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lesson 13 GIVE HONOR IN THE BODY I. TEXTUAL THOUGHTS 1. Rom 12:10 - Honor one another above yourselves. 2. Rom 13:7 - Give everyone what you owe him; if honor, then honor. 3. 1 Cor 12:23 - The parts we think are less honorable, we treat with special honor. 4. 1 Cor 12:24 - God has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it. 5. 1 Tim 5:7 - The elders who teach are worthy of double honor. II. MAIN THEME: God, to His amazing glory, gives honor to humans. However, He does not honor the beautiful, wise or powerful, but He gives honor to the less honorable. As God’s children, so should we.
1. Honor initially meant a valuing, therefore it was understood as: a. the price paid or received (Mt 27:6,9); b. the preciousness of Christ to believers (1 Pt 2:7); c. honor, esteem, as in our textual thought passages. 2. Jesus gave honor to the unseemly, so should we in the church. a. Honor the tax collectors and sinners (Lk 7:44-47). b. Honor the uneducated and untrained (Acts 4:12-13). c. Honor the socially unacceptable (Mt 15:21-28, Lk 7:1-9). d. Honor the weak, old and young (Lk 18:15-17, 21:1-4). e. Honor the poor (Lk 21:1-4). 3. Jesus gave honor for different reasons, so should we. a. Give honor for great faith (Mt 15:21-28, Lk 7:1-9). b. Give honor for true giving (Lk 21:1-4). c. Give honor for honoring Christ (Lk 7:36-50). d. Give honor for believing, even in unbelief (Lk 10:38-41). III. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS · Look to Jesus in the gospels to learn who to honor and what to honor them for (Heb 3:1-3). · Remember that if the world is honoring someone, who should probably honor the opposite action or character trait (1 Sam 16:7). · The very gospel centers around the uneducated and weak not the wise and powerful (1 Cor 1:18-25). · Learn from those in the church who are good at giving honor – spend time with them, observe them, ask them questions, listen to their prayers IV. MEMORY VERSES 1 Cor 12:23-24
“...and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it,” (NIV) |