Introduction to the Gifts of The Spirit
This teaching will provide you with an overview of the gifts of The Spirit. I believe it will shine a light on your area of gifting and provide an actionable revelation of your gifts and calling. I studied the gifts of The Spirit in Bible school, and have recently studied them again. I believe that if more christians were knowledgeable on this subject they would save themselves from many of life’s troubles.
Following this introduction, I will dive deeper into each individual gift and provide additional context for each one.
Don’t Be Ignorant
It was Paul's desire as it is mine that you are not ignorant regarding spiritual gifts. He said in 1 Corinthians 12:1,
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant…”
I am teaching on the gifts of the spirit because I want you to be aware. The Bible says the lack of knowledge causes people to perish (Hosea 4:6). People's lives are destroyed, not because they don’t pray or attend church, but because of what they don’t know.
There’s a story that’s been retold all over the world, about a woman who took care of a wealthy Englishman whose family abandoned him. This Christian woman took care of him and treated him with kindness. Shortly before the man passed away, he gave the woman a document. The woman was grateful to him, so much so that she had the document framed and hung it up in her home. The woman never completed formal schooling and had no idea what the document contained.
When the woman grew old herself she became unable to attend church. She lived off the benevolence of the church. When her pastor visited her to give her communion, he noticed the frame and inquired about it. She explained to her pastor about her former employer and his kindness to her. The pastor, having read the document, asked if he could take it to a lawyer who attended the church. The woman agreed. The lawyer confirmed that it was the Englishman’s testament and will. Because the woman couldn’t read, she lived in poverty her entire life despite having access to the Englishman’s estate, mansion and all of his money. There was great wealth waiting for her. All she had to do was claim and take possession of it. Her ignorance kept her poor.
What you don’t know could be killing you. Your ignorance in certain areas can cause you great hardship, even to the point of death. Some of these areas include:
God’s Word
The gifts of the spirit
The will of God
The ability God has put inside you
The grace and mercy of God
The favor of God
The plans God has for you
When you are ignorant to the things of God, you can fall into the trap of incorrectly attributing your troubles to God. You may think, ‘Maybe God is allowing me to go through this to teach me a lesson.’ The devil operates freely where ignorance is rampant. The Bible says,
“You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:32)
Proclaim it now. Say this: I will not be ignorant concerning spiritual gifts.
Enter into the light so that you will know:
What the spiritual gifts are
What the spiritual gifts do
How you can benefit from spiritual gifts
How you can help others with your spiritual gifts
He Gave Gifts Unto Men
The Bible says in Ephesians 4:7-11,
“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: ‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men…And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.’’
People are called to occupy a particular office for the purpose of building up the saints to bring them into the full maturity of Christ. I’ve been called to be an evangelist. I didn’t desire or ask the Lord to make me an evangelist. I had nothing to do with it. It was by divine election that I occupy this office. Certain gifts have absolutely nothing to do with what you want, but rather what God wants.
The Bible says that there are gifts that are given to all men, and gifts given to some. The gifts God gave to all pertain to your specific role in the body of Christ. As long as you are connected to the body there is a gift that has been bestowed upon you to enable you to function as part of the body.
Paul used the analogy of the human body to convey how the body of Christ functions. If my left arm decided it had no ability, gifts, or contributions to offer the rest of my body and laid dormant, I would be considered disabled. I would not be whole. My left arm would be dead weight. As a christian, you should not become dead weight to the body of Christ.
If you don’t discover the gifts that God has given you and your contribution to the body of Christ, you become dead weight. Unfortunately, there are many believers who don’t bring anything to the table.
We recently held a volunteers gala at Revival Today Church. We celebrated all the wonderful people who discovered their gift within the body of Christ and actively contributed for the betterment and growth of the body.
The ministry is not a one man show. It takes a team, a collection of members of the body to make any ministry successful. We all have something to contribute, that’s why in Romans 12:6, Paul tells us to use our gifts. It’s imperative that you use your God-given gifts. If you don’t know what your gift is yet because you haven’t been taught, I pray that as we dive into the gifts of the Spirit, the revelation of your gift will be made known to you. Then you will be able to start using your gift to perfect the body of Christ and build His kingdom.
Diversity of Gifts
Your pastor has a God-given gift to preach the Word and lead for your benefit. The job of your pastor is to build you up. You should grab hold of every word that comes out of his mouth.
Pastor Jonathan is so passionate because he’s received a word from the Lord for the building up of the saints. He’s here for my benefit. He’s been put in a position of authority to help shape and mold me into all the Christ wants me to become. He’s here to help me come into the realization of my inheritance and the riches that Jesus has for me.
The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 20:20,
“Listen to the Lord and you shall be established, listen to His prophet and you shall prosper.”
Your prosperity is tied into the mouth of your prophet. A prophet is someone who declares the word of God. If you listen to and apply what your pastor says it will bring you to the place where God wants you to be. The days where you don’t know what to do or where to turn will be over because He gave gifts unto men to help you and build you up in a way that will change your life.
There are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit gives each gift (1 Cor.12:4). This means that there are different approaches to and abilities within the same area of gifting. Two people can have the gift of healing and minister in completely different ways. For this reason, we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit so that we don’t misappropriate the works of God to the devil, simply because we are unfamiliar with a minister’s approach.
Smith Wigglesworth had a very unconventional approach to ministering to the sick. At one of his meetings, a man arrived by ambulance still dressed in hospital attire. Smith Wigglesworth punched the man in the stomach and he dropped dead on the spot. The doctor who brought the sick man threatened to sue him. Smith Wigglesworth just kept moving through the line, laying hands on people. A few minutes later the man stood up and started yelling, “I’m healed! I’m healed!”
How do you even begin to explain that in the natural? How do you categorize that gift? When the Bible says there are different administrations, this is a perfect illustration. Any outcome that is of God will be found in the Word of God. As we learn more about the individual gifts on the Spirit, it will help us identify what is from God and what it not from God.
There are different ways to prophesy. The way Ev. Ted Shuttlesworth operates very differently from the way TL Osbourne did. The manifestation of their gifts are for the benefit of the church.
God loves you. He is interested in your advancement and progress. He desires for you to increase. He’s invested in your safety, your prosperity, your health and the blessedness of your marriage.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit can be used to profit in your business, marriage, raising your children etc. These gifts bring increase and benefits to your life.
When God begins to use you in a certain way, it’s crucial that you give all glory and honor to God. Paul calls for the church to refrain from arrogance (Rom.12:3). As you begin to learn more about the gifts of the Spirit, you will become aware of certain gifts in your life that you didn’t recognize. Because you were ignorant to them, you were unable to benefit from them.
As we dive deeper, it will become clear that your gift is not a natural ability, rather a gift God has given to for the work and purpose that He’s called you to. Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God (1 Cor.10:31).
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:31, that we can desire for the gifts. He tells us to earnestly desire the best gifts. The best gift is whatever is needed for what God has called you to do. Paul lists nine gifts that fit into three categories.
The Revelatory Gifts - allow you to think like God
Words of wisdom
Words of knowledge
Discernment of spirits
Power Gifts - allow you to act like God
Gifts of healing
Working of miracles
Gifts of faith
Vocal Gifts - allows you to speak how God speaks
Speaking in tongues
Interpretation of tongues
Prophecy
God wants the body of Christ to have the mind of Christ. The Word says in Philippians 2:5,
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus”
We live in a world that desires to see power. You may have family members who mock your faith. They desire to see something powerful as proof. The only way some of them will come to the Lord is when the gifts of God come into manifestation.
I want you to have a clear understanding of the gifts of the Spirit so you can identify and she gifts in your life and use them to benefit yourself and others in the body of Christ. I pray you’ll continue on with me as I continue to teach on this vital topic.
