1 Corinthians 12:4-6
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
Paul mentions here that gifts are closely related to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Gifts are not only associated with the Holy Spirit, but with Jesus and our Heavenly Father as well. Firstly, verse 4 talks about the relationship between the Holy Spirit and gifts. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. In other words, a variety of gifts are being distributed by the same Holy Spirit. Pray that God will help us not to be divided, or to look down on those who are weak. The church today has this phenomenon. We like to compare ourselves with others and think we are better than others. God gives us different gifts not to cause division, but to complement one another in ministry. God is bigger than what we have experienced, so we need to make every effort to keep united the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The next is the relationship between gifts and Jesus Christ referred to in verse 5. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord, who is Christ Jesus. There are different forms of ministry. There are those who serve on stage and those who serve off the stage. There are those who serve externally and those who serve internally. No matter what form, our ministry is for the same Lord. Since we serve the same God, there is no big or small ministry. Just like in the city, is the mayor or a garbage collector more important? If the garbage collectors go on strike even for only two weeks, the stench and the garbage will pile up. At this time, the garbage collector will seem so much more important than the mayor. There are many different ministries and they take on different forms. But ultimately, we serve the same Lord.
The third is the relationship between gift and God the Father. There are different kinds of gifts, but it is to glorify the same Father God. Different gift bring about different effects: When we see signs and wonders, some people are moved, some are benefited, some have the joy of harvesting. This is all for the glory of God the Father. So when we see the results of our gifts, we need to give God the glory because all gifts and power come from God.
People are often very weak. They like to go by appearance, and also like to follow people. When they see people who have the gift of miracles, they want to follow these people. The truth is, the Bible says "signs and wonders will follow those who believe". May the Lord help us, not to focus on the person or the gift itself, but to focus on God.
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