Spiritual Gifts 2

The church is in the world to fulfill the mission of the Head of the Church. We have discussed at length the fact that the Church exists to co-labor in alignment with the Mission of God (Missio Dei). Jesus came in the flesh to fulfill these four purposes: to glorify God, to evangelize and save the lost, to make disciples, and to meet human need. The Church continues to endeavor evangelizing, making disciples, and meeting human need. Where the Head of the Church goes, the Body that belongs to the Head must follow. We mentioned last week that the gifts are given for the express purpose of fulfilling the mission of God, not for amazement.

Every gift except speaking in tongues was evidenced in Jesus’ ministry. The key to understanding spiritual gifts, then, is view them as a perpetuation of Jesus’ ministry. The book of Acts begins with the words, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach.” . Notice that the first volume refers to Jesus’ ministry as the beginning of what Jesus started to do on the earth. In fact Jesus continues to work up until this present hour. gifts that explain the motivation of the people in the Body to minister to one another.

Motivational Gifts

Gifts that explain the motivation of the people in the Body to minister to one another.

Prophecy

When most people hear the word prophecy, they think of someone standing up in a service and uttering something like, “I, the Lord your God, say unto thee...” And unless we have heard something akin to that in the context of a service we might leave thinking that there was no prophetic word given by the Lord.

What is a prophet?

1 Samuel 9:9

1 Samuel 9:9 ESV

(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today’s “prophet” was formerly called a seer.)

Before men of God were called prophets, they were called seers, ones who saw. What did the prophets see? The prophets saw the people and the world through God’s eyes. Primarily that seeing was twofold in nature. It was intuitive, that is, it looked into the heart of a person and read the person’s needs and perhaps sins in the light of God’s Word, and then addressed God’s Word to that particular need. Prophets were also prophetic in the sense that we are used to the word-they indicated events that were to come.

Prophecy always arises out of a true seeing of current conditions. It says, “If these conditions continue, this is where they are going to lead you, and God is going to either judge you or bless you, depending upon how you address and correct the situation.” Prophecy involves both forth-telling - declaring the Word of God now to our heart, and it may also involve a forth telling of telling of the future.

1 Corinthians 14:3 ESV

On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.

1 Corinthians

To nonbelievers

1 Corinthians 14:24–25 ESV

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

1 Corinthians 14:

The gift of prophecy is to be earnestly sought by all believers. When Moses found out that there were more prophesying in the campo without credentials, he said, Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets,” Like Moses we should also say, “Would that we all would come to know God and His Word so intimately that when the occasion arises, we can speak out God’s Word with authority.

Service

The gift of service involves practical ministry needs. Jesus epitomized this gift when, on the eve of His passion, He took a towel and washed His disciples feet. He demonstrated, through His practical service, the ministry of love.

Notice that nowhere do the Scriptures say the gift of prophecy is greater than the gift of serving, or serving greater than prophecy. Both are vital components. The body of Christ needs people who serve with the Spirit and heart of Jesus.

Teaching

While the prophet will speak to the moment, teachers are systematic and strive for accuracy. Luke was a masterful teacher. You pick this up in his writings. The gift of the Spirit rested upon him. He described in his gospel account how he had followed things accurately and served to set down in order all things concerning Jesus.

Luke 1:3 ESV

it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,

Acts 18:24–25 ESV

Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.

A great quality of a teacher, like Apollos, is to be teachable as well. Apollos received the teaching of Priscilla and Aquila, and became even more effective in his ministry. Because of this gift of teaching, he built up believers and confounded unbelievers. We need to be taught and have set before us God’s full counsel. The body of Jesus Christ suffers whenever teaching is not accurate.

Encouragement

Another speaking gift, the gift of exhortation, is literally encouragement. It is the Greek word for “one called alongside to help.” The gift of prophecy, the gift of teaching, and the gift of encouragement all interrelate. The prophet, the teacher and the exhorter (or encourager) depend upon different ways to get their message across. The prophet depends on their interaction with the Spirit of God and with the Word. The teacher depends upon a thorough mastery of the subject in order to address it. The exhorter depends upon the need to arise the they can address to help encourage and inspire people.

Giving

In each of these gifts, there are dimensions of that gift that are universal to all believers. To say that some have the gift of giving does not mean that others do not give. Or to say that some have the gift of teaching does not mean that others should not teach. There is universality in each of the gifts, but there are gifts that have special application and refinement when we use them.

There are some members in the Body who have the unique gift of seeing and responding to needs. If you have the gift of giving, you need resources to give, whether its time, finances or skills. The giver gives these willingly. They never give begrudgingly, because God has given them a special delight in sharing for the benefit for the Body.

Leadership

Leadership is the ability given by the Spirit to help set a course of direction and unify people for the accomplishment of the work of the Lord. Leadership helps the body of Christ strive toward common ideals, and build the community of the people of God into that which would delight the Spirit of the Lord. It helps the people move to fulfill the objectives the Lord has for them. There are all kinds of leaders. Servant leadership perhaps best describes the leadership the Spirit places in the Body.

Mercy

Paul concludes in with the gift of mercy. There are often critical needs when teaching or words of any kind cannot help. So we need the gift of mercy. When a person is terminally ill, it isn’t the prophet teacher or even exhorter who has the impact. It’s the person who can show mercy, inspired by Christ’s example.

Many in our society need the gift of mercy- not only the terminally ill, but also abused people, victims of AIDS, prisoners and outcasts. The Church is often too quick to pronounce judgment. We may recognize God judges sin but loves the sinner, yet we often weigh the first half of that equation too heavily. We must reach out with love and with compassion because people are won to Christ through love. The merciful person reaches out and administers the redemption and inner healing of Jesus Christ.

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