Sabbath School for Adults: Making Friends for God: The Joy of Sharing in God’s Mission: Lesson 6: Unlimited Possibilities

Monday August 3

God: The Giver of All Good Gifts

According to 1 Corinthians 12:11, 18; Ephesians 4:7, 8; and James 1:17, God is the originator of all gifts, and “every perfect gift” comes from Him. Thus, we can rest assured that He will impart to us the very gifts of the Holy Spirit that are best suited to our personalities, and He will best use our skills to serve His cause and glorify His name.

Read Mark 13:34 and 1 Corinthians 12:11. To whom does God give spiritual gifts?

The Bible is clear. God has a special assignment for each one of us in sharing the gospel with others. In Jesus’ parable of the householder who leaves his house to his servants and asks them to care for it, the master of the house gives his servants their appointed work (Mark 13:34). There is an assignment for every individual, and God gives spiritual gifts to all to accomplish the divine task or ministry that they are called to. When we surrender our lives to Christ, and through baptism become members of His body, the church, the Holy Spirit imparts gifts so that we can serve the body and witness to the world.

In 1903, Ellen G. White wrote a letter to a certain man to encourage him to use the gifts God had given him in service. “We are all members of God’s family, all in a greater or less degree entrusted with God-given talents, for the use of which we are held responsible. Whether our talent be great or small, we are to use it in God’s service, and we are to recognize the right of every one else to use the gifts entrusted to them.

“Never should we disparage the smallest physical, intellectual, or spiritual capital.”—Letter 260, December 2, 1903.

Read Acts 10:36–38, Matthew 3:16–18, and Acts 2:38–42. What do these texts teach us about the promise of the Holy Spirit at baptism?

Just as Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit at His baptism to prepare and fully equip Him for His ministry to the world, each one of us is promised the Holy Spirit at our baptism. God longs for us to have the positive assurance that He has fulfilled His Word and imparted spiritual gifts to us to bless His church and the world.