ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL

Romans 12:3-8

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

 

 

We continue our short series started last Sunday on chapter 12 of Paul’s letter to the Romans. He begins this chapter on practical Christianity by addressing the need for personal commitment to God, in view of God’s mercy given to us in Jesus Christ. Personal commitment to Christ is not always easy, as the pressure to conform to worldly ways is relentless and often intense.  For this reason, we need to personally re-new, re-set and re-direct our minds with God’s revealed truth, so that we are not conformed, but are rather transformed.

 

As critical as this is, Paul doesn’t want us to think that we can then exist quite well as individuals. In verses 3-8, Paul draws our attention to the fact that we are called to live in community, in the sense of being “all for one and one for all.” But how do we go about this? Very simply, Paul gives us an answer, and the sense of the answer is this: “Take a good look at yourself, find your place in the Body, and then get to work!” Let’s consider what exactly Paul means by this.

 

I

WE SHOULD TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT OURSELVES.

 

For by the grace given me I say to everyone among you

not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think,

but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith

that God has assigned. (v.3)

 

As you and I grow and mature, it becomes very important for us to get to know ourselves very well. In being the unique individuals that we are, we have different temperaments and abilities. In the course of time, we come to realize what we can do and what we cannot do. In order for us to find our true calling and vocation in life, we need to assess our own capabilities. Avoiding conceit or a pretense of modesty, it is thus essential for us to identify our own particular talents and interests.

 

In the midst of our natural talents, we also ought to determine what our God-given, “super-natural”, spiritual gifts truly are. Spiritual gifts are God-given abilities, given particularly by the Holy Spirit, so there is no need for boasting or inflating one’s ego. These gifts are for functioning in the Body of Christ, and they take various forms and identities. The gifts Paul lists here are but a few examples of the many gifts described for us in the New Testament.

 

Unfortunately, there is often some confusion about determining what gifts one has. For example, one pastor spoke of his experience in the church in saying this, regarding people doing what they are not gifted for:

 

Again and again, I’ve seen Christians reach a place of exhaustion in their ministry for God. “I just can’t handle this,” they say, “I feel like such a failure.” At the same time, other Christians heap even more blame and guilt on them with remarks such as: “I always thought he was more mature than that,” or “I guess she’s not as spiritual as we thought she was.” [i]

 

One example I’ve often seen is that found in the difference between an elder and a deacon. I have seen elders chosen by the congregation who had the gift of serving, not of leading others, and they consequently have been both ineffectual and miserable. However, on the other hand, I have also seen people chosen to be elders or deacons who have actually flourished in their ministries, precisely because they had the right gifts for the office and they and others knew it.

 

If a healthy church begins with the individual’s commitment to Christ as verses 1-2 indicate, then a healthy church also begins with the individual’s personal assessment of his or her own gifts. We can do this, first by being informed as to what these gifts are in the Bible. Then by being open to the fact that each Christian is given at least one gift (and that means every Christian here this morning has at least one gift). Lastly, by being available, as God will provide us opportunities to use this gift in tangible, practical ways.

 

A church does much better with this kind of personal assessment and sense of calling, rather than by intimidating people into doing something or in making them feel guilty if they don’t, and thus forcing them to do that for which they were never gifted. So it is that we are all instructed to take a good look at ourselves, and prayerfully and soberly, without any conceit or arrogance, determine what God has given to us in the way of a spiritual gift.

 

 

II

WE SHOULD TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT OURSELVES,

BUT ALSO FIND OUR PLACE IN THE BODY.

 

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. (vv.4-5)

 

In these verses, we are especially reminded that the church’s motto should be: “All for one and one for all.” Similarly, our vision statement for our church is “A friendly place to grow in Christ and serve with joy.”

 

Using a picture that can easily be understood and comprehended by all, Paul uses the figure of the human body, with different parts and attending functions, and yet all working together for the common good. So it is with the Church of Jesus Christ: as unique individuals with different personalities and temperaments, education and experience, natural talents and abilities and Holy Spirit given gifts, we are yet a community of faith together, with the strong bond of Jesus Christ. Together, we are “one body in Christ.”

 

The human body is remarkable to me and to most people, and surely here is a vivid illustration. There are other illustrations or metaphors of course, some being better than others.

A story I have told some is a rather embarrassing one, but I’ll retell it this morning so all of you can know! A few years ago, I was teaching a Confirmation Class with Bunny Miller. When we came to the lesson on the Church, I wanted to stress the importance of our being united together in community. As I did, I said to these teenagers, most of whom were about thirteen years of age, “In God’s view of things, there are to be no ‘Lone Ranger’ Christians.”

                                                                                          

Now, what I thought was a perfect illustration turned completely flat, based upon the puzzled looks of their faces. It was then that I suddenly realized that they didn’t know who the Lone Ranger was! Oh, did I feel old!!!! But I explained the story, of how this western super-hero couldn’t go it alone, needing a companion, and neither can we.

 

Can we go it alone as individual Christians without a congregation, without the church? I suppose so. Our salvation does not depend on church membership, but rather on Jesus Christ and the salvation He alone can offer us. But if we try to go it alone, we will be weak Christians and also disobedient Christians, for the Bible clearly says that we are not to be a people “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.” [ii]

 

Author and now retired Presbyterian minister Bruce Larson learned this in a special way years ago in seminary. In his second year, Larson was invited by a friend to attend a meeting at Calvary Episcopal Church in New York City. These were actually monthly meetings, when people from all walks of life would come. There, at these meetings, four or five people would talk briefly regarding what God was recently doing in their lives.

 

This opened up a whole new spiritual dimension for Larson. He had grown up in a large, Gothic Presbyterian Church, with a wonderful heritage and great leadership. He was also in seminary classes, studying church history, theology, and the Bible in the original languages.

 

But I couldn’t remember ever having heard anyone say, ‘This week God did a marvelous thing in my life.’ It was at that meeting to which my friend took me that my faith moved from the historical and the academic into the dynamic present … I realized I was called to preach – not just the good news of the past and future, of a Jesus who lived once and would someday come again, but to witness to a present reality – the wind and fire of God’s Spirit with us now. [iii]

 

Bruce Larson had benefited from the Body in so many significant, meaningful ways. So do we, when we find our place in the Body, as we receive from other Christians gifts of renewed faith, encouragement, wisdom and direction, and a place for us to serve as well.

                                                                                         

 

III

WE SHOULD TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT OURSELVES,

FIND OUR PLACE IN THE BODY,

AND THEN GET TO WORK!

 

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. (vv.6-8)

 

William Barclay comments on this part succinctly. He says, “Whatever gift a (person) has he must use that gift, and the motive of use must be, not his own personal prestige, but the conviction that it is at one and the same time his bounden duty and his God-given privilege to make his own contribution for the common good.” [iv]

 

Once we assess our giftedness, soberly, prayerfully and humbly before God, and then find our place in the Body, we are to use our gifts for others’ benefit, not our own, as our “bounden duty” and our “God-given privilege.” As one person put it, these gifts are not so much for our enjoyment, as they are for our employment! Similarly, Paul tells us in I Corinthians 12:

                                                                          

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. [v]

 

In the verses before us in our text for this morning, Paul gives us a sampling of gifts – the list is not exhaustive. [vi] But it’s a good list, a list of seven gifts, including that of exhortation or encouragement. The exercise of such a gift is what a pastor often does in preaching the Word of God, for there is a time to upset those who are too comfortable, but there is also a time to comfort those who are too upset. A pastor must know how to do that!

 

But there are others with this gift who, by the Spirit, know exactly how to bring encouragement, in the right time and in the right way. Barnabas in the New Testament is a perfect example. His name was actually Joseph, but the apostles named him Barnabas, “son of encouragement,” because he was gifted in this way.[vii]

 

In a similar way, so are the Canada Geese in my backyard. Close to where my house lies is Wanumetonomy Golf Course, and the Canada Geese love it! I’ve learned a lot concerning Canada Geese from the thousands that park on those carpeted fairways in winter. One of the remarkable qualities of these beautiful birds is that they choose a leader who can handle turbulence and thus be out in the front.

 

But I’ve also noticed that, when in flight in that V-formation, there are always, without exception, a number in that flight who are honking, signaling their affirmation and encouragement. That’s a gift, dear friends, and the church needs the use of that gift as much as any lead goose in flight!

 

May I ask you a question? “Would you like First Presbyterian Church to become a strong church, stronger than ever before?” If you do, then please listen to what Paul is saying. Strong churches begin with individual commitment to Jesus Christ, in view of God’s great mercy. But don’t stop there. Take a good look at yourself, find your place in the Body, and then get to work!

 

“For it is all for one, and one for all”!