John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God gave us the best gift of all – His son and the gift of eternal life His son’s death and resurrection provided us. 

God also gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to teach us, give us power to witness and live for God.

Luke 11:13 – If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!

As we accept that precious gift of God, we need to understand that, along with life in His Son, God has also given us gifts to use for His glory.

Gift – “charisma

•  A free gift of grace given by God such as salvation to the believer
• Special gifts bestowed upon the believer by the Holy Spirit

Matthew 10:7-8 – And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Romans 12:3-8 – For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.  For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,  so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 – There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.  And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.

Gifts God gave to the church

• Apostles
• Prophets
• Evangelists
• Pastors
• Teachers

Purpose of these gifts

• To equip (prepare, arm) the church for the work of ministry of God
• To edify (to educate, improve) the body of Christ
• Until we mature (are established, developed) in God’s Word and become like Him
• That we do not act like children – unstable and constantly being deceived by false teachers
• Until each one of the body of Christ does its share and cause the body of Christ to grow in love

Ephesians 4:8 – But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.  Therefore He says:  “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.”  (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?  He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)  And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,  for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,  till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;  that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,  but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—  from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

What are your gifts?

How well are you exercising the gifts that God has given you?