Post by Zac Loh on Dec 3, 2008 15:33:32 GMT -5
Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:17-19)
This is the one of the scriptures used when we conduct the Holy Communion. But we can draw truths which are applicable to ministry.
To make things very simple, we can say that the human biology is basically blood and body (comprising organs and cells).
We can also say, in a very simple manner, that the blood carries life. There is a phrase that goes, `the body is drained of life’, meaning that the person had bled to death.
In the spiritual sense, the blood signifies our spiritual life. As the Bible says, `the blood is the life.'
Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat. (Deuteronomy 12:23)
The fruit of the vine gave grape juice. It is red in color, very near to the color of the blood. The fruit of the vine, in the spiritual parallel, is the fruit of the Spirit:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
The body of Jesus, the organ and cells, is the representation of the various ministry gifts in the spiritual body of Christ i.e. the people of God (1 Corinthians 12).
So, to arrive to a conclusion of what I am trying to point out, is that we serve God by the fruit of the Spirit as well as the gift of the Spirit.
To serve God by the fruit of the Spirit without the gifting of the Spirit - does not maximize our effectiveness. We are called to be good stewards. We want to be most effective for our Master’s purpose and glory.
At the same token, serving in the gifting of the Spirit without the fruit is unacceptable to God. Gift without fruit is more often destructive than constructive. Ministry with great gift of the Spirit without also bearing the fruit of the Spirit - tends to have short term success. We are to finish the race (2 Timothy 4:7).
A lot of misunderstanding has happened when we do not draw a distinction. At certain periods of time; we contribute our time, energy and resources because we are motivated by the fruit of the Spirit. It does not mean that we are gifted in this area, or that area is our ministry at all. We should not misunderstand this point for ourselves.
And we should not assume that just because somebody offered himself, and did served faithfully, in a ministry – that is his/her ministry.
The best service is by both fruit and gift. But there are situations when there isn’t a more effective person available. Thus, we offer ourselves because we are motivated by the fruit of the Spirit.
This is the one of the scriptures used when we conduct the Holy Communion. But we can draw truths which are applicable to ministry.
To make things very simple, we can say that the human biology is basically blood and body (comprising organs and cells).
We can also say, in a very simple manner, that the blood carries life. There is a phrase that goes, `the body is drained of life’, meaning that the person had bled to death.
In the spiritual sense, the blood signifies our spiritual life. As the Bible says, `the blood is the life.'
Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat. (Deuteronomy 12:23)
The fruit of the vine gave grape juice. It is red in color, very near to the color of the blood. The fruit of the vine, in the spiritual parallel, is the fruit of the Spirit:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
The body of Jesus, the organ and cells, is the representation of the various ministry gifts in the spiritual body of Christ i.e. the people of God (1 Corinthians 12).
So, to arrive to a conclusion of what I am trying to point out, is that we serve God by the fruit of the Spirit as well as the gift of the Spirit.
To serve God by the fruit of the Spirit without the gifting of the Spirit - does not maximize our effectiveness. We are called to be good stewards. We want to be most effective for our Master’s purpose and glory.
At the same token, serving in the gifting of the Spirit without the fruit is unacceptable to God. Gift without fruit is more often destructive than constructive. Ministry with great gift of the Spirit without also bearing the fruit of the Spirit - tends to have short term success. We are to finish the race (2 Timothy 4:7).
A lot of misunderstanding has happened when we do not draw a distinction. At certain periods of time; we contribute our time, energy and resources because we are motivated by the fruit of the Spirit. It does not mean that we are gifted in this area, or that area is our ministry at all. We should not misunderstand this point for ourselves.
And we should not assume that just because somebody offered himself, and did served faithfully, in a ministry – that is his/her ministry.
The best service is by both fruit and gift. But there are situations when there isn’t a more effective person available. Thus, we offer ourselves because we are motivated by the fruit of the Spirit.