Lesson 2: Spiritual Gifts - How We Should Treat One Another

"But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift." 

On Sunday, we took a simple spiritual gift test to see what gifts have been given to us. A "Spiritual Gift" is a special divine empowerment bestowed on each believer  by the Holy Spirit to accomplish a given ministry God's way. 

We will see the church grow as each member does his/her part according to the Holy Spirit's work,  grace and discernment given to each of us.  This means it is not just the pastoral staff that have gifts or is responsible for caring for God's people. We all are responsible for and to each other.  If you are a follower of Christ, then you have been gifted by God to serve the body of Christ, the church. For the church to be effective, each member of the body must heed the "one another command" of God to function as a body. The Greek word for "one another" is "allelon" which denotes a reciprocal and mutual work on the part of believers toward one another. It occurs 58 times in the New Testament, excluding the Gospels.

I read most of the "One Another" commands in class, but the one I like to focus on in this recap is "Accept one another".  "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (Romans 15:7).  Often times we have difficulty accepting people for who they are and we prefer that everyone be more like ourselves.  God made each of us unique in body, soul and mind.  The apostle Paul states in Ephesians Chapter 4:7, "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gifts."  Not only was Christ's gifts bestowed on each of us, but we are made differently to praise God.  I find that when you accept people for who they are (good or bad) you avoid a host of problems.  When you accept people for who they are you do not try to make them who you want them to be, which saves you much grief.

Every person Christ met he accepted them for who they were, even the Romans (who rule over his people at the time).  He did not try to change the color of their skin, the shape of their nose, or from female to male.  He accepted people with their original design.  He loved, cared, healed, fed, and changed their hearts so they may have life and have it more abundantly.

Of course, Christ told all of us to turn from our sins, because when you do it makes you a stronger and better person! Sin weakens the mind, soul and the body.  It diminishes the gifts God has given you. Sin diminishes your ability to think clearly. Your inability to think clearly causes you to make bad decisions.  Turning from sin does not take away from God's original design of you.  Instead, it enhances the design and enables you to use every gift Christ has given you to the fullest! 

 For His Praise!

Rev. Patricia McNair,

Riverside Assembly of God Women's Director 

and Pastor of Noble Light Ministries