The Gifts of the Spirit

THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

By Mark E. Hardgrove, D.Min.

Text: 1 Cor 12:1-11

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: 2 You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 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 different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. NKJV

INTRODUCTION

Today I want to look at an important topic with respect to the Holy Spirit, and that is what we refer to as the “gifts of the Spirit”. The Greek word for gifts used by Paul in this text is charismata, which literally means “grace gifts.” These are gifts invested in the lives of individual believers by the Holy Spirit to bless and build up the entire body of believers. When we don’t embrace and minister in the gift that the Holy Spirit has placed in us, then we are robbing the church and we are hindering the edification, or the building up, of the church.

        Imagine for a moment that you have a child, maybe 12 or 13-years-old, and he is having a group of his friends over for a get-together. You want to do something nice for everyone so you give your son a large bag of candy to share with his friends, but the next day you find the bag of candy unopened under his bed. Instead of sharing what you gave him with the others, he hoarded it under his bed. He still has the candy, but no one else was blessed by the gift that you gave him. You had everyone in mind, but he only had himself in mind. How would that make you feel? That’s how God feels when we do not use the gifts He has placed in us to bless the church.

I) DON’T BE IGNORANT

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: 2 You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

        The people of Corinth were familiar with various pagan religions in the area. In some of these pagan rituals, the people would get caught up in an emotional frenzy or even in a evil spirituality that took them into an ecstatic experience where the worshippers claimed to prophesy and speak out what the spirit told them to say. We still see this today in various primitive religions, as well as, in palm readers or spiritualists. Not only is there a Holy Spirit anointing for believers, there is also a demonic anointing for people caught up in spiritual expressions apart from Jesus Christ.

        Obviously Paul doesn’t want the church to confuse these two types of anointing, so he gives them a general principle to use to discern the difference. He says, “No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” Now certainly, there are unbelievers who can say the words “Jesus is Lord,” but Paul is referring to more than a mere statement. Paul is telling us that it takes to the Holy Spirit at work in our lives for us to live a life where Jesus is our Lord. Paul is telling us that it is only through the work of the Spirit that we can say that Jesus is Lord and then live a life where that reality becomes evident in our character and our conduct. A person can say the words, but it takes the Holy Spirit at work in us to produce the fruit of the Lordship of Jesus. Jesus told us that when the Holy Spirit has come, He will testify of Jesus, not just in our words, but in our witness, that is, in all that we do and all that we are.

        The point, however, that I want to make is that Paul doesn’t want the church to be ignorant concerning spiritual things. Paul told the Roman church, “I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil” (Rom 16:19).

II) DON’T BE SELFISH

4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

        Unlike the palm reader who sets up shop in a small house and takes your money to tell you a bunch of foolishness, when all she is really concerned about is herself, the believer is given a gift that is not primarily even about the individual. It isn’t about me building some mega-ministry with my name or my face on the billboards. The gift of the spirit that God places in my life, and that God has placed in your life, is about the body of the believers. It is about building up and encouraging one another.

        Notice the Trinitarian formula in verses 4 through 6. Paul refers to the “same Spirit,” “the same Lord” (remember, Jesus is Lord), and “the same God,” (referring to God the Father). These gifts come from One God who is expressed in three persons. Just as there is a unity in the source of the gifts, there is to be unity in the exercise of these gifts. Paul says in verse 7, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all [everyone].”

        The focus of the manifestations of the Spirit, that is the gifts of the Spirit at work in the body, is on the body. I see so many people who think it is about them, that the entire church exists to revolve around their individual needs and to cater to their every want. In fact, according to the Bible, it is just the opposite. We are each individually in the church to bring our gifts to body, to contribute something, not just to get something.

III) DON’T BE SHY

8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 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 different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

        Looking on down through verse 10 we see a number of gifts listed. There are other lists of spiritual gifts in in the Bible, three in 1 Corinthians an one each in Romans and Ephesians, and while there is some overlap between these lists, no two of them have the exact same gifts listed. Some people believe that the only gifts of the Spirit are those that are mentioned in these lists. However, others, and I’m one of them, believe that Paul never intended to provide a comprehensive list of all the possible gifts that the Holy Spirit can place in the local church. For example, in the Old Testament God gifted artisans to create the furniture and the covering for the Tabernacle. I think we make a mistake when we think label and limit the gifts or when we believe that the only spiritual gifts are those that happen in a state of spiritual ecstasy.

        For example, I’ve seen television evangelists make the statement that they have “a word of wisdom,” or a “word of knowledge” for someone, and then they proceed to say, “Someone out there in TV land has a bad back, and God is going to heal it.” Or some evangelist will speak to someone at the altar and say, “God has shown me that you need to go back and apologize to someone before He is going to bless you.” I’m not saying that this doesn’t happen. It may well be that the gift of a word of knowledge or a gift of a word of wisdom works like that. However, I think it is wrong to think that this is the “only” way a word of wisdom or knowledge works.

        There are people in this church who have never preached a sermon, have never taught a class and who have never been an altar worker. There are people in this church who have never spoken “a word” over someone, but I believe that God can still use you in the spiritual gift of a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge. To begin with, it doesn’t always have to begin with the words, “Thus says the Lord.” I believe that the word of wisdom operates through the deacons and elders of this church. When I meet with them to pray and consider the business of the church, and I seeking their counsel on an issue, the Holy Spirit uses them to speak things that guide me and help me to lead the church. They may never say, “Thus says the Lord,” I often hear, “Thus says the Lord.” They often operate in the gift of a word of wisdom and knowledge and the church is built up because they are obedient to God.

        For this to happen these men must be spiritual, they must be seeking the heart and the will of God before we come together to meet. But if I didn’t believe God could operate through them to give a word of wisdom or knowledge, then I wouldn’t listen to them.

        What I’m saying is that sometimes our concepts of the operation of the gifts of the Spirit are so otherworldly that we’re no earthly good. Furthermore, I’m not so sure that we are doing ourselves or the church any good when we limit the gifts to what Paul provides as examples in three different lists. The point is that whatever gifts the Spirit places in our life, we must learn to step out and let the Spirit use us as a means of building up God’s church.

        It doesn’t have to be demonstrative to be a gift of the Spirit. There are people who send cards, there are others who make phone calls, and some quietly visit the hospital or send fruit baskets. There is no “gift of card sending” listed by Paul, but I believe it is a gift of the Spirit when it encourages others and edifies the church. Don’t be shy about it, let God use you.

IV) DON’T HOLD BACK

11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. NKJV

        Notice “who” decides what our gift will be. Paul said that the Spirit distributes these gifts to each one individually as He (that is the Spirit) wills. I have sometimes watched others and wished that I had their gift. I’ve watched preachers speak with persuasion and passion and wished that I could speak like them. Then I’ve seen musicians gifted to play an instrument or singers anointed to sing and I’ve wished that I could play or sing like them. We live in a world that celebrates the people who stand in the spotlight, and if we’re not careful, we can believe that somehow those ministry gifts are more important, or more spiritual than working in the nursery, or mowing the church yard, or sending cards.

Paul tells us three things in verse 11. First, Paul tells us that it is the Holy Spirit who decides what gift we will be given. We don’t get to pick and choose because if we did, most of us would choose the gifts that make us feel good, or that put us in the spotlight. The Holy Spirit distributes the gifts that will bless the body. The Holy Spirit is all about building up the church through the gifts that He places in our lives.

The second thing Paul is telling us is that every gift is important. If it comes from God and is distributed by the Holy Spirit according to what He sees as the need of the body, then there is no unimportant gift.

The third thing Paul tells us is that everyone has a gift. Everyone is anointed to do something that will help build up the body. You may not know how important you are, but if you or I refuse to move and minister in our gift, we are hurt the body and that hurts God.

CONCLUSION

        The Holy Spirit has given you something to be a blessing to the body. What are you doing with that gift? Are you like the little boy who hides it under his bed? You may never stand behind a pulpit, you may never give a message in tongues or interpretation, you may never look someone in the eye and say, “Thus says the Lord,” but you have a gift that God has placed in your life that will build up the body. Don’t bury it.

        God designed the church to grow. A church will grow when we all begin to move and minister in our anointing, in the gift that the Holy Spirit has place in our lives. It is when the church no longer allows the Spirit to move in the worship or in their individual lives that we have to resort to gimmicks and gadgets to try to get people to come to church.

        Some of you have a gift of evangelism. You may never speak in great revivals, but you have a God given ability to talk one on one with people, make friends and to influence people, and God wants to use you.

        Some of you have the gift helps, and God wants to use you be a blessing to the church in a diversity of ways. It may be in lawn care, or it may be in the nursery, but God has placed a unique gift upon your life. According to the Bible, there is no question whether or not you have charismata. The Spirit has distributed a gift to each person according to His will. The only question is whether or not you are going to allow God to use you to build up His church.

        You may not know what your gift is. I don’t even think it’s important that you put a label on your gift, but as you move in the Spirit and trust God to work through you, I believe you will begin to naturally enter into your gift as you yield yourself to God.