There is a difference between gifts and administrations. Gifts are supernatural. Administrations are functions, or jobs, in which you may exercise your talents and abilities for holy purposes.

Gifts are spontaneous, supernatural anointings that come upon a person as the Holy Spirit moves in response to a need in Christian service, or simply when God has something unique to accomplish.

Described:

Though the spiritual gifts are not fully explained. I believe there is sufficient evidence in the scriptures to give us an idea of how they work.

The Word Of Wisdom – a divine revelation of a spiritual truth or an insight into the divine purpose of God. Of course, natural wisdom and common sense are valuable in determining the will of God, and careful examination of the scriptures will reveal the purposes of God to us, but sometimes there are supernatural utterances that give a spontaneous revelation into godly purpose and truth.

Twice Peter exercised this gift in scripture.

When God revealed to Peter who Jesus was -

And again, at the home of Cornelius, the Gentile believer -

Up until this time they thought salvation was just for the Jews. God spoke through Peter and revealed a deeper truth - an aspect they had never considered.

How can you tell a 'word of wisdom' from regular common sense or sound Bible interpretation? The 'word of wisdom' will be a spontaneous revelation, not a laborious conclusion. It will burn within us - a witness of the Spirit of a truth.

The 'word of wisdom' is the only gift that offers direction to the body of Christ. (Keep that fact in mind.) Wisdom is a much needed commodity in the body of Christ. As the inner witness of the Spirit guides the individual, the 'word of wisdom' guides the church. (This, like all the spiritual gifts must pass the scrutiny of the leadership - the elders.)

The Word Of Knowledge - a divine illumination of a fact in the heart of man or in a human situation. God will reveal, or expose, a situation for the good His people. There are times when we need an edge, an inside track.

When the prophet Nathan exposed David's secret sin, that was a 'word of knowledge'.

David had sinned. His sin would affect his leadership. God exposed him so he could repent and make amends.

Again, Elisha received a 'word of knowledge' about the battle plans of the Syrian army.

Often is the time when someone will be awakened in the middle of the night to pray for a missionary or some other child of God at the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Later it is revealed that at that very moment that servant of God was in danger and that prayer availed on his or her behalf.

When we are praying in the service and it is revealed that someone has a certain need, or when the one praying prays exactly what the recipient needed without prior knowledge, that is a word of knowledge. (This is not to be confused with fortune-telling in the name of the Lord.)

The Gift Of Faith - goes beyond natural faith. All faith is given by God.

But the gift of faith is a special touch of faith in a time of crisis or opportunity. Daniel in the lion's den; Elijah on Mt. Carmel; Paul in the shipwreck - these men received a special gift of faith for such times.

Gifts Of Healing - We know that healing is provided in the atonement. "By His stripes we are healed." There are many times that we pray for a sick one and see the Lord gloriously answer our prayers.

But there are time of a special anointing when God may do mass healings or a phenomenal healing that goes beyond anything imagined.

These were occasions where the gift of healing appears to have been in effect.

There are also certain servants of God who seem to flow in this gift. They do not possess the gift - Jesus is the healer - but they seem to flow in the gift more readily than most.

The Working Of Miracles - a release of divine energy to work powerful changes in the natural order of things.

The parting of the Red Sea was the working of a miracle.

The sun standing still for Joshua was the working of a miracle.

Raising the dead was the working of a miracle.

Calming the sea was the working of a miracle.

Nature follows a certain course and operates by certain rules. When the rules are superceded, that is a miracle.

Walking on the water was a miracle.

The Gift of Prophecy - speaking forth or revealing what God is about to do or is doing. There are two aspects of prophetic utterances - foretelling future events and forth-telling, or proclaiming, what God is doing.

It may proclaim blessings or warn of coming judgment and call for repentance. Note: this is not the office of a prophet. That is different and will be dealt with later. This is the gift of prophecy - an utterance given spontaneously to a yielded vessel of God.

There are few people who will venture into the realm of foretelling the future such as we see in scripture, when the prophet predicted the coming of King Josiah 300 years before his birth, or when Agabus predicted that Paul would be imprisoned in Rome.

Forth-telling is safer, but equally anointed and powerful when it is real. This kind of prophetic utterance is when the Lord reveals something directly to the body for a specific time. It may explain why something is happening, or expose certain sins in the body, or alert the church to certain dangers eminently lurking.

Note this: A prophetic utterance must always be consistent with the written word and must be judged and confirmed by the leadership of the church. Scripture tells us to 'test the spirits' and to 'judge the prophecies'. Much of what passes for prophecy is nothing more than fortune telling or guesswork.

Also mark this: Prophecy is not given for direction. Agabus told Paul he would be imprisoned, but he did not suggest that Paul back out of his trip.

Finally: Prophetic utterances are not equal in authority with the 'prophecy' of scripture. The scriptures are closed. Nothing can be added or changed. Prophetic words in the church are momentary, not eternal truths.

Preaching is often, but not always, prophetic. Sometimes it is teaching, and sometimes it is directly prophetic. Prophecy often bleeds into the preaching. But preaching and prophecy are not by definition the same thing.

Discerning of Spirits - The ability to detect the presence or influence of evil spirits in operation. Note very clearly - this is not the gift of 'suspicion' or 'criticism'. It is not the gift of 'setting everyone straight'. This specifically involves the detecting of spiritual activity.

Paul turned to the girl fortune teller and cast the spirit out of her. He had discerned that she had an evil spirit, even though she was proclaiming the truth about them.

This gift has nothing to do with judging people or movements.

What about when Peter 'judged' Ananias and Sapphira? That was a 'word of knowledge', not a discerning of spirits. That was an act of sinful man, not of demons.

This gift is different from the discernment that some people have naturally. Some people are just intuitive about sizing up situations or spotting cons. That is not the spiritual gift. It is a valuable trait, but it is not a spiritual gift.

The Gift Of Tongues - There are a number of things we need to understand about tongues. It is a matter that is often confused.

I would also like to clarify here that the 'gift of tongues' is not the same thing as the 'initial evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit'. In Acts, the believers '…spoke with tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance…'. Those people may or may not have spoken in tongues after that initial experience. The tongues at baptism was an overflow of emotion following the infilling of the Spirit. It was a sign that the Spirit had indeed come. The gift, or prayer language, is a natural following to that experience, depending on whether the person desires to use it or not.

The tongues used in the service accompanied by interpretation is still another expression of this gift. Although the actual language may be the same, there are different expressions of the gift, whether it is used prayerfully or prophetically.

Also, when used in the prophetic sense, accompanied by interpretation, it is not necessarily a word for word translation.

Interpretation of Tongues - This gift always follows and is used in conjunction with the gift of tongues.

These are not abiding gifts that one may work at will, but spontaneous stirrings of the Holy Spirit.

Administrations are callings that God places upon one’s life. They are accompanied by giftings that God places within the individual. This is your God given talents and abilities that can and must be used to serve the Kingdom of God.

A sampling of administrations –

Let us comment briefly upon each of these administrations mentioned.

Apostles - those who found and oversee churches. Some pastors are apostles. Some missionaries are apostles. Paul was an apostle. He traveled around preaching the gospel and starting churches. He trained leaders to oversee those churches and went out to start others, while continuing to check back on each one to make sure the work was going well.

Not everyone who starts a church is an apostle. This is a special calling from God to be a pioneer in the gospel.

Prophets (office, not gift of prophecy) - The office of the prophet differs from the gift of prophecy. The gift is a spontaneous moving of the Spirit. The office of prophet is a calling - a very hard calling, mind you. Prophets usually spoke hard messages - messages often unpopular and upsetting. God usually sent prophets along when the church got cold or off-track. The prophet would shake things up and usually upset the status quo. People usually didn't like prophets. They were not people pleasers. They went against the grain. They called sin, sin. They didn't seek a following. They sought righteousness.

In Jeremiah's day, the people wanted the positive messages of the false prophets over the truth that Jeremiah told.

Evangelists - those especially called and gifted to win the lost. Every Christian should evangelize - every believer is called to share the gospel. But some have a special gift to effectively share the gospel. Regrettably, many who call themselves evangelists today are nothing more than Christian entertainers who make a living off the church pumping up excitement and making people feel good. But there is a legitimate calling, and when you find a real evangelist, people get saved.

Pastors - pastors are shepherds. They care for the believers they are given charge over. Pastoring is a very solemn calling - a calling with great responsibilities. There are those who call themselves pastors who are simply 'running a church'. That is not pastoring. Then again, there are those in the body who are not called to be full-time, or professional, pastors, but definitely have a pastor's heart. I've seen in some who seem to feel the heartbeat of the body - who take every prayer request seriously - who have a nurturant quality about them. Caring for a few close friends doesn't constitute a pastoral quality. A true pastor, or shepherd, cares for all equally, even those who are unlovable - those who are unkind - those who are ungrateful - those who get on your nerves.

Teachers - The calling of a teacher must be accompanied by a gift of communicating and imparting. A trained school teacher is not necessarily a teacher in the spiritual sense. The spiritual teacher has a way of making spiritual truths understandable and desirable. Jesus was a master teacher. He communicated in a way people understood, he held their interest, he imparted truth rather than just telling it. A gifted teacher makes you discover truth and put it to use. I've seen people who couldn't even construct a sentence properly but could make biblical principles come alive.

Ministry (serving) - the proper definition is serving. We are all called to serve one another and to serve the Lord, but some are gifted at serving. They can see what needs to be done and do it without having to be pushed or overly supervised. These are the people who don't mind doing whatever is needed. There are a few servants in this body that all of you could probably name. They do whatever is asked of them, and usually do things that are not even mentioned, but they see that it needs doing and they do it.

Most people will come to church and never think about 'who is going to turn on the lights, or turn off the air conditioners, or set up the chairs for a meeting, or change the oil in the van, or clean the windows'. But there are people who do think about those things. They are the ministers in this church.

Exhorting - exhorting may be preaching, but it may also be the same thing on a personal level. It means several things:

• To console or comfort - they speak words that help when people are in need.
• To encourage - they cheer for you when you are struggling or trying to do something good.
• To entreat or persuade - they will offer words of correction, warning, or caution when they see you on shaky ground.
• To instruct - they will speak God's Word to you when needed.

They do on a personal level what a preaching pastor tries to do on a corporate level.

Giving - There are those who have a gift of giving. Of course, all believers should be givers. But some are gifted to go beyond - to even give sacrificially. They are not satisfied with tithing. They go beyond that. They seem to thrive on making sure others have. It is a great gift because you can never outgive God. When God finds a true giver, he will pour finances upon that person because He knows they won't keep it - they'll pass it on.

Hint: The giver will never have much because he always gives it away.

Ruling (administration) - some people are gifted at organizing and managing others. Some pastors are gifted at this, but others fall short. They can preach and teach and even lead, but they may not be the greatest organizers or managers. God puts others in the body to help them. That doesn't mean the person is not a good pastor or that the organizer would be better as the pastor. It simply means that each one should find his or her gift - what he is good at - and do that. Moses was a great man of God and a great leader. But his father-in-law had to tell him how to organize his people effectively.

Mercy (compassion) - Again, every Christian should be a person of mercy, just as Jesus was, but some have a gift in this area. They seem to never run out of compassion. You can tell they care. When they see a need, they have to get involved in ministering to that need. They feel empathy for the hurting person. Saint Francis was known for his compassion. He gave his shoes away to a shoeless street person one day. He didn't worry that every shoeless street person in town would be seeking him out the next day. His gift of mercy put the other person's need ahead of his own.

Helps - What a great gift! Helps is the gift that assists everybody else and seeks no glory for itself. A person with the gift of helps is there to help you achieve your goals. They'll do whatever you need done. This goes right along with the gift of ministry. The person with the gift of helps can effectively lay aside their agenda and help you with your agenda. They have no problem with ego.

Governments (same as ruling) - Some people are born leaders, some are made leaders, and then some are anointed leaders. God enables some people to lead. This gift goes right along with administration, but is not necessarily the same. God just gives some people the ability to motivate and direct others. Some have this gift in different degrees. Some can lead tens, some hundreds, and some thousands. The important thing is not how many you can lead, but how faithfully you lead those you are enabled and appointed to lead. Remember, God does not measure success the same way we do. Faithfulness is what he looks for - and sincerity.

God calls people to areas of service in the body and equips them for what he calls them for.

Wed night, we will do questionnaires that will help each one determine their gifts and callings. Please try to be here. Everybody in the body of Christ has a ministry. Finding it is usually the problem.