FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture References: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Acts 9:3-18

Probably a Very Unlikely Person

The disciple God uses will most often be a very unlikely person. God used Ananias to do a tremendous thing. Ananias led Saul of Tarsus to understand how to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, helped him to receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, led him to be baptized, and encouraged him to associate with the local church. The whole ministry of the apostle Paul was launched by a disciple named Ananias about whom we know very little. He is simply called “a certain disciple” (Acts 9:10). He was not an apostle, was probably not an outstanding man, and as far as we know was not even a deacon or a teacher. He is simply “a certain disciple.” Yet God delighted in using him as He often delights to use ordinary people, and this is a great encouragement to all of us (1 Corinthians 1:26–29).

As told in the Old Testament, it was Nathan, a little-known prophet, who led David to repentance. It was a little maid who reached Naaman, the captain of the Syrian host. When God wanted to lead Saul of Tarsus into the assurance of salvation, he used “a certain disciple” named Ananias. Proof that God can use you and I!

I read a story of a godly man who was asked to teach a young boys’ Sunday School class. Since they couldn’t get another teacher, he taught their class for about three years. It was told that he didn’t speak very well and could hardly read, but he loved the Lord Jesus with all his heart. He shared that love with those in that class. What was the result of his teaching? It’s written that one of the members in the class became an attorney and a judge. Another class member became a wonderful postal employee. A couple of the members of the class became outstanding businessmen. Three of the members of the class became preachers of the gospel. All of the members of the class are still active in the church today. They all remember the love their teacher had for the Lord.

If God can use a simple man to teach Sunday School and use him to transform a class of boys and if God can use a certain disciple named Ananias to lead Paul, the apostle, into the deeper walk of the Christian life, don’t you know beyond a doubt, that God can use you? Most of the time, the believer’s God uses are just very ordinary people.

Lives a Devout Christian Life

The believer God uses must be living a devout Christian life. The Bible speaks of Ananias being “a devout man” (Acts 22:12). It goes on to state that he had “a good testimony with all the Jews.” This simply means that Ananias was a devout Christian. There was no insincerity about his life or testimony. He was a humble man. He lived the teachings of the Bible in flesh and blood.

There’s an illustration given of a sixteen-year-old girl who was a chronic invalid. Her mother was a pleasure-loving woman who could not endure the idea of being with her shut-in daughter. While the mother was traveling abroad in Italy, she remembered the coming birthday of her daughter and sent her a rare and beautiful vase. The trained nurse brought it to the girl tell her that her mother had sent it so carefully to make sure it came right on her birthday. After looking at its beauty for a moment, the girl turned to the nurse and said, “Take it away, take it away!” “Oh, mother,” the daughter cried, “don’t send me anything more, no books, no flowers, no pictures, no vases. I only want you!”

That must be the pleading cry of the Savior. Don’t give Christ things, He doesn’t need things. He wants you. Jesus wants your yielded heart, your heart fully given. He knows that if you give Him yourself, all else will follow.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture References: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Acts 9:3-18

One of the most humbling truths revealed in the Word of God is that God uses you and I for the accomplishment of His purposes. That can truly be a staggering thought. The infinite, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God uses folks like you and I to do His work on this earth.

One man who was wonderfully used by the Lord was Ananias. He was privileged to seek out and lead Saul of Tarsus into an understanding of what God wanted the great apostle to do. We read about Ananias only twice in the New Testament, in Acts 9 and 22. He is presented to us as the type of believer, the Christ-like disciple, God can use.

A Member of the Body of Christ

The believer God uses must be a member of the spiritual Body of Christ. God works through believers and disciples who, by the miracle of the new birth and baptism of the Holy Spirit, have been made members of the Body of Christ. Jesus told Nicodemus that one needs the new birth to be a member of God’s kingdom (John 3:3). When a person is converted, a number of things happen. One is that the Holy Spirit baptizes us into the spiritual Body of Christ. “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” – 1 Corinthians 12:13.

The clear teaching of the New Testament is that of a spiritual church and a local church. A person becomes a member of the spiritual church by trusting Christ as Savior. The moment a person is saved, or born-again, he or she is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the spiritual Body of Christ. The infilling or dwelling of the Holy Spirit occurs at conversion, and is based on acceptance of Christ Jesus into your life.

An individual becomes a member of a local congregation by trusting Christ as Savior and publicly confessing Christ and usually demonstrating that belief by water baptism. Acts gives the divine order: “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them [the Church].” – Acts 2:41.

Jesus clearly told Saul of Tarsus that in persecuting Christians he had been persecuting the Lord Himself, for believers are members of the Body of Christ (Acts 9:4–5). Jesus is the Head of the Church, and we, as members of that spiritual Church, are members of Christ’s body. Thus, the disciples of the Lord and the Lord Himself are one.

During His earthly ministry, our Lord had an earthly body. He lived and worked through that earthly body. Now that Jesus is in heaven, at the right hand of the Father, so Jesus’ body on earth is the Church. From heaven, Jesus the Head, works through individual members of His Body, the Church, through the indwelling Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:12–13).

Ananias, a member of that Body, was greatly used by the Lord. If you and I are to be used by the Lord, the same must be true of us. Have you been converted? Have you followed Christ in New Testament confession and water baptism? Are you a member of a local church where you are actively working for Christ?

The question has often been asked, “Can a person be a believer without joining a local church?” I myself have thought about that a long time. The answer is yes, you can still be a believer without joining the church, but that would be like saying you are an employee without a job. It is easier to be used of God when you are with other believers so that you can encourage others and you can be encouraged. A hermit, would have a hard time encouraging anyone else in the Lord, if they were “off-the-grid” so to speak.

Yes, you can be a believer, a Christian, without being an actual member of the local church, but you need the fellowship of other believers to find and fulfill your spot in the spiritual Body of Christ.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.