In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul explains the following to the churches around Ephesus:
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” – Ephesians 4:11-13, ESV
Did you catch the key idea in verse 12? God has given certain offices (apostles, prophets, etc.) to the church that are equipped and empowered with gifts to build up the body of Christ. Such God-given talents and gifts are also detailed in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11.
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” – 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, ESV
The key insight here is to note that the gift that is given is not about the individual office or person. Rather, the gift is entrusted to the Christian with the idea that it will be exercised for the bigger and grander goal of building up Christ’s church. But what does this mean?