How Believers are Defined - The Worth, Value, and Potential of Every Member of Christ's Church

Introduction

Many things in this world can easily hinder the believer’s walk with the Lord. Feelings of inadequacy can play very big into this. Many in the body of Christ have the common habit of comparing themselves to others (something we should never do) to see how they measure up in worth, value, potential, and usefulness. Much of this is due to a misunderstanding of their own identity in Jesus Christ. This misjudgment most likely stems from a failure to understand their place and purpose in God’s family.

Many people like to stress how we are all equally important compared to one another. But although the point of the same value, importance, and usefulness is spoken of and credited to every believer, many born-again Christians only talk the talk, but they don’t walk the walk. That is a big problem with our current church era of Laodicea, which puts so much stock on the things of this world, and praises the well-known, famous, educated, and “seemingly” “more godly” individuals of our day. But we must remember that man’s view of things does not compare to the perfect perspective of our awesome Creator. Unlike man, God has complete knowledge of every believer and it is His standards that matter.

This study aims to assure the believer of their worth and value before Jesus Christ and relieve them of the world’s misguided mindset. As Christians, our purpose and value are in Christ, not on man’s criteria of evaluating things.

All believers are equal, regardless of education, intelligence, spiritual gifts, ministries, status, popularity, etc. However, my impression is that few have taken the time to examine this critical topic more closely and in a more detailed fashion. Why this is the case is no doubt partially because of the misguided thinking, standards, and behaviors of so many lukewarm believers comprising the bulk of today’s church (Revelation 3:14-22). Believers can solve the problem of dubbing others’ worth and usefulness by man’s standards by an ever-increasing zeal to grow up spiritually in Jesus Christ. That way, our perspectives, standards, treatment, and behavior of others would change drastically.

But there is an unhelpful thinking pattern circulating within the traditional church that discourages its members’ growth and service. Some include the idea that one has to be very educated, intelligent, etc., to serve the Lord properly. A fine example of this is the all too common view of ministry in our day and age. This bad habit of limiting legitimate Christian service (or just ministry overall) to specific ministries with specific “qualifications” and “preparations” to harm other legitimate ministries requiring different preparations and spiritual gifts is all too common today. Since our identity is in Christ, how shameful it is to sweep under the carpet the work of another member of His flock who goes about preparing for and serving in ministry outside of the accepted ways of doing things.

There are no limits to what a believer can accomplish for the Lord. Yes, some gifts are of a higher authority; to this, there is no doubt. Elders (pastors/teachers in our time today) are deserving of double honor because of all the extra work they have to put in to carry out their ministries effectively (1 Timothy 5:17). But this does not mean they will be more rewarded in the heavenly kingdom for those reasons alone. How much a believer receives from Christ in eternity depends on how much they loved Him in their lifetime by using their free will faith to the very best degree to grow in and serve their Master. Even the most unintelligent person who comes to Christ could be the highest rewarded believer, with their name emblazoned on the heavenly kingdom for all eternity.

We believers only have one shot at this life to make the most of it for the Lord, and Jesus Christ is what this life is all about, a subject we will discuss in greater detail below. This study aims to examine the believer’s worth and value in their Savior’s eyes. This topic is essential because lies leave individuals (who feel they do not meet the criteria that lead to “true success”) feeling inadequate and insignificant, resulting in spiritual harm if they allow such lies to take hold.

Our value is not in our abilities, nor are we defined by them. Our true identity is in Christ Jesus, who graciously puts no limits on us for what we can accomplish for Him. Eternity is what matters, and it is to that that we look forward. Our treasures lie in the eternal kingdom. No matter how great the secular accomplishments here on earth, only what’s done for Christ will last. No person created themself, so no one can claim to have given themselves their talents, gifts, and abilities. Every capability possessed by man was granted to him by God. That means that there is no boasting. Although people can further develop their specific skills (they couldn’t further develop them without God’s help), it is always the case that some people are simply better and more apt at certain things. That is not because they made themselves that way, but because God designed them as He did. By taking credit for ourselves, we rob God of His glory and practically make gods of ourselves as if we were somehow capable of something only God can do.

This examination aims to see these aspects of secular and spiritual life as they truly are. In our lukewarm era of Laodicea, which emphasizes education and careers, we will say that those things, as important as they may be, should not be treated as just as important as our relationship with the Lord. The goal here is one of emphasis for the sake of priority. However rich or poor, skilled or unskilled, educated or uneducated - nothing in this life should come before God. Nothing comes close to comparing to who He is. God alone is the Judge and the One who defines every individual believer as equal in His eyes. And as we shall see later in this study, the Lord is also the One who determines the quality of our work done for Him. So let us strive to keep the fleeting things of this world in their proper place.

1. Spiritual Gifts- How God Views Value and Success

Every believer has a role to play in Christ’s church, and not one person is any less important than another. All who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ have received a spiritual gift(s) to use for building up Christ’s church. And I believe that a person can have more than one. The Lord does not limit every believer to one gift per se but endows many believers with multiple ways for them to minister. Some believers may have various gifts while others only have one, but this does not make them any more or less effective.

So even if a person has only one gift and one ministry, that does not excuse them from occasionally doing other work when needed, and such moments will occur for every believer!

For example, just because one person has the gift of teaching does not mean the Lord excuses them from evangelizing. Though their primary service to others is teaching them the Word of God, sharing the gospel is something every believer should do if the Lord is convicting them to do so at whatever moment. In the case of someone called to teach, they don’t go looking for people to share the gospel with (aka evangelizing) because that is not the ministry the Lord wants them to pursue (assuming teaching is their only gift and calling). They have to put more time and energy into preparing their teachings and then divvying it out to those willing to listen. But that same teacher is expected to witness when the opportunity presents itself. A random person may want to know more about the Lord, for example, and it is up to every believer to graciously offer them God’s gift of salvation regardless of their calling.

Some evangelists will need to do a little bit of teaching to those they witness to use another example. All believers will have to enlighten their listeners with the truth of Scripture to some degree or another. And to use teachers again, although teaching is their primary responsibility, they will have to engage in apologetics to some degree at some points. The purpose is to defend the truth they teach.

Also, there are many spiritual gifts in the body of Christ not limited to what so many within the church have reduced them to. To help elaborate on this, we will discuss the following passage below.

Although Scripture mentions only a few spiritual gifts, these are not all there are. There are gifts within gifts or different flavors or types. For example, teaching is not limited to one particular style or approach but has many different styles and topics. No two teachers are entirely alike, and there will always be various types of teaching ministries not restricted to a one size fits all. As long as they teach the truth seriously and correctly, that is all that matters.

Giving and helping are two other spiritual gifts, just to name examples. There are so many spiritual gifts and possible ways to use them that it would take too much time and space to discuss them here, and even that discussion would be far from complete. What should be understood is that there are far more spiritual gifts and ministries to use them in than what the traditional church has realized over the years. And in today’s lukewarm day and age of Laodicea characterized by spiritual sleepiness and indifference to God’s Word, it is no wonder so many carry these misconceptions. And this is no mystery either because most today never get to the point of growing to spiritual maturity to use the gifts so graciously given them.

Although the Bible only mentions a small list of spiritual gifts, we know that the writers of Scripture were aware that the ones they listed were not the limit. And for the ones mentioned, different styles, approaches, audiences, and topics would undoubtedly be present because every believer is gifted differently. For example, one teacher may be more gifted in teaching specific issues but weaker in others. The weakness of one teacher is the strength of another who fills the gap. In the end, all members help each other so that no need is neglected.

Spiritual gifts are not something we give ourselves, but they are from God as an expression of His grace. That is the meaning of the phrase in our passage above, “according to the grace given to us.” They are spiritual gifts for a reason, and that is because they are given to us by God as gifts (they are free because we cannot earn them). We can never get around to using them unless we grow up spiritually. And even though a person may have accepted the gospel, this is no guarantee they will realize their calling right away. Though everyone is different, the time it takes to know one’s gifting can be years, though this is not the case for everyone because God reveals all these things to us in His good time. The faster we grow, the quicker we come to realize our spiritual strengths and weaknesses. How long it takes to discover how one should serve can be affected by how hungry they are to please the Lord (although the time the Lord chooses to reveal His calling for everyone may still vary according to His timetable).

So there is no boasting about our spiritual gifts because they were given to us by the Lord, and never did we ever possess them before coming to Christ. The individual believer’s eternal rewards depend on how well they serve in proportion to their abilities and circumstances (how much they produce in proportion to what they have). There will always exist needs to fill inside and outside of the body. There is and never will be such a thing as any non-essential gift or ministry in the church. Since all believers make up one large body, every part must perform its function for the whole to work correctly. Just as we have different parts of the physical body that each serve a specific purpose, so it is with the gift(s) of every single believer. God wants all believers to reap a bountiful crop for Him in the eternal kingdom!

Concerning the specific gifts mentioned in our Romans passage, the message’s thrust is to minister in the area we have been gifted, according to the ministry the Lord wants us to carry out. In proportion (ἀναλογία refers to a mathematical ratio) to his faith and “the one who teaches, in his teaching” means not trying to do something that we don’t have the gifting to do. If the Lord wants a person to teach, then pursuing evangelism as one’s main or only ministry would be going outside of one’s gifting and calling. If called to teach, then teach! Don’t do something the Lord doesn’t want you to do! And we should never attempt to take our spiritual gifts beyond the level of maturity we have achieved. In other words, a teacher who has only been undergoing preparations for a short time, and is limited in his knowledge of the truth, should not attempt to undertake the task of teaching something beyond his understanding. As faith grows, so does one’s experience, and with time and preparation, something that used to be out of our reach is now something that we can handle.

Before we leave our passage, it is necessary to mention that the gift of prophecy (the early version) is no longer in operation as it is no longer required. The same thing also goes for the gift of apostleship, tongues, and healings. Those gifts were for specific times and specific purposes. Please see The Sign Gifts.

1.1 Ministry

The spiritual gifts we receive at salvation correspond to the ministry the Lord calls us to. Ministry is the act of using our gifts, not just possessing them and doing nothing with them. Unfortunately, so many spiritual gifts are being wasted in the body of Christ because there is very little desire among the majority to use them. The potential for those willing to exercise their gifts through ministry is limitless.

Spiritual growth and progress usually come before service, though any believer can minister at any time in some way or another leading up to their chief ministry. All believers are called to different things at different times and places with varying circumstances. But all ministry requires at least some preparation and experience (depending on what one is doing).

As we have touched on before, there are many legitimate ministries that are not considered “real ministry” in the church today. Service to God is not limited to being a missionary or a pastor (teacher). God has a task, or tasks, for every member of His kingdom.

Using our spiritual gift(s) is crucial because this is the most important work we will ever have the chance to do. People worldwide need the Lord. But the church needs help as well. In our age, the church is in desperate need of revival, something that will sadly not occur until the horrors of the tribulation force most of its members to finally get serious about their walk with the Lord. The church cannot continue to keep overemphasizing helping those outside God’s family to those within it. It is wonderful for believers to come to Christ, but they need spiritual food to grow. The Christian world is accustomed to seeing believers come to Christ, get into a church, and not get very far spiritually. This cycle is an all too common problem that keeps spinning in circles because the churches’ attitude has remained the same for so many years, lukewarm. It is good that churches continue to bring in new believers into the ranks of God’s kingdom, but lukewarm Christians will only continue to produce lukewarm Christians. In other words, the church is in serious trouble from within itself. The well-meaning emphasis on evangelizing to such a great extent has become a distraction. Evangelism is good, but God’s family is hurting. The church’s health is at stake because it is in such a bad condition. This issue needs to be addressed more because weak believers will only create more weak believers. But strong believers will make firm believers (Proverbs 27:17).

Evangelists can teach the truth to the lost more effectively if they are spiritually healthy. Teachers will then be more capable of helping the new converts grow to spiritual maturity. Teachers are in the body of Christ to teach the Word seriously, not to entertain their listeners and hinder their growth by failing to serve the proper spiritual food that the infant in Christ needs to grow.

The point of mentioning all the above is that we should take our ministries seriously. If we fail to handle the truth carefully, what chance is there to be responsible for the task that lay before us? How can we help others if we can’t take care of ourselves?

To help us better understand the concept of spiritual gifts and ministries, we will briefly survey 1 Corinthians 12:4-31 below, which will be our touchstone for the final section of our discussion on this topic. We will not, for the sake of time and space, examine this more in-depth. Instead, we will give a brief overview of the passage itself.

A. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

These verses maintain that all spiritual gifts, ministries, and effects have only one source from which they come. The Spirit is the One who gives every believer the spiritual gifts they receive and empowers them to carry them out. A great emphasis one can draw here is that no person can boast about what they have, how much they serve, and how much their service produces. Therefore, all believers must be careful not to misjudge and disqualify what counts as legitimate Christian service. And if we are not sure about something, better keep our mouths shut and leave it in the Lord’s hands. God produces the results and determines the quality of our work, and it is this evaluation that all believers will get to see for themselves at the judgment seat (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). Upon entrance into the family of God, it is the Spirit who gives us our spiritual gifts, while the Son assigns the ministry, and the Father produces the results. Thus, all members of the Trinity play their part in building up the church.

No matter how many gifts and ministries within the body, they all come from God, who is three in one. That should impress the truth that we must rely on God’s strength to use what we have received. And this is because trying to do anything in the power of our flesh will result in no reward. Whatever the so-called “work” we tried to accomplish outside of God’s control will only be tossed into the “fire” at the Bema. But if what we did we achieved through the Lord’s strength and with the right motives, we will receive a reward for that act of service.

B. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

In verse seven above, the good spoken of refers to the good works accomplished in ministry to build up Christ’s church, strengthen it, and add to it. Here we see stressed that every believer has a role to play in the body and that every person’s work is equally important because it is all going toward the same goal. All things done in the Lord’s name for another person will not fail to be recognized. For although a particular act of service may have appeared small in the eyes of men, God looks at the heart. Our intentions and motivations are just as, if not more important, than the actual act of service itself.

If a believer’s attitude is off in any way during their service to God, what that person did was not good because they didn’t accomplish it in God’s power. Someone with a bad attitude or selfish and prideful motives cannot expect to receive anything at the judgment seat because they served under the control of their flesh, which resulted in a sinful approach to their service. Only God can produce anything good in us; our job is to submit to Him and let Him work through us to accomplish that “common good.”

For verses 8-10, please see “The Sign Gifts”. For verse 11, please see above.

C. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

The church is very similar to the human body in that it has many members with different functions. Though there are a diversity of believers with various gifts and ministries, they all contribute to the same goal of building up the entire body of Christ. In this sense, all believers work as one for the common good of the church. And this is an important thing for all of us to remember because we cannot build one another up and work in a unified way if we do not recall our identification in Jesus Christ. As the following verses in our passage will show, we cannot eliminate the importance of every believer’s role in the body because they are just as active as anyone else. We cannot deem specific ministries as more important or noble than others based on our preconceptions that thrive on our false ideas of what we think is more rewardable and significant in God’s eyes. We must never forget that God does not see as man sees, and man’s viewpoint of things is far from perfect, unlike our Savior’s.

In verse thirteen, the baptism spoken of refers to the “baptism of the Spirit.” That is known as the regeneration process, and if you look closely, you will see there is nothing to suggest a water baptism here, which is because water baptism plays no role in salvation. The moment a believer puts their faith and trust in the Lord, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell them, testifying with their spirits that they belong to Him in becoming a seal of promise that guarantees their eternal life as long as they continue to believe. When a person dies having the Holy Spirit, they will live with Jesus Christ for all eternity. But if a person who passes away lacks the Spirit, that person does not have Christ, which is a sign and confirmation of their condemnation.

This baptism of the Holy Spirit identifies us with Christ and His church and is the only baptism a believer needs. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Paul describes how a believer has entered into the family of God. He notes that it was by the Holy Spirit’s baptism that such entrance took place, for it is the Spirit who acts as a witness, a pledge, and a seal for the believer. Nowhere is water baptism attributed to having any of these powers in Scripture.

Paul then goes on to say, “and we were made to drink of one Spirit.” He describes how salvation occurs, or what took place and had to happen for a believer to enter into God’s family. If water baptism was needed and crucial in this process, why does Paul not mention it? Paul would have only been giving a half-truth of the salvation process in this verse if it had the power to save because he omitted another critical step. But he didn’t include it (water baptism) because it is not part of the salvation process. If being dunked in water had some extraordinary power to save, Paul would have had NO CHOICE but to include it in his description. Instead, he told the Corinthians how they have entered into the family of God, and there is no mention of water baptism in this verse. If water baptism was a crucial step in the process, i.e., it had spiritual power, Paul would not have left it out. But as it is, everything was worked out by the Holy Spirit alone.

The final part of verse thirteen in our passage (and we were all given the one Spirit to drink) speaks of the believer receiving the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ after having drunk of Him by accepting Him as Savior, for He has said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give Him shall never thirst” (John 4:14). And we know that Jesus described Himself as the water of life.

The statement “whether Jew or Greek” in verse thirteen of our Corinthians passage refers to the truth that Christ died for all people. God created all men, and each individual is fearfully and wonderfully made in His image and likeness. God does not show partiality or favoritism, especially when receiving people into His kingdom!

D. 1 Corinthians 12:14-21

Christ’s church has no special “member” or “members” because all believers are unique. There is one body made up of many individual people who all work and function as a team to accomplish the work the Lord has for every one of them. No person is left out, for the Lord expects all to participate in the spiritual service we are all called to do. Where one believer is strong, another is weak, and where one believer is weak, another is strong.

For this reason, it is so crucial that the body of Christ not be divided against itself, and that is because the church can only increase in health if each member works and functions as it should. For example, a disorganized sports team with no chemistry will fail to be a dominant force that beats the opposition. The same thing goes for disorganized troops in the military. Sadly, the church today is about as disunified as it can get.

Those serious about their walk with God by seeking to know more of Him through His Word are the “players” or “soldiers” who are pulling their weight of the work by putting in the most time, effort, and commitment. In other words, they are doing what they are supposed to do. It is not fair to God or other believers for so many to be lazy and complacent. It is not good to be a slack hand or leg!

When people get saved, they need to understand that their salvation is not all about them as if they were a one-person show marching to their own drumbeat. They have joined the most elite force in the entire universe known as the army of God. Since it is Christ who is our commander (with the power to save and destroy, reward and take away), then reverent fear of the One they have enlisted for should be a good enough incentive for a new convert to take their job seriously.

God wants unity in His church, but most believers have chosen their desires despite what they may claim. Keeping physical fellowship by itself is not unity if there is no desire to get serious about the truth and living it out. On the contrary, believers are brought closer together by growing in and building each other up in the truths of Scripture. That is why doctrine matters. That is why attitude is crucial. There is a big difference, for example, between those who are passive about truth and those who love it. The gap between those who are red-hot and those who are lukewarm is wide indeed!

Now the big issue our Corinthians passage addresses are not to exclude or downplay any individual, spiritual gift, or ministry in the body of Christ. Yes, this does hurt Christ’s body, and it affects the other members negatively. But as we have just touched on above, many choose to exclude themselves because they fail by their own choice to use their spiritual gifts as they should because of indifference toward God’s expectations for them.

So for those reading this who are eager to grow, progress, and produce for the Lord, don’t ever think the ministry the Lord is calling you to is less significant than any other! On the contrary, God will always set us up for maximum production if we allow Him to work within us. But this does require cooperation on our part. If we want to reap a bountiful crop for the Lord, we must LIVE and ACT like that is our genuine desire. The question is, how well will we do with what we have?

Every function in the church is important to God. He does not show favoritism, and He wants EVERY believer to go as far as they can in this life. The only thing limiting a person is themselves. Believers of Laodicea are not doing themselves or others a favor. Instead, they hinder the body’s growth from within and only limit the so much greater potential they could have. And it gets even worse, for as the great apostasy in the tribulation will show, one-third of all believers alive at that time will fall away from the faith, only to betray their once brothers and sisters in Christ and take the mark of the beast (Revelation 12:4; Matthew 24:10-13; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3). That is why putting God first should be at the front of every person’s mind. As mentioned above, if believers were doing what they should be doing, none of this would be a problem like it is today.

E. 1 Corinthians 12:22-26

In the context of our passage, the Corinthians had a big problem of selfishness where multiple people would put themselves before others, and this occurred even with spiritual gifts. Certain believers thought they were more important in God’s eyes because of their gifting. But as we have mentioned, our eternal rewards are based on how well we serve in proportion to what we have, not by our gifts. But the Corinthians were not thinking this way but were seeking their own glory and honor while failing to build up other believers within their ranks. It was a selfish, “me first” type attitude that was self-seeking instead of God seeking. It is a matter of choice stemming from the disposition of a person’s heart, not gifting, which determines the believer’s success.

In verses twenty-two and twenty-three of our passage, those who seem less honorable and weaker from the human viewpoint may not be so in God’s eyes. Those who appear less important only appear so in the eyes of men. But God sees things differently. All believers need each other because each member of the body supports itself in some way. The Corinthians’ main problem was self-reliance and overconfidence in their particular callings.

Our passage says that every part needs to be present for the whole body to function as it should. We all need help from others, and that is what church family members are for, to build each other up and strengthen one another through God’s Word.

A prime example of this is that so many in the Church tend to deem only certain ministry functions as “legitimate.” It is a popularity contest of sorts because people considered the “greatest believers” of our day are on a pedestal. Only God knows these things perfectly, and opinions do not necessarily represent the truth. For this very reason, we are told not to judge before the time, in addition to the fact that first will be last, and last first (Matthew 20:16).

An excellent passage to show that man’s opinion doesn’t necessarily equate to truth is Matthew 20:1-16. The point is that what appears more rewardable in man’s eyes is not necessarily the case from God’s perspective. As for the interpretation of the parable of the laborers in the vineyard itself, we interpret it below.

This parable links directly with Matthew 19:30, in which Jesus ends with “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” The landowner who gives each worker a denarius represents Jesus Christ providing salvation to all who accept it, meaning the workers in our parable represent believers. Each “worker” receives equal pay because no man deserves eternal life more than any other. Salvation is for everybody, and all can accept it. Since our Lord accepts all men who come to Him, we believers are to do the same. The Lord drives no one away who comes to Him in faith (John 6:37-40); a truth believers must practice.

The workers who receive their money first are believers who receive their eternal rewards before everyone else, even though most would expect the men hired first (the other believers) to receive their wages ahead of the others.

Many believers deemed greatest over the years will be shown at the judgment seat not to have accomplished as much as was thought. Not only will they not have produced as much as expected, but many who were assumed and seen to be less effective in the body of Christ will end up receiving not only a greater reward at the judgment seat but receiving it first as well. In the church’s eyes, these believers were last (behind those deemed more productive) but turned out to be first, having done more with their spiritual gifts. Even though they were more under the radar regarding their service to Christ, God sees everything we do and why we do it. On the other hand, man has limited knowledge of what other believers accomplish because God evaluates the quality and quantity of our work. Additionally, He also looks at our hearts, something that other people cannot see except our Lord Himself, who knows our thoughts, attitudes, and motivations involving why and what we do.

There is an important lesson we can learn from this: believers should not judge before the time. It is often easy for many within the church to assume those with better education, intellect, charisma, popularity, speaking abilities, and apparent ministry works will be the most rewarded in the kingdom. And not only people with so much of the above but believers with multiple spiritual gifts instead of just one. But what escapes the attention of many Christians is the fact that God does not limit individuals by their circumstances and abilities. That kind of popularity contest discredits so many genuine servants of Christ who are making the most significant difference in the world today.

Additionally, the negative behavior mentioned above discourages many from pursuing their spiritual gifts in the ministries the Lord calls them to, and Christ calls all to serve Him. How much each servant of God can achieve has nothing to do with intellect, education, popularity, number of/or specific gifts, and abilities. As the example of the poor widow in the passage below demonstrates, it all has to do with how well we serve with what we have.

However, many whom the church views as worthy of greater reward will receive some of the highest in the kingdom. So those who seemed unproductive may not have accomplished much at all. On the other hand, those seen to have achieved a tremendous amount of spiritual work will have accomplished a lot and will be among the “first” and not the “last.” So our Lord is not teaching that man’s perception will be inaccurate in every case for sure. But human judgment is often incorrect, and that will prove true at the Bema. The parable’s point is that Christ is the ultimate judge and that we are not to play God and become judges unto ourselves. The Lord is the One who will evaluate our work, not man. Many will have misjudged the life and work of so many believers, and this will prove true when every saint before Christ’s return stands at the judgment seat only to be greatly shocked and surprised to see the results turn out differently than they expected.

How much reward we receive in heaven is based entirely on choice, that is, the decisions we make in life. So, though we can’t control what gifts we receive and what ministry to serve in, we control how well we decide to serve with what we have.

Concerning our passage in Corinthians, we read the following in verse 23-25:

23 and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, 24 whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

Believers with so-called “more honorable gifts” do not need any more attention than they already have. However, since the popular gifts that are more common already receive enough praise and respect, believers should be giving more attention to the gifts and ministries that do not receive as much attention, especially if they are in higher demand. The idea is bestowing equal importance on every ministry so that every believer will be held at the same level so that there is no division. In other words, we show equal love for all our brothers and sisters in Christ, knowing that their gifting alone does not mean they are any less effective and impactful than others.

So when we speak of the church, more attention needs to be given to those less popular than the others because they need to be recognized. And recognizing them is the right way of keeping others humble, encouraging all believers to keep their spiritual gifts and ministries in perspective as they should, knowing that everything they have comes from the Lord. In this way, all members are more likely to set their eyes on God (instead of themselves) as the One whom they trust at all times.

26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

The above verse just goes to show how much other believers should mean to us. Our love for all of Christ’s saints should be so great that when we see or hear of another believer suffering in any way, this will affect us to some degree. When one of our teammates or fellow soldiers goes down or suffers some setback, this will affect the rest of the group. Philippians 2:19-30 is a prime example of this. We see this in the examples of the apostles and prophets when they suffered in some way. How much grief it caused their followers!

F. 1 Corinthians 12:27-31

The Purpose of giving an order among the spiritual gifts in our Corinthians passage is to show authority positions among them. When it was still a gift in operational use, apostles had the highest authority. Second were prophets and third teachers. In our day and age, teachers have the most leadership in the church because they are working in a pastoral office, and their knowledge and walk in the Word have to be very high for them to carry out their task. Teachers are supposed to be role models to those they teach, and as such, they have to be especially careful in what they teach and how they live their lives. As mentioned previously, it is the teachers who will incur a stricter judgment (James 3:1).

The list in our passage doesn’t show that there are more important gifts than others since, as we have already seen, that is not the case. These gifts are listed based upon how much authority they carry with them, not by how important each one is.

The Lord is the One who gives believers their spiritual gifts and empowers them for use. The results of our ministries are all pre-determined by God’s planned foreknowledge of human history. The point of verses twenty-nine and thirty is that believers cannot have every spiritual gift since God determines them. So with that said, how do we interpret verse 31 below, which states:

Today’s believers cannot receive the gift of tongues, prophecy, healing, apostleship, and miracles. Such was only for a specific time; the church’s beginning in its transitional stage from infancy to adulthood. The verses below confirm this.

1 Corinthians 13:8-11 tends to suffer mistranslation, but we have to interpret it in its context. The gifts mentioned above would cease to exist because they were only for a specific time and purpose. They were available to help establish the church from infancy to adulthood. Just as a child first learning how to swim might need floaties when just starting, the church required specific sign gifts that would aid in its nurturing. It required special care. But once the church matured and “grew up,” the time for the unique sign gifts was beginning to close. It was time to “put away childish things,” which the church no longer needed.

In addition to that, the sign gifts tended to be a distraction from what was truly important. They were back then, and they are today for those still trying to practice them. Unfortunately, we see this among many charismatic churches today, which detract from the truth for the sake of practices that are now obsolete. Such congregations are still clinging to “childish things” and are acting as if they still live in a time that is now long past.

But what about teachers? We still have them, don’t we? Yes, and we should desire more teachers because there are so few of them, and in today’s churches, we need good teachers more than ever. Since individuals with higher authority gifts are outnumbered by most believers not so gifted, it would be helpful for all believers to seek them to bring in more of what is lacking.

To sum up, if a person does not know their gifting, they should hope and desire one in more demand, i.e., less common. This desire shows great love and concern from the believer to fill in the gap. Even if the Lord does end up giving said person such a gift(s) which is already abundant, the Lord was still pleased by the disposition of that person’s heart toward the shortage of said gift(s). And never should we fear, for the Lord will provide all the qualified men and women to fill in all positions needed in the body of Christ, just as long as His children cooperate.

“And I show you a still more excellent way.”

The statement in italics above refers to the way of love spoken in chapter 13, the best way to use one’s spiritual gifts. “Let all that you do be done in love.”

The next chapter of Corinthians helps reinforce the goal and aim of 1 Corinthians 12:22-26. Disunity due to self-seeking pride and arrogance will only divide, not unite. But, just as how a “kingdom divided against itself cannot stand,” neither can a church function if there is no love between its members. And that is what chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians takes pains to show. Love for God and others determines everything, how we serve with what we have and how we treat others. If that love is lacking, what we have and what we do with what we have will not mean anything (1 John 3:14-19, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

2. Eternal Rewards

As we will see further below, the Bible speaks of crowns of reward given to believers for having advanced to particular stages in their Christian walk. These crowns are the crown of righteousness, the crown of life, and the crown of glory.

But one may wonder, “what other rewards are there?” There is still a lot that the Bible does not tell us about this, but we can be sure that for every good act of service we did in the Lord’s name, we will receive something for it in return so that every believer who holds fast to their faith in the Lord Jesus will have something to show for their time on earth. No person who enters God’s kingdom will go in empty-handed. And even for those believers who accomplished the least with the time they had, they will still be as happy as can be living in eternity with the rewards they did accrue (even if they never win the crown of righteousness from growing up to basic spiritual maturity).

As can be seen from the passage above, just about anything we do in the Lord’s name can be rewardable just as long as whatever we do is done with pure motives in His power. To all believers who hold fast to their faith regardless if they ever reached spiritual maturity in this life, they have eternal life and eternal rewards for all the good things they, no matter how little. But for the believers who went farther and did more with their time, there are three crowns of reward for them depending on how far they got.

A. The Crown of Righteousness

All believers who endure in their faith to the very end will receive eternal life. However, that does not mean they will inherit the crown of righteousness rewarded to all believers who grow to basic spiritual maturity and live so consistently. The Lord grants this crown to all believers who get saved and then grow to spiritual maturity, passing the basic tests of everyday life along the way. We cannot come into the primary ministry the Lord has for us to do if we have not yet grown up to basic maturity.

Still, our Lord has specific work for every member of the body that requires them to be more prepared and battle-tested to carry it out. You can think of this as going from basic training in the military to more advanced preparation. For how can a person do something that they are not ready to do? A new convert will have minimal knowledge of God’s Word to help other believers as effectively. There is then the issue of sin. Christians new to the faith will have to “learn the ropes” when it comes to Christian living, not just knowing that they need to get in their Bibles, pray, and receive good solid Bible teaching. All believers have to learn how to apply the truth they receive to help others with head knowledge and experience. We cannot help others if we don’t know how to “govern” ourselves. That means a person is living a consistent life of obedience. They have learned to apply the truth of God’s Word in their lives so that they can use that same experience to help others who may be going through what they once did. The passages below are good examples.

We have to be consistent in the Christian walk; otherwise, we will become prone to backsliding. Maintaining a firm standing will require that we learn how to apply God’s Word in our lives in a manner that is second nature to us. If a believer ever wants to win the crown of righteousness, then the safest route is to keep running down the main road without diverting one’s attention to other paths. We have to keep advancing, not slip back, stray from our objective, and lose the ground we have already covered, for there can be no turning back for the believer who has chosen to stay faithful to Jesus Christ. We must keep our eyes fixed on the Lord and not get distracted and led off course by the ephemeral things of the world.

B. The Crown of Life

Our Lord rewards the crown of life to believers who pass excruciatingly difficult tests of their faith and continue to advance in the process. These trials go beyond the basic everyday tests and temptations that believers have to face, for they are more challenging. Once a believer has reached spiritual maturity by overcoming the daily obstacles of the Christian life, their faith is now ready for the more challenging spiritual tests that the Lord puts the maturing believer through to refine their faith.

As a side note, spiritual growth, progress, and production can be taking place simultaneously. Spiritual growth (as well as advance and ministry) never ends this side of eternity and should always occur. Severe testing meant to stimulate further spiritual growth and service in the Lord’s name is most frequently going to come the way of believers who are advancing as they should.

There is a difference between “testing” on the one hand and “temptation” on the other. God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13-17), nor can He be tempted. Only Satan tempts believers to sin. God would never encourage evil, nor would He ever advocate sinful behavior. Despite this, temptations are still part of the day-by-day tests that all believers have to undergo. They still test our faith in God to the degree that we have to learn how to trust Him and not in our own strength to overcome them. Everyday temptations are things that the Lord allows us to go through, and for a good reason. Temptations test to see whether we are walking in the Spirit moment by moment as we should. They test our hearts, faith, and free will but never go beyond anything our faith can handle.

The more difficult challenges believers face are usually tests directly from the Lord Himself, not the devil. They are not temptations and should never be seen as such, for doing so can cause a believer to fall into the common mistake of crediting God with temptation. Satan tempts us to do evil, whereas God tests us to grow and refine our faith in Him. The Lord’s desire for every believer in this whole process is for them to learn to rely entirely on Him and not on themselves. It is the “make or break you” type of challenge because of the increased difficulty. Although a believer may have grown up and done well in the basics, they may find themselves so discouraged by the hardships from the next level of training they have to undergo. They may think to themselves, “I didn’t sign up for this,” and may end up turning back and abandoning the mission. During spiritually strenuous times such as these, many believers end up turning away from God because they think the heat has become too much for them. That is because they are not willing to go any further than the comfort zone they have sat in for so long. They may have been ready to go through basic training but have not counted the cost of all the further preparation they would have to undergo (Luke 14:25-34).

We must resolve to stay faithful to Christ with all our hearts. We do this by fixing our eyes on Him at all times and continuing to supply our minds with the proper ammunition of truth needed by the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of righteous obedience within us. Our trust is in the Lord, not in our circumstances or in what we have or desire to have. Jesus is all we need, and He will provide for our every needs both physically and spiritually. If we build up our faith day in and day out by embracing the truth, then we have nothing to fear about the future. As believers, we expect trials and tribulations to come, for they are mandatory and not optional for our spiritual growth. So when we go through difficult times, God has our very best for us in mind.

There are various ways the Lord can test believers, so many that we will not even attempt to discuss it here because that would be an impossibility. We have to remember that heavier tests come our way to strengthen our faith, not damage it! Increased difficulties are the signs that a believer is maturing as they should. Instead of running away, we should embrace the challenges the Lord allows us to go through. Embracing the task ahead in faith and obedience is the only way to get through our trials. The Lord does the work of delivering us, and we participate by submitting to His will so that He can work in and through us to accomplish all things for His good pleasure.

And here is a big mistake we must always avoid! We must never spend any time gawking at our circumstances by contemplating how difficult and miserable they may appear to us! For if we stare at the test for too long, as opposed to keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, then our hearts will slowly begin to sink because we have chosen to get distracted by the “wind and waves” swirling around us. We walk by faith, not according to our feelings and circumstances! No matter how difficult our situation may be, we must not allow ourselves to lose sight of the light of Jesus Christ leading us forward. But if we divert our attention onto other things that will only weaken us, things that are insufficient to deliver us, can we expect to overcome our trials? We do not look behind, nor to the right or the left, and not even into the distant future. We look straight ahead at Jesus, taking one step at a time, day by day, moment by moment. And if we look back, it is to the cross that we look. And if we look farther ahead, we do so with great hope knowing the inheritance we shall receive in eternity.

We must not listen to our feelings. They will only cave in on us because they link with the flesh. We listen to the Holy Spirit living inside us because He is the One who makes truth real and usable inside of our hearts after we have taken it in. Feelings (even though we can’t always control them; but we can control how we react to them) will backfire on us, telling us that we must stress the difficulties we face and follow their lead. If we choose to follow their leadership, then we have given ourselves over to the flesh to walk in its power after having left the Spirit’s controlling influence over us. That is why we must listen to the truth we have stored in our hearts, which the Spirit makes real to us because only by believing and applying that same truth can we have any hope to win the battle we have to engage. And since faith has an object, walking in faith means walking in Christ’s power, knowing that He will see us through to the very end.

Bearing up under the more difficult tests the Lord sends our way requires a stronger faith, more willpower, and a zealous determination to please the Lord. And once we have gone through more intense testing, we come out of it a different person. Think of ranking officers in the military. After having endured further extreme testing and strengthening of our faith, we emerge out of the whole ordeal in a higher rank of usefulness to the service of our true commander, the Lord Jesus Christ. Before the trials began, we were different people. After we have gone through them, we come out better in every way.

C. The Crown of Glory

The crown of glory goes to believers who have completed all three steps of the Christian life. They have grown up to spiritual maturity, passed significant tests of their faith, and have come into and completed the ministries the Lord had for them to serve in. For not only have they gone into service, but they have completed it, i.e., the amount of work they met and the results that followed were all determined by God.

Now for those who never get to the point of ministry or even spiritual maturity, eternal life still awaits. Dying with faith intact is, to some extent, “completing the mission.” All believers who continue to believe in Jesus Christ till death will have their share in eternal life with at least something to show for their time on earth since saving faith cannot be absent of any production, James 2:26. As little as a believer may have accomplished, they will still be happy in the new eternal home they will share in fellowship with Christ and all other believers, even if they lived a mostly wasted life.

As we have already mentioned before, ministry is something that every believer can do at any point after getting saved. On the day of their conversion, a new convert can minister to another believer by simply praying for them or giving to them. These righteous acts will not fail to be noticed by our Lord, and they will receive a reward. But just “starting” one’s ministry and never completing it does not mean receiving this crown of glory. It may be thought then, “How do we know when we have completed our ministry?” That is something that only our Lord knows ahead of time. He determines the results of our work and the length of our service. He is the One who lets us know when our time is up. So when the work we have done is sufficient in God’s eyes, then He will bring us home when He sees fit.

We must remember that every believer’s reward depends on how much and how well they did in proportion to what they had. And just because someone “serves” does not mean they are doing a proper job at it. In whatever we do, we give it our very best. We don’t just do something ritualistically because we are supposed to do it as if we were doing a chore. Instead, we serve the Lord because we want to out of love for Him who died to give us the eternal life that is now in our possession.

3. How God Doesn’t View Value and Success

There will always be very gifted people in this world. Whether athletes, doctors, or engineers, there are so many different life skills that various people possess, and no two individuals are ever perfectly alike. God has created human beings with varying degrees of physical and mental abilities. If the Lord wanted to, He could take the least intelligent person on earth and turn them into the most brilliant human being to ever live faster than a blink of an eye. Now that should tell us something!

This final list isn’t comprehensive, of course, and the idea behind bringing these subjects up is to get people to see that God does not look at people with partiality. So I am in no way bashing intelligent and educated people, but simply writing to help inform others that it is not our gifts and abilities which determine our standing with God. So to whoever is reading this, please do not be discouraged from pursuing a highly skilled career. As you continue to read, the emphasis should become more and more apparent.

3.1 Intelligence and Education

It is easy for people to see those with higher intellectual abilities as superheroes of some kind. After all, doctors are saving people’s lives all the time. Engineers are designing much of the world’s infrastructure. Astronauts are going to places very few, if any, have ever been. What all these people have in common is that they all had to study long hours and undergo much education, stress, and hard work to get where they are now. And they also had the mental capacities and abilities to do what not all people can do. Some of the schools in which they attended were colleges and universities which required extremely intellectually gifted individuals. Not many people get into them because they demand high skill levels. There is no doubt that they had to work their tails off to get to where they got. So it can be easy to have great respect for these kinds of people. But this respect goes much farther than most people want to come to believe. We will elaborate on this below.

Unbelievers, and sadly very many believers, have a habit of giving more praise and respect to individuals with greater intelligence and education. Those who are not mentally equal with them are often not taken as seriously (understandable to some extent) because value and importance are often viewed from a secular viewpoint.

A person’s job does not determine the importance of their ministry and the amount of reward they can earn in eternity. If that were so, then God would be limiting some while advancing others based on something that has nothing to do with spiritual matters. Free will faith based on a right attitude toward God is the key to spiritual success, for how well we use it in this life for God’s glory will determine how far we go. We know that the greater the spiritual growth, the more significant the progress and production will be. Where and how we deploy our spiritual gifts is not what matters.

These bodies we live in now will die and decay, no stopping that at all. But even though we are in physical decay, our spiritual health betters over time (assuming we are growing as we should). And as we progress, our eternal rewards grow as we grow, giving us more hope in the future. But all so-called “treasures” in this world are temporary and doomed for eternal destruction. But the new heaven and earth will exist for all eternity, never to fade away or be destroyed. And this same eternal existence goes for the new bodies we will one day possess as well. Therefore, not only will we live with our Savior Jesus Christ forever enjoying sweet fellowship with Him, but we will never experience death or pain, nor will we be capable of any sin. This future reality in which we hope should be our number one focus at all times. Taking our eyes off the prize and fixing them onto the world will only cause spiritual blindness in the end if we are not careful.

There is no doubt that there are jobs that are more noble and respectable in the secular world than others, but that only goes as far as the earthly realm itself. The spiritual realm is a different playing field. In God’s eyes, every believer’s spiritual job is equal in terms of value. So how and where a person carries out their ministry is not the issue. The issue is whether they get around to doing the Lord’s will and how well they perform their task. Believers limit themselves by failing to grow and progress as they should, which limits their production. It is all about how much desire there is in an individual’s heart to please the Lord. That makes everything entirely fair, and it shows how just our God is. He does not limit certain people based on things out of their control, such as circumstances and abilities. Though we can always train our minds and push ourselves to succeed academically, even more, there will always be others who are just better at certain things. And this is because God created every human being differently with varying gifts, callings, and abilities. We cannot change our gifting, just as not every person can get into Harvard University. It’s just that simple. It would be dull if every person had the same gifts and abilities. How would people accomplish all the other tasks requiring different skill sets if that were the case? People have to be different, and there have to be a variety of abilities and spiritual gifts. Without diversity, life could not exist as we know it, and the church could not function properly. So this means that every person fills in a gap. In the church, gifts deemed less honorable prove to be just as important as those that receive more applause from men.

And so the question must be, will we hold back our time, efforts, and resources, or will we give abundantly? For to bestow all is to confer quite an abundance indeed! So those who give generously will receive generously. And whatever we reap is whatever we will sow.

Now some of you may be wondering, “What about the reformers? They were all brilliant, educated, and gifted men who had a tremendous impact on the church as we know it.” That is true, and many of them will receive a fantastic reward for all they accomplished for the church. But popularity and intellect do not equate to productivity. Just because many believers aren’t in our history books does not mean there weren’t other Christians throughout the church age and during the protestant reformation who weren’t making just as much if not more of a difference for the Lord. There will be many unexpected surprises at the judgment seat one day when many begin to see individuals thought to be less productive in the church standing ahead to receive a greater reward than those deemed more effective (Matthew 20:1-16).

Though church history seems to mention only the most gifted and popular believers, these history books do not contain the many other true heroes of the faith who gave their all for the Lord Jesus. God has been keeping track, and He has done a perfect job doing so! Do people think they can judge and evaluate things only the Lord can see? Or is our judgment as good as God’s? Better not to assess before the time.

The Bible records the lives of many famous men and women of the Lord, many of whom were not very educated or wealthy. Jesus was a carpenter, and yet He was the Son of God! The point is that the Lord can use anyone, but He chooses the individuals who love Him the most!

Let us use some of the twelve apostles as prime examples. These men were undoubtedly greater believers than any of the church fathers and reformers ever were, yet some of them were not highly learned and educated. Paul did come from a highly educated background. However, in his case, it was a stumbling block for him until the Lord came into his life and got a hold of him (Acts 9:1-19).

Peter, Andrew, James, and John were simple fishermen (Matthew 4:18-20). Yet, that did not stop the Lord from calling them. Why not call the highly educated scribes, Pharisees, and teachers of the Law? Because their status only helped in hardening their hearts. Like Satan, they exulted themselves too much, and it was the cause of their stumbling. For even the high position they had was not something they could keep forever, nor were they doing a good job at it. Jesus’ words to them in Matthew 23 confirm why He didn’t choose them to do the work of God. Their arrogance blinded them, for they thought they were superior because of their status as Israel’s religious leaders.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being intelligent in any way, especially since God creates all people differently. Nor is it a sin to pursue a good education. However, God doesn’t care how smart or able we are. He cares about what is on our hearts, for from our hearts, we choose to follow and serve our Savior, and with our hearts, we choose to disobey Him. How much love is within us will determine how much “product” we produce.

Intelligence and education by themselves are good things, especially if we use them for God’s glory. All good things come from God, and so there is no boasting before Him. However, whatever skills we may have, the Lord could take and give to someone else in the blink of an eye. We did not bring ourselves into this world. We wouldn’t even have the chance to exercise our gifts and abilities had the Lord not given us the time and opportunities to do so. To fail to grasp these simple facts is to take the glory that belongs to God and give it to man. What an insult that is!

What pleases God is how we choose to respond to His grace, and free will (assuming a person is not some young infant or mentally handicap person) is something that everyone can exercise. And since it is free, no one can be said to be “naturally” better at free will as if it were some kind of skill. It is our desire or attitude, which is the key. Some people use their free will more wisely, but not because they are more naturally talented at using it. It is because some people choose to make better decisions than others, and for those whose decisions aren’t as good, it doesn’t have to be that way! They could be better! The only thing holding them back is themselves, and this could prove the saying “The greatest enemy a man has is himself.”

3.2 Wealth

Money is amongst the most problematic issues in the church today, and the Lord’s message to the lukewarm believers of Laodicea confirms this. (see Revelation 3:14-22). Few things cause more believers to stumble than wealth, and it is one of the greatest obstacles to overcome in this world. There is an overly strong emphasis on going out and getting a good education to make good money to support a family among many believers today. There is nothing wrong with this because Scripture tells us that “Whoever does not work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10, 1 Timothy 5:8). But the emphasis on those things is stressed far too much.

Many believers stress themselves over wealth to such a great degree because they either believe God is not sufficient for them or that much of their happiness has to come from it. A person walking closely with the Lord learns how to keep money and material wealth in perspective, knowing that those things cannot compare to their relationship with their Savior. But most in the church are unwilling to endure the suffering needed to please the One who suffered for them. The reason is that the majority want to live in this world comfortably as if it was their home, but this goes against everything Scripture teaches. Although there is nothing wrong with being wealthy, it can quickly become a snare if not handled wisely. More material possessions equal more trouble and distraction. It is no small wonder then that some of the greatest believers who have ever lived have been poor (Paul). Of course, on the other hand, some of them have been rich, like Job and Abraham. But these two men of God were not exempt from the testing that having all that wealth brought with it. Despite going through severe trials of their faith, both men passed the test of prosperity, demonstrating that they loved God more than this world. Whatever we have now, we can very well lose tomorrow. The question is, will our faith be ready for that to happen if that should occur?

It is good and godly to take care of ourselves through work. Money is a necessary tool that people need to survive. But it is not something we should be stressing over. One, if not the highest, causes for divorce in America is due to financial difficulties. And although we see this among the unbeliever population, we see some of this even among born-again believers. So there is a lesson we can learn from this. Money should not be a cause of division, and especially concerning our relationship with God!

People love money because they think it can buy them comfort, pleasure, and happiness. But the catch is that there is no comfort, joy, or happiness involved in the real sense. Only God can bring us these things in their proper form, and we can only have any feelings of hope, security, and joy when we are resting in Him.

Jesus is our everything, and we are supposed to live as if He is. If we are not pursuing the Lord as we should, the chances are that it’s because we have given our attention over to the world instead. We aren’t on this earth to acquire wealth and become rich, for we are only sojourners in this land. This life is only temporary and shall soon be over. It is a big test, and tests aren’t meant to be easy, no surprise since the world we live in is full of all kinds of temptations and distractions. The world we live in now is a place under the control of the evil one. Believers know this intellectually, yet so many do not live as if they do. Although getting educated to work and support oneself is good, it is often prioritized over spiritual growth in many churches and families today. Parents push their children to get a good education, but do they encourage them to spend some quiet time (in the Word and in prayer) with the Lord every day? Parents push their children to take a good job, but do they encourage them to find a good teaching ministry? Parents exhort their children to save up as much as possible, but do they urge them to use their spiritual gifts? What about the truth? Is that being prioritized before all else?

There seems to be a lack of trust among many Christians who hit the panic button by acting as if God won’t take care of them unless they push the idea of jobs and education beyond the place they should be. The Lord wants us to seek His kingdom before everything else, and then all other things will be added unto us. But so many believers have turned this truth upside down on its head. Committing to Jesus guarantees a life of unpredictable trials and tribulations, difficulties that we don’t know when they will occur. The believer who has failed to count the cost will find themselves faced with a host of testing situations that they chose not to prepare for ahead of time.

By themselves, the riches of this world are bad enough. But what is even worse is that Satan not only uses these things to lead believers astray but also has multiple schemes to deliver this false lie that worldly riches equal true success. The distractions of this world already speak for themselves in that they are naturally tempting as they are. Yet, the evil one has other tricks up his sleeve to make the lie of false prosperity even more irresistible. Yes, there is advertisement, the media, and a host of other things that seek to deliver this message of false hope further. If the lie of prosperity can’t speak enough by itself outside the church, then perhaps spreading the lie within it through misguided believing pastors (or unbelieving wolves in sheep’s clothes) will be sufficient to win over the faith of those less spiritually mature and discerning. Yes, this method has worked for Satan for a long time, and one of the false teachings that he has had great success with is the prosperity gospel.

There is nothing wrong with being rich, but God calls every believer to a different path, and this may mean losing a lot of wealth in the process. In other words, the satanic lie that the prosperity gospel claims is that God wants to bless every believer through wealth. But that is not how it works. Little surprise that so many people fall for this false teaching, and that is because it promotes worldly self-centered success focused on pleasing self instead of God.

God will bless us spiritually, but this does not mean he will bless us financially. Spiritual blessing does not necessarily equal material blessing and good health, and this is where the prosperity gospel mixes these two distinct categories up, conflating the two in the process. Though there were wealthy believers in the Bible, some of the greatest who lived were among the poorest people alive. Being poor is advantageous because it means fewer stumbling blocks for the believer to trip over. Having fewer distractions means having more time to walk with the Lord and serve Him faithfully. And speaking of Abraham and Job, God tested both men in very severe ways to see what they truly treasured most. In the end, both proved their commitment to the Lord in passing the most demanding tests of their faith. Even after losing everything he had and suffering much in the process, Job still refused to renounce the Lord.

In Jesus’ day, Christians were in lower social and economic status. Yet, they had possession of the greatest riches of all. Despite being poor and less esteemed in men’s eyes, the poor people were more open to the gospel. They had fewer earthly things to distract them, and this was to their advantage. Being poor, they possessed more humility, and this led to a greater openness of heart.

In the end, this false lie that God wants to make the believer rich is just setting so many people up for failure because they will have striven for so long to get into a comfortable life that some difficult trial or another will challenge. The problem is that the individual will be so satisfied with what they have accumulated that there is a great chance they will be reluctant to let go of it when the need arises. Of course, that is not something that would have happened had they clung to Christ through years spent growing, progressing, and producing in their relationship with the Lord. But since they have trained themselves to put more hope and trust in things which cannot save them, the amount of faith and hope they may have in the One who can deliver them will be outweighed, and thus crushed by the weight of all the misplaced faith they had stored up in worldly riches instead.

This false teaching simply encourages believers to cling to this world by trusting in and giving allegiance to its wealth, NOT TO GOD HIMSELF. It encourages money worship by using and manipulating God’s grace to honor human goals and desires instead of God’s purposes.

God cares about the treasures we have stored up in our hearts, not the ones we have accumulated in this world. Most unfortunate then is that so many believers don’t know how to handle wealth as they should without it having some harmful effect. For this very reason, people often deny the faith because they have chosen to serve this other “god” instead. Many want to get rich, but they don’t want to suffer when testing comes, just as in Job and Abraham’s case. And even if the prosperity gospel itself does not influence a person, that doesn’t mean the riches of this world won’t hinder them from serving Christ. Most believers today are distracted by the worries and wealth of this world, and that has done damage enough (Revelation 3:14-22; Matthew 13:18-23).

The prosperity gospel promotes idolatry, which can turn men’s hearts to worship other gods. Additionally, putting money before Christ leads to all kinds of sinful behavior. Just as alcohol has a terrible effect of altering a person and causing them to do all sorts of foolish and immoral things, money, when indulged in worship, has a controlling effect that leads to harmful practices. Living for the Lord produces righteousness, but living for wealth creates sinful behaviors in the form of lust, idolatry, envy, and greed.

However, none of the above suggests that rich believers can’t be great men and women of God, but their physical health and material wealth have nothing to do with that. God does not view success based upon how much we have but upon how much spiritual wealth we have stored inside our hearts. Will living for the Lord cause a person to be rich or poor? The answer ultimately depends on an individual’s circumstances in life, where the Lord is leading them, what He is asking them to do, and what said person needs to give up to accomplish the Lord’s will.

For example, the Lord may allow particular believers to acquire a substantial amount of money to use it to help fulfill their ministry of giving. So money can be a good asset, depending. They can also use their wealth to purchase a large house to host as a house church or refuge for believers in need. These are just a few examples. For this very reason, it may very well be the Lord’s desire for certain believers to have a lot of money, only if they can handle it for God’s glory without compromise. But, of course, they need to remember that there is no guarantee that whatever they have now they will have later. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. How much we have can fluctuate at any given time (Job 1:20-22), no matter how secure we think our finances are.

On the other side of this, the Lord may allow a person to be poor to test their faith. There may be multiple reasons for this, but the point is obvious. Everyone is different, but there is one thing we must keep in mind: we must learn to be content at all times, in all circumstances, regardless of what we do or do not have. So many believers may be faithful when times are good, but what about when times are bad? Learning how to rely on God and be completely satisfied with Him at ALL times requires constant spiritual growth through attention to the treasures of the truth found in His holy Word. There is no other place to look for true happiness, peace, joy, and purpose than Jesus Christ. He will provide us with everything we need, both physically and spiritually. Even if we lose much or all of our material wealth, we will always have God as our true treasure and possession forever. The wealth we store up in God’s kingdom will last for all eternity, remaining visible for all to see. But if we choose to give our allegiance to material prosperity by putting God in second place, what will happen if we lose all we once had?

Wealth does have its place in the Christian’s life, but that place should not be first. Great believers can be rich, poor, or in-between, but all of them should always strive to please their Master better, not looking for ways to please and accommodate themselves if that means harming their relation with the Lord and other people.

Whether a believer is low, middle or upper class is not what matters. What matters is how well we run the race the Lord wants us to complete. Whether our wealth increases or decreases, we keep on fighting the good fight day in and day out until we meet our Lord and Savior face to face on that great day to come. Whatever the Lord allows us to have is whatever He permits, whether that be a lot or a little.

3.3 Background and Nationality

Some readers of the Old Testament may argue that Israel’s “holy wars” were unfair and unjust because they involved destroying other peoples and nations, but nothing could be further from the truth. For more information regarding God’s dealings with other peoples, please see The Awesome Character of God. There is far too much on that topic to discuss here because time and space do not permit a lengthy discussion on the subject of Israel’s confrontations with other nations.

1. Christ died for all men who have, are, and will ever live. It is not His will that any human being perish. Salvation is universally available to all who are willing to accept it.

2. All men have free will to choose for or against God. Wherever a person ends up is where they decide to spend eternity.

The bottom line is that a person’s background and nationality do not play any role in how much they can accomplish for the Lord because God has given every believer free will to choose what they desire to do in life (nor does God ever limit people by their circumstances). God created all men equally and for Himself, and He likes variety. Not only that, but He needed to form different peoples, tribes, and nations. This difference of peoples, tongues, and ethnicities is known today as nationalism, and it is necessary for the survival of the human race because of humanity’s sinfulness. Suppose all people were allowed to exist as one nation, one religion (assuming it to be false), and speaking one language. Sooner or later, all humanity would become corrupted into one sinful group with one satanic goal and purpose, resulting in the entire destruction of humanity with no (or very few) people who would be willing to cry out to God in faith! In that case, Satan could far more easily target the human race and inflict far more significant damage than what he has already caused.

So it is not for no reason that various peoples exist around the world. The story of the tower of Babel confirms this absolute necessity for nationalism. Had God allowed the people to continue as one cohesive unit, they would have all together turned away from Him and become corrupt. That would have impacted the free will of most to such a negative degree that it would have resulted in almost no person coming to God in faith. God had to preserve human free-will! This “one-religion dream” was a satanic attack against God in an attempt to turn all human beings away from Him. To counter this problem, the Lord mixed up the languages causing the people to scatter.

Different languages exist because of man’s sinfulness. The Lord is against sin, but He is for all people in that He died for all men, desiring all to come to repentance. It was for the protection of humanity, especially that of the church (which will have spanned all of human history when it’s all said and done), that God did what He did. But the majority of human beings from all races and cultures have chosen to reject God’s gracious offer of salvation (Psalm 14:1-3), which He gave by sacrificing His One and only precious Son Jesus Christ. It is man who has chosen the way of eternal death and suffering, despite God’s desire for them to live in eternal bliss and happiness.

3.4 Gender

The passages above speak for themselves. Men and women have no moral or spiritual advantages over each other. Authority in the church or marriage has nothing to do with the believer’s spiritual potential. From everything we have seen in this study, this point should also be clear and obvious.

Husbands are the spiritual leaders of their wives, but this does not mean more outstanding spiritual production on their part. We are all gifted differently and have different ministries in which we will each serve the Lord. In this examination, the question we have stated multiple times is, “How well will we choose to serve the Lord?” It all comes down to free will stemming from the right attitude toward God. We see this truth most beautifully in the example of the poor widow, a passage we have already observed earlier in this study.

God has ordained the man to be the authority over his wife in a marriage. The purpose is to help us remember our relationship to God and how He is the head of the church and our ultimate authority. This fact means that husbands must take on this needed position for there to be stability in the household. Besides that, there would be disunity and disorganization if there was no authority in the marriage relationship. Someone must be in a leading position for a man and woman to grow together in the Lord. This fact does not in any way imply that women are accountable to men, for they most certainly are not. We are all responsible to the Lord. Nor are men always right or more knowledgeable all the time. But since we are all accountable to God, then to do things as God has ordained them is to serve Him as we should. So men and women are not so much serving each other as they are God. Refusing to play one’s part in the marriage relationship will only result in loss of reward. So if men and women want to be the best soldiers of Christ they can be, they need to behave toward one another as God would have them act.

We have already seen that greater intelligence, education, wealth, and even authority have nothing to do with our reward in heaven. And speaking of authority, the Bible tells us to submit to all those who exercise it over us (Romans 13:1-7). Why? Because they are better? Absolutely not! The Lord told us to submit to government and kings (assuming they are not forcing us to do something morally wrong and unbiblical). But most in government and leading positions are not even believers, so their authority has nothing to do with true spirituality. Yet by obeying them, we serve and obey God. There has to be leadership and organization for things to work in this world, so God has chosen the man to lead his wife and family (and the local church as well 1 Timothy 2:12). However, being better at leadership does not equate to having more spiritual potential.

Free will is a choice that cannot be forced by anyone else, or any outside force for that matter. There are no circumstances, people, or restrictions whatsoever that hinder us from being the best for God that we can be, a fact that goes for both men and women. The gift of choice that God has given us in the form of free will is not a skill but is just as we have said: a choice! The question is, how spiritually successful do we WANT to be? How much do we WANT to serve God and obey Him? There are no limits. How much we accomplish during our lives all depends on how much we WANT to achieve. It takes desire. It is not a skill that some are naturally better at, like someone who has good leadership skills or can play basketball very well.

The door for spiritual success is wide open, and it has nothing to do with wealth, skills, education, intellect, gender, or anything else that man may wrongly deem as significant in the Christian life. On the contrary, any believer can be spiritually successful if they so choose. They need no special permission from God either because it has always been His will for all to love and serve Him as much as possible. God empowers everything we do, yet it is up to every individual, both man and woman, to choose how they will respond to Him. That is what will determine their standing in God’s kingdom.

Men are not to lord their authority over their wives. No believer should be lording any leadership they may have over another brother or sister in Christ. Both men and women have a responsibility to play their parts in a godly way. Both sexes serve God by serving each other lovingly and respectfully, which earns them eternal rewards beyond comprehension. The question may then well be, who will play their part better? It comes down to free will, but we should never compete or compare. The passage below shows us clearly how one behaves in marriage and generally stems from a person’s ability to choose as they wish.

For a husband and wife to behave properly toward one another is for both of them to minister to each other. By doing this, both individuals have increased their spiritual success and standing with God. We are on earth to serve, not to be served, and all believers have different ways to do so with no particular course (s) being better than the other(s). Therefore, men and women both have equally important roles to play in their respective ministries and their relationship with one another.

Now some may say that most of the great believers (many of whom were prominent leaders) mentioned in the Bible were men. Today, we have many leaders who do not even believe in Christ, yet we must submit to them as Christians. But why are godly men in leadership more prominent than women in the Bible? We need to understand that many other great followers of Christ throughout human history are not mentioned in Scripture. Whether the kingdom contains more godly men or more godly women, we will not know until eternity. But that matters little. The greatest were the best of all time because of how well they submitted to God. Again, we must remember that free will is not a skill, but a choice, something all human beings mentally capable can do.

Regarding this passage above, Dr. Luginbill of Ichthys.com states—

Just as how women are not to pastor local denominations because of the way God has instituted authority between the sexes, so there were and are other areas of leadership that God has reserved for men to demonstrate once again the “husband and wife” relationship we the church as the bride have with Christ as our husband. The authority of men in leading local church congregations and in other areas of leadership, such as we see throughout the Bible, is symbolic of Christ’s authority over us. Yet despite this authority, He still loves us and seeks our very best, just as a good husband should be toward his wife. In no way are men more extraordinary believers than women; it is just that God has a different role for every one of us to play in His plan.

The Bible contains many great believers of both genders who loved God with all their hearts. And as we have mentioned previously, many great believers have existed from Adam until now, not mentioned in Scripture. Unfortunately, secular books on church history do not contain some of the faith’s greatest and most genuine heroes because the pages are all taken up by only the smartest and most educated (and politically involved). This is not to say some of these men were not great or even among the greatest of their time, but what a shock the entire church from Adam to the last believer to draw breath will encounter when many who were deemed last turn out to be first. Many believers, both men, and women have been under the radar for many years. But just because few have seen and acknowledged the greatness of their work does not mean that God hasn’t noticed, for He most certainly has. They will be rewarded abundantly and in the most blessed way.

Conclusion

God never limits any person’s growth, progress, and production based on anything outside of our free will (stemming from the disposition of our hearts toward Him). He doesn’t care what race or culture we come from and what we look like, for He loves all men and desires the salvation of all just as equally. Even though many believers live in third-world countries where God’s Word and other biblical resources are scarce, the Lord will not fail to provide them the opportunities to maximize their production for Him. Our Savior will never allow anything to prevent anyone from obeying Him and serving in the ministries He has for them. No worldly factors will ever prevent God from empowering a willing person to serve Him with all their hearts. That doesn’t mean there won’t be obstacles, for there most certainly will be. But what defines the believer’s real success is how they bear up under all of the challenges that life throws their way. No matter where a person is from, what they look like, and how hard they may have it, God wants to see each of us give our very best for Him regardless of the circumstances.

God defines us spiritually, not by the standards of the world. Whatever a person reaps is what they will sow later on. The issue for all of humanity is free will, and it is up to the individual to use it themselves. It is not a skill or a gift unique to specific individuals alone, but it is something that all people can exercise. For the unbeliever, the question is, will they choose God with this gift of free will? For the believer, the question is whether they will hold to the choice they made for Christ and produce as much as possible with the time and opportunities they have? God will provide everything we need to do the best we can for Him.

References/Recommendations

• Biblical Anthropology: The Nature of Human Beings and Human Life according to the Bible.
• Ichthys: Bible Study for Spiritual Growth