Inseparable to the paradigm of the “Body of Christ” comes the idea in Scripture of “specialization”… arms, fingers, eyes, nose, ears, etc. To carry the analogy forward, specialization in the Body of Christ = Spiritual Gifts. What is a spiritual gift? It is a divine endowment, or a divinely bestowed ability that God gives to each of His people to serve the rest of His Body. The Bible clearly teaches that every believer has been gifted for service, without exception. Some may have more spiritual gifts than others, but all of the spiritual gifts are to be used to strengthen the Church “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). This means that every believer is critical. No believer is an addendum or an afterthought in the Body of Christ. Your contribution and mine, through our divine gifting, is important if the whole Body is to grow and reach maturity.

Everyone is created with different gifts and abilities. In the physical world, picture Tiger Woods trying to play linebacker in the NFL! Think about the grace of a figure skater -- useless for a sumo wrestler! Having spiritual heroes can be great. They can call out the higher good in each of us and help us mature in our walk with Christ. But too many heroes can be a problem, especially when we try to emulate each one -- all at the same time! Your unique gift(s) and skill sets are God’s way of touching others around you with His love – and if you try to be someone or something you’re not, that love won’t shine through. In two weeks, we’ll cover the different spiritual gifts in detail to help you discover and develop what God has placed in you for the building up of the Body. Know this though, Scripture is clear that God has given each of us supernatural gifts and abilities that He desires to develop and use in and through our lives to bless other people. 

The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to all believers. Why is there such a variety of gifts?

What is the purpose of our spiritual gifts?

What is our responsibility in regard to our spiritual gifts?