Gifts Of The Spirit

 There is much confusion in the Church concerning the Gifts Of The Spirit and their correct use. The Corinthians lacked no spiritual gift. They were endowed with all-speech, enriched in all-knowledge, and equipped with great spiritual giftings as a testimony that Christ was confirmed among them, and yet we discover they were argumentative, sexually impure, and had retrogressed into unprecedented carnality, immorality, and spiritual infancy.
 The carnal Corinthians were exploiting their God-given spiritual gifts in an ungodly manner. They were using their gifts for self-gratification or as a means of control. Their self-indulgent, carnal behavior, presented the wrong message to the world about Christianity. Their conduct was more akin to the pagan masses than born-again children of God, and so Paul chastised them for exploiting their spiritual gifts in this ungodly way.
 He explained that unless they used their spiritual gifts correctly, they would be sending an indistinct message to both fellow-believers and the unsaved. Unless their spiritual gifts were used to convey the true message of God, they would convey a fuzzy and indistinct message.
 Just as spiritual gifts were exploited by some in those early days of the Church, there are those today who continue to use their spiritual gifts for their own purposes; for self-gratification, self-exaltation, ungodly manipulation, or to control others. Let us use the gifts and graces with which we have been endowed wisely and for God's glory, or we will be likened to the sound of an indistinct bugle which confuses others and dishonors the Lord.
1 Corinthians 14:8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?

Our United Prayer:
Thank You, Heavenly Father, for Your Word and the truths that are contained within its pages. we praise You for the wonderful way You taught the early Church the truths of the gospel and for protecting its message, through the power of the Holy Spirit. We pray that we would say and do nothing that would communicate an indistinct gospel message to those we witness to. Keep our hearts pure and our actions honoring to You. This we ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.