115. Manifestation of the Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:7, 11, 18 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal….But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will….But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
The Promise is given to us that each one of the believers in Christ has been given a spiritual gift. This promise expects that each member of the Body will be used by the Spirit to edify and bless the church on earth. God will use everyone for His purpose in His Kingdom, and that’s a promise.
God set the members every one of them in the body. We may think that we chose which local church to join ourselves to, and that we chose what we will do in that local body. That how it seems. But the word and promise of God is different: 1) the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every person; 2) the Spirit divides to every one severally; and 3) God set the members every one of them in the body. God chooses us and He chooses how we fit in to the working of the Spirit in the Body of Christ.
Each believer is called to faith in Christ through the Gospel, and when called, God Himself distributes the gifts to each one individually for the edification of the Body and for impacting the world around it. God gives the gifts and then He orchestrates the working of those gifts in the Church. Every person has a role and a purposeful function to profit everyone else; and all of it is “as He will” and “as it has pleased Him.” God has also chosen a particular vocation in the world for us to fulfill and function according to it to the glory of God and the benefit of the neighbor. We just believe the Gospel and follow Him. Vocation = Calling. God calls us when and where and what and to whom and how we go about living our calling. The promise is that God gives it, God calls it, God directs it, God orchestrates it, God does it all, but He uses us to accomplish His will and plan. Through us God builds up the church and the church touches the unbelieving world around us. That’s His promise.