GIFTOLOGY

The following is a summary of what we spoke about this Sunday.

Last week we ended with a reading of Ephesians 4:15-16 which says

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

It gives us this picture of a body at which the head is Jesus. We all together form part of this body. The body is held together by “every supporting ligament” and it grows and is built up “in love”. It also paints this picture of each member of this body having a job to do and fulfilling work.

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THE BODY
This will be our primary analogy. You especially see Paul use this example as he describes the church. It’s a good picture because as you can see we have many different appendages, limbs, and parts but they all contribute to being one body.

Before we begin specifically talking about these gifts, what they are, etc., let’s talk about what exactly are these gifts for?


WHAT ARE THE GIFTS FOR?

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. {1 Peter 4:8-11 ESV}

As we look at this passage, I want you to see the language that Peter uses here. Let’s try to highlight these attitudes:

• Keep loving one another earnestly.
• Show hospitality to one another.
• Use it to serve one another.

What observation can you make from this passage and from the language used? Who are the gifts for? What do we do with these gifts? I think that the language here is pretty clear that one of the primary reasons we are gifted is for the service of one another. But Peter gives us an even greater purpose and use of our gifts.

...in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Ultimately, we are gifted to bring glory to Jesus. And when we use our gifts to show hospitality, love one another, and serve one another it all brings glory to Jesus.

Before we get into specifics, let’s discuss why you are important to the church. We return to the body analogy.

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YOU ARE IMPORTANT
For this next part I need us to take out our Bibles, or YouVersion Bible Apps to read along this passage since it’s pretty  lengthy.

{Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31}

Paul continues his analogy of the body representative of the church. In this passage in particular he uses a little sarcasm and humor to make his point.

It seems like perhaps in the church of Corinth, and in anticipation of today, Paul writes to clarify more on spiritual gifts and the importance of each individual in the corporate body of Christ.

I think that in this passage, Paul both elevates those who may see themselves as insignificant within the church while humbling those who think of themselves too highly. This thought, I believe, continues within many churches today. What do you think of yourself?

• Do you consider yourself insignificant? You are part of the body of Christ and He has uniquely gifted you to contribute to the church.
• Do you see yourself as a “big deal”? We all work collectively to serve the church and bring glory to Jesus. The body does not function correctly without the contribution of everyone working together.

This Chapter is closed out with a set of rhetorical questions. “Are we all prophets, are we all teachers?” The answer is an unequivocal “no”.

This means you are important! You have something to contribute!


SOME GIFTS
We’re going to continue to look at some gifts listed in this very chapter. This is by no means a comprehensive list. Let’s look at what it says, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

As you can see by this passage, there are many different types of gifts but the source of the gifts are all from the same place. It also confirms the fact that we use the gifts to help and serve each other.

Being that the source of the gifts all come from the same person, I want you to also notice that He alone decides which gifts we each have. He personally assigns us gifts. This ought to come to the forefront of our minds when we look at someone else’s gifts and wish we had them ourselves.

Would you like to learn what gifts you possess? Take this free test to help you discover your gifts. Visit giftstest.com. Now, in no way is this a super comprehensive or extensive test. But it does serve however to help us narrow down a few ways we may be uniquely gifted.

Now that we know our gifts, next week we will discuss how we can use our gifts to serve the church. In many ways this is a continuation of what we spoke about today. In fact, much may even crossover. But this is what we have to look forward to in Servology.

Swerve Church is a new church plant forming in the community of Bushwick in Brooklyn.