Gifts of the Spirit

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. I Corinthians 12:1-11

In the pagan system these Gentiles came out of, they worshipped idols which could not speak, but somehow there were philosophies or religious beliefs being communicated. There is a huge difference, Corinthians, between those “voices” and the clear teaching of the Holy Spirit. His mission is always to glorify Christ. So if you hear someone cursing Jesus, it is not from the Holy Spirit. If Jesus is being honored as Lord, the Holy Spirit is leading.

Since the Day of Pentecost, when the Church was born, each believer in Jesus Christ is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We have all been baptized into Christ by that Spirit, making us all one body: the Body of Christ. This was a mystery of the new covenant that Old Testament believers did not know. They had temporary Spirit empowerment for specific ministries, but the Spirit was not permanently part of them. The Church of Jesus Christ is a new species in the earth. We are one IN HIM, forever.

At the moment of salvation, each one of us is given gift(s) as the Spirit determines them. We don’t choose our gift. He did that, in eternity past. It may take a while to determine for ourselves just what our gift is, even though it is probably working from early in our Christian life. As we mature, we do come to realize in what way the Spirit has gifted us, and can see it working in our daily fellowship with the Church. It is not nearly as important to recognize our own gifts as to be always prepared for whatever the Lord has for us: prayed up, studied up, in fellowship with Him, alert to all opportunities to share the gospel message or the doctrinal information we’ve been graced with. We just pray, study and grow. The gift is at work whenever its function is called for. 

It is important for us modern Christians to note that in the earliest days of the Church, there was no completed canon of scripture. That was why the apostles’ authority was so important. THEY were the repositories of Bible Doctrine, until the Church was established and the New Testament had been written and distributed. Jesus authorized that system before He went to the cross (John 16:15).  Some of those early gifts were specialized, also, for the speedy distribution of the gospel message. For instance, the apostles and others were given the ability to speak foreign languages they had not learned, because Jerusalem was bustling with Jewish pilgrims from all the civilized nations of the world, who had grown up in those nations and spoke those languages (Acts 2). As the Church began to take form, many of those early converts were in the assemblies. The gift of tongues continued to minister to those people as they grew in grace, and learned the important doctrines to carry back home to their own people.

The same Spirit distributes the various gifts. That way, when the Church is assembled, the gifts complement each other for the edification of the whole Body. They work together, just as the parts of a physical body are interdependent. I believe this means they don’t work in isolation. The gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, discernment, “tongues” and interpretation of tongues were all given to the Church members in order that they could assemble on a regular basis and study the doctrines they knew, praying, preaching, growing in grace and building each other up in the Lord. They were also developing greater capacity for grace and  knowledge in their advance to maturity (2 Peter 3:18).

Our attached physical limbs perform the work they are supposed to do for the proper function of the body. Cut off a hand and that limb is useless. Likewise any other body part. The body can survive without some of those parts by learning to compensate, but the severed part is dead. No blood flow, no nerve system, no good. I just thought I’d point that out for those who would prefer to live in obscurity on a mountain top somewhere until the Lord comes. That is a selfish desire, and does not contribute anything to the Body of Christ.

But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. I Corinthians 12:18-19

You are the body part God gifted you to be. The parts are diverse and complimentary. We need each other, to do the work and grow up together IN CHRIST. We are not all pastors, not all teachers, not all have the gift of helps or discernment. Each is important to the work and growth of the Church, however. There are some gifts considered “greater” (apostles, prophets, teachers).

I Corinthians 12:31 And yet I will show you the most excellent way.