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  THE MAN IS THE GIFT
  by G.W. North
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Summary: The sermon emphasizes that the man, not his gifts, is the true
focus of spiritual significance.

Topics: "Spiritual Gifts", "Personal Spirituality"
Scripture References: Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:1-13, Galatians 5:22-23, Ephesians 4:7-8, 2 Timothy 1:6, James 1:17, 1 Peter 4:10

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DESCRIPTION
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G.W. North emphasizes that the true gift in the spiritual realm is not
the gifts themselves but the person who possesses them. He argues that
the focus should be on the individual, as the spiritual quality of a
person defines the effectiveness of the gifts they receive from God.
North highlights that spiritual gifts are meant to be used by spiritual
individuals, and it is the character and life of the person that make
the gifts meaningful. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a deeper
understanding of the relationship between the individual and their
spiritual gifts, asserting that the man is the gift.

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CONTENT
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Upon consideration it may therefore be better to omit from the
translation all additional words, and read as follows: 'Now concerning
the spiritual, brethren, I would not have you ignorant'. Because the
masculine or feminine gender is absent from the Greek text, it may not
be strictly correct to imply this meaning, but inferentially the whole
epistle supports this view. If this be allowed, it will be found to
place the emphasis upon brethren, where it ought to be, and not on
gifts, however gifted those brethren may be.

This may well be the better way, for such a rendering is in harmony with
the wording of the challenge laid down at the end of chapter 14, which
reads 'if any man think himself to be spiritual', and not 'if any man is
sufficiently spiritually gifted'; in the final analysis the man is the
gift, not the gifts the man has. Be that as it may, we must understand
that spiritual gifts are provided by God to be used by spiritual persons
only. But although this is so, we must not think that gifts make a
person spiritual: on the contrary it is rather to be understood that it
is the person who makes the gift spiritual. The gift

is given to him to be: (1) an instrument of God's power, (2) a
declaration of the spiritual quality of his own life, and (3) for the
extension of his ministerial usefulness,

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/gw-north/the-man-is-the-gift/
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