May
May 3rd
By
May 3, 2004

The first sign the world sees that you are a Christian is that in your speech and way of life Jesus is your Lord. Christian conversion is the first evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit. You belong to him, not yourself. You are now personally under His new management.

The second sign is Christian community. Once you belong to Christ, you also become grafted into a living body of people, who are all vastly different, each with different gifts from God. 'They are in fact', said Paul, 'as different as your hands and feet, your eyes and ears. Your hands don't see - your eyes can't grip - your ears can't walk'. Every different part of you is vital to the life and well being of the whole of your body. Even the parts of your body you can't see, deep inside, are all essential, giving you health and vitality-when they are all working together under the one brain.

In fact, the human body is Paul's best illustration of the church as Jesus means it to be:made up of many different parts, all working together, under one head. These different limbs and organs and functions are all provided by the Holy Spirit. It is as if Jesus split up his personality into many gifts and powers and functions and the Holy Spirit distributes these Jesus-gifts to Christ's men and women, and says: 'When you do HIS things together, the world will feel Christ's hands touching them, hear His voice, know His love and healing. You, together, are the body of Christ.'

These are Paul's actual words:
"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles,also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration,and those speaking in different kinds of tongues." I Corinthians 12: 27-28

A Prayer:
Thank you Holy Spirit, that you gave some of the personal virtues of Christ to everyone of his people as free gifts.Thank you for sowing in us the seeds of your fruits. Thank you for inviting me to be baptised into the body of Christ to live for Him in company with all His other servants.

Now read Romans Chapter 14.


© Copyright 2004 by Frank Cooke