 Okay, the recording started. Good morning, each one of you. Thank you for connecting to the class. Let's take a moment to pray and then we will get started. Could somebody lead us in prayer? Who would like to pray with a class? Okay, so it's very quiet here. All right. Why don't you just pray with a class, please? And we'll start. Thank you so much for this brand new day. As we begin our day, Lord, and as we start our class, you will guide us, and Lord, you will open up the eyes of our understanding and also our hearts to be receptive, Lord. Teach us guide us, Lord. We come with a life of dying in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. All right. Once again, good morning to all of you. Welcome, and I, for those of you in other parts of the world, maybe it's evening or maybe it's very early in the morning, but thank you for connecting this morning. All right, so we are kind of towards the end of this course on our identity in Christ. We have two chapters that we're covering that we have to cover. One is which we started last week to talk about being one body in Christ. Then we're going to talk about the fact that we are ministers and ambassadors in Christ. And then we're going to spend some time talking about how to live the in Christ life. What are some of the instructions God has given to us in Scripture to live out of our place in Christ? So in Christ, we are in union with Him. We who have been joined to the Lord, we are one spirit with Him. He's the wine, we are the branches, His life flows through us. And so how do we live out of this place of spiritual union with Jesus Christ in everyday life? That's something we're going to look at. Possibly, hopefully, we'll be able to get into that next week. So today, our goal is to finish two chapters. One is about us being one body in Christ and then about us being ministers and ambassadors of Christ. So let's talk about being one body in Christ. We actually started this last week covered a few points there. So one being one body in Christ, we said that because we are baptized into Christ, we've been brought into Christ, we have put on Christ. That is Christ is now seen in and through us. We are clothed with Christ. And in Christ, there is no division, there's no division between races or social stents or whether you're Jew or a Greek or whether you're a slave or a free or male or female. Those are not distinctions, but we are all one in Christ. And we saw that also in Colossians 311. And therefore, when we consider each other, we regard no one according to the flesh. That means while we do recognize each one's personal identity and so in the natural, we don't let that be the dominant factor in our relationships. We regard no one according to the flesh, but rather we relate to each other as new creation in Christ. And God is gathering all of us together in one in Christ, in him. And we saw this that what are the implications of this? What does it mean? One, it means that being in Christ, we are God's dwelling place, God's temple. And so we keep the temple holy. Each one of us, we are God's dwelling place in this powerful passage from Psalm 132. We went through where God tells us what God does when he dwells among his people. And we also talked about the fact that we establish God, we ask the house of God, the temple of God, we establish God's presence, and it destabilizes the works of the enemy, wherever we are. We also talked about the fact that because we are, all of us are in Christ as people, God's people from different parts of the world, we're all in Christ. This communion or this partaking of one bread of the bread in the cup is an expression of, of course, it's an expression of many things, but it's specifically, it's also an expression of the fact that we are one bread and one body. That means we are one in Christ. So when we partake of the communion, we are, of course, receiving the blessings of the cross of Christ. We are receiving everything the Lord has provided for us through his blood and his body, but we are also expressing we are one body, one bread and one body in Christ. And that's why that partaking of the Lord's table, the communion is so powerful. So that's where we stopped last Sunday, last Sunday last week, we're going to pick up from 117.117. So in Christ, because you and I are in Christ, we are part of his body. So what does that mean? It means we are a member in that body. By member, we mean a functional part of that body. So Paul uses the term members to refer to, you know, these functional parts of his hands as high as the fingers, the nose, eyes, the ears, the feet. Some are internal organs, some are these external limbs that we can see. But what the analogy Paul uses the human body as an analogy, and he uses that to tell each one of us that because you are in Christ, you're part of his body. That means you are a functional part. You're a member in the body. That means God gives you grace. He gives you function in the body. And that's given to each one of us. He gives grace. He gives gifts and he gives function to each one of us. So let's please read this passage from Romans 12 versus 4 through 8. Somebody could read that out loud for us, please. Romans 12, 4 to 8. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. Having them gives differing according to the grace that is given to us. Let us use them. If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith. Or ministry, let us use it in our ministry. He who teaches in teaching, he who exhorts in exhortation, he who gives with liberality, he who leads with diligence, he who shows mercy with cheerfulness. Thank you. Amen. Thank you. So what is Paul teaching us? You see, all of us are in Christ. Therefore, we are part of his body. We are members of his body. That is, we are parts of his body. And as members in one body, all the members have some function. Now, all members don't have the same function, but all members do have some function. So that's the first thing you and I must understand. That being in Christ means we are part of his body. You're a member of his body. And that means you have some function in the body. That means you have some purpose, some role to play in the body. So he says, so we, though we are many, that means we are all different, we are diverse, we are one body in Christ. So that's what we've been studying about in Christ. So we are one body in Christ. And individually, each one of us are members. We are parts of this body and of one another. That means we are here to serve one another. And then what he says is having then gifts. So each one of us have been given gifts by God by the Lord. So each one of you have been given gifts and these gifts differ according to the grace that is given to us. That means he's given you gifts. That means the ability to do things. Plus there is grace, which is the empowering on your life. So what must you do? You must recognize you have a function. God has given you gifts and he's given you grace in Christ. So each one of us have a function. You have gifts in grace in Christ. And what does God want us to do? He wants us to use them. Now there are different kinds of gifts, different kinds. So here is just a small list. He talks about prophecy, talks about ministering or serving, talks about teaching, talks about exhorting and encouraging people, talks about giving or generosity, talks about leadership. He talks about mercy or compassion. So like this, there are just a new risk. If this is not a complete list, he's just saying, you know, whatever you've been given, use it. Now the gifts listed here in Romans 12, 4 through 8, are different from the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12. In 1 Corinthians 12, we're talking about the gifts of the Spirit, which is available for all believers. The same nine gifts are operational or available to be operated through every believer. Whereas in Romans 12, we're talking about what we refer to as functional gifts or membership gifts. That means these gifts are associated with your place in the body. The gift of the Spirit, which is in 1 Corinthians 12, is just related to the fact that the Holy Spirit is at work in each of us. Whereas these gifts in Romans 12 talk about our functional gifts, meaning depending on where God has placed you in the body and the gifts he's given you, you have a function, you have gifts in grace and God wants us to use them. So we have many members. All of us are members of that body, but we all have many functions or different functions in the body. So what we must understand is that each one of us have a function. We have gifts, we have grace and we must use them in Christ in the body. Now, it takes some time for many of us to discover what is our function in the body. So it doesn't happen overnight. Usually they tell people, you know, you try out different things. You do this, you just start doing things in the body and then you will find out, you know, what are the gifts given and what is a grace on your life? Now, all these three are interrelated. The gifts and the grace are related to your function. That's what God, what the Lord wants you to do in the body. If you don't have those gifts and the grace, then that function is not for you. But the function in the body is related to the gifts and the grace the Lord has put in your life. So it takes a little bit of time for us to recognize the gifts we have and the grace that's on our life. And that helps us understand our function, what he wants us to do. And you saw here that there are different kinds of functions. You know, for example, think about leadership, he who leads. So, you know, leadership itself is so diverse, meaning you can lead a small group, you can lead a group of 50 people, you can lead a group of 100 people, or you can lead a group of 1000 people. So, you know, all of them have leadership, but the degree of the gift and the grace vary in each one of those examples that we mentioned. It's the same gift of leadership, but the grace and the gift, the degree of that grace and gift varies. Think about teaching. Again, teaching, you can teach in a small group of two, three people, you can teach a group of 50 people, you can teach a group of 100 people, or you can teach a group of 1000 or more people. It's the same teaching function, but the degree of gift and grace varies on each person. And that the Lord gives according to, you know, what he has determined. And so, even though the teaching function is the same, the degree of the gift and the grace is different. So, what must we do? We must recognize that we can grow in our gifts and grace. We can grow. So, a person who starts of teaching, you know, five people, if they are faithful in using the gift and the grace in that teaching function, if they're faithful, then the Lord has, you know, expand their influence, they can start teaching maybe, you know, 50 people. And as they're faithful in that, and they grow in the gift and they grow in the grace, he can expand that to 100 or 1000 or more. So, that same teaching function, the gift and the grace can grow. And also the same teaching function can be expressed in different ways. For instance, you can teach by just sitting with people and sharing the word with them, or you can teach, you know, through the printed page, or you can teach through, you know, by the blogs, people write, because the expression of the teaching gift can be so many different ways. Or people can teach, you know, these days, on video and audio. There are just so many ways of expressing that gift. It doesn't always have to be, you know, just the one way of speaking. Speaking is one way of teaching, but you can also teach through your writing, can teach through several other mediums, right? So, that same gift can vary. So, you think about leadership. You know, the leadership gift can be expressed in so many ways. Somebody could, an entrepreneur is a leader. He's a leader in the area of business. Somebody could be a lead researcher, you know. He's leading a team of researchers, but God gives him gift and grace to do that. Somebody could be leading in, you know, leading a team of, you know, architects to build a building. Well, that leadership there, that gift and grace is something given to that person by God, or somebody could lead, you know, a team of pastors. Well, that leadership gift is given by God. So, the same gift of leadership can operate in different, you know, in different, or can be expressed in so many different ways, right? So, what am I saying? I'm saying that there are these functional gifts. There are different kinds of functional gifts. There are different degrees of that same functional gift. People can grow in their functional gift. There are different expressions of that same functional gift. And God gives, you know, gifts and grace to each of us to fulfill that function in the body. And we must all use them for the glory of God, right? So, each one of you, I just want to encourage you, take your time, discover, you know, what is your function? What are the gifts and grace God has put in your life? Because those gifts, the gifts and grace define your function. Be faithful. And using your gifts and grace towards that function, then as you use it, you will grow in it. And the Lord will teach you, you know, in what ways you can express that those gifts and grace. And it will be different. We don't have to always be like somebody else. You express the gifts and grace on your life that we God wants you, right? Now, the other part of the belonging to the body of Christ is that we must understand that being part of the body and serving in the body means that we serve together with other people who are also in the body because all of us have been given gifts, grace and function in the body. And so Paul once again brings this out in 1 Corinthians 12, talking about our functional gifts. He once again uses the analogy of the human body. This is a lengthy passage, but I just want us to read it. So, we really get the, yeah, get the full impact of what the Apostle Paul wants to convey to us here. So, could somebody read this for us 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12 to 27? I'll scroll as you read. You can start here in verse 12. For us, the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit, we were all baptized into one body with the Jews or Greeks with the slaves or free and have all been made to drink into one spirit. For in fact, the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the all were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them in the body, just as he pleased. And if they were all one member, where would be the body? Where would the body be? But now indeed, there are many members yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you. Now again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. No, much rather those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable on these which on these we bestow great honor and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty. But our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body having given greater honor to that part which lacks it. That there should be no schism in the body, but that should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ and members individually. Amen. Thank you. So I realize this is a long passage, but the main, you know, we can just highlight some of the key points that God is speaking to us through the Apostle Paul. So he's saying, look, you're all in Christ. So you all belong to the same body. Each one of you are members, individual members of this body. And God says, I want you to understand that in this body, there are different kinds of members. There's the eye, there's a hand, there's a ear, you know, there's a feet. And then there are bodies, parts of the body that are internal that, you know, nobody can see. So, so there are many parts in this body. And each one of us have been placed in the body just where God pleased. That means the function that God has given each one of us, God saw that that was the best function for us. So, you know, we don't have to, you know, be anxious or, you know, become jealous of somebody else. God, why didn't you give me that person's function? You know, no, we don't even need to think like that because the Bible says, God has set each one of us in our place, just as he pleased. So when you are in the place God has set, you're going to be pleasing to God. But if we try to wander out of our place and try to get into somebody else's place, then you know what? We are displeasing to God. So, you know, be happy with the function that God has given you and the gifts and the grace he's put upon your life, because with that function is giving the gifts and grace. So, having understood that each one of us are different members in the body, that means we have different functions, gifts and grace in the body. God says, don't look down on other functions. Don't say the whole body is the eye. No. If the whole body were an eye, what about the hearing? So, the whole body is not just you or not just one kind of function. So therefore, let us not try to force our function on to other people, saying everybody must be like me. No, there are different parts, different members, and so we all have different functions. Secondly, we must honor each other. You know, so regardless of our function, we just honor each other. Recognize, you know, some may have very prominent functions. They may be very visible. Some functions may not be visible at all. They may be behind the scenes. They may be like the internal organs. Yet, they are very vital. See, nobody sees the heart pumping, nobody sees the lungs that breathe. But, you know, these internal organs are so important. So, like that, there could be people who have very vital functions, but they are not very visible. So, just because they are not visible doesn't mean they are not vital. Right? So, God says, you know, you honor each other. Honor every member, whether they are visible or not, whether prominent or not, honor every brother, every other member in the body for the function they bring. Right? And so, we serve together. So, if one of us suffers, we suffer. We rejoice for those who rejoice. We suffer for those who suffer. That means, we are together in this as part of the body. And so, we recognize each other. We honor each other. We celebrate each other. And we, you know, we go together in the soul because we are part of that one body. Okay? Now, let me just go maybe finish this, and then we will take up questions in relation to this. The other part that we must understand as being part of the body of Christ is that collectively, we represent Christ in this world. So, a local church, the believers together represent Jesus in that area. So, there are many local churches around. And every local church is part of the body of Christ. And we believe believers. And believers in all local churches are part of the body of Christ. And we represent Christ to the world. Right? So, in Ephesians 1, 20 and 23, he says, you know, God has put everything under Christ's feet, given him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body. The fullness of him fills all in all. So, the church is Christ's body. And it is a completeness of him. And he fills every part of the church thoroughly with himself. And so, the body represents the head. See, so the body executes what the head directs. So, head is like the command center. And then the hands and the feet and the body does what comes to the head. So, we are representing Christ here on earth. We are his body. We are his hands, his feet. We do what he tells us to do and what he wants done here on earth. And similarly, we must learn to honor other churches. You know, it's very interesting that Paul talks about churches being in Christ. In Galatians 1, 22, he says, I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. So, he's saying, the churches of Judea, that means the churches, there were many churches in the region of Judea. And he says, these churches were in Christ. Same thing in 1st of students to 14. He says, he talks about the churches of God which are in Judea, that is in that region of the district of Judea, in Christ Jesus. So, it's very interesting, you know, he's talking about churches referring to whole communities of believers, right? That means there are many believers. These local churches, Paul says, they are in Christ. So, not only do we recognize other individual believers who are in Christ, we also recognize local churches as being in Christ. So, therefore, we honor local churches, right? We don't speak low of them. We don't, you know, judge and criticize local churches. No, we honor the local churches of believers, communities of believers who are in Christ. Now, keep in mind that local churches may have their own form of worship and expression of faith, believers. So, you know, they may sing and worship in different languages. They may, their style of music may be different. The way they may worship may be different. The way the community functions may be slightly different. And the way the style of preaching and ministry also may be different. So, they may have their own, you know, unique ways of expressing their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But as long as they are believers in Jesus Christ, as long as they are all saved and born again, those local churches are in Christ Jesus and we need to honor them and respect them in that manner. So, understand that being one body in Christ means that we all have functions. We all have a place in the body. We respect each other's functions. We represent Christ wherever He has placed us collectively. We also honor other churches that are in Christ. So, let me pause here and see if there are any questions. Is everyone with me so far on this? Any questions? Everyone's good? All right. Okay. If you have a question, please go ahead. Yes, Pastor. Thank you. So, my question is from Ephesians 4, where, yeah, from 15 and 16, like it says, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ, from whom the whole body joined in it together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does it share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. So, I was just trying to understand the phrase written here, like joined in it together by what every joint supplies. So, my, suppose my gift increase, someone else in the body of Christ is someone else dependent on this. That's what I wanted to understand. Is someone else dependent on what God has gifted in terms of my spiritual gift? The answer is yes. God, we are all dependent on each other's functions and gifts and grace. Dependent in this sense, God has put us in the body so that we can minister to one another, serve one another, bless and enrich and strengthen each other. So, when we use the word dependent, it is in the right sense, meaning we are here to enrich each other and bless each other and strengthen each other and serve each other, given to each other's lives spiritually and so on. But not dependent, not in the sense of, oh, you know, if that brother or that sister fails in fulfilling their function, it's the end of me or somebody else. No, it's not like that, right? Because ultimately, Christ fills his body with himself and he's got so many people. So, let's say, for example, I'm going through a difficult time and God wants to minister to me through person A at that given time. But person A, at that given time, you know, fails to reach out to me or fails to, for whatever reason, maybe they are busy, maybe they, you know, God is speaking to them saying, hey, you know, reach out and help that person, but they fail to do it. Well, God may use person B or person C to step in and minister to me, right? So, the answer to your question is yes, God wanted person A to supply into my life to minister to me at that point, but maybe they were too busy or they just couldn't hear God or didn't want to do it, whatever. But then God will use somebody else in the body to reach out and minister. So, that's how we are a body. We need to be attentive. We need to be serving, using our functions, but it's not, you know, quote unquote, life-threatening. If one person fails, God will use somebody else in the body. But we must also understand and recognize that some people have been given such, and I use the word quote unquote, again, I use it in quote, such important or such influential place in the body that if they make a mistake, they do something wrong, it could hurt a big part of the body. And I'm talking especially about leadership, right? So, when in the body, God has placed leaders, people in leadership, which means he has graced them with influence in the body. That's because he wanted, he wants to do something through them to bless many people. That's what influence is. It's God's grace upon a person to influence many people, to bless many people. So, that's leadership. And so, in the body, there are people who have leadership. Now, if that person whom God has graced with tremendous influence and the gift that goes with that, to actually bless so many people, if that person messes up, does something wrong, the blessing that he was intended to bring to so many people could now become something very painful for people because of, you know, what he does. So, that's why we need to be very careful. Yeah. Okay. Okay, best. Thank you so much. Good. Welcome. Any other questions related to what we've just covered? So, it's just what I encourage each of us, you know, wherever God has placed you, I want you to, you know, just start using your gift. Let me just share a little small testimony that, you know, so when I go back into my early teenage years, there was a time, and nobody told me to do this, but it just, you know, I just, there was just an inclination that I wanted to, you know, bless other believers. So, I'm talking, you know, when I was about, you know, early teenage years, so maybe around 14, 15, around that age. And I used to write little postcards, or sometimes on little pieces of paper, I should write letters, and I used to just post it to other believers whom I met. So, when I meet a believer, in those days, you know, there was no email or WhatsApp or instant messaging or free time, or in fact, even the phone was not that easy. We had those rotary phones and every house didn't have a phone, you know, some houses had phones. So, you know, so the main mode of communication was, you know, if you want to be right, let us. So, I remember in those days, when I meet a believer, I feel like, you know, God wants me to minister to this person on. So, I'll just say, can you give me your address? I'll take down their address. Then I would make it a point every week to write a few letters to people. And so, I would take a postcard and I'd say, Father, I want to write a note for this person, this brother. God, give me a word for that person. And I'll just listen, you know, and God will inspire a verse of scripture or a thought, you know. So, basically, it's like me giving a word for that person. I'm not going to tell them, that says to Lord anything, but I just pray. What about, feel the Holy Spirit prompts, I'll write it down on that postcard or on that piece of paper and I'll send it to them. So, I started doing that, you know. And when people would, you know, sometimes people write back or sometimes when I meet them later, they would say, hey, that really blessed me, that ministered to me. So, we'll just keep doing that. Then I was also studying the board of God. So, I sort of felt like I should write messages, you know, write messages. And in those days, we didn't have photocopying machines, but we had, you know, these were called cyclostyle machines. They were manual machines by which you make copies. So, I would hand write a message. Then I would take it to a typist. Somebody here knew how to type. They use typewriters. We didn't have computers in those days. So, it's like going back a long time. We're talking about the early 80s, mid 80s. And so, the typist would type what I had hand written onto this kind of, they called it stencil. They would type it onto the stencil and they would make hand copies. So, I would say I need, you know, 50 copies of this. I need 100 copies of this. So, it usually would be one page. But to do that one page, probably take a day or, you know, take several hours to do one page. And then they would make copies. So, to do those copies would take like a day, so on. So, I'd get my, you know, 50 copies or 100 copies of that letter. Then I would fold it, put it in envelope, stick stamps and send it out. So, I had my own little mailing list. And this was just to bless people. And then when I went to college, engineering college, I continued doing this. But now, you know, I would write maybe two pages or three pages and get that same thing done, get it all copied. We may make 100 copies and give it out to the students. Just as a way to bless them. So, you know, I just said, God, you know, I was not like trained in writing or anything, but I just started doing this. I felt I should do this. And I said, God, you know, you've given me this grace to do it, this gift to do it. I'll just be faithful. And then when I was in the U.S. studying during those years, of course, by those days, by that time, we had computers and we had word processors and printers and all that. And we had kinkos where I could go and get things xeroxed. So, technology had come in. So, I would write, this time I would write maybe six pages of a teaching, you know, and then get them printed xeroxed and I would send it out to people in the U.S. And I would also send it to India. And I had made arrangements with somebody in India who would make copies and send it out to people in India. By the time the number of people on our mailing list grew, you know. So, this was, I felt like, okay, God, this is a way that I can minister to people. You know, and I meet people today who remember and they still have copies of those letters that I wrote back in the 90s. And they say, you know, I still have copies with me. This message came to me at a time I really needed it. You know, so this was back in the 90s. And it was, you know, just something I thought I could minister to people. And then when we got back to India in 2000, I started writing books. That means I took all of this thing and started putting them in books. But I said, you know, I'm going to make the books free. We are going to make the books free. We're not going to charge. We're not going to write books to make money. We're going to write books to bless the body of Christ. So, we started printing books and we started, you know, just sending out books. And then we started getting them translated. And then printing it and distributing it across India. And then, you know, then with the website and the internet, we started putting these PDF books online. And literally today, you know, we have, you know, maybe hundreds of thousands of downloads of books today. And they're translated into so many languages. And they're all free. We have, I think people from over 100 countries, I don't know, maybe like 135 countries, 145 countries, who come to our website and use these resources. And the books are, you know, going out both in digital, as well as in print format print, we distribute in India. Literally hundreds and hundreds of thousands of copies of different books have gone out. You know, but how did it all start? It started by writing simple postcards to encourage friends. And today, it's like more than 100 countries. And it is just, just blessing so many, many people. So what I want to share with you with us is, you know, whatever gift and grace God has put in your life, whatever it is, maybe a simple thing. You know, nobody, I was not trained in writing. I didn't go to, you know, I was just started with what I had started a very small way. But just faithful in that. And today, you know, God is just using it to bless so many people. There are pastors who write to us and say, you know, we're using your books in teaching our people. There are, you know, different contexts of prayer groups, churches that are using it to train people, just so many things happening through the books that, you know, is just unimaginable. But it started in a very small way. So whatever gift God's given you, whatever grace God's given you, start using it. Even if it's a small way, start be faithful in it. Don't worry about becoming rich and famous and glamorous and all that. Don't worry about it. Be faithful. And the principle of the kingdom is this. If you're faithful in what's little, he will set you over much. So that's the law of progression in God's kingdom. Start small. Be faithful in small things. And then God in his way and his time will promote that, you know, and he will open up the doors. So the Bible says increase comes from God. And the increase we want is the increase that comes from God, not the increase that is man made, because man made increase will disappear. But the increase that God gives that will last through time. Right. So just use what God has given you, however small, whatever the gift, use it and God will bless it to bless many people. Okay. All right. So hope that encourages each of us. And let's be faithful in using what God's given to us. Okay. So we're going to take a little break now and we'll be back in 10 minutes. We'll pick up the next lesson, which is talking about ministers and being ambassadors. We will pick up that lesson right after the break. Okay. So we'll see you all in 10 minutes. Thank you. God bless.