Gifts of the Spirit

Spiritual Gifts

The Alpha Course is quite remarkable if for no other reason than that it works and many thousands of people have been saved by attending one. It is such a good grounding in the Christian Faith too. There is a great teaching on the person, work, and gifting of Holy Spirit. I just wanted to revisit those gifts today.

1 Cor 12:4-12 “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.

Many gifts are given by the one God and, please note, gifts are likened to service. So a spiritual gift is for us to serve God and our church family for His greater Glory.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

The Spirit gives us gifts for everyone to share. A gift isn’t for hiding away, it is for sharing and rejoicing together in the goodness of the Lord so that ALL may benefit from the gift.

To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom,

Aaah Wisdom – we all need wisdom in today’s world. The wisdom of God is a priceless attribute as we live our lives for Him and as we carry His presence wherever we go.

To another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,

One of the prophetic gifts used in the ministry of the gifts is the Word (message) of Knowledge. A word of knowledge gives insight that, perhaps, no one else can possibly know, into a situation. There is no limitation to what the word of knowledge may reveal and it may be necessary to exercise caution or discretion when a word of knowledge is given to you.

To another faith by the same Spirit,

I am sure we have all found how testimony raises the faith of listeners. As someone speaks about what God has done for them so we find our own faith rising within us. The Gift of Faith is that same faith rising in us but without the testimony – it is the Holy Spirit giving us the gift of faith to complete His urging.

To another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,

Healing is the most visible of the gifts because it can be, and often is, instant and very visible. When it is accompanied by the Word of Knowledge then we can have faith that God would not reveal things if He did not want to do something about it.

To another miraculous powers,

This is right up there with healing. It is frequently visible as well as instantaneous. Yet it is not limited to healing but rather it is an adjunct to it. It can be a healing miracle, or a financial miracle, or a family miracle – almost any type of miracle you want to choose

To another prophecy,

The prophetic gifting is one of the most misunderstood, mis-used and even abused, and ‘scary’ gifts. Why scary? Because many folk are literally scared off by the prophetic gift in action. It is likened to reading tea-leaves, or the cards. It is even lined up alongside astrology as being one of the occult or demonic things. It is deemed, along with other gifts of the Spirit, to have been for the first church only and having died out long ago. Yet if the Word of God is true, then “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7

To another distinguishing between spirits,

Another revelatory gift which is so very mis-understood, and scary to very many people. Once again it is seen by many as demonic, which in a sense it is, since it is a gift that identifies demonic spirits. Yet it is not demonic in that it does not work with demonic spirits but against them.

To another speaking in different kinds of tongues,

Probably the most well known and widely used gift, even this is regarded in some churches as demonic! A tongue in this context is a prayer language for our spirit to communicate with God’s Spirit. A tongue can be totally unique or it can be heard as a known language. After all, at Pentecost, the people heard the Apostles speaking in their own languages.

And to still another the interpretation of tongues.

Sadly, this seems to be one of the least used or appreciated of the spiritual gifts. However, to Paul and the first church, it seemed to have been an essential part of the church meetings. Someone would give a message in a tongue and someone else would bring the interpretation so as to edify or lift the congregation.

All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”

What can I say about spiritual gifts? They are for everyone. The Spirit gives them as He sees fit. What we do with them is our decision although we can be sure that by listening to Holy Spirit, we will find Him lighting our path and showing us how, when, and where to use our gift/s.

What are your gifts? Do you use them? If not why not?

Just asking – that’s all. You don’t have to answer me but you will be called to account sometime later.