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What Is My Spiritual Gift? You Have Something to Offer

Maybe you have thought, "I really don't know what my spiritual gift is." Or maybe it goes further than that: "I don't think I have anything special to offer anyone." If either of those sounds familiar, 1 Corinthians 12 answers both. God has gifted every believer, including you, and He gave that gift for the good of the people around you. That means the starting point is not figuring out everything at once. It is believing that God has already placed something in you on purpose. God Has Gifted Every Believer to Serve Paul names the variety deliberately. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 says, "Now there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there is a variety of service but the same Lord. There is a variety of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone." There is a lot happening in those verses. Paul talks about different gifts, different kinds of service, and different kinds of activities, or different kinds of workings. In other words, God has not created us all the same. We do not all have the same gifts, the same abilities, the same passions, or even the same experiences. That is very intentional. I do not want to be like you, and you probably do not want to be like me. God has designed the church with diversity, with different needs, different people, and different ways that He works through us. Notice the source in each phrase. Different gifts, same Spirit. Different kinds of service, same Lord. Different activities, same God. Gifts may be different, but the source remains the same. What Does "For the Common Good" Mean? Verse seven may be the most powerful line in the whole passage. 1 Corinthians 12:7 says, "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." Two phrases carry the weight. The first is "to each." Who is Paul talking to? Believers. Every believer gets a gift. Not just pastors. Not just worship leaders. Not only the people who stand on stages or teach in classrooms. Every follower of Jesus has been given something from God. He has not gifted everyone the same way, but He has gifted every believer. The second phrase is "for the common good," and that is the purpose of a spiritual gift. Our gifts are not simply for our own benefit. They exist so we can benefit the people He has placed in our lives. Here is what is beautiful about that. None of us individually represents the fullness of God's heart. But together, as the body of Christ, we reveal His love in ways we could never do alone. Think of it as God handing out pieces of His own heart. Some of you have an incredible heart for children and come alive around them. Others have a heart for teenagers, and something in you stirs to invest in the next generation. Some of you have a heart for hurting people and naturally move toward those who are struggling and going through difficulty. Others have a heart for hospitality, and you love setting things up, welcoming people, and connecting with them. God has placed different gifts on each person, giving you a piece of His heart so His people can experience it. What If I Don't Know What My Spiritual Gift Is? You do not have to have everything figured out, because God has not called you to do everything. He has just called you to do something. God has given you something, and it is not only for you. It is for the good of others. Everyone Is Needed in the Body of Christ Paul continues with a picture of what the church is supposed to be. 1 Corinthians 12:12 says, "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." Paul is comparing the church to a human body. Think about that for a moment. The church is not a collection of individuals who show up on Sunday. We are the body of Christ. We are connected to one another, we belong to one another, and we need one another. Years ago I had a mentor who drove something into me that never left. He said, " Everyone's rich and everyone's poor. Everyone's rich, because every single one of us has something God has given us that someone else needs. Everyone's poor, because every single one of us has needs that God has equipped someone else to meet.” Why Comparison Tells You the Wrong Story 1 Corinthians 12:15 says, "If the foot should say, because I am not the hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body." The same goes for the ear that wishes it were an eye. What Paul is addressing here is what we all struggle with, which is comparison. We look at someone else's gifts and someone else's abilities and think, I cannot do that, so I do not really have anything to offer. That is simply not true. Look at 1 Corinthians 12:18: "But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as He chose." God intentionally placed every member of the body where it is supposed to be, and that includes you. Everyone's rich. God has given you something that the body needs. Remember too that visibility does not determine value in the body of Christ. You cannot see your heart and lungs right now, but we would all say they are extremely valuable. The same is true of you. It is not only the upfront gifts that matter in the church. Some of the most important ministries in any church are the ones that happen behind the scenes: the men and women who faithfully pray every week, those who bring encouragement, those who give, and those who care for others without any recognition. Insecurity jumps in and says you have nothing to offer. Scripture says you do. We all do. No One Is Gifted Enough to Do This Alone There is a second lie on the other side of insecurity. 1 Corinthians 12:21 says, "The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you." Earlier, Paul was saying that you think you have nothing to contribute, but you do. Here he challenges the idea that you can do it all by yourself and do not need anyone else. No matter how gifted you are, no matter how talented you are, and no matter how spiritually mature you are, you still need people. Why? Because everyone's poor. God has given others something that you need. We were not designed to live independently. We were designed to live together, in community and in dependence on one another. Everyone's Rich, Everyone's Poor Insecurity says I have nothing to offer. Pride says I do not need anyone else. Something I have learned over the years is that humility recognizes that I need others, and love recognizes that others need me. So if you are still asking what your spiritual gift is, start here. None of us have everything, but every one of us has something, and together God uses it to accomplish His purposes. Everyone's rich. Everyone's poor. And together we become the body of Christ.