Spiritual Gifts: The Spirit and Our Profession of Faith

Paul now enters into the next major section of the book, dealing with spiritual gifts. The Corinthians' focus on themselves led them to treat their spiritual gifts this way also. Paul reminds them that the only reason they have any spiritual gifts at all (instead of being enslaved to idolatry, as in their former way of life) is that the Holy Spirit gave them the ability and desire to confess Jesus Christ as their Lord. They did not earn their gifts, or accumulate them by their own faith or deeds. They are the gift of the Holy Spirit, as is our salvation, and therefore we should be humbled by the grace of God.