“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:” (1 Peter 4:10, ESV)

Every Believer Has a Gift

Notice first that we should steward God's gift. Peter said that as each has received a gift, we must use those gifts to serve one another (10).

According to Peter, everyone with a gift in the church has something to offer the others in the church. This is particularly impressive when you think of the original recipients of Peter's letter. Many of them had lived their entire lives in the filth of idolatry. Many of them were the outcasts of society. And there are strong indications throughout Peter's letter that they had mostly been a partying and sensual people before surrendering to Christ. But, now converted, justified, and born of the Spirit, they all had something to offer the rest of the church.

In hockey, there is a penalty box for bad behavior. I don't follow or understand hockey very much, but that penalty box situation cracks me up—grown men, penalized, taking a timeout in a box with plexiglass walls so the whole world can watch them think about what they've done. I especially love it when way too many of them are stuffed in there at the same time.

I think many of us have a penalty box view of our usability before God. We think our past lives, our exposure to various sins, our bad behavior takes us out of the game. And, make no mistake, God wants us to pursue holiness because he is holy. The less we sin, the less we hurt others and ourselves. The less we sin, the less we hurt the church's mission. But, no matter our pasts, and sometimes because of our pasts, every true believer has something to offer the church. Every believer can be a gift to the rest of the church. He wants all of us to serve one another.

The Gifts of the Spirit

God envisions the church as a community with Christ as its head. He gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Ephesians 4:11). But he also gave the church every individual believer. Earlier in his letter, Peter introduced us to the priesthood of all believers. Though some word-based offices exist, all of us are called to serve others. And the Holy Spirit longs to gift and empower each one of us to make a difference in the church community.

And for each believer, God has gifts he wants to give them. Peter doesn't specifically mention the "gifts of the Spirit" that Paul wrote about, so he might also mean natural talents and abilities we've acquired over time. But he used the same word that is used to describe spiritual gifts elsewhere in the New Testament, so he must've at least been thinking of those gifts of the Spirit.

Before Jesus died on the cross, he told his disciples:

John 14:16–17 (ESV) — 16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Jesus said here that the Spirit was with his men, but he also promised the Holy Spirit would come and live within them. At that point, since he hadn't yet died and resurrected, the Spirit could not live within them. Jesus had to be the first to experience resurrection life. But after he rose and ascended, the Spirit would no longer only be with them, but in them.

And before Jesus left earth, he added:

Acts 1:8 (ESV) — 8 You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

So the Spirit was with them, would be in them, and would finally come upon them. And with the Spirit upon you, you become strengthened for the work God asks of you.

Part of God's Spirit coming upon and empowering us is by the gifts of the Spirit. Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 12:4–7 (ESV) — 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Though the gifts come in all sorts of packages and are used in all sorts of ways, it is God the Spirit who empowers them all in everyone. And he gives these gifts to us for the common good.

Paul went on to say:

1 Corinthians 12:11 (ESV) — 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

I don't have time today to break down every gift of the Spirit the New Testament mentions. I have done so in a previous series, and I would encourage you to listen to it, but we must know the Spirit has gifts he wants to give to each of his children. He gives them out as he wills. The Holy Spirit has a plan for your life, and this includes the gifts he intends to empower you with.

These gifts are not scary, strange, or self-focused. They are good and for the benefit of others. So pray for the Spirit to empower you and reveal the gifts he's given you. Jesus said:

Luke 11:13 (ESV) — 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Steward God's Gift

So every believer is meant to be a minister to other believers. And, according to Peter, we must steward the gifts God has given us. We must use the gifts he's given.

Recently, Christina and I were at a local restaurant we like. When we walked in, the young hostess kept giving me strange looks before finally admitting that I eerily reminded her of a villainous character on The Walking Dead television show. I assured her that whatever the character did in the show, I wouldn't do in the restaurant. Still, she stopped us on the way out to show us some pictures of the character she'd found online. She then commissioned me to watch a scene.

A month later, we returned, and she wanted to know if we'd watched the show. I said no. She scolded me and told me not to come back without watching it. Yes, ma'am. I dared not go back to Baja Cantina without watching a bit of that character.

In, of course, a much stronger sense, I dare not head to Christ's forever kingdom without executing the assignment he's given to me. The gifts he's given me are not for me. And the gifts he's given you are not for you. They are for us. And they glorify him. They must be used. It is the assignment we've been given.

Jesus told various stories about this concept. In one, a certain landowner, the master of a house, departed on a long journey, committing resources into the hands of three of his servants. With an eye on his return, the first two servants doubled the investment by the time the master returned. But the third servant buried his money in the ground, producing the exact same amount to the master. The master was not impressed with the third man. He had not used the gift given to him.

Brothers and sisters, Peter says we should be good stewards of God's varied grace (10). We must use the gifts he's given. We must fulfill the assignment he left us. Like Jesus said, ask the Father for the gifts he has for you, trusting him that he will give you the gifts of the Spirit he has planned for you.