Spiritual Gifts for the Common Good – EGP Blog post from July 22, 2018

“Nowhere in the Bible does Paul provide a complete list of the gifts that are available to the children of God. In fact, what we see throughout the Bible is that he provides us a variety of partial lists. … And then even Peter hops in … with yet another list. And these lists do not correspond with one another. …

It’s as though the Bible wants us to know that, according to the text, there are varieties of gifts and varieties of services. And it’s not Paul, or Peter’s, or the Bible’s heart to lay before us all that is possible, but just to let us know to be on the lookout for gifts given to us by the Spirit to build up the Church for the common good. …

For all the excitement that the sign gifts get … those kind of supernatural, weird gifts—every gift given to sinful men … and women at their salvation is a gift of God’s grace and is a miracle. It’s a miracle! It was dead and now it’s alive!

So, your natural giftedness, given over to the world, reaps … nothing that’s not temporary and won’t ultimately be burned off. But that gift—saved, sanctified, empowered, and set free—leads to … the common good: the building up of the body in love. …

The more you embrace a view of gifts that concedes the work of ministry and the work of building up the body to paid professional ministers, … you negate the gift that God has given to you, and you become a spectator rather than a participant. And God doesn’t want you on the stands, He wants you on the field. That’s why He gave you the gift.

So, how do you know what your gifts are? … Wherever your passions and your giftedness collide, you should be paying attention. I would look into your own life. What are you drawn to? What are you naturally good at? What are you most alive participating in? … Each and every one of you have been gifted according to the grace of God for the common good.”