Teachings
Spiritual Gifts
What are the spiritual gifts?
"1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant . . . 4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same spirit . . . 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good . . . 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one as he determines. (1 Corinthians 12:1, 4, 7, 11)
Spiritual gifts are special abilities from God that are given to each believer as God chooses. Unlike natural talents, which are sometimes genetic and developed by training, spiritual gifts are just that, gifts from God to use in ministry. That is not to say we shouldn't cultivate those gifts and learn how to use them effectively. Both spiritual gifts and natural talents are from God.
For what purpose?
Spiritual gifts are given by the Spirit "for the common good." That is, to edify, or build up and strengthen the body of Christ to accomplish his (Christ's) overall purpose. ; In 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 Paul explains that the body of Christ is much like our human body - made up of many parts with different functions. All are needed for our body to function effectively. So it is with the body of Christ. Each believer has been given a unique gift that is needed in the local body of Christ with whom he/she fellowships. Think of it as a "tool" with which to help build the House of God. Your special gift is an evidence of the Spirit's power working through your life and will determine your "role" in the church. 1 Peter 4:10 says, "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."
Is this gift for my personal purposes too?
As we saw above in 1 Peter 4:10, all the gifts are intended to build up the body of Christ and not to be used for selfish purposes.
What types of spiritual gifts are there?
There are many different types of gifts mentioned in Scripture.
In Romans 12:3-8, Paul mentions the gifts of prophecy, service, teaching, encouragement, giving, leadership, and mercy. ; In Ephesians 4:11 we find apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. And in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 we learn of wisdom, message of knowledge, healing, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing between the spirits (discernment), and speaking in different kinds of tongues. In verses 28 and 30 of that same chapter there is yet another list. It includes apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healing, helping, administration, tongues and interpretation. From these Scriptures we can compile a list.
prophecy apostle healing
serving prophet miracles
teaching evangelist discernment
encouragement pastor tongues
giving wisdom interpretation
leadership (administration) knowledge helps
mercy faith
Each of these gifts will be explained in more depth in individual articles coming soon.
Can someone impart a spiritual gift to me?
In the passage of Scripture that we opened this article with, 1 Corinthians 12:1, 4, 7, 11, we found in verse 11 that he, (the Holy Spirit) gives to each, (that's you and me) as he, (the Spirit) determines. The Holy Spirit knows much better than we, how much each gift is needed in each local fellowship of believers, and he, not man, assigns the gifts as he sees fit. If you have the same gift as someone else in your church, that's because God knows that your church has need of it. 1 Corinthians 12:18 says, "But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as he pleased." Although there may be an emphasis on "getting" certain gifts, and even on "imparting" them to individuals, this is not what Scripture teaches, and we must always remember that it is his Word that is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
Do all of the gifts still exist today?
That is a very controversial question. When the church was first birthed and in its infancy, it had just a few leaders, no Bible, and certainly faced lots of persecution. It was a dangerous thing to follow Christ. If you were going to make that decision to follow him and his teaching, I would think you would want some assurance that the message and the messenger were authentic. Would you have chosen to follow the apostles teachings based just on their words? Remember there was no Bible to confirm their message in that day. Hear what God's Word says to us in Hebrews 2:3-4. "t; . . . This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and various gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will." God graciously authenticated the message and the messengers for the listeners with unmistakable signs and wonders that could only be from him!
Once the church was established and we had the written Word of God, the "sign gifts" were no longer needed. We now have the full revelation of God to authenticate the messages we hear and the messengers. These wonderf ul sign gifts that authenticated it before were miracles, healing, tongues and interpretation. Do I believe that miracles and healing don't happen today? Absolutely not! I believe they do, but not for the purpose of validating a message or messenger. The Word of God does that. ; And they do not happen at the hands of a "messenger" on a platform before thousands of people who are looking for "signs."; We'll go into this more deeply in future articles on the individual gifts.
In addition to the sign gifts given for the early church, the gifts of apostleship and prophecy must also be clarified. Apostleship comes from the Greek word ";apostolos," meaning "a delegate, a messenger, one sent forth with orders," in the sense of being sent forth into a second culture or a "new frontier" with the gospel, as were the early apostles. An example today would be a church planter or a missionary.
The gift of prophecy brought a two-fold ministry. First, prophets foretold the future through messages sent o them from God. This function ended when the church was built and the Bible completed. " . . .you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's houshold, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone." (Ephesians 2:19-20) Those who claim to bring "new revelations" from God and claim "special authority" as apostles and prophets have assumed that authority on their own.
The gift of prophecy also means to "forth tell" God's Word. (Jeremiah 35:15b-19) ; This ministry of prophecy continues today. It is carried on by men and women of God who rightly divide, or "forth tell" the Word of truth, challenging the church to a deeper commitment to Christ.
We are to value highly the spiritual gifts, and some we are to desire more than others, those being the "greater gifts" Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 12:31. In verses 27-30, preceding his directive to us, he lists those gifts. Prophecy (in the sense of "forth telling" is the greatest gift next to apostleship (in the sense of planting new churches and being a missionary) and should be desired the most. However, let us never forget that above all, we are to always "pursue love." (1 Corinthians 14:1) Love, as well as the other fruit of the Spirit, (Galatians 5:22,23) is what keeps the gifts of the Spirit operating in the church smoothly and effectively. Without the fruit of the Spirit, the gifts are meaningless We are all called to bear the fruit of the Spirit. We do that by abiding in Christ. (John 15:1-17) It involves communicating with him in prayer, listening to him talk to you through the reading of his Word, and being obedient to what he asks of you.
As we abide in him, may we bear his fruit and serve him together lovingly, as we exercise our gifts for the furtherance of his kingdom.