Your Ministry Gifts

People Get Ready

This week on the Forerunners of the Age to Come Blog

How to Use Your Ministry Gifts

People Get Ready

The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, spoke of his deep concern for them and that they would not be ignorant or misunderstand the spiritual gifts which they had received from the Holy Spirit. His message in 1 Corinthians 12 exudes his sincere fatherly love for the church's welfare and the importance of these spiritual gifts.

Concerning Spiritual Gifts

Now, about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s introduction to the topic of gifts clarifies that the in-filling or Baptism of the Holy Spirit, as it has come to be called, is the foundation of a Christian’s spiritual life. Without the continuous presence of the Holy Spirit in our life, we cannot see Christ as either Saviour or Lord or walk in obedience to Him. When Christ was baptized by John, He was the first to receive the Holy Spirit’s continuous presence. It was this continuous presence that allowed Him to enter into the Kingdom of God and to receive with the Holy Spirit these spiritual gifts.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Paul emphasizes that it is the Holy Spirit who manifests Himself as the nine spiritual gifts and that these are not nine different spirits. He goes on to explain that there are different kinds of gifts, different kinds of workings and different gifts of services. This is more important when we put it into the context of all Paul taught about gifts to the Body of Christ.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

This passage underscores the purpose of spiritual gifts – the common good. The word common means mutual or not private or of no personal benefit. Paul knew that the letter would be read to the assembly of believers and that the whole group was being charged to make sure that abuses were not to be tolerated. He wanted them to know that the gifts were given to serve the Body, not to make celebrities out of some believers and second-class citizens out of others. At the end of this framing of the gifts, the Holy Spirit adds this: He distributes these gifts as HE DETERMINES. He works through His people to accomplish His objectives by distributing these gifts as He chooses. In this, we have a promise that we always have precisely what we need to do God’s will.

Unity and Diversity in the Body

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so, the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

In these passages, Paul underscores that the gifts should not create division in the Body but be the means to love and to serve one another. The gifts are intended for the common good so that we can, by the Holy Spirit, love one another and become ONE.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

We are ONE. We have spent considerable time investigating this in previous posts. Achieving ONE is the expression of loving one another, and it is the beautiful symptom of a healthy Body of Christ. It is not the gifts that are dangerous to church order; it is the lack of humility and loveless, carnal Christianity. In the context of love, these gifts are the supernatural expression of God’s love for His people. They are for the common good, and they were given to sustain the spiritual health of the Body of Christ.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Paul goes on from this second list of gifts to further stress in first Corinthians 13 that love is the prerequisite for the healthy use of spiritual gifts. It is love that must govern their use for the benefit of the common good. It can, therefore, be deduced that the manifestations of the gifts of God are poured out in the same measure as Christ’s Body has matured into radical love and is ONE. Loving one another is, therefore a requirement to host the presence AND the power of the Holy Spirit. Giftedness is a central provision to our ministry in the church and in our personal life. We were built for MORE, and He has given us more. Let us avail ourselves of the gifts as faithful servants and produce a harvest of good fruit for the Kingdom.

Our Reach: Every week, we intentionally and prayerfully ask God – “What do you want to say to your people?” Week after week, He surprises us with an article we never planned for. Looking back, we see the common threads and themes He has woven into the library of this podcast. Thank you for subscribing, and please invite someone you want to bless to join us in this journey.

About Our Name: The “Forerunners of the Age to Come Blog” is written for followers of Christ who are praying for His return as the final victory in the conflict between Truth and lies. As Forerunners of the Age to Come, we are called to prepare the way by praying, walking in the Spirit, and through prophetic declarations and manifestations of the Kingdom of God on Earth as a sign of His coming. Our prayer is that this ministry will empower, equip, and inspire you to become the pure Bride for whom Christ is returning. People, get ready!

The Forerunners of the Age to Come Blog is a © copyrighted production of Paul Weigel 2024. All rights are reserved. You are encouraged to pass on any of these articles in their entirety, to friends and family for their personal use.