There are different ministries, but the same Lord.There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord.And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.And there are diversities of ministrations, and the same Lord.
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… writes in the scripture that we read today. There are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. There are varieties of services, but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it's the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. And indeed, the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot would say, because I'm not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body either. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. This is a compelling picture for what our life together should look like in the church. Richard Hayes, he's this New Testament scholar, and he writes this about this passage of scripture. He says, the overall picture of the church implied in these particular verses is, to put it mildly, remarkable. It's a picture of community where each one of us is empowered by …
And one thing I want us to recognize right up front, that is when God gives spiritual gifts, which He does, He always gives it for the common good, not for some individual's sake or to make us feel good or to get prideful and puffy about what we have or don't have. It's always for the common good of the whole body of Christ. Now, one of the first things we need to do is to clarify terms because sometimes people get them a little confused. So, let's look first of all at the idea of the gift of the Spirit, G-I-F-T. And that is, we're talking about the person of the Holy Spirit who is given to every single believer upon our salvation. This is what Peter was preaching in Acts chapter 2, verse 38. When you were saved, the Holy Spirit came into your life to indwell and to seal you as a child of God. That's God's gift. Secondly, the gifts of the Spirit, G-I-F-T-S, are those capabilities, those abilities that God gives to each individual that fit His purpose and plan for our life. …
As we have discussed of the spiritual gifts that God has given to the church, as we saw in Ephesians chapter 4, that he's given to the church apostles. He's given to the church prophets, evangelists, and pastor teachers. Some of those were temporary gifts, and some of them were permanent gifts, the evangelists and the pastors and teachers. But likewise has he given to every part of the body a spiritual gift. And so what I want us to look at now is the gifts that God has given to each member of the body. There is a difference between having a natural talent and having a spiritual gift. Everybody, to some degree, has natural talents. That is, what we are born with as a result of what God sees fit to place in your life at your physical birth. You have certain capacities. You are more capable than others in some areas. For example, here's a person who is talented in the area of art, talented in the area of music. …