1 Corinthians 12:7-13

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Questions to consider:

• What is the purpose of the gifts?
• What are your gifts?
• How are a person’s specific gifts determined?
• Is the truth of verse 13 apparent in your church community? In what ways?

Possibilities for prayer:

When I look through this list of spiritual gifts, I get very excited. It’s definitely excited that we’ve been granted the ability to do some pretty amazing things through the power of the holy spirit! Again there’s a need for discernment, however. One of the questions for today’s passage asked what your gifts are. Maybe you know what they are, and maybe you don’t. But one way to get an idea about what they might be is to pray and ask God to show you! So today, let’s do just that; let’s take some time to ask God to show us what our gifts are, particularly those gifts that might not naturally be so apparent to us.