Tag: Jesus Christ

Finding Jesus in the Old Testament

Finding Jesus in the Old Testament

Marissa

Several times during Jesus’s ministry, He told people that the scriptures they read told them about Him. For example, He told some, “You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me” (John 5:39, NET). Remember, they would have just had the Old Testament at this time. The gospel events were happening in front of them, but they didn’t have written records yet pointing out which prophecies Jesus fulfilled and cross-referencing Old and New Testament writings the way we do today. And yet, Jesus told people that “everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44, NET). He expected at least some of the people He spoke with to recognize that the law, prophets, and psalms all pointed to a Messiah and that He was that promised Messiah.

When I think about these scriptures, I wonder if I could have recognized that there was a coming Messiah from reading the Old Testament (OT). Even with the benefit of New Testament (NT) perspective, I struggle to see Him in the law of Moses. Not even all of the psalms and prophecies that NT writers identify as Messianic seem like something I’d have recognized when just reading the OT. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we need Jesus to intervene in our minds to open our understanding (Luke 24:13-35). In fact, there are scriptures indicating it’s impossible to understand God’s word or have a relationship with Him unless the Father and Jesus take an active role in your life (John 6:44; 14:6).

At this point, we might ask ourselves several different questions, such as, “How much did believers in the Old Testament know?” and “How did salvation through Jesus (since you can’t be saved through anyone else [Acts 4:12]) work for people who lived and died before His sacrifice?” For today, though, I want to focus on the question, “Which verses in the Old Testament clearly point to Jesus Christ?” Or, since we’ll be looking at the OT that was written in Hebrew, to Yeshua the Messiah?

Image of a man studying the Bible overlaid with text from Matt. 16:16-17, NET version: Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered, “Simon, Jonah's son, God has blessed you. No person on earth has showed you this. But my Father in heaven has showed you.”
Image by Matt Vasquez from Lightstock

Clarifying Names

The name “Jesus” is the English transliteration (representing a word from one language with the sounds and alphabet of another) of the Greek name Iēsous, which comes from the Hebrew name Yehoshua or Yeshua (H3091). The name means “Yahweh is salvation,” from the words Yahweh or Yehovah (H3068, God’s proper name [Ex. 4:15-16]) and yasha (H3467, “to save, be saved, be delivered” [BDB]). Yasha is the main root of a group of Hebrew words. Frequently used derivatives include yeshuah (H3444, salvation), teshuah (H8668, help, rescue, salvation) , and names such as Joshua, Hosea, Isaiah (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament [TWOT] entry 929).

You won’t ever see the name “Jesus” in the Old Testament, but you frequently see the name Yeshua: it is translated into English as Joshua. There’s no prophecy in the Old Testament that says the Messiah will be named Yeshua. When Jesus was born, His name likely wouldn’t have stood out too much. Joshua is a popular name even today, and I doubt it was unusual in Jesus’s day considering the historic Yeshuas that people would have been familiar with (e.g. Moses’s successor Joshua son of Nun and Joshua the son of Josedech who appears in Haggai’s prophecies).

“Christ” is more of a title than a name. It is a transliteration into English of the Greek word christos (G5547), which is a translation (rendering the meaning of a word into the corresponding word in another language) of the Hebrew word mashiyah or Messiah (H4899). Both the Greek and Hebrew words mean “anointed” (Thayer; BDB). The root word mashach (H4886, anoint or rub with oil) is used most frequently of kings and priests sanctified for the Lord, and it’s also used twice of prophets (TWOT 1255). For example, it’s used when Yahweh chose Saul as the first king of Israel.

“Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint (mashach) him to be prince over my people Israel. He will save (yasha) my people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon my people, because their cry has come to me.”

1 Samuel 9:16, WEB

Mashiyah (H4899, anointed one) is most frequently used in the Old Testament to refer to kings (TWOT 1255c). It also became closely associated with the God-being we now know as Jesus. By the time Jesus arrived, the Jews of His day were looking for the promised Messiah or Christ (Luke 3:15; 22:67; John 1:41-42; 4:25-29; 7:26). We still call prophecies from the OT that point to Jesus Messianic passages. It might surprise us, then, that if we compare all the verses using yasha and its related words to all the verses using masach and its related words, there are only 5 scriptures that use both and none of them are Messianic prophecies (1 Sam. 9:16; 2 Sam. 22:51; Psalm 8:50; 20:6; 28:8).

Image of a woman studying the Bible overlaid with text from John 4:25-26, NET version: The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ); “whenever he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”
Image by MarrCreative from Lightstock

Prophecies of the Messiah

There actually aren’t as many OT prophecies identifying the coming Messiah/Christ by the title “anointed” as you might think. It honestly surprised me, but when you realize that the Hebrew word mashiyah was “almost exclusively reserved as a synonym for ‘king'” (TWOT 1255c), then it becomes more understandable how OT readers realized that the spirit-filled, victorious, salvation-bringing God-being who would come in the name of the Lord should be called Messiah. We can see this in some of the disciples’ reactions to first meeting Jesus.

One of the two who heard John and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ). He brought him to Jesus. … Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” …

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”

Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”

John 1:40-42, 45, 47-49, WEB

Andrew called Jesus “the Messiah.” Phillip called Him the one “of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote.” Nathaniel called Him, “the Son of God” and “King of Israel.” They knew they were waiting for the Messiah, God’s son and the King of Israel, from reading the law and the prophets. Thanks to the Father’s revelation working in their lives, they could correctly identify that Jesus was the Christ (Matt. 16:13-20). Perhaps they were all thinking of Psalm 2, where the author talks about “Yahweh and … his Anointed,” who is also “King on my holy hill of Zion” and the Son of God.

Daniel also prophesied about “the Anointed One, the prince” (Dan. 9:25-26, WEB). Isaiah spoke of a descendent of David who would be full of God’s spirit and rule on David’s throne (implying an anointing even when it’s not explicitly mentioned) (Isaiah 9:1-7; 11:1-5; 61:1). Psalms talk about a strong, ruling, righteous, and anointed king (Ps. 45:1-7; 110:1-5). With those scriptures, as well as whatever oral traditions might have been passed down (depending on how much the people of God knew about His plan that didn’t make it into official scriptural writings), the people of Jesus’s day had the background needed to know they were looking for a Messiah. Even then, not everyone who met Jesus (Yeshua) was able to recognize that He was the Christ (Messiah). They needed God to give them eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand (Mat. 13:10-17).

Asking to Understand

Image of two hands holding a small Bible, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "When you know where and how to look, you can see Jesus all throughout the Old Testament writings."
Image by Maura Griesse from Lightstock

When you know where to look, it’s not that hard to find Jesus in the Old Testament or to read the OT and see that there’s a coming Messiah. But without God working in your mind and heart, you won’t know to look. People can read the Bible over and over, even memorize huge sections, but still miss key truths because they’re just reading on their own with a human perspective. God is the one who makes His Bible come alive.

I think sometimes Christians forget how thankful we ought to be to God for letting us understand His word. And when we do that, we might also forget that we don’t yet know everything fully (1 Cor. 8:1-2; 13:12). For me at least, studying the prophecies of Jesus in the OT helps me realize that. Without God’s help and the records of fulfilled prophecies in the NT, I’d understand much less than I do now. And maybe there’s still more to learn, if I’m willing to ask.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

Matthew 7:7-11, NET

We need to remember to thank God for the understanding He has granted us, and keep asking to know Him more deeply. One way we can participate in knowing Him at a deeper level is to prayerfully study His entire Bible. The questions I opened with today–“How much did believers in the Old Testament know?” and “How did salvation through Jesus work for people who lived and died before His sacrifice?”–are the types of questions a speaker at my church invited listeners to study in a message I heard last week.

That message focused on Abraham, and it’s fascinating to look at the conversations God had with him and at what the NT writers say about Abraham and God’s relationship. One verse even talks about the gospel being preached to Abraham, and in another Jesus said that Abraham “was overjoyed to see my day” (John 8:56; Gal. 3:7-16). Abraham probably knew a lot more about the Messiah than I’d realized just from reading his story, and he didn’t even have scrolls to study of the law, psalms, and prophets. Perhaps we can also understand more deeply by studying the relationships and revelation that God granted to those Old Testament heroes of faith (the people in Heb. 11, for example) and by asking God to speak into our lives similar to the way that He spoke to them.

Featured image by Inbetween from Lightstock

Song Recommendation: “Psalm 45 (A Noble theme)”

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Gentleness as a Fruit

Gentleness as a Fruit

Marissa

What do you picture when you hear the words “gentleness” or “meekness”? If you’re like most English speakers, you probably don’t think of controlled anger, strength of character, or calm acceptance of God’s will. But those are connotations of the Greek word used in the New Testament that English translators chose to translate as gentleness or meekness (or occasionally humility, though usually that’s a different word).

A couple weeks ago, I realized I’d never finished my 30-Day Scripture Writing series on the fruit of the spirit. There were three left: peace, faith, and today we’re wrapping up with gentleness. You can find the 30-day scripture writing list at the end of this blog post if you’d like to continue studying this topic.

Putting Gentleness in Ancient Context

I’ve written about the Greek word translated “gentleness” or “meekness” before. I find it fascinating that in English, we associate those traits with weakness but in Greek it’s associated with strength of character. Spiros Zodhiates says that praotetos primarily means “an inward grace of the soul, calmness toward God in particular. It is the acceptance of God’s dealings with us considering them as good in that they enhance the closeness of our relationship with Him” (The Complete WordStudy Dictionary: New Testament, entry 4236). In the sense that the meaning is linked to our relationship with God, it is similar to the Hebrew word most often translated “gentle” or “meek.” Anav (H6035) means humble, often as a result of affliction, but also proper humility when recognizing “absolute dependence on God” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, entry 1652a).

Returning to the Greek word praotetos, there’s another difference between it and the English connotations for gentleness or meekness. It is not something passive, but rather “the activity of the blessedness that exists in one’s heart from being actively angry at evil” (Zodhiates). The idea of anger and gentleness being conveyed in the same word seems contradictory, but we see Jesus called meek and responding with anger to wicked things (Matt. 11:29; Mark 3:5; John 2:13-17; 2 Cor. 10:1). As with other godly character traits, we can model our expressions of meekness/gentleness on Jesus’s behavior.

It can also be helpful at times to remember that the Greek language used in the New Testament was used by other people as well. It’s not just a Biblical language, and we can look to other writings to get a sense for how people in the larger world of the time used words. Aristotle said that “praotes is that virtue that stands between two extremes, the orgilotes (n.f.), uncontrolled and unjustified anger … and aorgistia (n.f.), not becoming angry at all no matter what takes place around you” (Zodhiates, entry 4236 [n.f. stands for ‘not found’ in scripture]). That’s very different than how we think of meekness and gentleness today, but it’s in line with how the Biblical writers would have used the word.

For this study, we’ll be looking at New Testament verses that use the word praotes (G4236) as well as the root word praos (G4235) and the synonyms praus (G4239) and prautes (G4240). These words appear a total of 16 times in the New Testament. There are also a few other words that could be translated meek or gentle (e.g. epios [G2261] and epieikes [G1933]) but since we’re focusing on gentleness as a fruit of the spirit, we’ll stick with the praotes words for now since that’s what’s used in Galatians 5.

Image of five Bibles on a table with people's hands tracing over the words, overlaid with text from Col. 3:12, NET version: "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience"
Image by Inbetween from Lightstock

Instructions to be Gentle

If you read the New Testament start to finish, the first time you’ll encounter the word for gentleness or meekness is in the Beatitudes. Here, Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5, NET). It echoes a verse from Psalms: “the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (Ps. 37:11, WEB). A phrase like “inherit the land” in the Old Testament typically meant you’d have an inheritance in the promised land among God’s (Old) Covenant people. Now in the New Covenant, the humble/meek/gentle are promised an even greater inheritance. In the Beatitudes, Jesus is likely looking forward to the New Heaven and New Earth promised to all His faithful followers after His second coming (Is. 65:17; 2 Pet. 3:10-14; Rev. 21:1-3).

But you, man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you confessed the good confession in the sight of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:11-12, WEB

We talked last week about how faith is an active, participatory sort of thing. Here, Paul told Timothy that “fighting the good fight of faith” and taking “hold of the eternal life to which you were called” involves cultivating gentleness in your life (among other things). It’s a very important aspect of our character as godly people. In addition to general admonitions like this to cultivate gentleness in our lives, we’re also specifically instructed to use gentleness in our dealings with other people.

I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:1-3, NET

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.

Colossians 3:12-13, NET

I think these two passages about “putting up with one another” and “bearing with one another” pair well. Humans aren’t always easy to get along with, but regardless of that we need to be patient, humble, merciful, kind, and gentle in our dealings with everyone. That’s particularly true of those in the church (though we’re to live peaceably with everyone as much as we can), where we should be working to build unity and peace within the body of Christ.

Using Gentleness to Correct

Image of a basket full of fruit, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "Gentleness is part of the fruit of God’s spirit. It involves strength of character and becoming like Jesus Christ"
Image by diapicard from Pixabay

One of the things we need to be careful about as Christians is that we do not judge other people (specifically in the sense of condemning them). At the same time, we need to be able to discern between right and wrong and correct a fellow Christian if need be. That can be a very slippery slope, with a lot of correction sliding too far into judging/condemning. Gentleness is key to appropriately using correction within the church, and the word appears several times in connection to this topic.

Brothers and sisters, if a person is discovered in some sin, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too.

Galatians 6:1, NET

It’s not loving to let fellow believers go on sinning and damaging their relationship with God (Is. 59:2). But we’re admonished to restore them with gentleness and “pay close attention to yourselves” to make sure you’re not sinning as well (Matt. 7:1-5). This is what the Corinthian church should have done rather than being proud of tolerating sin within their congregation (1 Cor. 4:6-5:13). It got so bad there that Paul seemed uncertain if he’d need a “rod of discipline” to correct them or if he could do it with “love and a spirit of gentleness” (1 Cor. 4:21, NET). As a rule, though, correction within the church ought to be done with gentleness. Paul gives that instruction both to church members and to leaders like Timothy.

But reject foolish and ignorant controversies, because you know they breed infighting. And the Lord’s slave must not engage in heated disputes but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth and they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive to do his will.

2 Timothy 2:23-26, NET

The goal of proper, gentle correction is restoration. We should never want to condemn people, but to see them repent and “come to their senses.” That is, after all, God’s perspective and we’re supposed to become like Him (1 Tim. 2:1-4; 2 Pet. 3:9). It brings us back to the idea of balance that’s inherent in gentleness/meekness (praotetos). This character trait is angry at evil, yet doesn’t lose control. It takes action, yet always trusts and submits to God’s will. When we correct in this way, we’re kind and guide toward restored relationship rather than trying to condemn or prove ourselves right.

As part of the fruit produced by God’s spirit inside us, gentleness should be a product of our lives. As we follow Jesus and live in relationship with Him and the Father, we should become more and more like them and display their character traits and perspectives in our lives. Gentleness is one important aspect of that.

GentlenessDownload

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Faith As A Fruit

Faith As A Fruit

Marissa

Faith is a huge topic in the Bible, one that whole books have been written about (I reviewed one of those books just last year). Today, I want to look at faith specifically from the perspective of the fruit of the spirit passage in Galatians. In other words, we’re examining faith as something that’s produced in your life when God’s spirit is inside of you.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23, NET

Last week, I mentioned that I realized I’d never finished my 30-Day Scripture Writing series on the fruit of the spirit. The last two remaining topics are “faith” and “gentleness,” so today we’re focusing on faith. I spent this past week reading through the many Bible verses mentioning faith as well as belief (since they’re such closely related words) and looking into the Greek and Hebrew words behind the English translations. My initial “short list” as I started narrowing down which scriptures to include was 78 passages, which gives you an idea just how many verses on faith there are in the Bible. I did eventually get it down to 30 (you’ll find a link to the finished scripture-writing plan at the end of this post).

Faith and Truth

In the Old Testament, you’ll find the word “faithfulness” more often than “faith.” Usually, it’s talking about God’s faithfulness (Deut. 7:9; Ps. 33:4; 89:1; Is. 25:1; Lam 3:23) or humanity’s faithfulness or unfaithfulness to Him (2 Chr. 29:6; 31:20; Hos. 4:12). In these scriptures, “faith” as a concept takes a backseat to the idea of living a faithful life. It’s clear that faith involves action; a change in your entire way of life because of being in a covenant relationship with God.

You are Yahweh, the God who chose Abram, brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, gave him the name of Abraham, found his heart faithful before you, and made a covenant with him … for you are righteous.

Nehemiah 9:7-8 , WEB

In Hebrew, the word “faith” is typically translated from the root word aman (H539) or one of several other words in this word family (e.g. amen, emuna, emet) (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament [TWOT], entry 116). Interestingly, this is the same group of words for “truth.” At it’s most fundamental, the “root idea is firmness or certainty” and it “shows that biblical faith is an assurance, a certainty, in contrast with modern concepts of faith as something possible, hopefully true, but not certain” (TWOT 116). It’s something that’s absolutely dependable; something that gives you stability.

Know therefore that Yahweh your God himself is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with them who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations

Deuteronomy 7:9, WEB

We can rely on our faithful God. This fact is emphasized over and over in scriptures, particularly in the Old Testament. But God also wants to be able to rely on us to act faithfully. It’s a commitment that is supposed to go both ways, as it did with Abraham, David, and Hezekiah (Neh. 9:7-8; 1 Kings 3:6; 2 Chr. 31:20).

Image of four people sitting around a table with their Bibles open overlaid with text from Ps. 101:6, WEB version: "My eyes will be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He who walks in a perfect way, he will serve me."
Image by Ben White from Lightstock

A Thing and an Action

Faith in the New Testament also involves action and devotion, but it’s a little harder for us to see that in our modern translations. In Greek, “faith” is translated from the noun pistis (G4102), which implies active loyalty and trust. The verb form pisteuo (G4100) is often translated “believe.” Now, that makes things a bit confusing because in English faith and belief aren’t quite the same. The top definition for “faith” provided by Google and Oxford Languages is “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” For “believe,” the top definition is “accept (something) as true; feel sure of the truth of” and it’s also become synonymous with “think” or “suppose.” So there are overlaps in the definitions, but they don’t have the same connotations.

As I talked about in my newsletter earlier this week, there isn’t a verb (action) form of “faith” in English–it’s always a noun (person, place, or thing)–so translators had to use a different word to translate the action-form of “faith.” We need to keep that in mind when we’re reading the New Testament. When we read “believe” it’s not just an intellectual agreement or an emotional feeling that something is true; it is faith in action. Even when Bible writers use the noun form, they still describe faith as something that you’re supposed to do, not just have.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. 

Matthew 23:23, WEB

We can’t leave faith “undone.” It’s an active thing. When we read that Jesus came preaching, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News” (Mark 1:15, WEB), “believe” is a command to engage in the activity of faith.

 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father.

John 14:11-12, WEB

We often think of faith as separated from works in modern Christianity, thinking of verses like Paul saying Abraham was justified by faith rather than his works (Rom. 3:27-4:21) while ignoring James using the exact same example to show that faith without works is dead (Jam. 2:14-26). Faith is absolutely connected to works–a faithful life naturally produces certain fruit. (Paul’s point is that salvation is not dependent on works, but on the faithfulness of Jesus and our active belief in Him.)

Image of a woman looking up at the sky overlaid with text from Jude 1:20-22, WEB version: "But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, maintain yourselves in the love of God, while anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that brings eternal life."
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Cultivating Active Faith

So what does faith do? In other words, if you have faith, what does it look like to turn that into action? For one thing, it leads to growth as a Christian.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.  I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he will grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, that Christ will dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love, you will be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you will be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14-19, NET

Remember, we’re talking about “faith” in the context of the fruit of the spirit. Here in Ephesians, Paul prayed for those in the church that they would be “strengthened with power through His spirit” so “that Christ will dwell in your hearts through faith.” God’s spirit inside us enables Christ to dwell in us through faith, and then that leads to major spiritual growth. One result of this growth is that faith shifts our mindset about things.

Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says. Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them.”

Mark 11:22-24 , WEB

This verse isn’t just about literally picking up mountains (though it certainly isn’t the only verse about faith/believing having tangible effects in the world [Mark 16:15-18; John 14:11-12]). It’s also about actually trusting that God responds when you talk with Him (John 16:24-27). To put it in Old Testament terms, faith on your part means actually trusting that God is faithful to His part of the covenant relationship.

But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I take no pleasure in him. But we are not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith and preserve their souls. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.  …

Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 10:38-11:1, 11:6, NET (bold italics mark a quotation from Hab 2:4).

We can’t function as Christians without faith. And we need to make a conscious effort to cultivate that faith in our lives. We need to hold onto faith (1 Tim. 1:18-19), pursue it (1 Tim. 6:11-12; 2 Tim. 2:22), fight for the faith (Jude 1:3; 2 Tim. 4:7-8), and build up our faith (Jude 1:20; Col. 2:6-7). Like the other character traits and inner attitudes described as “fruit of the spirit,” faith isn’t just something we have passively but something we actively cultivate as God works in and with us.

Acting On Faith

Image of a basket of fruit, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "Faith is part of the fruit of God’s spirit, and it influences every aspect of our lives as people who are being transformed by God."
Image by HeVoLi from Pixabay

Many people today think that faith in God means simply believing that He exists. But in biblical terms, that head knowledge only turns into faith when we act on it. If it’s just an intellectual acknowledgement of God’s existence and power, then it’s not any more “faith” than the sort of belief in God that demons have.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works. You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that—and tremble with fear.

James 2:14-19, NET

We need to be cautious about counterfeit versions of faith or things that tempt us to fall away from the faith. About 2,000 years ago, Paul warned Timothy, “Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared” (1 Tim. 4:1-2, NET). That’s no less true today than it was then. Somewhat ironically, navigating a world where people desert the faith and try to lure God’s people away from living faithful lives is one of the trials that can strengthen our faith (James 1:2-3).

… you may have to suffer for a short time in various trials. Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable than gold—gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away—and will bring praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, because you are attaining the goal of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:6-9, NET

Here, Peter reminds us that the end goal of faith is salvation. It’s not a one-time thing where we have a moment of faith, say we love Jesus, and then salvation happens right there. It’s a life-long process. When we enter a relationship with God, we’re making a covenant with Him that includes an agreement to be faithful to Him for the rest of our lives and on into eternal life (Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:10; Phil. 3:8-15) (and, on His part, He agrees to faithfully grant us forgiveness and salvation, share His spirit with us, and enable us to become like Him).

With God’s spirit inside us, faith reshapes our lives. It becomes a central aspect of us and something that we actively do as well as believe. Living in faith involves what we think, the way we conceptualize the world, how we respond to other people, the choices we make every day, and all of our actions. If you’d like to spend more time on this topic, follow this link to download any of my free 30-day scripture writing plans or click here to download the “faith” PDF directly:

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Song Recommendation: “By Faith” by Keith & Kristyn Getty

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Peace

Peace

Marissa

I decided to spend this week studying peace as part of the fruit of God’s spirit. This month in my local church’s lady’s scripture writing group, I shared the topic of “Sing Praise.” When I went to upload it here on my website so all of you could download it if you want, I realized that I never finished my Fruit of the Spirit scripture writing series. I still have “peace,” “faith,” and “gentleness” left to finish.

The Greek word for “peace” is eirene (G1515), a tranquil, blessed state with security and no strife. The Hebrew equivalent is shalom (H7965), wholeness; nothing missing, nothing broken. As I read through the 294 verses containing one of these words, I realized a lot of them aren’t about peace as something we do, or even necessarily as a character attribute that we develop. Most of them (208) are in the Old Testament, and a lot of those verses talk about people asking each other if they have peaceful intentions, or lamenting a lack of peace that’s associated with rebellion against God, or God assuring His people that He can provide them with peace.

I suppose I think of the fruit of the spirit as something we do. When the spirit is in us, then we practice “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23, WEB). But the verses about joy and peace at least make it seem more like something you have inside you because of who you are when transformed by the spirit. I suppose rather than thinking about this fruit as something we do, we should think of them as descriptions of who we become as people transformed by God, which will of course influence our actions.

Image of a man reading the Bible overlaid with text from 2 Cor. 13:11 version: "Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice, set things right, be encouraged, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you."
Image by Matt Vasquez from Lightstock

Peace In Relationship With God

Over and over, scriptures on peace link it to our relationship with God. He either promises to “give peace” to those who follow Him, or people following Him speak of the peace that they experience when they love Him and His law.

Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, “This is how you shall bless the children of Israel. You shall tell them, ‘Yahweh bless you, and keep you. Yahweh make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. Yahweh lift up his face toward you, and give you peace.’ So they shall put my name on the children of Israel; and I will bless them.” 

Numbers 6:23-27, WEB

Those who love your law have great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble. 

Psalm 119:165 , WEB

Peace is something intimately associated with God. We’ve talked about it before on this blog, so you might remember that in Hebrew, names are intimately associated with a person’s character and reputation. In one Messianic prophecy, Jesus Christ is called the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). In the book of Judges, Gideon “built an altar … and called it “Yahweh is Peace'” (Jud. 6:24, WEB). Those are the only two places in the Old Testament that “peace” is listed as a name for Yahweh or the Messiah, but peace is consistently described as something He provides.

Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should go. Oh that you had listened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”

Isaiah 48:17 , WEB

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ.  For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition,  having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace;  and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. 

Ephesians 2:13-17, WEB

There’s a lot more to godly peace than simply feeling peaceful or being a peacemaker. Thinking about those Greek and Hebrew words I mentioned in the intro, peace involves tranquility, blessedness, security, and wholeness. There’s peace in God leading us in His way of life, in the redemptive work of the Messiah, and in our covenant relationship with the Father and Son.

Image of a woman reading the Bible overlaid with text from Isaiah 32:17-18, WEB version: "The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in a peaceful habitation, in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting places."
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Peace as Something We Do

In the Old Testament, peace is mostly described as something God gives us or which naturally occurs in our lives when we keep covenant with Him and obey His commandments. A few times, though, peace is something we’re commanded to do.

Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace, and pursue it. 

Psalm 34:14 , WEB

These are the things that you shall do: speak every man the truth with his neighbor. Execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates, and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate,” says Yahweh.  

Zechariah 8:16 , WEB

These sorts of instructions become more common in the New Testament. Peace is still something God gives us (John 14:27; Rom. 5:1-2; 2 Thes. 3:16), but it’s also more often described as something that we choose to participate in.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.

Romans 12:17-18, NET

Peace between ourselves and other people is a topic that comes up frequently (Mark 9:50; Rom. 14:19; 2 Cor. 13:11; Eph. 4:1-3). This is especially important to God in our relationships with other people in His church. Unity, peace, and interactions that build each other up are something He repeatedly commands (in contrast to condemning disunity, strife, and tearing each other down).

Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But refuse foolish and ignorant questionings, knowing that they generate strife. The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but be gentle towards all, able to teach, patient.

2 Timothy 2:22-24 , WEB

Peace As Part of Our Lives

Image of two people facing each other with their hands clasped overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "Peace is part of the fruit of God’s spirit, a key aspect of who we become as people transformed by God."
Image by Jantanee from Lightstock

As part of the fruit of the spirit, peace is something we choose and something we’re gifted from God. His spirit inside us, which is part of our New Covenant relationship with Him, enables us to have peace inside us and to cultivate peace around us no matter what else is going on.

Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:6-9, NET

When the God of peace is with us and filling us with His spirit, peace should be a natural fruit of our lives. We’re still human, though, and we need to work on living in the spirit rather than the flesh, including choosing to live lives of peace. That involves cultivating peace inside us and making peace with those around us as much as we possibly can.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. 

James 3:17-18 , WEB

As people whose lives are being transformed by God, “peace” should be one of the key characteristics that His spirit produces in us (Gal. 5:22-23). If we lack peace, we can ask God to cultivate it inside us. If we struggle behaving peacefully with other people, and can repent of any associated sins and ask for God’s help to choose peace and make peace. He is the God of peace–Yahweh Shalom–and He is perfectly capable of putting His peace into the lives of people living in relationship with Him.

Click here to download a free 30-Day Scripture Writing Plan on the topic of “Peace.”

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Song Recommendation: “Benediction (May The Peace Of God)” by Keith and Kristen Getty

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Getting A Heart Transplant from God

Getting A Heart Transplant from God

Marissa

One of the many things consistent through the whole Bible, Old and New Testaments, is that God is deeply concerned with the state of His people’s hearts. As early as the flood, “it grieved Him in His heart” to see “that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil” (Gen. 6:5-6, WEB). The heart-state of mankind didn’t get much better as the years went on. Later, of ancient Israel, God said, “Oh that there were such a heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” (Deut. 5:29,WEB). He’s longed for a heart-level relationship with people since He created us, but for centuries our hearts weren’t in it.

One of the big promises about the New Covenant was that God said to His people, “I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh” (Eze. 36:26, WEB). The author of Hebrews talks about this happening in us today as God writes His laws on our hearts because of Jesus mediating the New Covenant (Heb. 8:6-11; 10:14-16). Interestingly, this discussion of new hearts and new spirits is deeply connected to the change in how New Covenant believers relate to the law of God compared to Old Covenant believers.

Image of an autumn leaf with a heart shapecut out of it overlaid with text from Jer. 31:33-34, WEB version: “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh: “I will put my law in their inward parts, and I will write it in their heart. I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” ... “they will all know me, from their least to their greatest,” says Yahweh.
Image by Rebekka D from Pixabay

The Whole Inner Person

We often think of the mind as associated with thought and the heart only being emotion, but in Hebrew the heart symbolized all of a person’s inner workings. While leb has the same concrete meanings that it does in English, it is also “the richest biblical term for the totality of man’s inner or immaterial nature” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament [TWOT], entry 1071a). This includes the personality and mind, with leb standing for “emotion, thought, or will” (TWOT).

That has some interesting implications for how we interpret key Biblical passages. Take this one, for example: “The heart is deceitful above all things and it is exceedingly corrupt” (Jer. 17:9, WEB). This does not, as I’ve heard some say, simply mean you can’t trust your emotions or “follow your heart” in the modern sense of the phrase. It means humanity’s whole inner nature–both emotions and thought–is corrupt. At least, it’s that way until our hearts are healed and transformed by God.

“I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh; that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.”

Ezekiel 11:19-20, WEB

We need a “heart transplant” to make us more like our heavenly father. Remember in Deuteronomy, when God said, “Oh that there were such a heart in them that they would fear me and keep all my commandments always”? When He established the New Covenant, it included a way to fix that heart problem. And because there’s a change in our hearts–our entire internal makeup changing from human and fleshy to godly and spiritual–the way we interact with God and His way of life changes as well.

“It’s one thing to do good because we’re told it’s good and therefore we obey. It’s quite another to do good because we’re good deep down inside and goodness is what naturally flows out. That’s the new heart we’re promised and the new nature we’re given by God’s spirit.”

Chis Tiegreen, One Year Hearing His Voice devotional, Day 29

I came across this quote in my devotional for this year, and it’s what prompted me to write this post. The topic of God working in us and changing us is one we talk about often, but I liked the idea of looking at it from this perspective. It helps us understand a lot of the New Testament writers’ perspectives when we think of this change in heart involving a change in our inner nature. The goal is to become perfect like our “heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48. NET). When that happens, we’ll be good inside the way that God is good.

Image of a heart with light shining out of it overlaid with text from Heb. 10:21-22, NET version: "and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water."
Image by 愚木混株 Cdd20 from Pixabay

Paul’s Struggle With the Carnal Heart

Of course, the process of becoming perfect like God doesn’t happen all at once. It doesn’t even fully happen in any human lifetime. Jesus authors or begins our faith and He is in the process of working with us to bring it to completion, but that won’t be fully realized until His return and our change from flesh to spirit (Heb. 12:2; 1 Cor. 15:42-53). But we get to begin that change now, and that’s something Paul talks about in several of his letters, particularly Romans and Galatians.

In Romans, Paul talks about how we needed the law “when we were in the flesh” with active “sinful desires” because the law lets us know what sin is and the grave consequences of it (Rom. 7:1-12). Now, though, we have “died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God” (Rom. 7:4, NET). Now, if we stopped there, we might conclude there’s no law now under the New Covenant because we have Jesus and we don’t need anything else. But Jesus Himself said He wasn’t here to destroy the law but to fulfill it (i.e. to fill it up to its fullest extent). Paul’s actually talking about a struggle here between the flesh, which needs to obey God’s law, and the spirit, which should just be good because it’s like God.

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good. Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual—but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want—instead, I do what I hate. But if I do what I don’t want, I agree that the law is good. But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me.

Romans 7:12-20, NET

Paul is talking about the same problem that God identified with so many people in the Old Testament. Their hearts are corrupt, they are “unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin.” They might even agree that the law is good, but when “nothing good lives in” your “flesh” then you’re not going to be truly good even if you obey the law most of the time. As Paul said earlier in Romans, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23, NET).

So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Romans 7:21-8:4, NET

Now we see Paul discussing God’s solution to the problem. Through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the Lord is transforming us so we can walk “according to the Spirit” instead of “according to the flesh.” In other words, He’s replacing our heart of stone and giving us a heart like His. Circling back to the Tiegreen quote about obeying because we’re told to do good vs obeying because we are good, I think Paul’s statement, “I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin” applies. The part of Paul being transformed and made perfect has God’s law written on his heart; he serves God in the spirit and doesn’t need an external law to make him fulfill “the righteous requirement of the law.” But the part of Paul that’s still human needs that “law of sin” (i.e. God’s law that pointed out what sin is and condemns it) to show him the difference between right and wrong.

Working With God to Build Relationship

Image of a crown-of-thorns ring on a Bible casting a heart-shaped shadow, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "God wants a heart-level relationship with people, but our hearts on their own don't want to connect with Him or follow His ways. We need new hearts."
Image by James Chan from Pixabay

Because of the heart-work that God is doing in us, we can choose to “live by the Spirit and … not carry out the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16, NET). In this passage in Galatians, Paul then goes on to detail the “works of the flesh” (sins) and the “fruit of the spirit” (godly character) so we can make sure we’re on the right track (Gal. 5:16-6:8). Remember, we’re still not perfect yet. While we can trust our hearts more and more as they’re transformed by God (see 1 John 3:21), we still need to examine ourselves and ask for God’s perspective on us to make sure we’re not getting off-track (1 Cor. 11:28-32; 2 Cor 13:5-6).

So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God. 

Philippians 2:12-13, NET

God invites us to work with Him on transforming our hearts. We get to work on our salvation as He’s working in us. We even get to participate in purifying our hearts (Jas. 4:8). It’s part of the relationship He longs to build with us. If He just did everything for us–or if we could do everything on our own–we wouldn’t be building relationships with Him. And that’s His ultimate goal: to grow the God-family by welcoming new family members into the oneness that the Father and Jesus already share. The “heart transplant” He offers us is just one step toward that goal.

Featured image by Photo Mix from Pixabay

Song Recommendation: “Heartbeat of Heaven” by Jean Watson

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How and Why To Find Your Spiritual Gifts

How and Why To Find Your Spiritual Gifts

Marissa

My husband and I have been moving my office furniture to make a nursery on the first floor of our house (we have steep stairs to the upstairs bedrooms, so baby won’t move up there for a few years). In that process, I’ve been taking all my books off the shelves and, in some cases, being reminded of some that I’d forgotten I had.

One of those is Live Your Calling: A Practical Guide to Finding and Fulfilling Your Mission in Life by Kevin and Kay Marie Brennfleck. The focus of this book is on finding your God-given purpose in life, which they break into six assessments: transferrable skills, core work values, preferred roles, personality type, compelling interests, and spiritual gifts. I mentioned the spiritual gifts assessment briefly in my “Finding Your Gifts” post from 2015, which probably means I first read this book about 10 years ago.

Finding this book on my shelf reminded me how passionate I used to be about spiritual gifts. I’d even had plans for an ambitious interactive seminar (back when I’d given two seminars and thought I might end up doing more) about discovering your spiritual gifts, though I didn’t get much beyond the note taking and idea gathering phase. I still think about it every once in a while, like last year when I heard someone at a church gathering hesitantly say they didn’t think they had any spiritual gifts.

Many of us wonder what our spiritual gifts are. If we don’t know our gift–or don’t think we have a gift–and we hear that everyone with God’s spirit is supposed to have a gift, we might feel discouraged or question if there’s something wrong with us. if we do know our gift and don’t know how to use it–or struggle finding opportunities to use it–that can also be frustrating. Figuring out what our gifts are and how to use them can help strengthen our relationship with God and feel more comfortable or confident in our role within His church.

Image of a young woman standing in a church group reading the Bible, overlaid with text from 1 Cor. 12:1, 4-7, NET version: "With regard to spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ...Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different results, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all."
Image by José Roberto Roquel from Lightstock

How To Find Spiritual Gifts

My interest in my own spiritual gifts started with a Bible study at church when I was in my late teens or early 20s. Our pastor at the time handed out a printed questionnaire that, when you answered honestly and scored it, was supposed to indicate which gift or gifts you’re most likely to have. One of mine was, by quite a high score, identified as prophecy. That was super confusing for me, so I started looking for other assessments and more information (I also wrote about this in a 2014 post). I eventually decided that I had teaching-related gifts, which could be described as prophecy/inspired speaking, instruction, or teaching depending on the assessment and which verses or translations they used as the basis of their resources. This blog is the main output of my spiritual gift.

If you want to learn what your spiritual gift is, an assessment like that can be a good place to start (if you’re curious, a Google search will turn up several options). But tests like that are just a starting place. They guide a self-assessment of what might be your gifts; they don’t provide a definitive answer, but they can give us ideas and insight.

I suspect that often, the gifts that we have are so natural to us–they become so much a part of our nature–that we struggle identifying them. We might not think of them as gifts; it’s just who we are. With that in mind, it can also be helpful to ask people who know us well what they think our spiritual gifts are. For example, I know someone who probably wouldn’t say he has a spiritual gift of service, yet if anyone in the congregation expresses a need he could fill or talks about a project that in anyway aligns with his skillset, he enthusiastically volunteers to show up and help. You might also have a gift that’s obvious to the people around you, but from your perspective is just something you do.

Image of ___ overlaid with text from Phil. 2:2-4, NET version: "Complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose. Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well."
Image by Ben White Pearl from Lightstock

Gifts In Community

One of the key things, which I think is often overlooked in discussions about finding your spiritual gifts, is the importance of community. The gifts are meant to be used within the body of Christ, and I think it’s not too much of a stretch to say that they are best (perhaps only?) discoverable in a community of faith. In the famous passage on spiritual gifts from 1 Corinthians, Paul said, “To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all” (1 Cor. 12:7, NET). They’re individual gifts, but the purpose is to benefit the entire church community.

We’re so individualistic in the Western world; it’s baked into our cultural heritage. But if we approach our spiritual gifts from a perspective of I want to learn my gift so I know how God has blessed me and what He wants me to do, we’re missing a vital “we” aspect to spiritual gifts. As I talked about last year in “Reading Slowly Through 1 Corinthians 12: Contextualizing The Spiritual Gifts,” Paul emphasizes over and over that God is building a unified church led by Jesus Christ (with many groups scattered around the world, all acknowledging Jesus as Head), not merely working with individuals or separate church groups that follow human leaders with showy gifts. We are all in this together.

It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things. For just as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body—though many—are one body, so too is Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit. For in fact the body is not a single member, but many. …

On the contrary, those members that seem to be weaker are essential … God has blended together the body, giving greater honor to the lesser member, so that there may be no division in the body, but the members may have mutual concern for one another. If one member suffers, everyone suffers with it. If a member is honored, all rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and each of you is a member of it.

1 Corinthians 12:11-14, 22, 24-27, NET

God is careful about how He puts His church together. Everyone He calls into His family has a place in that family, and they all contribute to the health and unity of the body. All their gifts are essential to the healthy body. Paul reiterates this in another spiritual gifts passage, this one found in Romans. It comes immediately after Paul tells his readers “to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1, NET).

For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another. Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord.

Romans 12:4-11, NET

The “Why” Helps Us with “What”

Image of two people with clasped hands, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "Perhaps rather than studying ourselves trying to figure out our spiritual gifts, we should simply look for opportunities to serve within the body of Christ."
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When we wonder what our spiritual gifts are, I think the “why” of the gifts can help us figure out what God is enabling us to do within His church. The gifts God gives are “the manifestation of the Spirit” and He shares them with us “for the benefit of all” (1 Cor. 12:7, NET). We can’t separate our gifts–or ourselves–from the body of Christ, since “we are members who belong to one another” and our gifts are used in that context (Rom. 12:5, NET).

 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called,  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you too were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. … And he himself gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God—a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature.

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13, NET

The specific gifts discussed in this passage are mostly ministerial and teaching ones, but the context is Paul urging everyone in the Ephesian church to “live worthily of the calling” from God, to love others and “put up with” them, and to make “every effort to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.” Pair this with the gifts passage in 1 Corinthians, and it’s not much of a stretch to say we’re all responsible for using our gifts to “build up the body of Christ” and to contribute to “the unity of the faith.”

In relation to faith, we need to move away from thinking of and focusing on ourselves as individuals, and move toward thinking of ourselves as part of the church that Jesus and the Father are actively building. This might be very hard if we’re among the many people who don’t have a church group to fellowship with, whether it’s because there aren’t any nearby or we can’t travel because of personal circumstances (e.g. age, illness). It can also be hard when we have a church group we can attend, but we don’t feel safe, comfortable, or welcomed there. We have a caring and compassionate God, and He is our lifeline to the body of Christ when we genuinely can’t connect with other believers. We can still conceptualize ourselves as part of something bigger even if we can’t physically gather together for some reason.

For those of us who can fellowship with other believers, we might find that our spiritual gifts are easiest to identify when we engage with that community. Perhaps rather than studying ourselves trying to figure out our spiritual gifts, we should simply look for opportunities to serve. If you start asking what needs there are in your church that you could fill, you might find yourself asked or drawn to fill the needs that most match your gifts (for example, someone with a teaching gift could lead a small group, and someone with an administrative gift could help manage finances). You could also ask close friends what they think your gifts are. You might learn that they notice a side of you that you didn’t even realize was there (for example, people might consistently tell you you’re encouraging, and then you could start consciously using that gift more often). The more we seek to build up and benefit the body of Christ–remember, that’s the reason God gives His people gifts–the more likely we are to realize that God really does equip us to fill the roles He’s given us in His family.

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Song Recommendation: “Here I Am Lord” by Chris Bray

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