THE CODE 39 JULY 2026 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition You are gifted. Every believer has at least one spiritual gift bestowed upon them from God "for the profit of all" (1 Corinthians 12.7). The apostle Paul addressed the topic of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 through 14. And yet, if you want to enter into an uninformed conversation, just ask many believers about the what, how and why of their own spiritual gift At the outset we should understand that there is a difference between the “gift of the Holy Spirit" and the "gifts of the Holy Spirit." The gift is the Holy Spirit Himself, given to us when we begin our journey of the Christian life through repentance and faith in Christ. We receive this gift of the Holy Spirit at the moment of our conversion. The Holy Spirit is God's birthday gift to us as He comes to live in us, never to leave us, and to empower us for service. As Peter called people to repent and trust in Christ, he said they would “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The gifts of the Spirit, on the other hand, are special endowments for service in the body of Christ that God gives to us. Everyone has at least one gift. No one has all the gifts. Charisma In the New Testament the word most often used to describe the supernatural gifts that God bestows upon His children is charisma, which is derived from the Greek word for grace, charis. Charismata, in the language of the Bible, literally means "a gift of grace." In our church world today, however, there are some who have exchanged the word charisma for what I will call charisphobia. That is, they seem to fear these gifts of grace and avoid the mention of them altogether. In contrast, others suffer from what might be called charismania. They’ve become so consumed with the supernatural and certain gifts that manifest themselves in miracles that in some cases the gift Himself is overtaken. But I will say that every believer in Christ has a spiritual gift, sovereignly bestowed from God for the edification and the building up of the body of Christ. For the body of Christ In the body of Christ, we are not just dependent upon Him but also upon each other. We are members of one body. For thirty-three years, the world looked upon the physical body of Christ. He walked among us, spoke the greatest words ever spoken, touched people with His hands of mercy, and then offered Himself as the final and complete sacrifice for our sins. Then He was buried, arose and ascended back to the Father. Today, we — you and I — are the visible body of Christ, the picture of Him to a lost and dying world. We are "all the members of that one body" (1 Corinthians 12:12). Paul made it clear: “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-and have all been made to drink into one Spirit For in fact the body is not one member but many Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually” (1 Corinthians 12 12-14,27). God has gifted each member of the body of Christ with particular gifts for the good of His entire body. Some have service gifts like gifts of mercy, teaching, faith, giving and the like. There are also gifts designed specifically to equip the church, like evangelism or the gift of the pastor-teacher. There are a multitude of gifts given to us by God. These gifts of grace are supernatural gifts distributed to us in God's perfect wisdom. The church is supernatural, not just in its origin but in its operation. I once heard Vance Havner, a revivalist of a past generation, say, “The church has to be supernatural because anything else could not exist this long the way we are running it!” One must wonder whether, if the Holy Spirit were to withdraw from some churches today, they would simply go on functioning as always with their own plans and programs. If what is happening in your church is not supernatural, it just might be superficial. You are gifted. When you operate within that gift, you serve to build up Christ's own body on earth. What is your spiritual gift? You will recognize it because it is the thing you love to do; it is what energizes you, in fact, it is the very thing in which you find your greatest Joy. When you discover it, the body of Christ will use it, and God will be glorified by your use of it. Adapted from The Spirit Code by O.S. Hawkins. Copyright © 2024 by Dr. O.S. Hawkins. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. O. S. Hawkins, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, is a graduate of TCU (BBA) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MDiv, PhD). He presently serves as Chancellor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served pastorates, including the First Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, for more than 25 years, and is President Emeritus of GuideStone Financial Resources, where he served as President/CEO from 1997-2022. Hawkins is the author of more than fifty books, including the best-selling Code series of devotionals published by HarperCollins/Thomas Nelson with sales of more than three million copies. Criswell: His Life and Times is the sequel to his previous book, In the Name of God: The Colliding Lives, Legends, and Legacies of J. Frank Norris and George W. Truett. He was recently inducted into the White Rose Society by Israeli President Isaac Herzog for his long-standing support of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. He is married to his wife, Susie, and has two daughters, two sons-in-law, and six grandchildren. Visit him at OSHawkins.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @OSHawkins. - Dr. O.S. Hawkins - Chancellor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary You Are Gifted SLUPSK, POLAND - 27 MARCH 2016 - Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles
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