NO COPIES, ONLY ORIGINAL

1 Corinthians 12:1-12 TLB

And now, brothers, I want to write about the special abilities the Holy Spirit gives to each of you, for I don't want any misunderstanding about them. [2] You will remember that before you became Christians you went around from one idol to another, not one of which could speak a single word. [3] But now you are meeting people who claim to speak messages from the Spirit of God. How can you know whether they are really inspired by God or whether they are fakes? Here is the test: no one speaking by the power of the Spirit of God can curse Jesus, and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," and really mean it, unless the Holy Spirit is helping him. [4] Now God gives us many kinds of special abilities, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. [5] There are different kinds of service to God, but it is the same Lord we are serving. [6] There are many ways in which God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work in and through all of us who are his. [7] The Holy Spirit displays God's power through each of us as a means of helping the entire church. [8] To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; someone else may be especially good at studying and teaching, and this is his gift from the same Spirit. [9] He gives special faith to another, and to someone else the power to heal the sick. [10] He gives power for doing miracles to some, and to others power to prophesy and preach. He gives someone else the power to know whether evil spirits are speaking through those who claim to be giving God's messages-or whether it is really the Spirit of God who is speaking. Still another person is able to speak in languages he never learned; and others, who do not know the language either, are given power to understand what he is saying. [11] It is the same and only Holy Spirit who gives all these gifts and powers, deciding which each one of us should have. [12] Our bodies have many parts, but the many parts make up only one body when they are all put together. So it is with the "body" of Christ.

 

Did you ever read of a copy of the Apostles or Jesus? No! But today, we look around and fine copies or duplicates of Mega- pastors and leaders who have created their mini-mes' army.

God doesn’t call two people in the same way, never confers the same grace, and doesn’t give the same talents or gifts, grace, anointing and assignment to any two people. If we find someone expressing a similar (but never the same) calling as us, it means God wants us to reach a wider audience and impact more lives and destinies with what we carry. God is not in the business of mass production but originality.

When God calls us, He expects us to use that gift, talents and anointing in a unique way assigned to us. Resources and graces are provided for that calling.

1 Corinthians 14:7 says “Even musical instruments-the flute, for instance, or the harp-are examples of the need for speaking in plain, simple English rather than in unknown languages. No one will recognize the tune from a flute unless each note is clearly sounded. This means that if inanimate objects give distinct and original sounds, then spirit-filled and led humans, or believers should be original in expressing their God-given calling.

We see cloning in every area of life, even more so in the church. Every singer or worshipper wants to sound like their “idol,” forgetting that the gift, grace, anointing, and audience are not the same. We even see church members looking more like their leaders instead of peering into the perfect law of liberty as stated in James 1:25 to keep out originality and uniqueness and allow “your” path to shine brighter according to Proverbs 4:18.

When we clone or pattern ourselves according to those we admire, we’re no longer the vessels and carrier of what God deposited in us. We’ll eventually come to have that person’s expressions and the copied exhibition but not the grace and anointing. Someone else’s anointing and grace are valueless on us because as Jeremiah 1:15 states, we were set apart before we were born, meaning that we are our original expression with all the attributes of our calling and value. There are no worth and value in clones.

Whatever God gives us is the original and the ministering angles assigned to support our gift and calling are permitted to help us and not the clone of another. They will not recognise us if we’ve gone from the original to a copy because our signature has changed from what God originally ordained and released to that of a copy that no longer looks and sounds like the original.

God created us according to Ephesians 2:10 for good works. Good works can’t be performed until we are newly “created unto” them. Good works can’t be performed by trying to be like someone else, copying their talents, gifts, anointing and calling and becoming like them more than our Lord and Saviour.

Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done and won't need to compare himself with someone else declares Galatians 6:4. We must all always depend on God’s grace to lead us into every good work, and not rely on, copy, pattern and clone ourselves after whomever we think had made it and will help us make it if we look, sound and behave like them.

Be yourself, the original that made you according to Psalm 139:13-16.

Paul emphasizes this with Timothy in 1 Tim 1: 18 to only imitate Christ through him, not turning Timothy into a mini him.

Being the clone of someone else, may not get you the same result they get, not the audience or reward because each calling, talent, anointing, and grace attract specific rewards according to Matthew 16:27.

Be original and not a copy.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

-         In what ways have I tried to imitate others in ministry or life, and how has that affected my sense of purpose?

-         Am I confident in the grace and anointing God has given me, or do I feel pressured to copy someone else’s expression?

-         How can I ensure that my expression reflects the “perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25) and not a clone of another person?

-         Am I seeking to imitate Christ as Paul advised Timothy (1 Tim 1:18)?

PRAYER: Father, help me to always look into the perfect law of liberty to see what, who and how I should be, rather than patterning myself after someone else in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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