The Spiritual Gifts
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The Spiritual Gifts What Are Spiritual Gifts? Every believer has at least one, if not more, spiritual gift. Do you know what your primary gift is, and are you using it? Have you ever even opened it? [I have found few quotations on spiritual gifts, but since it is such an integral part of a believer’s spiritual growth, we will delve into the topic for a few days excluding our traditional quotation section.] Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. 1 Corinthians 12:1, 4–7, 11 NIV Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:10–11 NIV God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. Hebrews 2:4 NIV Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 1 Corinthians 1:7 NIV I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. 1 Corinthians 7:7 NIV Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. 1 Corinthians 14:1, 12 NIV A spiritual gift is a distinctive ability or special attribute given by the Holy Spirit according solely by His determination to every believer at conversion by God’s grace and design for the purpose of building up the body of believers in Christ. Every believer receives at least one or more spiritual gift that remains with them throughout their life, and as that gift is used, it will accordingly mature and blossom. A spiritual gift is not the same as a natural talent or ability that you have received genetically or developed on your own in the natural. It is truly God’s chosen spiritual talent given to you as a believer. However, very often as we will see later in our discussions, God can utilize a natural talent and ability as a spiritual gift, but they will operate differently. Your natural talent is used primarily for the benefit of you, whereas the spiritual gift is always used to strengthen and mature others and glorify God. Only believers have spiritual gifts, as well as their natural talents, whereas nonbelievers only possess their natural talents. 1 Jeffery J Horacek, O.D. JeffHoracek.com The spiritual gifts are based solidly on Scripture and are very specific. There are approximately twenty-three spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament that we will discuss, and there are certainly a few in the Old Testament that are mentioned as well, which would bring the total number of spiritual gifts to around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, depending upon how you count them. The main goal in our discussions will be for you to ultimately discover your gifts and use them to build up others and bring glory to God. What Spiritual Gifts Are Not Every believer needs faith to believe, has duties and responsibilities as a Christian, should be displaying the entirety of the fruit of the Spirit, and probably has at least a couple spiritual gifts that need to be taken out of the spiritual closet and opened. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22–23 NIV Spiritual gifts are not the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is a work of the Holy Spirit in every believer to bring about all nine of those listed attributes or characteristics to make a believer mature and complete. The fruit of the Spirit is the cooperative work between the believer and the Holy Spirit to continually, in increasing fashion, display those listed attributes in all their fullness—all for everyone. Spiritual gifts are unique for each believer. Likewise, there are some spiritual gifts which seem to be the same as our normal Christian experience and responsibilities. For instance, there are the spiritual gifts of faith, giving, intercession, and evangelist. We will specifically define those later, but they are distinct and separate from every believer’s necessity to have faith, to give of their tithes and offerings, to pray for others, and to share their testimony and the love of Jesus Christ with others. And remember, we’ve already stated that the spiritual gift of tongues is separate and unique from a believer’s private prayer language when praying in the Spirit— every believer can potentially pray in the Spirit, but only a few believers will receive the spiritual gift of tongues, and the spiritual gift of tongues is a public gift requiring an interpretation for building up the body of believers, whereas praying in tongues (in the Spirit) is generally private or in small groups with no interpretation. As a final note, remember that the Holy Spirit is a perfect gentleman, and as such, the utmost respect and order should always be displayed when the spiritual gifts are exercised. No particular gift should be coveted or seen as superior, since we are all essential parts of the body of Christ. Additionally, one should not neglect your gift nor your assumed duties and responsibilities, regardless if that is your area of spiritual gifting or not. The desired result of the gifts is to bring glory to God, not self, and to build each other up. Many of the gifts are interdependent and work best together—either from separate individuals or an individual possessing multiple gifts. Opening the Gifts—Part 1 (Prophecy, Service, Teaching) It’s time to begin to open the spiritual gifts and discover which ones are yours! 2 Jeffery J Horacek, O.D. JeffHoracek.com For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For 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, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Romans 12:3–8 NIV There is no set order of the spiritual gifts, so we will address them in the order that we find them presented in the New Testament. The primary twenty spiritual gifts are discussed in four main blocks of Scripture: Romans 12:3–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11; 1 Corinthians 12:27–31; and Ephesians 4:11–13. Most of 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, is a discussion of spiritual gifts and their importance and use in the body of Christ. None of the listings in these Scripture blocks are complete, and there is also overlap, so all the passages must be taken together, plus a few more, to gain a full understanding. Over the next few days, we will give a brief description of each of the gifts and then ultimately direct you to resources where you can more fully discover your personal gifts so you can become more spiritually mature and effective in the tasks that God has for you to do. Let’s begin to open the gifts! Prophecy. The gift of prophecy is the distinctive ability to receive and boldly communicate the truth of God in an immediate and divinely inspired message, despite the potential consequences, that generally serves to call people into righteous living. The divinely inspired message may be in the form of a warning, exhortation, instruction, or judgment to make manifest the truth in a person’s heart and to guide that person to God or God’s plan. The gift of prophecy is most misunderstood, as it is not a prediction of the future but speaks into current situations. Because of the sensitive nature of the gift of prophecy, the gift of discernment must always be possessed as well. Service. The gift of service is the distinctive ability to identify and meet the practical needs of others, bringing about a sense of community and wholeness to the body of believers.