Hope this week was a good one for everyone! For me, at least, it seemed to be a bit of a decompression from the week before. Today we're talking about gifts. No, not the ones you get on your birthday! They're even better and they're from the Holy Spirit. A couple great references on this topic are Rules of Engagement and The Gifts of the Spirit by Derek Prince. Of course the ultimate reference is always the Bible, in this case specifically 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.
Before we get into the gifts themselves, it's important to recognize that these gifts, manifestations of the Holy Spirit, are given with no action required by us. We don't earn these gifts. If we had to, they would not be gifts they would be wages. They would be a paycheck for works. These gifts are given to those in the body of Christ to do His will, and as different parts of the body have different purposes so are we in His body (1 Corinthians 12:14-26). Each person is given different gifts, but all can be given any of these gifts at any moment to be used as moved by the Holy Spirit in that moment.
So let's see what these gifts are: Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Healing, Working of Miracles, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits, Kinds of Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues.
A Word of Wisdom and a Word of Knowledge are gifts that are closely linked. Wisdom is the ability to know what to do, insight, decision-making and knowledge is knowing something. In order for you to know what to do or have insight about something you must know about that something, either naturally or supernaturally. There are many places in scripture that include wisdom and knowledge, but likely the most well-known is when Solomon requested these gifts of Yehovah when he could have asked for anything and he would have been granted it (1 Chronicles 1:10-12).
Faith is something I've touched on previously, and it's important to recognize the difference between this gift and personal faith. Personal faith (Romans 10:7) opens the door for the gift of Faith, and the gift of Faith is what Jesus said could move mountains (Mark 11:22,23). While the KJV translated to "faith in God," the Greek is two words: pistis theos. Essentially, this is "God faith." This "God faith" is what moves the mountain, but we can't get the "God faith" if we don't have the personal faith.
Healing is pretty self explanatory! There are many verses showing this gift in action not only by Jesus but other apostles. This gift, like all the others, is still manifested today just as it was in those times. It removes whatever is causing the illness or inhibiting someone from healing and as a result can either be an instantaneous healing or a progressive healing.
Working of Miracles is also clear, but just to touch on it a moment this gift is literally the working of supernatural power. The use of this gift varies widely, from making sure a bridegroom isn't disgraced by turning water into wine (John 2:1-8), to feeding 5,000 people with five loaves and two fishes (John 6:5-14), to raising people from the dead (Acts 20:7-10,12). If nothing else, this gift unequivocally proves the existence of Yehovah for those that see it work.
Prophecy is something I've also written about previously. I just want to remind everyone that this gift does not just involve speaking of the future, it is also involves warnings to repent as Jonah did, and words of hope and comfort for a season much like we're in now. Also, regarding prophecy, Paul tells us to seek this gift especially (1 Corinthians 14:1).
Discerning of Spirits I have spoken about in multiple newsletters, to include discerning demons as well as prophets. This gift, in my opinion, will become more and more needed as we get closer to the return of the King. There will be many things run by principalities and powers that will attempt to show themselves as being of Him, and we should all pray to have this gift so we are not led astray.
Much like Wisdom and Knowledge, Kinds of Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues are closely related. Kinds of Tongues is when a person is able to speak in a language unknown to him or her and Interpretation of Tongues is the ability to interpret that language and speak it so it is understood by the interpreter and others. Paul talks a lot about tongues, which tells us something because he wasn't even present at the day of Pentecost in which this gift was first given. A couple important things he states are that speaking in tongues should edify the church in the process (1 Corinthians 14:5) and without love it's just noise (1 Corinthians 13:1).
This brings me to the close of this newsletter and something very important to remember. Paul moves from the gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12 straight into the importance of love (translated to charity in the KJV, but is from the Greek agape, or brotherly love). Even if we have all these amazing gifts given freely to us and we use them for His will if we lack brotherly love, the love of our neighbor, the love of our enemies, the love of those who persecute you, the love of your brothers and sisters in Christ, we are nothing and we gain nothing. Do not forget that Jesus ultimately came to earth to show us how to love in the process of being our sacrifice, and we should constantly endeavor to love like Him.
Shabbat Shalom and God bless you!
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