Daily Bible Verses for 1/19/2017
Daily Verse(s)
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Reading Notes
The spiritual gifts we receive from God through the Holy Spirit are given to us by grace. Moreover, they are also given to us directly by Jesus Himself. They are given as part of our placement into the body of Christ, which is the church. This means that the nature of the gift and the way they are used are all under the sovereign control of God. Each set of gifts is given in a combination that is unique to every person. They are given in accordance with our faith in Jesus, and they are administered by the Holy Spirit who indwells each and every believer. Knowing that salvation itself is an unmerited gift of God, given to an undeserved humanity, because of God’s love for us, we should all the more cherish and use our gifts to the glory of God and the spread of the Gospel. These gifts are given as a direct result of God’s desire, that as many as will come to Him, will spend eternity in His presence.
Therefore, our reasonable service includes our love for Jesus, our love for others as well as honoring God through the use of our spiritual gifts as directed by the Holy Spirit. And doing so for the edification of the body of Christ and to help those in need around us. Our ministry as followers of Jesus will always include helping others in need and spreading the Gospel of Christ to a lost and dying world. Has we look at these passages, we should understand that the list of the different gifts, is given here by the apostle Paul in order to help us understand each believer is given a unique combination of gifts. And even though we each have a different blending of gifts, we are all one, through our faith in Jesus and adoption into the family of God. Therefore, we all come together as one body in Christ, which is the church. Moreover, we come together for the glorification of God the Father, through Christ Jesus our Lord. And we do so in humility and love, not esteeming ourselves one above the other. We do this so that we through the use of our gifts, out of our love for others, can make ourselves the light of Christ in a dark and dying world, a world that is at enmity with God and under the influence of the one the Apostle Paul calls, “the prince of the power of the air,” who is Satan.