Paul is going to build on how to apply the gospel to our lives. Last week we discussed how we need to offer our bodies and living sacrifices out of reverence for God’s mercy as a spiritual form of worship. When we do this on a moment-by-moment basis our minds become transformed and we find ourselves not conforming to the patterns of this world.
This week, Paul is going to explain how the church functions through the gifts of grace. He uses the image of the body and its members as a way of describing how the church is put together. Paul says that each of us has been given specific gifts of grace. They are:
1) Prophesy
2) Service
3) Teaching
4) Exhortation (Preaching)
5) Giving
6) Leadership
7) Acts of Mercy
When these parts are all put together it equals the church. A cross reference to this passage is found in 1 Corinthians 12 which lists the gifts as:
1) Utterance of Wisdom
2) Utterance of Knowledge
3) Faith
4) Gifts of Healing
5) Working of Miracles
6) Prophesy
7) Distinguish between Spirits (Discernment)
8) Speaking in Tongues
9) Interpretation of Tongues
In both passages, the gifts work together for harmony and for the common good for the church (1 Cor. 12:8). The important point in both passages is that God is the one that gives the gifts according to the grace given to us and the Spirit gives gifts according to his will not ours (1 Cor. 12:11).
Application Question – Do you know what gifts you have?
Searching for Who Know's What in West Gahannabus 