And may God bless that reading of his word to us. So as we come to 1 Corinthians 12 again, let me just remind you, Paul here is dealing with a church that is full of schism. It's full of those people who want to be something, who want to stand out, who want to prove themselves as having more knowledge than other people, who want to be thought as something and be admired as something. And that's why in the church there are those who are opposing Paul's ministry because they, particularly Paul, they want to take on that sort of role in the church. They want to be maybe apostles or class as apostles and being given the same respect as apostles. They probably don't want the work of an apostle. when you see the work of Paul and the sufferings that he had to go through for Christ Jesus and the sufferings that he was willing to go through for Christ Jesus. I don't think they were choosing that, but they certainly were looking out for themselves to be in positions where they were admired and respected for being something. when indeed they were nothing and they needed to realise their position and understand that Christ is all. And that's what Paul was about, wasn't he? That's why Paul was willing to suffer so much. That's why Paul was willing to give himself over to the Lord's work, because Christ was all to him, and he wanted all for Christ. And he was willing to count, as he tells us, everything but done. so that he may know Christ and so that he may glorify Christ. So here we see in chapter 12 Paul dealing with the gifts that were given to the church, to the early church anyway, those miraculous gifts that were given to the church so that the church could be founded and so that the word of God could be finished. And again, let me remind you, these things were so important at this early stage to convince the Jews that this was a work of God. They were always expecting this. And always, God, when he did a new work or a significant work, attested his prophets and his people with signs and wonders. So they were expecting it and the Lord showed it to them and we are told that these are the gifts of the apostles and we are told that we should see them as such. So following on from that, Paul has shown them that there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit gives one and all. And this work, this giving of gifts, is a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. That's so important. It can't be worked up, it can't be bought, it can't be earned. There's no way you can persuade the Holy Spirit to give you the gifts, these miraculous gifts. They were divinely given, sovereignly given for God's work. And the church needed to understand that too. Now going on from that, he then starts to look at the church itself and why God has joined the church together and placed it together. And when you read verses 12 to verse 31, what you have there is a sublime piece of reasoning, don't you? It's sublime in its simplicity. And that is a characteristic of the word of God. The word of God is not meant to be only understood on an intellectual level. It's meant to be understood. And it's meant to be understood by all God's people. And God so very often explains things to us in a very simple way. a very simple way, and a very obvious way, and a way that we can really grasp and get our minds round. And there's a lesson there for us too, isn't there, right from the very start. And the lesson is this, you don't have to be clever, and you don't have to use intellectual arguments to persuade men to be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, clever arguments are usually those arguments that are lost on our hearers. They may be persuaded by them, but they're not persuaded of Christ. We may have won the day with our intellectual arguments, but lost the soul. So we have to remember that sometimes it's needed, sometimes you can't get around it, sometimes people are looking for evidence and we do have to be willing and able to give that evidence, but we don't need to. The very simplest things usually are the best things and the most persuasive things for souls. And that's what we're about, aren't we? We're not in the business of winning people's minds. We're in the business of winning people's hearts and their souls for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I'm not talking about being simplistic and dumbing down the word of God. What I'm talking about is those very simple arguments that are incredibly profound. And that's when you look at the Word of God and what Paul is saying here, they are incredibly profound, aren't they? Even though they are put in such simple terms, such obvious terms. Those profound arguments, going back to basics, going back to the truths on which we stand, are the key to our success in our witness and in our work for the Lord Jesus Christ. If you can keep hold of them, if you can understand the basics of the Christian faith and the basics of the word of God, you can found all your witness on that. That's where it should be. holding true to those basic, those fundamental truths, I say fundamental in the sense of being basic and foundational truths of the Word of God. For instance, if you're talking to somebody about philosophy, then you've got to understand that in talking to them about their philosophy, they may be able to run rings around you, or you may be able to run rings around them. You may be able to persuade them that a philosophical view holds no water. But have you persuaded them of Christ? and their need of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because you see, basically, when you break it down, that is everybody's need. Everybody is a sinner, everybody is going to hell, and therefore everybody needs a saviour. That's where you need to be and that's where you need to bring this person who is trying to throw up a brick wall, a smoke screen before you with their philosophical arguments, with their intellect. You need to bring them back to Christ and you need to find ways to get off the philosophy and get on to Christ and their need of the Lord Jesus Christ. when you're talking to a believer. We've been talking, haven't we, and we've mentioned this notion, this heresy of final salvation through your works. How do you deal with that? Do you need to know theology? Well, I've looked and there are people who are arguing on the basis of theology, and that's all well and good, because good theology, biblical theology, does destroy that argument. But you don't need to, do you? You just need to know the basics. What does Ephesians tell us? It's not of works. Our salvation is not of works. and it cannot be of works, it's of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not of works, why? Lest any man should boast. So on that day, when we stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and have to answer to him for our life, we will not have a leg to stand on if we bring anything of ourselves before him. And our salvation will not be based on anything in us, not of works, because he will not have us boasting before him. We have nothing to boast of, even our good works. What does the Bible say? When you have done your best, what are you supposed to say to yourself? I am an unworthy servant. That's what you're supposed to say. That's how you're supposed to see yourself. Not as an acceptable servant, as somebody who deserves your salvation, but an unworthy servant, because that's truly what we are. Because we can do nothing without Christ. So, not of works, lest any man should boast. How is it then? It's by grace through faith. That's how we are saved, not by anything that we do. We need to get back to this friends. We need to understand this. We need not to be ashamed of the basic truths of the word of God, but get them firmly fixed in our minds and in our hearts and be willing to use that. Be willing to be thought of as not having the argument necessarily, not having the answers to people's questions necessarily for the sake of bringing them to Christ. and showing them Christ and their need of the Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, so that's what Paul is doing. Paul, this is such a basic argument he brings to people, but it is irrefutable. And that's because it's so basic and so obvious an argument he's bringing to, they can't deny it. And in every way, every way that they might turn, Paul has got them. Paul has got them here in this very simple argument, principle that he's bringing before the people. So the first thing he establishes in verses 12 to 13 is that we are all of one body. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit. So simple, isn't it? Here Paul is saying, look, look at your body. He's saying, your body is one. There are many members. You have fingers, you have toes, you have a heart, you have lungs, you have a brain, you have eyes, you have ears, you have whatever else. All part of your body. But you are one. One body functioning together as one. When your body starts to function in a different way, then you have problems, don't you? You have medical problems that need sorting out. because your body is made to function as one whole. Every part of it doing its job for the good of the body. And that's Paul's illustration here, isn't it? And that's what he's going to base his argument on. And we are the body of Christ. So he says, so also is Christ. We are many members, but we are all one. all necessary, all important to the body of Christ. And again, he's talking about the universal church, first of all, but In a secondary way, he's talking about individual churches. Because as an individual church, we are the body of Christ, aren't we? We are the body of Christ here in this place for the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he has joined us together as the body of Christ here. And we all function as one here. But for by one spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit. There's a fundamental truth, isn't there? A foundational truth, a simple truth, that if we had gone back to that straight away when people said there was a baptism of the Holy Spirit, they would have not have had any leg to stand upon. no length to stand upon, because it says there, we were all baptized into one body. Do you see that? Whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit. Now that cannot be talking about a select few in the church who have rediscovered the baptism of the Holy Spirit, because it happens to every single one of us. And how do we know? Well, Paul goes on, doesn't he? And he talks about those members who are not necessarily the best people in the church. Verse 22, he says, and those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and on our unpresentable parts have greater modesty. Our weaker members, and so forth. So Paul is not talking about a select few who are spiritually elite. He's talking about everybody in the church. And when did that happen to us? It happened to us when we came part of the body of Christ. Because it says there, doesn't it? It says that we were all baptized into one body. and we being many are one body, verse 12. So also is Christ. So we were baptized into Christ. When did that happen? It happened when we were born again, when we were all brought into the body of Christ. And Charismatics would not have denied that at the time when they were talking about baptism of the Holy Spirit. So where did they get this notion from? That it was a second experience? Because the Bible is clearly saying, it's not a second experience. Where did they get this notion from that you need it as an additional experience other than salvation? When it says here, we were all baptized. It's happened. It was when we came into the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not when the Holy Spirit came upon us as a second experience, but when we came into the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you see, if we just get hold of those simple, clear teachings of the Word of God, it blows away the arguments of these false notions, doesn't it? and leaves them no link to stand upon. So that's what Paul is saying to us here and saying to these people who want to have factions in the church, who want this partisan spirit in the church. Better off, worse off. More spiritual, less spiritual. More knowledgeable, less knowledgeable. No, Paul says. No, that's not how we function as the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. We function as one. We are placed into the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to be one people for the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is no two-tier Christianity or three-tier Christianity. There are those who are serving the Lord Jesus Christ and glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. And there are those, sadly, sometimes, who are not. But they have the same opportunities, they have the same blessings, they have the same Christ, they have the same Holy Spirit. It's what we make of it, isn't it? And what we do with it in the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 14 and 17. After establishing that, that we're all one, he then establishes that we have many parts. We are one, but we're not peas in a pod, as one American evangelist, which was South American evangelist, I think he was, was trying to make out. We are not peas in a pod. We are not mashed potato, as the other illustration that he used. We are not. We are one. but we are individuals, and we have individual ministries in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So verse 14, he says, for in fact, the body is not one member, but many. If the short foot should say, because I am not a hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be? Do you see that, friends? It's such a simple argument, isn't it? It's so clear and so simple. If we are a body, we operate together. But individual parts contribute to the health and the well-being of the body, to the blessing of the body, to everything that the body does and contributes to the life that we have. So where is the division? Can the eye say, because I am not an ear, then I don't want to be of the body or I am not of the body. I am not, you know, I need to be an I. I've got to be an I. You've got to make me an I. I deserve to be an I. No, no, it has a particular function and a particular role to play in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in fulfilling that role, it will be fulfilled because that's what it is made to be, and that is the gift that it has to offer to the body, and the body will be fulfilled, won't it? because it will benefit from that gift that the ear contributes to the body. And that's what Paul is saying. You cannot stand on your laurels and say, I want to be an apostle, I want to be a pastor, I want to be an elder, I want to be this, I want to be that in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. No, what you need to do is find your calling in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. What you need to do is fulfill that calling in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because in fact, we all play a part. We are all members of the body. So he goes on to say, if the whole body were an eye, verse 17, where would the hearing be? And if the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be? You see, this is the problem in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ today, isn't it? There are so many people who want to be chiefs, and there's nobody that wants to be Indians. And in other churches, the opposite problem is true. There are so many people who all want to be nothing and do nothing and contribute nothing to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and leave it up to one person, the pastor or the diaconate. Oh, it's their job. Are we all not one body? Don't we all function as one? They have a particular responsibility for that job, but is it not all our responsibility to make sure that that role is done in the church and fulfilled in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ? Of course it is. We may not be able to preach, but we can contribute to it, can't we? We've been reading Soul Winner as a book for our men's study group. Friends, it's not just for a men's study group, it's for everybody. If you haven't read Soul Winner, read it. If you've read Soul Winner, read it again. It's a fantastic book, isn't it? An absolutely fantastic book. How it stirs your heart and how challenging that book is. It's a very good book. It's very instructive, too. Very helpful to us, too, in our witness and our work for the Lord Jesus Christ. But in that book, he talks there about this problem in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, how there are people who just do nothing in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the witness is left up to others who serve in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. No, we're given gifts and we are meant to function in the church with those gifts. We are meant to serve the Lord Jesus Christ with those gifts that we have been given. And you can run your pastor ragged and run him into the ground by just leaving everything up to him. And there are pastors who have had nervous breakdowns, not because they have failed in their ministry, and not because they lack faith, it's because the church don't back them up. Oh, I know what I was going to say about Saul Winner. He talks about his own ministry in there, and he talks about the fact that he will be nothing without the prayers of the Lord's people. Nothing without the help of the Lord's people, the backing of the Lord's people, the Lord's people bringing people in, the Lord's people showing enthusiasm about his ministry and wanting other people to hear his ministry and telling other people about what they can hear and how they can find Christ under his ministry. He will be nothing. He talks about churches that he's been in where they show no enthusiasm about his ministry and receive no blessing. in contrast to other churches where they show incredible enthusiasm about his ministry and he received incredible blessing. Because they have this expectation of blessing and they enthuse that into those who come along. So they come along expecting a blessing. Do you see? So we can sit back and we can say, oh, it's just the pastor's job. Or we can sit back and just pray about it. Or we can be those who are actively involved in the pastor's ministry, you see? In bringing people in, enthusing about it, in believing that God will impart a blessing through the preaching of his word, the gospel, which is the power of God to salvation to those who believe, is it not? Is it not, friends? Do we not believe that? Then that's what we should be doing. That's what Spurgeon was saying, wasn't it? That's what we should be doing, not just leaving up to the pastor and going home and saying, oh, well, you know, that sermon probably was no good, didn't win any souls. Well, it might not have been, or it might be me. I had no expectation that God was going to do anything in anybody's soul this Sunday and therefore I did nothing about it. I didn't pray about it, I didn't want it, I didn't seek it, I didn't tell others about it, I didn't enthuse other people about it. You see? So we all have a part to play, don't we, in this work that the Lord Jesus Christ has given us? But, as I said, on the other hand, the church is full of people who want to be something. You go to some churches, they have a pastor for everything. Absolutely everything. I bet they have pastors for, you know, the coffee workshop at the back of the church. You know, the person who gives the coffee, because everybody wants to be something. Whereas Paul is saying here, we all have a ministry. We all have a part to play. We all can't be ears. We all can't be eyes. We all can't be heads. And we all don't need to be and shouldn't expect to be. We should all be expecting to do something for the good of the body that we are part of. and know what that is and be contributing to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's what Paul goes on to say. We are all needed. Look at verse 18 to 26. He says here, but now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as he pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. So let's just stop there for a moment. What is Paul saying here? Paul is saying, look, on the other hand, yes, we all have ministries to play in the church, but In those ministries, we need each other. You see, Spurgeon saw his need of the congregation, of his diaconate, of his elders, of those who came alongside him, and those who worked so hard to bring people in. Those who were out witnessing, those who were knocking on the doors, those who were giving out tracts, those who were working in the Sunday school work, those who were praying for him. And he so longed for their prayers. And he knew his need of them. And he knew that he himself would be nothing without the church, without his brethren. Because we are made to function as one. And that's what Paul is saying here, isn't he? He says here, but now God has set each member of them in the body just as he please. God gives us those ministries. God places us in the church. You know, God doesn't throw us into a church and then say, what can I do with them? You know, how can I use them? God places us in the church. Do you know what it, do you remember Acts chapter two? Who were added to the church? Those who should be saved. And we emphasize those who should be saved, shouldn't, don't we? But actually, we should also emphasize what added to the church. You see, it was not just coincidence, it wasn't a mistake, it wasn't just that he saved a body of people and threw them in the church, and then they had to sort themselves out, or then he sorted them out. No, he chose them, because we're all chosen in Jesus Christ, aren't we? He predestined them, what for? What did he predestine them for? Good works. That's what it says, doesn't it? We are predestined for good works. And therefore, when he chooses us and saves us, he adds us to the church for those good works that he has already predestined that we will do. So every member that is added to our church has a role to play in our church. has a gift, has something to contribute to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ here. Or else they wouldn't be added to our church. They might be added to another church, but they wouldn't be added to our church. It's a functioning church, it's a functioning body. What are those organs that they say are not necessarily in your body? Like the appendix, what are they called? There's a term, isn't there, meaning they think that they're not necessary, they're a throwback in evolution. It's a nonsense, actually. They just don't know the reason for them being there. And they have found, haven't they, in one or two of them, that there are reasons for them being here. In the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, there are no organs that are not necessary. that you can just cut out and say are not necessary. They're all necessary to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if there are those who are not fulfilling their ministry, then the body suffers, just as the natural body suffers. The body of the Lord Jesus Christ suffers. Others have to fill the role. sometimes. You know when your eyes stop working, your ears and your other senses have to take on the role. You suffer for it. You suffer not being able to see the blue sky. You suffer not being able to see lovely faces. You suffer all these things. You suffer as a body, even though there are others who are taking up the slack. No, we all have something to do. Paul goes on. He says, but now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you. Can't say it, can you? You do need your hand. Your eye, you know, people sometimes say, if you were to lose one sense, what would it be? People struggle, well, if I had eyes, no eyes, then I could hear. If I have no hearing, then I could see. It's nonsense. It's nonsense. You need all of them. And you would suffer if you lose any of them. Wouldn't you? You cannot say, you know, oh, I value my eyes most, then take my ears. Take my hearing. You can't do that. Oh, you know, I miss playing football, so take my hands. Well, how are you going to lift up your cup? How are you going to feed yourself? How are you going to wipe your nose? How are you going to do these things, friends? You see, you see Paul's argument, how simple it is, but how profound it is. There's no arguing against it, is there? There's no arguing against it. It is so simple and so true. That's the sort of reasoning that we ought to aim for. So, and the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. So those members of the body who are unable to contribute as they should be able to, to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, they are necessary to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Would he added them to our church if they were not necessary? Yes, of course he would. And sometimes we do have to take up the slack for those who are unable to contribute as they would want to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ because they are part of the body. and necessary part of the body. And those members of the body which we think to be less honourable, on these we bestow great honour. So those who are not able to fulfil the role of an elder or a deacon less honorable in the sense of only doing those roles which we would see as mundane roles in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. No, they are necessary, and we give them honor, don't we, for their service to the Lord Jesus Christ. We recognize their contribution to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. If nobody cleaned the toilets, where would we be? How could we invite people into our church and say that we are a church that cares? We couldn't do that, could we? You know, we owe a debt to that part of our body, don't we? That looks after that role in the church. Less honorable, maybe, in that sense. but absolutely essential to the work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We don't take anybody for granted. We don't think the less of people because they do roles that we don't seem to be honourable. That's what Paul is saying here. And he goes on and he says, and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. And what Paul is saying there is that there are those people in the church who are unpresentable. Those people in our church that we should be willing to accept in our church and be willing to welcome into our church who we wouldn't necessarily commend to door-to-door work or to visitation work or to meeting people at the front of the church and welcome them into our church. They are less presentable, but they are necessary in our church. If Christ has added them to our church, they are necessary. And we should not think the less of them for that, should we? Everybody is necessary. Everybody is essential to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes we have to help them. Sometimes we have to take up the slack for them. Sometimes we have to be willing to get alongside them and spend energy and time on them. But we're willing to do that, aren't we? because they're members of Christ, members of his body, precious to the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ has seen fit to add them to our church, our church, because their needs, and they may have many, their needs will be found and met in our church, or should be found and met in our church. Why? because we function as a body and we help one another. and we serve one another. So he goes on, verse 25, that there should be no scission in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Notice the difference there. If we suffer, we all suffer. If one is honoured, We rejoice in their honoring. We don't seek to take the honor from them or to have part of that honor, although the honor does reflect upon the church of the Lord Jesus Christ too. Point that Paul is saying here, there's no need for these factions. There is no need for these scissions. There is no need for all this in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no place for it in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. If a body is functioning properly, then everybody is valued, everybody is needed, everybody is cared for, everybody is loved, everybody is honoured, everybody is looked after. because we are part of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, serving the Lord Jesus Christ, seeking to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. I was in a church once where one deacon was hurt by something that happened, and he left the church. And there were various comments made about this. Somebody said, well, you know, that's good, that was the last nail in his coffin. How can you describe, how can you talk about somebody like that, whom you loved and served the Lord Jesus Christ with? Last nail in his coffin, terrible, isn't it? And somebody else said, well, you know, we're the army of the Lord Jesus Christ and you've got to accept casualties. You know, that's not the picture here, is it? Is it? The picture here is of a body. And if there are problems and if there are scissions, it hurts. And it should hurt, shouldn't it? Because we are not run as a business. We are not run as a social club. We are not run as an army. We are not run with callousness and disregard to the feelings and to the needs of each other. We are run as a body and as a family of the Lord Jesus Christ. If your brother or sister walks out on you, in an argument and says, I'll never see you again, you feel it, don't you? You feel it. Even though maybe you can't stop it, you feel it. And that's how we should be friends, because we should be one. And that oneness should make us love one another and care for one another. Well lastly, and very quickly here, Paul, verse 27, Paul says, now we are the body of Christ and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues, are all apostles. Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. Now this has been used and abused, this portion of scripture, used and abused. Firstly, it's taken out of context. The context is a church, a first century church, that was still operating with apostles and prophets and miracles and diverse gifts of miracles given to individuals. And as we've seen, they were for the foundation of the church. We know that apostles and prophets were never meant to continue. We know that, don't we? Because in Ephesians, we are told that we are founded on the apostles and the prophets. They are our foundation. And a house only has one foundation. And what you do with the foundation is you build on it. You don't keep on building layers of foundation. You have one foundation and you build on that. And we are being built on the apostles and the prophets. So they are not meant to continue, first of all. And we've seen that these other gifts given to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ were inaugural gifts. They were given for the beginning of the church, for the foundation of the church, for the church when it didn't have the rest of the scriptures, the finished scriptures. In fact, some of these churches only had very small portions of the scriptures. Where were they going to get the Jewish scriptures from, you know, the Old Testament? They were kept out of the synagogues and the tabernacles, you know, where were they going to get them from? They could remember some of them, maybe they had some of them in their homes, the very rich people maybe. So they only had very small portions of the scripture. And the New Testament was still being finished. So they needed these revelationary gifts, didn't they? So what Paul is saying here, is giving here, is a list of those inaugural gifts to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, which were still, to an extent, evident in the time when he wrote this letter to 1 Corinthians. and they are our foundational gifts, aren't they? They are those gifts that we look at to attest that it was a work of God and to give us assurance that this was a work of God, that he was doing in founding the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and finishing the scriptures. In fact, we are led to believe that here, aren't we? Because he says, are all apostles, are all prophets, are all teachers, are all workers of the miracles? Now again, another problem when people look at this, they say, oh well, these should be in the church and we should want to be apostles, we should want to be prophets, we should have apostles, we should have prophets and these things in the church. But Paul says, are all? No, there's only a limited number. has only a limited number, isn't there? Next he goes on to say this, do all have the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? Now listen, but earnestly desire the baskets. In other words, these are not the baskets. Earnestly desire those baskets. And what are the best gifts? Well, Paul goes on to teach, they are those that will benefit the church. They are those that will build up the church. Those gifts, those are the things that we should be desiring. And yet, I show you a more excellent way. Don't go after these inaugural gifts, don't seek to be somebody. If God gives it to you, then fine. But don't go after them. What's the more excellent way that he's talking about? Love, isn't it? That's right, it's love. This is a church where so many of these members don't have love for one another. They don't have any real regard for one another. They see them as obstacles. They see them as people who only contribute to their greatness. But love, love is, that is the most excellent gift. That is the one that we should be pursuing, all of us should be pursuing, above all other gifts. Love, love for one another. It will mean that we will function as one body. that we will care for one another, and that we will love one another, and that we will help one another, and that we will feel for one another when one or another is down. And we will see opportunities to help and to stand in and to contribute to one another when there are needs there. And we will benefit from one another. and receive the blessing from one another. You see? That's what a body is, isn't it? That's what we should be, Paul says. Simple, isn't it? But how profound this teaching of Paul. Let's pray. Our gracious God and our loving Heavenly Father, as we come into your presence, we do praise and thank you that you have placed us in bodies. You have placed us in your churches. You have placed us in the universal church. And in all ways, Lord, we have a contribution to make. to your service and to your glory. Help us, Lord, ever to be mindful of this. Help us ever to seek to be faithful in the ministries that you have laid upon us and given us and the works that you have given us to do. Help us, oh Lord, to care much about our brothers and sisters in Christ and help us, oh Lord, to want to fulfil our ministries so that we may be a blessing to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we may, O Lord, glorify your name in all that we do with one another. So be with us, Lord, we do pray. In Jesus' precious name, Amen.