Gifts of the Spirit

February 13


Every single God lovin’, bible thumpin’, born-again, turned on, charismatic, child of the King has one or more gifts which were supernaturally imparted to him/her upon spiritual rebirth (I Peter 4:10). The list of gifts are recorded in Romans 12:6-8, I Corinthians 12-14, and Ephesians 4:11. It’s rather extensive. There are at least 20, depending how one slices them. The purpose of these gifts, as instructed by Paul in I Corinthians, is to build up the body of Christ. Their proper administration is essential if we are to have healthy bodies of Christ, which might explain why we don’t have many. I’ve been in dozens of churches in the past three decades and don’t remember ever hearing a pastor preach on the topic. I suspect one very obvious reason is that doing so would alert everyone in the congregation they are all part of the church’s full time ministry. Of course, a correct understanding on the biblical teaching on them would set such thinking to rest, but that seldom happens, so please allow me to attempt, in just a few words to clarify why no one need be intimidated by the proper manifestation of all the gifts in the local body.

It is the responsibility of the leadership of the local church to make sure the gifts are properly manifested within the functioning local body. The bible makes it clear, only elders who rule well at teaching and preaching are to expect any financial remuneration for their efforts (I Tim. 5:17). I Corinthians 14:26-33 provide us with clear instruction about how the gifts should be manifested, and verse 32 makes it clear the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. That means church leadership determines if the gifts are being properly manifested.

If you would like to have an entire study on the spiritual gifts, let me know. I have written an exhaustive study on the topic and would be happy to send it to you for a nominal fee of zero dollars and zero cents. I don't pedal the gospel, so whatever I have written is free. The point for today’s study is this: If you believe you have made a biblical confession of faith in Jesus as Lord, you need to take the next tiny, itsy, bitsy step. You need to determine what your spiritual gift(s) is/are and begin developing it/them. We have all been called to be full time ministers of the gospel. God has gone out of His way to impart to every single member of His body a special gift(s). He expects us to administer our particular gift(s) to His body. That is what brings the body alive. That is what causes the world to look at us and marvel. That is what makes others want to be part of the local church. And that is one of the major reasopns most local churches today are listless an impotent. If you have any interest in seeing your local church blossom where it is planted, you must do your part.

(I Peter 4:10; Romans 12; I Cor. 12-14; Eph 4:11-16)