Our Gifts of Grace Serving the Body of Christ

“so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” Romans 12:5-6a NLT

There’s an axiom within the church when it comes to work needed to be done, ‘20% of the people do 80% of the work’. There is a more positive one that says, ‘many hands make for light work’. When many hands come together in the chores and maintenance to be done in the church, the physical conditions of the building show the unity of diversity of talents used to present a well-maintained building for the glory of God. The same holds true for the spiritual building, the body of Christ. We are God’s building. (1Cor.3:9)

Every believer in Christ as they accept Him for salvation receive the Holy Spirit and at least one spiritual gift to be use in the church. It is possible for some to receive more than one, but everyone receives one. Paul tells us, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” (Ro.12:6a nlt) We do not all have the same gifts. Some of us may share a gift, but the church body as a whole has a diversity of gifts to ensure the church functions as it should. What if ‘20% of the people did 80% of the spiritual work’? What would be the spiritual condition of the church? As we think this through, the 20% are not able to do 80% of the work even if they wanted to because they only have 20% of the spiritual gifts in the church. They will fall short no matter how much effort they put into it. For the spiritual building to be maintained, each one must use their gift.

Spiritual gifts are different from natural born God given talents. The Holy Spirit grants them to us when we are born again spiritually into the family of God. We didn’t possess them before, and that is important to understand. It is something brand new and its sole purpose is to do the work of the Lord encouraging others in the church. You may be the only one, or just one of a very few, who has the gift you possess in the church. Remember, it is God’s gift of grace to you for serving the body of Christ.