Friday, October 2, 2009

October 2, 2009

"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up." Ephesians 4:11-13
What would happen to a baseball team that was made up entirely of pitchers. How good would that team be? Unless those pitchers were so good that no one was able to hit their pitches or unless the pitchers were able to play other positions, that team would struggle. You need nine players playing to their strengths to have a winning team.
How about a football team with eleven linebackers? Linebackers are an important part of the team, but without a quarterback, or a running back, or wide receivers, or linemen or a tight end, you will not have an effective team.
A basketball team with five point guards would struggle to rebound and in some other aspects of the game. To compete a basketball team needs players skilled at all five positions.
Winning teams have players with different skill sets manning different positions for one common goal - to win. You might say they play together separately for a common purpose.
Paul writes to the Ephesians to remind them that God's plan for their church is to minister together differently, with each playing to their strengths. Those strengths are God-given abilities activated by the Holy Spirit. They are referred to as "spiritual gifts".
Scripture teaches that every believer has at least one spiritual gift. Most have several. It is those gifts that lead some "to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers".
That diversity of gifts functioning in unity under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is a big factor in developing an effective and healthy church.
Gifted living if God's gift to the church. Have you unwrapped your gifts?