Last time we considered how the Wisdom, the Holy Spirit, of
God helps us to discern our path by guiding us when we ask. When we are
directed by God’s Spirit, we will be given gifts to help us do the work of God
and bring about the Kingdom. Jesus tells his disciples that “I do not call you servants…I have called
you friends, because everything I have learned from my Father I have made known
to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and
bear fruit, fruit that will last. So whatever you ask the Father in my name, He
will give you.” (John 15: 15-16)
As descendants of the disciples, we are inheritors of that
same promise. You see lots of commercials on TV about getting your DNA tested
to find out what ethnic background you are from. Our spiritual ethnic
background is clear. We have the same DNA as our Father and Brother. That means
we are royalty, and we have spiritual gifts. In fairy tales, often the hero or
heroine is given something special which they must not lose. We also have been
given something extra special, and we cannot lose it because it is an eternal
gift from our loving God.
We are gifted by the Spirit in precisely the right way for
our situation. The Holy Spirit gives us exactly the right gifts to do the
service and act in the way that God created us for. As the 1 Corinthians
citation notes, “All these are activated
by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each
one individually just as the Spirit chooses.” Furthermore, the gifts we
have right now are the ones we need right
now! That’s a helpful thing to remember when it seems like we are in over
our head or asked to do something we don’t think we can do.
In 1 Corinthians 12, we are told, “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit
of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’
except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties
of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the
same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who
activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of
the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the
utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the
same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing
by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to
another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to
another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the
same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.” (I
Corinthians 12:3-11)
Matthew Fox in his book Original
Blessing reminds us that we are queens and kings in the Kingdom of God. We
are direct heirs of the King of kings. Therefore, as Madeline L’Engle says, we
are ‘co-creators with God’. It is the Spirit that works in us so that we are
aware and so we can participate in the work of God. Recently I read Believing God by Beth Moore. She
suggests that we remember 5 important things about God’s work in our lives:
God is who He says He is.
God can do what He says He can do.
I am who God says I am.
I can do all things through Christ.
God’s Word is alive and active in me.
When we remember that we are daughters and sons of God, and
that we
are meant to work with God to bring about the Kingdom, it can change
our attitude. If we are prophets, priests, royalty (and we are) then we ought
to act in that way. We need not fear because God is in charge. The words of
Jesus in Luke 12, “But seek His kingdom,
and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your
Father’s is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to
the poor. Provide yourself with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible
treasure in heaven” (Luke 12:31-33) take on a deeper meaning. Our Father is
pleased to give us the kingdom. Therefore, we can work for the good of
the Kingdom without worrying about what ‘people might think’, or that we could
fail. We are assured that we have the
Gifts necessary for doing the work right now!
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by what you feel God is asking
you to do? Is it reassuring to know that the Holy Spirit has given you just the
right gifts for the job?
How does the idea of being a co-creator with God to bring
about the Kingdom make you feel?
Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll take a brief break to look at the way culture and the
church honor the saints, those who live and use their gifts, before concluding
this series by considering some of the specific spiritual gifts and why they are needed in
the church.
