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There is a natural tendency to exalt oneself. Even when one has properly understood God’s mercy and willingly offers oneself as a living sacrifice, there is a tendency to select prominent areas of service or to act on religious impulse or to focus on areas where one has exercised well one’s natural talents.
The Apostle Paul, when mentioning of the grace given to him, referred to his apostolic authority to give instructions on this matter (Rom. 12:3). The man of the world often enters into conflict with others to exceed his area of service to make himself prominent to rule. Those who ruled the church should subject themselves to Paul’s authority on this matter.
In the Body of Christ, there are some believers who do not bother about their gifting. There are some believers who exceed their exercise of gifts beyond what God has allotted. Then there are those who teach that services to one another are a function of office and thereby pay little regards to spiritual gifting. However, the Bible teaches that each believer has a part to play in the Body of Christ. If the Christian does not take pains to discover his gifts and to exercise them, how is he going to function effectively in the Body of Christ? The Holy Spirit has promised at least one spiritual gift for each believer. The renewed mind which the believer has can discern the will of God and he would recognise his role in the Body of Christ. He accepts the limits God imposes on him and modestly confines himself within it. The gift is a divine limit which the Christian’s renewed mind should discern and by which he should regulate his aspirations in regard to the part he has to play in the church. When gifts are exercised, the Body of Christ is build up to the glory of God. The church is a place to discover, develop and deploy spiritual gifts.
The organization of the human body should be an example to the believer to make him know the necessity of limiting himself to the function assigned to him. When members of the church subscribe to their individual roles, Christ as Head of the Church is glorified. Let us as members of our church determine the roles we have and obediently and prayerfully carry them out.
