DOCSLIB.ORG

Spiritual Gifts Studying Spiritual Gifts Teaches About Two Other Important Things

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Spiritual Gifts Studying Spiritual Gifts Teaches About Two Other Important Things SPIRITUAL GIFTS STUDYING SPIRITUAL GIFTS TEACHES ABOUT TWO OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS The spiritual diversity in the body of Christ The relationship between our natural abilities and the Holy Spirit’s supernatural work in us WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY TELL US ABOUT SPIRITUAL GIFTS? What we want What Scripture gives us A list No single, consistent list Definitions Very few definitions A test No test Detailed knowledge of spiritual gifts is surprisingly hard to pin down in Scripture. THE PRIMARY GREEK WORD USED FOR “SPIRITUAL GIFT” “Spiritual Gift” = Charisma grace A “packet of grace” Scripture frequently connects our spiritual gifts with the “grace God has given us” or the “faith God has given us”. “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23. charisma! The word charisma is sometimes used in Scripture without meaning what we would call a “spiritual gift”. OTHER WORDS FOR “SPIRITUAL GIFTS” 1 Cor 12-14 uses pneumatikos. Pneumatikos = spiritual In this context, spiritual manifestations Also uses charisma Ephesians 4 uses dorea and domata Gifts Used because Paul quotes a verse that used the same word The words used for spiritual gifts are not as precisely defined as we might have hoped. We have to use context to decide what means what. THE LISTS 4 and 12 1 Peter 4 Ephesians 4 Romans 2 1 Corinthians 12 1 PETER 4 Whoever speaks Whoever serves EPHESIANS 4 Apostles Prophets Evangelists Pastors Pastor-teachers? Teachers ROMANS 12 Prophecy Serving He who teaches He who exhorts He who gives He who leads He who shows mercy 1 CORINTHIANS 12 Wisdom Apostles Apostles Knowledge Prophets Prophets Faith Teachers Teachers Healing Miracles Miracles Miracles Healings Prophecy Healings Helps Discernment Tongues Administrations Tongues Interpretation Interpretation Tongues DEFINITIONS OF INDIVIDUAL GIFTS A couple are defined A few are obvious Most are neither defined for us nor obvious “WHERE’S THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS TEST?” Not in the Bible! WHAT DO WE DO WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT LISTS? Just pick one list and use it Assume each list is for a different kind of gift Romans 12 – motivation gifts 1 Corinthians 12 – manifestation gifts Ephesians 4 – ministry gifts Put all the gifts together into a master list MASTER LIST OF ALL THE GIFTS MENTIONED Apostleship Giving Faith Prophecy Leading Healing Evangelism Showing Mercy Miracles Pastoring Helps Prophecy Teaching Administrations Discernment Serving Wisdom Tongues Exhortation Knowledge Interpretation WHAT DO WE DO WITH ALL THESE DIFFERENT LISTS? Just pick one list and use it Assume each list is for a different kind of gift Romans 12 – motivation gifts 1 Corinthians 12 – manifestation gifts Ephesians 4 – ministry gifts Put all the gifts together into a master list Assume that no list is complete, not even our “master list” – perhaps each person has a unique “gift-mix” What can we learn from the individual lists? 1 PETER 4:10-11 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. EPHESIANS 4:11-12, 16 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and Leadership teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of gifts service, to the building up of the body of Christ… … from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the Congregational proper working of each individual part, causes the gifts growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. 1 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10, 28 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. And God has appointed in the church… helps, administrations … ROMANS 12:6-8 … if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. ROMANS 12:6-8 Prophecy Service He who He who He who He who He who teaches exhorts leads gives shows mercy OBSERVATIONS Scripture itself never gives us: A master list of gifts Detailed definitions of most of the gifts A gifts test, or other sure-fire procedure for finding our gifts Scripture does give us: Four different passages, each of which has important reasons for the list it contains, related to the context and purpose of the passage. THINKING THROUGH WHAT WE’VE FOUND There must be a good reason for what God gives us in Scripture … and what he doesn’t give us. THINKING THROUGH WHAT WE’VE FOUND The four gifts passages do not give us a single unified master list … but each one can give us useful ways to categorize the gifts we know about, as well as useful examples of gifts. THINKING THROUGH WHAT WE’VE FOUND Your own gift may indeed match the categories and examples mentioned in Scripture to some degree … but I think its precise nature is unique to you. Everyone’s teaching gift, for example, is a little different THINKING THROUGH WHAT WE’VE FOUND You can use your gift without identifying it by name. THINKING THROUGH WHAT WE’VE FOUND God did not expect you to have to take a test or go through a checklist to find your gift. Your understanding of how you are gifted will develop naturally over time as you practice ministry and learn to seek the Holy Spirit’s anointing on that ministry. Practice, not knowledge, brings knowledge of your gift. “walk as children of Light … trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.” Eph 5:8-10 THINKING THROUGH WHAT WE’VE FOUND I suspect God intended the church to help you find your gift. (Acts 13, 1-2 Timothy, Eph 4, etc.) NEXT TIME: TWO SURPRISES ABOUT SPIRITUAL GIFTS.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost Ephesians 4:17-5:2 Saturday
    Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost Ephesians 4:17-5:2 Saturday, August 7, 2021 – 4:30pm Sunday, August 8, 2021 – 11:00am Concordia Lutheran Church, Conover, NC Prelude Welcome & Announcements We stand. Opening Hymn “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” 803 Tune and text: Public domain Invocation P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit. C Amen. Confession & Absolution Psalm 34:1–8 P I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 1 C My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. P We confess to You, Lord. C Our mouths have not always praised You through our words, and we have boasted in things other than You. Help us humbly hear and be glad, that we may taste and see that the Lord is good. P Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together! C I sought the LORD, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. P We confess to You, Lord. C We have sought after other things than You and have let our fears impede our faith. Give us hearts centered on You, that we may taste and see that the Lord is good. P Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. C This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. P We confess to You, Lord. C Our thoughts, words, and actions have not been faithful, and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
    [Show full text]
  • The Word of God Says in Jesus Christ… I Am Faithful (Ephesians 1:1) I Am
    The Word of God Says in Jesus Christ… I am faithful (Ephesians 1:1) I am God’s child (John 1:12) I have been justified (Romans 5:1) I am Christ’s friend (John 15:15) I belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:20) I am a member of Christ’s Body (1 Corinthians 12:27) I am assured all things work together for good (Romans 8:28) I have been established, anointed and sealed by God (2 Corinthians 1:21-22) I am confident that God will perfect the work He has begun in me (Philippians 1:6) I am a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20) I am hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3) I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7) I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5:18) I am blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3) I am chosen before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4, 11) I am holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4) I am adopted as his child (Ephesians 1:5) I am given God’s glorious grace lavishly and without restriction (Ephesians 1:5,8) I am in Him (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:30) I have redemption (Ephesians 1:8) I am forgiven (Ephesians 1:8; Colossians 1:14) I have purpose (Ephesians 1:9 & 3:11) I have hope (Ephesians 1:12) I am included (Ephesians 1:13) I am sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) I am a saint (Ephesians 1:18) I am salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14) I have been chosen and God desires me to bear fruit (John 15:1,5) I am a personal witness of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8) I am God’s coworker (2 Corinthians 6:1)
    [Show full text]
  • Ephesians 4:31-32 | Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
    “I FORGIVE YOU” Ephesians 4:31-32 | Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost | October 2/5, 2014 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Amen. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Jesus Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, business. But because he’s a gracious God he’s also in the forgiving business. And he Listen as I read this description from ABC’s has made forgiveness our business too. website: This is not a story about He has taught us to pray, “Forgive us our forgiveness; it’s a show about retribution. sins as we forgive those who sin against Meet Emily Thorne, the newest resident of us.” He wants us both to hear and to The Hamptons. When she was a little girl speak what are perhaps the three most her father, David Clarke, was framed for a important words in the English language: horrific crime and subsequently sent to “I forgive you.” prison. While serving his time, the conspirators plotted and murdered David I. Unnatural Words in order to prevent the truth from coming Those words don’t come to us naturally. out. Emily is now back with a new identity We aren’t born into this world eager to and ready to take vengeance on the pardon those who wrong us. Paul tells us people that murdered her father and stole what does come naturally: bitterness, her childhood.
    [Show full text]
  • EPHESIANS STUDY GUIDE - 1 INTRODUCTION His Chains and Imprisonment Three Times in This Book (3:1; 4:1; 6:20)
    THE BEAUTY OF THE CHURCH... MIRACULOUSLY ONE STUDY GUIDE SUMMIT VIEW CHURCH summitview.net/ephesians INTRODUCTION How to Use This Guide This guide has been specifically prepared with you in mind. It will help life groups grow deeper together in relationship with God and one another. Each week there are conversations starters to help get things rolling, followed by questions for discussion based on the text. Each week wraps up with personal applications and things to pray for to help you grow spiritually. We realize you may not be able to get to every question. Pick the ones that would best work for your group. Obviously, you are more than welcome to pull in other resources, or highlights from the sermons each week. Our hope is that by participating in this study, you will have a firmer grasp on the Scriptures and a stronger connection with Christ. INTRODUCTION The book of Ephesians is six chapters long, containing 155 verses of rich and wonderful text that speak to the mind, heart, and soul. The book of Ephesians has played a crucial role in the Church throughout the ages in terms of the theology it teaches and the practice it informs. Famous pastor and theologian John Calvin stated that it was his favorite part of the Bible. Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge described it as “the divinest composition of man.” Many New Testament scholars say it is the pinnacle of Paul’s work. For the next 13 weeks, we invite you to join with us in exploring the richness of the book of Ephesians.
    [Show full text]
  • Lifegroup Questions Based On: Ephesians 4:1-6 May 17, 2015
    LifeGroup Questions Based On: Ephesians 4:1-6 May 17, 2015 Overview Are there people in your life that you just cannot get along with? No matter how hard you try and no matter how much effort you put forth they still seem to irritate you. Becoming a Christian doesn’t automatically eliminate this problem. With the body of Christ being made up of every tribe, tongue, and nation there are bound to be differences of opinion. I have yet to find any church where there is a drop box by the entry doors where people can place all their personal opinions and agendas and walk blissfully into the service in complete unity. In Ephesians 4:1-6 the Apostle Paul is dealing with the topic of Unity. He starts off by calling all believers to live a life worthy of their calling. In the following verses he explains how this is done. How does a believer live a life worthy of their calling? It would be the opposite of love for a father to expect his children to complete an impossible task without giving, equipping, resourcing, and teaching them to do it. For believers this is done through the Holy Spirit. When someone decides to become a follower of Christ they are baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is by the power of the Spirit that all believers can live a life worthy of their calling. Throughout Scripture believers are called to be led and filled by the Spirit. There is one Spirit, one Lord, and one baptism.
    [Show full text]
  • Ephesians 4:1-16 This Beautiful Mess Pt. 1 November 18, 2018 Good Morning CCC! [Introductory Stuff] If You Would, Turn in Your
    Ephesians 4:1-16 This Beautiful Mess Pt. 1 November 18, 2018 Good morning CCC! [Introductory stuff] If you would, turn in your bibles to the book of Ephesians. We will be looking at the first half of chapter four. I have thoroughly been enjoying our study of this book and pray it has been a blessing to all of you as it has been to me. I think the sermon title for today is perfect: “A Beautiful Mess.” Depending on the day or how your life is going, you might lean towards one of those words more than the other, this church is beautiful! Or, this church is a mess! But in reality what God is doing through his church is beautiful, and it is messy, but for us as Christians it is awesome, and humbling, and a privilege to be a part of. And Jeff reminded us last week of what we have seen so far in Ephesians. In ch. 1-3 Paul has articulated the blessings of the Christian life - our position in Christ, our possessions in the Kingdom, and our privileges as citizens of this kingdom. Now in ch. 4-6, Paul is going to turn his attention to practical matters. And here in ch. 4, God through Paul wants to instruct us on some aspects and practical matters of the church. What are the characteristics of healthy churches and how do we as the people of God be a part of it. That is our starting question. Background: Paul spent time in Ephesus, approximately three years, as he labored in sharing the Gospel, instructing, and making disciples.
    [Show full text]
  • Ephesians 4:17-24 Rev. Kenneth Frey Pentecost 11 8/8/21 Ephesians 4
    Ephesians 4:17-24 Rev. Kenneth Frey Pentecost 11 8/8/21 Ephesians 4:17-24 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. 20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Be all that you can be 1. Understand who you are now 2. Put off the old man 3. Put on the new man For over twenty years beginning around 1980, the Army recruiting slogan was “Be all that you can be.” Since 2006, the slogan around recruiting offices and in those snazzy commercials has been “Army Strong,” and before that, it was the epic fail that was “Army of One.” Many are suggesting today that the Army should bring back the successful slogan, “Be all that you can be.” That was successful because it implied a challenge and a promise.
    [Show full text]
  • 10.4.2020 Trinity 17 (Ephesians 4:1-6) There Was Once a Water Carrier in India Whose Job It Was to Bring Water from the River to His Master’S House
    10.4.2020 Trinity 17 (Ephesians 4:1-6) There was once a water carrier in India whose job it was to bring water from the river to his master’s house. Day after day, he would take two pots on a long pole down to the river, fill them up, and bring them back. One fateful day, the water carrier stumbled and fell, and one of his water pots cracked. The next day the water carrier resumed his vocation, going down to the river, filling up his two pots and going back to his master’s house. The difference now was that the cracked water pot only made it back to the house with half of the water that it had been filled with at the river. One morning, before the water carrier went down to the river, the water pot spoke to the water carrier. It said, “I’m ashamed of myself.” The water carrier asked why and the pot explained that it had felt bad ever since they day that they had fallen, because after that day the water pot had only been able to bring back half as much water. The water pot said, “I want to go back to the day when I could bring back a full pot of water, and since I can’t go back to that day, I ask that you break me on a rock and throw me on the trash pile.” The water carrier, seeing that the pot was in such distress said, “Let’s try this, today I won’t fill you up with any water.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Ephesians 4:4-6 There Are Two Key Passages About Christian Unity In
    WE ARE ONE! Ephesians 4:4-6 There are two key passages about Christian unity in the New Testament: the intercessory prayer of Jesus in John 17 and the practical exhortations of Paul in Ephesians 4:1-16. Ephesians 4:1 marks a transition from the doctrinal to the practical section of this letter. Chapters 1-3 are about the believer’s wealth in Christ. Chapters 4-6 are about the believer’s walk in Christ. Verse 1 says: “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” How do Christians walk worthy? Verse 2-3 answers: “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Christian unity is a work of the Holy Spirit, not a product of human effort. But what is this “unity of the Spirit”? Ephesians 4:4- 6 explains: “There is one body, one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” In John 17:20-21, Jesus prays for us: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” This has been called the unanswered prayer of Jesus – “that they may all be one” – because of disagreements, disharmony, and division among Christians.
    [Show full text]
  • Ephesians 4:29-5:2 12Th Sunday After Pentecost 08/15/2021 Theme: Be Like Christ!
    Ephesians 4:29-5:2 12th Sunday after Pentecost 08/15/2021 Theme: Be like Christ! No one likes to be compared to people. It was not fun when your parents or grandparents did it with your siblings. It was not awesome when your teachers did it with your friends. It was not even okay when your coworkers compared you with previous people. No one likes to be compared, especially if the person that does it seems to be looking down at us. When we hear this morning to be like Christ, we may cringe at this. “How can we compare to the one true perfect God? How can we possibly do that?” We may throw our hands up in the air. That’s impossible God. We simply can’t do it. How can we compare to Jesus? Yet as Christians, we compare ourselves to Christ every time, we say who we are. We are Christians. We are Christians that are like Christ. We are Christians that belong to Christ. We are Christians that show him to the world. Brothers and sisters, as we study these important words this morning, we want to take to heart Paul’s encouragement: Be like Christ. As we heard last week, Christ did not die for us to live how we feel that we should live in this life. “We are not our own, we were bought at a price.” Now, Paul lays out this high and holy calling for us with details over the last chapters. This week shows us the importance of being like Christ.
    [Show full text]
  • Ephesians 4:12
    BARNABAS THE EQUIPPER Ephesians 4:12 Rev. Kevin Hinman Minister of Outreach & Assimilation February 3, 2019 JMBC MISSION: -LEAD -HELP -MAGNIFY Best NFL Mentors Bill Parcells Bill Belichick In 2018, 28 of 32 current Head Coaches were mentored by either Parcells or Belichick Greatest Ever NFL Mentor Joe Montana Bill Walsh Through Walsh and his disciples, 37 men became NFL Head Coaches My First Mentor/Equipper My High School Football Coach Major Chuck Fogarty Running Up ‘The Hill’ - Came along side me that day - Came along side me for 3 years Greek Definition of Equip Katartizo (kat-ar-tid-zo) - To mend what was broken or torn - To equip for a task - To prepare or make ready - To fully train or perfect - To complete or build up - To render, put in order, or fit - To make one what they ought to be How Does God Equip Us? - God’s Word - God’s Spirit - God’s People God’s Word Equips Us God’s Word – 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. God’s Spirit Equips Us God’s Spirit – John 14: 26 But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. God’s People Equip Us God’s People – Ephesians 4: 12 Christ himself gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.
    [Show full text]
  • Ministry Gifts | the Five Gifts in Ephesians 4
    Ministry Gifts | The Five Gifts in Ephesians 4 Ephesians 4:11 lists 5 gifts which are Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher. These 5 are unique – they are governing ministry gifts given to people who are called to ministry leadership within the global and local church. Their job is to build and equip the church for works of ministry so the church will be mature. People with these gifts … • Love the church • Are sound in their approach to Biblical doctrine • Will work as a team with others Apostle: The God-given special calling and anointing to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by launching and leading new ministry ventures which advance God’s purpose and expand His Kingdom, often in a geographical area. The original Greek meaning of the word is “sent one with orders” (literally, one sent with authority, or ambassador). An apostle may or may not be the lead authority in a local church. People with this gift… • Are visionaries and see the “big picture” • Have a unique calling to start new endeavors as directed by God, most often churches • Willingly work hard to see churches mature and reach their full potential for God • Often are called to over-see multiple churches or ministries • Often have their sights on and travel to the nations • Are known to welcome risky new challenges and encounter many hardships • Are known to operate in the supernatural Prophet: In contrast to the OT prophets, the NT prophet did not exist until Jesus ascended on high; making the OT model obsolete (Eph 4:8-11, Lu 16:16).
    [Show full text]