Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many believers do not understand they have been called to be a saint, that they have no other calling. Therefore they view Christianity as a religion they are to observe faithfully while they live their life after the manner of everyone else in the world. They do not grasp the total demands the Lord makes on each member of the royal priesthood.

As long as a believer perceives himself as nothing more than the faithful adherent of a religion he will never use the gifts that have been given to him. For one thing, he has no time for anything except making a living. He is not a disciple, he is a churchgoer—nothing more. He or she is not a functioning member of the Body of Christ.

How many Christian people realize they already have been given a role in the Body by the Holy Spirit, and that their most important responsibility in life is to find that role and to be faithful in exercising it? We know from the parable of the talents that if we bury that which has been given to us, not using it in the Kingdom, our talents will be taken from us and given to another. We ourselves shall be thrown into the outer darkness.

Has the role of Divine grace been so overemphasized that we are unaware of the severe demands and responsibilities that the New Testament places on every member of the Body of Christ?

We have mentioned that the pastor-congregation (priest-people) pattern of Christian services works against the widespread functioning of gifts and ministries in the local church.

We have pointed toward the fact that the unscriptural emphasis on evangelism and adding people to the assembly tends to depress the emerging of gifts and ministries in the local church. Even if there is a team effort in the church in which several people join in prayer and effort, if the objective is primarily to add numbers of people, there probably will be little increase in the operations of gifts and ministries.

Because of the great emphasis placed on adding more people to the assembly (church growth), the purpose of the operation of gifts and ministries becomes unclear. The gifts and ministries actually are given to bring the believers to spiritual maturity, not ordinarily to add members to the assembly.

The return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth is for the purpose of establishing His Kingdom here. Christ is going to accomplish this with and through a great host of saints. This we know.

What may not be as well known is that only mature saints will return with the Lord. There can be no disobedient, lukewarm, spiritually stunted, immature, carnal believers in the army of the Lord. One such individual would jeopardize the entire effort.

Therefore the emphasis of the Holy Spirit today is that each of us find, develop, and use his or her ministry faithfully and diligently. Only then can the army of Christ be prepared for the Day of the Lord.

To be continued.