God loves us so much that He gives us gifts. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to Believers who obey God (Acts 5:32). Like many gifts, we need an instruction manual to show us how to put it together and use it correctly. God in His infinite wisdom has done just that. He has given us the Bible, specifically many texts in the New Testament, to teach us to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Why does the Holy Spirit give gifts to His people? As written in an earlier post, Prophecy in the Spirit, we learn that three reasons we are given gifts is to encourage, console and discipline the church. Peter also teaches us to use the gifts we are given to serve others and glorify God.
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. I Peter 4:10 & 11
Peter writes that we are to have confidence when we use our gifts. This is pure Peter. He was a man who always jumped in head first into any situation. Many times with his tongue going a mile a minute. I honestly think this is one reason Christ chose Peter, even though He knew Peter needed to be tempered. That is, Peter was eager to trust in Jesus, to rely on His confidence, and to obey Him immediately. Peter was strong-willed and a risk taker. He had confidence in his own abilities, but needed to be taught that his confidence needed to be subject to Jesus’ abilities and confidence. His final lesson in confidence came when he vehemently told Jesus he would not deny Him. And yet, Peter did deny Jesus, not once, but three times before the cock crowed just as Jesus told him he would. This failure greatly humbled Peter and taught him to put his confidence in Christ alone.
Seeing how Peter learned to be subject to Christ and promised to watch over the early church (John 21:15-18), he could then write in I Peter, Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies. In other words, when we Believers are filled with the Holy Spirit, we can speak God’s words over people and life’s situations having the confidence that God is in control. We can also know when and how to serve God because we can trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit as we obey Him.
Peter also teaches us that we can have this confidence because we know exactly where it comes from. As such, when we see how the Holy Spirit has spoken and acted in a situation, we know it is not by our own power, but by God’s. Therefore, when we see the Holy Spirit in action, we give God the glory because we know it was by His power and might alone. We see then, that another reason to use a gift of the Holy Spirit is to glorify God.
Peter has taught us to be confident when we use the gifts of the Holy Spirit but Paul has given us the meat of the manual when he wrote to the Corinthians. Paul taught that “Every member of the body of Christ has been given some spiritual gift that is an evidence of the Spirit’s working in their lives. All the gifts are intended to build up the members of the Christian community. They are not to be used for selfish advantage, as some in the Corinthian community apparently were doing (Zondervan, 2011).”
Paul not only explains that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are to be used for building up the community of the early church, he gives examples of several of the gifts. He teaches how the Holy Spirit uses each person’s gifts in unison with other members of the community’s gifts by using a metaphor of the human body.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now there are many members, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23 and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, 24 whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. I Corinthians 12:4-31
Here Paul clearly explains how the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to each Believer in order to strengthen the community of Believers. This community is the corporate worldwide church. God has placed each and every one of us as members, right now at this time in history, with the gifts the Holy Spirit has endowed upon us, so that we may work in unison to build up the church. Are we reaching out to our brothers and sisters, not only in our local church, but to those around the globe? Isn’t it time we put our petty differences aside from our denominations and create a cohesive church? Using the gifts and power given to us by the Holy Spirit this is possible. Let’s allow God to use us and the gifts He has given us to continue to build and strengthen His church. To God be the glory!
Resources:
Zondervan, 2011. Barker, K. etal. (Eds.) NIV Study Bible: Fully Revised. Note from I Corinthians 12:7). Zondervan Publishers.
Photo Credit: West Virginia Conference, United Methodist Church, n.d. Retrieved on June 14, 2022 from https://www.wvumc.org/spiritual-gifts/#.
