As Paul continues to develop a philosophy of the Church, he begins to develop the doctrine of spiritual gifts. He begins by reminding us that they are indeed grace gifts from the ascended Christ. We each have one or more, and none of us deserved them. But since they are from Christ, earned by him and are given for a particular reason – we are to use them wisely and cheerfully. He also lists four leadership gifts – to the exclusion of any others, He does so, however, not to minimize the importance of gifts among the laity, but to magnify them (by showing that the laity are the ones who actually do the yeoman’s work of the ministry – see. v 12). These gifts have at their core the teaching and preaching of the word of God – making the word an essential and necessary part of every pastor/teacher’s responsibilities. It also means that if the laity are to do the work of the ministry rightly, it begins with becoming a people of the word.