I AM AN IDIOT
To those who may be saying, “Duh! We always knew that” and those whose bulging eyeballs are about popping out of their sockets I say, “No, I’m not an idiot in the sense you are thinking right now, and I’m going to prove that to you if you would just hang on for just a little bit.”
“But all these
worketh (Greek – energeo) that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to
every man severally (Greek – idios) as He will” - (1 Corinthians 12:11 KJV)
To aid my
understanding of the Word of God, I routinely use the Strong’s Concordance and
other available resources – and there are many good ones out there by the way – as study
aids. You’d be astounded what you’d discover when you study the Word of God the
way it ought to be studied.
So, as I wont to
do, I picked up my Strong’s Concordance and looked up the word “severally”.
The word “severally”
in 1 Corinthians 12:11 is a very interesting word. It was translated from the
Greek word idios. In other places in the King’s James Version of the
Bible, the same word is also translated to mean; privately, his own, their
own, your own, etc.
By now, my
juice of curiosity is starting to heat up.
Next thing I
did, having not fully understood the meaning within the context of the
scripture, was to Google the word idios to research its origin.
Surprise, surprise! Idios is the Greek word from which the English word “idiot” was derived.
Now, we all know who an idiot is. It is the imbecile, the moron, the simpleton, the nitwit, the nincompoop. These are all the adjectives that come to the mind of the English-speaking person when someone is called an idiot, as I’m sure it was what came to your mind, and most likely what drew your attention, when you saw the title of this write up.
Surprise, surprise! Idios is the Greek word from which the English word “idiot” was derived.
Now, we all know who an idiot is. It is the imbecile, the moron, the simpleton, the nitwit, the nincompoop. These are all the adjectives that come to the mind of the English-speaking person when someone is called an idiot, as I’m sure it was what came to your mind, and most likely what drew your attention, when you saw the title of this write up.
At this stage,
the question I’m asking myself was how in the world the scripture about the
gifts of the Holy Spirit would be associated with the word idios…idiot.
So, I kept on
digging.
In the original
Greek, idios actually meant someone who is unique, special, distinct,
exclusive, and peculiar. It is someone who is one of a kind…one and only. An idios
is somebody like whom there is nobody else.
It is quite
interesting, the evolution of languages. From country to country and from
generation to generation, languages and words tend to evolve and take on new meaning.
The illuminating
light of understanding suddenly washed over my mind and the blinding scale of
ignorance fell off my spritual eyes.
You see, the
Holy Spirit indwells all those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and
Savior. He has endowed, universally and without exception, all believers in
Christ with spiritual gifts and abilities. There is no believer that does not
have the gifts of the Holy Spirit within them. In all of us are varieties and diversities
of these Spiritual gifts…and they come in different packages and diverse combinations.
But we are all spiritually gifted by the same Holy Spirit.
Contrary to
popular beliefs, God did not create spiritual elites within the Body of Christ.
The Church of God has no spiritual V.I.Ps. There are no special breeds of Christians. The
Holy Spirit did not establish a caste system in the Household of faith. No spiritual giants and no spiritual midgets.
The combination
of gifts of the Holy Spirit in each of us is, however, not the same for all of
us. Your gifts are different from mine, and my gifts are different from yours.
Nobody’s gifts are like anybody else’s. The gifts of the Holy Spirit in each person
are uniquely their own..idios...severally. Individuals’ unique gifts manifest in unique ways and in
different dimensions. But the gifts are given to us, by grace, by the same Holy
Spirit.
Furthermore, the
Spiritual gifts and abilities given unto us are not meant to be used for our
own personal benefit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not intended for self-service. God
gave them to us to help up and build up other people. The exercise of our Spiritual gifts is
meant for the service of others. It is in this diversity of gifts and abilities that the Church grows and matures. Our diversity of gifts and abilities is what binds and unites us together as one Holy Church.
The Spirit of
God distributes His gifts to every man severally and as he wills. We cannot go and
seek a gift. We cannot pray to have the gifts. We cannot demand it from God. The gifts are God’s and He gives
them just as He chooses.
So, since I’m an idios
– somebody like whom there is nobody else – I am the only one who can
fulfil the ability the Holy Spirit has given me. My
assignment cannot be completed by another man. God has entrusted unto me the responsibility to use the gifts He has given me to build His Church. If I fail to carry out my spiritual
duties, the Body of Christ is denied of the blessings of Heaven.
To effectually carry
out our assignment, God has also given us the grace according to the right measure
of gifts. The Holy Spirit empowers and energizes us to function in the capacity
that He has endowed us with. It is this enablement of the Holy Spirit in the
performance of our spiritual duties that makes all the difference in the world.
It is the reason we are able to carry on in the face of adversity,
disappointment, and the discouragement that we face on daily basis. The energy and power that we have to do His will comes from the infusion of the right measure of grace into us by the Holy Spirit.
If who you are today within the Church is of your own making and not God’s calling, then you are someone you ought not to be and the Body of Christ is paying the penalty. If what you are today within the Church is by your own imagination and not God’s ordination, then you are what you ought not to be and the House of God is dealing with the repercussions. If where you are today within the Church is all because of your own guile and not God’s guide, then you’re somewhere you ought not to be and the entire Household of Faith is suffering the consequence.
Even though I have read 1 Corinthians countless times, that I could again draw so much water from the well of knowledge in this one verse, blew my mind away.
If who you are today within the Church is of your own making and not God’s calling, then you are someone you ought not to be and the Body of Christ is paying the penalty. If what you are today within the Church is by your own imagination and not God’s ordination, then you are what you ought not to be and the House of God is dealing with the repercussions. If where you are today within the Church is all because of your own guile and not God’s guide, then you’re somewhere you ought not to be and the entire Household of Faith is suffering the consequence.
Even though I have read 1 Corinthians countless times, that I could again draw so much water from the well of knowledge in this one verse, blew my mind away.
Thank God
Almighty for making me a spiritually gifted idiot.
Comments
Post a Comment