In Ephesians chapter four Paul gives us a glimpse of what the gifts of the Holy Spirit are meant for.\u00a0 Paul starts out with humility, tolerance and love:<\/p>\n
Eph 4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,
\nEph 4:3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.<\/p>\n
Paul then goes on to emphasize oneness:<\/p>\n
Eph 4:4 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
\nEph 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
\nEph 4:6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.<\/p>\n
And from oneness to the spiritual gifts:<\/p>\n
Eph 4:7\u00a0 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
\nEph 4:8 Therefore it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”<\/p>\n
The reason for the spiritual gifts, Paul says, are for building each other up until we all attain to unity:<\/p>\n
Eph 4:12\u00a0 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
\nEph 4:13\u00a0 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.<\/p>\n
So if the equipping of all of the saints is the result of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the goal then is unity, let\u2019s think about how this impacts us and what value there is in the gifts of women:<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 If the gifts of the spirit bring unity, then why are women\u2019s gifts not being used for the benefit of the entire body of Christ?<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0 How do we attain to the unity of the faith without all of us working together for the benefit of the entire body?<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0 Do we have one side of the body of Christ being built up and edified and the other side missing some of the nourishment that is provided for the body?\u00a0 When we hold back women\u2019s gifts from the benefit of men, are we not guilty of keeping the men malnourished by holding back some of their nourishment?<\/p>\n
If we say that women have nothing that a man needs, then are we not guilty of saying that women\u2019s gifts are not necessary for anyone?\u00a0 If men can get all they need from men alone, then women too can get all they need from men alone.\u00a0 Women\u2019s gifts then with this reasoning, are not really needed because women’s gifts provide nothing that is not already provided by men.\u00a0 But that is simply not the case.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit has given each one gifts that are unique and are necessary for the nourishment of the body. When all of us are set free to operate in the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given us, then we will all attain to the unity of the faith.\u00a0 The mature body of Christ needs complete nourishment and women’s gifts are required for the edification and the building up of the entire body of Christ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Ephesians chapter four Paul gives us a glimpse of what the gifts of the Holy Spirit are meant for.\u00a0 Paul starts out with humility, tolerance and love: Eph 4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, Eph 4:3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Paul then goes on to emphasize oneness: Eph 4:4 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the…<\/p>\n