Spiritual Gifts: What Should We Know About Them?

Spiritual Gifts: What Should We Know About Them? 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 November 4, 2018 THE BIG IDEA: Paul teaches that each Christian has a spiritual gift chosen for them by God. The gifts are incredibly diverse and are not a measure of your value to God or the Church. The best way to discover your spiritual gift is to get busy serving God! 1 Corinthians 11:1-7, 11 (ESV) 12 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 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. One Way of Grouping of the Gifts o Special Gifts à to equip God’s people Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor-Teacher o Speaking Gifts à to explain God’s Word Prophecy, Teaching, Exhortation, Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge o Serving Gifts à to enable God’s work to get done Serving, Helping, Leadership, Administration, Giving, Mercy, Discerning of Spirits, Faith, Hospitality o Sign Gifts à to establish God’s authority Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Miracles, Healing 3 Mistakes to Avoid Concerning Spiritual Gifts o The “Spirituality” Problem. o The “Specialist” Problem. o The “Self-Centered” Problem. Key Principle for Discovering Your Spiritual Gift: The best way to discover your spiritual gift is to get busy serving God! What is the purpose of spiritual gifts? 1 Corinthians 12:4 explains that they are an expression of God’s grace – “charismata” – literally, “grace-gifts”. à 1 Corinthians 12:7 says they are “for the common good” à 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 teaches that they are the spiritual empowerment to live as the Body of Christ on earth until He comes. à 1 Peter 4:11 directs us to “use them to serve one another” à Ephesians 4:12 explains that they are “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” à What is the Important Connection Between Spiritual Gifts & Spiritual Fruit: • • • • Spiritual Gifts are distributed by God’s choice across the entirety of the Church Body. No one gets all the gifts. Spiritual Fruit should be increasingly present (all 9 manifestations) in every Believer. Galatians 5:22-23 Spiritual Gifts are what we do. Spiritual Fruit is what we are. Spiritual Gifts without Spiritual Fruit is empty, meaningless, and useless. 3 Schools of Thought Concerning Spiritual Gifts: Continuation Modification Cessation [1 Corinthians 13:10] A Prayer for God’s People: “May we be intensely dissatisfied with our lives until we know that we are increasingly displaying the fruit of the Spirit and are faithfully serving Christ with the gifts of the Spirit He has given.”