You Are Gifted!

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

Ephesians 4:7

Paul speaks here of the provision made by the Holy Spirit for the church's dynamic, effective functioning in the world. In this brief sentence there is a reference to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are given to every true Christian without exception. Paul refers to these gifts as a grace. The word grace in the original language is charis. This grace is a God-given capacity for service which we have received as Christians, and which we did not possess before we became Christians. This grace is given to all true Christians, without exception.

Paul himself, in Ephesians 3:8, refers to one of his own gifts or graces of the Spirit: Although I am less than the least of all the Lord's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ. Clearly one of his gifts was that of preaching. When Paul writes to his young son in the faith, Timothy, he uses a closely related word and says to him, For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands (2 Timothy. 1:6).

There seems little doubt that this is where the early church began with new converts. Whenever anyone, by faith in Jesus Christ, passed from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God's love, he was immediately taught that the Holy Spirit of God had not only imparted to him the life of Jesus Christ, but had also equipped him with spiritual gifts which he was then responsible to discover and exercise. The apostle Peter writes, Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms (1 Peter 4:10).

It is significant that in each place where the gifts of the Spirit are described in Scripture, the emphasis is placed upon the fact that each Christian has at least one. That gift may be lying dormant within you, embryonic and unused. You may not know what it is, but it is there. The Spirit makes no exceptions to this basic equipping of each believer. No Christian can say, I can't serve God; I don't have any ability to serve Him. As authentic followers of Christ, we have all been gifted with a grace of the Spirit. It is vitally essential that you discover the gift or gifts which you possess. The effectiveness of your life as a Christian will be determined by the degree to which you use the gift God has given you.

Lord, I am so grateful for the gifts you have given me. Show me how to use them for your glory and for the good of those around me.