The Centrality of Jesus Christ and Our Spiritual Gifts

     When we try to understand God’s message to us and live in accordance with the will of God, we turn to the Scriptures for guidance. In them, God is disclosed in the person of Christ Jesus. Our Lord as the Almighty Creator, whose nature is love and who has given to humankind all that is necessary for holy living. Holy living that is graced by the Spiritual gifts of faith, hope and love.

      “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on My behalf.” (John 1:39). Through the Scriptures we gain the spiritual understanding and strength required to live in harmony with God’s purposes. It teaches us that God has ordered the world for God’s own purposes. God has appeared in the world in Jesus of Nazareth, “reconciling the world Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). This means that all our grace gifts are not the central point, but the person of God as revealed in Jesus Christ, our Savior, is. In His loving kindness He bestowed upon us His redeemed, graces to co-labor with Him in His mission.

     In music, art, athletics, or politics it is customary for gifted people to call attention themselves. Actors treasure their certain calls; artists revel in their exhibitions; athletes save their newspaper clippings; politicians enjoy when their admirers make glowing speeches about them. God’s gifted people; that is all of us who know Jesus personally, should work form motivation different from these. It is the honor of Christ that we should seek. The applause must go to Him and not us. We must not hug the credit.

     This is especially true in the exercise of the gift of speaking. As stewards of God’s grace, as servants doing His work in His power, we cannot preach a message of our choosing. Whoever speaks, Peter instructed, should speak “as one who utters oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11). What are these oracles? They are the promises and requirements of the living God who has made Himself known to us in Jesus. This side of Bethlehem’s stable, Golgotha’s cross, and Jerusalem’s empty tomb and God’s oracles about Jesus. He is God’s final Word to us. Our speaking them in the Spirit’s power must center in Jesus words and deeds. His worship is what we proclaim; His glory is what we covet “in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11).

      Not our pet persuasions, not our private hunches , not our own religious aspirations, but Jesus Christ to whom all glory and dominion belong is the theme of our preaching and teaching when we do it in the power of the Spirit. To cultivate the gifts of the Spirit we focus on Jesus. After all, the reason God sent His Spirit was to make Jesus known. Entertaining with grace, serving with dependence and speaking of Christ with assurance are the gifts of stewardship. They are to be performed not just with skill, but with poise and gracefulness. This significance of love, the importance of humility, the centrality of Jesus Christ, without these whatever gift we try to cultivate will rot before they ripen. Christ’s church will suffer from malnutrition.

      Giftedness and arrogance are arch enemies, as hostile towards each other as giftedness and selfishness. Gift and pride do not belong in the same sentence. Peter knew that and, therefore, urged his readers toward humility with words like these “ whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength God supplies” (1Pet 4:11). That last line slams the door on pride. What we do as believers in service to others we do in “the strength which God supplies.”

      Humility is important for a number of reasons. First our ability to render significant service is a gift not an achievement. Good service takes selflessness; it means setting aside what we might prefer to do to in order to give attention to the needs of others. Jesus illustrates this gift, with the towel and basin, when He washes His disciples’ feet (John 13: 1-20). Such serving does not come naturally to us. We would rather be waited on than to wait on others. Humility is important for a second reason: service is not only a gift; it is a gift of God. This makes it both precious and purposeful. Its purpose is powerfully stated by Peter; “in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” Peter 4:11). Washing feet, cleaning house, doing shopping, preparing food, bringing flowers are all to the glory of God! Daily chores that we do for the helpless and regular tasks that we perform in the church have the highest possible dignity because they make God’s glory known and bring joy to His heart.

     When we take credit for what we do it becomes easy them for us to look down on those we serve. In such a situation, service becomes our work, not God’s. Our purpose gets served, pride, self-satisfaction, public acclaim, not God’s. All of life goes out of kilter, and service becomes a liability to the church instead of an asset. Whatever polishes human glory tarnishes God’s glory. To let that happen is an unspeakable mistake. Cultivating God’s spiritual gifts calls us to honor the importance of humility in all we do, to put it better, in all He does through us. As good stewards of God’s varied grace, we draw on the grace He abundantly supplies. We have only one aim; to do the Master’s bidding. That means doing His work His way.

     God stewards are different from glamorous stars. They are not a law unto themselves; they are bound to the Master’s rule. Those rules insist that in whatever we do, we do for Him. We do it with three great realities in mind; 1) love, 2) humility and 3) the centrality of Jesus Christ. Cultivating spiritual gifts takes more than training and practice of doing; it takes training and practice of being. Christian character is an essential part of Christina service. In God’s program no one is gifted enough to be acceptable; neither generosity nor even martyrdom, the ultimate gift, accounts anything with God unless love is the motivation (1 Corinthians 13). God’s gifts are jewels whose beauty and brilliance are marred if their setting are tarnished.

     It is for this reason that Peter viewed hospitality as an attitude, as well as, an act. It could not be done well if it was done grudgingly. An open door must be matched by an open heart. Warm bread tastes best when spread with a warm welcome. Nothing makes a guest more uncomfortable than to know that they are just being tolerated and not truly received. The same grace and generosity with which our heavenly Father has swung the door wide open and ushered us into the heart of this family circle must mark those who have the gift of hospitality. Act and attitude must be in harmony.

     “The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers. Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another. As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. Whoever, speaks, as one who utters oracles of God, whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever “. Amen (1 Peter 4:7-11)
T. Cyprian Kia