Together

"Because no gift is set apart to be used by itself"

THE GIFTS of the Spirit are conversations with the Spirit. They come out of relationship, because we know Him, and He knows us and can trust us. They are not meant to set us apart but to show our UNITY. This is stated by the Spirit in chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians and in chapter 4 of Ephesians. I encourage you to meditate there. 1 Corinthians 12 is then followed by 1 Corinthians 13 which tells us GOD’S LOVE is the center of our behavior. We speak what the Spirit tells us out of our love for Him and His love for people and how His love flows from us.

“Pursue the greater gifts, and let me tell you of a more excellent way—love.” (1 Corinthians 12:31 VOICE)

“But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 ISV)

The individual gifts have been over-defined. Though they do have a meaning, such as what is the gift of wisdom verses the gift of knowledge, they are not specifically defined in the Word, except in the usage of the words “wisdom” and “knowledge”. This is of small need because no gift is set apart to be used by itself. They are meant to be used together, in an individual’s voice. I can speak prophecy, word of knowledge, and word of wisdom within the same Spirit-conversation or I can speak prophecy to someone, and you speak a word of wisdom to them. But both will agree with each other and give that person freedom, deliverance, and encouragement. All are, as I pointed out, spoken in love.

“But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.” (1 Corinthians 14:3)

“He holds the whole body together. He joins every part together to make the body strong. So then each separate part can work as it should work. And, as a result, the whole body grows and makes itself stronger by love.” (Ephesians 4:16 EasyEnglish)

Whatever we do is meant to encourage the WHOLE BODY and not just individual parts. We are not forming a feet club, which is going to do a marathon, nor a hand group to learn our finger positions. (I personally think the trend of women’s groups and men’s groups, conflicts with the Spirit’s instruction to walk in UNITY. There is no reason to separate us to talk about things that the other gender does not need to hear.) Instead, the hands and the feet work together to promote the body, and the eyes work with the nose and the mouth to aid the body, as a whole.

This goes to genders, ministry callings, educations, cultures, nations, and to denominations. I once heard it said there were some 14,000 denominations. In the book of Acts, there was one. Jesus said He was BUILDING HIS CHURCH (Matthew 16:18). This Greek word has been used by some a lot, ekklesia, but it is simply a group of people who assemble. Point is, Jesus was building HIS CHURCH as A BODY in UNITY and not as Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Independents, Assembly of God, and Catholics, or even just Gentiles and Jews, who the apostle Paul specifically UNITED. He said the dividing wall had been removed (Romans 10:12;Ephesians 2:14). If there is no wall between the Gentile and the Jew, then why have we erected them between denominations?

We are to pray for all men (1 Timothy 2:1), both the saved and the unsaved, and to be able to shake hands with and show love and generosity to all the churches in our city, in our state, and around the world. I should be able to walk into a room and not see differences, but UNITY. I don’t notice what makes you different, and I definitely don’t preach it in front of people. Because anything that causes division is not of God.

“For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;” (Ephesians 2:14)

We are children of God, and He desires conversation with us. I talk to God at all points in the day, just as I am, in whatever state of mind I’m in, and He hears me and replies. I have pursued this relationship, and the deeper it grows, the more beautiful it is, the less of my thoughts and my opinions matter, yet somehow, the more valuable He makes me feel they are to Him. And He can use me now. He trusts me with His Word, with His Truths, and with the lives of those who hear Him and the lives of those who don’t. Can He same the same of you? We tend to think we are further along than we are, more clearheaded than we are, and more knowledgeable than we are. I think today of what I used to think of Him, years ago, and it amazes me how small and inept I was by comparison.

This is no platform. That is not my heart at all. But I see His will for us. We are the living example of HIS LOVE, and our UNITY is how it is displayed to a fractured and bruised society, seeking wholeness in all the wrong things and all the wrong places.

“There is one body and there is one Spirit. God has chosen you to be his own people, and all of us wait certainly for the same good things.” (Ephesians 4:4, EasyEnglish)

“Keep an open conversation with God and talk with him about everything,” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Remedy)

Photo by Philipp Deus on Unsplash


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com