Every single follower of Jesus has been supernaturally gifted to serve in the body of Christ. No matter what your natural skills and abilities are, the Holy Spirit, at the moment of your repentance from sin and faith in Christ has graciously given you a supernatural ability to serve the Church. Not only that, but the Lord has commanded us to use those gifts to serve others:

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)

The problem that many of us have run into is that we either haven’t ever thought much about our spiritual gift, or we just aren’t sure what our gift(s) might be. I would like to offer a few thoughts on how you can confidently discover how God has graciously gifted you to be an important part of the body of Christ. First, let’s take a look at the list of possible spiritual gifts that we find in the Scriptures. There is no passage in the bible that gives us an exhaustive list of all the gifts, but as we compile the different passages like Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and 1 Peter 4, we can come up with a pretty good list of the gifts.

An Important Note

Just before I give the list of gifts, no doubt that some of you will notice that some of the gifts mentioned in the Bible will not be on the list below. I do not plan to make an extensive argument on this point in this blog post, but I hope it’s sufficient for now to share that I believe that the miraculous gifts such as tongues, healing, and prophecy have ceased. That doesn’t mean I don’t believe God does miraculous things - He most assuredly does. However, one passage that I will point to now to consider is:

"How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
Hebrews 2:3-4 (ESV)

The author of Hebrews seems to pre-suppose that the miraculous gifts had a time that has since passed that the Lord used them to authenticate the message of the Gospel. Again, a further discussion on that will be for another time, but I wanted to at least touch on why some of those gifts won’t be on my list below.

A list of the spiritual gifts

Wisdom - The supernatural ability to think with Godly wisdom in accordance with the Scriptures.
Teaching - The supernatural ability to teach the Word of God in an accurate and understandable way
Shepherding - The supernatural ability to pastor and shepherd God’s Church as an undershepherd of our chief shepherd.
Mercy - The supernatural ability to show mercy and compassion to people in your life - even those who have wronged you or don’t seem to deserve it.
Leadership - The supernatural ability to lead God’s people to follow Him and to equip others to do the work of the ministry.
Knowledge - The supernatural ability to discern through even difficult theological truths and to have a capacity for learning and remembering them.
Intercession - The supernatural ability to pray without ceasing. To often react to situations with prayer as a first response.
Hospitality - The supernatural ability to care for others and refresh their souls by serving them in some way. To even want to do this for strangers.
Helps - The supernatural ability to want to serve others and make sure that all perceived needs are met. To not be able to sit back when there is work to be done.
Giving - The supernatural desire to want to be generous and the dedication to actually following through. This is not limited to, but certainly includes, financial giving.
Faith - The supernatural ability to trust the Lord in all things. While others tend to often worry, you have a strong faith even in the midst of worry.
Evangelism - The supernatural ability and desire to reach lost people. Of course, all believers should have this, but those with this spiritual gift stand out in this area and have an extra level of zeal.
Encouragement - The supernatural ability to encourage others and build them up. When others spend time around you, they often walk away feeling encouraged.
Discernment - The supernatural ability to be able to determine right from wrong and truth from error. Again, all Christians are called to do this, but those with this gift seem to excel in it and pick up on errors before others do. This is usually in relation to false teachers.
Administration - The supernatural ability to guide others and help organize plans for the furtherance of the ministry. This is more than those who have a natural bent toward organization, it’s those who seem to be able to discern what’s most important to focus on and are gifted to help implement strategies to that end.

How do I discover my gift(s)

That list can be a lot to take in and process, especially if you have not personally ever discovered what your gift is. Every believer has at least one gift, and some have been blessed with a few. The Bible does not explicitly teach that you have the same gifts for your entire life and it can never change, so it’s certainly possible that the Lord gives you the gifts you may need for certain seasons of life. But for now, our focus is on helping you discover what your gifts are so you can begin using them for the sake of God’s glory and the building of His Church. Here are a few thoughts on how to begin doing that.

• Start using them

You don’t have to know what your spiritual gift is before you can start using it. Every one of those spiritual gifts is something that all believers can and should participate in to some degree. So if you’re not sure what your gift is, jump on the connect team and begin asking yourself if you’ve been gifted with hospitality, for example. Or get on the parking lot team and find out if you have a supernatural ability to want to serve in an often thankless role. Start serving, and you’ll begin to pretty quickly start to see how God has gifted you.

• Ask others

Find other brothers and sisters in Christ who know you pretty well and ask them what spiritual gifts they see in you. Very often, they will be able to give a fairly quick response. While they won’t ALWAYS be right, The Lord often uses the people around us to show us what gift(s) He has given us. Also, take note of the fact that it will be a lot easier for others to see how you’re gifted if you’ve actually been serving. If all you ever do is show up to the church and leave without ever serving, the people around you have no context as to what gift(s) you might have.

• Pray, pray, and pray some more.

This should go without saying, but unless you have the spiritual gift of prayer, it’s likely you’re neglecting this step. The Bible is clear that “if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 John 5:14). Therefore if God has told us to use our gifts, He certainly will hear our prayers to help us discover what those gifts are.

Conclusion

This is a subject that doesn’t seem to be talked about much in the Church for some reason. But this is one of the most important and practical truths we have. God has specifically gifted you to have a place in and serve the body of Christ so that the Church can continue to make disciples of all nations. That’s a really big deal and an immense privilege. Do not forget that He doesn’t need you, but He wants you. J.I. Packer once said, “Every-member ministry in the body of Christ is the New Testament Ideal.” We all have a role to play, so let’s find out how God has graciously gifted us to serve and jump in!

Further Reading

Here are a few more articles that I would highly recommend for further study on this subject:

https://equip.sbts.edu/article/heres-better-way-determine-spiritual-gifts/

https://www.gty.org/library/bibleqnas-library/QA0068/how-do-you-identify-your-spiritual-gift

https://www.ligonier.org/guides/spiritual-gifts

https://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-gift.html

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “God’s grace?” Perhaps your mind is immediately compelled to think about all of the sins you’ve committed in your life and how the Lord has graciously saved you from the penalty you deserved for that sin. Maybe you also think about how His grace sustains you every single day to live according to His will and not continue being enslaved to your sin.

Both of those are foundational to understanding how God’s grace comes to us and transforms our lives for eternity. And still, there is more to his grace than even those amazing truths. Admittedly, there is infinitely more to God’s grace than we will ever know or be able to search out. For now, I want to call your attention to an aspect of God’s grace that I believe we don’t give enough attention to. I want us to consider how God, in His grace, allows us to experience abundant life in our obedience.

Maybe that last sentence didn’t immediately make sense to you or cause you to fully understand what I’m trying to get at here so let me explain. God, in His grace, has saved us, and in His grace, He sanctifies us, but have you ever thought about the fact that on top of all of that, He graciously allows us to experience overwhelming joy in our obedience? In other words, God has not simply given us rules to live by so that we don’t experience His judgment - His Law actually leads us to life abundantly itself - and that, I believe is also part of His grace to us.

Psalm 119 is a great passage that teaches us the joy of walking in God’s Law. I would encourage you to read through it (yes, I know it’s really long, but I’m willing to bet it will take you less time than it took you to scroll through Facebook or Tik Tok earlier). I do want to pull out one verse for now and focus on it:

“If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.”
Psalm 119:92

David is saying that when difficult times come and we choose to delight in God’s Law, we will not perish. I think some of us believe that obedience to God’s Word is something that we have to force ourselves into joylessly. While there are certainly times we must obey even when we don’t feel like it, I believe God’s grace meets us to show us the true joy of walking in His commands. That even during hard times of affliction, we can have immense joy as we walk in His ways. Because while sin offers temporary pleasure, obedience to Christ is an eternal fountain of joy and satisfaction that will never fade.

God is worthy of our obedience, and because He is God and we are His creatures, He deserves our obedience. At the same time, He graciously allows us to find pleasure in our obedience to Him. Kings and rulers all throughout history have commanded their subjects to blindly obey whether they have wanted to or not while the King of Kings has given us commands that lead to life and eternal satisfaction. Praise Him for His grace in leading us to abundant life through His perfect precepts!

Our church is on a journey studying through the book of Matthew and we are currently in the Sermon on the Mount. Specifically, we are at that famous section where Jesus gives six examples of ways the Pharisees had twisted the Law and then shows what the Law was actually meant to teach us. We know these 6 examples by the phrase: “You have heard it said…but I say to you…”

This past Sunday, we studied Matthew 5:31-32 and saw what Jesus had to say about divorce. You can watch that sermon here. If you heard that sermon, you may remember that I mentioned that we were going to have to skip over verses 33-37 of that passage because we simply ran out of time. I promised to write a short blog post on those verses and this post is me attempting to make good on that promise. Ironically, these verses focus on the idea of making promises - or oaths.

Let’s first read the verses together:

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”
Matthew 5:33-37 (ESV)

The Pharisees had read the OT Laws that warned heavily against making false oaths in the Lord’s Name (see Leviticus 19:12) and to prevent committing the sin of making a false oath in the Lord’s Name, they decided to recommend that people swear by different entities such as Jerusalem, or by heaven and earth. Jesus comes along and says “How about we don’t continue finding things to swear by and simply be people that tell the truth and follow through on our promises.

When we feel the need to swear by heaven, earth, or even the Lord Himself, we are not only in danger of breaking our oath and profaning the name of the Lord, but we are showing ourselves to not be people of the truth. Jesus says rather we should “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’” and show by our actions that we are people of the truth.

The Pharisees were always seeming to try and find ways to show forth an external righteousness, so they felt the need to make grand oaths showing how serious and ‘righteous’ they were. Jesus says that’s not why the Law warned against false oaths. Rather, the Law was meant to teach you how to tell the truth in all things and to be a people of your word.

It seems to be a rare thing these days to truly be able to ‘take someone at their word.’ It’s hard to know who you can really trust. Jesus says that those transformed by the Gospel should be known - not for their grand oaths and gestures - but by their simple, humble, and honest actions. Be someone that only has to say “yes” or “no” and have people trust you because you are always true to what you say.

There are so many applications to this, but since these words came off the heels of Jesus’ teaching about marriage and divorce, I think the context leads us to apply this in our marriages. How often do we tell our spouses that “things will be different next time, I promise?” How often do we sin against our spouse and promise to make it up to them, and then never really follow through with that? How often do we go against the vows we made on our wedding day to love them for “better or for worse?” Let our marriages (and all our relationships for that matter) be defined by truth. Let us be people who are known for being true to our word, because we are people of The Word.

Let us not feel the need to add grand oaths and gestures to what we say we will do in order to get people to trust us. May they know we are people of the Truth by our “yes’s” and “no’s.” May the Gospel cause lies and deception to fall off our lips and be replaced by the Truth in all things. This is a kind of righteousness that cannot be achieved on our own and must come from Jesus Christ - who is Himself The Truth. May our lives be so filled with truth that even when the world hates us for the truth we tell, they can never prove to catch us in a lie.

A song that’s a favorite of mine at the moment is “God Really Loves Us.” One of the things that I love about worship music is not only the time that is spent being able to praise God but also the moments that happen at times after worshiping. In those moments I (at times) find myself thinking about aspects of the song. “God Really Loves Us” is no exception.

My immediate thoughts about the song are just how awesome and amazing it is that God really loves us. We were lost in our sin. We were in constant rebellion, yet God really loved us. He was there for us. He has always been there for us. What’s even more amazing is that He has always loved us. It’s not just a one-time thing. It’s not like the short and fleeting love that we may feel as we indulge in our favorite snack. God has always loved us, and He continues to love us. It’s a mercy that we do not deserve yet He still gives it to us.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved.”
Ephesians 2:4-5 (ESV)

If you really think about it, God could have easily given us exactly what we deserve. How many of us are guilty of delivering our own form of justice to another? I know I am. Despite our sin, God loves us so much that he sent Christ to be the payment for our sins. Despite how much we have rebelled against God and are deserving of his wrath, He loved us so much that he offered to us the gift of eternal life in Christ. Wow!

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 (ESV)

Despite all of our sin, God was merciful towards us. We were dead in our sin. But now through Christ we have life. What love that must be!

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8 (ESV)

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
John 10:11 (ESV)

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:13 (ESV)

So just to recap. We are all sinners that have fallen well short.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23 (ESV)

God sent His Son to be the payment for our sins. Jesus laid down His life for us. We were dead in our sin, yet we have life in Christ. What love God must have for us! It’s such a beautiful thing to ponder. No matter how poorly we have faltered, no matter how poorly we may still yet falter, God still loves us.

As we approach Easter I invite you to take a moment and really think about how God loves us. What a love He has for us. God’s love is without a question the greatest love we will ever know. I am so thankful for His love.

If you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, please know that you are loved. If you would like to learn more about becoming a believer, please check out Become A Believer on MissionWay’s website. We would love to also connect with you and pray for you. Please take a moment and fill out an Online Connect Card.

Verse 1
I was the fool. I still act like a fool any time I sin. Your Son Jesus became the fool in my place to suffer the fool’s deserved wrath. There have been none who do good except your Son. We have all been corrupted by our evil actions. We have committed horrific deeds, thought horrific thoughts, and said horrific words. Yet, Christ took the corruption and the abomination upon Himself although He was not corrupt nor were His deeds abominable

Verse 2
Apart from Him, none of us would seek you. You looked down from heaven for just one person of understanding and goodness. Can anything escape Your sight? If there had been a good person at any point in time, you would have found him. You did not. You knew we needed a good man sent to us. A God-man.

Verse 3
Apart from Him, all have fallen and have become corrupted by sin. No one does good. No not one. Without Christ, our best works are like rags fit only to collect waste.

Verse 4
Your Son.
He never turned aside from your will.
He always does good, for He is Goodness.
He has all knowledge.
He eats the words of His Father as His bread.
He prayed perfectly with HIs Father.
He called upon His name.
Oh, God! Help us be more like He is. Grant us wisdom and grace.

Verse 5
He, by taking the place of fools, made them righteous. His Father is with them because of Him. His Father was with Him from eternity to eternity.

Verse 6
He has been united with His Father and His Spirit since the beginning. The cross was the one and only time His Father came against Him as if He was the combined foolishness and sinfulness of His people.

At that moment, that terrible moment, His Father was no longer His refuge so that He could be a refuge for His Son’s people. For us, despite our sin.

The sin and foolishness can be forgiven of any fool who would turn from sin and believe upon His Son by the power of His Holy Spirit.

What a great God and Savior we have. All of God’s people, let us rejoice and be glad in Him!

Amen.