Spiritual Excellence Neccessary for Growth and Development

UV 1144-10,000 Spiritual and Holistic Excellence is Necessary for Growth


Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.

I Corinthians 14 v 12


Believers need to be zealous for spiritual gifts not for their own glorification but for the edification of the whole body of the faithful. Spiritual gifts like the gift of prophecy, tongues, interpretation, the ability to teach doctrine, healing, visions, discernment, word of knowledge and word of wisdom are necessary for the growth of the people of God. These gifts enable us to be useful for God and man, to meet the need of individuals, to increase faith, to give comfort, guidance and encouragement. It is imparted not just to a few people but to everyone who is anointed by the Spirit of God.


This uni-verse establishes the principle that excellence of all kinds is useful and necessary for edification or spiritual and holistic growth and development of individuals as well as for the church and for whole communities and nations. We need to excel in our spiritual gifting and the use of our gifts for the growth of the church. It is often needed even for the birth of faith. For instance, when a person with a prophetic gift speaks words that reveal the secrets of our human hearts that no man can know except God, even things that have happened in our lives long ago, then the person being prophesied to will realize that this is supernatural and can be from God only. The exercise of tangible gifts like healing is useful to show people the reality of the existence and the love of God for people. The exercise of gifts of wisdom like discretion and sound judgement is necessary and useful in order to be effective leaders.

The spiritual gifts are not static but they grow and decline according to the use we put it to. We need to discern our gifts and use it wisely to meet needs, to build faith and to please the Lord. We can seek to receive gifts from the Lord, implying that we can ask the Lord in prayer and faith and receive new gifts. There is nothing wrong in being enthusiastic and persistent in seeking such gifts since we seek it not from a selfish motive but for the good of all. In recent years, the Lord has revealed that He is concerned that church leaders have not encouraged the exercise of spiritual gifts leading to dwarfing of believers and not their edification.

Prateep V Philip