Spiritual Gifts

I Corinthians 12:1-31 – Spiritual Gifts

Our morning devotion text this day was taken from I Corinthians 12.  As a family, we have a habit of reading a whole chapter during morning devotion.  After reading, starting from the youngest, everyone shares at least one verse that ministers to him or her.  The leader or any other member of the group can add to any contribution made to enrich the lessons.  Thereafter, the whole family pray-in the lessons/instructions passed from the Lord.  This is apart from the 7-fold prayer pattern the Holy Ghost gave us to follow as a family.  So, this fateful day, the Holy Spirit communicated some lessons to us from I Corinthians 12 about the nature and manifestation of spiritual gifts.  The lessons are so profound I felt compelled to share some of them with the larger body of Christ through this medium.  It was further impressed on me that I would be sharing this on a more regular basis [not necessarily daily], as the Holy Ghost prompts.  It is like a diary or record of the core lessons the Holy Ghost has been teaching us over time, hence the tag, ‘Divine Diary’.  I pray that these truths, as it is ordained, will not only set you free, but will also set you ablaze for Jesus.  So you will set your world ablaze for Him – after the order of Bro. Paul in the bible. Did He not make His Ministers flames of fire [Heb 1:7]?

Now, let us proceed to the lessons He taught us from I Corinthians 12:

1.       The Holy Ghost want us [the Church of Christ] to know more about spiritual gifts – I Cor. 12:1

2.       The Holy Ghost want us [the Church of Christ] to know that there are diversities or varieties of gifts – I Cor. 12:4

3.       The gifts could be categorised into two: Spontaneous [Manifestation] Gifts [I Cor. 12:7-10] and Permanent [Ministry] Gifts  – [I Cor. 12:28-30]. The list here is not exhaustive, even for the spontaneous gifts.  As you weed through the bible you will see more.  Know this, any skill or ability that the Holy Ghost can use to save or edify souls qualifies as a spiritual gift ... think along this line.  Consequently, seemingly secular gifts like football, dancing, drawing, acting [etc], when submitted to the Holy Ghost, could turn out to be powerful spiritual gifts.  God cannot be limited.

4.       No one is left out in the distribution of these gifts.  Hear Him, ‘but the manifestations of the Spirit is given to everyone to profit withal’ – I Cor 12:7,11.

5.       Our profiting or prosperity in life is tied to the loving use of these spiritual gifts – I Cor 12:7.  Remember the parable of talents too [Matthew 25].  To neglect these gifts, for any reason in the world, is to rob ourselves of profit and true prosperity in life.  It is the significance of this point that actually prompted me to start this sharing.

6.       Surprisingly, a close study of the operations in many churches today tends to show that these spiritual gifts are either being neglected or suppressed.  While a number of believers barely understand the concepts of the various spiritual gifts [e.g. word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits etc], some Church leaders hardly allow the few who are prompted by the Holy Ghost to manifest these gifts to freely do so.  The common fear is ‘abuse’.  Now we know that virtually everything in life can be abused, even the natural food we eat. So, do I, out of fear of abusing food, stop eating outright?  The benefit of encouraging the regular use of these spiritual gifts in the body of Christ far outweighs the damage its abuse might cause.  Interestingly, the abuse can even be reduced to the barest minimum with good teachings.  This, therefore, is part of the essence of this blog.  For the body of Christ to effectively and timely fulfil the prophecies and endtime agenda of God, it is imperative the spiritual gifts of its members be stirred/ignited.  Bro Paul told Bro Timothy, ‘stir up the gift of God, which  is in thee – II Tim 1:6.  It must be holistic to be effective. See Ephesians 4;7-16 ... The Apostle alone cannot do bring the Body of Christ to perfection; neither can the Prophet, Evangelists, Teachers or Pastors alone.  The strength of the Church of Christ is in unity [Psa. 133; Gen 11:6; and Jn. 17 – the Lord’s last prayers].  Every joint must supply something – the virtue of its gifting [Eph. 4:11-16]

7.       Also understand that the major difference between the Spontaneous gifts and Ministry gifts is that that the latter are virtually permanent.  God cannot ‘repent’ [i.e. change His mind] on these gifts.  See Lucifer and the fallen angels.  Their spiritual gifts are still with them.  The Ministry gifts, therefore, are under the direct control of ‘the Gifted’.  However, when such submits and collaborates with the Holy Ghost, the operation of Ministry gifts becomes more explosive and effectual.  The Spontaneous Gifts, however, are under the direct control of the Holy Spirit.  That is why they are called ‘the Manifestations of the Spirit’. The Holy Ghost ‘divides or distributes to every man severally as He will’- I Cor. 12:11. Those who, through knowledge and obedience, have entered into deeper fellowship with the Holy Ghost have greater tendency of manifesting Him more. Congregations that understand, obey and celebrate the Holy Ghost more through concerted worship also have greater tendency of enjoying His manifestations.  Take time to meditate on these key points and apply them.  You will surely have testimonies pretty soon.

8.       Now, let us start with the Spontaneous Gifts – Manifestations of the Holy Spirit.  Nine (9) manifestations of the Holy Spirit are listed in I Cor. 12:8-10.  They are: Word of wisdom, word of knowledge, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, divers kinds of tongues and interpretation of tongues.  In the following sections, the meaning and purpose of these gifts will be explained.  This is the essential starting point.  Until you truly know the meaning and purpose of these gifts, you can hardly operate them well without abuse.