I love a good superhero movie. I spend most of my time watching those movies looking for parallels between the screenplay and what I know to be true about the sons and daughters of God who have also been given supernatural authority and power. A few years ago, a series of movies was released that changed the game for what fans hoped to see going forward. Whereas most of the previous movies focused on individual heroes, these new movies showed the power of heroes coming together.
Separately, they were gifted. Together, they were nearly unstoppable. As I watched the new teamed-up movies unfold, I thought of Paul’s words to the Corinthian church:
Dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us.
I don’t want you to misunderstand this. … There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. …
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
(1 Corinthians 12:1, 4, 7 NLT)
What Paul told the Corinthians is true for us today. The spiritual gifts are given to all believers just as the Spirit is given to all believers; the giftings are His work moving through us. Do you see what that means? You have spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit wants to teach you more about!
However, not all believers know they are in possession of these gifts from the Spirit. And what good are our Holy Spirit superpowers to the body of Christ if we don’t know we have them?
What gifts are we in possession of?
Throughout Scripture, the Holy Spirit gave people special abilities and giftings to accomplish God’s purposes. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit had not yet been poured out on all flesh, but He did fill select men and women with His power, wisdom, and knowledge for specific purposes and for temporary periods of time. He did so to use regular people like us to carry out God’s perfect plan.
There’s a story about a man named Bezalel to whom the Holy Spirit gifted wisdom to know how to build a house for God’s presence.
Exodus 31:1-5 tells us, “The Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.’”
Bezalel wasn’t just a guy who knew what to do because he had years of practice or earthly academics. He had been chosen by God and given supernatural ability that came through the power of the Holy Spirit. God gave supernatural insight and His divine creativity to Bezalel so he could make the very specific details of the tabernacle. What a gift to the group, and to Bezalel to know the Spirit of God in such a personal and powerful way!
The truth is, if God is going to use ordinary people to accomplish His extraordinary work, then it will require His supernatural presence and participation.
Has anything changed about the Spirit’s supernatural giftings today?
The Spirit Himself hasn’t changed since the events in Scripture, but the human relationship with Him has become even closer through the sacrifice of Jesus. When the day of Pentecost came and all those gathered in the upper room were filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter declared, “What you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: “‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people’” (Acts 2:16-17 NLT). This outpouring remains available for all who accept Jesus.
If Peter said the time had come for all believers to have the Spirit and that the Spirit gives supernatural abilities, then we must remember we’re in possession of what only a select few people experienced in ancient times. We have the Spirit who gives us gifts.
How should we use these gifts?
Paul didn’t speak only to the Corinthian church about the gifts of the Spirit. He also sent word to those in the Roman church. I think it’s significant to note that Paul spoke to the Roman church about the spiritual gifts even though he had yet to visit them. If he assumed they had experienced these spiritual gifts, then that tells us what Paul believed was the standard. If you profess to follow Christ, then you have received His Spirit. And if you have received His Spirit, then you know He moves in spiritual giftings.
This is what Paul said to the Roman church about spiritual gifts:
As we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. (Romans 12:4-8 NKJV)
Notice that Paul’s focus on spiritual gifts again here is to teach their proper use in the body of Christ, the church. The truth is, spiritual gifts are given to us, but they aren’t just for us. They are meant to impact the people Jesus wants to touch and speak to; He simply invites our hands, hearts, minds, and voices to be part of His process.
Those on the other side of our obedience are touched by the Holy Spirit. The blessing we receive from using these gifts is the relationship we have with the Holy Spirit as we allow Him to move through us.
The Body of Christ is counting on you!
The world needs your spiritual gifts. People in your life need you to show up carrying the power of the Holy Spirit and to allow Him to work through you in supernatural ways. This is how Jesus is made real to others as the Holy Spirit moves through you.
The body of Christ needs your feet, your hands, your mouth, and your heart. Can someone else do what you can do? Yes, God will accomplish His purposes no matter what. But don’t miss this: you have an invitation not simply to watch others experience the power of the Holy Spirit but to be one who says, “Here I am, Lord, send me, use me, flow through me!”
Just as being filled with the Holy Spirit isn’t something we work for, His giftings aren’t something we achieve. But they do require Spirit-led participation on our end.
We must know we have them. We must decide that we want to use them. And then we must boldly yield to the Spirit who wants to flow through us. Jesus wants to touch the world, and He’s asking for your hands to do it.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Lilly Roadstones
Becky Thompson is a bestselling author and the creator of the Midnight Mom Devotional community gathering more than one million moms in nightly prayer. Speaking to the struggle of balancing life as a wife, mother, and daughter of God, she has become the voice of modern Christian motherhood. Becky lives in Oklahoma with her husband, Jared, and their three children. Her latest book, God So Close: Experience a Life Awakened to His Spirit, is available now.