The Grace and Faith of Spiritual Gifts
Romans 12:3-6 “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. (4) For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, (5) so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. (6) Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith.”
In this section we want to discuss the fact that each saint receives differing measures of grace and faith, depending on the gift they have received to function in the body of Christ. There are far more functions in the body of Christ than the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the previous section; nevertheless in this teaching we are concentrating only on the nine gifts and more specifically on the three speaking gifts. Because there are different functions in the body of Christ and each member is called to perform at least one function, each saint has therefore received at least one gift which relates directly to the function they are called to fulfil. Paul confirms that truth to us in the above quoted passage of scripture when he tells us that God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. In the context of this passage we can see that the measure of faith given does not refer to our daily living faith, but rather the faith we require to operate in the gift given to us. In other words each function requires faith on the part of the believer in order for them to operate in their gift. In explaining this principle to us the apostle Paul uses the gift of prophecy as an example. Paul tells us that one, who has received the gift of prophecy, must operate in that gift in proportion to the faith that they have received for their gift. So clearly when we receive our gift we also receive the proportion of faith required to operate that gift. Therefore this passage also teaches us that we can only operate in our gifts by faith. When Paul says that we are to “prophesy in proportion to our faith”, he is saying that we are not to try operating our gift outside of the level of faith that we have received. Paul’s comment reveals something else to us regarding the gifts of the Spirit, which is that not only are there different gifts, but there are also differing levels of faith allocated to each gift. For example, it is possible for two members in a church to both have the gift of prophecy; nevertheless one member may have been given a greater level of faith for their gift than the other, and so the member who has the greater level of faith will prophesy with a greater degree of anointing than the other. When each saint recognizes the level of faith they have received for their gift it makes operating in their gift the most natural thing in the world for them to do. In this passage Paul also teaches us that grace is given to us according to our gift. That simply means that the grace given is the supernatural ability we have received to operate in our gift. Notice also that Paul instructs us to use our gifts. In other words the gifts given to the saints are to be used and not to be neglected.
1 Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
So how are we meant to use our gifts? In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Peter teaches us how to use our gifts, for He tells us that we are to minister our gifts to one another. In other words the gifts given to us are not for our benefit, but rather for the benefit of the body of Christ. And so we see that we are just stewards of the gifts that are given to us, and as the Lord’s stewards it is required of us that we are faithful in ministering our gifts to His church.
To summarize; from our examination of the scriptures quoted in this section we have established that each believer receives at least one spiritual gift which enables them to fulfil their function in the body of Christ. We have also seen that each saint receives the required level of grace and faith to operate in their gift. We have seen that in order for saints to be effective in operating their gifts it is necessary for them to identify not only which gift they have received, but to also identify the level of grace and faith they have received to operate their gift. And finally we have seen that we are not to neglect our gifts, but rather that we are to be good stewards of our gifts by ministering them to the body of Christ.
Michael E.B. Maher
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