It was said of Jesus, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

The Apostle Paul was especially aware of this grace. "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith." (Romans 12:3,6)

"I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me." (Romans 15:15)

"I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." (Ephesians 3:7,8)

"The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." (I Timothy 1:14)

Other writers agree. "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. " (Hebrews 4:16)

"But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'" (James 4:6)

We may come to believe that only people who act like this, or are used in a vocal way, are charismatic. Actually, what we really want to understand is that every Christian has charisma. Every Christian has grace.

This can be readily seen in the phrase, "to every member" - KJV: Ephesians 4:7 "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ."

In order to grasp this, we must overcome the lies; let me mention a few of them:

Lie #1: "I'm not gifted."

It was Moses, the Old Testament leader who prayed, "would to God that all people were prophets." Too often we hear people say, "Someone else can do it better." I once heard a baseball player who said, "Home runs are not in my game plan" - some Christians seem to have the same attitude.

Lie #2: "What I have is not important."

But this flies in the face of I Corinthians 12:15-17: "If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?"

Lie #3: "To acknowledge giftedness is (or will lead to) pride."

God said, "It is good"; we say, "It is nothing" - Sadly, most people seem to focus on what they don't have or can't do rather than on what they have or can do. (Isn't that what can lead to covetousness?) Many seem very quick to name their own faults and weaknesses, but slow to name their strengths.

Actually, true humility includes our proper acknowledging of our gifts and bowing before the Lord in:

Gratitude - "Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father";

Confession - in recognition of those times when we have been unfaithful;

Desire - for maximum usefulness for the Lord; and

Determination - to achieve the highest possible development.

Also, it's important to note that each of the previously noted aspects of membership - Connectedness, Care, and Commitment - all require coordination.

Finally, Ephesians 4:7 tells us that the gifts are distributed by Christ.

After all, Christ is the authentic "Charismatic", He is the "Anointed One", and He shares His anointing with His Body. We understand that this is different than "natural talents", and different from "humanism", which is the deification of self - we believe in Christ.

We are gifted due to the new birth, when we receive something like "spiritual genes". However, and unfortunately, we have the power to leave them dormant or even to reject these gifts.

When it says the gifts are distributed, it means they are "measured" by Christ. (The word is "metron" from which we get our word "meter".)

1. We are measured next to Jesus. "For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him." (John 3:34 - KJV) "For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit." (NIV)

2. There is flexibility in the distribution:

Condemnation is not appropriate ("Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Matthew 7:2)

Careful hearing is essential ("If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you--and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." - Mark 4:23-25)

This is much like the elasticity of the stomach. He gives out according to the need and according to our willingness.

Here we trust in the wisdom of Christ, for he distributes the "charismata" "according to the power that corresponds to the measure of each individual part" (4:16).

We've addressed caring for one another, but what about the needy in the world? Let's put first things first (love of God and neighbor), but with an ulterior motive which is to see the world won to faith in Christ.

Gifts are offered for the maturing of the Body so that the Body may reach the world.