Sermon Tone Analysis

Different kinds of gifts

I Cor.

12:

From where?

For what?

From the Spirit.

The word “gift” is also translated “grace” in other portions of the New Testament.

We can therefore

That which is given by the Spirit is really a “grace” from the Spirit to do

1:5; 15:15; 1 Cor.

3:10; Gal.

2:9; Eph 3:2, 7, 8

Romans

For the profit of the body of Christ.

It is clarified that each gift is a manifestation of the Spirit, that is, an ability or ministry which the Spirit actualizes within the believer and which reveals the presence of the Spirit—of God—among his people

The “grace” from the Spirit is therefore a “gift” for the believer to participate in unity among the local body of believers.

Nowhere does Paul provide a complete list of spiritual gifts.

He provides us, instead, with a variety of partial lists (1:5; 12:8–10, 28, 29–30; 13:1–3, 8–9; Rom.

12:6–8; Eph.

4:11 [cf. 1 Pet.

4:11]), no two of which agree completely, and there is no reason to believe that we would come up with an exhaustive list simply by compiling those gifts that Paul happens to mention in these different ad hoc lists of representative examples; “Other and different gifts are conceivable.”

We have no grounds for believing that Paul himself thought he knew (or could possibly know) the complete range of potential gifts.

Word of Wisdom

“Wisdom refers to insight into doctrinal truth.”

I Cor.

Any message that Paul would recognize as a message of wisdom would have to be a message that reflects the upside-down (or right-side up in a very surprising way) wisdom which recognizes in Christ crucified not foolishness but God’s power and wisdom (1:24).

Someone “wise enough to judge a dispute between believers” (6:5) might have a message of wisdom to speak to them and to the congregation.

A message of wisdom would presumably be one that reflects Christ’s stress on self-sacrifice for the well-being of the other.

Word of Knowledge

“Knowledge refers to the ability to apply doctrinal truth to life.”

I Cor.

I Cor.

I Cor.

3:

it seems that these Corinthians had come to some important knowledge but lacked the wisdom to know how to apply it properly, wrongly thinking that it meant that idolatry was not a real danger.

I Cor.

8:7

The knowledge reflected in the apostles and prophets was a God-given knowledge that flowed from a Spirit-guided saturating of the heart and mind in the Scriptures.

Faith

“Faith as a spiritual gift is probably an unusual measure of trust in God beyond that exercised by most Christians.”

Gifts of Healing