Gifts

 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1 Corinthians 1:7 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.1.7.ESV

Judging by Paul's teaching later on in his first letter to the Corinthian church, they needed some teaching on spiritual gifts. Even here at the outset, Paul sets out his stall. No-one in the Corinthian church was lacking in any gift.

Maybe the extra gifted Corinthian Christians were lording it over those who were less so. Maybe those who could speak other languages were put on a pedestal above those who simply had the gift of being organised. Yet as far as God is concerned, He has gifted all of His people with all that we need to serve Him.

I heard a great description of spiritual gifts recently. Rather than divorcing them from the fruit of the Spirit, we can see them as the tools by which we help ourselves bear as much spiritual fruit as possible. So the gifts of the spirit could be things like secateurs to prune a fruit tree.

I also heard recently that the Greek word for spiritual gifts is something like 'charismata' which literally means 'grace gifts'. We sometimes emphasise the difference between graces and gifting, but maybe we're making too much of a distinction. If someone ungracious is gifted, maybe they just have natural talent rather than spiritual gifting.

'Our Father in heaven, thank You for gifting us with all we need to live godly lives. Please help us to do so, for the honour of Your name, amen'

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Power

 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.Exodus 9:16 ESVhttps://bible.com/bible/59/exo.9.16.ESV  Secular historians point to the lack of extra-biblical evidence of Hebrew slavery in Egypt and ensuing exodus. But here in this verse, God describes how this anonymous Pharoah has been immortalised in the annals of the Hebrews, so that God is proclaimed in all the earth. The mighty men of the world might think they can stand against God and win, but resistance is futile!  The more stubborn Pharoah was, the more the Lord was able to display His power. The more insistent Pharoah was of keeping his slaves, the more unreasonable he appeared. It was a battle of wills, and the will of Yahweh prevailed.  In the end, Pharoah will have been broken by the plagues. In the final plague, his own firstborn son was killed, the next in line to the throne of the world superpower. He might have tried to put a brave face on it, but he
Read more

Delight

 I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your word. Psalm 119:16 Delight isn't a word we tend to associate with decrees. Maybe a vulnerable person might have delighted in some of the covid decrees; or a pedestrian in the highway code. Without decrees, we'd be living in anarchy. In the busyness of life, it would be all too easy to neglect God's law. Even though David was tremendously busy as the king of Israel, he always guarded his time in God's word. If he managed, we have no excuse. In His earthly ministry, Jesus was often so popular that He scarcely got any time to Himself. Yet He still often got up early, while it was still dark, and communed with His heavenly Father. He clearly memorised Scriptures in His armoury against satanic temptations. We devote time to what we delight in. Even if we don't enjoy work for example, we do it so we can earn money to spend on things we delight in. If we delight in God's word, we will make time to meditate on it. '
Read more

Praise

  O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. Psalm 51:15 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.51.15.ESV King David had been guilty of adultery and murder. Understandably, he felt muted. He didn't feel he could praise God publicly without coming across as a massive fraud. Yet David is described as a man after God's own heart. Yes, he fell deeply into sin. Yet this Psalm is a heartfelt prayer to God to restore Him. David knew that if God forgave him, he'd have a great testimony. There's hope for the worst of sinners! So he longed to open up his mouth in praises to God. Thankfully, God positively did answer his prayer. He did go on to praise God and write many more Psalms of worship to Him. Whatever we've done, there's hope for us yet, in the blood of Christ. 'Sovereign Lord, please help us to praise and worship You wholeheartedly, whatever our pasts may be. In Jesus' name we pray, amen'
Read more