Created on Purpose, Week Three

Scripture Reading

Ephesians 4:11-16

Supporting Scripture

Romans 12:3-8
1 Corinthians 12:4-27
1 Peter 4:10-11
Matthew 5:14-16

God gives gifts to His people so the body of Christ can be strengthened, loved, and built up. Most of us can spot gifts in other women before we ever recognize them in ourselves.

We can see the friend who makes everyone feel welcome. The woman who knows exactly when to send a text. The one who explains Scripture in a way that finally makes sense. The one who notices the hurting person in the corner. The one who quietly organizes the thing everyone else enjoys. The one who prays with steady faith when the rest of us are falling apart.

We see it in them. But when it comes to ourselves, we shrug.

And sometimes, what we call “just the way I am” may actually be a place where God has graced us to strengthen, love, and serve the body of Christ.

That is why I want us to hold this week tenderly. We are not trying to find a label, build an identity around a test result, or discover what makes us special. We are learning to pay attention to the grace of God.

Because spiritual gifts are not about how impressive we are. They are about how generous God is.

He places grace in His people for the good of His people.

That is what Ephesians 4 helps us see. Paul begins the chapter by urging believers to live in a way that reflects the calling they have received, with humility, gentleness, patience, and love. [Ephesians 4:1-3]

Before Paul talks about the different gifts Christ gives, he reminds the church that they are one body, united by one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all. [Ephesians 4:4-6]

That order is important, because we are unified in Christ before we are uniquely gifted by Christ. Before we talk about what makes each of us different, we remember what makes us one. We belong to Christ, and because we belong to Him, we also belong to one another.

From that place of belonging, Paul begins to talk about gifts. He says grace was given to each one as Christ apportioned it. [Ephesians 4:7]

I love that wording because it reminds us that gifts are received before they are used. We do not manufacture them. We do not earn them. We do not use them to prove our worth. Christ gives grace to His people, and then He uses that grace to build up His body.

Ephesians 4 tells us that Christ gives gifts to equip His people for works of service, so the body of Christ may be built up. [Ephesians 4:11-13]

So when we talk about spiritual gifts, we are not just asking, “What am I good at?” We are asking a better question.

How has God graced me to build up the body?

That’s important… because maybe the way you notice hurting people is not random. Maybe the way you create a welcoming space is grace. Maybe the way you explain Scripture in a way people can understand is grace. Maybe the way you encourage someone who feels weary, organize details so others can serve more freely, pray with faith when someone else feels weak, or bring wisdom, mercy, leadership, generosity, discernment, hospitality, teaching, administration, encouragement, or care into a room is not just your personality.

Maybe it is something God has placed in you for the good of someone else.

Many women spend years dismissing what God may be asking them to steward because it feels too ordinary to count. But in the body of Christ, small does not mean insignificant.

Romans 12 reminds us that the body has many members, and the members do not all have the same function. [Romans 12:3-8]

First Corinthians 12 reminds us that there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit, and that every part of the body matters. [1 Corinthians 12:4-27]

First Peter tells us to use whatever gift we have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace. [1 Peter 4:10-11]

That is one of the clearest ways to think about spiritual gifts.

A spiritual gift is grace from God entrusted to us for the good of others.

And Jesus reminds us that when our light shines and our good works are seen, the glory should go to our Father in heaven. [Matthew 5:14-16]

So the goal is not for people to look at our gifts and say, “Look how gifted she is.”

The goal is for our lives to quietly, faithfully, and beautifully point back to God.

This week’s freebie is a personality and spiritual gifts assessment, but I want us to receive it with open hands. This assessment is not here to tell you who you are. Christ already does that. It is not here to label you, limit you, or give you a spiritual personality badge.

It is simply a tool to help you pay attention to the ways God may have wired you to serve, the places others may have already seen fruit in your life, and the burdens, strengths, and patterns that may become places of ministry when surrendered to Him.

As you look over your results, do not just ask, “What does this say about me?”

Ask, “How might God want to use this to strengthen, love, or serve someone else?”

Because gifts are not given for self-focus. They are given for service. And as we begin to recognize gifts, we also invite the Lord to keep forming the women who carry them.

Ephesians 4 does not stop with gifts. It moves into maturity. Paul talks about growing up in Christ, no longer being tossed back and forth by every wind of teaching, but speaking the truth in love and growing together as the body. [Ephesians 4:13-16] That means gifts and growth belong together. God does not only give gifts to His people. He forms the people who carry them.

A gift surrendered to Christ can strengthen the body. A gift carried by the old self can wound the body.

That is why we keep bringing our hearts back to Him, because we want our gifts surrendered. We want what He has placed in us to be shaped by humility, love, truth, wisdom, and maturity. We want our encouragement to be sincere, our teaching to be humble, our hospitality to be joyful, our leadership to be servant-hearted, our mercy to be wise, our faith to be tender, and our words to build up.

We want what God placed in us to serve what God is building around us.

To walk worthy of our calling means we walk surrendered. It means the grace we have received begins to shape the way we live, love, serve, speak, lead, notice, welcome, encourage, and build.

The gifts God places in His daughters are not meant to stay tucked away in private. They are meant to become visible expressions of His grace in the places He has assigned us. In our homes. In our churches. In our communities. Around our tables. In our conversations. In the way we create space for others to be seen, loved, prayed for, discipled, welcomed, and strengthened.

A woman walking worthy of her calling does not have to be flashy or have a platform to carry influence. She does not have to hold a title for her life to build up the body of Christ.

When a woman offers her gifts back to God, ordinary places can become holy ground.

Our homes can become a place of peace and formation. Our churches can become stronger because we serves with humility and love. Our communities can be marked by hospitality, mercy, wisdom, encouragement, prayer, and truth because we decide to steward what God placed in our hands.

That is walking worthy, not striving to become important, but living faithfully with what Christ has given.

Maybe this week is about noticing that grace… For the body. For the good of others. For the glory of God.

Reflection

Have I ever considered that God may have graced me in specific ways to strengthen, love, and serve others?

What strengths, burdens, or patterns in my life might be worth paying attention to?

Where have I dismissed something God may be inviting me to steward?

Do I tend to compare my gifts, hide my gifts, or overlook them completely?

How might my personality and spiritual gifts become a way to build up the body of Christ?

Where do I need the Lord to keep forming me so my gifts are used with humility, love, and maturity?

Prayer

Lord, thank You for making me part of Your body.

Thank You that I do not have to compete for a place, prove my importance, or pretend I have nothing to offer. You have given grace to Your people for the good of Your people, and I want to steward what You have placed in me with humility and love.

Help me notice the ways You have graced me to strengthen, love, and serve others. Give me courage to stop dismissing what You may be asking me to steward. Keep me from comparison, hiding, and self-focus.

Form the woman who carries the gift.

Let my words build up. Let my service strengthen. Let my influence point people to You. Let my good works bring glory to the Father, not attention to me.

Use what You have placed in my hands for the good of the body and the glory of Your name.

Amen.

Reset Step

This week, complete the personality and spiritual gifts assessment with open hands.

Before you look at your results, pray this simple prayer:

“Lord, help me see how You have graced me to strengthen, love, and serve others.”

As you read your results, circle one strength you want to steward, one gift you want to offer back to God, and one area where you sense the Lord inviting you to grow in maturity.

Then ask Him one honest question:

“Where do You want this gift to build up the body?”

Freebie

I created a cut-out Scripture page to go along with this study, with four key verses from Created on Purpose for you to keep close as you walk through Ephesians. You can tuck them in your Bible, place them on your mirror, keep one in your car, or set one somewhere you will see it often.

These verses are meant to help you remember what Scripture says about who you are in Christ, how deeply you are rooted in His love, how He has graced you to serve, and how He invites you to walk in the good works He prepared for you.

You can find this free printable inside The Reset Room. Just join below, and I’ll send it straight to your inbox.