08/03/23 Daily Devotion – One Spirit, many gifts, common good!

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 12:7, 11&12 (NIV84)

The Holy Spirit does more than just create faith in our hearts. The Spirit also raises us from the death of our sinful nature and creates a new nature within us. Paul said: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, and the new has come.” And there’s more! The Spirit also gifts the new creature in us with spiritual gifts so that we can do our part for the kingdom of God. As Christians, we are members of the body of Christ. We Christians are many members with many varying gifts, but we all serve one Kingdom with Christ as its leader. In order to fulfill our role, we ought to discover our gift and begin to use it for God’s service.

The problem that I see is that many Christians do not know what their spiritual gift is. Like the servant who received one talent, we leave it buried and unused. This is why in most congregations in America, 20-25% of the members do all of the work. This trend has to end! We need to get the members of our churches into Bible classes. It is in and through God’s Word that the Holy Spirit works in us to reveal our gifts. It is mostly there that we find opportunities to exercise and try those gifts for the first time.

And let’s remind ourselves why we ought to make the effort. First, it’s because our Lord and Savior has work for us to do while we live on this earth. He wants us to do our part to fulfill His Great Commission. Second, our many gifts are for our common good. We all need to be doing our part so that we might minister to one another. A giftless church is going to miss opportunities to be Christ to one another in their time of need.

So today, let’s get close to the Spirit of God through God’s Word and discover our spiritual gifts!

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.org

Let the world see Jesus in you!

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