In our house, we have different talents. My wife is creative and caring. I’m logical, organized, and handy. Jeremiah is intelligent and empathetic. Levi is adventurous and warm. Sam is wild and crazy. We all have different talents, personalities, and gifts that help compose us as people. God is our Creator and He is the one who made us the way that we are. I’m thankful that God made each of us the way that He made us.
So also, with the church. God has made each member of the church the way that he or she is and He has done so according to His great wisdom, by His great power, and for His great glory.
Today, Paul is going to talk about some of the gifts that God has given to the church. Today’s sermon is entitled, “The Gracious Gifts of God.”
Before we go any further with our sermon, let’s go to God now in prayer and ask Him to graciously give us the gift of His blessings as we study His Word.
(prayer)
You may remember that we are studying the book of Romans. Last week, we covered Romans 12:1-2 and 9-21. We skipped verses 3-8. Well, as I said, we’re going to cover those verses today.
Let’s read the entire passage and then we’ll talk about it. Look at Romans 12:3-8:
3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; 7 if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8 if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.
So, today we’re going to look at the gracious gifts of God. As we look at these gifts, we’re going to learn three characteristics concerning these gifts.
First, . . .
I. These gifts are from God.
Look at what Paul says in verse 3:
For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.
First of all, we know that God is our Creator.
Everything that we have He has given us.
So, generally, we know that God is the giver of all good things.
However, look at what Paul says at the end of verse 3. He says, “God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.”
So, it is God who gives us faith and the gifts that we possess that are a result of our faith in God.
Listen, you and I do not have any gifts or talents, and we certainly don’t have any spiritual gifts or talents that did not come from God.
As James tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above . . .” (James 1:17)
First, we must recognize that these gifts are from God.
Second, . . .
II. These gifts are of grace.
Paul starts this section by stating that he has been given grace.
Paul says in verse 3, “For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you . . .”
You see, as Paul is teaching the followers of Jesus in Rome, he is doing so with authority. He has that authority because he is an apostle of Jesus.
Well, who made him an apostle? God did.
Why did God make Paul an apostle? Because God graciously gives spiritual gifts to His people.
Paul said, “By the grace given me.” So, Paul acknowledges that his apostleship is given by the grace of God.
Look also at verse 6. Paul says, “According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts.”
Paul makes sure that we understand that not only did he receive his gift of apostleship by God’s grace but all of us who are God’s children also receive different spiritual gifts according to God’s grace.
Well, if God gave these gifts of grace to us, what did we have to do to earn them? Nothing!
You and I did not do anything to earn our gifts of grace, God gave us these gifts of grace.
In fact, Paul tells us back in verse 3, “I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think.”
Well, why not? Why should we not think of ourselves more highly than we should? The reason is that every good thing that we have; including every gift, skill, and talent that we have, is a gift from God.
God gave it to us so we can’t take any credit for it. We should not brag about ourselves or the gifts we have and we should not think too highly of ourselves.
Every spiritual gift that we have is from God and every spiritual gift that we have is of the grace of God.
Church, we are not only saved by grace but we are gifted by God’s grace to use gifts of grace.
Paul also has a main reason in mind for the use of these gifts.
That takes us to our final point:
III. These gifts are for the church.
The gifts that God has given us, by His grace, are to be used for the benefit of the church of Jesus Christ.
Listen to what Paul says in verses 3-5. Pay attention to the language about the multiple gifts among the people of the church:
3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.
Paul is clearly presenting a view where the people of the church have different functions for the benefit of one another.
Through the gifting of God and the grace of God, we come together as the people of God, united as one body in Jesus.
Paul then highlights a few gifts of grace in this passage.
It’s important to remember that there is no indication that Paul intends for this list to be an exhaustive list of all the gifts of grace that are available to God’s people. However, Paul does list a few.
Let’s look at the gifts that Paul lists:
Paul lists prophecy, service, teaching, exhorting, giving, leading, and showing mercy.
First, prophecy is to be used according to the proportion of one’s faith.
Some translations say that this verse could read, “according to the proportion of the faith.”
In other words, this prophecy is to be done according to the true work of God.
By the way, prophecy is speaking the word of God. So, the person who speaks what God is speaking must do so in a way that is truly consistent with God Himself, with God’s Word, and with how God is working in our lives.
In fact, Paul even gives instruction in 1 Corinthians 14:29 for others to evaluate what someone prophecies in the church.
So, if one of us says that he or she has a word directly from God, we should listen and then evaluate it to determine if what we’re saying is really from God.
Well, that’s a little bit about prophecy in the church.
Paul also speaks of service.
The Greek word for service here is the same word from where we get the word deacon. However, I don’t think Paul is only speaking about deacons.
However, just for the record, being a deacon is all about being a servant, so this certainly applies to deacons.
Nevertheless, Paul says that some people are particularly gifted for serving others.
We saw some of that this week, as many of you were serving others who were in need.
Many of you have asked how you can serve Pastor Dirck and his family after their car accident.
Some people are just gifted to serve others for the benefit of the church. Paul says if you have that gift, then serve away.
Then, we have the gift of teaching.
Some people in the church have the gift of teaching. I’d like to think that I do; otherwise, I’m in the wrong kind of work.
This gift of teaching is the ability to understand the Bible and God’s ways, and then communicate them in a way that others can understand.
By the way, this is one of the few distinctions between the qualifications for a deacon and the qualifications for a pastor. If someone cannot teach, they are not qualified to be a pastor.
However, pastors are not the only ones to teach in the church. Many of you have the gift of teaching and are very qualified as teachers in the church.
So, Paul would tell you teachers to teach away.
Next, Paul mentions exhorting.
This idea of exhorting is helping, comforting, encouraging, or counseling.
In fact, the Greek word here is parakaleō which sounds very familiar to the word Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit as the Helper. Jesus refers to the Spirit as the paraklētos. So, when you exhort others, you are doing one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit. That’s pretty cool.
So, if you have the gift of helping, comforting, or encouraging others, then exhort away and do so for the glory of God and the benefit of the church.
Next, Paul mentions giving.
God has made some of you to be supernaturally inclined to be generous in your giving.
My wife has been gifted this way. I joke that she would give away our home if I didn’t stop her from doing so.
So, if you have the supernatural gift of giving, give generously and do so with joy.
Next, Paul mentions leading.
We need godly, grace-filled, leaders in the church; and God, by His grace has given some the gift of leadership.
The Bible is clear that pastors are the primary leaders of the church but there are many others who are also called to lead in the church.
Paul says that those who lead should lead as diligent leaders.
Finally, Paul mentions showing mercy.
I don’t know about you but I’m thankful for those who are merciful. Sometimes, I really need someone who will show mercy.
Paul said that God has gifted some to show mercy with cheerfulness. By God’s grace, these people love to show mercy. That’s incredible!
There are certainly other spiritual gifts of God’s grace. This list does not include every gift. However, it does include several that Paul wanted to mention to the church in Rome.
One small caution here as well. I believe each of these gifts should be exhibited, at least in part, by every Christian.
So, don’t try to excuse yourself away from something that all Christians should be doing by saying that it’s just not your gift.
Paul’s point is not to say that only certain Christians can do certain spiritual things. Rather, Paul is saying God in His grace has supernaturally gifted some Christians with these gifts as their primary gifts in the church body.
So, let us remember that these gifts are from God, they are of grace, and they are for the church.
That takes us to our bottom line:
Bottom Line: We must use God’s gifts for His church.
God has designed us as His children to use our gifts and God has designed his church to operate by using His gifts.
So, we must use God’s gifts for His church.
When you use your gifts, it benefits the church and honors God. When I use my gifts, it benefits the church and honors God.
So, let’s see those gifts of grace being used.
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Determine what gifts God has given you.
Look at this list. Look at 1 Corinthians 12. Do some research online.
Spend time in prayer and ask God to reveal to you how He has gifted you to serve for His glory.
Ask trusted Christians in your life what they think your gifts might be.
Determine what gifts God has given you.
Weekly Challenge #2 – Resolve to use God’s gifts for the church.
Once you know what gift God has given you, put that thing to work. Use your gifts for the good of the church and the glory of God.
We need each other and we need each other’s gift of grace.
So, resolve to use your gift for the glory of God.
If you need help thinking about how you can use your gift, please let one of our pastors know or someone else who you know loves Jesus and loves you.
(Gospel presentation)
Because of God’s grace, He has given us these gifts. It’s because of His grace that he’s given us all that we need.
(closing prayer)
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