Lesson 2: Who am I in Christ? - Gifts - Love

On Saturday, April 10, 2010 as promised, our own c2C Leader: Ruben Morales Jr. began to answer the questions left unanswered from our 1st Lesson of Who am I in Christ covred back in March 27, 2010.

THE QUESTION: WHO AM I IN CHRIST?
To begin to understand who we are, we MUST know AND believe with our hearts the following statements:
1. I was chosen by Love (Ephesians 1:4-5)
2. I am property of God (1 John 5:19-20)
3. I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
4. I am a creation of his image (Genesis 1:27)
5. I am a son/daughter of promise (Galatians 4:28)
6. I am a member of the body of Christ (Ephesians 5:30-32)
7. I am his creation (Ephesians 2:10)
8. I am a soldier of Christ (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

During this meeting, Ruben focused on Statement # 1 – I was chosen by love.
He started by asking us the following questions: WHAT IS LOVE? And WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE IN LOVE?
Here are some of his answers combined with a bit of ours: When you love someone you shower them with gifts, you do anything for them, you cry with them, you laugh with them, you spend time with them, you speak with them and you think of them.

So what does that have to do with who we are in Christ? Well, we are here because God loved us so much that he has done everything for us. He constantly showers us with gifts. He cries with us when we cry, He laughs with us when we laugh. He loves to spend time talking with us and is ALWAYS thinking of us! His gifts to us are revealed in many different ways! Read ahead!

The greatest gift of all from God to us: grace –this gift was given when He gave His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, for our salvation because He loved us so. Even though we didn’t deserve it, His love for us was greater!

He further asked: what are other gifts from God for us? To answer that, Ruben explained that because we believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, there are different gifts given to us from each one of them (WHAT AN AMAZING REVELATION!). That means: WE GET SEPARATE GIFTS FROM THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT! TALK ABOUT BEING SPOILED BY OUR DADDY-thats alot of gifts!!!

Here is a brief list of them all:

Romans 12:6-8 (TNIV) - 6 we have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

SEVEN GIFTS FROM THE FATHER (the purpose and basic motivation of life):
1. The gift of Prophesies
2. The gift of service (Matthew 20:26)
3. The gift of teaching
4. The gift of exhortation/encouragement (Act 4:36, Hebrew 10:25)
5. The gift to allocate or spread/give (2 Corinthians 1:12, 8:2, 9:11-13)
6. The gift of perseverance/lead
7. The gift of mercy/compassion

Ephesians 4:11-12 (TNIV), “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”
FIVE GIFTS FROM THE SON (to equip the body of Christ and help our mission):
1. APOSTLES
2. PROPHETS
3. EVANGELISTS
4. PASTORS
5. TEACHERS

1 Corinthians 12:8-10 (TNIV), “To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

NINE GIFTS FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT:
1. The word of wisdom
2. The word of science/knowledge
3. Faith
4. Healing
5. Miraculous Powers
6. Prophesies
7. Discernment
8. Ability to speak in different tongues
9. Interpretation of Tongues

Other gifts include special grace which can be hospitality and celibacy!

As you can see, as the weeks pass by we are getting deeper and deeper into God’s word! Thereby, making it harder for us to write out all we are learning. That’s why we encourage you to join us in our next meeting. It's our desire that we all grow in knowledge and wisdom in His word, so that we may live according to His will and purpose for our life. This way we use all of our gifts given to us for the excellence of His kingdom!

Thank you God for loving us and showering us with so many gifts!