This morning, we’re continuing our ministry training series called “Equipped.”
So far, we’ve covered that ministry is just a word meaning ‘serve’ which we are all to do. Ministry to people should just be a continuation of our ministry to God.
Jesus didn’t serve every single need that He encountered. Rather, He said that He did only what He saw His Heavenly Father doing.
True, Biblical ministry can only be done through relationship with and in cooperation with God.
We began learning about how there isn’t a specific formula or method to successful ministry. By God’s own design, it is supposed to be an adventurous scavenger hunt. It’s a pursuit of seeking and finding; of secret things being revealed as Heaven invades Earth!
All ministry and all of the gifts of the Spirit should ultimately have the end goal of pouring out God’s love toward people and pointing them to Jesus and His salvation (1 Corinthians 13).
Let’s start into the gifts of the Spirit!
1 Corinthians 12:1-11;27-31
1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
Different gifts, but the same goal.
Different gifts, but working together and needing each other.
Different gifts, but intended to cooperate in unity.
Different gifts, but the same gift giver!
Typically when we receive a gift on a special occasion like a birthday or Christmas, the gift is something for us personally and intended just to bless us.
Maybe it’s a gadget for us to use and enjoy for a hobby or a tool to make chores we do easier or a special item that holds a personal memory like a picture.
When it comes to spiritual gifts, although we receive them, they are not for ourselves. All of the spiritual gifts that we could receive are for us to be able to serve the needs of others.
1 Peter 4:10-11
10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Spiritual gifts are just physically manifested forms of God’s grace given to us.
Spiritual gifts are supernaturally manifested and distributed into our lives by Holy Spirit. Although it is in cooperation with us and happening through us, it is still God at work.
The Greek word used here for these gifts is the word charisma. This is why people or ministries who embrace and encourage the use of the gifts of the Spirit are often called charismatic.
There is a controversial debate that often goes on amongst Christian ministries and churches about whether the gifts of the Spirit are still for today or whether they have ceased.
As I taught a few weeks ago, the gifts of the spirit certainly will cease and become unnecessary. However, this has not happened yet.
1 Corinthians 13:8-10
8 Where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.
Usually people who hold to the cessation of the gifts of the Spirit claim that when Jesus, who was perfect came, the gifts were no longer necessary. All that we need is Jesus. However, the gifts of the spirit are obviously in use and we are taught to eagerly desire them decades after Jesus’ resurrection.
In fact, right after Paul teaches about the gifts of the Spirit ceasing, he writes:
1 Corinthians 14:1
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit
Perfection and the lack of need for the gifts of the Spirit will only happen when we have received our immortal bodies when Jesus makes all things new and will never cease here on the earth.
There is also a controversial debate about whether spiritual gifts can be imparted from one person to another or if they can only come directly from the Holy Spirit to a person.
Well, Paul wrote to the church in Rome and he said:
Romans 1:11-12
11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong – 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
He also wrote to Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:6
I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
There is something spiritually significant about physically laying hands on another person and the transference that can happen when we do so. After all, Paul also warned Timothy:
1 Timothy 5:22
22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
There was also the account of Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8.
Acts 8:14-22
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.
Ultimately, the gifts of the Spirit are only given by the Holy Spirit. There is, however, clear and undeniable, Biblical evidence that they can be imparted from one person to another.
However, I strongly believe that this can only be done if it is God’s will. If it is not God’s will for an individual to have a spiritual gift, I don’t believe that it could be imparted to them by anyone. They ultimately come by the Holy Spirit; even if “regifted”.
The gifts of the Spirit can also be counterfeited by evil spirits. We are warned so many times about false teachers and false prophets and even false Christs in the scriptures. We even spoke last week about false wisdom that is demonic (James 3).
Again, the judge of the gifts of the Spirit are not their accuracy or affect. The way in which to judge them are by the fruits produced by those possessing them and the source through which the gifts are empowered.
Acts 16:16-19
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. 19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.
In 1 Samuel 28, King Saul disguised himself and visited a medium and asked her to consult a spirit for him. The spirit that he requested was Samuel who had died. She saw a ghostly figure coming up in the form of an old man with a white robe on.
When she recognized that ghostly figure was Samuel, she also realized that the disguised man visiting her was King Saul. Samuel spoke with Saul, upset that he had bothered him by bringing him up from death.
Yes, mediums and spiritists and diviners and magicians and the like are real. However, they are equipped and empowered not by the Holy Spirit, but by evil spirits. And, no, Christians should never, ever seek them out!
Isaiah 8:19
When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
Leviticus 19:31
Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 20:6
I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.
Deuteronomy 18:10-14
10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so.
We don’t need any of these things anyways! Under the new covenant, we have Holy Spirit within us and access to all of the gifts given by Him! Who needs the counterfeit when you have the real thing? Who needs to consult dead people when we can consult with God directly?
This isn’t just an old covenant warning, though. The book of Revelation even warns us that one of the ways in which the world will be led astray by Satan is by counterfeit gifts including healing.
Revelation 16:13-14
13 Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
Revelation 13:13-14
13 The second beast performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth.
So how will we be able to discern Godly signs versus demonic ones? Relationship with God! We’ll be able to tell what is Him at work and what is not.
Beyond that, we can judge them based on the fruits that the signs, wonders, and miracles produce. Do they produce the fruits of the Spirit or the fruits of the flesh? Do they draw people to God and give them a desire for Him or do they drive people away from Him or even against Him?
The signs, wonders, and miracles produced by the gifts of the Holy Spirit are all supposed to point people to Jesus, manifest His love, and speak His truth. They are intended to encourage and mature and build up the church.
The gifts of the Spirit are not to be disregarded or despised or misunderstood. They are to be eagerly desired, embraced, and taught about. They are supposed to be a part of our church gatherings as well as during our routine days out in our communities.
I can’t wait until we have the same problem as the church in Corinth had!
1 Corinthians 14:26-33
26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two – or at the most three – should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.
29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace – as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.
What are the gifts of the Spirit?
How do we receive them?
How do we use them?
Well, join us next week and find out!