Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
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The Questions
1) Quoting the Old Testament, Jesus instructed His followers, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). In line with this command, why does Paul instruct his readers not to think of oneself more highly than he should think?
2) Paul writes about spiritual gifts in other letters, too. Look up 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. How are these passages alike? Why are these lists so different?
3) Why do you think Paul uses the image of the body to illustrate how the various spiritual gifts work together?
Romans 12:3-8
3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; 7 if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8 if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.
Original Intent
1) Quoting the Old Testament, Jesus instructed His followers, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). In line with this command, why does Paul instruct his readers not to think of oneself more highly than he should think?
Rome was an individualistic, accomplishment-driven, status-seeking, image-conscious metropolis. Putting others before oneself seemed ludicrous in their society. Paul was telling them they had gifts; there was something special about them. It would be easy to let pride sneak in and be tempted to think of these gifts as something they earned, something they could use to get ahead. Instead, Paul reminds them to be sensible – they were saved by grace, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). What does it look like not to think of oneself more highly than one should? It looks like serving others, having open hands of generosity, leading with integrity, and being merry in your mercy.
2) Paul writes about spiritual gifts in other letters, too. Look up 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. How are these passages alike? Why are these lists so different?
There are only two spiritual gifts that appear in both lists: prophecy and teaching (“message of knowledge” in 1 Corinthians 12:8). So why are they so different? When reading Paul’s letters, we must remember that he was writing to different audiences, with different purposes. Each of Paul’s letters are deeply personal and he wrote them with specific people in mind. The list to the Corinthians was more thorough and descriptive, while the list to the Romans was more brief and used general language. In both passages, Paul’s point is that the various giftings were assigned by God and given by the Holy Spirit. Through the diverse giftings of the early church, the Gospel was spread throughout the world.
3) Why do you think Paul uses the image of the body to illustrate how the various spiritual gifts work together?
The word “body” has a dual meaning in scripture. It can be defined as a “collective group”; aka the collection of Christians throughout time and space. And it can be defined more literally as a body with arms and legs and ears and pinky toes – illustrating the diverse parts that make up the body of Christ. Paul is reminding the Romans of the unity they have in Christ. They belong to the collective body of Christ: the Christians in their city that they see and worship with everyday and the Christians across the known world. Even in this illustration of unity, he is also teaching them about uniqueness. No gift is better than another, because God uses each gift to build up the body. How united would the church be if everyone was an arm? All parts are needed to make up the unified and whole body.
Everyday Application
1) Quoting the Old Testament, Jesus instructed His followers, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). In line with this command, why does Paul instruct his readers not to think of oneself more highly than he should think?
“Rome was an individualistic, accomplishment-driven, status-seeking, image-conscious metropolis.” Sound familiar? We can learn much from Paul’s letter to the Romans because we experience many of the same struggles on our modern societies! Instead of shouting one’s accomplishments in the city square, people create the image they want other people to see online. In the world of the “humble-brag”, humility isn’t something we see often. Putting others before ourselves is what sets us apart as Christ-followers. We use our gifts to point to Jesus, not to our own accomplishments or qualities. Instead of shouting “Look at me!” we shout, “Look what God has done for me! All I do and accomplish is because of Him.”
2) Paul writes about spiritual gifts in other letters, too. Look up 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. How are these passages alike? Why are these lists so different?
Still today, the Holy Spirit instills spiritual gifts in us after coming to salvation through Jesus Christ. And still today, God uses individuals and their specific giftings, to bring about His will. The next time you are worshipping with your church community, take time to reflect on how God has given the people around you specific spiritual gifts to make up the body of your local church in order to accomplish His will for your community. More than that, He has uniquely equipped all Christians across the world to serve as The Church to advance the Gospel and bring Him glory!
3) Why do you think Paul uses the image of the body to illustrate how the various spiritual gifts work together?
Do you ever wish you were a different part of the body? Maybe your spiritual gift is mercy, but you feel like it isn’t very glamorous or impactful. Have you ever thought, “If only I was gifted in teaching, then I could really make a difference.” Look up 1 Corinthians 12:14-24. It can be tempting to covet other’s gifts and underappreciate the gifts we have. We must remember, however, that it is all grace. Verse 6 of Romans 12 tells us that it is all by grace that we have any gifts! In God’s immeasurable grace, He not only gave us the Holy Spirit, but He gave us spiritual gifts. Not only that, He gave us just the right gifts for us to fulfill God’s individual purposes through us to build up the body of Christ. Paul exhorts the Corinthians, “God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as He wanted.” (1 Corinthians 12:18). Let us be encouraged by his words.
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
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