You have a gift and others are counting on you to use it!
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Read the chapter in an outlined format
Read previous DIG DEEPER posts on 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 12 Summary
The Church is a trinitarian creation. It's called by the Father (Ephesians 1), it's the gathered body of Christ (v13-14), and you are both drawn to it (v3) and equipped for service in it by the Holy Spirit (v13).
Notice in v7 that each Christian has been gifted by the Spirit. This chapter lists a few of those gifts, but only a few in order to show how they are different in character but are equal in value. If you don't know what your Spiritual gift is, this catalog will show some more possibilities. Can't find one that seems to describe you? Let me know, and we'll find it together.
Dig Deeper
Paul seems to give a massively wide range to what Spirit filled people can and cannot say. One the one hand, it makes sense that a someone with the Spirit of Christ in them would not be able to say "Jesus be cursed," but on the other it seems like lots of very non-Christian people have said that "Jesus is Lord;" certainly cult leaders and the like didn't have the Spirit in them as they say this phrase.
But there's a big difference between saying something and saying something, right? If you were to read the beginning of v3 out loud, you would say the words "Jesus be cursed," but certainly that wouldn't be an indication the Spirit is not in you. In the same way, anybody can say 'Jesus is Lord,' but to truly say it you must know what each word means:
JESUS: The only person to be fully man and fully God, who lived a perfect life and died to pay for our sins. He rose victorious from the dead and now reigns in heaven until He returns to make all things new.
IS: Not was or will be Lord, but has been, is now and always will be Lord.
LORD: The creator and sovereign ruler of all that is.
When a cult member or nominal Christian says these words, they are equivocating (changing the definition) of one or more the words. Just saying these words in an empty way does not make a person a Christian. True knowledge of Jesus comes only comes by the Spirit.
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: God, the Father of all, who empowers all gifts found in all Christians (v6)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Be grateful for the gift you have, but also pray that you would earnestly desire the higher gifts (v31)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
