09. The Gifts of the Spirit  -  II

The various gifts

A.   Manifestational gifts

    Gifts of Revelation or Perception:

       utterance of wisdom                    - 1Cor.12:8

       utterance of knowledge              - 1Cor.12:8

       discerning of spirits                      - 1Cor.12:10

    Power gifts:

       faith                                                - 1Cor.12:9

       healing                                           - 1Cor.12:9

       working of miracles                     - 1Cor.12:10

    Proclamation gifts:

       prophecy                                       - 1Cor.12 :10

       kinds of tongues                          - 1Cor.12:10

       interpretation of tongues          - 1Cor.12:10

B.    Ministry gifts

       Apostles                                   - Eph.4:11

       Prophets                                  - Eph.4:11

       Evangelists                              - Eph.4:11

       Pastors / Teachers                 - Eph.4:11

C.    Motivational gifts

       serving (ministering)             - Rom.12:7

       teaching                                  - Rom.12:7

       exhorting                                - Rom.12:8

       giving (Gr. = sharing)            - Rom.12:8

       ruling / leading                      - Rom.12:8

       mercy                                      - Rom.12:8

A. Manifestational gifts

    Gifts of Revelation or Perception

        Word of wisdom (1Cor.12:8)

The word of wisdom is a supernatural revelation of the mind and purpose of God, communicated by the Holy Spirit. This enables one to make God’s will known to men. It is the capacity to apply spiritual principles to contemporary problems. It must be emphasized, that the wisdom in question is not fleshly or worldly wisdom, but the wisdom of God.

Examples:        - Joseph’s interpretation of the dreams of pharao (Gen.41:39-40);

- Solomon; the two women with the baby (1Kings 3:16-28).

       Word of knowledge (1Cor.12:8)

This is the ability to understand truth, that is unknown by natural means or that has not been previously learnt. It is a supernatural revelation of the existence or nature of a person or a thing, or the knowledge of some event, given to us by the Holy Spirit for a specific purpose.

Examples:        - Nathan and David, after David’s sin (2Sam.12:1-14);

- Peter’s confession of Who Christ is (Matt.16:13-17).

       Discerning of spirits (1Cor.12:10)

This is the gift of being able to discern whether a spirit is from God or not.

Examples:        - Matt.1:20-24, Acts 16:16-18.

    Power gifts

       Faith (1Cor.12:9)

This is not faith for salvation, by which a man believes in Christ. Paul is referring to the special ability to trust God in a situation which appears totally impossible from a human point of view; the ability to hold on to God in prayer (over many years, if necessary).

Examples:        - Noah had this gift of faith in believing God, that there would be a flood, and acting on that belief against all the odds and the laughter of his fellow men, he built the ark (Gen.6-7);

- Abraham believed and trusted God, until eventually after 25 years the promise of God came to fruition (Gen.15-18 and 21).

It is obvious, why this gift is mentioned alongside healing and miracles: the latter two cannot be effected, unless accompanied by faith in God.

       Gifts of healing (1Cor.12:9)

These gifts are for the supernatural healing of diseases and infirmities without natural means of any sort. They are miraculous manifestations of the Spirit for the banishment of all human illnesses, whether organic, functional or nervous, acute or chronic. Healing through these gifts is wrought through the power of Christ.

Examples:        - This gift was operational in the life of Jesus;

- Peter and John healing the man at the gate called Beautiful (Acts 3:1-10).

       Working of miracles (1Cor.12:10)

A miracle is a supernational intervention in the ordinary course of nature; a temporary suspension of the accustomed order; an interruption of the system as we know it. The working of miracles operates by the energy or dynamic force of the Spirit in reversals or suspensions of natural laws. A miracle is a sovereign act of the Spirit of God, irrespective of laws or systems.

Examples:        - the crossing by the Israelites of the Red Sea (Ex.14:13-30);

- the crossing of the Jordan River (Josh.3:9-17);

- the many miracles performed by Jesus.

    Proclamation or Inspirational gifts

       Prophecy (1Cor.12:10)

Prophecy was valued by the people in both the Old and New Testaments, because through it God spoke directly to His people. He had done so through the prophets and prophetesses of the O.T., He had done so through Jesus, that Prophet like Moses, and continued to do it through inspired individuals or groups bearing testimony to Jesus in words they themselves had not thought of.

It is not easy to be precisely clear what early Christian prophecy was, but two things are very clear:

-                 it was a direct word from God for the situation on hand through the mouth of one of His people; and

-                 it was clear speech, which didn’t need any interpretation.

Prophecy contributed to the edification of the whole Christian body assembled for worship. It struck to the heart of unbelievers present, who were amazed at the directness and relevance of what was said. It showed,  that God was indeed present in the congregation (1Cor.14:4,24-25).

Prophecy cannot be described as simply preaching or teaching.

       Tongues (1Cor.12:10)

This is the ability to speak in a language, that the speaker has not learnt, does not understand and that is incomprehensible to the hearer. Tongues enables a person to speak to God in prayer (1Cor.14:2,14). It releases a genuine liberty in prayer. It also enables a person to praise God at a depth unknown previously (Acts 2:4, 10:46). Those who have received this gift of tongues find themselves free to praise, thank, adore and glorify their heavenly Father as never before. There is a new dimension of praise and worship that is experienced.

The gift of tongues edifies the person himself (1Cor.14:4), as opposed to all the other gifts which are said to be for the edification of the Body. Tongues is given, unlike the other manifestations of the Spirit, for our profit (1Cor.12:7), as it allows the human spirit to pray, even when the mind is unfruitful, because it cannot understand (1Cor.14:14).

It appears, that there are two dimensions to the gift of tongues:

-                   It is the one gift which seems to be available to all believers (for personal edification); see Jesus’ statement in Mark 16:17, as well as Paul’s teaching (1Cor.12-14), especially the particular term various kinds of tongues, which he uses (1Cor.12:10,28).

This gift also seems to be the one common evidence, which usually follows when a person is filled with the Spirit.

-                   It is a gift which is given (like the others) to certain individuals to be exercised in a public gathering of God’s people. When, however, this gift is exercised in public, it must be accompanied by the gift of interpretation (1Cor.14:13,27-28), and then it is for the edification of the body (1Cor.14:5).

On the day of Pentecost the languages spoken by the disciples in the upper room were understood by outsiders. Tongues may be a recognized language, or it may not be, depending on circumstances and the particular gift of God to the individual.

       Interpretation of tongues (1Cor.12:10)

This gift is the ability to give the sense of what has been said in an unknown tongue. The gift of interpretation is a requirement when the gift of tongues is exercised in a public gathering. Just as the Spirit leads one person to speak in a tongue he does not understand, so the same Spirit leads someone else present to interpret what has been said or sung. The interpreter feels the Spirit impelling him to speak. It is not a direct translation, but an interpretation  -  an act of faith. Those who have the gift of tongues are exhorted by Paul to pray for the gift of interpretation (1Cor.14:13). It is very unusual to find someone having the gift of interpretation who cannot speak in tongues himself.

B. Ministry gifts

       Apostles (Eph.4:11, 1Cor.12:28)

The word apostle comes from a Greek word meaning sent one.

The apostle has a strong sense of mission. Apostles are generally itinerate, who plant and then parent churches.

       Prophets (Eph.4:11, 1Cor.12:28)

They proclaim God’s truth in a way, that reveals flaws in the foundation of, and sin in a church.

       Evangelists (Eph.4:11)

They have a special ability and anointing to proclaim God’s truth to the unsaved. The evangelist also prepares God’s people to evangelize.

       Pastors / Teachers (Eph.4:11)

These men oversee the church, caring for the needs of God’s people and teaching them God’s truth.

The above persons are gifted by God and are God’s gifts to the church to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry.

C. Motivational gifts

       Prophecy

Already dealt with above.

       Service / Helps (Rom.12:7, 1Cor.12:28)

This gift enables  the individual Christian to serve the needs of others in a way, that blesses both parties, and glorifies Christ. It can be manifested in any area (physical, financial, social or spiritual). This gift brings strength and encouragement to others.

       Teaching (Rom.12:7)

This is the ability to acquire and communicate (impart) truth so effectively, that people are able to learn, resulting in changed lives.

       Exhortation (Rom.12:8)

This gift enables a person to help others by coming alongside him and motivating and encouraging him and building him up.

       Giving (Rom.12:8)

The gift of giving is the ability to share money and/or other material resources with the rest of the body with no thought of return or gain for self in any way (Acts 4:36-37).

       Leading / Ruling / Administering (Rom.12:8, 1Cor.12:28)

The word translated lead is from two Greek words, meaning before and stand.  A leader is one who stands  before others, directing towards a common objective. Although the word (to) lead in Rom.12:8  is different from the word administration in 1Cor.12:28, the gift refers to the same general function of leading.

     Mercy (Rom.12:8)

The person with this gift has the supernatural ability to identify with and comfort those in distress. He / she is able to stand with those who suffer misfortune, and to mentally and emotionally relate to their need, and to give them support.

There is an overlapping of the various gifts. Also it must be noted, that the gifts cannot be limited to those mentioned above. There are others, as you may derive from what Paul says in 1Cor.7:7, where he calls his special God-given ability to remain a bachelor a charisma…..a gift of grace.

The above, however, are the general ones which are used in the setting of the church. We must never limit God or His Spirit; in fact any supernatural gift and ministry given by God to His people is the result of His grace (His loving favour to us which is undeserved by us). They are grace gifts, and thus are charisma. The Gift of the Spirit Himself is a Charisma, and so is the gift of salvation. See Rom.1:11-12, 5:15-16.

Therefore, it is your responsibility to find out what gift(s) God has given you, to learn how to use it (them) according to the Word of God, and to exercise that (those) gift(s) in love, for the benefit of others, and always to God’s glory!

How to discover your spiritual gift(s):

    believe God and His Word;

    pray for God to give you wisdom and understanding;

    know what the different gifts are;

    experiment with those you can; look around to see what needs there are, and try to do something about meeting them;

    examine your feelings:

     what do you enjoy doing?

     what are you good at?

    evaluate your effectiveness;

    seek confirmation.