corinthians 12:14-26, Ephesians 4:15-16.

- As a Farm 1 Corinthians 3:9

- As a Building 1 Corinthians 3:9

- As a Temple 1 Corinthians 3:16

·         TEACHING GOD'S FAMILY.   1 Tim 5:1-6:10, 17-19.

The Church is represented by many illustrations: -

- As a Body 1 Corinthians 12:14-26, Ephesians 4:15-16. - 15 Instead, by speaking the truth in a spirit of love, we must grow up in every way to Christ, who is the head. 16 Under his control all the different parts of the body fit together, and the whole body is held together by every joint with which it is provided. So when each separate part works as it should, the whole body grows and builds itself up through love.

- As a Farm 1 Corinthians 3:9; for we are partners working together for God, and you are God's field. You are also God's building.

- As a Building 1 Corinthians 3:9; for we are partners working together for God, and you are God's field. You are also God's building.

- As a Temple 1 Corinthians 3:16 surely you know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you!

- As a Bride Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. 26 He did this to dedicate the church to God by his word, after making it clean by washing it in water, 27 in order to present the church to himself in all its beauty---pure and faultless, without spot or wrinkle or any other imperfection. 28 Men ought to love their wives just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. 29 (None of us ever hate our own bodies. Instead, we feed them, and take care of them, just as Christ does the church; 30 for we are members of his body.) 31 As the scripture says, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one."

- As a Flock 1 Pet 5:1-5, Acts 20:28 so keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock which the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he made his own through the blood of his Son. 29 I know that after I leave, fierce wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock.

But here and in Ephesians 2:14-19.  It is presented as a "FAMILY",

The Household of God.

Ephesians 2:14 For Christ himself has brought us peace by making Jews and Gentiles one people. With his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies. 15 He abolished the Jewish Law with its commandments and rules, in order to create out of the two races one new people in union with himself, in this way making peace. 16 By his death on the cross Christ destroyed their enmity; by means of the cross he united both races into one body and brought them back to God. 17 So Christ came and preached the Good News of peace to all---to you Gentiles, who were far away from God, and to the Jews, who were near to him. 18 It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit into the presence of the Father. 19 So then, you Gentiles are not foreigners or strangers any longer; you are now citizens together with God's people and members of the family of God.