His Ambassador Blog

Last week we talked about the importance of the body of Christ, which is the church. The church is not a building, rather it is made up of the people of God living in harmony together. We are to be one under Christ, who is the head of the church.

This week we’re going to look at the different gifts of the Holy Spirit and what it might look like for different members of the body to be doing different tasks. We’ll be reading from Romans 12:6-8:

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

While there are a few other places where we can read about more gifts of the Spirit, we are going to focus on these. I want to notice the first part of these verses. Paul explains that the spiritual gifts are not given by anything someone has done or based on how good of a person an individual is. The gifts are given by the grace of God how He chooses. The Holy Spirit delegates these gifts individually as He sees fit.

The first gift is that of prophecy. While it might make sense to think that this is the ability to predict the future, that’s not exactly what it means in this context. This type of prophecy involves being able to communicate the heart and will of God. An individual with this gift might be able to interpret God’s purpose for something. It’s important that this prophesying happens in faith and trust that God really spoke to the individual, which involves truly knowing the word and nature of God.

The next gift is service, which may also be referred to as ministering. Those I know who have the gift of service are incredible people. While we are all called to minister to one another, there are some people who are just amazingly good at loving for others and providing their needs in practical ways. I believe that all believers are called to be ministers to others, tending to their needs and sharing the gospel in the meantime. 

The next gift Paul mentions is teaching. An individual with this gift has a call to study, analyze, and the proclaim and share the Word of God. These individuals seek to help others understand the good news and they are good at it. This gift goes along with the next one: exhortation. Exhortation is like encouragement, inspiring others to grow in and practice the faith they’ve been taught. Without teaching and exhortation we might have a generation that is completely lost when it comes to knowing the truths about scripture and how to live it out. 

The next gift is giving. The are people who have been greatly blessed so that they might bless others. They may have a bunch of resources in which they can use to help and support others. Practically this may be someone who is business savvy or great at supervising and overseeing things which can provide necessities to those in need. 

The next gift Paul mentions is leadership. This individual has the ability to speak to people in a way that inspires them to accomplish something. They are diligent, disciplined, and they guide others in the church. Not only should a leader tell people where to go, he/she should show them. A leader should lead by example.

The last gift is mercy. The individual with the gift of mercy is someone who is compassionate and kind to others. They are much like those with the gift of encouragement. They seek to lessen others suffering and bring them out of distress. 

All of the gifts above must be done wholeheartedly. Once the leader stops leading he has done wrong. Once the giver stops giving he is not following the will of God. We are called to use our gifts for the good purposes of God, to further His kingdom, and bless those around us.

If you’re unsure of what your spiritual gift is, I would like to encourage you to look into a spiritual gifts test that can get you started on understanding your spiritual gift. One of the good ones I like is this one: https://giftstest.com

It’s also important to be in prayer about the gifts God has given you. They are by Him and for Him, as are all things. We should use our talents and gifts to glorify Him and bring others to Christ through the good news.