Spiritual Gifts

Content:

• Spiritual Gifts
• Agape Love
  
  

Spiritual Gifts 

Spiritual gifts are abilities given to believers that exceed our human, natural abilities. They are "supernatural" gifts from God, which enable us to function in a spiritual capacity. The gifts we have received differ among us depending on the grace we have received (1 Cor 12:29–30, Rom 12:6a, Heb 2:4b). They are given for the common good (1 Cor 12:4–7). They will always focus people's hearts on Jesus Christ when properly manifested according to Scripture. God’s gifts and his calling can never be withdrawn (Rom 11:29). It means that God doesn't take them away once they have been given. With that also comes responsibility.

Apostle Paul addresses spiritual gifts in the three chapters of 1 Cor 12–14:

• The use of spiritual gifts.
• Function of spiritual gifts.
• Misuse of spiritual gifts. 

There are three common but false reactions to spiritual gifts:

1. They are completely ignored in some churches by not talking about them.
2. They are relegated to a bygone era in the early church, which died out after the Apostolic Age and don't exist today. The reason for this is explained by the fact that the early church needed an extra power to get going in the beginning. But the spiritual gifts still exist, and will exist until Jesus returns, see below.
3. Some consider them demonic. See the note below.

Paul felt that spiritual gifts were a key to ministry (Rom 1:11, 1 Tim 4:14).
The Holy Spirit is the one who gives the gifts (1 Cor 12:11). He is an incredible
gentleman. He is also God, see The Trinity, which means he is perfect in order and peace (1 Cor 14:33a, 40, Col 2:5). Many churches that profess to operate in spiritual gifts use them in disorder. Spiritual gifts should give people peace, purpose, and understanding. See the meaning of 1 Cor 14:33a, 40 explained
in time 28:15–32:01 in 1 Corinthians 14 (Part 2) Order in the Church.

Boldness is a work of the Holy Spirit. Apostle Peter denied knowing Jesus three times, as Jesus predicted he would (Mark 14:30, 66–72). 50 days later he received boldness from the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1–11). A few days later, Peter and John heals
a crippled man by the power of God (Acts 3:1–10). The gifts of the Holy Spirit
don't prevent a person from facing difficulties, see Sanctification.

Paul mentions the following spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:8–10, 28):

1. The word of wisdom:
   Wisdom is the right use of facts. Knowledge without wisdom can be extremely dangerous. The word of wisdom is supernatural knowledge of how to deal with a problem that the person doesn't know himself (2 Kings 5:9–10). 
• "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
  fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:7). 
• "The fear of the Lord is the beginning (prerequisite) of wisdom,
  and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."
  (Proverbs 9:10, Psalm 111:10). 
• "The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,
  and humility comes before honor." (Proverbs 15:33). 
2. The word of knowledge:
   Knowledge is the accumulation of facts. The word of knowledge is supernatural knowledge of something or someone that a person doesn't know himself
   (Acts 8:22–23, John 1:47–48). It's used by Peter in Ananias and Sapphira.
   It neither adds nor contradicts Scripture. It's knowledge of God that is given at specific events but not every time it seems to be needed (2 Kings 4:27).
   
   
3. Faith:
   This isn't saving faith which is something that we choose to have. It's about believing in God's word, in God's promises, see How to Build Your Faith.
   An example is when a recipient of healing knows that the healing is to be manifested (Mat 9:20–22, 15:21–28, Mark 10:50–52, Acts 14:8–10). 
   Paul had it when he saw that a person had faith to be healed (Acts 14:9b).
   The gift of faith is many times related to healing (James 5:15a). 
   This kind of faith doesn't always come when, for example, healing people.
   
   
4. Gifts (plural) of Healing:
   It's about power to touch or pray in such a way for a person that he/she will be healed (James 5:14–15). Jesus called together the twelve apostles and gave them power and authority over all demons and to heal diseases
   (Luk 9:1–2a, 6, Mat 10:8, Acts 5:12–16). Paul healed people in Malta
   (Acts 28:8–9). Healing was an important part of their ministry. Many people are still being healed through prayer by all sorts of ailments. It hasn't ceased to exist. But healing is extraordinary and doesn't manifest every time it's practiced. This means that it can't heal everybody all the time, see time 30:11–33:17 in Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul - June 2023. These gifts can be used together with the gift of faith and healing is then more likely to happen.
   
   See also Can we expect physical healing every time we ask for it in
   Word of Faith Movement in the U.S.
   
   
5. Miracle powers:
   A miracle is something that is humanly impossible but divinely simple
   (Gen (1 Mos) 1:1, Acts 26:8), see Moses; Part 6: The First Nine Plagues.
   This includes casting out demons, raising the dead, exercising power over the elements. Jesus did such miracles, see Miracles of Jesus. Jesus even said that we as believers can perform the same kind of miracles and even greater ones
   (John 14:12–14). Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people (Acts 6:8). The danger with this gift is to use it for one's own personal glory and benefit (2 Kings 5:14–16, 
   Acts 3:11–16, 14:8–18). Many times will people react to the instrument used by God, instead of giving worship to God. It's therefore not an easy gift to have as it can corrupt a person. There are also charlatans who use deceptive means to make people believe they have this gift without having it.
   
   Salvation is a miracle because it's impossible to be saved by works. But what is impossible for man is possible for God (Mat 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luk 18:27).
   Salvation is only possible by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (John 14:6, 
   Eph 2:8–9). See Jesus and the Young Rich Man.
   
   The gift of faith and the gifts of healing are related to this gift. 
   These gifts can be seen as tied together. 
   
   
6. Prophecy:
   To prophesy means to speak a message from God through the anointing of the Holy Spirit, see this explained at time 41:08–42:49 in 
   Bible Q&A with Pastor Paul │February 2024. It contains forthtelling, to proclaim a message from God in the present (Acts 13:1–2, 1 Tim 4:14). It's addressed to people for their edification, encouragement, consolation, and for building up the church (1 Cor 14:3, 12). Sometimes it may contain a foretelling of a future event (Acts 11:27–28, 21:10–11), see time 43:42–45:22 in 
   Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │ August 2023. There are also prophecies with two parallel meanings called "The law of double reference", described in Visions and Dreams by Prophet Daniel.
   
   Prophecies should be given one at a time, so that all may learn and be encouraged (1 Cor 14:29–33). The spirits of the prophets are subordinate to the prophets, for God isn't a God of confusion but of peace (1 Cor 14:32–33a).
   Speaking prophesies doesn't take control over those who speak them.
   
   You have a thought, an inspiration that comes into your mind and you believe that it's an inspired thought of the Holy Spirit. And you want to share that thought, than you do it in the proportion of faith that you have (Rom 12:6b).
   People who give prophesies don't know the future except that God has revealed it to them. They have no power within them to see what's to come. See also To hear the voice of God in Psalm 131: I have quieted my soul. 
   
   God wants us to test every prophetic message we receive (1 John 4:1,
   Thess 5:20–21). These prophecies should be assessed and corrected according to God's Word, the Bible (Rev 22:18–19). The basis is that they agree with the word of God, that they don't contradict or change the revelations in the Bible. God doesn't give us a prophesy or an inspiration that is contrary to the written word. It should also be tested by letting the test of time play out to see if what they say really comes through. Finally, we test the prophet's own personal "fruit", that is, how they live (Mat 7:16). However, note that an accurate prophesy can be misinterpreted even by Christian believers, see the end part of Paul's Third Missionary Journey.
   
   The reasons why it's of great importance to test prophecies are as follows:
   
• Persons who give prophecies claim to speak by the Holy Spirit, who has different names, see Scripture Support in The Trinity.
• People who give accurate prophecies may add extra information that
  doesn't come from God but comes from the flesh. It's important to just prophecy the words of the Holy Spirit without adding anything.
• False prophesies exist from the flesh because of pride or lack of humility (Deu (5 Mos) 18:22), and require repentance from it. 
  It may be their own ideas and thoughts, which don't come from God.
• There are false prophets (Eze 13:3, Jer 14:14), see 
  Beware of false prophets in The Sermon on the Mount.
  
  
7. The ability to distinguish between spirits:
   There is a spiritual world that we can't discover in the natural. The evil spirits can manifest as angels of light, enabling a person to be deceived. God doesn't contradict himself. There is an example where lack of discernment cost the life of a prophet (1 Kings 13:15–26). Therefore, we need this gift, an ability to understand what's behind an event, whether it's from God or not (1 John 4:1).
   It can be an uncomfortable feeling that there is something not quite right about a person who seems to be saying the right things; 
   it could be a false apostle or a false prophet, see Beware of false prophets in The Sermon on the Mount. Paul illustrated this gift in Acts 16:16–18. 
   
   
8. Speaking in different types of tongues:
   This gift along with the next are the only spiritual gifts not manifested in the Old Testament. But it's promised in the Old Testament (Isaiah 28:11,
   1 Cor 14:21–22). Jesus also promised this gift (Mark 16:17b), see
   Was Mark 16:9–20 in the Original Text?
   
   It's speaking in a language that isn't your own or hasn't been taught. He who speaks in tongues doesn't understand what he is saying. It may be a known language (tongues of men, 1 Cor 13:1a), or it may be a dialect of Heaven
   (tongues of angels, 1 Cor 13:1b). You then speak not to men but to God, for no one understands you (1 Cor 14:2) (for the most part, see 
   The Gift of Tongues). The purpose is to help the believer in his prayer life and in his worship of God, and to build up the believer, see time 15:20–17:49 in Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │December 2023. The person speaking in tongues builds up himself (1 Cor 14:4a). It's also a sign not to believers but to unbelievers (1 Cor 14:22a, Acts 2:41), see The Gift of Tongues.
   
   But without interpretation, it's not meant to be used to make an unbeliever to a believer in a congregation (1 Cor 14:23). If people speak in tongues in a gathered group, they should do it one at a time, followed by interpretation.
   If there is no one to interpret, they should keep quiet in the group and speak in tongues only to themselves and to God (1 Cor 14:27–28). See time
   26:48–40:00 in 1 Corinthians 14 (Part 1) The Gift of Tongues Explained. 
   
   It's the only spiritual gift that builds up the one who exercises the gift.
   The other gifts build up people other than the person exercising it.
   
   It's addressed to God as a praise (1 Cor 14:16–17) or a prayer. If I pray in tongues, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful (1 Cor 14:14–15). When a believer speaks in tongues, he becomes an instrument of the 
   Holy Spirit, which means that it's then the Holy Spirit (who is merged in his spirit) who speaks, see Body, Soul, and Spirit in The Danger with Gnosticism. However, it is the believer who decides when to speak in tongues and it has nothing to do with emotions or ecstasy. See this explained at time 22:18–24:46 in 1 Corinthians 14 (Part 1) The Gift of Tongues Explained.
   
   There is a difference between praying in the Spirit (Eph 6:18, Jude 1:20, Rom 8:26–27) and praying with the spirit (or in tongues) 
   (1 Cor 14:14–15). Praying in the Spirit relies on the Holy Spirit to help, while praying with the spirit (or in tongues) is possible because of the 
   Holy Spirit. Both are spiritual prayers. 
   
   Praying with the spirit (or in tongues) means praying in harmony with God's will. The benefits of doing so are that you can be sure that your prayers are according to God's will. It eliminates selfishness as the primary motive behind the prayers. It also enables you to pray for things that you have forgotten to pray for. It provides the opportunity to give God the full expression of the praise and thanks that you feel in the spirit but have difficulty expressing because of the limitations of human language.
   
   Praying in the Spirit is crying out from my soul when I am at a loss for words and don't know what to say before the Lord. Then the Holy Spirit prays for me with groanings that words can't express, without speaking in tongues.
   
   Speaking in tongues is biblical, see it explained in The Gift of Tongues.
   
   
9. Interpretation of tongues:
   When you speak in tongues, you are not speaking to men, you are speaking to God. The purpose of an interpretation is so that other people can understand and benefit from what has been spoken to God in tongues. This means that if the message is to God, it's an interpretation (1 Cor 14:2), but if it's to men, it's not an interpretation but a prophecy, see time 11:58–14:27 in 
   1 Corinthians 14 (Part 1) The Gift of Tongues Explained.
   
   Interpretations of dreams in the Old Testament, see Joseph, the Son of Jacob, can be seen as similar to this gift but are directed to man, see the times: 
   

• 42:57–43:45 in Bible Q&A with Pastor Paul │February 2024.
  
• 10:23–17:02 in DAVID GUZIK SERMON ON GENESIS 40 . . ..
  
  

Note: The False Prophet at the Tribulation period will imitate spiritual gifts through counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders (Rev 13:13–14a, 19:20a), see

Who is the End Time Antichrist? He will counterfeit the originals that are from God. This also happens in our time (Acts 16:16–17). See also: "Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice."(James 3:16). We shouldn't use spiritual gifts in disorder or be afraid of these gifts, because God is a God of order and peace (1 Cor 14:33a, 40, Col 2:5).

Paul also mentions the following gifts needed in a congregation (Rom 12:6–8):

1. Serving:
   To serve, enhance, and help (Rom 12:7a, 1 Cor 12:28c), see the role of a deacon in The Book of Timothy. This work is often done quietly, without being noticed or recognized. God has a purpose for everyone in the Body of Christ
   (1 Cor 12:15–27), see Who is the Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?
   This work should therefore be done as for the Lord and not as for man.
   What we do for the Lord we should do cheerfully or not at all.
    
2. Teaching:
   Explaining the word of God, to help the people who listen to it and to apply it in their lives (Rom 12:7b, 1 Cor 12:28b). It's not the same as preaching, which is proclaiming the gospel, and is more for the unconverted. Teaching is more for those who have already converted to bring them to a state of maturity. A teacher needs the help of the Holy Spirit, his enlightenment and power over the word of God to better explain his word (Acts 4:7–8, 6:9–10).
   
   
3. Exhorting:
   To exhort and encourage the people in the body of Christ (Rom 12:8a).
   It's tied to the gift of prophecy (1 Cor 14:3 (NKJV), Acts 15:32 (NKJV)).
   We should exhort one another (Heb 3:13). It should give hope to people
   (1 Tim 4:13, Titus 2:15), see Hope in Faith, Hope, and Agape Love.
   
   Apostle Peter exhorted the elders to shepherd God's flock willingly,
   not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over the entrusted 
   for them, but as examples to the flock (1 Pet 1:1–4). 
   James, Jesus' half-brother, is the classic exhorter, see The Book of James.
   
   The purpose of this gift is that we may abound more in the things of God 
   (1 Thess 4:1 (NKJV)). It's important because many people don't live up to what they know is right. They need a nudge in love to do the right thing.
   
   
4. Giver:
   Be able to contribute in generosity (Rom 12:8b). The principles of giving in the New Covenant are described at the end part of The Book of Corinthians.
   
   
5. Lead:
   To lead with zeal and passion (Rom 12:8c, 1 Cor 12:28d). See the qualifications required for a pastor/elder/overseer in The Book of Timothy.
   It's a great responsibility to represent God to the people, see
   To Fear the Lord in Fear of Man. It's not about lording over people
   (Mat 20:25–27). See examples of bad and good leadership at the end of
   The Book of John.
   
   
6. Merciful:
   Showing mercy and compassion (Rom 12:8d). It's often an act of sacrifice
   to help needy people who need to be done with cheerfulness.
   Job’s three friends came to him but didn't show him mercy in The Book of Job. See Examples where mercy triumphs over laws and regulations at the end of The Book of Ruth. Jesus offered mercy, acceptance, and grace that triumphs over following rules and regulations even in the Law (Hosea 6:6,
   Mat 9:13, 12:3–8), see the definition of Grace and Mercy in God's Attributes. 
   As Christians we are commanded to be merciful (Luk 6:36),
   see Do not judge others in The Sermon on the Mount.

We should especially desire the higher spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:31). When we gather, there are some gifts that are more important to function than others, because they build up the gathered group. These are especially prophesy and Bible-based teaching (1 Cor 14:1, 5, 19, 23–25). In smaller groups, it can also be interpretation of tongues, words of knowledge, and words of wisdom (1 Cor 14:13). 

A focus when coming together is Bible-based teaching (1 Cor 14:19).

As born again Christians, we all belong to the same body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13, 

Rom 12:4–5). Jesus is the head of the body (Col 1:18). The body of Christ represents Jesus on Earth. God has arranged the members of the body as he has chosen (1 Cor 12:18a). God has put the body together and gives greater honor to the part that lacked it, so that there is no division in the body, and so that the members have the same care for one another (1 Cor 12:24b–25), see Unity.

Agape Love 

In Greek there are four main uses of the word love:

• Eros:
  Passionate and romantic love between the sexes. Gives the word erotic.
  See Song of Solomon.
• Phileo/philia:
  Brotherly love. A love between friends. (John 11:1, 3).
• Storge:
  Family love. Not used in the New Testament.
• Agape/agapao:
  Unconditional love. It's the highest form of love. Most love is self-directed, but not agape. It's a choice to love that way. That's how God loves us. 
  God has chosen to love us in this way, no matter what (Eph 2:4–5).
  This is also the way we are called to love one another (John 13:34).
  This is also how a husband should love his wife (Eph 5:25). Agape love
  is beyond us, not possible for us to achieve in our own strength.
  We need the Holy Spirit to work it out in us. 

The Greek word agape is used for love in 1 Cor 13: 

The defining element in exercising spiritual gifts should be agape love 

(1 Cor 13:1–3). We should strive for agape love (1 Cor 14:1a).
"These three remain: faith, hope and love (agape). But the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor 13:13), see Faith, Hope, and Agape Love. 

Agape love has many advantages: Agape love is patient, it's kind. It doesn't envy, it doesn't boast, it's not proud. It doesn't dishonor others, it's not self-seeking, it's not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongdoing. Agape love doesn't delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It protects, trusts, hopes, and always perseveres.
(1 Cor 13:4–7).

Faith and hope in Jesus won't be needed when Jesus returns, because then we will see him with our eyes (Heb 11:1, Rom 8:24). Agape love never ends, but spiritual gifts do (1 Cor 13:8). Agape love continues forever. Spiritual gifts will disappear when "the perfect comes" (1 Cor 13:9–10):

1. Then we shall see face to face (1 Cor 13:12a).
2. Then we will know as God knows us
   (1 Cor 13:12b, Isaiah 11:9, Psalm 139:1–4).

To compare with the article Listen to Jesus.

Spiritual gifts still exist because this hasn't yet happened. They will exist until Jesus returns, see The Millennial Kingdom and the Great White Throne Judgement.

See also The Book of Corinthians.

See also Some stories close related to the gospels at the end of 
The Four Gospels.