Discipleship Outcome #4: Spiritual Gifts

Mission and Vision

From Vintage Faith Church’s Vision Statement:

Understanding and cultivating our own spiritual giftedness, finding purpose in being released while serving others using those gifts. Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Peter 4:11, Ephesians 4:11-16, Matthew 28:16-20

What does a disciple of Christ do? So far, we have seen that a disciple seeks God as his or her greatest treasure, obeys God by walking in the Spirit, and tells others about this God and what God has done in their life. So far it would be easy to sum up as:

Seek God. Obey God. Tell others about God

Today we are going to look at serving in the name of God. For the purpose of the building up and strengthening of the church, you have been given a gift. You quite possibly have been given a cluster of gifts.

“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

These gifts are for the common good of the body of Christ. They are given by the Spirit, we did not and cannot choose them. We can desire them, but we do not get to choose them.

“All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” 1 Corinthians 12:11

These gifts may or may not align with our natural dispositions, our history, and our temperaments. For instance, the gift of administration. “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.” 1 Corinthians 12:28.

Some Christians who excel in administrative leadership may have naturally leaned that way before they came to faith, and the Lord will and does empower them to use that natural ability in the church. However, the gift is new from the Spirit, for work in the church to build up the church. The natural ability is also a gift from God, however in a different way, and has been used possibly much of their life. Gifts and natural abilities intersect and are often used together.

To use an example of how gifts may not intersect at all with natural abilities and design, take for a moment the gift of teaching. Its not an embellishment for me to say that I meet many pastors who say, “I was introverted and quiet, but after I came to faith I felt this great burden to speak about the things of God publicly.” I would put myself in this category. When I find myself in the church using speaking gifts to build up the body, there are times where I think, “this seems to be out of step with who I was and with my natural disposition,” however, the more I lean into it, the more it now feels natural. I guess that is all part of the Lord changing us in Christ.

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;” Romans 12:6-7

You may be wondering what your spiritual gifts are? I hope you are. This is good. How do you find out? Well, I myself have taken and seen many of the spiritual gift tests. I won’t advise you not to take them, but, I don’t think taking these tests is the best way to go about discovering your gifts. In fact, I think God has already given us the design for discovering our gifts.

Fellowship in the local body.

The best way to discover how God has uniquely designed you, and what gifts he has given to you for the building up of the body of Christ is to lean into fellowship and the activity of the church. What is the church doing? Do that! Of course, we all have limitations here. We are all in stages of life where certain hours and days are unavailable to us, but, the best that we can, we should prioritize body life in the church. This is how our gifts emerge. And, this is how God affirms you in those gifts. As others in the body are built up and encouraged by you using your gifts, they, you, and the church begins to affirm it and acknowledging it. We do not self appoint ourselves as having certain gifts. We may sense them in us, and we may have passion for one gift or another, but it is the body of Christ that will affirm if we have the gift or not.

Do you love to pray for the saints? Do you often stop a brother or sister and ask them in the midst of a discussion if you could pray for them? YES! You are using your gift. Do you desire to bless the hurting in the church? YES! Mercy. Is your spouse annoyed at you because you constantly are sharing verses, unpacking them, maybe quotes from books.. Maybe you have the gift of teaching? Maybe God wants you to use it in the local church to build up the body.

All of these gifts have versatility and use outside of the church in the world as well, but they are primarily to be used to build the body. Let’s look at the gift of evangelism for a moment. This gift is going to primarily, however, not exclusively, happen outside of the church. But, if your evangelism does not eventually result in the person who comes to faith being an active and growing member in a local church, then it is not successful evangelism. It is not actually building the body. All of the gifts are to be used to build up the body. The body is the local church. Evangelism builds up the body by addition. Teaching builds up the body by strengthening and knowledge. Exhortation builds up the body by members turning from sin and walking in the truth. Administration builds up the body by the church becoming better organized, and stronger systematically and structurally.

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 12:18-20

This might be the best question to ask yourself when attempting to discover your spiritual gift. When I am around the body of Christ, in our case, the people of VFC, how do I desire to encourage people? What is my first impulse when I feel God moving in me? When I’m filled with the Spirit what moves inside of me to share with others in the church out of love for them? Is it an act of mercy? Is it a desire to share a teaching? Do you often feel lead to pray with people? Do you see an unorganized aspect of church life and think, “I can get that running way smoother!” See, one body, many parts. You are here because God has placed you here. You have a gift that our body needs.

We are called to discover, cultivate, and use our gifts. This is part of the stewardship of all of life which we will look at next week in the final discipleship outcome.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:10-11

Serving the body by the strength God supplies,

Pastor Anthony Valentine

Steve BrownJune 26, 2025