John Piper preached 2 sermons on “Body Pains.” Here is the introduction:
When the special grace of salvation mixes with the common grace of personhood there is a unique manifestation in human life of the Spirit of God.
This is what the church is for in the world. This is our calling. We are to pursue the manifesting of God. And when we do, what happens is the common good. “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” We stressed that these two goals are not at odds: the common good of the body through the manifesting of God; and the manifesting of God for the common good. The good of people and the glory of God happen together through faith in Christ.
Ailments in the Body
Now there are some ailments in the body that keep this from happening the way it should. Paul deals with one of these in verses 14–20 and another in verses 21–27. The one is feelings of uselessness (today) and the other is feelings of self-sufficiency (next Sunday). When members of the body feel useless or when they feel self-sufficient—when they say, “You don’t need me,” or, “I don’t need you”—then the body will not manifest the Spirit and produce the common good the way it should.
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 