Ministry of the Holy Spirit Seminar
Session 2: Gifts of the Spirit
I. The Body and the Gifts:
A. Working Together:
The Body is supposed to work together; it functions best when each part does its part. We are not separate but actually a unit that is know ourself well enough to know what each part does and so work together allowing the part that makes sense to do the parts that fit.
“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body...the body is not made up of one part but of many…God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body (1Co. 12:12-20).”
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others (Ro. 12:4-5).”
1. Example:
I was sitting in the prayer room once and I looked over at a couple, they were first time visitors, I felt like the Lord gave me a word of wisdom, but it was pretty involved. I felt that the Lord wanted to touch the young lady’s heart but that He wanted to do so by having someone give her boyfriend a prophetic word. I looked up and I immediately felt the Lord highlighting one of our staff members. It became very clear to me that this staff member was the one who was going to have the word for the guy. I went over and shared the whole thing with the staff member and he prayed, got the word, ministered to the guy, and lo and behold it really ministered to the girl!
2. Reasoning:
Now couldn’t the Lord have just given me the whole thing? Or couldn’t He have just given the girl the word instead of having to involve all these other dynamics? Why then all the details? Simple, We need each other. He has set up the systems of His Kingdom, including the gifts of the Holy Spirit to where we need each other. Things flow infinitely better when we are submitted to His Spirit and to each other. God desires a family; we were saved into the family of God, not merely an individual journey with God.
B. No Division:
We are to rejoice over one another’s strengths and celebrate each other’s victories. This is specifically in reference to the variety in gifting. Paul is in the middle of his discourse on what the gifts are and how to operate in them when he tells us that there should be no division in the Body. Rather we are to use the gifts of the Spirit to build one another up and we need to be wary not to envy or provoke another but instead to rejoice with those who just had a testimony of God’s power and to recognize that when one amongst us is suffering we all have a responsibility to aid that person.
“there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it (1Co. 12:25-27)”
II. How The Gifts are Allotted:
A. Distributed According to the Purposes of the Spirit:
God is the giver of these gifts and He permits one person access to certain gifts rather easily while making other gifts more difficult to operate in. This is His way; He disperses things in just the manner that fits His purposes. Though this statement is true we will also look at the necessity of seeking after the gifts in the next section.
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good (1Co. 12:7).”
“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms (1Pe. 4:10).”
“All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines (1Co. 12:11).”
“God also testified…by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will (He. 2:4).”
B. Eagerly Desire Spiritual Gifts:
In addition to being distributed according to the Spirit’s perfect wisdom we are told that we are to eagerly desire them. This is all part of the divine system God has established for how He allots His gifts.
1. Repeated exhortation:
We are repeatedly encouraged to seek after the gifts of the Spirit and to grow in them.
“But eagerly desire the greater gifts (1Co. 12:27-31).”
“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy (1Co. 14:1).”
“Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues (1Co. 14:39).”
“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good (1Th. 5:19-21 NKJV).”
2. Casual approach:
This requires active seeking; a casual approach will not work. The perspective that says “Let God give me what He wants to give me, but I’m not going to invest much energy seeking after it” should not expect much according to the continual teaching of the New Testament.
“Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you (1Ti. 4:14).”
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands (2Ti. 1:6).”
3. We must ask:
Remember He is the good Spirit of God who knows how to give good gifts to those that seek and ask Him.
“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (Lk. 11:13)!”
III. Inventorying The Gifts:
A. Where are the Gifts Found:
Below are the various gifts that are listed in the scripture.
“for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues (1Co. 12:8-10).”
“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully (Ro. 12:6-8).”
“I wish that all men were as I am (referring to his singleness). But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that (1Co. 7:7).”
“those with gifts of administration (1Co. 12:28)”
“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others (1Pe. 4:9-10)”
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing (1Co. 13:1-3).”
B. New Testament Gifts Listed:
1. Word of wisdom (1Co. 12:8)
2. Word of knowledge (1Co. 12:8)
3. Faith (1Co. 12:9)
4. Healings (1Co. 12:9)
5. Miracles (1Co. 12:10)
6. Prophecy (1Co. 12:10)
7. Discernment of spirits (1Co. 12:10)
8. Tongues (1Co. 12:10)
9. Interpretation of tongues (1Co. 12:10)
10. Exhortation or encouragement (Ro. 12:8)
11. Giving (Ro. 12:8)
12. Service (Ro. 12:7)
13. Hospitality (1Pe. 4:9)
14. Mercy (Ro. 12:8)
15. Teaching (Ro. 12:7)
16. Leadership (Ro. 12:8)
17. Administration (1Co. 12:28)
18. Celibacy (1Co. 7:7)
19. Martyrdom (1Co. 13:3)
20. Voluntary poverty (1Co. 13:3)
C. Not an Exhaustive List:
There is no scripture on this point either way, but it is my opinion that there is not a set list of the gifts of the Spirit. There may be as many gifts as the Father desires. I believe that Paul was writing about the gifts that he saw at work in the various congregations, he wasn’t necessarily trying to make an exhaustive list, which is why the lists vary in the three main passages that list the gifts (1Co. 12: 8-10, 28-30; Ro. 12:6-8). No doubt there are many gifts that are considerably more in circulation, if you will, than others. The ones that are more abundant are more easily identifiable but I don’t believe that these are the only gifts.
IV. Differentiation Within the Gifts:
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good (1Co. 12:4-6).”
A. Different Kinds of Gifts:
As we saw in the section above there are many different gifts. These gifts may be categorized in several different ways but for our purposes we will divide them into the following kinds of gifts; the prophetic gifts, the power gifts, the leadership gifts, the service gifts, the lifestyle gifts, and finally tongues and interpretation of tongues.
B. Supernatural In Nature:
1. Not natural talents:
It is important to note that we are not talking about natural talents or tendencies like loving to have people over and entertain guests (commonly misunderstood as the gift of hospitality) or being a gifted communicator (commonly misunderstood as the gift of teaching), or being really nice and bubbly to people (commonly misunderstood as the gift of encouragement).
2. Not learned skills:
Nor are we talking about learned skills or behavior. Our physical, mental and social skills are very helpful to the kingdom, but they are not gifts of the Holy Spirit. That we have learned how to plant churches does not make us an apostle, that we have learned how to clearly present the gospel does not mean that we have the gift of evangelism, and becoming the best doctor on earth does not mean you have the gift of healing.
3. They are supernatural gifts:
The Greek word used to characterize the gifts of the spirit is “charismata” from which we get the word charismatic. It is very different in definition from other Greek words indicating gifts as in birthday present or the natural gifting of an individual. The charismata are supernatural in nature; they are “gifts of grace” or gifts originating from the Holy Spirit. If it’s not supernatural in nature then it’s not a gift of the Holy Spirit, though it may still have great value.
C. Different Kinds of Service:
There are different kinds of service of each gift or another way of saying it is that each gift may serve to accomplish a variety of different ministries. In order to more easily articulate what this looks like we will use the example of the gift of Discernment of Spirits. Here is a short list of some different ministries that this gift may serve.
1. Identifying the spirit over a city or movement in order to intercede.
2. In counseling an individual with an addiction identifying that their issue is driven by a demonic spirit.
3. Being warned about what presence is on an individual to know how to/ not to interact with them.
4. Identifying and casting off / out a demonic presence from an individual.
5. Identifying the presence of a demonic spirit at a location.
6. Identifying that a person’s seemingly good motives are evil, or vise verse.
7. Identifying the presence of the Holy Spirit in a place or ministry.
D. Different Kinds of Workings:
There are different kinds of working for each gift; that is different ways that they function. This speaks of the way in which the gift may manifest or “work” for an individual.
1. The person may actually see the spirits at work with their eyes.
2. The person may get a strong sense of the spirit.
3. The person may see them in their minds eye though not in the natural.
4. Another person may hear the voices of the spirits and may not see them at all.
5. And another still may have no sense of the spirit while in their presence but be clearly informed through dreams or visions ahead of time.
E. Making Exact Identification:
Sometimes it can be difficult to see exactly where one gifts stops and another begins. It was never God’s intention that we have to have all the parameters figured out, rather that we would just eagerly desire to be used in the various ways we know that He can move in us and that we would do it in community. With all the variety there are plenty of ways that these gifts can manifest in our lives. Each expression is valuable and plays a specific role in the Body of Christ. It is God’s intention that all the parts work together and so there is often overlap which sometimes makes differentiation difficult if not impossible.