Growing up, what “superpower” did you want more than anything else?
For me it was flying. What would it feel like, even for a few moments, to fly in the clouds? To get from one place to another in record speed and view all of life from above?
The Bible says that every child of God has been given a “superpower”.
It might not always feel like the comic book proportion, but the Holy Spirit has given you or will give you a spiritual gift and IT IS A SUPERPOWER.
It’s supernatural. It’s not you; it’s God given, God empowered and God expressed.
I feel like over the past year of the pandemic, the Holy Spirit took us inward. We examined ourselves and had a time of confession. Now, I believe the Spirit is asking us to look outward, and a big part of this is moving forward with Him in our spiritual gifting.
For the next four weeks, we’re going to be looking what I Corinthians 12 tells us about spiritual gifts. Paul has some well-chosen words in this chapter about what he sees in Corinth concerning their spiritual gifts. (Spoiler alert – the believers in Corinth were extremely spiritually gifted, but incredibly immature.)
Below are three verses from I Corinthians 12 that highlight much of Paul’s heart on this topic.
I would love for you to meditate on these verses as we walk through these next weeks:
- I Corinthians 12:11: All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
- I Corinthians 12:13: For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
- I Corinthians 12:26: If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
As we move into this series and discover our “superpowers” together, it is with full dependence on the miraculous enabling of the Holy Spirit within us!
God has equipped each and every one of us to build up the church and be used in a world that desperately needs the Savior’s love and grace. Our use or neglect of these gifts sends ripples into eternity.
Father, pour out your Spirit on us and move us forward together!
Much love,
David Anderson
P.S. I’m not always a big fan of spiritual gift tests and inventories, but here’s one that I’ve found to be helpful. It’s thorough and takes 30-60 minutes to complete. One of the features I like is that the results can be emailed not only to you, but also to a person of influence in your life. Consider having a close friend, discipler, or small group leader process these results with you.
