Scribd
Upload
375 views5 pages

God's Toolbox: Bill Brinkworth

God equips believers with spiritual gifts that are tools to accomplish tasks and meet the needs of others, similar to how handymen use tools like hammers and screwdrivers. In the early church, believers had "sign gifts" like healing and prophecy as proofs of God's power since they did not have a compiled Bible. Now that the Bible exists, believers no longer need signs and instead have seven gifts mentioned in Romans including prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, and mercy. These gifts are tools God provides for believers to help and strengthen one another.

Uploaded by

Erwin Mark Poblete
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
375 views5 pages

God's Toolbox: Bill Brinkworth

God equips believers with spiritual gifts that are tools to accomplish tasks and meet the needs of others, similar to how handymen use tools like hammers and screwdrivers. In the early church, believers had "sign gifts" like healing and prophecy as proofs of God's power since they did not have a compiled Bible. Now that the Bible exists, believers no longer need signs and instead have seven gifts mentioned in Romans including prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, and mercy. These gifts are tools God provides for believers to help and strengthen one another.

Uploaded by

Erwin Mark Poblete
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

God's Toolbox

Bill Brinkworth

Every handyman has a toolbox in which his tools are stored. Since
maintenance repairs are varied, so are his tools. The box usually does not
contain just hammers or screwdrivers. It is filled with all kinds of different
tools to help fix whatever may be broken. Most likely, there are wrenches,
saws, screwdrivers, hammers, sockets, and a host of others. There is much
to be maintained.

Just as man maintains what he has, or at least should, God also has tasks
around His creation that also need attention. He has angels, and other
heavenly creatures that do His bidding. On earth, He often uses man to
meet the needs of mankind.

To accomplish what the Master requires, God gives His workers certain
“tools” to get His jobs done. No, the tools are not hammers, wrenches, or
saws. The tools given to each of His born-again family members are
special, spiritual gifts. When God meets a need of a person or group of
people, he often selects a person to complete the task utilizing the gift God
has given him, to accomplish what needs to be done.

The tools to meet man’s every day needs, both spiritual and physical, have
changed as church ages have progressed. Before God had man compile the
complete Word of God we have today, God handled man’s needs
differently. Since the early church did not have His guidelines, He
presented man with other gifts; many of them are referred to as sign gifts.

Those gifts were “signs” that God was with man. The nine spiritual gifts
included: words of wisdom and knowledge, faith, healing, working of
miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of
tongues (ICorinthians 12: 8-10). Many of these gifts stopped or changed
when “that which is perfect is come” (I Corinthians 13:10), the Bible.

The early church did not have a compiled written copy of God’s Word to
follow God’s commands. When the Bible was made available to man, man
was to live by faith (II Corinthians 5:7, Galatians 3:1), and no longer
needed to live by sight. He no longer needed the “proof” of miracles.

God is not done with man yet. He still has big plans for those who are
willing to turn to and heed Him. Although God still does miracles, the
believer no longer has need of the sign gifts of the early church, because he
has God’s written instructions. Instead of “sign gifts” to do the tasks God
desires accomplished, He equips the born-again child of God with at least
one of the seven gifts (Romans 12:6-8) that he has provided for this church
age. These gifts are the tools God knows will be necessary to do the tasks
He requires. These “tools” include:

Prophecy. This gift of prophecy is not the same as the early church had.
They were able to foretell the future. We no longer need to foretell the
future; as God has recorded all He desires us to know about it in His
preserved Word. That ability to predict the future has stopped (I
Corinthians 13:8).

Prophecy also can mean , as Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines it, “to
preach; to instruct in religious doctrines; to interpret or explain Scripture or
religious subjects ….” This is a very important gift still used amongst
today’s believers.

This gift from God enables certain believers, who have read and studied
the Word of God, to help other believers by sharing its meaning. These
people can shed light on a dark situation in a person’s life, and can tell a
troubled person God’s solution to the problem, according to God’s Word.
One with the gift of prophecy can tell a sinner that there will be
consequences for his sinful actions, and be right, because God’s Word
promises there are “wages” for sin. As the prophet of Old Testament times
was right 100% of the time, so can the one today with the gift of prophecy
because God’s Word is always right.

Ministry. Another essential tool needed to support the needs of God’s


people is the gift of meeting the needs of and ministering to others. Many
times the service to others does not get the spotlight it should, but the body
of Christ surely suffers when the possessor of this gift does not exercise it.

The gift of ministry has no limits as to what it can encompass. When a


need is seen, service can be rendered by feeding those that cannot feed
themselves, bringing children to church that cannot get there themselves,
pushing an invalid in a wheelchair, helping a sick person recover, helping
the deaf “hear” the Gospel by signing for them, cleaning the church’s
restrooms, and on and on. People’s needs are so many, and this is why the
gift of ministry is so needed.

Teaching. Just as a student in school needs guidance to understand


required subjects, so does the child of God or an unsaved person need a
teacher that has the gift of teaching the truths of the Bible. God has given
some the gift to teach the principles, doctrines, and facts found in His
Word. As the eunuch told Philip when he could not understand the
scriptures, “… How can I, except some man should guide me? …” (Acts
8:31); so too, all need teachers.

Exhorting. Exhorting is an important tool that God has given certain


believers. This gift is used to encourage and comfort fellow-believers.
Often its exercise is sadly lacking. Many more would be encouraged and
still be fruitful in the ministry, if more spiritual cheerleaders were urging
Christian soldiers onward.
Giving. Anyone can get and take, but with the tool of giving God has for
some, they have the desire to give and give. They give of themselves, their
time, and often their finances. Most churches physically would not exist, if
givers had not provided for their existence. Many are encouraged to serve
and live for God, because someone thought them important enough to give
of their time and energy to help them.

Ruling (Leadership). Too many want to be boss, but God does not give
this gift of ruling the local flock of believers to everyone. With this gift, a
leader can lead and encourage the work of God to grow and accomplish
much. He also has wisdom in the administration of the church and other
ministries.

Mercy. In a very angry world, this special tool can soothe and aid those in
hard times. It is with this gift of kindness and understanding that many are
given second chances and encouraged to keep on serving and obeying the
Lord, no matter what has happened. It is because of this gift that some
have been given, that many lives have been changed.

God loves His people, and wants to help us. He also wants us to help
ourselves. With the tools He has given all believers, if they are used the
way God intends, the body of believers can be strengthened, encouraged
and able to accomplish much for the glory of God. Unfortunately, too
many have never recognized their gift, or even taken it out of the “box”
and used it. The church is weaker than it should be, because too many
believers are not utilizing what God has given them. Today, pray and study
the gifts found in Romans 12:6-8. Ask the Lord to help you realize what
gift or gifts are yours. When He shows you, use that special tool. We are
saved not just to sit, but to serve. We believers would be much stronger
and able to accomplish more, if more would use their spiritual gifts.
“ Service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy.”

You might also like