Lesson for February 21, 2024
Grace Opposes Arrogance
Romans12:3-6, “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of themselves than they ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function,so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another. However, since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly.”
Grace is the policy of the justice of God in providing blessing and spiritual prosperity for believers. But grace is also the policy of God with regard to mankind in general. Paul alerts all believers to the great distraction with regard to functioning in the royal family — arrogance. Arrogance is lack of grace orientation. Grace orientation means understanding that all God has provided us as believers is undeserved and unmerited.
The Greek word for think more highly is “huperphroneo,” meaning to think more of yourself. The Greek word for think so as to have sound judgment is “sophroneo,” which means to be in one’s right mind, to be sane, or to be reasonable. Accurate Bible doctrine is designed to eliminate irrational thinking and arrogance. Thinking divine viewpoint causes a believer to think in terms of common sense, rationality, and sanity. God has assigned a measure (standard) of thinking from Bible doctrine that is consistent with His thinking. The greater your knowledge and application of Bible doctrine, the greater your faith in it will be.
For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function. Now we see the proper function of grace within the structure of the Royal Family of God. Just as our physical bodies have many members and those members have varying functions, so it is with the body of Christ. And even though we may function under different spiritual gifts, we are all members of the body of Christ. This means we are all necessary for the proper function of the Royal Family of God. Understanding this doctrinal truth should eliminate any form of arrogance among believers.
So, we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another. Every believer in Jesus Christ during the Church Age receives at least one spiritual gift at salvation (some have multiple gifts). A spiritual gift is a specific ability given by God the Holy Spirit to a believer. Therefore, spiritual gifts are grace gifts from God to every believer in Christ. Whether a believer functions in their gift is a matter of personal volition.
However, since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly. The Greek word for gifts is “charisma,” and means grace gifts. Therefore, spiritual gifts are not earned or deserved. These gifts are divinely bestowed by the Holy Spirit. The purpose for spiritual gifts is for the function of the body of Christ in the local church.
Paul was showing the importance of the function of spiritual gifts. The command to function within your gift includes the necessity to advance to spiritual maturity so that the gift will function at its maximum capacity. Therefore, all the spiritual gifts function best in spiritual maturity.
God the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts according to His sovereign will, and they cannot be acquired or cultivated through human talent, ability, works, personality, systems of morality, or coercion. The assignment of spiritual gifts at salvation is just another proof that God intends for every believer to attain spiritual maturity and use their gift to further the effectiveness of the body of Christ. The distribution of spiritual gifts is a grace function of the sovereignty of God.
When God’s system of grace is properly applied to our lives, we realize that the only reason we are alive and sustained is due to the righteousness of God indwelling us. This is the only way that we are going to be able to relax and enjoy our lives as believers. When you are under pressure to “perform,” you are normally miserable, especially if you feel you will never measure up to God’s perfect standards. So, the key to victory over arrogance is humility.
Humility is a mental attitude of grace. Being humble is being grace oriented to life. Humility recognizes that everything in life depends on Who God is and what He has done for us.
Humility causes believers to think correctly about themselves. For example, they know that their divine production when operating within their spiritual gift is accomplished by means of the filling of the Holy Spirit. They also know that everything they are and everything they have is because of God’s matchless grace. Therefore, they can be relaxed, confident, and single-minded about life. Humility recognizes the rights of others, eliminating both inferiority and superiority complexes, which means our attitude should be one of “live and let live.”
Our individual responsibility is to live on the basis of God’s grace by presenting ourselves to God for His use. This means realizing that you are an important part of a much greater plan that will have a lasting impact in the resolution of the Angelic Conflict for all eternity!!!
James 4:6, “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore, it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’”