Are you a Head or a Foot?

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (ESV) ~  Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

When you hear ‘Spiritual Gifts’, what is your first thought?   Is it, “That is too charismatic for me”?  I get it.  Some people put too much emphasis on them and some people don’t put enough.  What are they?  Do you have one?  Why are they given to believers?  In each scripture that talks about these gifts it clarifies who gives the gifts and how they are to be used. Spiritual gifts are abilities given to every believer by the Holy Spirit.  We don’t get to choose them. He chooses who gets what.  The gifts are to be used to edify and encourage the body of Christ.  They are not to be used to show off how good and spiritual you are or for your own personal gain.  We cannot use the excuse that, ‘Oh, I didn’t receive any gifts.”  The Bible does not say that only certain believers receive them.  It says, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:7).  Each believer is given these things for the common good of the body of Christ.  That means you!!  If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have received one or more spiritual gifts.  It is our responsibility as believers to discover what they are and how we can use them to edify the body of Christ. 

The bible uses the body as a metaphor on how the family of God is meant to function.  As believers we are all connected through the Holy Spirit, we are one with Him.  In the body we all have different functions.  The head does one thing, while the feet do something else.  Imagine if the left foot decided they didn’t have a function and refused to even try to discover if it had one or how to do it.  That would make the body crippled and much less efficient. 

There is a common understanding in most churches.  80% of the people watch 20% of the people do 100% of the work.  Sometimes that is because people just don’t want to be bothered, or they think they are too busy to do anything.  However, I think more often it is because some people just have no clue how they can help or what they are meant to do.  God has given each one of us a purpose and place in the body of Christ. 

I want to encourage you to take time to discover your place, your gifts and how God intends for you to use them.  I also encourage you to reach out to a more seasoned believer that can help you navigate what can be a daunting task.  Often other believers can see your gifts before you can.  Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t jump out at you immediately.  There are lots of opinions on some of these gifts and you need to be careful about what commentary you read outside of the scripture.  This is where a more mature believer can help keep you centered on what the scripture says. 

The scriptures that deal with the gifts of the Spirit  are: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 12-31, Romans 12:6-8, Ephesians 4:11-13, 1 Peter 4:10-11, and Joel 2:28-29.

A complete list of the gifts that are mentioned in scripture:  Administration, Apostles,  Distinguishing spirits, Evangelists,  Exhortation,  Faith,  Giving,  Healing, Helps, Interpretation of tongues, Knowledge, Leading, Mercy, Miracles, Pastors, Prophecy, Serving, Teaching, Tongues, Visions,  Wisdom