The Gifts of The Holy Spirit

1 Corinthians 12 (MEV) Spiritual Gifts

12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed!” And no one can say, “Jesus is the Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

There are various gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. There are various operations, but it is the same God who operates all of them in all people.

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for the common good. To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues11 But that one and very same Spirit works all these, dividing to each one individually as He will.

 

Introduction

  1. Perhaps the greatest thing about the gifts of the Spirit is the two foundation stones on which they are laid: unity and love. If the gifts of the Spirit are to function in any church body, these two elements must be present.
  2. The goal of the New Testament church is to sweep the world with the power of God, but it cannot be done without love. Love is the key that unlocks the door to all God has for us today. Love is that force within you that suffers a long time and is still kind and gracious.
  3. When our Lord Jesus came to this earth to conquer it and redeem it, He functioned only within the framework of the gifts of the Spirit. His total ministry on earth was not as God, but as a man, functioning in the gifts of the Spirit. All the “miracles” Jesus performed were the result of a gift of the Spirit functioning at that time. Do you believe that Jesus always told the truth? He did! Then let me remind you of what He said in John 14:12: “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” The ministry Jesus performed on this earth was directed, guided, and energized by the Holy Spirit—the same Holy Spirit that you and I have today. We can expect to do the same works Jesus did if we will follow, line upon line and precept upon precept, everything the Word of God teaches.
  4. The gifts of the Spirit are divine communications, transmitted from the Holy Trinity through the channel of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, to the church—the body of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the earth.
  5. Within the nine gifts of the Spirit, there are three groups: revelation, power, and inspiration. There are diversities of gifts, but all three groups flow from only one Source: The Holy Spirit of God.

 

Revelation Gifts

  1. Through this prime category—the revelation gifts—the infinite God, Creator of the universe, is revealing His truth to
  2. The word of wisdom is the revealing of the prophetic future under the anointing of God. In the Old Testament, every seer (the former term for prophet) and every prophet who foretold the future was endowed with this gift. A word of God’s wisdom is just that: a word. When God gives you a word of His wisdom, He gives only a fragment.
  3. The same is true with the word of knowledge. The word of knowledge is the revealing of a fact in existence that can only be supernaturally revealed. It cannot be seen or heard or known naturally. This is the difference between the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom: The word of knowledge is a revelation of a fact that exists; the word of wisdom is a revelation of the future. Daniel was operating in the word of wisdom when he said there would be a Persian empire, a Grecian empire, and a Roman empire. At that time those empires had not been born.
  4. The discerning of spirits has to do with the comprehending of the human spirit, supernaturally revealed by the Holy Spirit. It is not the discerning of demons, but the discerning of the human spirit—good and bad. With this gift, you can look straight through a person and know whether or not he is telling the truth.

 

Power Gifts

  1. In the second category of spiritual gifts—the power gifts—God imparts His own divine powers and abilities to man. The gifts of power involve supernatural ability and energy that man does not naturally possess. This category of power gifts includes the gift of faith, the gifts of healing, and the working of miracles. Within this group is found the only gift that has plurality: the gifts of healing. We will explain later why it is in the plural form. Many of the spiritual gifts are like a chain. Each is linked together with others in such a way that when you pull one, you are pulling the whole load. Sometimes it is difficult to divide the links and distinguish between them because they are so interrelated. We see this especially in the gifts of power.
  2. The gift of faith is God’s bringing to pass a supernatural change. No human effort is involved.
  3. On the other hand, the gift of the working of miracles does work through a human instrument. It is a person doing a supernatural act by the divine energy of the Holy Spirit. An excellent example is Samson bare-handedly killing a lion. That was a miracle.
  4. In the gifts of healing God supernaturally heals the sick through a ministry anointed by the Holy Spirit. A person is given a gift from the Spirit of God to pray for a particular kind of sickness or disease. Remember, there are many ways to be healed. This includes only a small portion of them. There might be as many gifts as there are diseases. This is why the term is in the plural form.

 

Inspiration Gifts

  1. The third category of the gifts of the Spirit is inspiration. In the gifts of inspiration God brings His anointing and His blessing to the church. This category includes the gift of prophecy, the gift of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. These gifts have to do with corporate worship, not with personal worship. First Corinthians 14:3 gives the total blessing of these gifts of inspiration: edification, exhortation, and comfort. I believe that these three gifts, which come to us through inspiration, are the three most needed ministries in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
  2. The gift of tongues is the ministry of proclaiming in a public meeting a message from God in a language not understood by the person giving it. Because he has not studied that language and does not know it, he does not give it from his mind, but from his spirit.
  3. When a message in tongues has been given, then the interpretation of tongues goes into operation. The message that has been given in another language is interpreted supernaturally by the Holy Spirit through another person, without that person’s mental faculties being involved.
  4. The gift of prophecy is the anointed speaking forth of words of edification, exhortation, and comfort—words supernaturally given to the church from God.

 

 

These notes were taken from the book, “Gifts and Ministries of The Holy Spirit”

Written by Lester Sumrall

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