The Gifts of the Spirit

The Gifts of the Spirit The gifts of the Spirit are listed in 1CO 12:8-10, 28; EPH 4:11; ROM 12:6-8 and may be categorized as follows: A. The Revelatory Gifts. 1. Both the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge came by way of revelation to the possessor of the gift. 1CO 2:6-13. 2. Prophecy involves the revelation of truth from God. AMO 3:7; 1CO 14:29-30; EPH 3:5. 3. The discerning of spirits enabled one to discern false prophets or lying wonders. ACT 13:6-10; 16:16-18. 4. The apostles received divine revelation. EPH 3:3-5. a. The qualifications of an apostle are given in ACT 1:21-22; 1CO 9:1; 15:8. b. Apostles occupy a position of judgment in the church. MAT 19:27-28 c/w DEU 17:8-13; 2TH 2:15; 3:14. c. The New Testament came through the apostles. JOH 15:27; 17:18-20. d. The apostles' word is the final word of authority. 1JO 4:6; GAL 1:8-9. 5. The revelatory gifts were needed in the early church since they did not yet have the complete N.T. Scripture. B. The Ordinary Gifts. 1. These gifts do not require a direct revelation of truth to the possessor nor are they signs. 2. The possessors of these gifts obviously have ability and opportunity in these areas. 3. Teachers include the office of pastor, bishop, or elder (1TI 3:1-2). However, unordained persons can teach in unofficial capacities. HEB 5:12-14. 4. The gift of government or ruling is committed to the elder(s) of the church. 1TI 5:17-18; HEB 13:7, 17. 5. Exhortation is “the action of earnestly admonishing or urging by stimulating words to conduct regarded as laudable.” a. Elders exhort. 1TI 4:13; TIT 1:9. b. Church members exhort. HEB 3:13. 6. Evangelists are preachers of the gospel who baptize people and and start churches. ACT 21:8 c/w ACT 8:5-40. a. Pastors are to do the work of an evangelist. 2TI 4:5. b. Scripture knows nothing of any other than ordained ministers doing this work. 7. The gift of helps is the ability to assist the ministry of the word or to help others. ROM 16:1-3, 9; 1CO 16:16. 8. The gift of ministry includes: a. The diaconate. ACT 6:1-6. b. Preachers. 1CO 4:1. c. Church members who minister to other saints and to preachers. HEB 6:10; 2TI 1:16-18. 9. The gift of giving is the ability to give. 2CO 8:12-14; 9:8. 10. The gift of shewing of mercy is illustrated in the good Samaritan. LUK 10:33-37. 11. One's gift is discovered by simply doing what he is able to do as he has opportunity. 1PE 4:11; GAL 6:10. a. A person's gift may be simply being a good mother and housekeeper (a very high calling) to foster a stable family life and hospitality. TIT 2:4-5. b. A person may be gifted with the ability to remain single and celibate, thus being The Gifts of the Spirit Page 1 of 2able to devote more attention to prayer and duty. 1CO 7:7, 32-35; LUK 2:36-37. c. This counters the faulty concepts of spiritual gifts which place unscriptural burdens upon saints and encourages abandonment of useful ordinary duties in favor of supposed superior spiritual callings. (1) God does not expect everyone to have all the same gifts, per 1CO 12:11. (2) God rather recommends charity (an unselfish obedience to God manifest by doing good for the right reasons) as being superior anyway. 1CO 12:29-31; 13:1-13. C. The Sign Gifts. MAR 16:17-18. 1. The sign gifts may be described as those manifestations of divine enablement which are miraculous in nature and are at the control of those to whom they were given. 2. The gift of faith must not be confused with the faith common to all believers. a. This was a gift whereby miracles could be performed by faith. MAT 17:20; 1CO 13:2 ct/w TIT 1:4. b. common: Of general, public, or non-private nature. Belonging equally to more than one; possessed or shared alike by both or all (the things or persons in question). 3. The gifts of healing included healing of diseases and casting out devils. MAT 4:24; LUK 8:2; ACT 10:38; 19:11-12. a. The anointing of the sick with oil was connected with the gift of healing. MAR 6:13; JAM 5:14-15. b. Notice the certainty of healing in JAM 5:14-15 when this was done. 4. The working of miracles would include any other extraordinary displays of power. ACT 9:36-42; 28:3-6. 5. The gift of divers kinds of tongues was the enablement to speak in another language that one had not learned. a. There are 165 uses of “tongue” or “tongues” in Scripture. (1) 111 times the word refers to the organ of speech and its usage. (2) 52 times it refers to languages. (3) Twice it refers to objects shaped like a tongue. b. The divers tongues were actual languages. ACT 2:1-11. c. The tongue was unknown to the speaker in that he had never before learned it. 1CO 14:6-11. d. The “tongues of angels” in 1CO 13:1 is clearly a hyperbolical statement in the subjunctive mood for effect. 1CO 13:2-3 c/w ECC 6:6; JOH 21:22-23. e. Ecstatic, hyper-emotional noises are NOT the Spirit of God praying for the person. ROM 8:26. f. Paul and Luke did NOT have a different concept of tongues. LUK 1:1-4. 6. The interpretation of tongues was the ability to interpret the unknown tongues. 1CO 14:13, 26-28. The Gifts of the Spirit Page 2 of 2