Lesson 17: Live in Fellowship (4)
Read 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 - https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1co.12

We have studied several things the church – and we, as a part of it – should be in its community. Sometimes the danger of knowing these things is our desire to become militant in our actions – we want to go out to change the world around us. But Jesus never forced His kingdom on anyone and He doesn’t want us to do so either. Our true power comes from the one thing Jesus asked each of us as believers to do – love each other with His kind of love.

We human beings are not capable of doing any of His work consistently and fruitfully on our own. No man can build a cathedral by himself; he must work in community. One man by himself can destroy a cathedral, but one man can never construct it by himself. This is why Jesus made us a body – all of us Christians together form His body. One person could never be a prophet, a teacher, an evangelist, an administrator, a helper, a healer, a compassionate, a mercy-giver, and so on all wrapped up in one. Jesus, in His infinite wisdom, gives different gifts or abilities to each individual within the church. He gives those gifts to each individual believer for the purpose of helping others in their church. No gift from the Spirit is ever given for personal use only; it is always given for the use and benefit of the church (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 4:7-9).


We are accountable to our fellow believers in the church for how we use the gift(s) the Holy Spirit has given us. We should also hold ourselves accountable to each other for our actions. When we do so we are less likely to fall into presumptuous sins (Psalm 19:13).

Therefore church, for the believer, becomes a first-aid-station, a university, a concert hall, a social network, a courtroom, and a pep rally all rolled up into one. It is the place we come to get our battle wounds dressed, to learn new techniques for engaging the enemy, to praise God with others, to encourage each other in our daily walks, to reprimand or receive a scolding for something done wrong, to learn how we can pray for each other in our personal places of battle, and to get and give courage to each other where we feel weak.

*What gift(s) has the Spirit given you?
*How are you using your gift(s) for the benefit of either a local church or the universal Church?
*Tell/write about a special time when God used another Christian to give you courage or encouragement to go on. Can you remember a time when God used you to do the same for another?

With every other Christian we are all part of the Body of Christ, designed to help each other remain true through this process – Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27; Ephesians 4:15-16, 25.