The Power of the Indwelling Holy Spirit
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul writes, "to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" (v. 7). He goes on to list various spiritual gifts like healing, wisdom and faith, and then explains, "All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ" (vv. 11-12).
This is an insane truth! Meditate for a moment on the fact that the third person of the Trinity literally dwells inside of you. Then consider the promise that He has empowered you with a supernatural gift for the sake of blessing the church. It doesn't say to some is given, but to each is given a manifestation of the Spirit.
False Humility
Some of you reading this have a tendency to write off these promises. You don't believe that the church really needs you. And this can almost seem like the humble approach. Culturally, we often associate humility with timidity or reserve. But think about the story of Jesus driving people out of the temple with a whip and flipping over their tables. That doesn't sound very humble! And yet we know that Jesus was perfectly humble. So we have to understand that humility is not a lack of confidence or boldness.
In fact, God is not casual about people who shrink back from their calling. When God calls Moses and Moses says he can't talk well enough, God doesn't applaud him for his humility. He responds, "who has made man's mouth?" (Exodus 4:11) When Moses still pleads with God to send someone else, it says that "the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses" (v. 14). Or when the twelve spies return from scouting out the promised land and report that it will be too hard to drive out the inhabitants of the land, God is not pleased with their meekness. He says since you spied out the land for 40 days, you will wander in the wilderness for 40 years, and the 10 of you who doubted my word will all die before the people enter the promised land.
Doubting the promises of God is not humble—it's demonic.
Doubting the promises of God is not humble—it's demonic. The enemy loves when the people of God sit back out of fear, insecurity or passivity. God loves when His people believe with all their hearts that He is faithful to His word. Like Jonathan and his armor bearer battling an army, or David taking on Goliath. "For without faith, it is impossible to please Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
The truth is, if you are not using your spiritual gift for the good of your church family, they are crippled. Whether big or small, every part of the body has an essential function to perform. If you don't know what yours is, start asking, and start loving the people in front of you! Come to your church service looking for an opportunity to serve, bless, or encourage someone. Step out in faith and trust God to direct and equip you.
Jealousy and Judgementalism
Some of you may not struggle with doubting your own gifts, but rather with coveting other people's gifts. Maybe you find yourself longing for the influence, respect or praise that others get because of their gifts or position in the church. But James issues a harsh warning about this mentality:
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. (James 3:16)
When the body operates with a spirit of jealousy, things end up out of order. If your hand decided it only wanted to be a foot, it would throw everything off balance and your ability to function would be seriously impaired. And when selfishness and pride are present, it poisons our relationships, leading to division and "every vile practice."
Or perhaps you find yourself feeling frustrated or judgemental towards people who are not gifted in the same way you are. If God has graced you with a gift for evangelism, it may be hard for you to understand why others don't evangelize as much as you do. If God has made you an intercessor, it may be difficult to hear others talk about struggling in their prayer life. It is true that every Christian should be growing in evangelism, prayer and so many other things, but you have to recognize that some people have more or less grace in some areas than you do. And that is actually a great thing! We need our eyes to be eyes, and our feet to be feet. It's part of the beauty and diversity of God's design.
Growing into Christ
In Ephesians 4, Paul writes:
We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:15-16)
I long to see the Church get out of the arrogant individualism that is so prevalent in our culture and be the loving, humble, interdependent group of people that God made us to be. Where every part works properly so that we build one another up in love, into Christ who is our head. This will require taking a godly view of ourselves and those around us—trusting God's promises, laying aside selfish ambitions, celebrating our differences, and using our gifts to serve one another. As you finish this article, take a moment to pray this over yourself and your church community.
