The Gifts of the Spirit – Gospel in Life
Sermon

The Gifts of the Spirit

Tim Keller |  August 29, 2010

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Topics:
  • Spiritual Gifts
  • The Church (Unity, Fellowship, Leadership)
  • The Holy Spirit
Duration:
36:51
Scripture:
Ephesians 4:1-13
SKU:
RS 323-09

Ephesians 4:7–16

Each of us gets gifts from Christ, just like when He went to heaven and gave people different gifts. These gifts include being apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. They’re all about equipping God’s people to serve and help the Christian community grow in unity, understanding, and maturity. By showing love truthfully and growing in Christ, the whole Christian community becomes stronger and more unified, showing the right way to use these spiritual gifts.

1. What are spiritual gifts?

Spiritual gifts are special abilities given by the Holy Spirit. They help build a community that mirrors Jesus Christ’s character by meeting needs like sharing truth, helping others, and providing guidance. Every believer has a special spiritual gift which brings variety to the church and promotes unity and Christ-likeness. The real worth of these gifts isn’t in doing them perfectly, but in how they help people become more like Christ.

2. What are the practical implications of the theology of spiritual gifts, the implications for church life?

The idea of spiritual gifts highlights how each person’s contribution to the church is unique. It emphasizes the need for both giving and receiving in service to others. There can be challenges in applying this idea in both small and large churches, and potential conflicts can arise from different gifts. It’s important to recognize and honor these gifts to promote respect and remove negativity, but we shouldn’t replace the gifts with the need to develop a character like Christ’s.

3. How can we rightly use spiritual gifts?

Spiritual gifts can sometimes cause problems like power struggles and burnout, but the key to using them correctly is love. This love comes from Jesus’ sacrifice, where he came down from heaven to defeat sin and death, giving us the ultimate spiritual gift, the Holy Spirit. To use our spiritual gifts properly, we need the Holy Spirit, we need to identify our gifts through different ministries and guidance, and we need to look to Jesus as our example of love, holiness, forgiveness, strength, and courage.

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March Book Offer

Is Jesus King of Your Life?

In his book Jesus the King, Tim Keller journeys through the Gospel of Mark to show us how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic, historical, and personal while demonstrating how the life of Jesus helps us make sense of our own.

March Book Offer

Is Jesus King of Your Life?

In his book Jesus the King, Tim Keller journeys through the Gospel of Mark to show us how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic, historical, and personal while demonstrating how the life of Jesus helps us make sense of our own.