Introduction:
Over
the years in ministry, I noticed an element of awe and confusion among many
evangelical Christians, including Baptists, regarding the Holy Spirit and
Spiritual Gifts. We are comfortable talking about God the Father, Jesus the
Son, but there is ignorance, misunderstanding, and even fear among some Christians
when talking about the Holy Spirit.
Some of us are unwilling to explore
the person and work of the Holy Spirit. And others have real questions relating
to Spiritual Gifts. Last week I spoke on Understanding Spiritual Gifts in our
Church and the Boston Indian Church. Both expressed similar questions.
Why does God give special gifts to
some and not me? Does everyone have a special gift? If so, what is my gift?
What does God expect of us to do with spiritual gifts? Are they temporal or
permanent? What should be my attitude towards spiritual gifts? Let me try to
answer them.
In our passage, there seemed to be a
cloud of misunderstanding regarding the Source of those gifts among the
believers in the Corinthian Church. They were wrongly attributing the
manifestation of the Holy Spirit to evil spirits. Last week, we learned how to
discern the Holy Spirit from evil spirits and God's intended purpose of
Spiritual gifts.
Vs.
7, "A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
"These verses indicate that God has a wide range of spiritual gifts in
store. He is the only one who gives them at will to his people to help each
other build up the Church. Why He gives some special gifts and not to others? We
don't fully understand why. In the days ahead, we will look at the wide range
of spiritual gifts and their implications in our journey of faith. Let me introduce three lists of gifts found in the New
Testament and their use in the Church and the world.
I. VARIETY OF
SPIRITUAL GIFTS.
In their Book Discover Your
God-Given Gifts, Don Fortune and Katie Fortune divide the spiritual gifts into
three significant categories recorded in three letters of the Apostle Paul. 1. The
Ministry Gifts. 2. The Motivational gifts. 3. The Manifestation gifts. Here are
the lists.
A. The Ministry
Gifts: (Fivefold ministries) (Ephesians 4:11-13)
These are often
called the five-fold ministries of the Church. Jesus gives these gifts to the
Church: 1. The apostles, 2. The prophets, 3. The evangelists, 4. The pastors,
5. The teachers. Jesus (through the Holy Spirit) gives these gifts to
individuals to equip God's people to do His work and build up the Church. How
long do these ministry gifts last? It depends on God.
They will remain in operation until "we're
all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in
response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without,
fully alive like Christ." How long would that take? A lifetime!
B.
The Motivational Gifts (Romans 12:6-8)
These seven are often called
motivational gifts because they motivate us to action. These gifts make you
tick. That is why you find delight in doing certain things that others may
despise or dread to do. 1. Gift of prophesying. 2. Gift of serving. 3. Gift of
teaching. 4. Gift of encouragement. 5. Gift of giving. 6. Gift of leadership 7.
Gift of showing kindness. These are grace gifts, and God gives to His people in
the Church for doing certain things well.
C.
The Manifestation Gifts (God's Power Tools) I Corinthians 12:8-10
Nine Manifestation Gifts. 1. A Word
of Wisdom, 2. A word of knowledge, 3. Great Faith, 4. Gift of healing, 5. Power
to perform Miracles, 6. Ability to Prophecy, 7. Ability to distinguish between
spirits, 8. Ability to speak in unknown languages. 9. Ability to interpret what
is being said. I Cor 12:6-7, "it is the same God who empowers them all in
everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common
good." (ESV). Some call these the "manifestation gifts" the
Greek word used here means an exhibition, expression, or manifestation.
Since they are supernatural
manifestations at work through a believer and God empowers them, I would refer
to them as God's Power Tools. Let me illustrate how these gifts differ from
motivational gifts. Here is a power tool that not everyone has in their
possession.
These power tools are used to
accomplish challenging tasks such as cutting trees etc. You don't use them for
cutting onions in the kitchen. Similarly, manifestation Gifts are God's Power
Tools that God empowers specific individuals to serve the local, global Church,
and the world. Can you think of any names that God used to influence many
people in the world?
Billy Graham, a powerful evangelist,
Reinhard Bonnke, performed great miracles and healings. J. I Packer, a great
theologian. Beth Moore a great Bible teacher, and evangelist, etc. They are
many others in the past and now are empowered to have a worldwide
influence.
Here is a toolbox found in most
people's homes that contains various tools such as a tape measure, a handsaw, a
utility knife, a cordless drill; screwdrivers; locking pliers; and a hammer?
These are essential household tools used daily to fix things in and around the
house.
I compare the toolbox to a local
church, and the motivational gifts are the vital tools God gives to each of us
to help one another, build up the house of God the Church and be a blessing in
our society. In our Church, all of us are given one or two motivational gifts.
Many of them are faithfully serving God using their God-given motivational
gifts. May God bless them.
A small screwdriver in a toolbox is
equally essential as a power tool. In some cases, a small screwdriver can accomplish
much more than a power tool. I would rather work with a toolbox than a power
tool. It is about recognizing our God-given gifts and using them well.
II.
GOD'S POWER TOOLS (Vs. 8-10)
In this passage, we find nine God's
Power Tools or the Manifestation Gifts. 1. A Word of Wisdom, 2. A word of
knowledge, 3. Great Faith, 4. Gift of healing, 5. Power
to perform Miracles, 6. Ability to Prophecy, 7. Ability
to distinguish between spirits, 8. Ability to speak in unknown languages. 9.
Ability to interpret what is being said. Let us explore God's Power Tools.
1.
Word of Wisdom & Word of Knowledge &Prophecy: These two gifts
often go hand in hand and are closely associated with the gift of teaching. The
Word of Wisdom is the ability to express the message of God's Wisdom in the
Gospel of Christ and the Word. The word of knowledge is the ability to
communicate with knowledge of God's way of salvation by the spirit.
Let's see how these two gifts are
joined together in the gift of teaching. Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Here
was a prophecy concerning Jesus Christ in Isaiah 11:2, "And the Spirit of
the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord."
Jesus fulfilled that prophecy.
The crowds and the teachers of the
law were astonished at his wise and authoritative teachings. The people in his
hometown couldn't figure out how a carpenter's Son got such wisdom and power to
do miracles. God empowered Jesus with Wisdom and Understanding.
Gift
of Prophecy: It
is the anointed proclamation of God through an individual to encourage, exhort,
or comfort. In the scriptures, we see several prophets God empowered to bring
forth a prophetic message to His people. They were so powerful while prophesying.
Yet other times were fearful,
depressed, had suicidal tendencies, and ran for their lives. Can you think of
any? Ex: Elijah, Jeremiah had a lifelong battle with sadness. Wrote an entire
book of his sorrow called Lamentations. 2:10, "I have cried until the
tears no longer come; my heart is broken."
II
Gifts of healings and Power to perform Miracles:
In the scripture, we see the gifts
of healings and the power to perform Miracles often cojoined. Specific healings
were nothing less than a miracle—for example, Jesus healing the woman with the
issue of blood for twelve years. Or him raising Lazarus from death back to life.
There are different ways God
manifests healing. So, the person empowered with this gift will not use a particular
formula to heal but depend on God to show them how to heal. The gift of
performing miracles is the demonstration of God's power God that goes beyond
natural laws.
III.
Gifts of discernment, speaking in unknown tongues, and their interpretation.
God gives the gift of discernment
to some to perceive what type of spirit is in operation in a given situation.
Jesus manifested this gift several times, and he said to the Pharisees, "you
are the children of your father, the devil. John 8:44. When Peter misspoke, he
said to him, "Satan get thee behind me." Matthew 16:23. When Peter
confessed that you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus knew who
was speaking through Peter. That is the gift of discernment.
There is controversy surrounding
these particular gifts of speaking in unknown tongues and their interpretation.
For now, let me plainly say that the gift of speaking in an unknown tongue is
an ability given to believers by the Holy Spirit. It is neither learned nor
understood by the speaker, like the one in Acts chapter two. Likewise, the gift
of interpretation of tongues is a supernatural ability to explain the content
of what is being said by the unknown tongue.
IV.
Gift of Faith is
not the grace gift of faith Jesus Christ that saves us, but it is the gift that
God gives to specific individuals to believe Him for things beyond them. In the
scriptures and the Church's history, several people exhibited this gift of
faith, and we call them the Heroes of faith.
My wife and I had seen this gift of
faith in operation several times over the years as we sensed God's call to ministry.
At age 40, we moved our family across the ocean to the US, continuing my
theological education and continuing in ministry. Let me share a story:
Joanna's schooling. These nine God's power tools are mainly given and operated
by God and flow through the believer but do not become the person's possession.
The Holy Spirit is the Source and in charge of these gifts, working through an
available and expectant vessel. Amen!
