Holy Spirit: Our Gift-Giver

So now we know that Jesus models for us not only what ministry for the Kingdom looks like but how to do that ministry: in the power of Holy Spirit. Jesus is also our visual aid for demonstrating how to serve from giftedness: by way of spiritual gifts. And Jesus, He possessed all the gifts, so we have an example for every single one of them. 

This is important because, as Paul tells us, each person in the Church has been gifted by the Spirit so that the ministry Christ began can continue until His return (1 Corinthians 12:12). Like a human body, every believer brings spiritual gifts to the corporate whole, playing their parts so that God’s plans can be accomplished (v.27). 

Paul also teaches that all “gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when” (1 Corinthians 12:11 MSG). Gifts of the Spirit originate from Holy Spirit, and they’re different from abilities we were born with or talents that we have learned (v.4). And their purposes are always, always for the good of others (1 Peter 4:10) – for building and strengthening the Church and to bless non-believers so that they might believe. 

Want to know more about spiritual gifts?

Just picture Jesus. The way His faith kept Him in line with the will of the Father. The way His mercy filled Him with compassion for all those in need. The way His heart for teaching inspired thousands to think about God and His ways differently. The way He shepherded those closest to Him with intention and love, preparing them for what lay ahead. The way His words of knowledge and prophecy continually spoke the Father’s wisdom, truth, and encouragement over those in His care. 

You can also picture your local church. And imagine those with the gift of faith and the way they breathe life into a congregation because they have an “informed trust” in God.¹ Those gifted with mercy and the way they always know what someone needs and graciously give of themselves.¹ Those gifted as teachers and the way they supernaturally unlock Scripture to those who will listen.¹ Those gifted as shepherds and the way their pastoral hearts care earnestly.¹ And those gifted with words and images straight from the heart of God and the way those words and pictures encourage, exhort, and edify believers and work to “convince non-believers of God’s truth.”¹ 

Jesus, one man-God, could serve with all of the gifts by way of the Spirit.
We, a body made of many parts, can also implement all of the gifts because of the Spirit.
All for God’s glory. 
All for the good of the whole. 
All for the gain of the Kingdom and people’s hearts and minds and souls.

Holy Spirit, our gift-giver, empowers us for ministry because He knows the Father’s mind and the Son’s heart. He knows the plans God has for His people and the world at large. At the same time, He dwells in every believer, knowing each of our minds and hearts, our motives and wounds. And in His divine wisdom, He puts all this together and sets out to heal and make whole, to serve and set free, to convict and carry out all the holy plans – through us. The fallible yet spiritually gifted people of God are the vehicles God chooses to work through to bring about His will on earth as it is in heaven.

And if we’re worried about falling down on the job, that’s natural. But also unnecessary. Because somehow our Triune God, the One who is aware of all and sees all, knows we’ll get it wrong some of the time. Still, He chooses to equip and empower us for everything He has planned for us. Our job is to trust His wisdom and goodness and perfect plans – and step out in faith to serve from the gifts He has given us. 

We can do this because we have Holy Spirit in us.

For the Good of It All

Admittedly, there are many opinions, many ideas about spiritual gifts out there. Yet rather than direct these words towards making arguments or drawing divisive lines, I’d prefer to point us to the good of what God intended when He chose to give believers Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts.

And it helps to get back to the point of Jesus’ first arrival on earth. When we can remain firm in why Jesus came to us as a human, we can keep straight the purposes of spiritual gifts.

Jesus came because of love. “God so loved the world” that He sent His only Son to live and minister, to die and defeat death, to ascend and take His rightful place on the throne of God (John 3:16). Our Three-In-One God is always motivated by love. God loves us so much that He couldn’t leave us and the world He created forever in the grip of sin and death. 

Jesus came to usher in the Kingdom of God. Again and again, Jesus taught about what the Kingdom of God is like. He longed to open the eyes of His people, and then the world, to the truth of God’s heart and His desire for relationship with us. And to do so, Jesus pushed back on the rules and ways of man. He pointed out sin and offered forgiveness.

Jesus came to redeem all who would put their faith in Him. In the end, the will of the Father was for the Son to die as the perfect, sacrificial Lamb. All sin for all time weighed down the only sinless Man that ever lived. Jesus died the death we deserved. He paid the price we couldn’t pay – in order to redeem us back to the Father and make us righteous. Like Him.

For love and redemption, for the good of God’s Kingdom, Holy Spirit came to fill every believer so that the good work of the Son could continue. So that more compassion and healing, more teaching and caring, more giving and encouragement could be brought into the world, for the good of the world.

Jesus died so we can live – eternal life with Him! And, life in Him in the here and now. This life we’ve been given is a journey of spiritual connection and growth. It’s strengthening the relationship we have with Father, Son, and Spirit. It’s being empowered by the Spirit so that our lives become “both meaningful and valuable.”² It’s learning to live anchored in the Word and led by the Spirit – for our good but also for the greater good (see Romans 14:17-19).

If we make this life in Christ about us, we miss the good we were put on the earth for. If our spiritual gifts become tools to elevate ourselves or to manipulate others, we misuse what Holy Spirit has given us. If we hide our gifts out of shame or envy, because of comparison or fear, we fail to invest the ‘talents’ we’ve been given. 

Instead, Jesus invites us to trust the Father’s heart and to obey the promptings of the Spirit. He asks us to remember Him and all He came to earth to accomplish – and to embrace the reality that He wants us to join Him in the work He continues to do. We have been spiritually gifted for the good of it all!

The Joy of It All

While spiritual gift tests or inventories have their place in the process of confirming our spiritual gifts, I’m beginning to understand how so many of them are designed in particular contexts and for specific purposes, such as plugging people into volunteer positions. Instead of immediately turning to a list of questions that can only give as accurate information as our responses to them, we look for where God is already working in us. We ask Holy Spirit for spiritual eyes to see ourselves with clarity. 

With our eyes peeled for the Spirit’s promptings, we’ll begin to see a pattern of experiences in our lives that are not common in other Chrisitian’s lives. Such repetition points to giftedness. Pastor and author, Jon Thompson, dubs this process of observation the “Rule of Dots.”¹ 

For example, I began noticing a pattern of people responding to my writing with comments like, “I never understood that before” or “you really helped me see the way Jesus works.” Those responses not only encouraged me but helped me see that I’ve been spiritually gifted for teaching. By Holy Spirit’s empowerment, I’ve been able to unlock Scripture for others in ways they are not able to for themselves. In contrast, none of my Christian friends seem to have this same pattern in their lives, so my pattern of experience, or “Rule of Dots,” stands out as in indicator of gifting.

Jon Thompson offers other ways to identify our gifts, but the one I especially love is JOY! 

When we serve from our giftedness, we’ll find that we do so with deep, abiding joy. Such joy is so much “more than emotion; it is the settled, Spirit-given delight that arises from the redemptive acts and abiding presence of God.”³ 

For instance, the joy I get from researching, processing, and writing what I learn in Scripture is another indicator to my giftedness as a teacher. However, when I step into other roles, such as evangelism or giving, those are less joy-filled for me. They are much more in the category of spiritual discipline – something all Christians are called to do – rather than spiritual gifting. I lack that deeply rooted joy when I need to do them, which doesn’t mean I don’t do them or that I don’t try to do them joyfully. Rather, serving in those ways just doesn’t bring me the joy I get as I teach through my writing.

All this touches me so deeply. God not only gifts us so that His Church and Kingdom will grow and strengthen, so that non-believers might find faith in His Son, but He gifts us in such a way that we experience joy as we serve (see Romans 14:17-19)! For the joy of it all – Church and Kingdom, believers and non-believers – Holy Spirit empowers us with spiritual gifts!

My friends, we have one more week in this summer series about Holy Spirit, and it is my sincere hope that something along the way has clicked for you – dots have connected, understanding has dawned, hope has been birthed. But even more, I pray that you’re moving from knowledge into experience. Holy Spirit dwells in us for purposes well beyond what’s to come in eternity. He’s a Person to know, a Friend to walk with in this life. He’s the power behind all that God has in mind for us to do for the time we’ve been given on earth. And we can step into those roles with full trust that we are gifted to do so. For all the good. For all the joy.

Today’s prayer will flow right out of the hymn, “Spirit of the Living God” by Audrey Assad.⁴ May its lyrics flood our entire beings with truth and hope until we believe that we are gifted by the Spirit – so that we’ll step out in faith and step up in obedience to serve God for His glory, for His Kingdom’s good, and for others’ gain! Let us pray.

O Spirit of the living God, thou Light and Fire Divine
Descend upon Thy Church once more and make it truly Thine
Fill it with love and joy and power, with righteousness and peace
Till Christ shall dwell in human hearts, and sin and sorrow cease.

Blow, wind of God, with wisdom blow until our minds are free
from mists of error, clouds of doubt, which blind our eyes to Thee
Burn, winged fire, inspire our lips with flaming love and zeal
To preach to all Thy great good news, God’s glorious commonweal*.

So shall we know the power of Christ, who came this world to save
So shall we rise with Him to life which soars beyond the grave
And earth shall win true holiness which makes Thy children whole
Till, perfected by Thee, we reach creation’s glorious goal.

In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

[Please remember that throughout this series, we want to move through information gathering to Holy Spirit experiencing. As such, I will be adding an ‘experience’ of Holy Spirit each week in our “Rhythms” section below. I hope you’ll jump down there to see how you might stretch yourself in the way of experiencing more of the Spirit in your life. You can trust I’m doing the same!!]

Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.

• 1 – Jon Thompson in his book, Convergence^
• 2 – Carolyn Moore in her book, Encounter the Spirit
• 3 – Biblehub for the Greek word for ‘joy’
• 4 – The song that comprised our prayer today is an old hymn brought to life by Audrey Assad, “Spirit of the Living God.” It’s been the opening song on our Holy Spirit Playlist on Spotify for this entire summer. It’s fun and good and right that we’re finally tapping into its lyrics to speak over ourselves and to our Lord.
• * “Commonweal,” as found in the lyrics of our prayer today, is a poetic way of describing the common well-being of a community. So, as we tell the good news of God’s ‘commonweal’ we know we are sharing about and inviting others into the absolute greatest community of all time – the family of God!
• My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes the first week of each month to those who have subscribed on my website. I also post them on Substack. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.
• Many of you have found me on Substack. Thank you so much! And, if you’d like to listen to (rather than read) these weekly posts, you can do so on Substack. It’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post. While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective.

Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike.

• The rhythm we are employing for our summer Holy Spirit series falls in the category of a weekly experience. I’m pretty convinced that the vast majority of American Christians have had incomplete or completely missing education about spiritual gifts, thus we have not experienced the power and goodness of living in communities of faith that function as true bodies of Christ, as each believer serves from their gift(s). And, the vast majority of us in this space today really only have influence over our own willingness to live and serve from our giftedness (while some actually have influence over themselves and an entire congregation). So, rather than living in ignorance or from fear or with envy, let’s choose to put our eyes on Jesus and invite Holy Spirit to awaken us to the gifts He has ordained for us for this season. Then choose to walk-out that gift in faith and humility as the Spirit leads. And the experience of such faithful serving will bless others — and bring us great joy!

• We’re all called to share the truth about who Jesus is. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. May we use our whole selves to tell others about our holy God!!

Featured Photo is a stained glass window on Flickr — and is a beautiful rendering of the way Acts 2 describes Pentecost. I like the imagery for our individual gifting, as well.
“All the Bits and Pieces” Photo by Zrng N Gharib on Unsplash.
^These are affiliate links, with which this ministry earns a wee little bit. XOXO