Spiritual Gifts
Lyn Mize
(Rom 12:5 KJV) So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
There are many Christians in the body of Christ, and we are all linked or tied to each other in a miraculous and wonderful way via the indwelling Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, there are some pretenders in the body of Christ who masquerade as Christians, but they are tares and not real Christians. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to distinguish the tares from the hypocrites, so Christ has told us to leave the tares alone, or we might root up true Christian brothers and sisters in the process of trying to get rid of the tares. God and the angels will sort out the tares when Christ comes for his bride in the Firstfruits Rapture and the main body of the Church in the Main Harvest Rapture of the Church.
(Rom 12:6 KJV) Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
The spiritual gift that each Christian possesses is given to him by grace from the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit determines each Christian’s spiritual gift(s), and the Christian is expected to use his spiritual gift in the ministry of the Lord, and this gift is to be used in proportion to the Christian’s faith. Since all Christians are given the same measure of faith, “the proportion of faith” refers to how much that faith has grown in the Lord’s service. Some Christian’s faith is much stronger because they have grown in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. Two Christians may have the same spiritual gift of Prophecy, but one would prophesy or expound on the Scriptures much more than the other one because he has nurtured and grown to maturity in his spiritual gift. The spiritual gift becomes more obvious as the Christian matures in the faith through Bible study, prayer and exercising his faith. Many Christians have no idea what their spiritual gift is, since they have not devoted time and effort in their spiritual growth.
(Rom 12:7 KJV) Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Ministry is serving and this verse states that if a Christian’s gift is serving, then he needs to be serving. The Christian with the spiritual gift of serving has a special aptitude for recognizing the physical needs of his fellow Christians. The server seems to have abundant energy and an insatiable desire to wait on fellow Christians and to do things for them. The server can come into a sick person’s house and immediately know exactly what needs to be done. Many Christians with the gift of serving end up in professions as nurses, nursing aides, waiters, cooks, custodians, butlers, maids and other professions involving personal service to others.
The Christian with the gift of teaching should teach. Preferably, the teacher should teach the Bible in some Christian organization or Bible study, but many end up in teaching professions in schools, colleges and universities. Of course, the Christian with the spiritual gift of teaching should study the Bible in order to be able to teach it, but many do not prepare themselves to utilize their spiritual gift of teaching. The teacher has a special ability to understand the Bible and delve into the deeper meanings of Scripture. He also has a special insatiable desire to understand the truths of God, and convey them to his fellow Christians. The teacher is detail oriented in his studies, and he routinely wants to know the details that others would pass over.
(Rom 12:8 KJV) Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.
The Christian with the gift of exhortation should use his gift in the Lord’s service. The exhorter has a special ability to recognize the spiritual needs in his fellow Christians and a special knack for encouraging his fellow Christians in their spiritual walk with the Lord. The exhorter has a special intuition for breaking down spiritual growth into smaller steps or sub-goals that lead to the larger goal. The exhorter has a keen vision of the steps to spiritual maturity. He also has an unshakable attitude of optimism and is seldom depressed.
The Christian with the gift of giving has a special knack for acquiring wealth, but he is also very generous to others. The Giver operating in the Power of the Spirit receives vast sums of money and goods, but he also gives away this money and goods as fast as he receives them. The giver is not a hoarder and he is definitely not selfish with his wealth. The truly faithful giver does not accumulate vast amounts of wealth, in spite of his special knack for making and receiving money and wealth. The faithful giver is uncomfortable in receiving any recognition for his giving. His fulfillment and joy comes from the giving and is unrelated to any recognition that may ensue. In fact, he would prefer to remain anonymous in his giving, without any fanfare. This is the meaning of giving with simplicity.
The ruler is the Christian with the gift of Administration. He has a special organizational ability and is able to look at a whole project and break it down into its various sub-projects and assign these sub-projects to individuals. The ruler is absorbed with the big picture, but is disinterested in the details. The ruler is quickly bored with the performance of details. The ruler is often seen as being bossy, but this is simply the exercise of his special gift. He is driven to oversee the project and bring it to completion, but the server or someone else must handle the details. The ruler is to exercise his spiritual gift with diligence, since he quickly loses interest when the detail work begins.
The mercy Christian has a peculiar knack for empathizing with the feelings of others. He feels the sadness, depression, anger, joy and other emotions of his fellow Christians. The mercy Christian actually shares or takes upon himself the negative emotions of stressed Christians. This is how he helps his fellow Christians by literally absorbing the negative energy pent up in the stressed Christian. The faithful mercy person is an expert in the transfer of emotional energy from stressed Christians. The mercy person is in essence the spiritual psychologist for stressed Christians. His primary task in the Church is to alleviate negative emotional energy and restore cheerfulness, which is stated at the end of the verse.
(Rom 12:5 KJV) So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
There are many Christians in the body of Christ, and we are all linked or tied to each other in a miraculous and wonderful way via the indwelling Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, there are some pretenders in the body of Christ who masquerade as Christians, but they are tares and not real Christians. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to distinguish the tares from the hypocrites, so Christ has told us to leave the tares alone, or we might root up true Christian brothers and sisters in the process of trying to get rid of the tares. God and the angels will sort out the tares when Christ comes for his bride in the Firstfruits Rapture and the main body of the Church in the Main Harvest Rapture of the Church.
(Rom 12:6 KJV) Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
The spiritual gift that each Christian possesses is given to him by grace from the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit determines each Christian’s spiritual gift(s), and the Christian is expected to use his spiritual gift in the ministry of the Lord, and this gift is to be used in proportion to the Christian’s faith. Since all Christians are given the same measure of faith, “the proportion of faith” refers to how much that faith has grown in the Lord’s service. Some Christian’s faith is much stronger because they have grown in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. Two Christians may have the same spiritual gift of Prophecy, but one would prophesy or expound on the Scriptures much more than the other one because he has nurtured and grown to maturity in his spiritual gift. The spiritual gift becomes more obvious as the Christian matures in the faith through Bible study, prayer and exercising his faith. Many Christians have no idea what their spiritual gift is, since they have not devoted time and effort in their spiritual growth.
(Rom 12:7 KJV) Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Ministry is serving and this verse states that if a Christian’s gift is serving, then he needs to be serving. The Christian with the spiritual gift of serving has a special aptitude for recognizing the physical needs of his fellow Christians. The server seems to have abundant energy and an insatiable desire to wait on fellow Christians and to do things for them. The server can come into a sick person’s house and immediately know exactly what needs to be done. Many Christians with the gift of serving end up in professions as nurses, nursing aides, waiters, cooks, custodians, butlers, maids and other professions involving personal service to others.
The Christian with the gift of teaching should teach. Preferably, the teacher should teach the Bible in some Christian organization or Bible study, but many end up in teaching professions in schools, colleges and universities. Of course, the Christian with the spiritual gift of teaching should study the Bible in order to be able to teach it, but many do not prepare themselves to utilize their spiritual gift of teaching. The teacher has a special ability to understand the Bible and delve into the deeper meanings of Scripture. He also has a special insatiable desire to understand the truths of God, and convey them to his fellow Christians. The teacher is detail oriented in his studies, and he routinely wants to know the details that others would pass over.
(Rom 12:8 KJV) Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.
The Christian with the gift of exhortation should use his gift in the Lord’s service. The exhorter has a special ability to recognize the spiritual needs in his fellow Christians and a special knack for encouraging his fellow Christians in their spiritual walk with the Lord. The exhorter has a special intuition for breaking down spiritual growth into smaller steps or sub-goals that lead to the larger goal. The exhorter has a keen vision of the steps to spiritual maturity. He also has an unshakable attitude of optimism and is seldom depressed.
The Christian with the gift of giving has a special knack for acquiring wealth, but he is also very generous to others. The Giver operating in the Power of the Spirit receives vast sums of money and goods, but he also gives away this money and goods as fast as he receives them. The giver is not a hoarder and he is definitely not selfish with his wealth. The truly faithful giver does not accumulate vast amounts of wealth, in spite of his special knack for making and receiving money and wealth. The faithful giver is uncomfortable in receiving any recognition for his giving. His fulfillment and joy comes from the giving and is unrelated to any recognition that may ensue. In fact, he would prefer to remain anonymous in his giving, without any fanfare. This is the meaning of giving with simplicity.
The ruler is the Christian with the gift of Administration. He has a special organizational ability and is able to look at a whole project and break it down into its various sub-projects and assign these sub-projects to individuals. The ruler is absorbed with the big picture, but is disinterested in the details. The ruler is quickly bored with the performance of details. The ruler is often seen as being bossy, but this is simply the exercise of his special gift. He is driven to oversee the project and bring it to completion, but the server or someone else must handle the details. The ruler is to exercise his spiritual gift with diligence, since he quickly loses interest when the detail work begins.
The mercy Christian has a peculiar knack for empathizing with the feelings of others. He feels the sadness, depression, anger, joy and other emotions of his fellow Christians. The mercy Christian actually shares or takes upon himself the negative emotions of stressed Christians. This is how he helps his fellow Christians by literally absorbing the negative energy pent up in the stressed Christian. The faithful mercy person is an expert in the transfer of emotional energy from stressed Christians. The mercy person is in essence the spiritual psychologist for stressed Christians. His primary task in the Church is to alleviate negative emotional energy and restore cheerfulness, which is stated at the end of the verse.