Exposition

Spiritual gifts are special endowments given by the Holy Spirit to demonstrate His power and presence in the church. They are also given to Christians to confirm God’s word and His power to unbelievers. They are not given for the individual’s benefits, but for the common good of all (1 Cor. 12:7). These gifts must be activated (made active, put in motion, put to use) so that all see what the Lord can do. To activate the gifts, one must know what he/she has been endowed with. The Word of God does not want us to be ignorant about the gifts (1 Cor. 12:1). That is why the Holy Spirit, through Apostle Paul, mentions the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 for us to know. He does this so that we can recognize how each of the gifts operates and build ourselves for the continual use. To be able to know what gifts we have been endowed with, we need to consult the giver, the Holy Spirit. We need to build intimacy with Him so that He can lead us to the gifts and operate through us.

Peter and John in Acts 3 knew what they had and so were confident to approach the lame man and declare healing, which was manifested right there. Seek intimacy with the Holy Spirit to know what you have. It will take time to discover it but be consistent in developing intimacy with the Holy Spirit.