When you are given a gift that has your name written on the gift-tag, it is yours because it has your name on it. So it is with the spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12.
Let’s look at scripture and practical ways we can use these gifts every day to give God glory.
Here are five key statements:
- “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant”. (1 Cor. 12:1). The author wants us to be informed.
- “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit”. (1 Cor. 12:4). There are different gifts, but they all come from the one Spirit.
- “There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord”. (1 Cor. 12:5. Because of our different personalities and the different ways we look at things, we will use these gifts in a different way, but the same Lord is behind them.
- “And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all”. (1 Cor. 12:6). The word “activities” in the Greek means “operation”. In other words people with the same gift may operate differently, but it is the same God.
- “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all”. (1 Cor. 12:7). Here is the exciting statement! These gifts are given to every one of us in order that everyone may profit by them.
My experience has been that these spiritual gifts operated in my life in a very limited way when I became a Christian, but it took the baptism in the Holy Spirit to really unlock them in my life. I’ve seen in the Bible evidence for an experience called the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When this happened in the book of Acts, the disciples began to have huge impact in the community. In the life of Jesus, it was after the Holy Spirit came upon Him that He began His ministry.
The last key statement contains the word “manifestation”. A manifestation is something that we can see and experience. So these gifts are a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
The gifts fall into three categories: Gifts of revelation, inspiration and power.
They are gifts. They are not dependant on character, but they are given by the grace of God. In this way they differ from ministry gifts, which do require character. A spiritual gift operating in a person does not make him godly or indicate any particular spirituality.
Practical Ways To Use These Spiritual Gifts:
The first gift mentioned in 1 Cor. 12 is a word of wisdom. God’s wisdom is simple and practical. James clearly tells us if we lack wisdom, we can ask God for it and He will give it to us. (James 1:5). We see an example of this when Jesus, a carpenter, shows fishermen how to fish.
I have experienced this many times in my life when I have not known what to do and God has shown me His wisdom on how to be a parent, a husband, a pastor, or helped me in many other things. He has also given me wisdom for others.
The next gift is word of knowledge. This is where God shows you something about a person or situation to resolve it or bring about God’s will.
I sat next to a woman one day and God showed me that she was wearing a charm around her neck, given to her by her boyfriend on her 21st birthday. God showed me her life had been miserable from that day forward because the item was cursed. When I revealed this information to her she confirmed it. She became a Christian and got set free from the curse, because she knew only God knew about that.
Next there is the gift of faith. Miraculous faith is when God speaks to us, and we act on it and something miraculous occurs. When we speak a word of faith then we create something.
Then there are gifts of healings. Both the gifts and the healings are plural. My understanding of this is that sometimes people operate in a healing gift with a specific emphasis. I know in my life that when I have prayed for people with back and neck problems they have been healed. I see other healings as well, but this seems to be a gift that has been given to me.
The working of miracles. God wants to bring supernatural power through ordinary people to prove who He is and to reveal His glory. I have been privileged in my life to see many miracles. All of them have been special. One time in a slum as I was feeding the children, God multiplied the bread buns in my hand so that every child could have one.
Paul goes on to talk about prophecy. This is nothing to do with the office of the prophet, but ordinary people speaking out the revelation of God to encourage, exhort, comfort, maybe even give some direction. Remember we prophesy in part, and it does not pay to try and interpret everything; leave it to God.
Our next one is discerning of spirits. This can operate in a couple of ways: In a supernatural form when you discern what spirits are doing, and closely aligned with this, in the natural, when you discern what spirit a person is operating from, like bitterness, unforgiveness etc.
Then comes the gift of tongues. (Note this is different from speaking in tongues as an evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as in Acts 2.) The gift of tongues is a vocal gift that brings a message from God to the assembled people and requires an interpretation (not a translation).
The last gift is the interpretation of tongues, where God gives someone the sense of what cannot be understood in the natural. (On the other hand, when someone speaks in a tongue as in Acts 2, no interpretation is required as people understand what is being said. It is a language.)
We need to remember it is the same Spirit and He distributes to each as He wills. Our responsibility is to desire the gifts and operate in them.
Blessings,
Geoff Wiklund