Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 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. - 1 Corinthians 12:3-13
God does what he wants with his people. Christians do other Christians a disservice by focusing on their gift rather than their character. We want to listen to this pastor or this author or this Bible study leader, acting as if they have a special connection with God. If there's anything the book of 1st Corinthians teaches us, its that the gifting of God in a person may not be connected with the character of God in a person.
Samson was a gifted individual in the Old Testament. Even Spirit-empowered. But no one would hold up Samson as a role model to follow. God figured out how to use him, even in his death, despite his character failings.
In fact, God is so willing to give flawed individuals special gifts, that it makes me wonder sometimes if character is worth it. Can I not worry about character and just take the gifts? Get the shiny bits of the Christian life but never really change inwardly? May it never be! Because like Samson, our character will destroy whatever we try to build exploiting God's gifts for our gain and many that we care about can be hurt in the process. The gift will cease, and only the character will go with me into heaven.
As Paul says, we are like a single body working together. Selfish cells may grow and flourish for a time using the life sustenance that is given them, but they are still called a cancer and are eventually cut out or irradiated. I don't want to be cut out, I want to find God's path to thrive in the body.
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