October 8, 2017 YOU ARE GIFTED
1 Corinthians 12:4-5 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.”
It would be impossible to cover the subject of spiritual gifts in one article such as this, so I encourage you to search the scriptures to learn about spiritual gifts and their use. We read in Corinthians 12:1 “Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.” It is clear in scripture that God supernaturally gives to each and every believer a spiritual gift. Most people have a natural talent in some area, but natural talent and spiritual gifting or not one in the same. God will use your natural talent if it is your motive to glorify Him with your talent, but the spiritual gift that He has given to you is to also be used in His service. The nature of spiritual gifts is that they are designed to bless others in the body of Christ-the church. God has designed His body in such a way that as members of His body, we are connected to each other and when we exercise our spiritual gift, we are supplying the needs of others. All of the gifts are equally important just as each member of our physical body is important. You will find that the spiritual gift that God has given you becomes evident as you relate to other believers; you may not even be conscience of your spiritual gift at work. If your spiritual gift is that of teaching, you will have the propensity and the ability to present information in a logical order so that others may learn. If your gift is one of encouragement, you will find yourself speaking words that bring hope and encouragement in difficult times; whatever gift you have, it will become evident. God is all knowing; He knows what the body needs, and what each member of the body needs, and He has equipped each member with a spiritual gift that is to be employed in supplying what the body needs as a whole, and what each individual member needs. This is not to say that God does not meet our needs in a personal way, but it does say that a certain dynamic takes place within the body of Christ where the exercising of spiritual gifting is needed if the body is to be healthy. There is a tendency in our culture to see ourselves as independent and self-sufficient, not needing others. This concept of independency is contrary to the teaching of scripture and to the functioning of the body of Christ. If we need each other in the body of Christ, and we do, then it is essential that we are present and active in the body. Many may not agree or like the sound of this, but we do have obligations to the body, because we have been given a spiritual gift that is designed to bless others. Going to the meeting of the church should be non-optional unless we are providentially hindered-this is not legalism-it is simply recognizing our place in the body. It’s tragic, but for many believers, the slightest reason or inconvenience can cause them to decide not to attend meetings of the church. The anti-dote to a casual view of participation in the church and spending time with other believers is to accept the fact that God has designed us in such a way that we are incomplete, or we lack when we do not assume our place in the body where we both give and receive blessings form other members. The fact is that, when we are absent, or AWOL, someone else is robed of a blessing we could give and we miss a blessing we could receive.
Ephesians 4:16 “From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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