Lesson 2878

(Lesson 2878)(11-15-19) 1 Corinthians 12-1-12
    “ Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.”

    Today’s lesson relates to us that we all have special gifts and talents from God, and that they are all of equal importance in His sight.
    Paul listed a few of those gifts in the quote. For example, he said that the ability to speak in tongues is a gift, and it indeed is; However that gift is simply one that allows a person to speak in multiple languages. That would be a learned gift.  Also, in that same vein, if a person preaches to an audience made up of people who speak different languages, unlike Peter at the Pentecost celebration whereat he had the Holy Spirit as his translator, the preacher must have someone on hand that can translate each language to those who speak it. The ability to translate is also a learned talent or gift.
    It behooves us all to note that God’s divine word was never meant to be so hard to understand that any lost soul, with the Holy Spirit as a translator, could not understand it. God’s word is as plain as can be if a person is truly interested in discerning it. That is a gift that God gave to each of us.
We, the children of God, are to apply our gifts, whatever those gifts might be, toward the furtherence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.~