Daily Dose of Hope

February 9, 2026

Scripture: I Corinthians 12

Prayer: Dear God, You are amazing! How awesome it is that you who created all things are also so intimately involved in our lives. We give you glory and praise for who you are. We are so thankful for your love. We want to know you more. We want and need to hear your voice. Help us set aside our scattered thoughts and focus on you. In these next few moments of silence, Lord, hear our prayers... In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We are journeying through Paul's pastoral letters. Currently, we are in I Corinthians.

Today's passage is I Corinthians 12. Paul starts by reminding the believers of their former ignorance. Afterall, there was a time not too long ago that they didn't know about the one true God but worshiped idols. Now, they know Jesus and have the Holy Spirit within them – the Spirit of the Living God inside their physical body! One of the many transformations that happens to us when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior is that the Holy Spirit gives us a spiritual gift (sometimes even more than one.)

A spiritual gift could be seen as a God-given capacity that allows each believer to serve and uplift the body of Christ. And how do you get into this body of Christ? In verses 13-14, Paul writes, For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. The body of Christ is Jesus' church.

The specific word that Paul uses here for gift is charisma, which comes from charis, which is the Greek word for grace. A spiritual gift is a gift of God's grace. It's not something we have earned or developed. But there is a wide diversity of gifts that the Spirit offers, and Paul lists many of these, including the gift of preaching/teaching, prophecy, apostleship, evangelism, and shepherding. There are even more specific gifts under these main headings.

But while there is diversity in gifts, there is unity in purpose. The body of Christ requires all these different people with different and unique gifts to be working together to ensure that Jesus' mission continues to be carried out in the world. One gift is not more important than another but they are all essential to have a fully functioning body.

The Corinthians knew about the spiritual gifts. This would not been new information to them. But the problem was how they were using the gifts. Certain gifts were being lifted up as more important than others. And there appears to be a bit of a free for all in how the gifts are being used. So, Paul wants them to know a different way. He wants them to understand that all the gifts work together to bring unity to the church. In fact, the church needs all of the gifts to be fruitful and effective. He doesn't want the Corinthians to stop using their spiritual gifts, but he wants them to do so with maturity. And as we will see in the next chapter, he wants the church to use their gifts with love (rather than arrogance or pride.)

Do you know what spiritual gifts you have been given? If not, I strongly encourage you to pray about that today. There are some really good spiritual gifts assessments that are free online as well. God has given us gifts for the purpose of building up the body of Christ. If you know your gifts, are you currently making use of them at New Hope or in your local church? There are many parts but one body. Your gifts are needed to form a fully functioning, healthy, thriving community of faith!

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki