Unleash The Five Fold Spiritual GiftsSample

“Daring to Explore Spiritual Gifts”

People often mistreat spiritual gifts as some mysterious, mystical concept that lies outside of the realm of their own lives and relationship with Jesus.

Doing so is understandable. It’s a very common behavior. But it’s also a gross oversight.

The gifts found in Scripture can actually bring tangible and life-changing power. We rob both ourselves and others of that very power, however, by not daring to spend time understanding them.

The spiritual gifts described in God’s Word can transform you, deepen relationships, and build your church in ways not possible by relying just on your own strength.

Ephesians 4 offers a profound and hopeful picture of five spiritual gifts. According to those verses, Christ gave these gifts, which are often referred to as the “Five Fold,” to the church for several reasons. By appreciating the reasons, we not only better understand the importance of the gifts, but also how to tap into them.

To paraphrase the purposes of the spiritual gifts for the body:

• Equip
• Build
• Unify
• Protect
• Mature
• Orchestrate
• Love

Would you want to achieve any of the above for yourself and for your church?

Would you want to equip your church, unify its members, protect them from wayward doctrine, mature them to be like Christ, and orchestrate them to work together – all in love and to glorify God?

These Five Fold gifts were given so that the church could do all the above!

Since you are a member of the body of Christ, the benefits and changes are also available to you. In the same way we react to physical, earthly gifts, there should be an anticipation for the spiritual gifts. Like awaiting presents for Christmas, you should eagerly seek to understand how these gifts unfold within yourself and throughout your church.

So how does one begin?

The journey does not begin with self-assessments and evaluations.

It begins with Christ.

It begins with knowing, loving, being loved by, and following Christ because he expresses these five gifts perfectly.

Tomorrow, I will guide you through how to see these gifts by fixing our eyes on the giver of these gifts, Christ himself.

Questions:

What do you imagine spiritual gifts look like for you and your church?

Why would Christ, the giver of grace, also be the giver of spiritual gifts?