========================================================================
  HE IS THE HEAD OF THE BODY
  by G.W. North
========================================================================

Summary: The gifts of the Spirit are entrustments that must be used to
build up the body of Christ and benefit every member.

Topics: "Unity in the Body of Christ", "Spiritual Gifts"
Scripture References: 1 Corinthians 12:12

------------------------------------------------------------------------
DESCRIPTION
------------------------------------------------------------------------

G.W. North emphasizes the significance of understanding both our
individual importance and the gifts we have received as members of the
body of Christ. He explains that these gifts are not only for personal
edification but are essential for the mutual benefit and building up of
the entire body. The ministry of the saints is to utilize these gifts
for the glory of Christ, with Jesus as the Head of the Body guiding and
empowering each member through His Spirit. Each member must submit to
Christ to develop a collective mind that reflects the Spirit's purpose.
Ultimately, the gifts enable the body to function effectively, mirroring
the way Jesus operated among people.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENT
------------------------------------------------------------------------

However, having come to the realisation that he himself is of more
importance than the gift, a person must also know the importance of the
gift with which he has been honoured. We have been made members of the
body in order that the gift(s) we each have received may be used for the
glory of the Christ and the edification and mutual benefit of every
member of the body. Gifts of the Spirit are not only enablings, they are
also entrustments, and because this is so, it at once becomes apparent
that they must also be necessities.

The lifelong ministry of the saints is to build up the body, and the
gifts are given for this fundamental purpose.

The overall power and mastermind working through all this is in Jesus,
the Head of the Body, and the Spirit animating the body is His Spirit,
into which every member has been made to drink. Having thus become
members of His body, each has to submit to Him in order to develop the
mind of the Spirit of the body. Each member is a gift; what are called
the gifts are means of function, enablings distributed to make the body
fully operational among men now in the same way and by the same powers
as the Lord Himself operated among men of old.

========================================================================
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/gw-north/he-is-the-head-of-the-body/
========================================================================