The Spirit graces the church with gifts

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.  (Romans 12:3)

I love how Paul inserts this statement into a discussion of general service (Romans 12:1,2) and how each person has his or her unique gifts that should be used as God intends them to be used (Romans 12:4-8).

In 1 Corinthians (12 and 13), Paul has another take on this: that the Spirit gives these gifts, that we all need one another, and that everything should be done in love. Here is one way I attempted to explicate this in gathered worship last Sunday:

I believe the Bible says that the Spirit gives the church the gifts it needs. One important implication is that, if we need some gift, God will provide it. …  And, when people do arrive, one of the questions we can ask ourselves about them is what gifts are God sending us through them.

This week, I’m finding it exciting to look around the people in our small church and asking (with sober judgment, naturally!) what gifts the Spirit has given each of us. Perhaps it would be a helpful exercise for you to do so about the people in your church circles.