By the fact of God’s creation, each of us is an individual who is capable of living independently in this world and taking care of his own needs. For service and self-care, the Lord endowed us with special abilities, while our parents and society helped us develop these abilities and form certain skills so that we might be healthy, clean, hardworking, respectful, and useful to other people. Although each of us has his own individuality, we all live in a society of people like us and must develop the ability to communicate with one another.
The enemy of souls makes his own adjustments to these relationships, but God is not inactive either. One way or another, every person receives an opportunity to know God and to choose his further path in life—some to destruction, and others to new life in Christ.
When the Holy Spirit draws me to Christ, reveals to me the meaning of the sacrifice of Calvary, and I begin to believe that Jesus is my Savior, my life is transformed and I become a believer. In the process of this growth, I begin to seek fellow believers. But I may also come to this faith while already among a community of believers. This community has various spiritual gifts and various kinds of ministry to help me know God even better, grow in Christ, and reach full spiritual maturity. Believing in Christ and learning His will, I decide to receive water baptism and thereby become part of God’s people by being accepted as a member of the church. I become part of the body of Christ. But in this body, every member has special gifts from God for serving the other members, building up the whole body, and carrying out the tasks of continuing to testify to the world that God has a plan to save every person from the power of sin and to bring earthly history to an end at the time of Jesus’ Second Coming to this world.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit should not be confused with His fruit. While gifts and ministries differ, and we should not all possess the same gift for the same ministry, the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance—must be in the heart of every church member, regardless of what gift he possesses and what ministry he performs. The fruit of the Spirit helps every ministry become proper by giving it the right motive and spirit. Is it possible to be a teacher or pastor without love? It is, but the absence of the fruit of the Spirit will also affect the other members and exert an unwholesome influence.
God gives each of His sons or daughters a gift different from another, as it pleases Him. At the same time, the Lord takes into account the abilities, desires, and interests of every church member. It is not always possible to understand immediately what gift I possess, and therefore observations from others help reveal and develop these abilities. People also have innate gifts, such as an ear for music, a voice, a good memory, and a particular temperament, which can be used in ministry; yet they are not the same as the bestowed gift of the Spirit that is given for a specific purpose in the life and growth of the church.
A spiritual gift may develop according to needs and expectations, or it may be buried and not used for its intended purpose.
If I desire to become a pastor or teacher, this does not mean that I possess that gift. It is quite possible that my proud heart desires power over people’s minds so that I may reveal my own will to them. But those appointed to these kinds of ministry are people who are growing in the knowledge of the truth, have earned the trust of their fellow believers, and are approved by the church. Unfortunately, this principle is not observed everywhere among God’s people, and it happens that a person sets himself the goal of attaining a leadership position and, having attained that office, becomes a master over others or “clings to his position,” thereby grieving the Lord.
One of Christ’s chosen disciples was Judas, who was a thief and became a traitor. Therefore, I should not be surprised if I hear that a similar spirit is present among God’s people. I always ask, “Lord, are You still the Head of my church?” Then I become convinced that He is, humbly perform my ministry, and strive to do it with a pure heart.
Love combines beautifully with every gift of God and manifests itself beautifully in every kind of ministry. It is compatible with everything, and through it all gifts become one whole organism in which every member and organ successfully performs its small tasks for the common good and growth. Love glues into one whole what cannot be united or made compatible in any other way.
Have you ever thought about Who governs my body? I can create favorable living conditions for my body, care for it, or destroy it, but my internal organs do not obey me. They receive commands and instructions directly from God and do what He has placed within them, performing their work regardless of my desires. Doctors can study the structure of the body and the patterns by which the organs work and make certain adjustments, but restoration and healing come from the Lord.
In the same way, the Church of Christ is governed from outside itself. The enemy of souls, in cooperation with fallen people, will try to bring disorder and sin into the ranks of God’s people, but God governs this world, and He knows the time when the harvest will come and the wheat will forever be separated from the tares. But we should not take God’s functions upon ourselves, lest we harm those who are genuine, though weak. It is better to do what promotes the growth of the church.
According to Scripture, spiritual gifts include faith, the gift of healing, the gift of prophecy, the gift of preaching, the gift of teaching, the gift of administration, the gift of reconciliation, the gift of compassion, the gift of mercy, and the gift of selfless service to one’s neighbors in order to support and encourage them. Some gifts are for the common good of the church, while others are personal gifts for serving one’s family and those who live nearby; they should not be confused or exchanged for one another.
I am not the distributor of God’s gifts, but I can see what gift other church members possess, draw their attention to it, and help them develop it. I cannot assign even one gift to myself, but if I set myself the goal of achieving something in serving people and study the truth in that area and apply it in my life, then it is quite possible that the Lord will bless my efforts and bless me with that gift.
I once dreamed of having the gift of healing so that, at my word, every illness would leave a sick person’s body. I imagined how much good I could do and prayed for it. But the Lord did not give me this gift. When I began studying health reform, however, I saw that it contains the principles of success and the rules of healthy living. After all, instant healing is the most primitive thing that can be done for a person: he will rejoice, but he will not understand why he became ill and will become ill again. But if he is taught the rules of a healthy lifestyle, he will cease becoming ill, although there are exceptions. Yet in extreme cases, the Lord still answered my prayers and miraculously healed both me and those close to me.
Love is also a gift, but it is the fruit of the Spirit. Everyone who grows on the Vine and feeds upon Its sap will receive it.
Homework 230
In the light of our lesson, please read Acts 6:1–7; Romans 12:4–8; 1 Corinthians 12:7–11, 27–28; Ephesians 4:8, 11–16; 1 Timothy 3:1–13; 1 Peter 4:10–11; 2 Timothy 2:24–26; Hebrews 13:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; Colossians 3:14, 17; 1 Corinthians 12:18–27; John 15:5–8; and 1 Corinthians 13:1–3, 8. What did you understand from this lesson? Do you know what your gift is, and how do you use it? How can the spiritual gift of a brother or sister in the church be identified? What should I do if I occupy a place in ministry that is not mine and perform it out of duty or because of a salary, rather than from a desire to do it? What spiritual gifts do you know? If a church is small, does this mean that each of its members must have many gifts and perform various ministries? If I have not been assigned any ministry, how can I understand what I should do? How does love manifest itself in the diversity of ministry? Are there spiritual gifts in traditional churches?