I was recently sent an article and asked to comment on it. The conclusion and therefore central thrust of the article was this: we must help our nation “by standing against overreaching government bureaucrats”. As support for this the author cited Paul’s insistence on his rights as a citizen of Rome in Acts 22.

Is this what Paul was doing? Consider the context. In Acts 22 Paul is recounting his story. He tells them about how Jesus had appeared to him and told him he would travel far away to proclaim the gospel message to the nations (Acts 22:21). It is in response to this declaration, that the gospel was for the nations as well as Israel, the people were enraged with Paul. They declared they wanted to kill him (Acts 22:22). The Roman tribune stepped in and decided to interrogate Paul by flogging him. Then we read this:

But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?”

Acts 22:25 ESV

It was illegal to flog a citizen without a trial. Flogging was commonly used as a means of investigation (which was the tribune’s purpose here), yet citizens of Rome had certain rights and one of those was the freedom from punishment without a conviction. Here Paul was insisting on his rights. The author of the article I was sent suggested that we should also insist on our rights, for this is the example of the apostle. What was Paul actually doing, though? Consider this from 2 Corinthians.

Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.

2 Corinthians 11:24 ESV

The law of Moses prohibited more than forty lashes (see Deuteronomy 25:3). In case the person miscounted, he would only whip a person 39 times so as to avoid violating the commandment. Paul received this punishment on five separate occasions. Roman law allowed Jewish synagogues to provide their own form of policing, but only for members of the synagogue. For Paul to receive this form of punishment he had to remain a member of the synagogue. This means that at any time Paul could have insisted on his rights to not be beaten by the Jews by simply revoking his membership in the synagogue.

This raises the question: why would Paul insist on his rights in one situation, but not in five other situations? The answer is quite simple. If Paul had renounced his membership in the synagogue, this renunciation would apply to all synagogues. He would be unable to enter the synagogue and speak—to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Rather than lose his opportunity to share the truth of Jesus in synagogues, Paul gave up his rights on five separate occasions and endured five terrible beatings. In Acts 22 insisting on his rights as a citizen prevented the beating, but even more, ensured the people could not have him killed. Paul’s example of enduring a beating shows us his primary concern was not avoiding a beating. No one higher up from the tribune would have batted an eye if the tribune had a disturber of the peace executed, but a citizen? Without a trial? So it comes down to this: when insisting on his rights enabled him to preach the gospel, Paul insisted on his rights and when refusing to insist on his rights enabled him to preach the gospel, Paul refused to insist on his rights.

This raises another question: what does it mean to obey God rather than men? In Acts 5 the apostles declared that this is true. What was their purpose, however? Here’s the context:

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”

Acts 5:27–29 ESV

The apostles’ civil disobedience came down to this: when Caesar’s laws conflict with the clear commands of God, we must obey God rather than Caesar. Nowhere do they suggest that they are free to disobey Caesar when they dislike Caesar’s commands. Whether Caesar taxed too much or required too many regulations or had an “overreaching government bureaucra[cy]”, they knew they were to obey Caesar—unless Caesar was compelling them to disobey God. This is why Christians would pay their taxes but refused to confess Caesar is lord. This is why they followed Caesar’s regulations but refused to offer a pinch of incense to Caesar. Doing so would be disobedience to God for only God is to be worshiped. This principle of obeying God rather than men only applies when men insist we sin against God. It has nothing to do with our political or economic philosophies. The exact reason the apostles declared their greater obedience to God was because the civil authorities had forbidden them from proclaiming the gospel of Jesus. Failing to preach Jesus would be disobedience to God so they chose to obey God rather than men.

It comes down to this. If exercising our rights as citizens enables us to preach the gospel and to live faithfully, we should insist on our rights. If denying our rights as citizens enables us to preach the gospel and live faithfully, we should deny our rights. The issue isn’t whether our rights match our own conception of government or governmental policies. The issue is whether we can faithfully proclaim the good news of Jesus and live faithfully. It was Jesus, after all, who existed in the very form of God and therefore had all the rights and privileges that belong to God, yet he did not insist on his rights as God. Instead, he took on the form of a servant, as one who had no rights. He allowed Caesar to abuse him and kill him, and this was truly for the sake of the gospel.

We know this because Paul tells us this in his letter to the Philippians (2:5–9), which brings up another interesting point. As mentioned above, Paul was a Roman citizen. The vast majority of those living in the Roman empire were not citizens and therefore did not have the rights people like Paul had. The city of Philippi was a Roman colony. It was thoroughly Roman in every way and it was populated by Roman citizens. This means the majority of the believers in the church in Philippi were Roman citizens. So a Roman citizen named Paul wrote to a church of Roman citizens and had the temerity to say this:

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…

Philippians 3:20 ESV

He’s reminding them that their true identity is not first and foremost that of a Roman citizen, with all its rights and privileges, but that as citizens of heaven. Our identity must be rooted in Jesus, the one who gave up his rights for the good of others. We must hold our earthly citizenship loosely while clinging to our heavenly citizenship firmly. On a practical level, then, we should ask ourselves this question: are we known more for our hot political takes or for proclaiming Jesus Christ and him crucified? This question doesn’t preclude political involvement, but it helps reveal where we think our true citizenship is.

If the answer to that question is people are more likely going to know your particular political views than what you say about Jesus, you should become more like Jesus and lay down your rights to self-expression and your rights to hold whatever political views you hold. If your conversations with others are filled with your thoughts on masks and vaccines and vaccine requirements or your thoughts on taxes and free trade and health insurance policy and very little of Jesus, ask yourself why. Where is your true citizenship? What is your true identity? The truth is we must obey God rather than men, and God calls us to live as his witnesses in the world, yet so many would rather live as witnesses to their political party. We belong to Jesus, which means Jesus defines for us what our lives ought to be. Jesus defines for us our values. Jesus determines for us our activities. We must live in such a way that our lives point others to Jesus, not our personal views.

Life happens suddenly, even when we expect it to happen. Whether it’s the death of a loved one after a long battle with cancer, or the death of a loved one after an unexpected heart attack, or the premature birth of your child, or it’s your own on-going struggles with employment, or a sudden operation or an operation after months or years of delay, or the final break of a friendship, or just another day feeling blue, these things often hit us suddenly. To say it another way, we live in the moment, and moments either feel all too brief, or all too long, but pain and suffering always hit us quickly. Even taking your youngest child away to college feels sudden, though you knew the day would come for at least 18 years!

This suddenness of life is because we are finite creatures. We see with limited vision and limited perspective. Our ability to know the vagaries of life is scant at best. At worst, our world is utter chaos, with neither rhyme nor rhythm to it. Though we can plan for life’s emergencies, they still hit us with unexpected ferocity. Sometimes the emergencies are caused by the actions or decisions of others. Sometimes, particularly in the case of medical problems, they just happen. And sometimes we are the cause of life’s sudden problems. What is remarkable in all these cases is there is one who has never experienced an emergency, never been taken by surprise, and never feels as though he is losing control.

Consider king Ahaz of Judah. He was not a good king. In 2 Chronicles 28:3 we learn that he committed the same sins the Canaanites did, including human sacrifice. These were the people Israel was to push out of the land so that they would not participate in the Canaanites’ sin. Not only did that not happen, but the king of Judah encouraged the people of Judah to participate in these sins.

In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the LORD—this same King Ahaz. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and he shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. In every city of Judah he made high places to make offerings to other gods, provoking to anger the LORD, the God of his father.

2 Chronicles 28:22–25 ESV

Things were bad for Judah. They had lost a battle to the Syrians and rather than cause him to repent, Ahaz become more faithless to the Lord. He doubled down on his evil by enabling the people of Judah to worship these false gods, to the exclusion of worshiping the God of Israel. He closed the temple and shut down its operations! Think of this! The people of Judah stopped worshiping the LORD God altogether, at Ahaz’ instigation (see 2 Chronicles 29:7)!

In time Ahaz died and his son began to reign when he was 25 years old. At just 25 Hezekiah demonstrated more wisdom and understanding than his father ever did. He immediately began the process of restoring temple worship, which required that it be cleansed of its filth. The priests were instructed to consecrate themselves and the temple so that the sacrifices could begin again. But there was a problem.

Then Hezekiah said, “You have now consecrated yourselves to the LORD. Come near; bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were of a willing heart brought burnt offerings. The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD. And the consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. But the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so until other priests had consecrated themselves, their brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finished—for the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves.

2 Chronicles 29:31–34 ESV

There weren’t enough priests! How could this be? Hundreds of years earlier, when Solomon dedicated that very temple, he offered 22,000 sheep and 120,000 oxen, and there were plenty of priests for this (see 1 Kings 8:63)! Hezekiah offered fewer than 4,000 animals and didn’t have enough priests. It was not a population problem. There were plenty of Levites who had descended from the right family lines to serve as priests. There were not enough of them who were willing to return to the worship of the LORD God of Israel. Notice that the author indicates that the rest of the Levites were more upright than the priests. The people of Judah had sunk so far that they couldn’t find enough priests to perform the work God himself had assigned them, yet God had worked in the hearts of the other Levites, that they could assist the few priests who returned to the Lord. Then we read this remarkable statement:

Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was the fat of the peace offerings, and there were the drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the LORD was restored. And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.

2 Chronicles 29:36 ESV

For hundreds of years the people of Israel and of Judah had been wandering away from God, seeking to worship other gods. Then, under the leadership of King Ahaz, they stopped the temple worship and began worshiping other gods. This went on for years. It is also likely that many of those who had served as priests prior to Ahaz’ wicked action of closing the temple had either retired or died, and it’s likely that many of the young men of the right family line had simply never been trained as priests. Even more than sacrifice, however, God desires faith. God desires that we trust him. Because of the assistance of the non-priestly Levites, the people were able to offer their meager sacrifices to the Lord, and he gladly accepted their sacrifices.

The author tells us “the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly”. Suddenly? Was it all that sudden? Hezekiah was 25 when he began to reign. Surely there were hints that he was faithful to the God of Israel and would not continue walking the path his father Ahaz had paved for him and the people. Surely they knew that things would change when a new king was crowned. Even when you know it’s coming, life happens suddenly. God, however, never experiences suddenness. He had already prepared for the problem of not enough priests by ensuring that enough Levitical men would remain faithful that they could assist the too-few priests in their service to him on behalf of the people.

The truth is that the suddenness of life is always and only from our perspective. What this text tells us is that God was in control the entire time. When Ahaz locked the doors to the temple and stopped the sacrifices, God was preparing many for the return of the temple sacrifices. When Ahaz erected altars to false gods all over Jerusalem, he was ensuring that Hezekiah would remain faithful, though he would grow up in that wicked household. When the priests began worshiping other gods the one true God had already laid the plans for the work he would do when the time came.

It’s not hard to imagine the sense of panic and chaos when the people realized there weren’t enough priests. All these animals. All this blood. All the entrails that had to be disposed of properly. All the flaying of the sacrifices for burning on the altar—the single altar. Perhaps if they had, say, a couple months to prepare, to organize for this! Solomon had years to organize his massive sacrifice. These people had one week, and only after that week did they realize they did not have enough to be faithful to the Lord. It only felt sudden to them. God had already provided for them.

Life comes at us quickly. Whether problems arise because of our own foolish decisions, or they arise because of the foolish decisions of others, or because life simply happens, God is never surprised. We discover that he had been preparing for this day or this hour or this minute. In these moments of sudden pain and heartbreak and distress, we do not have enough to be faithful to God. We do not possess the internal resources to remain faithful, yet God has provided for us. He places people in our lives to encourage us and to exhort us and to comfort us and to guide us and to walk with us and to help us. He places us in the lives of others to step in with help during the unexpected circumstances that trouble us, whether that means providing a meal for a new family or praying for another to be comforted in the midst of grief or dropping a note in the mail or sending a text to a lonely college student or reaching out with a word of encouragement to someone laid up after surgery.

What had God provided for the people? The text says there weren’t enough priests for the sacrifices so the Levites were enlisted to help them. Then the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing had come about suddenly. What had God provided for the people? He provided people. God works in our lives through others, and he works in others’ lives through us. As we saw a few weeks ago when we looked at spiritual gifts, the real gift is the gifted person. We are each intended to be God’s blessing to others. What are you doing today to be God’s answer to someone’s prayer? Does someone need encouragement? Financial assistance? Practical help? Correction? Comfort? Friendship? Remember that God has already provided for his people and a significant way he provides is by giving us as the gift a person needs when the suddenness of life overwhelms. Be someone’s answer to prayer. Be the person God uses to bless.

In 2005 in eastern Turkey, some shepherds were quietly eating breakfast while “tending” sheep from their village. As they ate the sheep were grazing. One of the sheep wandered dangerously close to a cliff—and then fell to its death. Sheep, being sheep and therefore utterly lacking a sense of direction and utterly lacking, well, sense, began to follow this foolish sheep over the cliff. The first 400 or so sheep died when they hit the bottom. The remaining 1,100 sheep—yes, ELEVEN-HUNDRED—also went over the cliff but their fall was broken by the bodies of those who had gone before them. Many of the first sheep to go over the cliff died by being crushed by the weight of the sheep above them.

Sheep are very prone to follow the crowd. This is due to the fact that sheep are rather defenseless. They can kick and they can head-butt people or predators, but they lack any real defense. They are truly dependent on their shepherds for their very lives.

I find it a source of endless amusement that Scripture routinely refers to people as sheep. This is not a compliment. Just think of Psalm 23 in this light. The Lord is our shepherd. He’s the one who leads us to green pastures and still waters. Sheep need still water for if they fall into a fast-moving stream, they will drown. Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we have no need to fear for the Lord is with us. If he were not, every danger would be a life-threatening danger, for sheep are defenseless.

Understanding the context of sheep opens up the real meaning of many such passages. Consider John 10:30.

I and the Father are one.

John 10:30 ESV

We recognize this for what it is: Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God. This is how those who heard him understood it (see John 10:33). The context for this statement, however, has everything to do with sheep.

At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

John 10:22–30 ESV

Earlier in the chapter Jesus declared he is the Good Shepherd. Unlike hired hands who run at the first hint of danger, he will never forsake his sheep but would lay down his life for them. Though he had demonstrated his divine nature through his teaching and his miracles on numerous occasions, on this particular day the Jewish people demanded that he speak plainly. If he is the long-promised Messiah, he should say so.

It is very interesting that he says they are not part of his flock. If they were his sheep, they would follow him and believe him. They are not part of his sheep. He’s indicating that he already knows every single person who will believe and follow him—he knows his sheep, and they are not among them.

Remember that sheep are utterly defenseless and are prone to wander into danger. Sheep are prone to follow whomever is in front of them, even if it means falling off a cliff to their death. Notice that Jesus says his sheep hear his voice and follow him—not other sheep! Following other sheep is dangerous! Each individual sheep will follow the voice of its shepherd. The problem in eastern Turkey was the shepherds were not paying attention. Jesus never gets distracted. Notice his promise: they will never perish. That is, Jesus will never be eating breakfast and forget to pay attention to his flock that is getting dangerously close to a cliff. They will never perish. He declares that no one will snatch them out of his hand. Earlier in John Jesus said,

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

John 6:37–39 ESV

Jesus promises to save every one of his sheep. In John 10 he declares that this is so because his sheep will know him and will recognize his voice and will follow him. He will never lose a single sheep along the way. Ever. When he says no one will snatch his sheep from his hand he means that the enemy, who fights against God at every turn, will not have victory over the people of God. Not a single one who belongs to the flock of Jesus will be lost. It’s not always the enemy of God, however. Sheep tend to follow other sheep, even down the wrong path. Because his promise is that his sheep will ultimately follow his voice, his sheep will remain safely within his flock, even as they sometimes try to wander away. This is because no one—not others and not even yourself—can snatch a single sheep from his hand. Notice what Jesus says next.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.

John 10:29–30 ESV

The Son of God points the people to God the Father and declares he is greater than all others. Everyone there hearing these words would have acknowledged the absolute sovereignty and absolute power of God. Jesus says that the Father, with his sovereign power, will keep his sheep safe within his divine hands. No one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. It is at this point that he declares that he and his Father are one. His hands are as powerful as his Father’s hands, which means the hands of Jesus are infinitely powerful.

There is no danger you and I can face that Jesus cannot control. There is no disease or bodily ailment or mental ailment that can pluck us from his hand. There is no mortal danger—no matter how high the cliff—that can separate us from our Good Shepherd who knows each and every one of his sheep. If you are in Christ there is no one, not even yourself, who can pluck you from his divine, omnipotent, loving hands. Whatever you and I face in this life, we face with our Good Shepherd standing right there, calling out to us with his voice that we may know how to follow, using his rod and his staff to comfort us as he prote

The most common question related to spiritual gifts is this: “What is my gift?” Closely related to it is this: “How can I discover my spiritual gift?” There are tests that seek to help a person discover his or her gift, but these are not the best way. The best way to discover your gift is in community. Ask others how God has used you in their lives. I find that praying with others is a great way to see their gifts on display, for a believer’s focus in prayer tends toward his or her spiritual gift. Find yourself praying for others to be encouraged? Yep. You’re probably an encourager. Do you pray for God to meet their material needs? You might have the gift of mercy or perhaps the gift of giving. Over time, one’s prayer life can help discern one’s gift.

Here’s another way. Consider the following scenario. You show up to City Group one night and discover that someone had invited a young woman she met at the library to join the group. This woman shares with the group that she had recently lost her job and the father of her two children had just walked out on them, leaving her with no money. They’re already behind on rent and are facing eviction in less than a month. She wants to work but she cannot afford childcare, and even if she could, she had been relying on his car, and he left her. She’s also not sure if she could pass a drug screen because no matter what, she continues to struggle with addiction. As if that weren’t enough, she says she found a lump in the shower a few weeks ago and she’s afraid to go to the doctor. She lost her health insurance when she lost her last job. She confesses she knows very little about religion or about Jesus. She remembers the church her mother took her to when she was a girl. That church promised that if she had faith, her life would turn out well. She tries to have faith, but she knows it’s not enough since her life is a mess. She asks why God is punishing her with all these problems.

Yes, this scenario is completely made up, and yes, I made it as big a mess as I could. In all these problems, what stands out to you? What moved you inside? Was it her lack of knowledge of Jesus? Are you immediately concerned about her faith? Perhaps your gift is evangelism. Were you moved by her pain, her feelings of isolation? Do you want to just sit with her and wrap your arms around her? You may have the gift of mercy. Did you think to yourself that you could help with rent, that with a financial gift you could remove a substantial burden from her? Your gift might be giving. Did you think of all the errors she has been taught and feel the urge to correct the false teaching she’s received by sharing the truth of Jesus? You might be a teacher. Maybe you were struck by her desire to work and her inability to pay for childcare and you thought, “Hey, I can watch a couple kids for her!” You might have the gift of service. If you wondered about inviting her over to your home just to have a nice meal and a relaxing time, hospitality might be your gift. Do you find yourself thinking that you don’t have much to offer by way of material support but you can do this: you can pray for her and pray fervently? You may have the gift of faith. Did you think, “Oh, my. Someone needs to help her with her rent, and someone needs to help her find a job, and someone needs to help her get signed up for health insurance, and someone needs to organize childcare, and someone needs to arrange meals for her, and someone needs to take her to upcoming doctor visits, and someone needs to coordinate all these things”? You might be an administrator.

Whatever your inclinations are in this scenario, they are likely the prompting of the Holy Spirit. As we saw last Sunday, a spiritual gift is the manifestation of the Spirit:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

1 Corinthians 12:4–7 ESV

Though our gifts are very different, they all come from the same source. Whether you give or you organize or you sit and comfort or you teach or you encourage or you offer practical help, you are serving the Lord and thus the Spirit is manifested in your service. The great Augustine wrote about spiritual gifts and put it this way:

For not everyone has all of them, but some have these and others those, although each has the Gift himself by whom the things proper to each one are divided, namely, the Holy Spirit.

Augustine, “On The Trinity”, 15

The truth is that nobody has all the spiritual gifts. However, there is one body that does: the body of Christ. Because Christ is present in his fullness in the assembly and because he sent us his Spirit who dwells among us in his fullness, we—together—have all the gifts, for the Spirit manifests himself among us in ways he sees fit. Because the Spirit manifests himself through gifted people and because followers of Jesus are gifted differently as the Lord sees fit, we need you. You are the missing piece! We need the entire body of Christ committed to serving one another according to our giftedness, so that we might function as his full and complete body. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians,

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am 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 should 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. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 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 parts, yet one body.

1 Corinthians 12:14–20 ESV

There’s only one body, and that body is the body of Christ. This means each and every part is essential, regardless of which part it is. If you do not know what your spiritual gift is, ask others. Ask those in your City Group how God uses you in their lives. They may not have an immediate answer, but ask them to pray and help you discover what your gift is. One of the incredible things about our spiritual gifts is this: we enjoy using them. When you discover your spiritual gift you will discover how much you enjoy exercising that gift, and you may well discover you’ve been using it all along, just with less intentionality than you now have. A spiritual gift is a gift, something that is intended to bless the one receiving it. If you are in Christ, you have received a gift and so God intends for you to enjoy that gift, but never forget that you yourself are the gift given to the church. This means God intends for the church to enjoy the gift he’s given to her.

Last Sunday we looked at the incredible topic of spiritual gifts—manifestations of the Holy Spirit given to each follower of Jesus. We are empowered by God’s Spirit to do things that reveal the presence of God among us, whether these are speaking gifts or serving gifts. Those who speak are to do so as if they were declaring the oracles of God and those who serve are to do so in the strength God himself supplies. In short, whether we speak or we do, we are to serve one another in the ways in which God himself would if he were physically present.

Paul wrote this to the Corinthians, and it provides us with a working definition of a spiritual gift:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

1 Corinthians 12:4–7 ESV

A spiritual gift is the manifestation of the Spirit of God through us for the common good. One question that often comes to mind is this: how many gifts are there? As we saw last Sunday, Peter groups spiritual gifts into two broad categories: speaking gifts and serving gifts. One either serves the body of Christ with words or one serves the body of Christ with actions (see 1 Peter 4:10–11). Paul lists spiritual gifts in a number of places and it’s fairly clear that he wasn’t trying to provide an exhaustive list.

• 1 Corinthians 12:8–10
  • wisdom
  • knowledge
  • faith
  • healing
  • miracles
  • prophecy
  • distinguishing spirits
  • tongues
  • interpretation of tongues
• 1 Corinthians 12:28
  • apostleship
  • prophecy
  • teaching
  • miracles
  • healing
  • helping
  • administration
  • tongues
• Ephesians 4:11
  • apostle
  • prophet
  • evangelist
  • pastor
  • teacher
• Romans 12:6–8
  • prophecy
  • serving
  • teaching
  • exhortation
  • giving
  • leadership
  • mercy

There is clearly some overlap in these lists of gifts, but it’s also clear that Paul is not trying to list every possible spiritual gift in any of these places. In 1 Corinthians he even names two unexpected gifts!

I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.

1 Corinthians 7:7 ESV

The context of this verse is marriage and celibacy, and Paul refers to these as gifts from God! A spiritual gift is any manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. If one’s marriage is used for the common good it is a gift from God for the whole church. If one’s celibacy is used for the common good it is a gift from God for the whole church. How a particular gift works itself out will vary from person to person. A 90-lb woman, for example, may well have the gift of service but this doesn’t mean the Spirit will manifest his presence through her helping people move heavy furniture, while a 190-lb man with the gift of service may manifest the Spirit through lifting heavy things for others. The gift of service may come through cooking meals for others or by providing childcare or transportation to and from doctors’ appointments or by helping with home repairs. The gift of service is the manifestation of the Spirit through serving others for the common good. One person with the gift of hospitality may manifest the Spirit by visiting with a shut-in while another with the gift of hospitality may manifest the Spirit by sharing a meal with a house filled with guests.

Just as Paul refers to marriage and celibacy as gifts from the Lord, the Old Testament mentions another unexpected gift:

Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.
“Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded.”

Exodus 35:30–36:1 ESV

God had given Moses very detailed instructions for building the tabernacle with its furniture, along with the priestly garments and utensils. It is incredible to think that the Spirit of God filled Bezalel, so that he might be a skilled craftsman for the common good of the people of Israel. I am reminded of my father-in-law who could take a pile of wood and make anything you wanted with it. (Compare that to me: I can take a pile of wood and put it anywhere you wanted it.) He faithfully used his skill and craftsmanship to serve a variety of Christian camps by building and repairing whatever those camps needed, and thus manifested the Spirit of God for the common good.

Quite simply, a spiritual gift is any ability you have to serve others for the common good. If you do this according to Peter’s instructions, you are serving the church with your spiritual gift. If you serve with words, you must do so as if you were speaking the very words of God. If you serve with actions, you must do so in the strength God supplies. By serving one another, we build up the body of Christ and we provide the world around us a glimpse of the future. The apostle Paul says the Spirit of God is a down payment on the future:

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:13–14 ESV

The power of the Spirit we experience in this present life is a glimpse of what is to come. One day our unity will be perfect, for the body of Christ will have been completely built. Until then, we build up the body by serving one another as the Spirit of God manifests himself through each one of us.

This brings us back to the original question: how many spiritual gifts are there? The answer is to understand what a gift really is—it is the person filled with the Spirit. The gift is the person given to the church. There are as many spiritual gifts as there are followers of Jesus. Don’t leave your gift wrapped and stuck in the closet. Let the church unwrap it. Let’s build up the body of Christ together.