Gifts Of The Spirit
One of the biggest misunderstandings among Christians today is about the gifts of the Spirit. People want to be recognized for their own unique gift and contribution to the body of Christ. Unfortunately this often leads to people being puffed up with vanity because they believe they are uniquely gifted with an ability to prophecy or teach or heal or evangelize or whatever. I have met some Christians (and I’m sure you have too) who will let you know in a New York minute that they are a PROPHET. And, they are very proud of that fact. Others gloat over being a teacher or evangelist, some even claim Apostleship. And many times you can just see that they are exalted in their flesh man because God in His mercy has used them in this way and operated this gift through them.
On the other hand, some Christians are so humble. You hear them say things like, “I don’t know what my gift is. I guess it is just to minister financially or give a word of encouragement here and there.” They are so meek. In fact in their heart they may be thinking, “Yes, my gift is to show meekness and humility.” And so even they are exalted and lifted up in their carnal minds because of their willingness to just be meek and humble. Or, what may be just as bad is if people who don’t appear to have any special gift get all depressed and feel useless and worthless because they feel they have nothing to contribute.
Are these attitudes Godly? Is this what God intended? I’m not saying this is the case in every circumstance, but I am saying that the traditional view of the “Gifts of the Spirit” tends to foster these feelings, beliefs, and attitudes.
Is God really a respecter of persons? He says He is not (Acts 10:34). Does God really pick and choose those to whom He wants to give special gifts while spurning others as unworthy and undeserving? How come some people, even after receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, do not immediately operate in any recognizable “Gifts of the Spirit”, but after growing and developing in Christ they do?
Perhaps we should reexamine the teaching on the “Gifts of the Spirit”.
In I Corinthians 12: we find the principal teaching on the "Gifts of the Spirit". In verse 1, the scripture states: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” God definitely wants us to understand the truth about spiritual gifts, because they are part of who He is and as a result are part of us because His Spirit dwells in us.
Verses 4 and 5 state: “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.”
Diversities of gifts, of course, means that there are many different gifts, but they are all part of the same Spirit and that is the spirit of God. The different "Gifts of the Spirit" are all part of God, of who He is. He is healer, prophet, miracle worker, evangelist, teacher, etc. All these things are different aspects of who God is.
The same is true with each of us. I have certain talents and abilities. I am a writer, musician, teacher, etc. I also used to be a car dealer, and worked on computers a lot. Now, here is something which is important to understand about the "Gifts of the Spirit". If I walk into a room, and someone is singing but they have no accompaniment, then I become Stuart Hallmark the musician and I pick up a guitar and play along as needed. If I walk into a room and find someone has need of a new or used car, then I become Stuart Hallmark the car dealer and assist that person in that way. If I walk into a room and someone is having trouble performing a function on their computer, then I become Stuart Hallmark the computer technician. Do you see? Whatever special talent or “gift” is needed at the time, that is what I operate in.
Now, is it possible for me to come into the room and just be Stuart Hallmark the musician and leave Stuart Hallmark the car dealer and writer, and computer technician outside? Of course not. When I come into the room, everything I am comes in as well. I am who I am, and I cannot leave part of me outside. But I can operate in the talent or ability that is needed at that particular moment. Likewise, when the Spirit of God comes into us, does God leave part of Himself outside? Does He come into you just as the prophet and leave teacher, evangelist, healer, etc. outside? No! But since His Spirit is in you, everything that He is goes with you everywhere you go. If you encounter someone who needs teaching, then the Spirit of God becomes the teacher and teaches through you. If you encounter someone who needs healing, then the Spirit of God becomes the healer, and heals through you. Whatever "Gift of the Spirit" is needed at the time, that is what operates. That is, if we have the faith to let it flow through us. All the gifts are operated by faith.
See, verse 5 says there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. Just as I am only one person, but may perform different operations and administer different gifts as the need arises, it is the same God that performs all the operations of the "Gifts of the Spirit".
Now note that verse 6 states: “And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which works all in all.” How much plainer can it be? There are many different gifts and operations, but it is the same God which operates (or works) ALL THE ADMINISTRATIONS AND OPERATIONS, OR “GIFTS”, IN EVERYBODY!! If you are a Christian, then you undoubtedly believe that God is in you. If He is, then everything He is, is in you and can potentially operate through you.
This being the case, then why does it appear that one person seems to operate almost exclusively as a prophet and not as a teacher or healer while another seems to operate in healing and not in some other area or gift. Part of the reason is that some people have certain innate physical abilities which makes them prone to allow that operation to flow through them more easily than another. Why does Albert Pujols play baseball and hit so many homeruns whereas I don’t? He has a natural physical ability to play baseball well and hit homeruns. I also have the potential to play baseball and hit homeruns, in fact I used to, but I did not work at and develop that potential and ability the way Albert Pujols did. But, I could probably wear him out on a typing keyboard, because I have developed that ability. Albert Pujols has the potential to type and be as good as I am on the keyboard, but he would have to have the desire to do so and he would have to have the faith that he could do it, and finally he would have to work at it and practice. Certain people have the natural ability to speak well in public. Therefore, it is more likely that a person with this natural ability, and the resulting confidence and faith it would inspire, to operate in the gift of teacher or evangelist. Could that little old 70 year old lady sitting in the back row of the church teach or evangelize? Of course she could. If she came in contact with someone who needed to have Jesus in their life, by faith she could evangelize and tell them about Jesus and pray with them. If someone needed to understand something about God she could also teach. For with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! Even Jesus proclaimed that it was the Father in Him that did the works.
It is also true that certain people operate in some of the more spiritual gifts, such as prophecy, more than others. And for this reason even in the New Testament Church these people were labeled as prophets. Some people tend to operate in healing or prophesying on a regular basis whereas others don’t operate in those gifts at all. Does that mean that those that don’t operate in those gifts do not have those gifts available if needed? No. But some people have developed more spiritually in those areas. That is, when an individual comes to understand that God is our healer and He wants to heal us and they get the revelation that God can and will operate through them; then their faith and understanding is developed and released in this area. As a result, you will see people being healed much more often when prayed for by these people than by others. It is a matter of spiritual development, revelation of God and His Word, and understanding which produces faith and allows for a certain gift to more readily flow through one individual than another.
To further illustrate, we see that part of the problem with the Corinthian church is that they were all highly developed in the operation of the "gifts of the Spirit" and were all trying to operate in the gifts at the same time and it was causing confusion in their church meetings. Look at I Corinthians 14: 26. “How is it then, brethren? When you come together, every one of you has a psalm, has a doctrine, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.” When you read through this account you will see that they were ALL speaking in tongues or operating in the gift of tongues. In verse 31 Paul tells them that they may ALL prophecy, just take turns doing it, and while one is prophesying, then everyone else should shut up and listen, learn, and be comforted. Note that he doesn’t say to only allow “the prophet” to prophecy, or just let “the teacher”, or preacher, give a revelation.
Back in I Corinthians 12: where Paul was talking about the gifts of the Spirit, we left off in verse 6. Now, let’s look at the next verse: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” Notice that the manifestation of the Spirit is GIVEN TO EVERY MAN for his and everyone else’s good.
Verse 8: “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 works that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man as he will.”
Perhaps the above scriptures appear to contradict what the previous scriptures have said, but let’s look more closely. There are two aspects to this revelation. Let me give an illustration.
My Mom (Lucille) was always giving gifts and doing things for people. She was also a talented seamstress. At one time, my daughter needed a dress to wear to her high school prom. My sister needed a new dress to wear to a special function where she was singing for a large audience of God’s people. My Mom got busy and made a beautiful prom dress for my daughter. She also put together a sharp outfit for my sister and sent it to her. (My sister lives about 900 miles away in Florida.) Now the prom dress was “the gift of Lucille” to my daughter. The “gift of Lucille” met a need which my daughter had. My daughter was the recipient of the gift. You see, the gift of healing is given to someone who is sick. The gift of prophecy is given to someone who needs to hear a word of encouragement or correction. You see, the gift is given to the one who is in need of the gift. Now, since my sister lives in Florida, my Mom, Lucille, sent the outfit she made her by UPS. The gift of the outfit was given to my sister. It was the “gift of Lucille” to her. Now, was the UPS man given any special attention or recognition because he delivered the gift? Of course not. He was just doing his job. Did the UPS man say, “Oh look at me, I have the gift of new outfits.” No, that would be silly. The gift of the new outfit was given by Lucille to my sister. The UPS man was only responsible for the delivery of the outfit. The gift of healing is for the one who needs healing. The man or woman laying on hands and praying for that person is just the UPS man delivering the gift of healing! The gift of prophecy is given to the individual in need of the prophecy for encouragement or whatever reason. The person doing the prophesying is merely the delivery person and is just doing his/her job. The UPS man doesn’t run around being lifted up and thinking he is something so great just because he delivered a beautiful outfit to a lady. He isn’t held in high esteem because of his delivery. It is the giver of the gift that is honored and thanked and held in high esteem. Do you see the point? If God delivers a prophecy or healing or teaching or any other administration of a gift through you, just be thankful for the opportunity to serve and feel blessed for that opportunity. But don’t be lifted up and think you are something special and go around bragging I’m a prophet or I’m a healer. Any other Christian has the ability to deliver that gift, they just may not have realized it or developed it or had the opportunity. Because of misunderstanding, they may not have developed the faith needed.
Notice in Ephesians 1:19-20: “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, . . .” This scripture is stating that believers have access to the same mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead. That is some real power folks. And it is extended not just to some believers, but to ALL believers. And if this power can raise from the dead, it can also heal, do miracles, prophecy, evangelize, or anything else that needs to be done!
Going on to verse 12: “For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now has God set the members every one of them in the body, as it has pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body.
The Body of Christ is made up of all God’s people. Each one is delivering and ministering the "Gifts of the Spirit" as God sees fit. If you are not at that time being used to deliver the gift of healing but perhaps you are giving a word of wisdom, then are you not part of the body? Of course you are. Your job at that time is just as important as anyone else’s. In fact, whatever you are doing at the time if you are being directed by the Holy Spirit, you are a valuable member of the body.
We tend to look at certain gifts as being better or more important than others. But it takes all the gifts as well to make up the body. The analogy is also extended to the gifts themselves. They all go together to make up a complete body and are all part of the Body of Christ. Each gift is just as important as the other. It is important that each gift be administered when needed. And just because someone thinks they need the gift of healing, what they may really need at the time is the gift of prophecy or a word of wisdom. These other gifts might move that person into a place then to receive the gift of healing and keep it. Also, if the gift of healing was the only gift being ministered in the body, what would happen to all the other needs that people have. Healing is not the only thing that needs to be delivered. What if the UPS company decided they were only going to deliver dresses? What would happen to all the people who needed books or other merchandise?
I believe that verses 21-26 are pretty much self explanatory, just driving home the point that I just made.
Now let’s go to verses 27-30 and discuss these scriptures that seem to be contradicting verse 6. They read: “Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?”
What is this saying? It is asking the question, “Is everyone an apostle?” Well obviously not, at least not at the same time. Is everyone a prophet or a teacher? No, of course not. If all the members of the body were operating only in the gift of prophecy then who would minister to those who needed teaching? If all were delivering the gift of healing, then who would do the work of an apostle? There may be periods in your life when you predominantly or perhaps exclusively operate in the office of Apostle or teacher. But then there will be other times when you administer some other "Gifts of the Spirit". A person might and often does operate in several different gifts even in the same day. Does that mean that you are a teacher/miracle worker/prophet? Should that be your title? No, your designation is simply “Child of God”. And as such you operate in the various gifts as needed.
I believe most all ministers know this, but they just haven’t thought of it in that particular way. Our carnal nature is always looking for a way to exalt ourselves and one way of doing that is to hang a title upon ourselves or someone else. I have seen many ministers (and even lay people for that matter) operate and administer several gifts of the Spirit within a brief period of time. For instance, a preacher might get up and give a sermon and teach and impart a great revelation. He has then operated in the gift of teaching by imparting the revelation to those present in the congregation. At that time, “teaching” is what was needed by the congregation, so the Spirit of God flowed and “teaching” became the “Gift of the Spirit” to that congregation. The man standing in the pulpit was just the delivery boy, the spiritual UPS man, if you will. Then, after the sermon, the preacher might lay hands on the sick and pray for them. And some may be miraculously healed right on the spot. I’ve also seen this occur on several occasions. To another person, God might give the preacher a special revelation concerning the person’s circumstances (known as a Word of Knowledge), and he might prophecy to the individual about the outcome which means he operated in and delivered the Gift of Prophecy.
So, what label do you hang on this preacher? Is he a “teacher” because he did teach and conveyed a great spiritual revelation to the congregation. Or is he a “healer” because he did lay hands on the sick and God miraculously healed some. Or is he someone who gives “Words of Knowledge” and “Words of Wisdom”? Or is he a “Prophet” because he did prophecy to someone? The answer: He was all of these. Because God has set all these gifts and administrations in the church. To the whole congregation he gave the gift of a teacher and an uplifting revelation. To some members who were sick or needed a miracle of healing, he gave the “Gift of Healing”. To another who needed wisdom and encouragement concerning a situation, he gave the gift of a “Word of Knowledge” and “Word of Wisdom” then topped it off with the “Gift of Prophecy”. In this particular situation God set all these gifts and administrations in the church and divided them “severally as He willed”. To some he gave the gift of teaching, to another he gave the gift of healing and to another he gave several gifts (Word of Knowledge, Word of Wisdom and Prophecy) because that is what each of these individuals needed at the time. But, he only used one delivery boy! On this particular occasion, all these gifts of the Spirit which God has set in the church and in the Body for its edification and growth were administered by the same individual.
To further illustrate this point, read verse 31: “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.” Does this mean, as has often been taught, that God has assigned every one a designated ministry? And that everyone should covet (strongly desire) to be an apostle or prophet? Everyone should be coveting only the top jobs? If that were so, what happens to the concept of the body? If everyone is trying to be an apostle, who is going to execute the other ministerial needs? If this were true, it would also create jealousy and competition among the members. If my feet weren’t satisfied with being feet and they wanted to be the head, I would probably have my foot in my mouth and not be able to get around. That would be stupid. No, the best gifts that we are to covet is whatever gift is needed at the time to supply the needs of the body and the needs for ministry. If your best friend needs teaching, covet to be a good teacher to her or him. If someone you know needs healing, have a strong desire to be the vessel to deliver the healing power of God to that individual. Whatever the best gift is that will fulfill the need at the time, that is the gift we should covet to operate in and deliver.
I reemphasize the point. The scripture plainly says to COVET THE BEST GIFTS!
So, is one gift actually better than the other? If everyone is coveting and desiring to be a teacher, and no one is evangelizing, there won’t be anyone for the teacher to teach. If everyone is desiring to be an Apostle and go around raising up churches, where will the members come from if there is no gift of evangelism operating? You see, no one gift is better than the other of and by itself. All the gifts are needed in the body and no one gift is more important than the other of and by itself.
So, what is the best gift that we should be coveting? If someone is lying sick and suffering terribly do we stand there and say, “I want to operate in the office of Apostle!” No, how foolish! The best gift you can operate in at that moment is the Gift of Healing. If someone is not sick at all in their physical body but is terribly concerned over a situation in their life, then they don’t need a miracle of healing, the best gift for them might be a Word of Wisdom or Word of Knowledge or a Prophecy or maybe even a teaching or revelation. Covet the best gift that is needed at the time, not only that you may be able to deliver it to someone in need, but also covet the best gift for yourself when you are in need.
Remember the last part of verse 31 says: “and yet show I unto you a more excellent way…” Then the next chapter goes on to discuss the fact that even though we are operating mightily in the "Gifts of the Spirit", if we don’t have LOVE we are nothing. No ministry will be successful if not done in love. No gift will have meaning if not delivered and received with love. In the final analysis often the gift of the Spirit that is truly needed is LOVE!
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