
Gifts, Spiritual
Romans 12:6-8 " Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness." 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."
Ephesians 4:11-12 "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:"
- Breakdown Of The Spiritual Gifts By Their Original Language Construction:
- Gifts Of Administration (Diakonia) Are Gifts Which Are Necessary For The Earthly Leadership Of The Body Of Christ.
- Gifts Of Operation (Energea) Are The Working Gifts Necessary For The Continued Operation Of The Church On Earth. These Gifts Are Broken Down Into Two Sub-Categories:
- Characteristic Gifts Are Gifts That Are An Amplification Of Some Human Trait That Is Used To Edify The Body Of Christ.
- Non-Characteristic Gifts Are Gifts Unique To The Body Of Christ.
- Temporal Gifts Were Gifts Given For A Specific Reason By God To The Church. Once The Reason Was Fulfilled, The Gifts Became Inactive.
- Of The Sixteen Gifts Given To The Church, By Paralleling Scripture We Can Arrive At The Following Lists:
- Gifts Of Administration:
- Ruling, Eldership
- Apostleship (A Temporal Gift)
- Gifts Of Operation:
- Characteristic Gifts:
- Exhortation, Evangelism
- Giving
- Mercifulness
- Faith
- Wisdom
- Knowledge
- Non-Characteristic Gifts:
- Ministry
- Pastor, Teacher
- Working Of Miracles
- Discerning Of Spirits
- Non-Characteristic Gifts (Temporal):
- Prophecy
- Tongues
- Interpretation Of Tongues
- Healing
- General Attributes Of All Spiritual Gifts:
- No One Gift Is More Important Than The Other: 1 CO 12.14-18
- Gifts Are Never Talents. A Talent Is Imparted By Birth, Often Some Inherited Trait From A Parent. Spiritual Gifts Come From The Holy Spirit Alone.
- The Gifts Were Given To Specifically Edify (Build Up) The Body Of Christ, Not To Uplift Just The User Of The Gift: 1 CO 12.7-11
- Though The Gift As Given By The Spirit Is Permanent To The Believer, He May Lose The Ability To Utilize The Gift Due To Sin In His Life: RO 11.29
- The Gift Is Under The Control Of The One It Was Given To: 1 CO 14.27-32
- The Gift Is To Be Exercised Based On The Principles Of Love: 1 CO 13.1-2
Gifts, A Breakdown Analysis Of The
- Prophecy: To Foretell The Future. This Gift Ended With The Completion Of The New Testament Canon, As Noted In Revelation 22.18. Vincent Said, "In The New Testament, As In The Old, The Prominent Idea Is Not Prediction But The Inspired Delivery Of Warning, Exhortation, Instruction, And Making Manifest The Secrets Of The Heart.."
- Ministry (Diakonia): Refers To Serving, Service, And Helps. A General Gift Of Aiding Others In The Church.
- Exhortation/ Evangelism (Paraklesis): The Ability To Implore, Speak In Oration, Or Challenge Someone Within The Church. The Greek Word Is Also Used Of Comforting Believers.
- Pastor/ Teacher (Poimen Didaskalos): One Who Shepherds Or Guides The Church Through Instruction From The Word Of God.
- Healing: As An Individual Gift, This Was Superceded By The Laying On Of Hands In James 5.14-15. Though God Has The Authority To Give The Gift Of Healing, He Decreed It Be Temporal, And It's Individual Use Was Confined To The Time Of The Apostles.
- Working Of Miracles (Energea Dunamis): Inherent And Dynamic Miraculous Power Used To Change, Modify, Or Redirect The Forces Of Nature So As To Exhibit The Power Of God. SEE JO 11.43; 6.11; AC 5.1-10; 3.1-10
- Discerning Of Spirits (Diakrisis) Could Have Been Used For:
- Determining The Spiritual State Of Other Believers: AC 5.1-10
- Determining Whether One Is Demon Possessed: AC 16.16-18
- Giving (Metadidomai): One Who Gives Of Self To A Supernatural Degree.
- Mercifulness (Eleeo): One With A Supernatural Degree Of Compassion And Operational Mercy.
- Wisdom (Sophia): The Ability To Effectively Use Knowledge On A Divine Level. Usually Accompanied With The Gift Of Knowledge.
- Knowledge (Gnosis): The Ability To Learn Or To Concentrate Toward Learning, The Capacity To Learn Spiritual Things.
- Faith (Pistis): Persuasion, Moral Conviction, Reliance In, Constancy In Profession, Assurance In God To A Supernatural Degree.
- Tongues:
- Were Not A Learned Gift: AC 2.4-8
- Were Not A Heavenly, But Were An Earthly Language: AC 2.8
- Were Never For Self Gratification Or Self Edification, But Were Used To Build Up The Body Of Christ: 1 CO 14.13-15
- Always Accompanied With The Gift Of Interpretation Of Tongues: 1 CO 14.27-32
- Warned Israel Of Coming Divine National Discipline: AC 2
- Were Never Meant To Be An Evidence Of The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit: 1 CO 12.29-30; 12.12-13
- Interpretation Of Tongues (Hermenia)
- Ruling, Eldership, Bishop (Episkope): The Inspector, Superintendent, Or Earthly Leader Over The Local Body Of Christ. The Elder Must Possess The Gift Of Teaching (1 TI 3.2).
- Apostleship (Apostolos): Messenger Or Ambassador Of God. Responsible For Initiating The Earthly Body Of Christ, The Church (Eph 2.19-20). A Temporal Gift As All Apostles Had A Direct Commission From Christ To This Position.
Tongues, A Breakdown On The Spiritual Gift Of
There are few doctrines that cause hotter debate than that of the Spiritual Gifts, in particular the Gift of Tongues. Believers that have been exposed to the "operation of the Gift" in particular holiness denominations will argue to the end about it's veracity in the Church today. Other believers will have experienced what they believe is the gift of tongues in congregations that teach that the gift must be learned. As you study the scriptures you will find out that no spiritual gift can be earned, much less learned. Spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit as He decrees in the Church. Yet others believe that tongues is a special dispensational interface between God and man, allowing the user to possess and use a special type of prayer that sets him apart from other believers. As you study the scriptures you will find that there is no Biblical doctrine that even hints at a prayer tongue. Such a use of a spiritual gift builds up the individual believer, which is contrary to what God teaches tongues (as well as all the gifts) were given for. All gifts were given to build up the whole Church, not just individual members of that congregation. A Christian's foundation of faith must be "What saith the Scripture". The Scripture does not teach:
- My experience is the basis of Truth.
- The Baptism of the Spirit is evidenced by the phenomenon of speaking in tongues.
- Tongues are given to me as a personal prayer language.
- All believers have the ability to speak in tongues.
- Tongues are an angelic, heavenly language, not an earthly language.
- Tongues are a gift to be sought after above all other gifts.
If you can approach this study with the attitude of "what saith the Scripture", you will understand God's gift of tongues.
- The Teachings Of The Scripture Are The Only Basis Of Truth.
- The Filling Ministry Of The Holy Spirit Is Evidenced By The Exercise Of Any Spiritual Gift, Not Just Tongues: AC 2.4
- The Baptising Ministry Of The Holy Spirit Is Given To Each Believer At The Point Of Salvation: 1 CO 12.13; RO 6.3-9; COL 2.9-12; GAL 3.26-28
- The Baptism Of The Spirit Is A Necessary Non-Experiential Ministry That Unites Us With Christ, Bringing Us Into The State Of "Adopted Sons Of God".
- Tongues Cannot Be A Personal Prayer Language. All Spiritual Gifts Were Given To Edify The Body Of Christ: 1 CO 12.7
- The Gifts Were Never Given By God To Edify Or Build Up Only A Part Of The Body: 1 CO 14.12-15
- The Corinthian Church Was Not Following God's Plan In Utilizing The Spiritual Gifts. The Church Was Carnal, And Abusing That Which God Offered In Grace: 1 CO 3.1-3; 5.1-5; 6.1-8; 11.17-30
- If Tongues Were A Prayer Interface To God Then, By God's Laws Of Grace, We Would Expect All Believers To Speak In Tongues. All Believers Do Not, Nor Are They Expected To, Speak In Tongues: 1 CO 12.14-19
- In The Original Greek Language Of 1 Co 12.29-31, The Greek Negative Me Is Used To Show The Diversity Of The Spiritual Gifts.
- The King James Reads: "12:29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? 12:30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?"
- The Literal Greek Translation Of This Text, Which Is Stronger, Reads: "12.29 All are not apostles, are they? all are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All do not work miracles, or possess the gift of healing do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?"
- Paul Used Simple Terms To Communicate A Simple Doctrine To Backslidden And Carnal Corinthian Believers. All Do Not Speak With Tongues, Do They?
- Tongues Was And Is A Supernatural Ability Given By God To Man To Speak In A Language Not Normally Your Own. It Is An Earthly Language And Was Given To The Early Church To Aid In Evangelization: Ac 2.4-13; 1 CO 14.22
- Tongues Are The Least Of All Spiritual Gifts. They Are Only Listed In One Out Of The Three Spiritual Gift Lists: 1 CO 12.29-31
- They Are Specifically Listed As Inferior To The Other Spiritual Gifts: 1 CO 14
- They Are An Incomplete Gift, As The Gift Of Interpretation Of Tongues Must Accompany Tongues In Order To Be Effective: 1 CO 14.26-28
- The Operational Gift Of Tongues Was Prophetically Given To Israel To Warn Of Impending Divine Discipline: ISA 28.7-13
- Tongues Will Be Allowed As An Operational Gift During The Millinial Reign Of Christ: JOEL 2.18-32
- Tongues In This Present Church Age Have No Biblical Basis For Normal Use Other Than For Evangelization: 1 CO 14.26-33
- With The Closing Of The Scriptural Canon, Prophecy, Tongues, And Interpretation Of Tongues Were No Longer Necessary For The Edification Of The Body Of Christ: REV 22.18-19
Tongues, Doctrine Of (PART TWO)
- The Prophecy Of Tongues Was A Warning Of Discipline To Israel: Isa 28.7-11
- God's Warnings To The Wayward Nation Were Increasingly More Harsh: LEV 26.14-32
- The Phenomenon Of Tongues Was Exercised In An Earthly, Not Heavenly, Language: AC 2.8-11
- Tongues Were Meant To Be A Sign To Unbelievers Only, To Evangelize And Spread The Gospel: AC 2.14-41; 1 CO 14.21-22
- Tongues Were The Only Gift Regulated In The Early Church: 1 CO 14.22-28
- Tongues Acted As A Visible Sign Of The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit Only When The Church First Received That Ministry: AC 10.44-46; 19.2-7
- Tongues, As With All Gifts, Are Actually Signs Of The Filling Of The Holy Spirit: AC 2.4
- When The Canon Of Scripture Was Completed Certain Prophetic Gifts, To Include The Gift Of Tongues, Were Phased Out Except In Special Instances: 1 CO 13.8-10
- Satan Can Use Emotionalism And False Experiences To Deceive The Christian, And Detract From The True Teachings Of Scripture: 2 THES 2.7-12; ISA 8.18-19; ISA 29.4
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