5. Contributing to the need of others: (12:8b): The church needs supporters who can support for the activities of the church, the deacons, pastors, and also for the outreach work. God provides resources for His body through the cheerful giving of the believers in the church. This is an important spiritual gift and must be exercised with liberality. When someone who is called and gifted to be a giver, stops giving liberally, they will often see their resources drying up. For God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor.9:7). Giving is an important aspect of being a Christian and an opportunity to give is provided on the Lord’s day (1 Cor.16:2). “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows” (Jam.1:17).
6. Leadership: (12:8c): Leadership in a church consists of mainly 4-important parameters namely: Commitment, Conviction, Competency and Character. A few parameters can be taken from the reference (1 Tim.3:1-13; 2 Tim.2:1-13; Titus 1:5-9)
-
- Commitment: Every leader should be committed to the Crucified and Risen Christ. He should have a passion for the work of Christ and at the same time know the Christ fully and clearly through His written word.
- Conviction: Every leader should have the convictions about who God is, the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the church (the body of Christ), the consequences of sin etc. He should have the deep conviction of time, money, family, recreation, sexual life
- Competency: Every leader should be competent in terms of usage of spiritual gifts. They must rightly use the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the edification of the church. Paul says: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of the truth” (2 Tim.2:15). Leaders should have good understanding of the working of gifts of the Holy Spirit and help others to discern and motivate others to rightly use the gifts. They should have good relations with members of the church and in their household. They should be competent enough to look after all matters of the church discipline, finance, activities and above should be a role model.
-
- Character: A leader must have impeccable character, display Christ-like attitude in all their dealing with others. They must have self-control, hospitable, gentle, trying to lead holy life, accessable to everyone, temperance, faithful They should not have lust of money, not manipulative. They should be faithful to their spouse, children obeying their parents. His character and integrity should be above board.
7. Showing mercy: (12:8d): Exercising of the gift of mercy is not an option, but it is a command that every leader or believer must do it. Mercy is nothing but justice coupled with forgiveness. God is the source of the mercy. He is merciful and full of compassion. A leader must display this act at erring members.
Attitudes of Christian community: (12:9-13):
- Love and honour: (12:9-10): Love is the most key ingredient for success. Continuing the spiritual gifts, Paul says that love must be sincere. In other words, there should not be hypocritical love. Even Peter also mentions about the sincerity in love “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Pet.1:22). It is very much possible that love which is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we may use it in unspiritual way. Paul mentions in (1 Cor.13) which is the love chapter of NT, love is the circulatory system of the spiritual body. If love is not supplied, the entire body dies just as the role played by the circulatory system in a physical body. Love keeps all other systems to function in a healthy, harmonious way.
True love demands our time, money and personal involvement. Love is humble, not proud. Love does what is good and hates evil. Love prefer treating others as more important than ourselves. “Be devoted one another in brotherly love” (12:10) is to have a divinely love for one another (Philadelphia love). It is again adhering to the good, hating various forms of sin, with brotherly love, having family affection for one another, in honour giving place to one another. Delight to feel the tenderest affection toward each other, love a Christian brother with the affection of a natural brother. Consider all your brethren as more worthy than yourself, let neither grief nor envy affect our mind at seeing another honoured and we be neglected. Of course this is a hard lesson and very few persons learn it thoroughly.