We are all part of a team. As team members, each of us plays a part. The sum total of all believers makes up the whole team, and it is in working with each other, and each one doing his or her part, that God gets His work done on earth. The contribution of each team member comes from the respective gifts that the Holy Spirit awards to each believer. Everything that is accomplished by believers comes through the medium of each one’s gift. This is the conduit for the operation of God’s power in the life of each Christian. Each believer’s gift, therefore, is the focal point of his or her spiritual growth and production. The operation of our gifts is the means for glorifying God, producing fruit, and fulfilling God’s purpose for each one of us.
To “walk in the Spirit” is to exercise our gifts by the Spirit’s power. The Holy Spirit provides each gift, and He now offers the energy and motivation to make it work. To operate in the power of the Holy Spirit, we must, of course, be in fellowship by staying clean through the confession of our sins, be in the process of maturing by studying His Word and enduring His training, and exercising our trust in God and His Word so that we are maintaining a close relationship with Him. When these are done, we will be prepared to exercise our gifts in His strength, and our gifts will fulfill their purpose.
Eph. 4:15-16 gives us the correct frame for the operation of our gifts. This passage says, “...speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Several ideas stand out in this verse. These include, for example, the necessity for us to select and operate in an environment where “truth” is taught and shared. Each of us contributes to the teaching of the Word in his or her own unique ways. Also included is the notion of maturing into a stronger relationship with Christ as a result of the mutual sharing of our gifts. Another obvious idea advanced in this passage is that the SOURCE of our growth and joint production comes from God; it is “from Him”.
What may be less obvious is what turns out to be the main point we want to glean from Ephesians 4:15-16, which is that our gifts operate in LOVE, and the greatest expression of love as required in Scripture is seen in the operation of our gifts. Implicit in this is the idea that our gifts will convey with them a spirit of love. Without love, our gifts will not operate; conversely, without the operation of our gifts, love will not have a pre-designed avenue for expression. Thus the statement is given: “builds itself up in love, as [to the degree that] each part does its work.” The exercise of our gifts is an expression of love, but love implies the power of the Holy Spirit; so if the Holy Spirit is not producing the prerequisite condition of love, gifts will not operate effectively. When gifts operate properly, love is fulfilled, and the gifts serve to “build up” other believers. This is our highest purpose. When we exercise our gifts faithfully, we will, as it were, “lay down our life” for others, which is the greatest expression of love.
To confirm that our gifts are to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit, look at 1 Pet. 4:11, which says, “If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” God’s work must be done God’s way, which means that He will do it. And when the Holy Spirit is at work, all believers benefit, as per Eph. 4:11-12, which tells us that specific gifts were given to “prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up”.
The outcome is clear, as we see in verse 13 of Eph. 4: “...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” We come together, contribute to each other’s growth, and become an unstoppable collective force performing its work in the power of the Almighty God. But without love, which means without walking by means of the Spirit and without following the path to maturity, growth will not occur, and gifts will not be operating properly in the body of Christ. The result will be a church full of baby Christians.
There are many gifts. The first step in learning what your gift is involves attending to your own growth. Then you can progress upward through the ranks of spiritual stature so you can know what your gift is. Only then will you be able to attend to the growth of others; only then will you truly “love” and “serve”.
It is also important to understand that our gifts should be ours, and the gifts of others should belong to them. They are not the same. It is a mistake to try to be the Christian everyman. Satan loves nothing better than to confound church machinery by having everyone trying to operate in the gifts of others, or for everyone to try to do everything. We may not know what our gift is for a long time, while we are leaving the spiritual crib and growing into spiritual adulthood, but once we ascertain what our gift is, we should put our full energy into the refinement and operation of that gift. And never should we try to “imitate” other gifts, or try to be what we aren’t, as this will inevitably lead to disappointment.
Christianity is not a one-size-fits-all arrangement. Each of us is unique, and each of us has been assigned a gift (or gifts) commensurate with God’s plan, to operate according to His will. We can’t even “love” the same way, even though the trend today is to standardize love so that it looks the same for everyone. It is a hard concept to get...that each of us loves and expresses love in a way that is distinct from that of others. All the main components are there, of course, consisting mostly of consideration of others, but each of us has areas of focus in which our love is concentrated and targeted toward specific kinds of needs. Differentiated love goes along with differentiated gifts. This distinct love motivates our gifts to operate in a certain way, directed toward specific objectives. Without this love, the operation of our gifts will be lackluster and flat. With this love, the exercise of our gifts brings activity that seems effortless and enjoyable, reminiscent of a mother’s love and care for her own child.
Want to know your gift? Look at your love. When you are in fellowship, and spiritual love is operational, look at what you are drawn to. This is where you will find your gift...your motivation and avenue for service.
For more on gifts, such as what the gifts are, read the chapter titled, “Gifts”, in my book, Bible Basics on Maturity, available at this website for free download or purchase.
To “walk in the Spirit” is to exercise our gifts by the Spirit’s power. The Holy Spirit provides each gift, and He now offers the energy and motivation to make it work. To operate in the power of the Holy Spirit, we must, of course, be in fellowship by staying clean through the confession of our sins, be in the process of maturing by studying His Word and enduring His training, and exercising our trust in God and His Word so that we are maintaining a close relationship with Him. When these are done, we will be prepared to exercise our gifts in His strength, and our gifts will fulfill their purpose.
Eph. 4:15-16 gives us the correct frame for the operation of our gifts. This passage says, “...speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Several ideas stand out in this verse. These include, for example, the necessity for us to select and operate in an environment where “truth” is taught and shared. Each of us contributes to the teaching of the Word in his or her own unique ways. Also included is the notion of maturing into a stronger relationship with Christ as a result of the mutual sharing of our gifts. Another obvious idea advanced in this passage is that the SOURCE of our growth and joint production comes from God; it is “from Him”.
What may be less obvious is what turns out to be the main point we want to glean from Ephesians 4:15-16, which is that our gifts operate in LOVE, and the greatest expression of love as required in Scripture is seen in the operation of our gifts. Implicit in this is the idea that our gifts will convey with them a spirit of love. Without love, our gifts will not operate; conversely, without the operation of our gifts, love will not have a pre-designed avenue for expression. Thus the statement is given: “builds itself up in love, as [to the degree that] each part does its work.” The exercise of our gifts is an expression of love, but love implies the power of the Holy Spirit; so if the Holy Spirit is not producing the prerequisite condition of love, gifts will not operate effectively. When gifts operate properly, love is fulfilled, and the gifts serve to “build up” other believers. This is our highest purpose. When we exercise our gifts faithfully, we will, as it were, “lay down our life” for others, which is the greatest expression of love.
To confirm that our gifts are to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit, look at 1 Pet. 4:11, which says, “If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” God’s work must be done God’s way, which means that He will do it. And when the Holy Spirit is at work, all believers benefit, as per Eph. 4:11-12, which tells us that specific gifts were given to “prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up”.
The outcome is clear, as we see in verse 13 of Eph. 4: “...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” We come together, contribute to each other’s growth, and become an unstoppable collective force performing its work in the power of the Almighty God. But without love, which means without walking by means of the Spirit and without following the path to maturity, growth will not occur, and gifts will not be operating properly in the body of Christ. The result will be a church full of baby Christians.
There are many gifts. The first step in learning what your gift is involves attending to your own growth. Then you can progress upward through the ranks of spiritual stature so you can know what your gift is. Only then will you be able to attend to the growth of others; only then will you truly “love” and “serve”.
It is also important to understand that our gifts should be ours, and the gifts of others should belong to them. They are not the same. It is a mistake to try to be the Christian everyman. Satan loves nothing better than to confound church machinery by having everyone trying to operate in the gifts of others, or for everyone to try to do everything. We may not know what our gift is for a long time, while we are leaving the spiritual crib and growing into spiritual adulthood, but once we ascertain what our gift is, we should put our full energy into the refinement and operation of that gift. And never should we try to “imitate” other gifts, or try to be what we aren’t, as this will inevitably lead to disappointment.
Christianity is not a one-size-fits-all arrangement. Each of us is unique, and each of us has been assigned a gift (or gifts) commensurate with God’s plan, to operate according to His will. We can’t even “love” the same way, even though the trend today is to standardize love so that it looks the same for everyone. It is a hard concept to get...that each of us loves and expresses love in a way that is distinct from that of others. All the main components are there, of course, consisting mostly of consideration of others, but each of us has areas of focus in which our love is concentrated and targeted toward specific kinds of needs. Differentiated love goes along with differentiated gifts. This distinct love motivates our gifts to operate in a certain way, directed toward specific objectives. Without this love, the operation of our gifts will be lackluster and flat. With this love, the exercise of our gifts brings activity that seems effortless and enjoyable, reminiscent of a mother’s love and care for her own child.
Want to know your gift? Look at your love. When you are in fellowship, and spiritual love is operational, look at what you are drawn to. This is where you will find your gift...your motivation and avenue for service.
For more on gifts, such as what the gifts are, read the chapter titled, “Gifts”, in my book, Bible Basics on Maturity, available at this website for free download or purchase.
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