PURPOSE TO USE YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS by steve johnson
T
here are several places in the Bible where spiritual gifts are written about: Romans 12:3–8, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:11–13, and 1 Peter 4:10–11. In this article I focus mainly on Peter’s words. “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 4:10–11) Peter’s concise statement tells us about the nature and the necessity of spiritual gifts.
The Nature of Spiritual Gifts Each believer has a spiritual gift. A spiritual gift is an ability, skill, or talent God graciously gives each believer so that by using it they can help advance the work of the church on earth. The spiritual gifts are given by grace and are not based on our worthiness or personal abilities. They are given according to God’s sovereign choice. Because every believer receives a gift to do ministry, every believer is a minister. Let that sink in. It’s significant. Too often people think only the pastor is the minister when in reality the church is full of ministers. A closer look at Ephesians 4:11–12 makes this clear. “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his
