The Holy Spirit

1. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit- 8th
November2015
"Hisdivinepower hasgiven us everythingwe need for lifeand godlinessthroughourknowledgeof
himwho calledus by his ownglory andgoodness"( 2 Peter 1:3)
Giftsof the Spiritare special abilitiesprovidedbythe HolySpirittoChristiansforthe purpose of building
up the bodyof Christ. The listof spiritual gifts canbe foundin 1 Corinthians12:8-10 : “To one there is
giventhrough the Spirita messageof wisdom,to anothera message of knowledgeby means ofthe
same Spirit, 9
to another faithby the same Spirit,to another giftsof healingby that one Spirit, 10
to
another miraculouspowers,to another prophecy,to another distinguishingbetweenspirits,to
another speakingindifferent kindsof tongues, andto still another the interpretationoftongues. We
can learnthat JesusChristhasapportionedGrace to eachone of us whichwe can read in Ephesians4:7-
8 - “Butto each one ofus grace has been given asChrist apportionedit. 8
This iswhy it says: “Whenhe
ascended onhigh,he tookmany captivesand gave giftsto his people.”
In reference tothe Giftswe can learnsome advice forusas Christians: “Forbythe grace givenme I say
to every one of you:Do notthink of yourselfmore highlythanyou ought,but rather think of yourself
with sober judgment,inaccordance withthe faithGodhas distributedto each ofyou. 4
For justas each
of us hasone body withmany members, andthese members do not all have the samefunction, 5
so in
Christwe, thoughmany,form one body,andeach member belongsto all the others (Romans12:3-5).
The giftsof the Spiritare simplyGodenablingbelieverstodowhatHe hascalledus to do. We can learn
in2 Peter 1:3 - "Hisdivinepower hasgiven us everythingwe need for lifeand godlinessthroughour
knowledgeof himwho calledus by his ownglory andgoodness." The giftsof the HolySpiritare part of
the "everythingwe need"tofulfill Hispurposesforourlives.
There issome controversyasto the precise nature of eachof the giftsof the Spirit,buthere isa listof
spiritual giftsandtheirbasicdefinitions.The giftof wisdom isthe abilitytomake decisionsandgive
guidance thatis accordingto God's will. The giftof knowledge isthe abilitytohave anin-depth
understandingof aspiritual issue orsituation. The giftof faithisbeingable totrustGod and encourage
othersto trust God,no matterthe circumstances.The giftof healingisthe miraculousabilitytouse
God's healingpowertorestore apersonwhois sick,injured,orsuffering.The giftof miraclesisbeing
able to performsignsandwondersthatgive authenticitytoGod's name and the Gospel message. The
giftof prophecyisbeingable toproclaimamessage fromGod.The giftof discerningspiritsisthe ability
to determine whetherornota message,person,oreventistrulyfromGod.
The giftof tonguesisthe abilitytospeakina foreignlanguage thatyoudonot have knowledge of,in
orderto communicate withsomeone whospeaksthatlanguage.The giftof interpretingtonguesisthe
abilitytotranslate the tonguesspeakingandcommunicate itbackto othersinyourown language.The
giftof administrationisbeingable tokeepthingsorganizedandinaccordance withGod'sprinciples.The
giftof helpsisalwayshavingthe desireandabilitytohelpothers,todowhateverittakestogeta task
accomplished.
As a Christianone maywantto knowwhat Giftsthat he or she has. The HolySpiritdistributesthe giftsof
the Spiritas He seesfit whichwe canlearnthrough 1 Corinthians12:8-11 that isstatedabove. God does
not wantus to be ignorantof howHe wantsus toserve Him.However,itisveryeasyfor usto get
caught up inwhatspiritual gift(s) we have andthenonlyserve Godinthatarea of ministry.Thatisnot
howit works.God callsusto obedientlyserve Him.He will equipuswithwhatevergiftsof the Spiritwe

2. needtoaccomplishthe taskor tasks for which He has calledusto. Yes,God callssome to be teachers
and givesthemthe giftof teaching,butthatdoesnot excuse the personfromservingGodinotherways
as well.Isitbeneficial toknowwhatspiritual gift(s) Godhasgivenyou?Of course,itis.Is itwrong to
focusso much onspiritual giftsthatwe missotheropportunitiestoserve God!
There isno magic formulaorspiritual gifttestthatcan tell youwhatgiftsof the Spirityoupossess.What
we needtofocus onis servingGod.Do yousee a needinyourchurch? Do what youcan to meetit.Is
there a positioninaministrythatis vacant?Pray as to whetherGodwouldhave youfill it.If we seek
God's will andobeyHisleading,He will alwaysequipuswithwhatevergiftsof the Spiritwe need.The
Apostle Paul indicatedthatthe giftsof the Spiritare equallyvalid,butnotequallyvaluable.Theirvalue is
determinedbytheirworthtothe church.
In dealingwiththismatter, Paul usedthe analogyof the humanbody. “Justasa body,thoughone, has
manyparts, but all its many partsform one body,so it is with Christ. 13
Forwe were all baptizedby one
Spiritso as to form one body—whetherJews or Gentiles,slaveor free—andwe were all given the one
Spiritto drink. 14
Even so the body isnot made up ofone part butof many”(1Corinthians12:12 -14).
We can readon that all membersof the bodyhave functions,Paul declared,butsome are more
importantthanothers (1 Corinthians 12:12-26).
The service of each Christianshouldbe inproportiontothe giftswhichhe learnsaboutthemselvesover
a periodof time as to whathe or she possesses.Paul tellsusthatall believers,asmembersof the body
of Christ,mustbe servingtogetherin orderforthe bodyto be fully-functional.Thatiswhya church
needspastors,teachers,helpers,servants,administrators,those withgreatfaith,etc.All of the giftsof
the HolySpiritworkingtogetherare neededtoproduce the full potentialof the church.Since the giftsof
the Spiritare giftsof grace,theiruse must be controlledbythe rule of love whichis the greatestof all
the giftsof the Spirit:“IfI speak inthe tongues[a]
of men or of angels,butdo not have love,I am onlya
resoundinggongor a clangingcymbal. 2
IfI have the giftof prophecyand can fathomall mysteries and
all knowledge,and ifI have a faiththat can move mountains,butdonot have love, I am nothing. 3
IfI
give all I possessto the poor andgive over my body to hardshipthatI mayboast,[b]
butdo not have
love, I gainnothing. (1 Corinthians13: 1-3)).
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through
our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness"
( 2 Peter 1:3)