Spiritual Gifts: Session 2

GBC Women's Ministry Night, 9/25
1 Corinthians 12-13

Imagine a world where Mozart never studied music, where Edison gave up on inventing, where Jane Austen abandoned her dream of writing novels, where Bill Gates walked away from entrepreneurship after his first failed business, or--I shudder to think--where Aaron Rodgers never touched a football. If those people had ignored the call to develop and use their natural talents, the world would have missed out on their contributions to technology, the arts, culture, and entertainment. 

As Christians, God has given us so much more than mere abilities. When we received Christ and were redeemed by his blood, our bodies became God’s temple and we were filled with His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is at work in the life of every believer, making us more like Christ and equipping us to serve him. Each of us have been given spiritual gifts to use to serve the church and share the hope we have in Jesus to a dark world. 

Last month, we learned that all spiritual gifts have equal value to contribute to the Kingdom of God, and that the health of the church depends on every single member using their gifts to serve their brothers and sisters in Christ. Today, we’re diving into 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 to take a closer look at the different types of spiritual gifts and how they meet the needs of the body.

Based on what we know of the context of 1 Corinthians, it seems that the church in Corinth had become somewhat divided over the subject of spiritual gifts. Members of the church were acting as though some gifts were superior to others, to the point that some in the church felt excluded or undervalued. Paul addresses this issue in chapters 12-14, giving a detailed explanation of the purpose and equal value of all spiritual gifts, and the need for every gift to be used in love. We won’t have time tonight to do a detailed exposition of all three chapters, but we’re going to read from chapters 12 and 13 together as we go, and then briefly touch on a few important points from chapter 14 along the way. We’ll start in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 1:

[12:1-6] 
12 Spiritual Gifts
1 Now 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.

Paul begins this chapter by emphasizing the importance of believers understanding spiritual gifts. Specifically, he wants them to understand the source and purpose of their gifts so that they can recognize false teaching and learn to use their gifts well. He strictly warns them that those speaking in the Spirit of God will never commit blasphemy, like cursing Jesus or denying his Lordship. The Holy Spirit will never inspire a believer to add to scripture or contradict it. All true manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit will give glory to the Lord Jesus Christ to teach and encourage His Body, the Church. The Holy Spirit distributes different types of gifts to all believers, which are all equally valuable, because they find their source in the same Spirit, the same Lord, and the Same God.

[12:7-11]
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.

In this section, Paul lists a variety of spiritual gifts, continuing to emphasize the equal value and honor that they have, which is rooted in their common source: the Holy Spirit. This is just one of a few different passages of scripture that list different spiritual gifts. All of these passages are slightly different, but there’s some overlap. For example, all of them mention prophecy and refer to teaching in one form or another. Beyond that, there’s a lot of variety. For this reason, it seems safe to say that none of these lists are meant to be exhaustive or complete. They’re really more of representative sample of the ways the indwelling of the Holy Spirit plays out in the life of every believer as they serve Christ. To make things a little easier, I’m going to talk about the different types of gifts in categories that help me understand how they work a little more clearly. However, if these groups aren’t helpful for you, feel free to leave them behind after we talk about them tonight. 

The first group I observe is edifying gifts that serve the church with words. These are gifts like prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, teaching, discernment, and exhortation. Believers with these gifts use words to glorify God and point others to Christ. If you love writing encouraging notes or prayers that you send to friends when you know they’re struggling to find hope in God, you might have the gift of encouragement, which is sometime called exhortation. If you enjoy hosting small groups in your home or sharing Bible stories with kids in children’s ministries, you may have a teaching gift. (And don’t let the word teaching intimidate you; teaching doesn’t have to mean preparing a message to stand up and deliver in front of a bunch of people, it can just as easily look like diving into what God’s been teaching you through his Word as you enjoy coffee and conversation with a friend.) If others trust your good judgement and ability to graciously hold them accountable when they go down the wrong path, you might have the gift of discernment or wisdom. 

The next group of gifts I observe is gifts that serve the church primarily through action. These are gifts like service, giving, hospitality, mercy, faith, leadership, and administration. Many of these gifts are vital, behind-the-scenes roles that may sometimes be overlooked. If you enjoy helping with setup on Sunday mornings or holding babies in the nursery, you may have the gift of service. If you have the gifts of giving or mercy, you love helping those who are struggling by being generous with money or other resources God has given you. You might enjoy participating in the church meals ministry or donating time or materials to the annual cider press event. If you have the gift of faith, you may be a prayer warrior for your friends and family, trusting that God will faithfully answer your prayers according to his perfect will. If you’re good at coordinating other people and helping them cultivate their unique gifts and abilities, you may be gifted in leadership or administration. If you love greeting at the front doors on Sunday or hosting others and making them feel welcome in your home, you probably have the gift of hospitality. All of these gifts meet important needs in the body, including tangible, physical needs, as well as intangible ones. 

The last group of gifts is a lot easier to pin down. They are miraculous, so it’s pretty easy to tell when you have them. These gifts are things like healing, miracles, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues. Since it should be readily apparent to you and others if you have these gifts, I won’t give any examples, but there are a few other points that should be mentioned about them. 

First, these gifts may be occasional, rather than persistent. Believers are empowered by the spirit to heal, perform a miracles, and speak or interpret tongues for specific purposes and usually for a limited amount of time. Christians who display the gift of healing will not necessarily be able to heal anyone at any time. Those with the gift of tongues will not always speak in tongues or always be able to interpret for another person. All of these gifts will come and go in accordance with God’s purposes. This is different from the way some other gifts appear to work.  Gifts like mercy or faith often seem to permeate every part of a believer’s life. I’m guessing most of us could name at least one person they know who seems to display faith, mercy, generosity, or wisdom in everything they say and do. This seems to be rather different from the way miraculous gifts work.

Additionally, Romans 14 has some specific cautions for those who display the gift of speaking in tongues. While there are no limits on the use of tongues for private prayer and worship, Paul does caution that, in a public worship setting, messages in tongues should only be shared when someone is available to interpret. Paul tells us that the gift of tongues is only useful to build up the church when interpretation is available, because no one can understand the message without it. If someone feels called to share a message in tongues, they should pray for an interpreter, so that their message will be understood. 

[12:12-31]
One Body with Many Members
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

These verses contain a really excellent metaphor for understanding the roles that different spiritual gifts have to play in the church. Like a body has many parts that each serve different purposes, so the body of Christ has many members whose spiritual gifts perform essential functions. The church could not serve its purpose if everyone only had the gift of teaching, or of mercy, or of helps. Every church needs members with all sorts of different gifts. Though our roles within the church are different, we are united in our goal, which is glorifying God and making Christ known in the world. Because we already spent most of our time last month discussing the unity that our spiritual gifts should promote in the church, we aren’t going to spend a lot of time there this month. Still, there are a few points I want to touch on again, briefly.

First, it is good that every believer has different gifts; God designed the church to be that way. Each gift God gives to believers serves a different purpose that is essential to the health of the church, just as each part is essential to the function of a physical body. Likewise, a healthy church needs every member to be using their individual giftings in order for the body of Christ to thrive. The church cannot truly fulfill its mission of making Christ known to the world if all gifts are not honored, and if each individual believer is not committed to using their gifts.

Second, our gifts are for building up and caring for one another, not inflating our egos by flaunting our self-perceived spiritual excellence. Our gifts should make much of Christ, and of others, and not of ourselves. We should be grieved by the struggles of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and be filled with joy, not jealousy, when we see other believers’ gifts being used well or recognized more than our own. 

You’ve probably noticed that many of the spiritual gifts have quite a bit of overlap. You might not be able to decide definitively which ones you have. Do I have wisdom or discernment? Is it service or giving? Maybe all of them? I think it’s okay not to have a precise list of your gifts, at least to start. Pray that God would give you wisdom to see your gifts accurately. You can also use spiritual gift assessments and insight from other believers to help you narrow down a few gifts that may apply to you. Once you have that, you can begin praying about where and how God is calling you to use them now and in the future. The women’s ministry team is going to be sending out some resources to help you do that in the next few weeks. Then, when we meet in November, we’ll use some of our time to talk about what we’ve learned about our individual gifts, and how God is calling us to use them. 

[13:1-13]
13 The Way of Love
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

As we look at chapter 13, you’ve probably heard a large portion of this passage quoted quite a bit at weddings. You may have even gotten the idea that verses 4-8 are primarily about romantic love, as though Paul went on some kind of tangent in the middle of his message about spiritual gifts. That is not the case. Certainly these verse can be applied to all types of love, but, in context, the original emphasis is on spiritual gifts. This entire chapter drives home the point that all spiritual gifts are worthless if they are not applied in love. 

Without love, our words are just noise, and our generosity is worthless. Love must be a part of every expression of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. God is most glorified when believers teach with patience and kindness, lead without envy or boastfulness, and share wisdom without arrogance or rudeness. They will give generously without insisting on their own way, show mercy without being irritable or resentful, and share knowledge truthfully, without deception. In faith, they will bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things. 

This is a high calling, a seemingly impossible calling. At least, it would be, without God’s love toward us through Christ. On our own, we are hopeless to love other people as we should: purely and selflessly. In our sinfulness, we need a perfect, holy example to teach us how to truly love one another: 1 John 4:9-13, say this:

9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

And verse 19:
19 We love because he first loved us.  

Jesus is the manifestation of the love of God in our lives. Though we who are believers were hopelessly bogged down in our sins, we now have eternal life through Him, not because we loved God, but because He loved us first. The Holy Spirit dwells inside us, and our sanctification and spiritual gifts are a sign and a seal of our redemption. We glorify God when we use our spiritual gifts to love and serve other people. When we do that, we reveal God’s love to a hurting world by showing them Jesus. This love is not of ourselves, but is an overflow of the love God first poured on us through Christ.

Our spiritual gifts will serve the church and glorify God only when they are applied in love. Love will persist for eternity, but spiritual gifts will pass away. When Jesus returns, we won’t need special gifts to point people to Him, because He will be present with us always: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now [we] know in part; then [we] shall know fully, even as [we] have been fully known.” Doesn’t that just cut to the heart of why God gave us spiritual gifts in the first place? Through our gifts, God allows us to play a part in His plan to reveal His face to the world and bring His people to Himself. What a precious blessing, to be used by God to bring His People, to His Place, to live with and enjoy Him forever in eternity. 

Tonight, and over the next few weeks, I hope you will continue to consider the ways that God has uniquely gifted you to serve him. Ask God to use His Word, your prayers, your experiences, and wise insight from the community of believers to guide you in your giftedness. Spend some time thinking and praying, and seek out insights from fellow believers who know you well, if you can. 

You probably aren’t the Aaron Rodgers of whatever spiritual gifts you have. You likely won’t attain fame or fortune because of the ways you use your gifts to further God’s kingdom. But, if your gifts feel unimportant now, or you’re just plain confused about what they even are, remember that God has uniquely and purposefully created you to serve Him according to your gifts and passions, right where you are in your life today.  He has prepared good works for all believers: opportunities for us to serve Him and love the people around us in a way that shows them the love of Christ.  “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  I’m excited to see how God will use each and every one of us to glorify Himself through our service. 

Seeing Christ, Seeing God

In Philippians 3, Paul spoke about the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as [his] Lord” (v. 8) saying that he counted all his possessions and accomplishments as “rubbish” (v. 9) --garbage, or even dung-- for the sake of gaining Christ.  

Today, I was thinking about how difficult it is to live out this mindset. I want the focus of my life to be seeing Christ and knowing him more and more, but I wonder if anyone else could recognize that based on the way I actually live? Are my day-to-day priorities those of a woman following hard after God, or a woman pointlessly chasing after worldly garbage? I need to ask God to change my desires and choices so that I will seek the face of Jesus every day.

That’s something I’m going to be praying for as we jump into the new series I announced a couple weeks ago.

For the next two months or so, we’ll be taking a look at Jesus’ “I AM” statements in the Gospel of John: eight significant instances where Jesus used that phrase to tell us something about his divine nature. I’m really excited about this topic, because I know that the truth of who Jesus is has the power to transform our lives.

Before looking at each “I AM” phrase in turn, I want to take a look at the introduction to John gospel, and what it has to say about who Jesus is. This section from the first chapter of John is one of my favorite passages from the Bible because it so beautifully depicts the truth of the glory of Christ, our hope and our salvation:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

This is such a rich passage, it’s far too much to cover well in one brief blog post. Instead, there are four important ideas i want to unpack that will prepare us for the rest of our study in John: Jesus is the Incarnate Word of God, Jesus is Light to a Dark World, Jesus Brings Us Into God’s Family, and Jesus Makes God Known to Us.

Jesus is the incarnate Word of God

In verses 1-3 John speaks of Jesus as “the Word.” He tells us that the Word existed with God from the very beginning; in fact, the Word was God. Jesus was not created by God, but is actually of one being with the Father.  All things were made through Jesus, and nothing that he made would exist without him, because he is the source of life (v. 4). Continuing in verse 14, John tells us that Jesus (the Word) took on a body and dwelled among people on Earth, revealing the glory of God as only His perfect Son could.

So what is the significance of Jesus being the incarnate Word of God? According to John Piper, John phrases it this way to emphasize Jesus’ role as communicator: “John wanted us to conceive of the Son of God as existing both for the sake of communication between him and the Father, and for the sake of appearing in history as God's communication to us.” Jesus is in eternal communication with His Father, and through him, we are able to communicate with God as well. Through Jesus, God clarifies everything we need to know about Him.

Jesus is Light to a Dark World

In verses 4 and 5, we see that Jesus, our source of life, is also the light of the world that the darkness cannot stand against. John the Baptist (not to be confused with John the Apostle, the author of this gospel) came to point others to the Messiah, the coming Light: Christ (v. 6-10). Jesus came to bring light to a dark world, but the people loved the darkness more than the light, they loved their sin more than they loved God, so they rejected the Life, the Light (v. 10-11).

Considering how dark the world seems to so many of us right now, the thought of Jesus as the light of the world should be a source of great hope.. Stories of unchecked hatred, depravity, and violence fill the news, and it’s hard to hold on to the hope that things will ever change for the better. Left to ourselves, we are so consumed by sin, we don’t even know what goodness is. But Jesus is our light, giving us hope that, one day, all things will be made right. He is the one who shows us what “right” even is. He is our example of perfect righteousness. 

Jesus Brings Us Into God’s Family

Though the dark world rejects Jesus, a few will receive him and believe in his name. To those, he gives the gift of sonship and eternal life (v. 12-13). Believers are supernaturally and spiritually reborn as sons and daughters of God. They are no longer children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3), but beloved children of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17-19).

What an amazing inheritance! Even though our sinful natures reject Jesus and rebel against God, the blood of Christ covers our sin and restores our relationship with our Heavenly Father. We are adopted and grafted into the family tree of God where we are forever loved and cherished. 

Jesus Makes God Known to Us

This passage from John's gospel finds its amazing conclusion in verse 18: though no one has ever seen God, those who see Jesus see the Father. To know God the Son is to know God the Father, and that is the key to eternal life: 

"And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3).

This! This is what we need: eternal life though seeing the face of Christ, and thereby seeing the face of God.

Where do we find Jesus?  Where do we see God?

Scripture.

Although prayer,  worship, and Christian fellowship may all be edifying, god-orienting pursuits, they are useless without a solid foundation on God's Word.  The Bible is God's primary means of communicating to us, where he reveals Himself to us. All Scripture, Old Testament and New, point us to Jesus and teach us about the character of God. If we truly want to pursue Jesus and learn about God, we have to start with the Bible.

--

I’ve always read verses 10-11 of this passage with a little bit of incredulity: “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”

How could that happen? How could they miss it?

But, I realize, I miss it all the time. I chase after fleeting happiness and miss out on opportunities to taste eternal joy when I neglect to spend time in God's Word. I miss glimpses of Jesus: the Word Made Flesh, the Light of the World, my Brother, my God.

I hope this series in John will give you a fresh desire to love God's Word, and to know and see Jesus more and more every day.

Note: I’d originally planned to also address the importance of the phrase “I AM” in the context of the rest of the Bible in this post, but have decided it will fit better with a later post in this series. Stay tuned!

---

Respond

• Jesus is the Incarnate Word of God.

• Jesus is Light to a Dark World.

• Jesus Brings Us Into God’s Family.

• Jesus Makes God Known to Us.

How do these truths impact your life on a day-to-day basis? How can you redirect your heart to Jesus when you are tempted to be diverted by fleeting pursuits?

Spiritual Gifts: Session 1

GBC Women's Ministry Night, 9/27
Romans 11:33-12:8
 
When I was a kid, I hated competition. I had an older brother who was bigger, stronger, and smarter than me, so I rarely stood a chance of beating him at anything. A lot of things that came easily to him were really difficult for me, and I was often envious of his natural abilities. I saw no point in competing with him when I felt that I could only lose, so, for a long time, I didn’t even bother.
 
Have you ever felt that way about a brother or sister in Christ? Have you compared yourself to another believer and felt like you could not measure up? And no, I’m not talking about comparing families, homes, or even clothes. That’s a separate issue. I want us to look a lot deeper. Have you ever taken stock of the spiritual gifts God has given you, and felt that they were worthless when compared to someone else’s? You might even feel that your contributions to the church are so small that they’re insignificant, and you shouldn’t even bother.
 
You could also be on the other side of things. Maybe you’ve been richly blessed with obvious spiritual gifts, and struggle with superiority. You look down on women who don’t serve as much as you do, or whose gifts seem, to you, to be less important.
 
Let’s make this clear from the start: spiritual gifts are meant to be a point of unity in the church, and not division. Every spiritual gift--no matter what type it is, or how well it’s developed--every gift is significant in the kingdom of God. The fact that we are gifted differently is by God’s design. In His infinite wisdom, God saw fit to uniquely equip each and every woman to serve him in the specific ways he has called her to do so. Each of us will glorify God the most when we fulfill the particular role he has given us in the Body of Christ as we serve Him in our homes, our workplaces, our local church, and in the community.
 
You may be the kind of lady who has a teaching or leadership gift, and you strengthen the church by leading a small group or teaching in children’s ministries. You might be a mom of young kids who is called to serve the church with her spiritual gift of faith by being a prayer warrior for the church body during late night feedings or marathon laundry-folding sessions. There are probably a few ladies here with the gift of service or helps, who serve God by doing “behind-the-scenes” tasks, like providing meals for people or helping out with setup on Sunday mornings. God has given each of us different gifts, and unique opportunities to use them through every season of life. He did it for His glory, and to strengthen and unify Christ’s Bride, the Church.
 
This is a topic the women’s ministry team is very excited to explore with you this fall. We want to dive into what God’s Word has to say about spiritual gifts so that we can understand what they are, why we have them, and how he is uniquely calling us to use them as women in our particular life circumstances. Today, we’re going to begin with a brief overview of who the Holy Spirit is and his work in the life of the Christian. After that, we’ll look at Romans 11:33-12:8 to understand why God gives spiritual gifts to believers, and how we’re called to use them.

Before we dive into Romans, we need a solid foundation of knowledge regarding the Holy Spirit that we can build on as we talk about the Spirit’s gifts.
 
So, to begin with, the Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity. He is eternally in relationship with God the Father and God the Son, “equal [to them] in power and glory.” They are perfectly united in purpose and in power, yet each member of the Trinity has a unique function with regard to humanity. The Holy Spirit’s function is transformative: He reshapes us into the image of Christ. For the Christian, the Holy Spirit is our teacher (John 14:26) and our Helper, who will be with us forever (John 14:16). He convicts us of sin (John 16:8) and gives us softened hearts that desire to obey God (Ezekiel 36:26-27). He also helps us when we’re weak, interceding for us when our words fail us (Romans 8:26).
 
Like God the Father, the Holy Spirit is omnipresent, but being in all places at once does not mean that he is “in” unbelievers in the same way he is “in” believers. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a special filling with God’s presence and power. It occurs at the time of conversion, and it is not accessible to those who do not believe. Romans 8:9 is clear: “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ” and is therefore not saved. The presence of the Holy Spirit in a person is “a seal . . . a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14) of irrevocable salvation. The transformative work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the outward manifestation of our being recreated in the image of Christ, which is displayed in spiritual fruit.
 
By nature, sinful humans do not desire the things of God. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, and “by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3), yet God mercifully redeemed us by the blood of Christ to give us new life:
 
Ephesians 2:4-5 reminds us, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ . . . “
 
It is only when believers receive the Holy Spirit that they are capable of desiring God as they should. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit changes our nature and very desires to conform us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:26-29). Still, it’s a process. I am yet being sanctified, and my flesh is at war with the Spirit in me (Galatians 5:17).  When I’m feeling overwhelmed and struggle with wrong desires, what I need the most is more of the Holy Spirit to change those desires. I can’t muster up enough love and adoration of Christ on my own to worship and serve Him the way I should. I need to pray for an infusion of Christlikeness so that I will crave life-giving communion with God through His Word and so that I will earnestly desire to obey Him by serving others with my gifts. It’s a prayer I know he will answer because Jesus already guaranteed it. He said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)
 
The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives will be demonstrated by a transformation of our desires, words, and actions. As we become more like Christ, we begin to display more and more of what we call “the fruit of Spirit”, listed in Galatians 5:22-23 as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control.”
 
Spiritual gifts are a little different than the fruit of the Spirit. They are “the tools God has entrusted to [believers] for the increasing sanctification of God’s people” (Storms).  They are for the common good of the church, to conform us into the image of Christ. Examples of spiritual gifts include teaching, service, leadership, mercy, and prophesy. There are many more, but we’ll save the rest of them, and dig deeper into the characteristics of each, when we meet in October.
 
Notice how the gifts of the Spirit are different from the Fruit of the Spirit. The opposite of any spiritual fruit is almost necessarily sinful. For example, the opposite of self-control would be things like laziness or unrestrained anger, which obviously don’t honor God. For this reason, all Christians should actively pursue growth in all the fruit of the Spirit. It would be sinful to ignore any one of them. On the other hand, lacking certain spiritual gifts is not sinful. Scripture gives no indication that it is a sign of sin or spiritual weakness to lack certain gifts. Still, believers should pray for God’s glory to be displayed in them through the spiritual gifts they have, and they should also pray that, if it is His will, that they would receive more gifts to use for the good of the Body.
 
The Holy Spirit is the transformative power of God in believers. His reshaping work in our hearts is evident by the fruit of righteousness in our lives, and his spiritual gifts are tools he gives us to strengthen the church. In the Book of Romans, Paul provides insight into how the Holy Spirit provides individual believers with different gifts that are intended to strengthen and unify the Body of Christ.
 
Romans is a foundational epistle for understanding God’s righteous justice and rich mercy, which find their culmination in Christ’s death and resurrection. This letter was written by Paul and addressed to the church in Rome, whose members were both converted Jews and Gentile believers. Like many of the young churches of that time, they were struggling to understand many aspects of how to honor the law of the Old Testament in light of the Cross, and how believing Gentiles fit into the chosen nation of Israel. Paul was strongly concerned with warning both groups to avoid pride and divisiveness in all areas, including their salvation and the gifts they used to serve the church. Beginning near the end of chapter 11 and moving into chapter 12, Paul reminded the believers that --from their physical bodies to their spiritual strengths--everything they had was a gift from God to be used for His glory alone.
 
Let’s look at this passage together, beginning in Romans 11:33:
 
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
   or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
   that he might be repaid?”

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

12.1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 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.

(11:33-12:2)
Starting in 11:33, we see that God is the originator of all things. Everything we have--our salvation, our bodies, our abilities--they all come from Him. Serving God with our entire lives, and especially through our spiritual gifts, is what we owe Him. It’s not a special favor that we can take pride in, but a humble offering that cannot even begin to repay him for his goodness to us.
 
In his unsearchable wisdom, God has mercifully given us physical bodies and spiritual abilities for us to use to glorify Him for the benefit of his body, which is the Church. We are not to conform to the pattern of unbelievers in the world. They use their physical bodies to serve their own desires, and they use their natural abilities to serve their egos and gain power over others. Instead, we are to allow God’s Word to sanctify us, renewing our minds and transforming our very lives. As we are remade into the image of Christ, we will learn to weigh and measure everything in light of what is “good, acceptable, and perfect.” In other words, we will make every thought and action obedient to Christ, concerned with His glory, and not our own. Our transformation will be made known by the way we use our spiritual gifts in service to God.
 
In verse 3 of chapter 12, Paul encourages the Roman believers to spend time in purposeful introspection. He calls them to wisely weigh the value of their own abilities realistically, without pride, and “according to the measure of faith God has assigned.” It is God who will supply the faith we need to discern the value of the gifts he has given us. He will also guide us in how best to use them in his service. A spiritual gifts inventory can give you a glimpse of your gifts, but it will never paint of full picture of how God has gifted you to serve Him. It also won’t provide much insight into the avenues in which he’s calling you to use those gifts. How should you be serving Him in our church? In your home? Your workplace? What about in the community? God will use His Word, your prayers, your experiences, and wise insight from the community of believers to guide you in your giftedness. This is something we’re going to dig into more next month, when we’ll talk in detail about the different types of gifts and how to figure out which ones you have, but I want you to start thinking about it over the next few months. Spend some time thinking and praying about this, and consider asking your fellow believers for their insights as well.
 
Starting in verse 4, Paul uses a physical body as a metaphor for how the church is made up of a variety of members who use their different strengths to function as a unified entity. Let’s look at that passage again:
 
4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
 
Jesus came to Earth “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Believers are called to imitate Christ’s example of servanthood in the way we use our spiritual gifts to minister in the Body of Christ, and also in our homes, workplaces, and communities. Every single believer was created by God to serve a unique and essential function in God’s Kingdom, beginning with the local church. This is for His glory, and for the strengthening of our fellow believers. It also brings unity to the church, as we become “members of one another” through our service. That means, if you are not committed to actively serving in your local church, you are handicapping Christ’s bride. God is sovereign, so he will ultimately accomplish his will, but you will be missing out on opportunities to participate. You’re also missing out on the chance to be united with other believers by serving and being served in the body of Christ. How many of us would love to feel more connected with other people in our church? I think most people feel that way, particularly women. Play dates and dinner invitations have their place in building community with other believers, but perhaps our go-to question for when we feel disconnected shouldn’t be, “Who can I invite over?” or “Who will invite me over?”, but instead,  “Who can I reach out to?” or “Who can I work alongside in service?”
 
In the final verses we’ll be looking at, Paul encourages believers to exercise their different gifts in a manner that is pleasing to God. Beginning in verse 6, he says that prophets should prophesy “in proportion” to their faith, when they feel confident that their message comes from God, and not from themselves. Others should joyfully serve, teach, and exhort their fellow believers according to how the Holy Spirit leads. Those who are gifted to make financial contributions should give out of generosity, not because of obligation or to impress others.  Leaders should lead with energy and passion, not laziness. The merciful should care for the hurting gladly, without resentment.
 
With any spiritual gift, it would be easy to fall into the trap of using our abilities in a self-serving or half-hearted manner. To do so is detrimental to the health of the church. Every member is needed. “When believers go AWOL, the whole body suffers. Fringe church attendees aren't neutral, they’re actually harmful.” Instead, we are called to use our gifts like they aren’t ours at all, but just “on loan” from God for us to serve Him.  One author put it this way: “Whatever one’s gift, he should exercise it faithfully as a stewardship from God.” I love the picture this paints.
 
In a monarchy, a steward is an official who has been entrusted with the care and management of the kingdom. His job is to represent the King when he is absent. The steward has no power that has not been given to him, and he will be held accountable for the quality of his work when the king returns.
 
In the same way, we will be held accountable for how we use the gifts God has given. Are we using them to serve the Body of Christ, or are we using them for ourselves, or not all?
 
Maybe pride tempts you to think more highly of your gifts than you ought to. On the other hand, you may undervalue your gifts to the point of rarely using them, if ever. Maybe you fall somewhere in-between. Whatever the case, I hope you’ll spend some time this month “thinking with sober judgment” as Paul encourages us in here in Romans. Consider what your gifts are, how you should use them, and whether they are fostering your unity with the Body of Christ, or your division from it. Pray that God will give you wise discernment, and a willing and obedient heart to serve Him in the good works he has prepared for you. I truly believe that God wants to use you to bless others and give you joy in doing so.
 
Today, I want to close our time with Psalm 100. It’s a song gratitude to God for his love and faithfulness, and his goodness as our creator and shepherd. It reminds me that, whatever my gift is, my service to God should be a joyful outpouring of worship because of who He is, and all He has done for me:
 
Psalm 100
1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2     Serve the Lord with gladness!
    Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations.
Amen.