July 16
2 Chronicles 8-9
Psalm 80:12-19
Proverbs 18:3-5
Romans 12
Gifted
“Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the standard of one’s faith; if service, in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12:4-8 HCSB
If you have ever been in a Bible study I taught, you know that I am very passionate about spiritual gifts. I believe that God has designed each of us to work within the body of believers. We each have talents and personality traits given to us by God that make us unique and special. In addition, when we are saved God gives us spiritual gifts. Those gifts are given to us to prepare and enable us to carry out His purposes. They are not given to us for our benefit or to bring glory to us, but rather they are for the benefit of the body of Christ. We each have a calling within the body. We each serve different functions and when we are all working within our giftedness and using the gifts we have been given, then everything is accomplished. If we are not serving the body, then something is left undone. And if we are not doing the thing we are supposed to be doing, what we are doing is not being done in the best way. Unfortunately, I think in many churches people are doing things they are not designed to do, are getting burned out and quit serving. When we are filling the role that we are designed to fill, it gives us energy and excitement, not anxiety and frustration.
In Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12, Paul gives a list of the spiritual gifts. Each of the gifts has a purpose and is equally important. As a part of the body, we do not all serve the same purpose. We cannot all function as an eye, or as a foot or a heart. If everyone was an eye, we could see, but we couldn’t do anything else. If everyone was a foot, we could walk, but we couldn’t see. In the body of believers, we each have our function. Some of us are designed to teach, some to serve, some to encourage, some to give, some to preach, and some to show mercy. One illustration of how this works within the body of believers is as follows. You are at a potluck supper at church. You are walking to your seat with your plate piled high with food in one hand and your drink in the other, with a big piece of chocolate cake in a dessert plate propped on top of your food when you step in some water on the floor. Your feet fly out from under you, both plates splatter on the floor and your drink lands on top of you. For a second no one moves, and then suddenly everyone springs into action. Someone with the gift of mercy immediately comes over and begins to tell you that it is fine, they have done that before, and it is no big deal. Someone with the gift of administration begins to organize everyone to clean up the mess. They send someone to get a mop, someone to get paper towels, someone to get you a new plate of food, etc. Someone with the gift of service will immediately begin to clean up the mess. Someone with the gift of teaching will tell you how you probably should not have been carrying so much stuff in your hands at one time and that next time it would be a better idea to take your plate to the table and then go back and get your drink. Someone with the gift of encouragement would pick you up, take you to the bathroom and help you get cleaned up and then tell you that you need to hold your head up high and get back out there and not be embarrassed. Someone with the gift of prophecy would try to find out who spilled the water and did not clean it up. Someone with the gift of intercession will immediately start praying that you aren’t hurt and that you aren’t embarrassed. Obviously, this is a simplistic example, but you can see that all the parts are important. Everyone serves a different purpose, but combined the mess gets cleaned up and you feel better. When approaching any situation, we respond based on how God has gifted us. Your initial reaction is a good indicator of your spiritual gift. I have the gift of administration. My first response is to step in and organize the situation. That is an important function, but it is just as important that someone cleans up the mess and someone makes sure you aren’t embarrassed, and you are ok. It is important that we each know our role.
There are lots of spiritual gift tests that help you figure out what your gifts are. I recommend one from Lifeway that can be found online. You can find the link in the endnotes.9 For those who have never done a spiritual gifts inventory or may want to do it again I highly recommend that you do. Being aware of how God has gifted you can help you understand how He wants you to serve others. As I mentioned above, I have the gift of administration. Over the years I have used this gift in lots of different ways. I have organized events for women’s ministry, VBS, children’s ministry, events at my girl’s schools, college ministry, youth ministry, etc. At different times in my life, I have been involved in different things, but God has always used my gift of administration in some way. I also score high in faith and intercession. When you take the assessment, you will probably score high in one area and then pretty high in a couple of other ones. God can use your gifts in different areas within the body of Christ at different times, but your gifts remain constant.
Comments