The Strand Study Bible

I CORINTHIANS “MINI” SERIES The Doctrine Of Spiritual Gifts NOTE – A serving gift is just that - it is for serving others! For example, concerning the serving gift of giving : * Givers never think twice about giving. They are single-minded and love to give (II Cor 9:6, 7). * Givers are sensitive to recognize the material needs of others and can discern good and wise investments in order to gain more money to give away (Acts 4:32-37). * Givers have the conviction that all they possess belongs to God (Phil 2:25-30) Each one of these characteristics concerning the gift of giving are good. Nevertheless, Christians with this gift can be misunderstood if the following two attributes are not present when administering this gift. They are: 1. Love and compassion (I Cor 12:31-13:1-3) 2. Single-mindedness (Rom 12:8) The key to a giver using his/her gift of giving properly is learning to give without second thought. A Christian with the gift of giving who fails to be single-minded will cause misunderstandings to occur within the body of Christ concerning his/her gift. For example: * Givers can appear to be proud of their own giving. * Givers can appear to measure spiritual success by material assets. * Givers can appear to overlook the needs of their own home. * Givers can appear to pressure others into giving like they do. * Givers can appear to control people or ministries with their gifts. * Givers can appear to give more to projects than to people. * Givers can appear to be less hospitable because they would rather give to send someone to a hotel than to have them in their own home.

Lesson #10. How to discover your spiritual gifts (I Cor 12:1,4,7,11 & 14:1)

There are five questions every Christian must ask himself/herself in order to discover what his/her spiritual gift(s) are:

1. What does the Holy Spirit say my gift is? (I Cor 12:4) Question - Does He want me to speak or serve? 2. What has God called me to do spiritually? (I Cor 12:11) Question - Has He called me to preach? Teach? Serve?

3. What am I successful at spiritually? (I Cor 12:7) Question - Am I better at speaking or serving? 4. What are my desires spiritually? (I Cor 14:1) Question - What do I desire for my church? What do I feel is lacking in the life of my church to which I could help contribute? 5. What do other “qualified” believers feel my spiritual gift is? ( I Cor 12:10 c ) Question - What does my church ask of me to do in the way of ministry? Do others express more appreciation for one spiritual gift that I have over another? Are there certain ministries I am never asked to do? Discovering one’s spiritual gifts should be made easier once these five questions have been answered. Nevertheless, failure to recognize one’s gifts may stem from a lack of spirituality on the part of the believer ( I Cor 12:1 ). NOTE – Tim Blanchard, in his book called Finding Your Spiritual Gifts , was right when he said:

Every thinking, full-time church worker knows that many ministries lie untouched because of the inactivity of some Christians. He also sees that the uninvolved do not move to maturity as quickly as those who are happily serving. How can these gifted but idle people be rallied to serve? Each must know his or her gift, and each must be properly motivated to rise up and meet a need. Psychologist Leo MacManus declares that motivation comes alive when a person: a) gains recognition by others, b) enjoys a sense of accomplishment, c) is impressed with the importance of the task he is doing, and d) holds a definite responsibility. Uninvolved people experience none of these motivators. They must take hold of the most exciting catalyst for involvement–spiritual gifts. Every inactive member must be informed that he has a special, spiritual, God-given gift. When he sees that his gift is essential for the proper functioning of the church, the member immediately begins to feel biblically based recognition. Upon discovering his gift, his spiritual self worth increases greatly. 1

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