Quit being Ignorant.

1 Corinthians 12:1-12
1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Last week we talked about leading and what happens if you strengthen yourself to trust God. Now, we're reading about the wonderful effects of putting our trust in Christ, focusing on our salvation, not our sin.

With that said, we can be way too ignorant about this. Paul called the aforementioned effects "spiritual gifts." This is the real deal because it mentions the idea that we all have a supernatural ability (remember we CAN do the impossible through God's power and Holy Spirit). It is through the Lord that we are designated a specific purpose.

There are various perspectives about these spiritual gifts among churches and fellow believers. Some teach that all spiritual gifts are still active today, while others say that some were only needed when the church was first founded. So, in previous posts, I've talked about the many different kinds of spiritual gifts there are. However, I think it's most important to understand why God hands over his power to his people.

It comes down to the metaphor that Paul uses: the (human) body. As a church, we say that Jesus is the Lord of all, and we are all the body of Christ. Just like our own body, there are numerous parts. In other words, we're all a part of his body...an eyeball, a foot, an arm, etc.

Pray that God shows you why he gave you specific spiritual gifts. It's time to lose all ignorance and get out of your "own little world." Feel free to listen to "My Own Little World" by Matthew West.