When Father Christmas entered Narnia in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis, he brought gifts. For Peter, there was a sword and a shield emblazoned with a red lion. For Susan, there was a bow, a quiver of arrows, and a magical horn. For Lucy, there was a small dagger and a bottle of healing cordial.

These gifts were not on their wish lists. They were not given for personal enjoyment. They had purposes within the larger story. The same is true of spiritual gifts in the Body of Christ. They are given to believers for the purpose of serving one another and mutual edification (vv. 11–12). The goal is maturity in both doctrine and practice, “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (vv. 13–16). All of God’s people are to use their spiritual gifts in this way, not just those in professional or vocational ministry.

The Head of the Body is Christ Himself (v. 15; Col. 1:18). As we know from our own experience, a body without a head will no longer function. The head is the brains of the operation. The head runs the show. The same is true in this metaphor: Christ has complete authority over the church, including both local churches and the church universal. Whereas human beings tend to exercise their authority for prideful or self-centered ends, Christ exercises His authority for our good and His glory.

Paul wrote here that Christ gives spiritual gifts (v. 11), whereas elsewhere he said the Holy Spirit distributes them (1 Cor. 12:4). This, as with being the Creator (see December 3), is another both/and situation. Since the Son and the Spirit are both God, they can both be said to be the One who gives spiritual gifts.

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In Tell It Slant, Eugene Peterson advised reading Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer” in John 17 with a calm and attentive heart: “Jesus is no longer talking to us. Jesus is talking to the Father. Jesus is praying. He prays a long time. This is holy ground. We find ourselves embraced in a holy listening. We are in a place of prayer, a praying presence. Our mouths are stopped. We are quiet: be still my soul.”

This chapter reveals Christ at work as our Great High Priest. His roles as high priest, advocate, and mediator overlap to some extent in that they each show part of what He does for us in salvation (see also Heb. 4:14–16).

First, Christ prayed for Himself, asking that He would be glorified by finishing His mission of redemption and bringing people to the Father (vv. 1–5). Next, He prayed for His disciples to be protected, unified, sanctified, and sustained against the evil one and the hatred of the world (vv. 6–19). He also prayed for them as messengers of the gospel (v. 18). As we know, these requests were powerfully granted!

Finally, Jesus prayed for future believers, including you and me (v. 20). He asked that we would be unified in the same way He and the Father are (vv. 21–23). Why? “So that the world may believe.” He also asked that we would be in heaven with Him one day (v. 24). He closed by affirming that He has indeed revealed the Father to all who trust in Him (vv. 25–26).

Jesus is our Great High Priest, but as believers we are “priests” as well (see, for example, Rev. 1:6). Part of what this means is that we have the tremendous privilege of interceding for one another in prayer, just as our Lord did.

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Perry Mason was the title character in a popular series of novels, radio programs, and finally a television series set in Los Angeles starring Raymond Burr. The fictional lawyer specialized in advocating for the innocent, mostly people who had been wrongly accused of murder. Perry Mason epitomized a good lawyer, striving to help those in need.

The Bible uses this type of legal language, saying that Jesus is our advocate before God the Father. God’s amazing grace is key to understanding salvation. In today’s reading, the apostle John wrote to believers about what to do when sin occurs in our life after our initial salvation. Just as grace and forgiveness were at work in our justification, so also we find them at work in our sanctification.

Every follower of Christ must walk in the light and pursue righteous living (1:5–7). It’s the key to having fellowship with God and with one another. The question naturally arises, then, “What happens when we sin?” What we must first understand is that we will sin (1:8, 10). It’s going to happen. God’s work in us is not yet finished.

When we do sin, we must confess our wrongdoing to God. That means repenting of our sin and turning from it, knowing God has promised to forgive us (1:9). It’s in this context that we can fully appreciate the role of Jesus as our Advocate (2:1). As the perfectly Righteous One, He speaks on our behalf before God the Judge, saying, in essence, “I have already paid the price for this believer’s sin. No penalty remains. Please grant more grace and forgiveness.” In other words, Christ’s atoning sacrifice has already taken care of matters (2:2). His blood has cleansed and purified us, and continues to cleanse and purify us, from sin (1:7, 9).

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