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Dr. Peter Kreeft once described God’s Church this way: He said it’s as a conspiracy of love for a dying world, it’s a spy mission into enemy territory ruled by the powers of evil, it’s a prophet from God with the greatest news the world has ever heard, it’s the most life-changing and most revolutionary institution that has existed on earth.” That is a mouthful! In 1 Corinthians Chapter 12, the Apostle Paul gave us some God-inspired truth about this revolutionary institution—about its origin and the way it works. He says the church owes its existence to the triune God; God builds and nurtures the church by equipping its members with spiritual gifts. Paul writes, “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” Spiritual gifts enable us to serve others on behalf of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit does not give gifts to make individuals look good, but to nurture and build the body of Christ. In the church, there is no big “I” and little “u.” Every gift and every person is important.
