Gifts

While we don’t seem to talk about it often there were varying cultures in every town and church that Paul visited.

That could not have been an accident. Paul was highly educated and he was considered to be the brightest and best star in the upper echelon among Hebrews. Paul was the hope for the future among Pharisees.

Paul’s conversion experience would have rocked the Hebrew community of Pharisees to the core. His conversion would have sent shockwaves through the entire Jewish community of Pharisees and members of the synagogues.

Then to have Paul become a missionary for the “People of the Way” of Jesus would have been a terrible blow to every Hebrew Synagogue in the region.

He was once their star and now he defected to the other side. His name has been Saul but after the conversion he was now known as Paul.

Paul was forever changed and the Spirit off the Lord was upon him. He was given gifts of the Spirit. The Apostle Peter had the gift of tongues, the gift of healing, the gift of prophecy, and the gift of miracles. Paul had the gift of tongues, the gift of healing the sick, and the gift of performing miracles. Both Apostles had the gift of exhortation.

Paul’s gifts are important to note here because it helps us gain better knowledge and understanding of his words to the church in Corinth.

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul noted God had revealed great things to him, “because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

It’s interesting to note that Paul did not remind the church in Corinth that he had been a Pharisee among Pharisees and he had spent his entire life studying in Synagogue. Paul knew the Old Testament Torah by heart but he did not boast of things from his previous life.

Instead it was the revelations and things God had revealed to him that he could have been tempted boast about…

Because of that Paul told the church he was given a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble.

When Paul asked God to remove the thorn he was told it was intentionally given to him so he would understand God’s grace and the power given to him because of his weakness. In other words daily Paul was reminded it was God in Christ who was great and not Paul the Apostle.

Paul went on to reiterate that all of his difficulties and persecutions served as a reminder that Jesus God was strong and it was the Spirit of Jesus God who gave him power.

Do you see why this was a revealing element to the church in Corinth?

Paul was telling them not to look to him but rather to seek the Spirit of God for their power.

Do you see why those words are ever so important to us today?

Paul is telling us 2000+ years later that we need not look to the gifts that the Apostles Paul and Peter had because we are given gifts today.

Nothing has changed except that maybe we are inclined to downplay the gifts God has given to us. While we may have identified our gifts, we do not usually think of them or speak of them in our daily lives.

The fact is that every believer is given gifts and is expected to rely on the Spirit for those gifts.

Rely on the Spirit.

Ask the Spirit daily to teach you how to utilize your gifts for God.

Be bold. Do not shy away from your gifts.

They are after all…Gifts.

Deborah

acrazyjourney.com