One In US

(This is a study series I have written and submitted to my elders to be presented at whatever time they choose. It is a related followed to The Indwelling of Deity in the Believer.)

The God who is one

who works

all things in all persons

(A two-part study series on the God who is one with a follow-through on

the many gifts of his Spirit for the one body.)

Part I

God is one

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

(A study on the God who is one and His work in the saints.)

Purpose: That the saints in Christ may be assured in the knowledge that God who is one.

Approach: A focus on the Shema (Deuteronomy 6) and Father, Son & Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1)

Goal: That the saints may understand and rejoice in the work of unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in them.

Lesson 1

God pronounces his unity

What is your assurance about God when you engage with those who do not know and do not understand God? How would you like to assure believers and nonbelievers?

Lesson 2

Jesus proclaims the Lord our God is one Lord

What is your greatest assurance in God?

Lesson 3

Paul declares the work of Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1)

What Paul reveals about purpose, fulfillment and affirmation in Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Part II

The gift of the Father / The gifts of God

(An examination of gifts from I Corinthians 12)

Purpose: That the saints in Christ may discover the gift God has given them.

Approach: A brief examination of gifts in I Corinthians 12 w/reference to similar passages.

Goal: That the saints may rejoice confidently in the gift/gifts God has given them.

Lesson 1

The gift of the Holy Spirit (John 14:17)

He who was with us was not in us.

Lesson 2

The Giver of the Holy Spirit (John 3:34; Luke 11:13)

Every perfect gift is from the Father.

Lesson 3

The gifts of the Holy Spirit (I Cor 12a)

A differentiation between gifts and talents in the believer.

Lesson 4

The Gift which works through you

It is the same Spirit, the same Lord, the same God who works all things in all persons. (I Cor 12b)

Lesson 5

The gift that is in you

Kindling afresh the gift of God which is in you.

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Gifts, Ministries and Effects

Some observations and thoughts came to mind from today’s daily reading of the scriptures in the New Testament section of I Corinthians 12.

The saints in Christ often think and talk about those things which they would like to live out in their daily lives. They want to do so in the knowledge and confidence that they do so in the Spirit who indwells them. One thing which is common in the apostle Paul’s teaching is that each individual is a part of a greater whole; the body of believers. What’s more Paul may sometimes be difficult to understand, as the apostle Peter himself noted, (I Peter 3:15,16) but he is never vague or superficial.

He wrote to the church in Corinth as to what the “same Spirit” “same Lord” and “same God” had done, but he also specified what they each one had done. Quite likely, some might infer from that reference to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but that is not what I take away from the passage. Rather, it is another instance of Paul’s seemingly vague or superficial (not Paul by any means) reference on which he elaborates.

One thing with which Paul’s messages always resound is the unity from diversity. In this instance, it is the gifts, -by the same Spirit, -the ministries, by the same Lord, and -the effects, by the same God. Each one of these, gift, ministry and effect, reflects a move from the lesser to the greater; the individual to the group. Is a gift less than an effect? It is if that which one has received from the Spirit remains ineffectual in him or her as though they had not received anything or something too small and of little significance from the Holy Spirit.

What Paul notes about these is that they are for the common good, (verse 7) not a personal exaltation by the individual Then, in true form, Paul specifies how that common good of my gift in our ministry shows its effect among others. It is in that the members may have the same care for one another. (verse 25) This should be no surprise for the saints in Christ because love for one another as Jesus commanded is ultimately to care for one another.

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