The Holy Spirit In The Church

Raul Ries: And whatever you become in the body of Jesus Christ, you should be satisfied where God has placed you in the body of Christ. Why? Because God is putting together a team to be used. We need you. Whether you're a toe or a hand or if you're an eye or an ear or a nose or a mouth, you are needed in the body of Christ. We can't do without you.
Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. In this current series, we're examining what it means to live a Spirit-led life, emphasizing the strength that comes from unity in the body of Christ. Raul will urge you to be content with your God-given gifts, not coveting others' abilities. Stay with us to see that while some people have more visible roles than others, all of us are equally important and needed to accomplish God's Kingdom-building work. Today's study is titled "The Holy Spirit and the Church." Here's Raul Ries.
Raul Ries: If you have your Bibles, turn with me to the book of First Corinthians, chapter 12. Tonight, we want to look at the Holy Spirit in the church. Very important subject. Now Paul, in Corinthians, he's actually writing to a people that were carnal people. I mean, if you remember the letter when you read the book of First Corinthians, and Paul had a lot of problems in Corinth because people were not spiritual, but they were carnal. And now Paul, in chapter 12, 13, and 14 of First Corinthians, is going to speak to them about spiritual things. Now, how do you speak about spiritual things to people that are carnal people? You don't. They don't understand. Number one, carnal people are immature people. They don't think of spiritual things, they think of earthly things. And so Paul wants them to understand that the Holy Spirit was given to the church. And who are the church? We, people that live in the church. Now, Paul wants them to understand also that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, He's the Guider, He's the Provider through prayer or Helper in time of need. Remember that Paul the Apostle in First Corinthians 3:16 and 17 said, "Don't you know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? And if anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." Now, I find that interesting because the word temple that he uses in the Greek, there are two words. One is speaking of the Holies of Holies in the Old Testament, where the other one is speaking of a building. And the one that is used here for the Holy Spirit or the temple, it's actually speaking of the Holies of Holies where the priest could only enter in once a year into the temple of God, into the Holies of Holies, and he would have to have a rope tied to his right foot with his long robes, the pomegranates going around, the bells around the robe. And no one was allowed to go in but the priest once a year, and if the priest would have sinned in his life, God immediately would kill him. And nobody could go grab him out of the Holies of Holies. They would pull him with this rope because the place where God dwelled, where God lived. But now in the New Testament, he's saying, is the Holies of Holies is not Calvary Chapel. Not this building. But the Holies of Holies now, it's every believer that has come through faith in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit now has come to live and to dwell in your body. Your body, my body. Now, what's amazing is that we get up in the morning, we look in the mirror, and what do we see? We see ourselves. But deep inside of our hearts, the inner man, the spirit man is where actually God is dwelling and living and bringing life to every child of God. That's what's so cool about being a Christian, that we're not like the natural man, we are what? God's children or Christians, totally changed. Then Paul the Apostle also said this in First Corinthians 6:18 and 19. He says, "Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside of the body, but he who commits fornication or sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" You see? That's the reason that when you become a Christian, if you're single, and you get caught up in fornication or sexual sins, you're becoming one with that person. And that's what the Corinthians were doing. They were literally in the city of Corinth, and we've been there so many times, and they're in Greece, and what happens is that there's, uh, the city was below. And then if you look up, there's a huge mountain in the back of the city, where literally on top of this mountain, a thousand prostitutes lived up there. And they worshiped other gods. And every evening, a thousand prostitutes would come down that road and they would come down to Corinth, and they would mix in among the unbelievers and among the believers. And a lot of those, those believers that Paul was talking to, they were in fornication. Or they were in adultery. And Paul says, "How can that be now that you're a child of God? You can't do that." Look what Paul says beginning with chapter 12 of First Corinthians. Let's read it, because he makes it really plain here. Chapter 12, beginning with verse one. He says, "Now concerning spirituals," if you have a New King James Bible, the word spiritual here is "spirituals" in the Greek, okay, when you read it. Now concerning spirituals and the word "gifts" was added by the translators. It's not there. So what I've done in my Bible, I've got to put a circle around it and put a slash through it because it's not there in the original. The way you should read in the Greek is like this, "Now concerning spirituals, brethren." See? "I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that you were Gentiles carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God, notice, calls Jesus Christ accursed." No possible way. There's no way that a child of God can ever say, "Jesus, you are accursed, anathema." You see, there's no way. "And no one can say that Jesus is Lord except," notice, "by the Holy Spirit." Interesting. You see? I mean, the devils know who Jesus is. All the demons know who Jesus is. But no one can say, "Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior," unless you've been born again of the Holy Spirit, unless the Holy Spirit is living in your heart. Then you can testify to that. Because when you talk to people that don't have the Spirit of God, they can't confess that. Why? Because when I say Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior, it means lordship means what? Rulership. You see? Submission. It is no longer I, Paul said to the living, but it's Christ that is living in me and working through me. You see? That's how the Spirit of God works. It's no longer I, but Him. And that's why daily when we get up in the mornings, what do we do? The first thing we should do is spend time with God. Give Him the best time with God. Why? Because I want to begin my day in submission to His will. And how do I do that? To begin by communion, by prayer. And then by reading the word of God. What does that do? It feeds my spirit for the day. So that when I go to work or go to school, whatever I'm going to do, I'm not going to be walking in the flesh, but I'm going to begin my day walking and being led by the Holy Spirit of God. Galatians chapter 5. You see? Walking, being led by the Holy Spirit of God. So then Paul goes on to say this, verse four. "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." What do you mean, diversities? The word literally means different gifts. Not everyone in the body of Christ has the same gifts. There are 21 gifts of the Holy Spirit. 21. Nine of them are found right here in chapter 12. Then there's five more, or let's see, in the book of Romans, real quickly here. Romans chapter 12, we have some more gifts of the Holy Spirit. In chapter 12, beginning with verse six. We have here, verse six through uh, eight. "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith. In ministry or serving, let us use our serving for ministry. He who teaches, in teaching. He who exhorts, in exhortation. He who gives, give liberally. And he who leads, let him do it with diligence. And he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness." See? And then in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11 through 12. We have five other gifts. 21 in total. Ephesians chapter 4, beginning with verse 11. "And He Himself gave some to be apostles and teachers." Notice, "and prophets and some evangelists and some pastor-teachers." For what? "For the equipping of the saints and for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all come into that unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, into a perfect man, notice, into a perfect man, to the measure and the stature of the fullness of Jesus Christ. And that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine." Notice, "or by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to do what? To deceive us. But speaking the truth in love, growing up in all things into Him who is the Head, even Jesus Christ." You see? Christ is the Head.
Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Visit somebodylovesyou.com for Bible-based resources to guide you in maximizing your spiritual gifts for God's glory. If you have Bible questions you'd like Raul to answer, you can email him at [email protected]. Now, let's get back to more with Raul Ries.
Raul Ries: And so the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to believers. Now you can't have 21 gifts, that's a lot of gifts. But I find in my own life that God has given me certain gifts that I need in order to be a pastor-teacher. Sometimes when I'm teaching, in my teaching, there'll be the gift of prophecy, the gift of the word of wisdom or the word of knowledge. You see? All these gifts are given to us by the Holy Spirit to be activated, to be used in the body of Christ. Look what he says again in Corinthians 12, beginning with verse six. He says, "And there are diversities of activities, but it's the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one," notice, "for the profit of all." Even though Christ is the Head of the church, yet, can you imagine, here's a head, and then you have the body. You have the arms, you have the fingers, you have the feet, you have the eyes, the ears. Can you imagine if everybody was an ear? I mean, that would be terrible. Can you imagine one big old ear? Or one mouth? And so you might be a thumb, you may be a toe, you may be an ear, you may be an eye. Whatever you are, we're all what? We're all together, why? Because the head leads, not the arms or the feet. You see? The head. Who's the head? Jesus Christ. He's the Head of the church. And what He does is He comes along, and whatever you become in the body of Jesus Christ, you should be satisfied where God has placed you in the body of Christ. Why? Because God is putting together a team to be used. We need you. Whether you're a toe or a hand, or if you're an eye, or an ear, or a nose, or a mouth, you are needed in the body of Christ. We can't do without you. And you can't do without me. You see? But it's all in harmony, working together for good to those that love God. And so Paul is trying to make us understand what the body of Christ is. Look what else he says, beginning with verse seven. "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one of us for the profit of all. For to one is given what? The word of wisdom through the same Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another the gifts of healings," not healing, "healings," plural, you see, "by the same Spirit. And to another, the working of miracles and to another prophecy and to another discerning of spirits and to another different kinds of tongues and to another," notice, "the interpretation of tongues." See, all these gifts are in the body of Christ together. Verse 11. "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one," notice, "individually as He wills." Hey, you don't choose what you want. He gives you what you need. You pray, and you ask God to give you what is needed in the body of Christ. "Lord, baptize me. Give me whatever it is that I need to become part of the body of Christ, to be united in the body of Christ." As He wills. He's the one that gives, gives unto men. He knows the need in the body of Christ, and then He can give you the best gifts. Then watch this, verse 12. He says, "For as the body is one and has many members." You see, the body has many members. It's not just you and I, many. The body of Christ is in China, in Russia, South America, Central America, Mexico, United States, all over the world, the body of Christ, many members. But what? "But all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ." You see? We're in submission to who? To Jesus Christ, the Head of the church. And then what? Look what he says. "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jew or Greek, whether slave or free. We have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact, the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say because I am not the hand, am I not in the body?" Notice that. "It is therefore not of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body,' is it therefore not of the body?" Of course not. You see? Watch this, verse 17. "If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing?" Can you imagine one big old eye? Where would be the hearing? Then he says, "And if the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?" Or the nose. "But now God," here it is, "has set the members each one of them in the body just as He pleased." Underline that. He pleased, not your pleasing, His pleasing. He puts you where you're needed and where you're going to be of great benefactor to who? To the body of Christ. He puts you right where He wants you, especially when He gives you the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Look what else he says. "And if we 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 for you.' Get away from me. Nor again the head to the feet, or have said, 'no need of you.' No, much rather those members of the body which seem to be the weaker are necessary." So maybe you're a toe, or maybe you're a knee, and you say, "Well, I'm not really needed, I'm kind of a a weak part of the body." Hey, the weak parts of the body of Christ are just as important as the what? As the strong parts of the body of Christ. Don't feel like you're not needed. You are needed. You see? Then he says this, verse 23. He says, "Not so much rather than the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think are less honorable, and these we bestow greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are greater modesty. But our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to the part which lacks in it." Notice that. So what does he do? The part that is lacking, He sets it up. And that's what we're talking about tonight. You may want to look at somebody's life and you go, "Man, I wish I was like them." And God says, "Well, did I make a mistake?" No. God doesn't make mistakes. Maybe you don't have the gift of uh, healing or evangelism or preaching or teaching. But maybe God has given you the gift of giving or government, or something else that He's given to you. And what happens in the body of Christ is that we have to come to a place in our lives where we are truly satisfied in what God has made of us, and not wanting to be like somebody else. That's important if you really want God to use your life. And even though we have all these gifts, all 21 gifts, let me say this: if you don't have love, you are nothing. Every one of these gifts are exercised through one word, love, agape. And if we don't have agape love, every one of those gifts are sounding brass. Look at chapter 13, beginning with verse one. Look what he says. He says, "Though I speak with tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing." Imagine that. Think of how many people in the body of Jesus Christ are going through the motions, but there is no love. It's useless. How many times do people give or they try to do some work in the church, but there's no real love behind that work, and what happens, literally, it goes when you get to the Bema Seat of Throne, and you'll say, "Well, okay, Lord, don't you remember when I was helping at Calvary Chapel packing gifts for the kids?" And the Lord says, "Oh, yeah, by the way, that thing burned up." Why? Because the motive was wrong. You were doing it to get credit, or you were doing it out of works, when it should have really been done out of love. You see, when you do something out of love, you don't expect nothing in return. You just do it. Why? Because you love that person. Because you want to help.
Guest (Male): Whether you serve the Lord behind the scenes or in the public eye, it's good to be reminded that you're a valued member of Christ's body who plays a very unique role in accomplishing God's purposes. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. To hear today's teaching in its entirety, just call us at 800-634-9165, and for a donation of $5 or more, we'll send a copy of the message, "The Holy Spirit in the Church." To equip you with even more instructions for walking in step with the Holy Spirit, we'd like to offer you Raul's seven-part series, "Filled, Empowered and Equipped." It's available on CD and flash drive, underscoring the Holy Spirit's identity as a member of the Triune God. This study will inspire you to trust His wisdom and obey His direction. Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order Raul's seven-lesson series. We'll send you "Filled, Empowered and Equipped" on CD for $20 or on thumb drive for just $11. Our number once again is 800-634-9165, or write to Somebody Loves You Radio, PO Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. Thank you for your tax-deductible gifts. We're a listener-supported ministry, and we are grateful for your partnership. Next time on Somebody Loves You Radio, we'll continue our study of the Holy Spirit with even more motivation to submit to His leading and walk in His power, allowing Him to guide us in God-honoring paths of righteousness. Now, let's rejoin Raul for a closing thought.
Raul Ries: And yet there are so many times that when people come into the body of Christ, and they're trying to not only receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and they're trying to work through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, that they're trying to be recognized of men, or they become selfish, or they become dividers as they begin to strive for position and want to be in that position and have those gifts that that other person may have where God has never given to you those gifts at all. And you end up being miserable. Why? Because God sees your heart. He sees who you are. That's why we have to be satisfied where Christ has placed us in the body of Christ.