“Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this.” 1 Corinthians 12:1
Devotional Thoughts
The Corinthian Church was in a mess. Many of them were argumentative, judgmental, and self centered. As He does with all Christians, the Holy Spirit had blessed each member with spiritual gifts, but they were not being used appropriately. Instead of being activated to minister to others and therefore glorify the Lord, they were being used for personal gain and selfish ambitions.
Obviously, one of the Corinthians had asked the Apostle Paul about spiritual gifts. Scripture doesn’t reveal to us the content of the question, but it does share Paul’s answer in 1 Corinthians 12:7. He writes, “A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” In other words, a spiritual gift is a special ability, given by the Holy Spirit to every believer at their conversion, to be used to minister to others and therefore build up the body of Christ.
Satan probably enjoyed the chaos and confusion in the Corinthian church over spiritual gifts. He wants you to be confused as well about the spiritual gifts the Lord has given you. Do not allow that to happen. Whenever you are tempted to use what God has given you for selfish reasons, stop and pray immediately, asking God to give you wisdom to use your gifts in a way that builds up the body of Christ.
Follow-Up Activity
Read 1 Corinthians 12. As you make your way through the chapter, underline or highlight specific verses which could help a person’s understanding of the gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit.
Prayer Focus:
Lord, thank You for giving us spiritual gifts. Help me to fully use mine to honor You by building up the body of Christ.
(This devotion is part of the Celebration Church HOLY OTHER devotion series. You can subscribe to that devotion series here: Celebration Church HOLY OTHER devotions
JohnJFrady.com 