Gifts of the Spirit 2

It is important that every Christian discover and develop the spiritual gifts that have been bestowed on him or her by God. What are the gifts of the Spirit?

The gifts of the Spirit are special abilities provided by the Holy Spirit to Christians for the purpose of building up the body of Christ.

The list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 includes wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Similar lists appear in Ephesians 4:7-13 and Romans 12:3-8.

The gifts of the Spirit are simply God enabling believers to do what He has called us to do. 2 Peter 1:3 says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." The gifts of the Holy Spirit are part of the "everything we need" to fulfill His purposes for our lives.

These gifts are desirable for three basic reasons:

A. You Will Be Satisfied

Knowing and using your gifts will give you an understanding of the unique and indispensable ministry you have been called to accomplish in the body of Christ. You will discover a significant part of your purpose for being on this planet and realize that God has made you competent to produce something that will last for eternity. You will have a sense of fulfillment and joy in the service of others as you become an available instrument through which the Holy Spirit can work.

In addition, knowledge of your spiritual gifts will greatly assist you in discerning and affirming the will of God at various points in your life. God will not call you to accomplish anything without giving you the power and enablement to do it.

You will be able to make more intelligent decisions about possible involvement in specific opportunities and training in light of your God-given function in the body (Romans 12:4). You will also use your time more effectively by focusing on the things you have been equipped to do well rather than expending your energy in areas of minimum potential.

B. Others Will Be Edified

Knowing and using your gifts will lead to the edification of other members of the body of Christ. As you exercise your spiritual gifts, you will play a substantial role in building up other Christians and leading them into maturity (Ephesians 4:12-16).

If you fail to develop your gifts or let them decline through disuse, your brothers and sisters in Christ will actually be hurt because they will be deprived of the unique ministry that only you could perform in their lives.

C. God Will Be Glorified

According to 1 Peter 4:10-11, your spiritual gifts are ultimately designed to bring glory to God:

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:10-11).

This is your highest calling, and it relates to all three Persons of the Godhead. As you use your spiritual gifts in conjunction with the power and fruit (especially love) of the Holy Spirit and in the name and Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Father receives the glory.

DIGGING FOR THE GIFTS

Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12-14, and Ephesians 4 are the three primary biblical passages on spiritual gifts. First Peter 4:8-11 provides supplementary information as we just saw. All we need to know about the gifts of the Spirit is found in these passages.

DESCRIPTION OF THE GIFTS

A spiritual gift is a manifestation of the Spirit … given for the benefit of all (1 Corinthians 12:7). As a supernatural endowment, its source is always the Holy Spirit, and its purpose is the building up of others to the glory of God.

Although there is a great deal of disagreement over spiritual gifts among different denominations, most Bible scholars classify these gifts into three categories: ministry gifts, manifestation gifts, and motivational gifts.

MINISTRY GIFTS

The ministry gifts serve to reveal the plan of God. They are characteristic of a full-time office or calling, rather than a gift that can function in and through any believer. The ministry gifts can easily be remembered through a five finger illustration:

•Apostle - An apostle establishes and builds churches; he's a church planter. An apostle may function in many or all of the ministry gifts. He is the "thumb," the strongest of all of the fingers, able to touch every finger.

•Prophet - Prophet in the Greek means to "forth tell" as well as “foretell.” A prophet functions as God's mouth piece, speaking forth God's Word. The prophet is the "index finger," or pointer finger. He points to the future and points out sin.

•Evangelist - An evangelist is called to be a witness for Jesus Christ. He works for the local church to bring people into the body of Christ where they can be discipled. He may evangelize through music, drama, preaching, and other creative ways. He is the "middle finger," the tallest one who stands out in the crowd. Evangelists draw a lot of attention, but they are called to serve the local body.

•Pastor - The pastor is the shepherd of the people. A true shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The pastor is the "ring finger." He is married to the church; called to stay, oversee, nurture and guide. (Ephesians 4:11)

Peter was commissioned by Christ to shepherd His sheep (John 21:16), and Peter exhorted the elders in the churches of Asia Minor to do the same (1 Peter 5:2; cf. Acts 20:28). A person with this spiritual gift has the ability to personally lead, nourish, protect, and care for the needs of a flock of believers. Not all people with the office of pastor (elder, overseer) have or need the gift of pastoring or shepherding, and many with this gift do not have or need the office.

•Teacher - The teacher and the pastor are often a shared office, but not always. The teacher lays the foundation and is concerned with detail and accuracy. He delights in research to validate truth. The teacher is the "pinky finger." Though seemingly small and insignificant, he is designed specifically for digging into tight, dark places, shining light and picking apart the Word of truth.

So there are ministry gifts, and next there are:

MANIFESTATION GIFTS

The manifestation gifts serve to reveal the power of God. These gifts are supernatural or spiritual in nature. They can be further subdivided into three groups: utterance, power, and revelation.

UTTERANCE - These gifts say something:

•PROPHECY - This is the "forth telling" of the inspired Word of God primarily to the church, for the purpose of confirming the written Word and building up the entire body. The message is usually one of edification, exhortation or consolation, although it can declare God's will in a particular circumstance, and in rare cases, predict future events.

•SPEAKING IN TONGUES - This is a supernatural utterance in an unlearned language which is interpreted so that the entire body will be edified. It is also a private prayer language (1 Corinthians 14:2). Tongues may also be a sign to unbelievers.

•INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES - This is a supernatural interpretation of a message in tongues, translated into the known language so that the hearers (the entire body) will be edified.

These are the utterance gifts. Next we have:

POWER gifts- These gifts do something:

•FAITH - This is not the faith that is measured to every believer, nor is it "saving faith." (1 Corinthians 12:9) It is the ability to have a vision for what God wants to be done and to confidently believe that it will be accomplished in spite of circumstances and appearances to the contrary. The gift of faith transforms vision into reality. It can also manifest as supernatural faith given by the Spirit to receive miracles or to believe God for miracles.

•HEALING - This is supernatural healing, beyond natural means, given by the Spirit. The ability to serve as a human instrument through whom God supernaturally cures illnesses and restores health. Inner healing, or healing of memories is sometimes associated as another manifestation of this gift.

•MIRACLES - This is the supernatural suspension of the natural laws, or an intervention by the Holy Spirit into the laws of nature. The ability to serve as an instrument through whom God accomplishes acts that manifest supernatural power. Miracles bear witness to the presence of God and the truth of His proclaimed Word.

We have looked at the utterance gifts that say something, and the power gifts that do something. Finally we have the:

REVELATION gifts- These gifts reveal something:

•WORD OF WISDOM - This is supernatural insight applied in a godly or correct way. It is the skillful use of knowledge. One commentary describes it as "insight into doctrinal truth." Since it is called a “word” of wisdom, it likely refers to the supernatural ability to speak a word of wisdom into a confused or troubled situation. It is bringing God’s mind, His solution into a problem.

•WORD OF KNOWLEDGE - This is supernatural knowledge of facts and information that can only be revealed by God. For instance, when Jesus talked with the woman at the well, He told her things about herself she had never revealed—she’d had five husbands, the one she was living with was not her husband, and so forth (John 4). Peter confronted Ananias and Saphira about their dishonest financial dealings when he had no way of knowing what they had done in the natural (Acts 5:1-10).

•DISCERNING OF SPIRITS - (1 Corinthians 12:10) The ability to clearly discern the spirit of truth and the spirit of error (cf. 1 John 4:6). With this gift, one can distinguish reality versus counterfeits, the divine versus the demonic, true versus false teaching, and in some cases, spiritual versus carnal motives. An example would be Paul’s casting out the spirit of divination from the damsel following he and Silas (Acts 16:18).

•In summary, we have looked so far at two types of gifts: Ministry gifts and Manifestation gifts.

Next Time we will explore motivational gifts-The divinely given ‘want to do.’

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