There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The Use of Spiritual Gifts

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. ² You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. ³ Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. ⁶ There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. ⁷ But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

¹² For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. ¹³ For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴ For the body is not one member, but many. ¹⁵ If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. ¹⁹ If they were all one member, where would the body be? ²⁰ But now there are many members, but one body. ²¹ And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; ²³ and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, ²⁴ whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, ²⁵ so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

In today’s text it says:  Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.  But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.  For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;  to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,  and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.  But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.  For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.  This is describing the functioning together of spiritual gifts and ministries in the church. To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.   So, to function properly, the church needs every person operating in the spiritual gifts they have been given and each gift is not for the benefit of the one who is gifted, but rather for the benefit of all. The text says:  For the body is not one member, but many.  If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.  And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?  But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.  If they were all one member, where would the body be?  But now there are many members, but one body.  And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”  In much of the church today there are many members who are not functioning. The church needs them all to be working in order to be whole; to be what God desires the church to be. Think how little you could accomplish if only one half or one quarter of your body was actually doing what it is supposed to do. Yet, if even half of believers would actually begin to walk and work in their gifting and calling, this country and the whole world would see an awakening and revival such as has never been seen.

The text says:  God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked,  so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.   Often in the church, people feel that they are unimportant or unappreciated because they have what is perceived as a lessor gift or ministry. In Acts 6:1-8 it says:  Nowat this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of theHellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.  So the twelve summoned thecongregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.  But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to theministry of the word.”  The statement found approval with the wholecongregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas andNicolas, aproselyte from Antioch.  And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them. The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders andsigns among the people. First, it is important to understand that it was not that the apostles thought it was beneath them to serve tables, but rather that for them to do that would take from their time doing their main ministry. They needed others so that they could work efficiently in their gifting.  Stephen did not look at his assignment as merely serving people, but rather serving God. As he served tables, he also performed great wonders and signs among the people. Remember that the text says: Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.  There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.  It is the same Spirit that is in every believer and the gifts and power are distributed as the Spirit wills. So, the Spirit enables and empowers every believer to do whatever is necessary to accomplish God’s will. Each person then, even though they may have a particular gifting, can for the good of the body and to accomplish God’s will, be empowered with, a word of wisdom through the Spirit, a word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; faith by the same Spirit; gifts of healing by the one Spirit  and the effecting of miracles. Each one may prophecy and distinguish or discern spirits, If necessary, each one may speak in tongues or interpret tongues. In Acts 1:8 Jesus says:  “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” The same Spirit empowers every believer. Each person is empowered to do whatever is necessary to accomplish God’s will. The text says that each one needs to do their part so that: there may be no division in the body.  There is no I in church, but for the church to be whole, it needs u.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, may we in the church truly become like You. Just as You are three but One, may we also be unified, doing all that You have created and called us to do. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven as we become unified in and through the Spirit.  Amen.