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  THE CHURCH - HIS BODY
  by G.W. North
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Summary: The church must function according to apostolic instruction and
the Holy Spirit's order, with spiritual gifts expressing the perfect
love of Christ.

Topics: "The Body of Christ", "Spiritual Gifts"
Scripture References: 1 Corinthians 12:4

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DESCRIPTION
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G.W. North emphasizes that the Apostle Paul provided the correct forms
of Church worship and function, which must be adhered to for a church to
be both biblical and spiritual. He asserts that the Church should be a
true expression of Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit's outlined order in
Scripture. North highlights the importance of spiritual gifts as
essential for the Church to function effectively, as they are meant to
express Christ's love. He stresses that these gifts, when used properly,
represent the highest form of worship and service. Ultimately, the
Church is called to embody the love of Christ through its actions and
ministry.

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CONTENT
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We may be sure then that Paul delivered to us the correct forms of
Church worship and gathering and function. Whatever may be assumed
otherwise is neither of inspiration nor of apostolic instruction.
Therefore to be both biblical and spiritual a church must function
according to the form of gathering, worship and ministry outlined in
chapter 14. In any locality the church, whenever it gathers, must be a
true expression, if not the fullest replica, of the person of Christ. It
is precisely for this reason that the Holy Spirit has outlined this
order for us.

Christ still wishes to function in His Body the Church on earth in this
same gloriously simple way, but this is totally impossible except by
means of the gifts faithfully recorded by Paul for our information in
chapter 12.

There can be no doubt that the Lord intends every one of these gifts to
operate today. The same perfect love in which He ever abode and worked
among men still fills His heart. It is no surprise then that in chapter
13 He majors upon this love, for the gifts are meant to be the
expression of that love. Being properly held and used, they are the
highest form of worship, the greatest means of service and the most
patent expression of self-sacrifice of which the Church is capable,
apart from martyrdom.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/gw-north/the-church-his-body/
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