The Holy Spirit
Notes
Transcript
The Gifts of the Spirit
The Gifts of the Spirit
Thanks Mark for speaking on the fruits of the spirit.
We are going to shift gears now and talk about the gifts of the Spirit.
What are the gifts of the Spirit?
Ministries or abilities that the Holy Spirit gives to Christians for the edification of the Church.
There are verses that we come to and learn this from they are
Romans 12:6-8, 1 Cor 12:7-10, 1 Cor 12:28, and Eph 4:11.
We will read these verses just so we can hear the different gifts of the Spirit.
Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
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.
And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
Mostly Paul writes about the gifts of the Spirit.
With a few exceptions, mainly 1 Peter 4:10-11
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
So Peter some what divides the gifts of the spirit into 2 categories.
Those who speak and those who serve.
The categories aren’t precise since those who speak also serve those whom they address, and those who speak serve as they minister.
Gifts of speaking include apostleship, prophecy, teaching, evangelism, exhortation, discerning spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues.
Gifts of service include leadership, helps, mercy, giving, faith, healing, and miracles.
Several truths should be articulated about spiritual gifts.
1. The gifts are to be exercised under the lordship of Christ (1 Cor. 12:1–3).
Attention should not be centered on our gifts or our experiences but the supremacy of Christ in all things.
People may claim wonderful experiences, but if they aren’t living under Christ’s lordship, their gifts mean very little.
The gifts are given for the edification of the church (1 Cor. 14:1–40; Eph. 4:11–16).
2. The gifts are not given for self-edification or self-esteem, but to build up and strengthen the church.
The focus of the gifts is corporate and not individualistic.
We see in Ephesians 4 is that the aim of the gifts is the maturation of the body of Christ.
The Lord wants the church to be stable and strong, able to resist false and destructive teaching.
The gifts are operating well when the church becomes more like Jesus Christ, when it is built up in truth and love.
3. We see in Romans 12:3 that we are to think reasonably about our gifts.
We need to beware of thinking too highly or too lowly about ourselves and our gifts.
Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 12 that one who has a flashier gift is not more godly or more spiritual.
Conversely, those who have what they consider to be a lesser gift are not inferior.
Every gift is needed to make up the body because bodies are made up of eyes and ears, hands and feet, arms and noses. Thus, no member of the church can be an isolationist.
The whole body can’t be an eye or a head because then there is not a body at all.
We are to think reasonably about how God has gifted us and avoid unrealistic and inflated conceptions of our gifts or notions that we are worthless and have nothing to offer.
4. We recognize that the diversity of gifts comes from God himself (1 Cor. 12:4–6).
We are not to worry about the gift we possess, because God has sovereignly ordained the gifts we possess (1 Cor. 12:11, 18, 28).
We are tempted to think that the gifts we have stem from ourselves, but Paul reminds us that gifts are gifts! They are given to us and not earned by us.
We trust that God has formed the body with great wisdom and love.
The Corinthians were particularly entranced with the gift of tongues, and Paul warns them about exalting such a gift unduly.
5. The baptism in the Spirit isn’t a second experience after conversion.
In Acts, baptism in the Spirit occurs at the inauguration of the church on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:5; 2:1–11), at the conversion of Cornelius and his friends (Acts 10:44–48; 11:16), at the conversion of the Ephesian 12 (Acts 19:1–7).
Paul also teaches that baptism in the Spirit occurs when every member of the church is inducted into the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13).
Baptism by definition is an initiation event, and thus it is a misreading of the evidence to argue from Acts that the baptism in the Spirit must be accompanied by tongue-speaking.
Tongue-speaking represents the inauguration of the new covenant at Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4), and it demonstrates the salvation of Gentiles (Acts 10:44–48) and the followers of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1–7).
We have no evidence elsewhere that initiation in the church of Jesus Christ must be accompanied by speaking in other languages.
Indeed, 1 Corinthians 12:13 clarifies that every single believer is baptized in the Spirit at conversion.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
6. 1 Corinthians 14:1–19 is a most interesting text, and it shows that edification comes through understanding.
Christians are tempted to think that amazing experiences are what edify, especially overwhelming emotional experiences.
Certainly, emotions are a good thing and are not frowned upon, but Paul teaches us that emotions must be anchored to truth.
God chooses to sanctify us by renewing our minds (Rom. 12:2), as we test what pleases the Lord (Eph. 5:10), so that we become more discerning.
In this way, we will live in a way that pleases the Lord (Phil. 1:9–11; Col. 1:9–11).
7. We are to concentrate on the gifts God has given us (Rom. 12:6–8).
It would be a mistake to claim to refuse to engage in evangelism or service or helping by claiming that we don’t have such gifts.
In doing so we rationalize our selfishness. On the other hand, we are also reminded that we should concentrate our energies in life on the gift God has granted us.
God has made us in a particular way, and thus we help other believers most when we pursue the gift or gifts God has given to us.
It would be foolish if one has the gift of teaching to ignore that gift and to spend most one’s time pursuing the gift of encouragement.
8. We see clearly in 1 Corinthians 13, which is placed in the middle of the discussion of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12–14) that gifts are worthless without love.
The most important measure of our spirituality are not our gifts but our godliness.
Let’s talk about what are the gifts of the Spirit?
Leadership - Leadership aids the body by leading and directing members to accomplish the goals and purposes of the church. Leadership motivates people to work together in unity toward common goals (Rom. 12:8).
Administration - Persons with the gift of administration lead the body by steering others to remain on task. Administration enables the body to organize according to God-given purposes and long-term goals (1 Cor. 12:28).
Teaching - Teaching is instructing members in the truths and doctrines of God’s Word for the purposes of building up, unifying, and maturing the body (1 Cor. 12:28; Rom. 12:7; Eph. 4:11).
Knowledge - The gift of knowledge manifests itself in teaching and training in discipleship. It is the God-given ability to learn, know, and explain the precious truths of God’s Word. A word of knowledge is a Spirit-revealed truth (1 Cor. 12:28).
Wisdom - Wisdom is the gift that discerns the work of the Holy Spirit in the body and applies His teachings and actions to the needs of the body (1 Cor. 12:28).
Prophecy - The gift of prophecy is proclaiming the Word of God boldly. This builds up the body and leads to conviction of sin. Prophecy manifests itself in preaching and teaching (1 Cor. 12:10; Rom. 12:6).
Discernment - Discernment aids the body by recognizing the true intentions of those within or related to the body. Discernment tests the message and actions of others for the protection and well-being of the body (1 Cor. 12:10).
Exhortation - Possessors of this gift encourage members to be involved in and enthusiastic about the work of the Lord. Members with this gift are good counselors and motivate others to service. Exhortation exhibits itself in preaching, teaching, and ministry (Rom. 12:8).
Shepherding - The gift of shepherding is manifested in persons who look out for the spiritual welfare of others. Although pastors, like shepherds, do care for members of the church, this gift is not limited to a pastor or staff member (Eph. 4:11).
Faith - Faith trusts God to work beyond the human capabilities of the people. Believers with this gift encourage others to trust in God in the face of apparently insurmountable odds (1 Cor. 12:9).
Evangelism - God gifts his church with evangelists to lead others to Christ effectively and enthusiastically. This gift builds up the body by adding new members to its fellowship (Eph. 4:11).
Apostleship - The church sends apostles from the body to plant churches or be missionaries. Apostles motivate the body to look beyond its walls in order to carry out the Great Commission (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11).
Service/Helps - Those with the gift of service/helps recognize practical needs in the body and joyfully give assistance to meeting those needs. Christians with this gift do not mind working behind the scenes (1 Cor. 12:28; Rom. 12:7).
Mercy - Cheerful acts of compassion characterize those with the gift of mercy. Persons with this gift aid the body by empathizing with hurting members. They keep the body healthy and unified by keeping others aware of the needs within the church (Rom. 12:8).
Giving - Members with the gift of giving give freely and joyfully to the work and mission of the body. Cheerfulness and liberality are characteristics of individuals with this gift (Rom. 12:8).
Hospitality - Those with this gift have the ability to make visitors, guests, and strangers feel at ease. They often use their home to entertain guests. Persons with this gift integrate new members into the body (1 Pet. 4:9).
Prophecy - Many would hold to this as future telling, and while that can be true— one would need to test the prophecy to see if it was true (Acts 11)— if it was not then it was not a prophecy. Many see this gift as boldly professing God’s truth. Another view is that this gift is telling something that God has spontaneously brought to your mind. The main thing with prophecy is that it is to edify the chruch. We know that prophecy carries some weight. (1 cor 14:5)
Tongues/Interpretation - Those with this gift speak in a another language. As we saw in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit come onto the disciples the crowds said they heard their own language. Very much Spirit fill and Spirit led. I am not saying that none of the other gifts are, but it would seem that the Holy Spirit enables tongues as an act to advance the Gospel. As is it not a gift that one can turn on and turn off. (Acts 2)
Healing/Miracles - This is very similar to tongues as in it is full on Spirit led and Spirit enabled. Again I am not saying that none of the other gifts are, but it would seem that the Holy Spirit enables healing as an act to advance the Gospel. (Acts 3) When Peter and John heal the lame man. As is it not a gift that one can turn on and turn off.
As we read over all of the gifts of the Spirit notice that a couple of the gifts seem a little bit more different.
And the gifts of tongues, prophecy and healing/miracles have been debated about for some time.
As in do they exist?
The big reason is that these gifts seem to be rarely seen. At least the last 2: tongues and healing.
While we can see the chaos that comes with certain groups that utter tongues without interpretation and we see healing or miracles that seem to be not fully accurate.
It can be easy to get to a place where if we can’t explain or we don’t see it then we dismiss it.
I think we should be careful here.
Because in other parts of the world this is happening.
People are speaking in tongues with an interpreter or they are speaking in a language that is not their own.
We are seeing miracles happening in other countries. Very miraculous miracles that involves healing.
And we ask the question why are we not seeing this happen in the states?
That is a great question, and I don’t have an answer for that— I have my thoughts but nothing that can be found Biblically.
So what do we do with that?
Do not quench the Spirit.
and goes on to say
Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.
It is very much a possibility that the Holy Spirit will move and act on his own.
We must be careful not to put the Holy Spirit into a box that we can control and that we have figured out.
And we have a way to test everything…how does it stack up to scripture?
If it goes against the Bible then we know that it is not true.
So what can we learn and do with the gifts of the Spirit?
Well for starters I think that we need to know what is our spiritual gifts.
You can grab a copy of the list of the gifts we have gone over and also I have printed out a spiritual gift test that I would encourage everyone to fill out.
And once you have filled it out— use those gifts to edify the church.
Share what gifts that the Lord has gifted you with and use those for His glory.
Maybe you have the gift of hospitality.
We are looking for people to serve on our first impression team, maybe this is a place for you to use this gift.
Or maybe you can host a life group?
And if you take the text and you are still wondering how can I use my gifts— contact myself or Pastor Robert or any of the elders and we can help get you to understand your gift and get you plugged into using your gifts.
So that will conclude our evening, if anyone has any questions Mark and I will be up here for some of the other elders to help answer and field any questions you may have.
Thank you so much for coming, let me pray and then we can get out of here.
Pray