BEING FAITHFUL WITH GOD'S CALLING - PART 2

SATURDAY 25 MARCH 2023

The Bible says that our various ministries and graces will function until we all attain oneness into the faith, until we all experience the fullness of what it means to know the Son of God, and finally we become one into a perfect man with the full dimensions of spiritual maturity and fully developed into the abundance of Christ. And then our immaturity will end! And we will not be easily shaken by trouble, nor led astray by novel teachings or by the false doctrines of deceivers who teach clever lies. But instead we will remain strong and always sincere in our love as we express the truth. All our direction and ministries will flow from Christ and lead us deeper into Him, the anointed Head of His body, the church. For His "body" has been formed in His image and is closely joined together and constantly connected as one. And every member has been given divine gifts to contribute to the growth of all; and as these gifts operate effectively throughout the whole body, we are built up and made perfect in love. This translation is self-explanatory and its known as the Passion translation of Ephesians 4:13-16.

Reference: 2 Timothy 1:9 Modern English Version (MEV) "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not by our works, but by His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."

Beloved, although Christ Himself gave His body, the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip it for works of service, as God's own people are being equipped in the process, they don't remain the same. They grow to become a blessing to the body of Christ in various ways, especially through the gifts and talents they've developed in the house of God.

In His epistolary speech regarding unity and diversity of gifts in the body of Christ, apostle Paul noted as follows:

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 (NIV)

12-14 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

15-20 Now if the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body."

21-27 "The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."

I believe that the above Scriptures are capable of being understood without explanation. In a nutshell, it truly reveals that we're all important! We're all needed to do our part as we fit together. Moreover, it is required that those who have been given a trust, gift and talent, must prove themselves faithful at every stage and level of attainment, because the great Master and Lord is watching and waiting to reply, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:22-23 NIV). Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Proverbs 20:6; Hebrews 10:23; Colossians 3:17; James 1:12.

Guided Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, I thank you for showing me a true and well informed understanding of being faithful with my calling and spiritual gifts through your Word. I have a strong faith and confidence in the operations of the Spirit in my life, and as I serve others wholeheartedly, He is able to accomplish great things through me with infinite ease, including things that appear difficult. In doing so, I nurture the trust which is required of me, as the bond that unites me with other members of the body of Christ, in Jesus' Name, Amen!