Spiritual Gifts
Do you remember that when Jesus promised His disciples He would send the Holy Spirit to abide in them, He told them, “He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you” (John 16:14)? In other words, the Holy Spirit would reveal Christ to the world.
One of the ways He does this is to show the world what God can do. This He does by the gifts of the Spirit. You remember in an earlier lesson
we learned that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have the attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. All of these attributes are revealed in the manifestations of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. Supernatural manifestations of the Spirit testify that God is alive and concerned about the needs of people. The gifts of the Spirit were given to the church to build up the body of Christ.
You notice that we are using the terms gifts and manifestations interchangeably. They refer to the same activities of the Holy Spirit. He gives His supernatural gifts as He chooses, and they are manifested through the persons who receive them. The purpose should always be to build up the body of believers and to glorify Christ.
Biblical References
A study of the book of Acts and the Epistles reveals very clearly that the early church regularly experienced supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit. These manifestations were gifts to the church corporately for the purpose of edifying the church and bringing glory to Jesus. However, the gifts were manifested by the Holy Spirit through individual believers who yielded themselves completely to the Spirit and allowed Him to work through them.
There are several references in Scripture to spiritual gifts. The most complete discussion is found in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14. Here the apostle Paul is giving instruction to the church in Corinth concerning the proper use of the gifts. Nine gifts are mentioned in verses 4 through 11 of 1 Corinthians 12:
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the 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 the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another the ability to speak 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 gives them to each one, just as he determines.
The second reference is in verse 28, where eight gifts are mentioned. Some of these have been labeled as ministry gifts by Bible scholars:
And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
It is worth noting that the emphasis in the first list is upon the gifts, and in the second list it is upon the people who have received the gifts.
Paul continues in verses 29-30 with an explanation of verse 28:
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?
Two other references to spiritual gifts should be mentioned. The first is Romans 12:6-8, when we considered the aspect of Christian service as an act of worship.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
A fourth reference is given in Ephesians 4:11-13, and includes an explanation of the purpose for the gifts in the church:
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Three purposes of the gifts are mentioned here:
1. Building up of the body of Christ
2. Unity in the faith and knowledge of Jesus
3. Christian maturity—Christlikeness
Stanley Horton suggests that if these lists are all combined, it is possible to have a total of 18 to 20 gifts (Horton, 1976, p. 210). It is clear that some of them overlap, and some Bible scholars believe that they could be divided into ministry gifts and spiritual gifts. For the purpose of our study, we will use the list of nine spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. We have divided them into three groups, as follows:
1. Utterance gifts: Tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy
2. Power gifts: Faith, healings, miracles
3. Revelation gifts: Discerning of spirits, the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom.
Many Gifts But One Spirit
It has been suggested that the utterance gifts emphasize the Holy Spirit’s attribute of omnipresence; the power gifts reveal His omnipotence; and the revelation gifts manifest His omniscience. The important thing to remember is that all of the spiritual gifts are manifestations of the Spirit as He works through the Spirit-filled believer in ministry to the church.
Utterance Gifts
Reception Utterances
The term utterance refers to that which is spoken aloud, a vocal expression. In this context it describes speaking in different kinds of tongues as the Spirit gives utterance or enablement. The first physical evidence that one has been baptized in the Holy Spirit can be called the reception utterance. It is considered to be the first physical sign that one has received the gift of the Holy Spirit which Jesus promised. The receiving one is conscious of the coming of the Spirit, for he experiences fullness of joy, praise, power, and holy boldness, among other things, as he worships and glorifies God. When the Spirit came at the new birth, He made us aware of our sonship (Romans 8:5- 16). He also enabled us to deal with our old self (Ephesians 4:17-32). When He comes later in baptismal fullness, He gives power to witness in a dramatic new way. This enduement at Pentecost came to disciples who were already Christ’s; this baptism was thus a subsequent experience in the Spirit (compare Acts 8:14-17; 19:1-7).
On the Day of Pentecost the multitude was amazed by the tongue-speaking phenomenon. God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven heard the sound and gathered. They were amazed to hear the wonderful works of God proclaimed in their own languages by Galileans. Since this phenomenon was inexplicable, the apostle Peter gave a Bible-based explanation. The result was a mighty spiritual response. Tongues, in this case, were a supernaturally given sign to unbelievers that the phenomenon they observed was divinely given (1 Corinthians 14:22).
In most cases, the tongue that is spoken is not understood by the hearers and is never understood by the speaker. There does not need to be an interpretation, because the purpose of the tongues in the reception utterance is to extol the Giver of the gift. While the unknown tongue is also seen as validation of the experience, the transformation of the believer’s witness appears to have impressed the nonbelieving crowd more than anything else (Acts 4:13).
Private Utterances
What the Bible says about speaking in different kinds of tongues may be confusing unless you understand the difference between the purpose of public and private utterances of different tongues. The tongues manifestation of 1 Corinthians 12:10 is a public utterance; it is for the common good (see v. 7). Since this gift is for the edification of the church, it must always be interpreted if the hearers are to be edified.
Private utterances, on the other hand, are for the personal edification of the believer. When you pray or sing in the Spirit in private worship, there is no need for interpretation—it is the act of speaking in tongues itself that edifies the believer (1 Corinthians 14:2, 4). With the help of the Holy Spirit you are able to pray in a way that would otherwise be impossible, because you are uttering mysteries in the Spirit that are directed solely toward God.
One of the greatest blessings of private utterances is the awareness of God’s presence when you are ministering to the Lord in the Spirit. You experience the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18).
Private utterances are for you alone, as you worship God. They are always directed to God. They may be exercised as often as you allow the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself through you. Paul was apparently speaking of tongues in private worship when he said, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you” (1 Corinthians 14:18), for in verse 19 he contrasts his behavior in the church.
Public Utterances
There are three manifestations of the Spirit that are considered public utterances: tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy.
1. Tongues spoken in public are always unknown to the speaker, and usually unknown to the hearers. There must always be an interpretation (explanation of what was spoken).
2. The interpretation is prompted by the Holy Spirit and is given by the interpreter in his own language. The interpreter does not know the language of the utterance in tongues. The interpreter may be the person who gave the utterance in tongues, or it may be someone else.
3. Prophecy is a Spirit-prompted public utterance in a language that is known by the hearers.
The purpose of tongues and interpretation is the edification of the church rather than just the personal edification of the speaker. Prophecy, likewise, has as its goal the edification of the church and is the preferred manifestation when strangers are present or when there is no interpreter.
The objective of prophecy and tongues with interpretation is the same. Through the exercise of these gifts the church can be encouraged, admonished, and inspired as the Holy Spirit speaks to the needs that are apparent to Him. (Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-15). Thus, the church is edified. On occasion, the church is directed specifically to implement an earlier commission to win the lost (compare Acts 1:8 with 13:1-3). At other times, He apparently communicates His purpose by forbidding or restraining His servants from certain activities (Acts 16:6-10). Another intent of prophecy is seen clearly in Acts 21:10-11, where the Holy Spirit showed Paul things “to come” (John 16:13). The evidence from other Scripture indicates that the apostle Paul received direct communication from the Lord (Acts 23:11) and indirect communication through the medium of an angel (Acts 27:23-24). All of these reveal the Lord’s concern for the spiritual life, growth, and development of His church.
There are no recorded examples of tongues and interpretation in the New Testament, but there are several prayers that could be called prophetic utterances (see Luke 1:47-55, 68-79; and 2:29-32). Nevertheless, based on the apostle’s extensive treatment of the subject in 1 Corinthians 14, we can conclude that the utterance gifts were abundantly evident in Corinth.
Thus, we can conclude that either prophecies or tongues with interpretation are directed by the Spirit toward the church for its edification. Perhaps you have heard a Spirit-filled preacher break forth in prophetic utterance while he was preaching, and you have experienced a special blessing as the church was edified in this way.
The operation of these gifts is to be encouraged, for they bring the presence and blessing of the Holy Spirit into a gathering of believers. However, it is important that the human vessel be yielded to the Holy Spirit so that he will not attract attention to himself, but to God.
The apostle Paul wrote chapter 14 to the Corinthians because he recognized that these supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit could be abused by believers. If tongues and interpretation or prophecy detract in any way from the moving of the Spirit among believers, or if they are not in accord with Scripture, you will know that they are a work of the flesh, and not of the Spirit.
For a more complete discussion of abuses of spiritual gifts, I recommend that you read Donald Gee’s book, Concerning Spiritual Gifts.
Paul exhorts us to desire spiritual gifts: “But eagerly desire the greater gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31). “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy” (1 Corinthians 14:1).
Power Gifts
The Bible is a book of action. It records the acts of God among men and women. In previous lessons we have learned that the Holy Spirit is the 
agent who carries out the will of the Father. We have seen the mighty power of the Holy Spirit moving in creation. Then we saw Him moving in miracle-working power in the lives of chosen people in the Old Testament. Next, we saw Him anointing Jesus to do mighty deeds as He ministered among men.
When Jesus left the earth, He said that even greater things would be done by the disciples when the Holy Spirit came to take His place as man’s helper (John 14:12). The book of Acts is a record of the Holy Spirit in action in miracle-working power, as Jesus promised.
The Holy Spirit is still moving in the earth today in miracle-working power. He works in the lives of believers who earnestly desire His gifts of power. The purpose of these gifts is to edify the church and glorify God. They are the gifts of faith, healing, and miracles.
Faith
The gift of faith which the Holy Spirit gives is a special faith, and it must not be confused with ordinary human faith, which you demonstrate whenever you sit in a chair and expect it to hold you. Neither is it the saving faith which God imparts to you when you accept Jesus as your Savior, nor is it the fruit of faith which grows out of a living relationship with the Holy Spirit, an abiding trust that God will guide you in your daily Christian walk. (We will study the fruit of the Spirit in our next lesson.)
Rather, the gift of faith is a special impartation from the Holy Spirit of a faith that can move mountains—an unshakeable confidence that God will provide whatever is needed at the very moment of need!
It is the faith of the three Hebrew men when they were thrown into the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:16-18); of Daniel when he was cast into the lion’s den (Daniel 6:21-22); of the apostle Peter, sleeping calmly the night before his head was to be cut off (Acts 12:6).
It is the faith that made it possible for Peter to say to the lame man, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus . . . walk” (Acts 3:6). And he walked! In a similar incident we gather additional insight into the nature of these healings. Paul, at Lystra, perceived (because of his sensitivity to the Holy Spirit) that the cripple had faith to be healed. Exercising the gift of faith, he called out, “Stand up on your feet!” (Acts 14:8-10). It is this same sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and faith that gave a Pentecostal evangelist, Smith Wigglesworth, courage in the early days of this century to walk into a hospital room, lift a dying woman from her bed, stand her up against the wall, and pray in the name of Jesus that she be healed! And she was!
Although the gift of faith is the least spectacular of the gifts of power, it is essential to the gifts of healing and miracles. This special faith is given to certain individuals chosen by the Holy Spirit as He wills, as are all the gifts of the Spirit. Perhaps you have experienced a gift of faith, or have witnessed it in another believer.
Gifts of Healing
Did you notice in verses 9 and 30 in 1 Corinthians 12 that the plural gifts of healing is listed? I think the Holy Spirit wants everyone to know that there are sufficient gifts to provide healing for every kind of sickness.
In the early church, these gifts appeared to be more for the purpose of evangelism than for the body of Christ. Healings took place so that the name of Christ might be glorified. (See Acts 3:1-13.) The provision for those in the church as given in James 5:14-15 is that a sick member-
“should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.”
James exhorts Christians to confess their sins to each other and pray for each other so that they can be healed. Evidently healing for the Christian involves more than just having a gifted evangelist lay hands upon him. There are spiritual needs that should be met by interaction in the body of believers.
The Spirit-filled church can expect to see gifts of healing from the Holy Spirit, but this does not imply that anyone is given absolute power to deliver from all diseases. The Holy Spirit gives the gifts as He wills, and we are exhorted to desire His gifts. The purpose will always be to glorify Christ, and not man. The important thing is to be sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. If He moves you to exercise a spiritual gift, you should obey Him completely.
Working of Miracles
A miracle has been defined as God interrupting the ordinary course of nature. This definition acknowledges that nature operates by a definite set of rules, but that God controls nature and sometimes changes the rules temporarily to work His own purposes.
The working of miracles is probably the most spectacular of all the gifts of the Spirit. It was especially evident in the Old Testament when the Holy Spirit came upon God’s chosen ones and they did humanly impossible things.
Jesus’ earthly ministry was also filled with miracles. They began when He changed water into wine at a wedding (John 2:9) and ended with His bodily ascension into heaven (Acts 1:9). During His ministry Jesus walked on water, fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, raised the dead, healed the sick, cast out demons, and did many other miraculous works. The Gospels are filled with His miracles.
Jesus promised that when He went to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit, His disciples could expect the same and even greater miracles to accompany the preaching of the Word. Miracles are not seen as an end in themselves; rather, they attest the validity of the gospel’s claims and point to the sovereignty and power of God.
The book of Acts records many miracles of the disciples. In fact, the New Testament record indicates the truth of Jesus’ words, “And these signs will accompany those who believe” (Mark 16:17). While many of these miraculous signs and wonders are lumped together in Acts (for example see 5:12-16), careful study reveals a heightened level of miraculous activity. The writer to the Hebrews indicates that the gospel, in the initial years of proclamation, was attended by signs, miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 2:4). These miracles included the raising of the dead (Acts 9:40; 20:10), miraculous release from prison (5:19; 12:6-10), miraculous transport (8:30), prediction of famine (11:28-29), opposition stilled (12:23), judgment of blindness brought on opposition (13:9-12), cripples healed (3:6-10; 14:8-10), demons exorcised (16:16-18), and prison bonds broken (16:25-28). It is thrilling to know that many miracles still attend the proclamation of the gospel today, for God’s miracle-working power is still available to us today.
Revelation Gifts
The gifts of the Spirit in this group offer special divine insight when it is needed by a Spirit-filled believer. God’s knowledge is unlimited, and His understanding of every situation you face is perfect. By the revelation gifts He provides supernatural help when human understanding is inadequate.
We should emphasize that these gifts do not take the place of either natural or spiritual training. Spirit-filled believers need education, and they must faithfully study the Word of God, but there are times when a special revelation of the mind of God is needed. These bits of divine insight are provided by the spiritual gifts called discerning of spirits, the word of knowledge, and the word of wisdom.
Discerning of Spirits
The word discerning comes from a Greek word meaning “a judging through.” The Bible translation used for these lessons calls it “the ability to distinguish between spirits” (1 Corinthians 12:10).
Most of us are not aware of the great amount of spirit activity going on around us at all times. The gift of discerning or distinguishing between spirits allows a brief glimpse into this unseen realm and gives the Spirit-filled believer power to judge which spirit is being used. There are three areas of spirit activity that we need to identify:
1. The Spirit of God. God is Spirit, and we need to recognize when He is moving so that we can cooperate with Him. He moves through Spirit-filled believers who are yielded to Him, and sometimes He uses His angels, which are good spirits, to carry out His bidding.
2. Demon spirits. The book of Revelation speaks of demon spirits performing miracles in the last days (Revelation 16:14). There is much satanic activity today in the area of the occult and demon worship. The Spirit-filled Christian must be able to recognize the activities of demon spirits, or he might be deceived.
3. The human spirit. It is also possible that at times believers are led by their own spirit rather than the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit gives the ability to distinguish between spirits so that we can recognize whether a manifestation has come from Him, or is a demon spirit, or is of the flesh.
There are several examples of distinguishing between spirits in the New Testament. Jesus knew in advance that Judas would betray Him (John 13:21, 26). He recognized the trickery of Satan during His time of temptation (Luke 4:1-12), and He knew when Satan was the cause of sickness (Luke 4:33-35; John 5:14). Peter recognized that Simon was ruled by an evil spirit (Acts 8:18-23).
The gift of distinguishing between spirits will prevent us from being helpless victims of spiritual deception. This gift can operate only in and through a Spirit-filled believer (1 Corinthians 2:12-15). It is not to be confused with a critical spirit in the natural, which is of the flesh and not of the Spirit.
We gather very helpful insights into the intrusion of error in the early church from the First Epistle of John. Many antichrists, John says, went out from us (2:18-19). They denied both God and His Son (v. 22). Coming to the various bodies of believers these ungodly troublemakers tried to lead believers astray, undoubtedly feigning to give prophetic messages from God to the believers (v. 26, compare Revelation 2:14-16, 20-23; 3:9). John urges believers to test the spirits (4:1) to distinguish between the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood (4:6). He gives certain criteria for judging: 1) Do these people live uprightly, keep the law, and consciously try to avoid sinning? (3:4-10); 2) Do they love their brethren? (3:10); 3) Do they deny Christ’s incarnation? (2:22 and 4:2); 4) Do they maintain the sound doctrine proclaimed by the apostles? (2:18-19); 5) Do they share with the needs of their brethren? (3:16-20); 6) Do they listen to the apostles’ message? (4:6); 7) Do they obediently follow the Lord’s commands? (5:1- 3). The Lord of the church has given us criteria by which we can judge spiritual utterances and teaching. It is up to us to be sensitive to the Spirit within as we seek to distinguish between what is good and profitable and what is falsehood.
The Word of Knowledge
We have already learned that the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God. He can reveal God’s knowledge to you any time it is needed. It might be a prediction of the future, it might be something that is happening right now in another place that you need to know, or it might be something from the past that you need to recall. You will not be given the gift of knowledge so you will know all things, but only a word of knowledge at the time it is needed.
Have you ever felt the need to stop what you are doing and pray for another person who may be far away from you? Have you learned later that at the moment you prayed, the person was going through a crisis of some kind and needed your prayers? That is an example of the word of knowledge which the Holy Spirit gives to the Spirit-filled believer who is open to His leading.
An example of the gift of knowledge in the Old Testament is found in 2 Kings 6:9-10. The prophet Elisha, who was often called “the man of God,” warned the king of Israel not to pass by a certain place because he knew the enemy would be there. Verse 10 says, “Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.”
The Word of Wisdom
The Holy Spirit gives the word of wisdom to let you know what to do in a time of crisis. This is not merely human wisdom based on past experience, but a special wisdom given to meet a special need. It may or may not include the word of knowledge.
Here again, the gift is only a word of wisdom. This means that you receive wisdom from the Holy Spirit for a given situation. The word of wisdom is often needful for those in positions of church leadership. A word from the Holy Spirit can bring unity in board meetings and church business sessions. If you are called up before the councils of the world for judgment because of your faith in Christ, it is encouraging to know that the Holy Spirit will be with you and give you the wisdom that is necessary.
Acts 15 records the account of the council at Jerusalem, where the apostles and elders met to consider the question of whether the Gentile believers must be circumcised according to Jewish law. The gift of the word of wisdom is revealed in the letter which the church leaders sent to the Gentile believers, in which they stated: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: . . .” (Acts 15:28).