1 Corinthians 12:27

Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers. After that, miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts, and yet I show unto you a more excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:27–31)

The church is not man's organization but God's living organism, where He Himself sets every member in place.

A Body, Not an Organization

We have taken significant time in 1 Corinthians 12 because this text is of great importance to our church at this time. We see here that we are one body in Christ, yet many members—there is unity and there is diversity. This is restated in verse 27: "Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular."

This is not the creation of man. It is the institution put forth by God. It is His body—not an organization but an organism. It has life given to it by God. We function with Him as our head, and by His sovereign plan He places us within the body to accomplish His work. It is a glorious thing when we do what we are supposed to do and are not free radicals causing destruction and chaos within the body.

We are created for God's purpose and pleasure. Revelation 4:11 tells us plainly that for His pleasure we are and were created. The body glorifies Him in a great way when it functions by His power and strength. As God told Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4: "Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord." Every individual has an agenda, but we want to yield ours to His plan and let Him be God—for He is far better at that job than I am.

God Has Set the Members

Verse 28 says, "God has set some in the church." We have already seen this in verse 18: "Now has God set the members, every one of them in the body as it has pleased him." It is the same Greek word. God organizes it; He establishes it by His plan and decree.

That word translated set can also be rendered place, lay, ordain, commit, or establish. God ordains where people will be within the body and how they will be gifted. As we saw in verse 11, it is the Spirit who divides to every man the gifts as He wills. This word appears throughout the New Testament, and I want to zero in on six uses.

In Acts 20:28 Paul tells the leaders, "Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and to all the flock of God, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers"—the same word, set or ordained. God set them to that task, and they must do His work in His way, feeding "the church of God which he has purchased with his own blood." It is His church; He brought together the body of Christ and set overseers within it as a stewardship for which they are accountable to Him.

In 1 Corinthians 12:18 He has ordained your placement and willed your gifts. In 2 Corinthians 5:19, God, who in Christ reconciled us to Himself and did not impute our sins to us, "has committed unto us the word of reconciliation"—the same word. He has given us a stewardship over the glorious gospel to take into all the world.

In 1 Timothy 1:12 Paul thanks Christ "who has enabled me, for he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." In 1 Timothy 2:7 he says, "Whereunto I am ordained a preacher and an apostle... a teacher of the Gentiles." And in 2 Timothy 1:11 again, "Whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles." God saves and calls us, and in that calling He gifts and equips us. As verse 7 says, "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man"—for the profit of the whole body, to glorify God, edify the body, and evangelize the world.

God Is a God of Order

In verse 28 Paul says God has set some in the church, "first... secondarily... thirdly," and on down. These are ranking words. There is an established order within the church that God creates—a hierarchy that is His invention, not man's.

Have you noticed that God is a God of order? Just look at your body and creation cries out that He is a God of order. Yet people in our day say this order came from chaos. That goes directly against the second law of thermodynamics, the law of entropy. If I said this water bottle just happened, they would call me a fool—yet when they say your far more intricate body just happened, given enough time and a few more particles collided in France and Switzerland, somehow that is wisdom. "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God."

There is order in our physical bodies, and in the same way the body of Christ has an order and a hierarchy God has ordained. This ranking is not because someone is good looking, speaks well, or is a saved celebrity. It is as God ordains, and as He sees faithfulness, He commits more responsibility to individuals.

First Apostles, Then Prophets, Then Teachers

When we read of apostles here, I believe this speaks of the early apostles—a unique group who saw the risen Lord, received a direct commission, and were the foundational members of the church. Ephesians says Christ is the chief cornerstone, and the church is built upon Him and the foundation of the apostles. That is the foundational ranking we see here.

There are people today who function as apostles in the sense of taking a message into the uttermost parts, like a modern-day missionary. Trip Kimball, who shared today, has an apostolic calling in that sense. But he does not have the authority the apostle Paul had, so that when he writes, it becomes Scripture. A unique authority was placed on those individuals.

So God establishes this governance with Himself at the head. He gives direction, vision, and empowerment, then gives authority to people within the body to exercise their gifts. Because this is the creation of God, when a church lays hands on an individual and ordains them, the church is not doing the ordaining—it is merely recognizing and ratifying what God has already done.

Not Everyone Has the Same Calling

There is a problem we face. When we are called to a specific work, we get excited—and that's good—but then we begin to think everybody needs to do this same task. I struggle with this. God called me to teach and preach, so I often filter your calling through mine. But maybe you are not called to teach; perhaps you are clearly gifted for children's ministry. And those gifted for children's ministry may insist everyone must do it. Not everyone is—though I would suggest more are called to it than step up.

So Paul asks a series of rhetorical questions in verses 29–30, and the answer is clearly no. "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?" No. As we saw, if all were one member, where would the body be? There is a diversity of gifts and callings. All are called, all are gifted, and all ought to use their gifts—but not everyone does the same thing.

Verse 30 is incredibly important, because some in the church today say that if you do not speak in tongues, you are not a Christian or do not have the Spirit. That is false. We must take the doctrines of man and filter them through Scripture. Not everyone has that gift, but that does not mean we lack a call—because every believer has one.

Desire the Most Useful Gifts—Do Not Covet

Verse 31 says, "But covet earnestly the best gifts." Reading the King James, you may immediately object, because Exodus 20 says, "Thou shalt not covet." The word can also be translated earnestly desire, and "the best gifts" can be rendered "the most useful gifts." The Greek word is zeloo, from which we get zealous—used both positively and negatively in Scripture. Be zealous for money and you have a problem; be zealous for God and that is glorious. The context decides.

There are two views of this verse. Some say Paul speaks in the imperative mood—a command: desire the most useful gifts. Others say he speaks in the indicative, indicating what is already happening: "you are coveting showy gifts, but I show you a better way." Most English translations render it as a command because the Greek is in the imperative, but I have no problem with either, and here's why.

Yes, we should earnestly desire gifts to serve and glorify God more. But we should not covet the gift or position someone else has—either to grasp it for ourselves or simply because we don't want them to have it. That last form is the worst covetousness. I see it in children, who are mirrors of us: Addison plays happily with a toy, and Ethan, who doesn't even want it, just doesn't want her to have it. That carnal nature carries into the body of Christ when we say, "I don't want to be a pastor, but I don't want that guy to be one," and so we tear him down. It's wicked.

I have no problem translating this as a command, because Paul restates it. In 1 Corinthians 14:1, "Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts"—the same word zeloo. And in 14:39, "Covet to prophesy." So we should desire to be more effective in the ministry God has placed before us, asking the Lord to enable us by His gifting.

The Good Desire for Oversight—and Servant Leadership

In 1 Timothy 3:1 Paul says it is a good thing to desire a position of service: "If a man desires the office of a bishop"—overseer or elder—"he desires a good work." Just because someone desires it does not mean they receive it, for this is according to God's direction, especially as one faithfully executes the work and gifts already given.

The one who steps into leadership must first be a servant. In Mark 10:45 Jesus says, "Whoever desires to be the chief shall be servant of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many." We believe in servant leadership. It is not highly exalted in the working world, but it is supreme in God's economy and witnessed in Jesus.

In John 13 He stooped and washed His disciples' feet, saying, "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." He is not mandating foot washing but leaving an example of service. Philippians 2 says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus... he made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant... and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." So the one who wants leadership must first take on the robe of a servant.

This is what we see in Acts 6. There was a need, and the apostles told the body, "Choose out seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and we will appoint them." As one serves faithfully, God gives further responsibility and begins to make them overseers.

The Qualifications of an Overseer

Paul then explains what an overseer's life should look like. He "must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy for filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that rules his own house well, having his children in subjection with all gravity. For if a man knows not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?" He must not be a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil; and he must be of good report among those outside, lest he fall into reproach and a snare.

Ordaining Jason Brower

As our board of elders has looked through these requirements and over our church, we see an individual who fits them. About a month and a half ago our board gathered with him, prayed over him, and ordained him as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we want to recognize that here this morning.

Jason Brower, for the last ten years, has boldly gone where very few will go—into the youth ministry—and has faithfully served, doing the work of a youth pastor without a title or piece of paper. The paper and title we give him are nothing but the church ratifying what God has already bestowed. He has faithfully executed the work—and thankfully not executed any of the kids. He has shown himself a man of many gifts, willing to serve without reward or recognition. Honestly, this is something we should have done long ago, but important things sometimes slip through the cracks. He is a pastor in every sense of the word.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we come before You this morning, following in the path You have already set, joining in unison to lift our brother Jason before You and to agree with all that You have been doing in his life and through him among the precious children of this body. We pray for Your continued hand on his life, on his family, on his time, and on his ability to focus and listen to Your voice as he proceeds forward. It has been a great blessing to watch the growth of the children in our youth ministry, and we look forward with expectation to what You have for him.

What a gift You have given us in raising up Jason. We commit him to You as a fellowship, Jesus. Above all, may his walk with You be deep and rich, and may the overflow of that relationship be a blessing to his wife, his children, the children of our fellowship, and each of us. We pray for vision—Your vision and direction—and wisdom from You as he studies Your word and serves.

Father, do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think in and through the life of this man. Give him insight and wisdom, draw him closer to You, and set a blessing upon him, his wife, and their kids. Open doors that no man can shut. Fill him to overflowing with Your Spirit, and give him grace, mercy, and peace to confront the difficult things he will face in this calling. Make him and his wife an example to all they meet, in the church and outside. We commit them into Your hands and thank You for him, in Jesus' name. Amen.