“…to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of tongues, to another, interpretation of tongues.” ~ 1 Corinthians 12:10
The entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 12 is one of my favorites, especially in light of our current social media age. Paul begins this chapter by saying, in verse 1, that his desire is to ensure that the believers will not “be unaware” regarding the nature of spiritual gifts and the God Who gives them. In verse 4 he writes, "Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit”, and continues through verses 5 and 6 to show the unity and diversity, both, that the body of Christ is designed to have.
Throughout this chapter, Paul encourages the believers with the knowledge that not only have they each been given gifts by God to use for the good of others and the advancement of His kingdom, but each of them have been given unique and different gifts, all for a special purpose. He then, in the verse we are covering today, outlines what some of these specific gifts are.
Those gifts are listed as follows and, according to the Greek (via BlueLetterBible.org!), are defined in these ways:
Miracles - strength, power; power for performing miracles
Prophecy - a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; foretelling future events
Distinguishing between spirits - discerning, judging
Different kinds of tongues - speaking in a language used by a different people
Interpretation of tongues - the interpretation of what has been spoken more or less obscurely by others
You may be wondering why I love this chapter so much. Well, it is because of the beautiful way in which Paul shows us God’s creativity in designing each of us so uniquely. Not only are we each given special and unique gifts, but they were given to us so that we might edify and encourage the body of Christ and serve others well. We live in an age of social media, which daily breeds comparison, competition, and discontentment in our hearts. We regularly believe the lie that we would be so much better or more productive if we had the same gifting as the people we see online.
But, friend, may I encourage you today with the truth that will set you free from those debilitating thoughts? The truth is that God had a specific and wonderful purpose in mind when He created you the way He did, with your unique gifts. If you are willing to use those gifts to His glory, He will joyfully use you to change lives!
Reflection Questions:
1) What do you find to be beautiful about God's design for each member of His church to have and use personalized spiritual gifts?
2) What do you think your spiritual gifts are?
3) Are you currently using your spiritual gifts? If not, how can you start using them?
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