5.20.2026 - Scott Elgersma

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

The Holy Spirit as Counselor

1 Corinthians 12:8-11

As you enter your time with God today, take a moment to quiet your mind. Breathe this prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus, come. Fill me with your Spirit. Open my heart that you might share your words of life with me.”

We read today from 1 Corinthians 12:8-11. Read the passage now or at the end of this devotion. What does this passage teach us about the Holy Spirit as our Counselor?

Let’s spend a couple of minutes considering those who have blessed us as our mentors. Please consider the following questions.

Which mentor most shaped your view of yourself? What things did they do or say that moved you to work through your identity? Some mentors specialize in asking those questions.

Which mentor has helped you communicate the most? How did they model speaking, writing, presenting, or preaching in ways that were helpful? Did they encourage you towards exercises that helped you improve as a communicator? You can discover different “schools of communication” in your learning.

Which mentor fueled the passion of your heart the most? Was their passion contagious and it has fueled you towards a similar path? Maybe they presented the concept of passion and encouraged you discover your own unique passion? Present generations are fueled by pursuing passion in ways that previous generations never considered.

Which mentor taught you the most about character? How did they model integrity in ways that encouraged you onto a similar path? What resources did they give you to help you explore your own character? Every mentor should model integrity, but each does it in their own way.

Perhaps your answers to the above questions are all the same mentor. That would be an exception. I expect, like me, different mentors taught different things because those things that shape us come up at different times and in different contexts. Sometimes it’s a grade schoolteacher, then a coach, then a supervisor, and then a neighbor. Often, it’s dad or mom, but then as we age, we adopt others into the role of mentor. We get different gifts from different people because we are distinct from every other person on the planet. Our learning in different places fuels that individuality in (hopefully) constructive ways.

In today’s text, we hear that the Holy Spirit’s counsel to us is special. What gifts we have from the Spirit all come from the same Spirit, but they are unique to us as individuals. When it comes to spiritual gifts it the Holy Spirit truly is “all things to all people.”

“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 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.”

As Matt Hekman spoke of last week, God is incomprehensible. His ways are beyond us. This text affirms just how far beyond us the work of the Spirit is. 

Look at the list of gifts. Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, and the list continues. There may be a few who strongly express four or five of these gifts, but no person reflects them all. Most have been given one, two, or at the most three of these spiritual gifts. 

And it’s important that we hear God’s blessings that come through his command of the Spirit. 

The Spirit gives US what WE need to his will. The Spirit is intentional in giving us the gifts we have. Our obedience lies in our intentionality of serving Christ with what we have been given.

As we spoke of on Monday, the Spirit knows each one intimately. The gifts come because of that knowledge. They are not a mistake even when we do not understand what we’ve been given. They may simply be a place for us to grow that the Spirit knows is within us.

Because different people have different gifts, we need each other. That’s exactly as the Spirit intends it. Without others in our community, there are deficits in our giftings. The more we love our neighbors and build relationships with them, the more gifts that we are in community with, and the body of Christ grows.

Different giftings stretch us. I’m a prophecy guy. That may be uncomfortable for you, but when I’m faithful with my gift, you might be blessed. Speaking in tongues is mostly out of my comfort zone, but when I’ve been in the presence of another with the gift, a blessing comes. That’s transformational for both of us.

Our Counselor is the source of every good gift we have. In the giving, the Spirit knows and understands us and gives us exactly what we need. 

What a blessing to know and be known by such a generous God.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn his smile towards you and give you his peace.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

I love you all. Blessings.

Feel free to share this devotion with others.

To contact the author, please email: elgersma@therivercrc.com