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JANUARY: New Life in the Spirit



January 31

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

But all these works that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
1 Corinthians 12:11

There are some principles about the subject of spiritual gifts that stand out clearly in the biblical teaching. The first is that spiritual gifts must be differentiated from natural gifts. We all have natural gifts, but the spiritual gift that any one of us may possess is something separate from and entirely different from this. It is a gift that is given directly to us by the Holy Spirit. Some people have fallen into the error of thinking that a spiritual gift really means a person’s natural gift taken hold of by the Holy Spirit and heightened so that it becomes a spiritual gift. But that is not what Scripture would have us believe. A spiritual gift is something new, something different.

The second principle is that these gifts are bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit in a sovereign manner. This is emphasized very clearly in 1 Corinthians 12; notice verse 11, for instance: “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” “As he will.” It is He who decides and not us. He decides what particular gift to give to a particular person. Verse 7 enforces the same point: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” It is a gift, it is given, it is something that comes entirely from the Holy Spirit.

Third, each Christian is given and therefore has some gift: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” The clear implication there is that every single Christian is given some particular gift. So from this we deduce that every true member of the Body of Christ, every true Christian, who has been baptized into the Body of Christ by this one Spirit, has some particular spiritual gift. The fourth principle taught in 1 Corinthians 12, obviously, is that the gifts differ in value; see verses 14-30.

A Thought to Ponder
Every single Christian is given some particular gift.

From God the Holy Spirit, pp. 265-266.




Today’s devo is taken from Walking with God Day by Day © 2003 by Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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Walking with God Archive

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