“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

As each one has received a gift,

“As” means to the degree that we received our gift. “As” establishes an analogy between the grace with which we received our gift and the grace with which we are to minister the gift. By grace we received the gift, and by grace we use it. We serve God because God gives, not because we earn the right to be used by God. God gave us our gift entirely by grace, and we minister it entirely by grace. 

“Each one” indicates that every Christian has at least one spiritual gift. God excludes no one in the distribution of gifts to the body of Christ. We receive these special supernatural endowments at our salvation (1 Co 12:11-13). Spiritual gifts enable the body of Christ to function as a whole (1 Co 12:15,21). All spiritual gifts must operate in the environment of love (1 Co 13). We should give the highest priority to gifts related to maturity (1 Co 14). 

Each of us “received” the gift. We did not work for it. We did not earn it. God gave it to us with no strings attached. Everything we have, God has given us. Therefore, there is no ground for bragging. What do we have to brag about? 

What did we do to get the gift? Nothing. It was a donation. How did we “receive” our gift? By grace. We do not get this gift by some super sacrifice, by working for it, by hustling for it, by living a clean life, or by agonizing in the closet. Since we did nothing to acquire our spiritual gift, we should minister it in grace. 

1 Co 4:7, “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

This use of the word “gift” is the only occurrence outside Paul’s writings. A spiritual “gift” is a supernatural bestowal of a capacity to serve the body of Christ or to reach those without Christ. It is a special, supernatural endowment from the Holy Spirit for the work of God (Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 1:7; 12:4, 9, 28, 30, 31; 1 Ti. 4:14; 2 Ti. 1:6; 1 Pet. 4:10). 

The word “gift” derives from the same root as “grace,” denoting something freely given, a favor bestowed. A gift is the capacity to benefit the body of Christ. The Christian cannot claim that this capacity came from himself. He cannot claim to produce this gift because it was a grace given by God. Our gifts belong to the purpose of God. 

Two chapters in the New Testament catalog the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Romans 12 catalogs seven gifts, and First Corinthians 12 catalogs 11 gifts. Some gifts are duplications. After eliminating duplicates, there are 14 distinct gifts in those two chapters. In total, there are over 20 gifts when we consider the aggregate of the New Testament’s gifts. 

PRINCIPLE:

We exercise our gift in grace because we received our gift by grace.

APPLICATION:

God does not want us to be ambivalent about the gifts he gives us. In fact, he warns us not to neglect our gifts:

1 Ti 4:14, “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.”

Some of us may not feel gifted, but God has gifted us. We may not have a public gift or a sensational gift, but we have a gift. Paul tells us to activate our latent gifts. Our gifts will not function without animating them. To discover our gift, we must read the label on it to see if God addresses it to us.

2 Ti 1:6, “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”

If someone gave us a gift at Christmas and we threw it in the attic unopened, it would be an insult to the giver. If Christians receive special supernatural endowments to do the work of God and leave them latent, this is an insult to God who gave the gift. God gave every Christian a special endowment to serve him without exception.

Will you stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ empty-handed, with no evidence of having used your gift responsibly? It will do no good to say, “Well, I wasn’t talented. I do not have anything to offer the church. I am a speckled bird that does not fit in. I couldn’t do anything. All I could do was sit. All I could do was be a religious spectator all my life. I watch others serve. All I can do is pity myself all these years.” 

Neglecting our gift indicates a lack of appreciation for God’s grace. Very few Christians seize their gifts and use them for God’s glory and the benefit of the body of Christ. Never did so many owe so much to so few.