Spiritual Gifts
“ Now about spiritual gifts , brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant “
(1 Cor.12:1)
· Apostle Paul longed to see church in Rome that he might impart to them some spiritual gift (Romans 1:11-13).
· God’s intention is that His people should be enlightened concerning the miraculous gifts of the Spirit.
· By the gifts of the Spirit church gets an experience , at the will of the Spirit, of God’s infinite knowledge, His infinite ability and even His infinite presence.
· The fruits of the Spirit (Gal.5:22-23) are for character but the gifts are for power and miraculous.
· In the gifts of the Spirit a person sees what God sees, does what God does, is where God is : “ As He will”.
Read- 1 Cor. 12:4-7
· The gifts are diverse and the Giver is One. The streams are many, the Source is One. The River is One and full of water: the streams thereof are nine , they assuredly make glad the city of God !
· The variety of the Spirit operations is the variety not of divisions but of unity.
· The diversity is corporate not competitive.
· The differences of administration are not for individual exaltation but for corporate power.
Read- 1 Cor.12:8-11
· GIFTS OF REVELATION:
- A Word of Wisdom. Supernatural revelation of divine purpose.
- A Word of Knowledge. Supernatural revelation of facts in the divine mind.
- Discerning of Spirits. Supernatural insight into the realm of spirits.
· GIFTS OF POWER :
- Faith . Supernatural trust (passive) in God for the miraculous.
- The Working of Miracles. Supernatural intervention (active) in the ordinary course of nature.
- Gifts of Healing . Supernatural power to heal diseases.
· GIFTS OF INSPIRATION (Vocal gifts):
- Prophecy. Supernatural utterance in a known tongue.
- Divers kinds of Tongues. Supernatural utterance in an unknown tongue.
- Interpretation of Tongues. Supernatural showing forth of the meaning of other tongues.
“ …..to another the word of knowledge (1 Cor.12:8).
· Through the word of knowledge , the discouraged can be comforted, the saints gladdened , lost property recovered, the enemy defeated and the Lord Jesus Christ glorified.
· The word of knowledge is the supernatural revelation by the Holy Spirit of certain facts in the mind of God.
· The word of knowledge is the revelation to a person by His Spirit of some detail of that All-Knowledge. The revelation , perhaps , of the existence, condition or whereabouts of some person or object or place , of the location or occasion of some event.
· It is not the gift of knowledge – more exactly a word of knowledge.
· It is not knowledge that may be acquired either by study or consecration : it is knowledge miraculously conveyed .
· It is divinely granted flash of revelation concerning things which were hopelessly hidden from the senses , the mine or the faculties of men.
· The word of knowledge is distinct from natural knowledge , however highly developed, for the following reasons:
- It is an operation of the Spirit , as John received the revelation of the condition of the seven churches when he was in the Spirit on Patmos (Rev.1, 2, 3 ).
- It is a miraculous revelation, as when Elisha knew the location of the Syrian camp (2 Kings 6:9).
- It comes as a revelation without natural effort, as when Ananias received the revelation of Saul’s conversion, a revelation in detail of the street, the house, its occupier , the convert, his attitude, his thought , his need (Acts 9:11-12).
- It depends on our fellowship with God, as when Peter received his dazzling revelation, “ You are The Christ, The Son of the living God “ (Matt.16:16).
· The things that the word of knowledge reveals could not be known through the most diligent study of the word or theology (Acts 10:19).
THE DIVINE PUPOSE IN THE EMPLOYMENT OF THIS GIFT
- To warn a king of an enemy’s plan of destruction (2 Kings 6:9-12)
- To enlighten and encourage a discouraged servant of the Lord
(1 Kings 19: 14-18).
- To expose a hypocrite ( 2 kings 5:20-27).
- To convince a sinner of the need of a Saviour (Jn . 4:18-19,29).
- To discover a man in hiding (1 Sam.10:22).
- To indicate a man in need (Acts 9:11).
- To reveal corruption in the Church (Acts 5: 3).
- To indicate a suitable place for a meeting of God’s people
(Mk 14:13-15).
- To know men’s thoughts (Jn . 2:24, 1 Sam 9:19).
IN A SPECIAL CASE , WHAT IS THE USE OF THEM ?
· The word of Knowledge can mightily aid in effectual prayer either for God’s servants in distress or for those in need of spiritual help.
· To recover lost person or property .
· To reveal the cause of sickness or demon-possession.
· To reveal facts in private lives for spiritual correction or profit.
“ … to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom (1 Cor. 12:8)”.
· The word of wisdom is supernatural revelation by the Spirit of God concerning the divine purpose in the mind and will of God.
· The word of wisdom is the first, the chief, no doubt of mighty miracle –administrations of the Holy Spirit .
· Super natural wisdom is not natural wisdom developed or intensified.
· Through this gift God shows a man a glimpse of some event that has not yet transpired , He has really given him a fragmentary revelation of His infinite purpose, He has virtually shown him what He is going to do between now and then and His reason for doing it, He has given him a word of His divine wisdom (1 Kings 21:18-19 & 22:34-38).
· The word of wisdom is the supernatural revelation, by the Spirit , of divine purpose , the supernatural declaration of the mind and will of God, the supernatural unfolding of His plans and purposes concerning things, place, people, individuals, communities and nations.
· By the word of knowledge John on Patmos knew the condition of the seven churches and by the word of wisdom he was able to give them the mind, will and commands of God .
· Through this gift Jehoshaphat received future plans concerning the invasion of Moab as recorded in 2 Chron.20:16-17.
· The gift is not for the unfolding of God’s revealed will in His word , but for the unfolding of His unrevealed will and the declaration of His hidden purposes apart from His Word.
SOME SCRIPTURE EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF THE WORD OF WISDOM
· To warn and guide people concerning future judgment (Gen.6:13-22,19:12-13, Matthew 2:20).
· To reveal God’s plan to those He is going to use ( Gen.41:16,28-41).
· To assure a servant of God of His divine commission (Acts 26:16).
· To reveal the acceptable order and manner of divine worship (Ex.25:9).
· To unfold to a prejudiced sectarian God’s universal offers of Grace (Acts 10:9-16).
· To assure of coming deliverance in the midst of calamity (Acts 27:23-24).
· To reveal the will of God in all His commands and ordinances.
· To declare God’s future acts and providences and His eternal mysteries (Eph.3:2-3).
· To give assurance of blessings to come (Gen.23:10-15).
USES OF THE GIFTS OF WORD OF WISDOM
· The word of wisdom may be employed to warn an individual of approaching danger and to deliver from harm.
· To make known or confirm a ministry call.
· To apprise of blessing or judgment to come.
· To reveal the future.
· To give personal guidance in a particular direction in special circumstances- not to supplement human judgment in ordinary circumstances.
· A word of wisdom may be expressed by illustrative action.
DISCERNING OF SPIRITS
“… to another discerning of spirits (1 Cor.12:10)”.
· The discerning of spirits gives insight into the spirit world.
· Discerning of spirits shows in a miracle, the source of a miracle and indicates inerrably its true character, whether heavenly or hellish.
· It gives supernatural insight into the secret realm of spirits. It reveals the kind of spirit that is actuating a person who is manifesting supernatural knowledge or power at the time that miracle is actually taking place.
· It is not a kind of spiritual thought – reading.
· There are three kinds of spirit: the divine, the satanic and the human(1Thes.5:23). Only the first two of these three kinds of spirit (divine and the satanic) are supernatural.
· There is only one operative good Spirit in the word, the Holy Spirit. Evil spirits are satanic origin.
· Only three inspirational gifts intended for the edification of believers’ meetings, operate at the will of a person: that is tongues, interpretation of tongues and prophecy. The greater gifts of the Holy Spirit operate only at the will of the Spirit ( 1 Cor.12:6,11).
· Discerning of spirits is not psychological insight.
· Discerning of spirits is not keen mental penetration.
· It is not the power to discover faults in others but discover spirits (Matthew 7:15-20).
THE USE OF THIS GIFT
· To help in delivering the afflicted, oppressed , tormented (Mk.5:5, Lk.9:39).
· To discover a servant of devil (Acts 13:9-10).
· To aid in checking the plans of the adversary (Acts 16:16).
· To expose believable error (1 Tim.4:1, 2 Pet.2:1).
· To unmask demon miracle-workers (2 Thess.2:9).
· Often the testimony of evil spirits is so much like that of the Spirit of God that the true can only be distinguished from the counterfeit by the use of this supernatural gift (Acts 16:17-18).
THE GIFTS OF HEALINGS
“ … to another the gifts of healings ( 1 Cor. 12:9) “ .
· First we must notice the important plurality in its title (1 Cor.12:9,28,30).
· These gifts are for the supernatural healing of diseases and infirmities without natural means of any sort.
· The Lord has compassion on the sick and He still has a way of deliverance from the power of the enemy.
THE WORKING AND PUPOSE OF THE GIFTS OF HEALING
· They are to deliver the sick and destroy the works of the devil in the human body (Matthew 8:3,7 & Acts 10:38).
· To establish Jesus’ astonishing claims (Jn. 10:36-38).
· To authorize the gospel message as preached by God’s servants (Acts 4:29-30, 4:33, 5:12).
· To establish the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 3:15-16).
· To draw people within the sound of the gospel (Jn. 6:2).
· To turn people to God (Acts 9:32-35).
· To convince unbelievers of the truth of the gospel.
· To bring glory to God (Mk.2:12, Lk. 13:17).
· To inspire faith and courage in God’s people .
IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS
· In exceptional cases healings may result from the operations of the gifts without a word or a touch (Peter : Acts 5:15,Paul: Acts 19:12).
· Healing by anointing with oil in response to obedience (James 5:14).
· Jesus’ disciples also healed through anointing with oil (Mk. 6:13).
· The laying on of hands as in Mark 16:18 is an act of faith for any believer.
NECESSITY OF POSITIVE FAITH
· Substitutionary faith where the sick one is to feeble to believe for himself(Mk.2:5)
· The faith of the sufferer alone (Matt.9:25)
· The faith of the minister alone in special circumstances such as coma or unconsciousness (Matt.9:25)
· The combine faith of sufferer and minister (Matt.9:28-29).
“ … to another the working of miracles (1 Cor.12:10) “ .
· This gift operates by the dynamic force of the Spirit in reversals or suspensions of natural laws.
· This gift has no explanation other than the sovereign power of the Lord.
· There is a distinction between “miracles” and gift of healings in 1Corinthians 12:28.
· In the original miracles are called “powers” meaning explosions of almightiness and “ works” are called “signs” –the visible token of an invisible power.
· God employs human agents for this works:
- Babel’s confusion of tongues
- Sodom’s revenge of fire
- The fiery cloudy pillar
- The common bush ablaze with God
- The star that traced a bright way to Bethlehem
- The blinding light that illuminated Moses’ astonished face
· God employs angels and cherubim as His agents for this works:
- Siloam’s troubled pool
- Zacharias dumbness
- The slaying of Egyptian firstborn
SOME SCRIPTURE USES OF THIS GIFT
· This gift was used for the miraculous deliverance of God’s people out of the hand of enemy (Ex. 14:16).
· To provide for those in need ( water from the RockEx.17:6, widow in Zarephath 1 Kings 17:14.
· To carry out divine judgments and disciplines (Acts 5:4-9).
· To confirm the preached Word (Acts 13:11-12).
· To deliver in unavoidable situations of danger (Matt.8:23).
· To raise the dead
· To display God’s power and magnificence (Matt.11:5).
THE GIFT OF FAITH
“… to another gift of faith (1 Cor. 12:9) “
· The person who possess the gift of faith believe God in such a way that God honors his word as His own and He miraculously brings it to pass , Mark 11:23.
· Saving faith goes before salvation , faith the fruit comes after salvation , faith the gift comes after baptism in the Holy Spirit.
· Saving faith – Eph.2:8, Rom.10:17, General faith – Rom.12:3, Fruit of faith- Gal.5:22-23, Gift of faith – 1 Cor.12:9.
· The gift of faith is a gift of the Spirit to the believer that he might work miracle or rather receive them.
· The gift of faith employs active faith that passively expects a miracle.
SCRIPTURE USES OF THIS GIFT
· It was employed for direct supernatural blessings in fulfillment of human utterance ( Gen.27:28 – Heb.11:20).
· For personal protection in dangerous circumstances (Dan 6:17,23 & Heb.11:33).
· For supernatural sustenance in famine or fasting (1 Kings 17:3,4,23 & 1 Kings 14:4-8).
· For receiving the amazing promises of God (Gen.21:5, Rom.4:20).
· For administering spiritual correction to gross offenders(2 Kings2:23-24).
· For supernatural victory in the fight (Ex.17:11).
· To assist in domestic and industrial problems ( 2 Kings 4:1-7).
· To raise the dead ( Lazarus, Dorcas).
· It is the gift employed in casting out evil spirits ( Acts 14:12)
· For the fulfillment of the divine commission – Matthew 10:8
- Heal the sick (gifts of healings)
- Cleanse the lepers ( gifts of healings)
- Cast out demons (discerning of spirits and faith)
- Raise the dead (faith, working of miracles and gifts of healings)
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