Why Spiritual Gifts?
Spiritual Gifts
1. Special gift/attribute given by God’s Spirit
2. Blessed endowment
3. Unique qualities God find’s promising
4.Capabilities/Capacities God wants to develop
5. Divine extensions of your passions, training, and experiences
There are many good resources dealing with discovering a purpose for your life by helping you to look at values, priorities, life experiences, and life reflections (PACE tapestry). Purposeful Vision affirms these elements in discovering your purposeful vision. However, for Christians two other elements should be incorporated into this discovery.
For Christians, spiritual gifts and scripture should be vital elements in establishing a Purposeful Vision for living out God’s plan for your life. The Bible is clear that when we become Christians we become part of the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12). As part of the body we receive spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:7) to carry out our functions within the body. The main reason God leaves Christians on earth is to encourage other believers (Ephesians 4:11) and to be salt and light to a world that does not know Christ. Through encouraging other believers and being salt and light we have the opportunity to use our gifts to help build up other Christians and introduce others to a relationship with Jesus Christ. To not incorporate your spiritual gifts into your purposeful vision would be to deny God’s will for your life.
- Know Your Spiritual Gifts - Know God’s Will
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
It is interesting how Romans 12:1-8 is generally segmented into three different topics and not taken as a whole. We must remember when the Apostle Paul wrote Romans he did not use chapter and verse. Romans 12:1-8 should be viewed together. Simply stated:
“If you want to know God’s will for your life then part of knowing it will be to discover and use your spiritual gifts.”
The following verses are generally referred to with the following topics:
Romans 12:1-2 – God’s will for your life
Romans 12:3 – Caution against pride
Romans 12:6-8 – Specific spiritual gifts for the body
“Or how about that unique calling that rests on every Christian’s life--the gifting to serve others in the name of the Lord?”
In Fresh Faith, Jim Cybala refers to spiritual gifts as God’s calling on our lives. It is one of the key blessings that Satan seeks to steal from
Christians.
Spiritual Gifts
1. Special gift/attribute given by God’s Spirit
2. Blessed endowment
3. Unique qualities God find’s promising
4.Capabilities/Capacities God wants to develop
5. Divine extensions of your passions, training, and experiences
There are many good resources dealing with discovering a purpose for your life by helping you to look at values, priorities, life experiences, and life reflections (PACE tapestry). Purposeful Vision affirms these elements in discovering your purposeful vision. However, for Christians two other elements should be incorporated into this discovery.
For Christians, spiritual gifts and scripture should be vital elements in establishing a Purposeful Vision for living out God’s plan for your life. The Bible is clear that when we become Christians we become part of the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12). As part of the body we receive spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:7) to carry out our functions within the body. The main reason God leaves Christians on earth is to encourage other believers (Ephesians 4:11) and to be salt and light to a world that does not know Christ. Through encouraging other believers and being salt and light we have the opportunity to use our gifts to help build up other Christians and introduce others to a relationship with Jesus Christ. To not incorporate your spiritual gifts into your purposeful vision would be to deny God’s will for your life.
- Know Your Spiritual Gifts - Know God’s Will
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
It is interesting how Romans 12:1-8 is generally segmented into three different topics and not taken as a whole. We must remember when the Apostle Paul wrote Romans he did not use chapter and verse. Romans 12:1-8 should be viewed together. Simply stated:
“If you want to know God’s will for your life then part of knowing it will be to discover and use your spiritual gifts.”
The following verses are generally referred to with the following topics:
Romans 12:1-2 – God’s will for your life
Romans 12:3 – Caution against pride
Romans 12:6-8 – Specific spiritual gifts for the body
“Or how about that unique calling that rests on every Christian’s life--the gifting to serve others in the name of the Lord?”
In Fresh Faith, Jim Cybala refers to spiritual gifts as God’s calling on our lives. It is one of the key blessings that Satan seeks to steal from
Christians.
