Lesson 14: The Gifts Christ Connect Church (10-Nov-2013) Foundations of Christianity

4.14 The Gifts of the Holy Spirit We believe in the present day operation of the nine supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. We also believe in the ministry gifts of Christ, as recorded in Ephesians 4:11-13.

Three (3) Guiding Principles 1 Corinthians 12:2-3 “You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” 1.The principle of conscious control 2.The principle of loving Jesus 3.The principle of honoring Jesus

The Gifts (1 Cor. 12:8-10) Gifts of the Holy Spirit - “supernatural abilities” bestowed on the believer by the Holy Spirit. They are not heightened natural (human) ability. Each gift is a manifestation of Spirit, that is, the visible evidence of His activity. 1. “word of wisdom” – a spiritual utterance at a given moment, supernaturally disclosing the mind, purpose and will of God as applied to a specific situation 2. “word of knowledge” – a supernatural revelation of information concerning a person or an event, given for a specific purpose, usually having to do with an immediate need

The Gifts (1 Cor. 12:8-10) 3. “gift of faith” – a unique form of faith that goes beyond natural faith (belief) or saving faith. It supernaturally trusts God and does not doubt Him concerning the specific matter involved 4. “gifts of healing” – healings that God performs supernaturally. The plural (gifts) mean that as there are many various sicknesses and diseases, the gift is related to the healings of many disorders 5. “working of miracles” – it is the divine enablement to do something that could not be done naturally

The Gifts (1 Cor. 12:8-10) 6. “prophecy” – is a divine disclosure on behalf of the Spirit, an edifying revelation or sudden insight from the Spirit that leads to exhortation or comfort (see 1 Cor. 14:3) 7. “discerning of spirits” – is the ability to discern the spiritual world, and especially to detect the true source of circumstances or motives of people

The Gifts (1 Cor. 12:8-10) 8. “speaking in tongues” – the gift of speaking supernaturally in a foreign language or an unknown “angelic” tongue. The apostles spoke in foreign languages when the Holy Spirit came upon them during Pentecost, while Paul spoke of speaking in angelic tongues in 1 Cor. 13:1 (also known as “transrational utterances”) 9. “interpretation of tongues” – the gift of translating the “transrational” (but not irrational) message of the Spirit to make it meaningful to others. This is especially helpful in a public setting, when the gift of tongues was used publicly and the gift of interpretation of tongues follows afterwards

The Ministry Gifts (Eph. 4:11-13) Ephesians 4:11-13 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” 1. “apostles” – are those in ministry who have had a visible encounter with Christ (such as the original twelve apostles), who plant churches and who functions in the ministry with signs, wonders and miracles

The Ministry Gifts (Eph. 4:11-13) 2. “prophets” – are those with a special prophetic gift either in foretelling what is to come, as the prophet Agabus did (in Acts 11:28 and 21:10) or in forth-telling (speaking forth the true condition of the human heart) like the prophets of Yahweh 3. “evangelists” – are those uniquely gifted by the Spirit to proclaim the gospel of Jesus in a powerful and mighty way. Both Phillip and Timothy were identified as evangelists in the NT, and in our time godly men such as Billy Graham and Reinhard Bonnke are acknowledged as evangelists

The Ministry Gifts (Eph. 4:11-13) 4. “pastors” – are those with a special calling to be local shepherds of the Church. They are empowered to lead local congregations and are entrusted to watch-over the spiritual health and well-being of those under their care. 5. “teachers” – are those uniquely gifted to make known the meaning of Scriptures to both the church and non- believers, thus making plain to them what is the Word of God and His will in matters of doctrine, faith and practical Christian living

Application 1. Q. Are the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit the same? (Galatians 5: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) 2. Did the spiritual gifts cease when the Bible was completed? Cessation Theology – the teaching that the gifts of the Spirit were only meant for the original apostles because the Bible wasn’t completed yet. Once the Bible was complete, the gifts of the Spirit have ceased.

Application 3. How do I discern what gift(s) the Spirit gave me? a.Is it pleasing to God? b.Is it the desire of my heart? c.Does my life bear the hallmarks of this gift(s)?