You’re Gifted!


1 Corinthians 12:1-11
1Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

It’s always fun to write about a passage that is completely positive and uplifting. That’s what we find in these words. After several passages about what the Corinthians were doing wrong, Paul now brings a message that is wonderful for all to hear. You’re gifted! Who doesn’t want to hear that? Not to say that Paul is just heaping on the praise here. He is also trying to be instructive and shift the way the people practiced the spiritual life. Apparently, there was some “one-ups-man-ship” going on with regards to the exercise of the gifts and some ranking of the gifts with some being better than others. This is not the case and Paul seeks to reshape their thinking on this topic.

But I find that these particular verses are encouraging on a couple of levels. First of all, there is the reminder that if you are able to say, "Jesus Christ is Lord", that is the proof of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. No one would say that if the Holy Spirit were not enabling those words. Next Paul lists (although this is not an exhaustive list) several of the gifts the Holy Spirit hands out freely and to everyone. This means that all believers have spiritual gifts – granted to you by the Holy Spirit – no matter who you are or what your station in life. These gifts are for the specific purpose of building up the Body of Christ (the Church) and this makes all of us equal in importance. The next three chapters will expand our understanding of those gifts.

Whenever I teach about this passage, I am startled to learn that most Christians are not aware of their own gifts. They have some vague ideas about what they may be gifted to do, but no clear understanding of that path. With that said, I commend to you this spiritual gifts inventory. It’s rather fun to take and if you are at all interested in learning what your specific gifts might be, take this inventory and discover what God has gifted you to do. It’s fun and easy.

http://www.lifeway.com/Article/Women-Leadership-Spiritual-gifts-growth-service

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