Spiritual Gifts I

Ephesians 4:11-12 “ And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

After we are born, we begin to grow and develop natural talents in different areas. Some people are naturally smart, athletic, artistic, or creative. We call these people "naturals". When we are reborn, at the moment of salvation by faith in the work and person of Jesus Christ, God the Holy Spirit comes to reside in our body (this is called the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit). The Holy Spirit immediately issues or "gifts" us with a Spiritual Gift. We call this "supernatural".

It is important for you to identify your Spiritual Gift, because you will need to make decisions in your life based on the use of your Spiritual Gift as it relates to the plan of God. We should think of a Spiritual gift as a tool or an instrument that is to be used, rather than a gift that brings us pleasure or recreation. Think of the different tools that a carpenter uses to build up a structure from many individual pieces into one object. So are the Spiritual gifts. (Different tools to build up the church into one unified body.) These tools have been given to believers in order to unify the body of Christ, edify the body of Christ, and glorify Almighty God.

Today’s lesson will cover the first of fives steps to identifying your Spiritual Gift.

Step 1: The first step is to realize that God the Holy Spirit has given you a Spiritual Gift.

It is my belief that we only have one Spiritual Gift. If you believe that you may have more than one Spiritual Gift it is my recommendation that you try to identify one first. And when you begin to exercise your Spiritual Gift supernaturally, look for others if you choose, but it has been my experience that practicing one leaves very little time for practicing anything else, especially another Spiritual Gift.

Scripture supports the idea of one Spiritual Gift by referring to GIFT (Charisma) in the singular. 2 Tim 1:6-7 “ For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the GIFT of God, which is in you…” 1 Peter 4:10 “ As each one has received a special GIFT, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Tim 4:14 “ Do not neglect the spiritual GIFT within you…” Romans 1:11-12 “ For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual GIFT to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.” 1 Corinthians 1:4-7 “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any GIFT, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ”

From these five passages of Scripture, we are given eight principles to apply concerning our GIFT.

1. We are to come to an enlightened understanding of our Spiritual gift. (2Tim 1:6-7)
2. We are to employ our Spiritual Gift. (1 Peter 4:10)
3. We are commanded to not neglect our Spiritual Gift. (1 Tim 4:14)
4. Our Spiritual gift is for encouraging each other in the faith. (Romans 1:11-12)
5. Our Spiritual Gift makes us firm and stable. (Romans 1:11-12)
6. We are to exercise our Spiritual gift accordingly. (Romans 12:6)
7. Our Spiritual gift is for serving one another. (1 Peter 4:10)
8. Our Spiritual Gift is for the common good. (1Cor 12:7)

The purpose of Spiritual gifts is to unify the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:25), but it becomes more and more clear to me everyday that Spiritual gifts ARE DIVIDING the church because of a lack of UNDERSTANDING within the body. Satan’s uses our ignorance of Spiritual Gifts to divide the body. He understands the principle of “UNITED WE STAND; DIVIDED WE FALL.” Luke 11:17 “Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.” Satan wants nothing more than for us to continue in ignorance and arrogance, debating over Spiritual Gifts. As long as we stay divided over Spiritual Gifts, the battle stays within the body instead of unifying and directing the fight towards him (Satan). If you are confused about Spiritual gifts, don’t know what your gift is, or have questions concerning Spiritual Gifts, then stick with me for a few days as we will go over in detail the next four steps to Identifying your Spiritual Gift. Remember, the first step is to realize that God the Holy Spirit has given you a Spiritual Gift, now it’s time to find out what that gift is and employ it.