Mentoring, discipling, teaching and leading require the teacher to know themselves. It is imperative for the teacher to know who they are in Christ. They should be willing to go through an assessment of their gifts. Once they know themselves their responsibility to others can now be fulfilled, which is to help others discover and use their gifts.
There are fundamental points regarding spiritual gifts that have been mentioned earlier in the chapter and all disciples should be aware of this. These can be summarised as:
- We are gifted for God’s work.
The gifts are given for the common good, for service, and the building up of God’s kingdom. 1 Corinthians 12:7 says, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good”. This is also captured in 1 peter 4:10 which says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms”. Gifts are certainly not for personal gain.
- Gifts are to be used for service.
In Ephesians 2:10 it is written, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” According to each ones’ purpose gifts were given to be used to accomplish purpose. We should nature and safeguard those gifts and use them for the service they were meant to accomplish.
- Gifts are Given, not earned.
All gifts are of equal value and are necessary for the church to function properly. Gifts do not necessarily represent a measure of how much God loves us and they are also not a mark of spiritual maturity. To whom much is given much is expected. A person with many gifts is not more important than one with a few gifts, what is vital in the eyes of God is stewardship of the gift for the intended purpose. We are all equal and we all have an important role to play in the body of Christ and all roles are just as important.
- If not gifted in an area, we still must obey the command.
If one has been commanded in the word of God to help, to be hospitable, merciful, giving, faithful, evangelise, encourage others, etc. WE MUST STILL OBEY THE COMMAND as obedience is better than sacrifice. We must do the best we can despite lacking the gift. The only difference is that those who are gifted will find it easier to execute and will have a passion for it, however this does not excuse the rest from obeying the commands. Those with the gifts will certainly be able to do it at a large scale.
- Spiritual Gifts are developed over time.
Having a gift does not make a person an expert, the skills related to the gifting develop over time and require learning and persistence. For example, one with a gift of worship will need to work on being able to play the piano, guitar etc. Those with leadership gifting can learn about communication, conflict resolution, organizational and planning skills, delegation, team building, etc. Those with a mercy gift might seek training in counselling to expand the use of their gift. Also, in different seasons of our lives, God develops different gifts.
- Gift combinations Function Differently.
It’s helpful to realize that gift combinations function differently. Someone with teaching and knowledge gifts may have an academic style. Another with teaching and mercy or pastor/shepherd gifts may have a more approachable, relational style. And certainly, teaching adults is different than teaching children! You can learn from others who have similar gifting, but also from those who are different.
- Spiritual gifts are a piece of a bigger puzzle.
Your combination of gifts, life skills, temperament, personal history, and ministry passion is unique. Knowing one’s spiritual gift(s) is an important piece of the puzzle, but there are many other pieces! One needs to determine their ministry burden or passion. This is the purpose that the creator (LORD) has placed in our hearts.