When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, God gives you three
gifts: eternal life (Romans 6:23), the Holy Spirit to live inside
you and to guide and comfort you (Romans 5:5), and spiritual
gifts.
When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, God gives you three gifts: eternal life (Romans 6:23), the Holy Spirit to live inside you and to guide and comfort you (Romans 5:5), and spiritual gifts. A spiritual gift is a special ability, given by the Holy Spirit to every believer at his/her conversion, to be used to minister to others and therefore build up the Body of Christ.
The Bible teaches us many things about spiritual gifts, much more than we can cover here, but there are a few things that need to be mentioned. First, all believers have them. First Corinthians 7:7 says, “Each one has the special gift that God has given him…” If you are a Christian, you have at least one spiritual gift. Second, spiritual gifts are different from natural abilities (physical gifts). We are given physical gifts when we are born; we are given spiritual gifts when we are “born again.” Third, spiritual gifts are not to be confused with the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23). “Spiritual fruit” shows my maturity, while “spiritual gifts” show my ministry.
The Bible gives several lists of spiritual gifts, and there are ways we can discover which gifts we have. Why is it important we know what our gifts are? Because your spiritual gifts are a key element in understanding God’s plan for your life. Knowing them answers questions like, “What I doing here?” “What is my purpose in life?” “What does God want me to do now that I’m a Christian?” “Where should I focus my time and energy?” All these types of questions get answers when you get in touch with the gifts God has given you.
And it is important to remember that each us have a unique mix of spiritual gifts. There is a temptation to see others excel and want to imitate them. This is a mistake. God gave us different gifts for a reason. We are to use ours, not envy those given to others (this was one of the main reasons Paul wrote the Book of 1 Corinthians).
Have you ever noticed that Christians, even those who believe the same way, will often disagree? Why? One reason is because our different gift mixes color our perception of things. If someone has the gift of evangelism, all they see is the need to reach non-Christians for Christ. Another, with the gift of teaching, says, “No, it is more important to get those who are already Christians to grow so that they can do evangelism.”
Because we all have different spiritual gifts, we see things differently. Suppose you were a part of a family in which each person had a different gift. How would your family respond to someone dropping their dessert on the floor during dinner? The one with the gift of mercy says, “Don’t feel bad, it could happen to anybody.” The one with the gift of serving volunteers, “Let me help you clean it up.” The one with the gift of teaching explains, “The reason it fell is because it was too heavy on one side.” The one with the gift of giving offers, “I’ll be happy to give you my dessert.” And the one with the gift of administration says, “Jim you get mop. Sue you pick up. Mary, help me prepare another dessert.” Each family member would respond differently because each has a different way of looking at the accident.
God has given the Christian community of Hollister many spiritual gifts; all of us are different, and all of us are important to accomplishing God’s plan for our city.
