Biblical Theology for Transformation - 12th Posting

"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." Romans 1:11-12


Paul begins his letter to the Romans as he does in most of his letters. He approaches the original readers not with judgment but with encouragment. Paul has the authority to slam the church in Rome but he chooses, by the will of Jesus, not to begin that way. He shows this also in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 and Philemon 8-9. Paul's heart is set on encouraging the believers before bringing to them the hard truths in which they folly.

Paul shows his love for the church as he says "for I long to see you". He continues this idea in verse 13. Pauls desire for visiting the believers in Rome is to use his spiritual gifts to strengthen the church. So I begin the questioning with this; why do you go to church? I think that many people attend church Sunday mornings as a weekly event to show up and leave once the service is over. But scripture paints for us a clear picture of the purpose of church. First of all it is a place of magnifying the glory of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:9-11). Second it is a place for us to come and be fed the word of God (2 Timothy 4:2). Third it is place where we go to fellowship with other believers in Christ and to edify and be edified through the use of our spiritual gifts. I will focus on the third purpose. What is your spiritual gift? How do you use it in your church? These are important questions. They will help us better understand our place in the church as a whole and in your local congregation. We need to carry with us the attitude of the apostle Paul and desire to use our gifting of the Holy Spirit to build up and strengthen the believers with whom we have fellowship.

Not only are we to focus on edifying the body with our gifts but also to be edified by others. Paul shows us again that he is not lording over the Romans his authority but is counting himself equal in the fact that he too can be edified by the believers. Verse 8 tells us he is thankful for the believers in Rome for their faith because it is known throughout the world. Verse 9 tells us that he is a gospel-centered man who realizes that the core agreement amongst believers is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Verse 10 tells us that Paul loves to pray for the believers. Verse 11 shows us that he is excited to see them so that he may use his gifts to strengthen the body in Rome. And verse 12 shows us that Paul is not using his authority to slam the believers but to use it as an encouragement to them. Also that he too, may be encouraged by them. So we see that another purpose for the church is not just to feed with our gifts but to be fed by the gifts of others. Paul says he wants to be "mutually encouraged". So I ask you, how are you encouraged in your church? Are we building relationships in the church that are effectively using our spiritual gifts to the edification of the saints? If not, then we need to seek and find a place for ourselves in the church where our gifts can be used, to the glory of Jesus and not ourselves, and a place where we can be strengthened, not to the glory of others but to the glory of Jesus Christ. This is the reason we are called a "body". There is one body but many parts. We, as individuals, are the many parts. The Holy Spirit has given to each of us a gift, or gifts, that will be supernaturally effective for the strengthening and building up of the body as a whole. It is time we become EFFECTIVE! We must seek to find a place for our gifts to be effective. One practical way of knowing your spiritual gift or gifts is to ask a Christian friend. This may not be the most accurate way to understand what our gifts may be, but it will be a good guide into seeing how others may see our gifting. Also, pray to the Lord to reveal to you what your gifts may be. How are we to be effective if we are unsure of our gifting. You may be a teacher, an evangelist, a prophet or have the gifts of service or administration or many other gifts. But we need to know what God has equiped us with before we begin to use what we may not have. Don't get me wrong, just because you don't have the gift of evangelism doesn't mean you shouldn't evagelize. Just because you don't have the gift of service doesn't mean you can't serve. But we have all been uniquely equiped with a gift that God wants to use in and through you.

We need to have a desire to see the Church of Jesus Christ strengthened and built up by the proper use of our spiritual gifts. We need to be an encouragement to each other. Satan loves a divided and discouraged church and he will do all he can to keep or make things that way in your congregation. But the God we serve is greater that the one of this world (Satan). So let us be stong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10) and use our gifts to strengthen, build up and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus!