You Were Gifted for This

Big Idea:

Every believer has received gifts from God to build up His church.

Last week, we began with a simple truth:

Every part matters

And because of this, You Belong Here.

Paul showed us in 1 Corinthians 12 that the church is one body made up of many members. We are not all the same. We do not all have the same function. We do not all have the same abilities. But God has arranged the members of the body, each one of them, as He chose.

And we ended last week with this:

You belong here. And because you belong here, you matter here.

But if every part matters, then every part has a purpose.

It is one thing to know that you belong to the body. It is another thing to ask, “What has God given me to do as part of this body?”

Because God did not simply save you and give you a place. He also gave you something to do in that place.

That's where Paul takes us in Romans 12.

He is going to talk about gifts. He is going to talk about service. He is going to talk about the different ways God has graciously equipped the members of His body.

But before Paul ever tells us to use our gifts, he starts somewhere we might not expect.

He starts with humility.

Because before we can properly use what God has given us, we have to properly understand where it came from.

Your gift is not something you earned.

Your gift is not something that makes you better than somebody else.

And somebody else's gift is not something you need to desire for yourself.

God gave you what He gave you.

God gave them what He gave them.

And He gave those gifts by His grace so that every member of His body could do what He has called them to do.

Last week we learned:

Every part matters because You Belong Here.

This week we take the next step:

You were gifted for this.

But before we move into verse 3, we need to remember how Paul begins this chapter. Rom. 12:1-2

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Paul says in verse 1, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.”

That word “therefore” matters. Paul is reaching back to everything he has already taught about the mercies and grace of God. For eleven chapters, Paul has told us what God has done for us, and now he turns and asks what our lives should look like because of it.

In other words, Romans 12 is not about doing something so that God will give us His grace. It is about what we do because God has already given us His grace.

We don’t serve to receive the grace of God. We serve because we have received the grace of God.

And Paul says our response is to present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice—a continual life of submission and service to Him.

Keep that in mind, because it controls everything Paul is about to say about our gifts.

Romans 12:3–5 ESV

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Humility Comes First

Humility. What is this exactly?

It is not self-degradation, nor is it self-destruction. Humility is the proper understanding of who we are in consideration of our Creator. It is recognizing how fully dependent we are upon Him for all things. We do not claim to be more than we are or claim to have more than we have, but neither do we deny what we have or what God has enabled us to do.

Simply put, we know that what we have is from God.

And notice that Paul has just talked about the renewal of our minds in verse 2:

“Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”

Then look at the language he uses in verse 3. He tells us not “to think” more highly of ourselves than we ought “to think,” but “to think with sober judgment.”

So where does this renewed mind begin to show itself?

In how we think about ourselves.

A renewed mind sees ourselves properly in relation to God.

I don’t claim to be more than God has made me. But neither do I deny what God has given me.

That’s humility.

Humility thinks truthfully about what God has given us because humility remembers where it came from.

Paul exhibits this clearly in verses 3–4. He acknowledges that he speaks only “by the grace given” to him. He also calls everyone “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment” (Romans 12:3, ESV).

The inference here is that we also do not do less than what God has called and gifted us to do. Paul immediately speaks of how we are all one body with different functions:

“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function.”

—Romans 12:4, ESV

Many members, all part of one body.

All matter, and all are valuable because each person has a specific role. No one else does that role as that person does, even if someone else is gifted similarly. Your gift is yours, and that is that. God gave you that gift, and He gave another gift to someone else. Use what God has given you rather than desiring what He has given someone else.

Don’t brag about your gift, and don’t cut yourself down because of it. Be properly humble. Use that gift to God’s glory, and praise Him for the grace He has given you to use it.

Verse 5 demands this because we are all part of Christ:

“So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

—Romans 12:5, ESV

Remember in the Gospels when Christ said, “If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand” (Mark 3:25, ESV).

Let us not be divided because we are jealous of another’s gifting or because we become overly humble about our own. Just as Ecclesiastes warns, “Be not overly righteous” (Ecclesiastes 7:16, ESV)—do not become self-righteous or so important in your own eyes that you elevate yourself above others. Likewise, we should not become overly humble and therefore deny what God has gifted us to do.

Use your gifts and honor God.

Don’t honor the devil by refusing to use what God has given you because you are overly humble.

God Gives Different Gifts

Romans 12:6–8 ESV

6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

We see in verses 6–8 that God gives these differing gifts. As such, who are we not to allow them to work?

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.”

—Romans 12:6, ESV

God has given you what you have. When you use the gift given to you by Him, you are worshiping God.

And I don’t use that word worship accidentally.

Go back to verse 1.

Paul says presenting ourselves as living sacrifices is our “spiritual worship.”

The word Paul uses for worship carries the idea of service or worship of God. Those two ideas belong together here.

Sometimes we separate them. We think worship is what we do when we sing, and service is what we do when the singing is over.

But Paul has already called the offering of our entire lives to God worship.

So when Paul gets to verse 6 and says:

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them,”

this is still part of presenting ourselves as living sacrifices.

Using what God has given you in service to Him is part of your worship of Him.

How?

You are telling Him, “Because of You, I can do this. And since You have enabled me to do this, I will do it and glorify Your name among others so that they see You.”

Simply put, your light shines before others so that they see your heavenly Father:

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

—Matthew 5:16, ESV

Worship God by allowing those giftings to shine.

If teaching—teach.

If prophecy—forthtelling—do so in proportion to the faith and gifting God has given you.

If service—serve others.

If giving—give generously of your time, talent, and money.

Use all that God has blessed you with for His glory and honor.

Worship the Lord who gave these things to you. Lift His name high by honoring Him with what He has given you.

Use the Gifts You Have

Paul expected the church to use their giftings. As members of the body, that means all of us have a function.

All your body parts work whether you are consciously thinking about them or not. And when one is not working correctly, you know it very well.

As the body of Christ, we must do what we have been blessed to do. And the beauty of this is that you can do it because the Lord has gifted you to do it.

Use those gifts. That is what Paul is saying.

Why?

Because God has graced you with them.

God has graced you with life, and you live each day.

God has gifted you with eternal life in Christ, and we glory in that daily.

God has graced you with gifts. Why would you not use them as He has apportioned them?

And this brings us right back to the beginning of the chapter.

Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.

This is not a one-time offering. A living sacrifice keeps living for the One to whom it has been offered.

So I don’t offer myself to God on Sunday and then take myself back on Monday.

I continually submit what I have, what I can do, and what God has given me to the Lord.

My gifting is part of that offering.

If I have presented myself to God, then I have presented my gift to God too.

Paul’s words are simple:

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.”

—Romans 12:6, ESV

Let us use them.

Don’t Compare Your Gift

And finally, don’t compare.

We all have importance and use. All are necessary. All have high value.

We need each one.

We need each other.

Bickering and fighting about which gift is greater or which person is best is not showing love. It is not accomplishing the mission we have been given.

Paul says that even having extraordinary giftings amounts to nothing without love:

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

—1 Corinthians 13:1, ESV

Love keeps us going right and true.

Love ends comparison.

Love keeps the focus on the Gift Giver over the gift.

Too often, we worship the gift more than the Gift Giver.

When we compare, we have shifted our focus from the Gift Giver to the gift.

But when we recognize that God gave this gift to me and that gift to you, comparison loses its purpose.

Your gift is yours, and that is that.

Use what God has given you.

Let others use what God has given them.

And together, as one body with many members, use them all for the glory of the One who gave them.

Conclusion

So what has God given you?

Not what has He given the person sitting beside you.

Not what has He given the person standing on this stage.

Not what gift do you wish you had.

What has God, by His grace, given you?

Paul says:

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.”

Let us use them.

That's the call.

Don't think too highly of yourself because of what God has given you.

Don't think so little of yourself that you refuse to use what God has given you.

Don't look at somebody else's gift and wish it were yours.

And don't look at your gift and believe it makes you more important than somebody else.

Your gift is yours, and that is that.

God gave you that gift.

God gave another gift to someone else.

And He put both of you in the same body.

So let the teacher teach.

Let the servant serve.

Let the giver give generously.

Let the encourager encourage.

Let the leader lead.

Let the one who shows mercy do it cheerfully.

Let the body function.

Because every time you faithfully use what God has graciously given you, you are saying something about the God who gave it.

You are saying:

“God, this came from You. You gave me the grace to do this. So I will take what You have given me, use it for the good of Your body, and give the glory back to You.”

That's worship.

And when we understand that, comparison begins to die.

Because I'm no longer looking at your gift.

I'm looking at the One who gave me mine.

I'm no longer asking why God made you an eye and made me a hand.

I'm thanking God that there is an eye, thanking God that there is a hand, and asking whether I am faithfully doing what He has given me to do.

Church, every part matters.

But a part that matters was meant to function.

God has given you a place.

God has given you grace.

God has given you gifts.

Use them.

Present yourself as a living sacrifice.

Take what God has given you and place it back before Him.

Your time.

Your abilities.

Your resources.

Your opportunities.

Your gifts.

“God, You gave this to me by Your grace, and I give it back to You through my service.”

That is the life of a living sacrifice.

That is worship.

Use them for one another.

Use them for His church.

Use them for His mission.

Use them so that your light shines before others and they give glory to your Father in heaven.

Don't worship the gift.

Worship the Gift Giver by faithfully using what He has given you.

You belong here.

You matter here.

And you were gifted for this.