In this lesson, we are going to focus on the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. These gifts began to operate in the church when the Holy Spirit came with power on the day of Pentecost. These gifts were common and normal in the early church, and these gifts have grown in the church again in the last 120 years. There are nine of them, and we are going to talk about all of them in these messages.

We are going to talk about what these gifts are like and how they operate in the church. Let’s read 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. “Each person is given a special manifestation of the Spirit for the good of others. ⁸ To some God gives through the Spirit a message of wisdom; to others, through the same Spirit, a message of knowledge; ⁹ to others, faith through the same Spirit; to others, and through that same Spirit, gifts for healing the sick; ¹⁰ to others, miraculous powers; to others prophecy; to others discerning of spirits; to others speaking in different kinds of tongues; and to others interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All this is done by the one and the same Spirit, who distributes to each one individually as he determines.” (NIV)

Well, these nine gifts of the Spirit are to help and bless the church. They are from the Spirit. That is why it is not good to say, “I have this or that gift of the Spirit in my life,” but rather, “The Spirit has used me with this gift.” Some brothers have become filled with pride, thinking, “This gift is mine, and look how God uses me.” This is dangerous, because this gift is only from the Spirit. If we are used by one or more of the gifts, it is by the grace of God and not by our abilities. To be used and continue to be used by these gifts, you must always walk in humility. Sometimes people want to operate in these gifts to put on a show and for everyone to say, “Look what I’m doing.” No, gifts are only for the glory of God and to help His people. And as verse 7 says, it is for the good of others. And as verse 11 says, the Spirit distributes to each one as He determines. It is by His will and not by our will. And another important thing to know is that every gift of the Spirit is always in agreement with the Bible. If you hear a supposed word of wisdom or knowledge or prophecy that is not in agreement with the Bible, then it is not a true gift of the Spirit.

Something else to know is that all these gifts are supernatural by the Spirit, and not by our talent or wisdom. All of our gifts are directly from him.

The first gift on the list is the word of wisdom. This is a very necessary gift for the church today. It is a supernatural wisdom from the Spirit to make right decisions and to be led by this supernatural wisdom in matters of the church and our ministries and lives. A very good example is in Acts 15. All the leaders of the early church gathered in Jerusalem to discuss the issue of Gentiles being saved and filled with the Spirit. This was new, and they did not understand what to do. Should Gentiles obey Jewish law or not? Look at what the leader of the church in Jerusalem, James, said in Acts 15:19-21: “Therefore, I consider that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. ²⁰ Instead, we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.” ²¹ For Moses has had many followers throughout the nations since ancient times, and his message is preached in their synagogues every Sabbath.” (NIV) For me, this was a word of wisdom. Everyone else agreed, and this then became the practice in the early church regarding Gentile believers. This was more than human wisdom; it was a gift from God. What a blessing. And the Spirit can help your church and your life through this gift.

The second gift mentioned is the word of knowledge. This is when someone receives supernatural knowledge about a situation or what is happening in someone’s life. Sometimes it is to bless someone, and sometimes it is to warn them that they are not living well. There are many examples of this in the ministry of the apostles and in the life of our Lord. An example of this is in Acts 13 during Paul’s first missionary journey when he and Barnabas were ministering in Cyprus. Look at what Paul said to an evil man who was trying to hinder the message of the gospel. Acts 13:10-11, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all that is righteous! You are full of all kinds of deceit and fraud. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Now the hand of the Lord is against you; you will be blind, and for some time you will not see the light of the sun.” (NIV) This was supernatural knowledge from the Spirit about this person. Because he saw this, a leader there turned to the Lord. These gifts are always used to bring people to the Lord and strengthen them and the church.

We will continue with the other gifts in the next lesson. Thank God for these gifts. We must ask the Lord that they be at work in our lives and churches. We certainly need them today.