Gifted By the Will of God

29 Nov

Gifted By the Will of God

2 Timothy begins with these words: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (2 Tim. 1-2).

God’s will is expressed in two ways. First, Scripture is very clear about how we all should live Christ into the ungodly culture of this present world. Second we are each given direction by the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.

When Paul wrote his two letters to Timothy, he clarified in the first how the church should be organized and administered. In the second letter he exhorted Timothy about his personal walk with the Lord. In 2 Timothy, Paul begins with establishing the basis of His authority, the will of God who called him to be an apostle, and using that authority to extend God’s grace, mercy, and peace to Timothy. While this appears to be a standard formula of greeting during the era of Paul’s life, it also indicates both the source of calling to ministry and the authority that comes with it.

Scripture makes it clear that we are each endowed with gifts of the Holy Spirit according to the will of God. Hebrews 2:3-4 states, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation which, at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him, God also bearing them witness with signs, wonders, diverse miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will?”

There are several passages that delineate specific gifts of the Holy Spirit including Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4. But the primary focus of those gifts is the unity of the Church, the Body of Christ, through the Holy Spirit. As Ephesians 4:1-8, 11-13 says, “There is one body and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all, through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When He ascended up on high He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men…And He gave some, apostles, and some, prophets, and some, evangelists, and some, pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

Upon salvation we are each gifted, authorized, and continuously enabled by God to accomplish our individual calling and work within the Body of Christ, His Church. Scripture tells us all about our calling and direction as children of God, believers in Jesus Christ’s accomplishment of redemption on the cross, but how we are to carry out our unique giftedness and calling for specific ministry is directed individually by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. The emphasis of our activities needs to always be on God’s use of the gift He has given us, and not on the gifts themselves, nor on the gifts God has given others. 1 Corinthians 14:12 admonishes us “Even so you, forasmuch as you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that you may excel to the edifying of the church.”

No matter what our vocation or achievements within the business of life, this outpouring of the Holy Spirit by the exercise of the gift each of us has been given is THE highest calling.