You're listening to audio from Ascend Church. For more information about Ascend or to access more gospel-centered tools to grow as a disciple of Christ, visit ascendkc.org. Well, let's grab our Bibles and let's turn to 1 Corinthians this morning. I'm going to invite our ushers down the aisles. If you don't have a copy of God's Word, would you just let them know that you want one? You can find 1 Corinthians in the New Testament. And so if you're not familiar with the books of the Bible, Just turn in the Bible to the New Testament. If you can find the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, that focus on the life of Christ, you're almost there. Then the book of Acts just chronicles the history of the beginnings and the foundations of the church. Then we get to Romans, that amazing book that emphasizes the gospel that is justification by faith. And then you arrive at 1 Corinthians, where we'll be anchored this morning. We continue our study of the local church, and this morning is a passage that I hope will both encourage you, but I also believe that it will convict some, if not all of us as well. And so I pray that you'll have humble hearts to prepare yourselves for what you'll learn, and then to live it accordingly. You know, I've enjoyed over the last several years watching my girls develop as volleyball players. And for me as a baseball player, volleyball is like this kind of crazy world that I don't know much about. But in the early days of them starting volleyball, I learned very quickly that the objective is to make sure you get the ball over to the other side of the net without letting it hit the ground on your side. I mean, it's a pretty simple concept. But as they've developed, I've started to learn that it does get a little bit more complicated. There's different positions on a volleyball team. There's setters and passers and hitters, and there's different positions on the court, and yet the objective remains the same. Get the ball over the net to the other side without letting the ball hit the ground on your side. Well, yesterday we had an opportunity to drive back from my daughter Meg's tournament with her head coach, and we spent an hour and a half talking not just volleyball, but we also talked theology, which was pretty amazing. But one of the things that coach made a statement that I believe parallels our passage this morning, and he said this, no matter how good a volleyball player is, one player out on the court cannot win a volleyball game. What he meant by that is no matter how great the talent is of one individual, that one individual on the court by themselves cannot win a volleyball game. The same is true with the church. God has intended the church to thrive as a group of diverse individuals. But what's interesting about the parallels with volleyball and the local church is that what constitutes whether or not a lady could be on the court and play the game was whether or not they were on the team. You see, as much as I would have liked to have had a parent go down at certain points of the tournament yesterday and to go out there and to play with the other teammates, the reason we couldn't is because we were not on the team. And the ways that you can identify whether somebody is on the team is by a uniform, by a commitment, by being at practices, by following the authority of the coach. And beloved, listen, there are similar principles for the local church. And I believe we will see those in the passage that Paul penned to the original audience of Corinth in the first century that will apply to us today. Look at the big idea in your notes, and this is going to frame the argument that we are going to unpack from this passage, and that is this. If you are transformed, if you have been converted and transformed by the Holy Spirit through Christ, you are made new in your nature with diversity. I'll unpack this a little bit more, but you are made new with diversity for the purpose of contributing to the unified body of Christ. That is the argument that I'm going to unpack that I believe Paul is making from this passage. Let me read the passage for you and then we'll dive in. 1 Corinthians 12, beginning in verse 12. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one spirit. For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less part of the body. And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in one body, each of them as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body." Do you think Paul's trying to make a point here? The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. And on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, we bestow a greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now, you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret, but earnestly desire the higher gifts? And I will show you a still more excellent way. I'll tell you, that passage is filled with tongue twisters. But there's a point that I believe Paul is making that applies to us today. I want to ask one question and then unpack a sentence that has three parts. The first question is this. I would encourage you to write it down. Are you transformed? Are you personally transformed? Look at what it says in verse 12, 4. Now, I hope you've been paying attention the last few weeks. When you see that word for in the New Testament, more often than not, what it's signaling is that it's unpacking or elaborating on something that had been previously said. And so in verse 12, when it says for, he's signaling back the reader to remind them of what he has just said. Look at verse four. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. There are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them in everyone. You see the rhythm there? Varieties, same. Varieties, same. Varieties, same. That's the foundation that he laid that he's going to now unpack in our passage this morning. It's interesting that he does then explains some of the gifts that actually manifest themselves in the church. It's also interesting that he doesn't give a whole lot of detail, isn't it? And as a 21st century reader of scripture, sometimes I wish Paul gave more detail. I mean, what is healing? What are tongues? What are miracles? And here's what I would say, is that the reason Paul does not give more detail is because the original audience didn't need it. They understood what these gifts were. They understood the purpose. They understood the definition of them. We need more help. And the help actually is provided to us in the rest of Scripture. I'll argue that and explain that more here in just a few moments. But he unpacks gifts, but he gets to verse 12, and he wants to get back to the basics. You see, the Corinthian church was a messed up church in this way. They let the culture influence the church. That sounds nothing like the church today, does it? They let the culture influence the church rather than the church influencing the culture. In fact, that's what the entire letter of 1 Corinthians is, is Paul saying, no, no, no, the church must look different than the world. And so what Paul does in focusing on the spiritual gifts here is he goes back to the basics and the basics is conversion. Look at what it says in verse 12. It says that all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ, for in one spirit we were all baptized into one body. I love this. He is reminding them of their conversion. You know, he's talking about same but different, isn't he? And the concept of different in our culture today is described by the term diversity. Have you ever heard diversity? Diversity in the workplace, diversity in the classroom. Maybe some of you have heard these phrases, celebrate diversity. Or maybe you've heard this, you do you, I'll do me. What Paul is saying in this passage is that there is diversity, but what he's saying is the gospel redeems diversity. You see, because when you hear this in the culture today, or in the classroom today, or in the corporate world today, when it says celebrate diversity, here's what it means, this is free. It means celebrate my diversity so that you can't tell me what I need to be or what I need to do. That's what diversity means in our culture. You do you, bro, so I can do me, and let's make sure we don't cross over. That's what diversity means in our culture today. What it means in the gospel is celebrate diversity in the way that you invest in the community. What it means through the gospel is you do you in a way that benefits others. That is the diversity of the gospel, which is in contrast to the diversity of our culture. Now, I don't know about you, but that's not something we naturally do on our own. So how does that happen? Well, it happens in verse 13. We are baptized and we drink of one spirit. Would you write down 2 Corinthians 5, verses 14 through 15? An amazing two verses that basically explains what Paul is saying. When he says we are baptized with one spirit, we are made to drink of one spirit, 2 Corinthians 5, 14 through 15 explains what that means. It says that he died, Christ died, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him. Beloved, that is the gospel. That is the transformation of the spirit, is that he died so that we can no longer live for ourselves, but for Christ. And he says the best way we can see that play out is when we demonstrate the mind of Christ, thinking of others more highly than ourselves. Beloved, this is conversion. This is transformation. Did you know that the Spirit is required for every conversion of all time? Write down John 3, verses 5-8. Jesus, talking to Nicodemus, says that no one can be born again unless they are washed by the Spirit. The spirit is required for conversion. So when Paul uses this phrase, in one spirit we were all baptized, we were made to drink, he is explaining conversion. And see, beloved, what happens when we are converted and we are transformed is that we now assume a new identity. Look at the phrase in verse 13. It says, for in one spirit we are all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free. This was staggering for the original audience. For the original audience to think that a Jew and a Gentile could be in one group unified together was staggering. For the first century church, for them to think that a free person and a slave person could have equal standing was staggering. And what Paul is saying is that when you are transformed and when you are commuted, you now have a new identity and it is not your ethnicity, it is not your social status, it is your standing in Christ. Beloved, this is transformation. Now, let me just say by way of explanation. Paul uses two illustrations here to demonstrate transformation. The first one, and they both include water, is he says you've been baptized with one spirit. Some of you might be familiar with a technical phrase that is baptism of the Holy Spirit. Have you ever heard that phrase before? And sometimes people think, well, that's Paul referencing here the technical concept of being baptized with the Holy Spirit. We've studied this before, but let me just remind you that that technical phrase, baptized with the Holy Spirit, is a unique and temporary event limited to the time of Acts. It was a limited and temporary event that was used by God to authenticate a local community of Christ followers. So as the transition went from the old covenant to the new covenant, and a group came together and said, we believe in Christ, there was an authentication of that that was technically called the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And there would be tongues, and there would be signs, and there would be miracles. And everybody observing that would say, oh, That's an authentic group of Christ followers. We no longer need that today because the authentication is the Bible. If somebody claims or a community claims to be authentic followers of Christ, we just look at this book and say, okay, does that match up? If it does, they're authentic. But back then, they didn't have the rest of the New Testament. They needed these signs and wonders. Therefore, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that technical term, was a unique and temporary event that took place in the time of Acts. So Paul is not talking about that type of experience. What he's talking about is simply what happens when we are transformed. That's why he says at the end, we are all made to drink of the Spirit. We don't talk about the drinking of the Holy Spirit. He's simply using two analogies that are easy for us to understand, a cleansing, a changing, a transformation. So my question to you, beloved, is this. Have you been transformed? The way you become transformed is by owning what God says and saying, I believe that. You see, as a sinner, there is a ransom required for our souls. And if that ransom is not paid, we will spend eternity in hell, receiving God's unbridled judgment for all eternity. That's the ransom required to free us from that. We can't pay it. Only a perfect life, a perfect sacrifice, a victorious resurrection from the grave, and a place at the right hand of the Father would accomplish what was required for the ransom. Jesus did that. But beloved, you must personally respond to that by asking God to forgive your sins, receive the righteousness of Christ, and surrender your life to Him. Beloved, have you done that? If not, do it right now. And then you will be able to answer the question, yes, I have been transformed. But beloved, that's a hard question for us to answer ourselves, isn't it? You ever awoken some morning and said, I don't feel like I'm saved. So how do you know whether or not you have been transformed? Well, now it's a three-part sentence that I'm going to give to you in the outline that Paul unpacks in the passage. The sentence begins with this, number two, then your diversity is for others. then your diversity is for others. When you come to Jesus Christ and you're washed by the Holy Spirit, you are given a new set of gifts, a new ability, spiritually speaking, that are intended to be used for others. There are some absurd statements, and I think you heard that even in my reading. It's hard to read. Look at verse 14. For the body does not consist of one member, but many. The point is this. Physically speaking, have you ever seen a foot hopping around on its own? You ever seen an eyeball? The closest thing I've ever come to this is Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. But even Disney got that right. That eyeball had legs. He had arms. It is absurd to think that a member of the body would function as though it was the body itself. It's absurd. Look at what it says in verse 15. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body. That's absurd. It says it would not make it any less a member of the body. You can say, I'm on my own, all I want, but that's not the reality. On a cloudy day, you can say, there's no sun because I can't see it, but that doesn't change the reality. The sun's there. That's what Paul's saying. is that if you are a follower of Christ, you are a member of the body of Christ, whether you say that you are or not. Paul says diversity, yes. But the members are not allowed to celebrate diversity at the expense of unity. He's saying that a member of the church should not ever get to a point where they say, I'm just not going to. I don't like that. I'm going to take my gifts and go play elsewhere. That is a foreign concept from the New Testament. You know, the fact is, is that Paul is talking about the local church. As you look at this passage and you look at the rest of 1 Corinthians and you see the context, Paul is not talking about the big C church and, yeah, I'm connected to believers everywhere. Paul is speaking specifically about being a member of the local church. I've got to tell you, I struggle with this. And let me just explain to you why. I'm probably the only person in this room who struggles in this way, but sometimes I get tired. Sometimes other human beings drive me nuts. And when I just hear the voice of another human being, I want to go the other way. So apparently I'm the only one that ever feels that way. But beloved, what Paul is saying here is look this, but you will have your ups and downs. You will have those moments where you're tired. You will have times when people offend you in your small group, but at the end of the day, we're connected. We're interdependent. Let's remember that reality. And God has designed us with diversity for the purpose of others. We all have unique gifts. We all have unique personalities. And as this passage unfolds, it will be illustrated, I hope, even more clearly. But beloved, listen, if you are transformed, then you have a diversity that is intended to be for others. Number three, and this is the second part of the sentence, our diversity is for others because we are a body. Because we are a body. There's some rhetorical questions, meaning that he asks the questions, not asking for a response. It's clear in even the forming of the question what the response should be. He asks rhetorical questions, but the point he's making is not in the questions, but in the response. Look at verse 18. He says, as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. I love that because it reminds us who it is that is building his local church. Listen, you are here not by coincidence. If you have been coming to ascend for any stretch of time and you think that this could be your church family, you are here because God has arranged that. He has designed that. He has purpose. Listen to this. He also has expectations. Verse 20 says that you are a member of the body. Verse 21 says that everyone is needed. Verses 22 through 24 says that no one is insignificant. Now let's just pause right now and say that are there not roles within the church that are more visible than others? You know what's funny is that when we were at the tournament yesterday in the volleyball game, somebody who did a great set, that's where you pop it up for the person who just comes in and wham, hits it. Nobody when the person did a great set was like, oh yeah! Now that came when the person got out and boom! That position is more visible than the person passing or setting. And yet the coach on the drive back was celebrating all those little passes, all those little sets. We acknowledge that different roles and positions have different visibility. But we are a body. Verse 25 says, we are to care for one another. Verse 26, if one suffers, all suffer. Now, let me just pause right there and say that that's not normal for us. Let me just illustrate that physically. I was in the kitchen the other day, which, by the way, any statement that follows after me saying I was in the kitchen is on dangerous ground. Now, I can wash dishes like Michael Jordan played basketball. I can nail that. But anything having to do with food, uh-uh. In fact, this morning I poured cereal, got it all over the counter. So, backing up, I was in the kitchen. And I was tasked with the responsibility of opening the oven and taking out the food that was in there. Now, I have learned over my four years of life that you have to be careful when you open the door of the oven. And in that moment, it was like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego with the fiery furnace and steam just came out and burned my face. Now, in that moment, all the members of my body were engaged. My feet, my legs, my chest, my arms, my voice, which by the way was just so dramatic, my girls were like, seriously, dad? But every member was involved because when one member hurt, we all hurt. And yet what happens to us in relationships is that we come across somebody who when we say, how are you doing, and they're like, oh, and then you're like, good luck with that, and we walk away. Or we get really spiritual and be like, praying for you. But we are transformed with diversity for others because we are one body. When somebody is hurting, we hurt with them. You know what's fascinating is the next verse gives another analogy that is another thing that is unnatural for us. Is that when one member is honored, then we all rejoice. And yet, do we do that? I'll tell you, social media is fertile ground to see our sin. You look at somebody who you were in high school with and you're like, okay, they weren't athletic, but they look like Dwayne Johnson. They weren't smart and yet they're making seven figures. Maybe you're single and you see somebody else who now is married. Before you know it, we're confronted with the fact that our fleshly nature is that when somebody else is honored, we instead get jealous, don't we? And what the Bible is saying here is that, look, we're connected as members of one body celebrating when somebody else is honored. The reason this is not natural for us, beloved, is because we are naturally consumers. Do you know consumers have inherently within them an authority? My undergrad was marketing, and marketing is a fascinating topic because it is actually designed to somehow convince you that you need my product. It's like a reverse psychology. Because we know that the consumer has the authority to choose my product. And so what I'm doing is I'm using wording and packaging and putting an 11 at the end of something and adding a lens that's an iPhone reference. Because I know that in some way, if I can communicate you as the person with authority that you need this, you're going to make the decision to select that because consumers have authority. Beloved, that's our flesh, spiritually speaking. When we give our lives to Christ, we no longer have the authority. We are no longer consumers. We are servants of the living God, taking orders from his word. Listen to what Jonathan Lehman says in his book, God's Surprising Offense of Love. He says this, quote, do you want to experience and exercise the glorious love of heaven as Christ asks us? And we want that, don't we? I mean, I hope if you're a follower of Christ, your answer to that would be yes. Well, then Lehman goes on to say, then do it in the local church. A church where factions are pitted against each other, chapter 1 and verse 12 through 13 in 1 Corinthians. People have big heads, not physically, but because of pride. Chapter 4, verse 8. Members are sleeping with their father's wife. Chapter 5, verse 2. Members are suing and defrauding one another. Chapter 6, verses 1 through 8. Members are getting drunk with communion wine. Chapter 11, verses 21 through 22. Spiritual gifts won upsmanship. Chapters 12 through 14. End quote. I'll stop right there. The point is that Lehman is bringing to our attention, this is the church of Corinth. Now, of course, Paul is correcting those things and instructing that the young man shouldn't be doing that, and the Lord's Supper should be handled in a different way, and he's instructing them, but this was the local church of Corinth, and Paul's instruction to them isn't, hey, y'all just need to go find another church. His instruction was, be members of that church. Beloved, this is where I'm gonna talk about formal membership. formal membership is articulated in this passage. This is the local church, this is not the big C church, this is the local church, and it's saying, if you are a follower of Christ, you are expected to be connected to a local church in membership. And what does membership mean? It means submitting to an authority. And that authority, we've argued from scripture, is the elders of the church, so long as they are teaching and applying God's word accurately. It's submitting to authority. It's saying that this is not my life, this is not my world, it is for others, and I live that out within the context of the local church. That's what church membership is, and why do we make it formal here with an application and training and going through an interview? Because we as Americans need it. Let me give you a case in point on how we handle memberships. I just joined CBS, the app, because you can watch the Chiefs on your mobile device. I got a 30-day trial. As long as I cancel it within 30 days, I have to pay nothing. So guess what I did? I signed up for the trial, and I immediately put on my calendar two days before my 30 days, because I'm going to cancel it. Beloved, that's how we often view membership in our lives, isn't it? I'm the consumer. I'm the authority. I'll put my feet in the pool as long as it's the right temperature. But as soon as there's waves, I'm out and I'll find another membership. Beloved Paul is hitting this square in the face. And what he's saying is that membership is taking personal ownership beyond nodding and smiling. Friend, you might be sitting here and be nodding and smiling, saying, yeah, that makes sense. That's great, but you're not a member. If you own this, if you see that it is biblical, if you understand the argument that Paul is making, then your responsibility is to be a member of the local church. So here's the logic. Are you transformed? then your diversity is for others because we are a body. That leads us to finally number four. This body is designed to function in unity. It's designed to function in unity. Look at verse 27. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. Summary statement, that's his point. We are individuals, we are a diverse group, different skills, different personalities, different gifts, but we are one body. What he's going to do is he's going to unpack gifts here in just a moment. Let me just pause and just say by way of a rest stop. Gifts within the church have been often misunderstood. How many of you have ever taken a spiritual gift inventory and you're willing to raise your hand? Yeah, look at you, not proud of it. You just got it up here by your ear like, OK, pastor can see me, but hopefully nobody else. And see, what ends up happening is we start to develop paralysis by analysis because we're like, OK, what is my gift? And it's not this. I don't know if I should be in here. Let me give you two ways you can evaluate whether or not you're using your gifts. Number one, Is the activity that you are doing investing in others? Is the activity that you are doing investing in others? Remember, this is the logic coming out of the text. We are diverse for others. Is the activity that you are doing an investment in others? Here's the second question. Is that activity taking place in the local church? You might say, well, you know what? I'm investing in a Bible study. That's awesome. That's great. That's not what this passage is expecting. is the activity that you are doing, investing in others within the context of the local church. Pay attention up here. This is important, beloved. This is a biblical principle that flows out of this text that I think we as Americans struggle with. So it's not upon us to walk through all of these lists in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 and other passages to see, okay, do I fit neatly into this gift? That is not the point. The point is, are you investing in others, and are you doing that within the context of a local church? Now, affirmations will take place in fruitfulness. Affirmations will take place in the feedback of others as to what of those specific gifts you might actually have, but the point is, invest in others in the context of the local church, and you can lay your head on the pillow at night and say, I'm using my gifts. That's the biblical principle that I can argue from the rest of scripture and what Paul is arguing here. But let's now walk through that. Verse 28, and God has appointed. That's awesome. Underline that and put out to the side James 1 17. It is God who gives the gifts. In fact, everything that you have in this life, everything that I have in my life is a gift from God. I didn't earn it. I didn't work hard for it. The very breath, the very skills, the very heartbeat that was required for that to be accomplished is a gift from God. Therefore, every good and perfect gift comes from the Father. Amen? So we have been appointed with these gifts in the church. What are they? First, apostles, second, prophets, and third, teachers. That wording is intentional. It is a list that is designated as a certain order. First, second, third. Now why is that important? Write down Ephesians 2 verse 20. One and two are required for the foundation of the church. The foundation of the church, once laid, made those one and two no longer needed. Apostles and prophets, I would argue from the rest of scripture, are no longer needed for us today because the foundation has been laid and we now have this to guide us how the apostles and prophets were used in this first century. But then the third is teachers, teachers of the ongoing gift and position within the church that carries out the instruction and the equipping and the encouragement and the exhorting within the local church until the end of the age. That's the third one. And then he says gifts, then miracles, then gifts of healing. And we'll stop right there. Those are miraculous gifts that we see all throughout Acts. Gifts of miracles and gifts of healing. But listen, beloved. What was the purpose of them in Acts? It was to authenticate the messenger and the message. So when somebody came to a new group of people and said, I'm preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they're like, hey, I've never heard of that. Or in Acts 19, I'm preaching the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and they're like, we've never heard of that. There were signs and wonders associated with that that authenticated the message and the messenger. Guess what? We don't need that anymore. Because we have this. If somebody comes in to our community right now and says, hey, I have a word from the Lord, and then they want to stand up here and they want to proclaim it, we don't measure it as to whether or not there's miracles or healings associated with it. We go right to this book and we say, OK, what did you say? Yep, it matches up. OK, great. That's awesome. You're affirming what God has already given us. If it doesn't match, then we say, I don't care what voice you heard. I don't care what experience you had. It's not from God because it doesn't match here. Now let me also say this, beloved, please, hear me on this. Because so many people misunderstand. I make a strong statement like that, and then they will immediately draw conclusions, and it's like they're not listening to this part. Miracles and healing still happen today. God still does miracles and healings, but listen, it does not play itself out in giftedness. And I argue that both from scripture as well as when somebody says, well, I have the gift of healing. When I look at what they say the gift of healing is and compare it with the Bible's gift, it's not the same thing. So guess who wins? The Bible. The gifts of miracles and healings in the scriptures were such that the person with the gifts could do it anytime, anywhere. We don't see those gifts today. We don't see the purpose is not there anymore. And so that's why I would argue those gifts are not around today. Look at the next ones, helping and administrating. Boy, do we see those today. Because anytime we see helps and administration in the scriptures, we see that it was for the purpose of building up the body of Christ. We still need that today. And then it says, in various kinds of tongues, oh boy, we could spend a lot of time on this, couldn't we? But let me just explain again the argument from Scripture as well as comparing what people say are tongues today compared with Scripture. It's not around today is my argument. Not the gift as we see it in Scripture. The gift that we see in Scripture was specific known languages of human beings intended for the purpose of evangelism. That meant that somebody could go into a new surrounding where they didn't know the language and they could speak perfectly in the dialect and the language of that people group so that there was nothing lost in translation. Now today there are missionaries who say, well, I didn't know Romanian and I went over there and I could speak it. Okay, maybe you did. I'm not here to argue that. But again, we see in scripture that that gift was able to be used anytime, anywhere for a specific purpose that does not exist today. Now why does Paul go through all of these gifts and cover some that we're familiar with and we see today and some that are not? Because we were not the original audience. The original audience was the church in Corinth where those gifts were alive and well. That was the transition period of Acts. And so he's covering things that in real time were taking place. But for us today, we look at the rest of Scripture. Again, remember biblical theology. We interpret a passage. We interpret a book in light of the big picture. And when we study this isolated text in the big picture, we draw these conclusions that I've just shared. Then look at the questions that he asks in verse 29. Are all apostles? The answer is no. Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Do all work miracles? No. Do all possess gifts of healing? No. Do all speak with tongues? No. Do all interpret? Yes. No, I'm just kidding. What's the point that Paul's making there? He's reminding them of diversity. The local church is made up of diverse individuals with all kinds of different gifts, and he's celebrating that, but he's pointing us to the function and the design of the church in the next statement. Look what it says in verse 31, but earnestly desire the higher gifts. What do you mean, Paul? Let me share with you what he means. There are higher gifts in that they have more of a broad impact. They have more of a congregational impact. These are the higher gifts. It doesn't mean they're better. It doesn't mean they're more important. It means they have more visibility and more impact. And what he's not saying here is that this is a carrot I'm dangling out in front of every believer. He's not saying every believer should go to school so that you can get trained on the higher gifts. I was given this gift of hospitality, but man, I wanna be a teacher. That's not what he's saying. What he's saying is, desire that those higher gifts will flourish in the church, even if it's not you. And beloved, if the church is longing for that, that will be the illustration of unity. if we're not wishing that we had something else, if we're not frustrated in the rule that we've been given within the church, and we are saying, God, just proclaim your gospel, accomplish this through the higher gifts, I don't care who does it, glory to God, that's unity, and that's the design of the church. Now, why has Paul given a passage like this and the Holy Spirit saved it for all of these generations? It's because God knows the dark crevices of giftedness, because it's the human heart. You know, a teacher, somebody who is gifted as a teacher is prone to develop pride. A person who has a gift of exhortation, they can see a problem, they can see a situation, they say, boom, this is a problem, this is what needs to be done, do it, can be tempted to be impatient. The person with the gift of hospitality and mercy is caring for somebody and serving somebody, and they can often be prone to not be willing to step up and say the hard thing. Do you see where I'm going with this? We need each other. This is a team. There are roles. And the expectation is that if you are transformed, your diversity is for others because we are a body designed to function in unity. Will you bow your heads and close your eyes? Friend, I've said some things that are pretty straightforward, pretty black and white. that may be a struggle for you, and that is you need to be a member of the local church. It's not an Ascend thing. It's not a 21st century church thing. It is a timeless Word of God thing. I want to ask you this question first. Have you been transformed? We've hit the gospel pretty hard, but this is your third opportunity, and it is not a coincidence that it's being repeated. If you have never surrendered your life to Jesus Christ and turn from your sins, would you do that right now? That is the only way that there is any hope that you will be able to apply what you've learned today. And friend, if you have been transformed, my question for you individually as a follower of Christ, are you formally connected to the local church? Maybe you say, well, pastor, I live far away from a sin. Then go, we can help you find another church. But if you live in this area and if you've been coming to this church, this is your body. You need to be formally connected. Stop by the info center on the way out, grab an application. Let's get you in that process. And then friend, if you are a member of Ascend Church, my question to you is, how are you using your diversity for others? And you may say, well, pastor, I don't physically have the ability to stand up on my feet all day with the kids or to be an usher or to work on sound team or just listen to me sing. And I don't have the gift of singing. Friend, you can get involved. You can pray. You can invest in others. That's the measure. Are you investing in others in the context of the local church? Friends, let's take a moment and pray and reflect on our own hearts. I want us to get to a place where we not only understand this, but we apply it because in a few weeks, we're going to be going into a new building. There are going to be new people from the community that God is bringing us. The core of who we are as a church needs to be this because it's biblical. Let's make sure we're on the same page. And may we bring glory to Christ. Would you pray your seats for just a moment? And then I'll close our time in prayer.