My Father’s Genes – Part VIII – Gifts of the Spirit

Building on what we learned in Part VII, it may be useful to understand the difference between “gifts of the Spirit” and “fruit of the Spirit”. The scriptures below are powerfully explanatory without much, if any, comment from me!

Gifts of the Spirit

“… for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29)

“But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.”
(1 Cor. 7:7)

“6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” (Romans 12:6-8)

“14 Do not neglect your gift,… Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely...” (1 Tim. 4:14,16)

“6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Tim. 1:6,7)

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10)

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:4)

“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts…” (1 Cor. 14:1)

“…try to excel in gifts that build up the church.” (1 Cor. 14:12)

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Phil. 4:8)

So we see that different people have different spiritual gifts and that each of us have been gifted with at least one gift, and often with more than one. From these verses I think it safe to conclude that God gifts us according to His will and the needs of His church and His kingdom. The development and exercise of these gifts is a reasonable expectation that God places upon us. I do believe it is incumbent on us to validate that God is the One who has gifted and called us, and not some personal agenda we develop on our own.

In our next posting we will examine the concept of the “fruit of the Spirit”. It may be a little different than our common understanding of the subject, but hopefully will be helpful to us as we travel on our spiritual journey.