"As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
1 Peter 4:10-11
Spiritual gifts can be a divisive issue in a church but ignoring the calling for gifts to be used is stiffling and refusing the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells us often of the gift of the Holy Spirit that would come upon us and help us. We would have ability to recall what He has taught us and we would have power in doing His will by miracles and wonders. We also have the ability to ask of God and receive freely the things He has for us. So why does the church refuse the work of the Holy Spirit in it's members?
There are logical reasons we can think of that are not taught in the bible but the one of main reasons is due to the deceptive work of the "ruler of this world" (John 14:30). Jesus explains in Matthew 10 that we need to be careful in this world, that He was hated and that we would be also. We often view some of these verses in terms of worldly persecution (which Christ talks about often) but we need to remember that the work of Satan will always be trying to quench our fire for the Lord and the service of His kingdom.
All of these things being said, we cannot ignore the call of the members of the church to participate in the work of Christ. The church equally cannot ignore its call the enable the members to serve and participate.
"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,"
Ephesians 4:11-12
So much of 1 Corinithians 12 and on is dedicated to explaining some problems the church in Corinth was having with the gifts of the Spirit. Here we see Paul explaining that everyone has a gift given to them and that all are to be used...
"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all."
1 Corinthians 12:7
The church should not have inactive participants - end of story. If you believe that Christ is Lord and desire to make your life a living sacrifice to Him, it is your job to use the Spirit He has given you to serve the body and its members. It is wrong that we should not be encouraging participation from all people in the church. The purpose of the church body is to build one another up to glorify God and if we are stagnant or refusing to give opportunity we are limiting the work of God's kingdom on earth. Our gifts should be benefiting those around us - they are not to be buried or used for personal benefit.
I would encourage every believer to look at where their church has need and seek where they might be able to fulfill it. Service is not my natural tendency and definitely not my gift, but where there is a need I can certainly participate with a cheerful heart, serving as unto the Lord. And we can trust that God will work in us and bring His work in our lives unto completion according to His plan (Philippians 1:16, Jeremiah 29:11).
Seek to help your church body. And if you are a leader in the church body, seek the help of your members. There are few things worse that a person with gifts that are not being used - whether it be the fault of themself or the church. Being lukewarm and ignoring the call of the Lord are extremely dangerous things (Revelation 3:16, parables of servants in Luke 12:35-48).
We need to make sure we are bearing fruit for the Lord and not to be hindered by ourselves, our church or from the evil one.
Here are some references for you, speaking of how we ought to be, both in service to our church and just as followers of Christ. I hope this to be a help, a motivation and possibly even a wakeup call. Know that God wants you to be someone with power in His kingdom; a person who can help bring many to glory.
Ephesians 6:10-16, 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Peter 4:7-11, Matthew 21:18-19, Luke 12:35-48, Luke 13:6-9, Matthew 5:16, Ephesians 2:10, 1 Timothy 6:18, Titus 1:10-16, Titus 2, Titus 3:1-8, James 2:14-26, Galatians 5:13, Galatians 6:6-10, Much of Ephesians... read it all! There is much more in scripture - feel free to post the great things you find!
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