About Spiritual Gifts

The Holy Spirit produces fruit in the life of every believer who is yielded and submitted to Him. Love, Joy, Peace, Forbearance, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control are all produced by the Holy Spirit. No one can produce these through self effort or personal discipline, it is produced by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit also gives gifts to every believer as He decides. We know a lot about some of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives, but know so little about the diversity and variety of gifts. Did you know that "serving" is a gift? In Romans 12:6-8, we read about some of the these less familiar gifts. 

"We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully" (Romans 12:6-8, NIV).  The list of gifts in these verses contains some gifts that we would not necessarily think about.  We are often quick to spot the big "platform gifts" like Prophecy and Leadership, but to encourage, serve, give and to show mercy are all considered gifts in their own rights. And it is interesting to me, that though not all of us will lead or prophesy, we can almost all encourage, serve, give and show mercy. These gifts that are perhaps more widely distributed are those we often disdain. I think this is wrong, it is not what God intends. My aim is to shine the light on these gifts. There are more of them. We all have gifts and they may not be the ones we always talk about.

There are other gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:28-31. Many of them are part of the big gifts we are familiar with like Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, Miracles and Tongues. But a few are in the list that don't often get a mention or recognition. They include: "Helping" and "Guidance". We can't afford to underestimate or under rate these gifts, they are valuable and needed in the body of Christ. We can't all be Pastors, Teachers, Apostles and Prophets, but we can all encourage, help, give, serve and use our God given gifts to build the church.

More importantly, why did God give these gifts to the body of Christ? The answer is right there in 1 Corinthians 12:7: "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good". The gifts are for the common good of the body of Christ. This verse does not carry just the weight of a local church, but that of the global church. Our gifts are meant to be used to build the church. The gifts come from the Holy Spirit and it is the work of the Holy Spirit to help, guide, protect and encourage the church. He does that through each of us when we use our gifts and excel in them.

We have to be careful when we talk about the five fold ministries as if that's all there is. Recently, I got sent a WhatsApp message that suggested I can take a test that will tell me, which of the five fold ministry gifts I have. The idea conveyed is that every member of a local church can locate their gift within the five-fold ministry in Ephesians 4, that is: Apostle, Pastor/Teacher, Prophet, Evangelists. That will presuppose that every member will be one of the five at some point. But that's not what the Bible teaches. We all have different gifts and some are not as prominent in the way we run church services, but nonetheless vitally important in the body of Christ. 

In all the scriptural verses in the Bible where it talks about spiritual gifts, the emphasis are on the following: 

1. It is the Holy Spirit that distributes these gifts, and that He gives gifts as He wills. Though we can ask, He get's to decide who gets what (1 Corinthians 12:11)
2. The gifts are not for personal benefit or to show off. They are not a function of how spiritual we are. They are for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7)
3. Each member of the body of Christ belong to each other. We are not called to be self centered but other centered. You belong to me and I belong to you. Any gift you have is meant to serve me, and any gift I have is meant to serve you (Romans 12:4-5)
4. These gifts are for the building of the body of Christ, so we all reach unity in the faith and become mature in Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
5. The gifts help the body of Christ connect to Christ, who is the head and we use the gifts to build each other up (Ephesians 4:15-16)

In conclusion, "From him (That is Christ) the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love. as each part does its work" (Ephesians 4:16). The implication of this verse is huge. When we are all joined to Christ and He has His rightful place as the head of the church, that will enable us to be joined and held together. Our union with Christ will enable us to grow and be built up. Each of us growing, being built up in love, when each of us does its work, or use our gifts. And the opposite is true if we don't each use our gift. 

Do you know your gift? Well, it's not difficult to discover, they are things that comes easily to you, they are things people see in you. If you love helping others, its most definitely a gift from God. If you like entertaining people, its most likely the gift of hospitality. We all have a part to play, and if you don't seem to know your part, just serve. That will do.