Focal passage: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Several years ago, my friend Cheryl and her husband adopted a beautiful baby boy named Justin. At the moment those papers were signed, Justin legally became their son, and they became his parents.
Can you imagine how crazy it would be for Justin to embrace his parents and then reject all other members of his new family? What would you think if Justin ignored his older brother? How you would respond if he treated his grandparents as strangers?
As crazy as it may sound, this is exactly what many of us do as believers.
When we repent and believe the gospel, we are adopted by God as His son or daughter. Although this relationship is primary, it is not solitary. The moment we are adopted into Christ, we gain an entire family of fellow believers, known as the church. And yet, how often are we tempted to neglect these new relationships?
God has many purposes for His church. One purpose is that we would point each other towards God and His truth. Each person who knows Christ has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit works in and through each of us.
Through the Holy Spirit, we have been given what the Bible calls spiritual gifts. There is great diversity in these gifts – knowledge, faith, discernment, etc. And yet, all these gifts come from God. “There are different gifts, but the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:4).
These gifts are not for our own accolades or glory; they are for building up fellow believers in the faith and pointing them toward the truths of God and His will for our lives.
According to 1 Corinthians 12:7, “A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good.”
It would seem crazy for Justin to ignore his grandparents and miss out on all the blessings of his extended family. It is just as crazy for us as believers to miss out on what God can do as He works in and through our brothers and sisters in Christ by the power of the Spirit.