Our Seek the Gifts series on the gifts of the Spirit continues after we looked at how denominations believe and teach about the gifts. Now we will look at the benefits of the gifts and why the Spirit gives them to us.

In a way, asking this question like this with the wrong motives suggests we want the gifts for ourselves. But when we think about how the Spirit gives the gifts, we find He gives them for the benefit of others.

So when we ask how the gifts help us, we are asking how the gifts help the Church. We do benefit from the gifts as part of the body of Christ. But God uses our gifts to help others, and others’ gifts to help us. So let’s look closer at how the gifts help the Church.

For Ministering to One Another

The Holy Spirit ministers through us to the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:7 Paul teaches the Spirit gives for the common good of the believers. We all benefit from people using their gifts. When they speak a prophecy from God or a word of knowledge or wisdom, we benefit from that word.

When we minister to one another out of the outflow of the Spirit, God speaks through others to us. We receive wisdom, encouragement, correction, and guidance. All of this comes from the Spirit, who is working through others for the whole church.

This is why Paul says the gifts are for our common good. One person can speak or do whatever their gift is and we all benefit from the Spirit’s word to us. He blesses us with His word and ministry to us.

Sometimes he uses you in your gift in your gifting to bless the church and other times it is someone else. The Spirit uses whomever He wishes to minister to His body. Everyone has different gifts, so He has many people through whom to minister.

For Leading the Body of Christ

The Holy Spirit leads His church. Everything He does is for our benefit. He teaches, guides, and speaks to us. In fact, He gives leadership gifts to those in the body to help us to follow Him. In Ephesians 4:11, the Spirit gives us the fivefold leadership gifts for ministry.

The Spirit ministers to us through all the gifts. But through apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, He guides His Church. We will talk more about the leadership gifts in a later post. But when everyone is properly using their gifts, the Spirit is in charge of His message for us.

He must be in charge, because when we go rogue with our gifts, we dishonor the Spirit and can lead others astray from His will. People trust the gifts the Spirit uses in us. Aside from God’s Word and prayer, the Spirit uses the gifts in us to lead His Church.

We have a divine privilege in using the Spirit’s gifts. But we also have a responsibility to follow His leading. We will talk about all of this in later posts. But we must realize our privilege and responsibility because the Spirit ministers through us with the gifts He gives.

For Equipping and Unifying the Body of Christ

Our gifts, especially the leadership gifts, lead the church into unity in Christ (Ephesians 4:12-16). The Spirit equips and builds us up. He gives us the tools to face the world and bring glory to Him. When He gives us gifts, He prepares us to minister to one another.

All of this helps us and other Christians. But the goal for giving us gifts is unity in the body. The Holy Spirit wants us to grow into the knowledge of Jesus. We grow in knowing Jesus more deeply. And we all grow closer in our faith, trusting in Jesus together.

We grow into maturity, perfection God desires in us. Jesus is making us more like Him, and the Spirit is the member of the Godhead responsible to bring us to that maturity. We grow to gather into the unity of Christ. We experience life together and the Spirit’s ministry together.

Think of what you were like before you were part of the body of Christ. Every wave of opinion moved you. You listened to your fleshly desires. Even when you were young in Christ, without the guidance of the Spirit through the body and more mature believers, you believed everything you heard.

But the Holy Spirit guides you and teaches you through the ministry of the body. The Spirit gives us a great gift in speaking the truth through others, but with love. If we only have the truth, it can cause us to receive it with anger because we feel it’s too harsh.

And if we only have love, it keeps us from seeing the truth. We must have both, the truth first because it keeps us grounded in reality. But we need to hear it in love so we can respond the right way.

Through the Spirit and His gifts in us, He holds us together. He sustains us and gives us life. As the Holy Spirit equips us and builds us, we experience unity in the body and Jesus calls us together.

For Giving Gifts to the Church

The Holy Spirit delights in giving the gifts to us. He distributes the gifts to each person. If God wanted to, He could speak directly to us without gifts. But He chooses to give the gifts to us and minister through us to others.

These great blessings given by the Spirit allow us to be part of His ministry to the body of Christ. What a privilege to serve the Lord through the gifts! He blesses us by allowing us to bless others through the gifts.

For Hearing from the Spirit

The Spirit speaks through us and others in the congregation. We hear from Him because of the gifts He bestows to us. He calls us to use the gifts He gives to each of us individually to speak to His body (Romans 12:4-5).

What a great blessing to hear from the Lord! So many people have no idea with their gods would say to them. One of the points of Scripture about idolatry is that the gods do not speak. Imagine being a pagan and having the gas what pleases your god.

But we as Christians do not have that problem. For one, our God speaks and makes clear to us His expectations. Second, He uses the gifts through others to encourage us and to help us grow closer to Him.

And all this comes through using the gifts. As long as me follow the Spirit’s leading, we hear God speaking to us. And through hearing His voice, we can obey Him and grow into maturity and unity together. It truly is a blessed gift through the gifts.

Wrapping Up

The Holy Spirit uses the gifts to help us in some amazing ways. As we follow His leading, we trust in Him and grow. He ministers through us and gives us the privilege of knowing Him together. So let us use the gifts to glorify Jesus and grow in Him. What are some benefits you have found using the gifts?

Up Next

We have seen how the Spirit uses the gifts for our benefit as the body of Christ. Next, we will discuss who the gifts of the Spirit are for.