Nougat 27

So yesterday, I almost wrote that the Nougat was the last in the series but sensed God’s Spirit holding me back. I obeyed, then forgot about it. In the afternoon, I received a message from a new subscriber. J wrote,

‘…what if I don’t have any spiritual gifts? I feel like an ordinary person who loves God but am not able to receive anything from the Holy Spirit. What should I do?

The question was legitimate. As I answered directly, it registered to me that that was why God indicated that the series wasn’t over. J might not be the only one with that concern, and if that’s the case, then rest assured, you matter enough to God that your concern is noted. Thanks, J, for seeking confirmation that we all are eligible for spiritual gifts. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat

Romans 12:5-6a NIV‬

[5] … in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

[6] We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.

Each member has spiritual gifts

It could easily have been a 21st-century congregation. The argument might have started when one person or group tried to emphasise the importance of one gift over the other. It might have escalated to some gifts being discounted, causing some folks to be left out of the ‘Holy Spirit anointed’ club. It might be that some had vestiges of impostor syndrome and decided to leave holy living to the ‘Spirit-filled believers’. It was enough for God to allow Paul to settle the matter.

In beginning the chapter with a plea in God’s name (‘by the mercies of God’), we realize that whatever it was that followed carried weight. We then discover that it was not only important, it was also a task that required divine intervention. We can not become a living sacrifice unless God helps us to do so. We discover our purpose when we offer ourselves wholly holy and solely (soully) to God.

That change to a ‘living sacrifice mindset’ detonates a transformation which allows us to realize that each and every single one of us is gifted for God’s service. Moreover, whatever gifts we possess are for God’s glory, not our own. No room, therefore, for vanity or spiritual oneupmanship. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11, Paul says it this way,

‘Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good … All these [gifts] are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.’ [emphasis mine]

Siblings, we may be anointed to pray for others as they seek to discern their spiritual gifts; we may even be anointed to tarry with them until the gift is manifested; but spiritual gifts are exactly that. They are gifts from God, sent to us believers by God’s Spirit to point others to Jesus.

So, while we ought to confirm that the manifestation is genuine, we don’t have the authority to gift any one with God’s Spirit. By extension, we affirm that this gift from God is for all believers, barring none. As a believer in Christ, the gift of God’s Spirit is ours to be activated. It is activated through our becoming a living sacrifice, and manifested through signs. May we receive God’s gift with humility and joy.

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May all we seek be found in Christ