For as in one body we have many members… so we, though many, are one body in Christ… Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.
—Romans 12:4-6
Perhaps the best picture in all of Scripture for the church is a body. And just as a physical body has many different parts, each one distinct, each one necessary, all working together in unity and yet diversity, so it is with the body of Christ. As the saying goes, “Everybody is somebody in His body.” And that includes you.
Some people imagine the way to grow in faith is to go it alone, isolated like a monk in a monastery. There are seasons to get alone with God, and Jesus Himself often withdrew to pray. But the pattern of His life was to be among the people, healing them, serving them, eating with them. If you want to be like Jesus, you won’t pull away from His body; you’ll find your place in it.
Now here’s the truth that should both humble us and free us: “we, though many, are one body.” We are not all equal in giftedness, but we are all equally needed. The eye can’t do what the hand does, and the hand can’t do what the foot does, but the body needs them all. There’s no such thing as a useless member, and there’s no such thing as a member who can sit out.
And notice this: you already have your gift. It’s not something you earn somewhere down the road of life, it’s something you discover. The moment you were saved, the moment you were born into the family of God, the Holy Spirit did not come into your life empty-handed. He came bringing gifts. Birthday gifts, you might say, for your new birth. So, the question is not whether you have a spiritual gift. You do. The question is whether you’ve discovered it and are using it.
Paul lists several of these gifts right here, prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, mercy. They’re wonderfully different. Some are public, some are quiet and behind the scenes. Some stand up front; some serve where no one sees. But every one of them is given “according to the grace given to us”, freely, by God’s choosing, and every one of them is meant to be used.
That’s the part we can’t miss: “let us use them.” A gift unopened is a gift wasted. And sadly, many Christians have never discovered, developed, and deployed the gift God placed in them. They sit in the pew as spectators while the Spirit waits to work through them.
Think of what your church, your Bible study, your ministry would look like if every member found their gift and put it to use, the teachers teaching, the servers serving, the givers giving, the merciful showing mercy, the leaders leading with zeal. That’s a body functioning the way God designed it, healthy and strong and reaching the world.
EVERYBODY IS SOMEBODY IN HIS BODY. YOU HAVE A SPIRITUAL GIFT. DISCOVER IT, AND USE IT FOR THE KINGDOM.
