No Room Or Reason For Pride.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. – Romans 12:3-8 ESV Paul has spent the entire letter up to this point defending man's justification based on the grace and goodness of God, not human effort. Both Jews and Gentiles are made right with God the same way – through faith in Christ alone. It is not based on heritage, race, background, income, achievement or any other human means of measurement. God has said, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Romans 9:15 ESV). So Paul concludes, “then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16 ESV). No one deserves God’s mercy. If we deserved it, it would no longer be mercy, because by definition, mercy is a choice, not an obligation. When Paul speaks of the mercy of God, he means “the mercy and clemency of God in providing and offering to men salvation by Christ” (“Greek Lexicon :: G1656 (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 21 Dec, 2015. <http://www.blueletterbible.orghttps://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm>). God’s mercy is undeserved. In fact, rather than giving us what we deserve, which is the essence of mercy, He gives us what we do NOT deserve: Grace, in the form of salvation and justification made possible through faith in His Son. And that grace is the work of God, not man. And Paul emphasizes that without God’s mercy, no man would ever experience a right relationship with Him. “For these is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is the Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:12-13 ESV).

So there is no reason for anyone to think more highly of himself. The Gentiles were not to become prideful because God had taken away the message of salvation from the Jews and given it to them. The Jewish believers were not to boast in their heritage as descendants of Abraham. None of that mattered. Instead, each was to “think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” (Romans 12:3 ESV). Our place in the body of Christ is not based on the amount of faith we conjure up. It is not a competition and it not intended to be a comparison. We are in Christ because of the mercy and grace of God. We have been placed in the body of Christ by God, each “having gifts that differ according to the grace give to us” (Romans 12:6 ESV). Even our spiritual gifts have been given to us by God. We didn’t bring them with us. Spiritual gifts are not human abilities on steroids. They are supernatural enablements, provided by the Spirit of God. And they are intended for the building up of the body of Christ. Paul told the Ephesian believers that God “makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (Ephesians 4:16 NLT).

Our gifts are given to us by the grace of God, and we are to use them humbly and selflessly. They are given to us by God, not to boost our egos or inflate our sense of self-worth, but to build up the body of Christ. In the church in Corinth, Paul had to deal with a misuse and misunderstanding of the spiritual gifts, where they had turned them into badges of honor. The various gifts had become divisive, with members of the church bragging over the particular gifts that they had. Paul had to sternly remind them, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7 ESV). Every one of them had a spiritual gift “empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11 ESV). There was no reason to boast or brag. In fact, “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body” (1 Corinthians 12:18-20 ESV).

Our salvation is the work of God. Our right standing before God is the result of His mercy, not our merit. Our place in the body of Christ was determined by Him, not us. Our spiritual gift was given to us by His Spirit and intended for the building up of the body of Christ. There is nothing about our relationship with Christ or our place in His family for which we have a right to boast. We should use our gifts “according to the grace given to us.” A recognition of God’s grace should always motivate our actions and attitudes. Like the psalmist, we should daily remind ourselves, “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3 ESV). Not because we deserved it. But because of His marvelous grace.

The Gift of Mutual Encouragement.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you — that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. – Romans 1:8-15 ESV

Paul had heard about the believers in Rome. He probably had little or no awareness of any particular individuals, because he had not yet been able to visit the church there. But he had become aware of the church as a whole. “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world” (Romans 1:8 ESV). The church in Rome had gained a reputation for its faith. News of their corporate commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ had been spread throughout the known world. And Paul longed to see them face to face. He prayed for them consistently and persistently asked God to allow him the opportunity to visit them. It is clear that Paul had a love for the body of Christ. He was more than an evangelist, spreading the good news about Jesus Christ and watching people come to faith in Him. Paul was a builder. He wanted to see the local congregations that were springing up all around the world grow into spiritual maturity. The majority of his letters were written to local churches and have a corporate context to them. We tend to read his letters from an individualistic viewpoint, failing to understand that his words were intended for the congregation as a whole, not the individual believer.

The church in Rome had a corporate reputation for its faith. It was as a body that they had become known for their faith, not as individuals. And somehow, with our western, individualistic mindsets, we lose sight of the fact that we have been baptized into the body of Christ, the both the local and global body of Christ, for a reason. We have become members of something far greater and far more significant than ourselves. Later on in this same letter, Paul tells the believers in Rome, “so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Romans 12:5 ESV). He wrote similar words to the church in Corinth. “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body” (1 Corinthians 12:18-20 ESV). Our tendency is to focus on our own spiritual growth while neglecting the well-being of the body. We concentrate all our efforts on ourselves.

But it's interesting to note Paul's comment to his brothers and sisters in Rome. He said, “For I long to see you, that I may impart some spiritual gift to strengthen you” (Romans 1:11 ESV). I don't think Paul is saying that he wants to lay hands on each and every one of them and give them a spiritual gift like tongues or healing. He clarifies what he means in the very next line. “that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine” (Romans 1:12 ESV). In other words, Paul simply wanted to be a source of encouragement to them as he shared his faith with them. And he knew that they would lift him up in his own faith as they ministered to him. He was less focused on any specific spiritual gift than he was on the mutual encouragement that believers receive as members of the body of Christ. Paul's heart was for unity in the body and a sense of shared concern for one another, which why he told the church in Corinth, “that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Corinthians 12:25-26 ESV).

Sometimes we make far more out of the gifts than we do the purpose behind the giving of them. Paul told the Corinthian believers, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7 ESV). Whatever gift the Spirit has given, He has done so for the mutual benefit of the body. We exist to build up one another. My very presence within the body is other-oriented. It is not all about me – it is about US. That is why God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers to the early church –  “…to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13 ESV).

The writer of Hebrews reminds us, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV). The gift of mutual encouragement. It's desperately needed in the church today. We are in this thing together. We are members of one body, serving one God and sharing a common faith in one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May we learn to share our gifts with one another. May we grow in our desire to love and encourage one another. And may our corporate reputation for faith in Christ spread throughout the world.