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Gifted to Serve

1 Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (NKJV)

All of us are born with some sort of natural talent that has been given to us by God. Depending on the kind of family we were raised in, the environment and other factors, these are well developed in some individuals but remain hidden or unknown in others. These talents could range from sport, art, music, cooking, writing, photography etc. to name a few. 

However, for a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, apart from these natural talents, we have been bestowed with spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit. These gifts are distributed to each one as the Holy Spirit determines (1 Corinthians 12:11), and they are given for the common good of all (1 Corinthians 12:7). These gifts differ from person to person, and they are given to us not based on our merits, but purely on the grace of God (Romans 12:6). 

We read in Ephesians 4:11-13, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;” (NKJV). In this passage Paul clearly explains, that though there are different roles in ministry, the manifold purpose of these gifts, is that the members of the body of Christ be equipped, be ministered to, be edified, be unified in faith and knowledge of Jesus and be perfected to become like Jesus. 

Here are some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit as listed in Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:7-11: prophecy, faith, serving, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, showing compassion, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, gifts of healing, working of miracles, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues and interpretation of tongues. 

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul reminds us that the exercising of the gifts of the Holy Spirit should never be prioritized over the demonstration of God’s love through us. It is therefore vital for us to remember that the fruit of the Spirit as mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” is foundational to the exercising of the gifts of the Spirit.

As members of the body of Christ, all of us have been blessed with these spiritual gifts but not all recognize and use them. Paul encouraged Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:14 to not neglect the spiritual gift he had received. May we always bear in mind that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are never to be used for self-glorification or selfish gain, but as good stewards, they should be used solely for the building up of the body of Christ and for the exaltation of God alone.