THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT
We are going to look at the nine gifts
of the Holy Spirit, which follow the nine fruits of the Spirit in the lives of
believers.
Bible
Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11.
1.
Now, dear brothers
and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit
gives us. I do not want you to misunderstand this (to be without
knowledge).
2.
You know that when
you were still pagans (without faith in Christ), you were led astray and swept along
in worshiping speechless idols.
3.
So, I want you to
know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can
say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.
4.
There are different
kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.
5.
There are different
kinds of service (ministries), but we serve the same Lord.
6.
God works in
different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
7.
A spiritual gift is
given to each of us so we can help each other (for the profit of all).
8.
To one person the
Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice (wisdom); to
another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge (word of
knowledge).
9.
The same Spirit gives
great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gifts
of healing.
10.
He gives one person
the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy.
He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the
Spirit of God or from another spirit (discerning of spirits). Still
another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while
another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.
11.
It is the one and
only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each
person should have.
Within this bible study, we need to
give special attention to the fact, that each of the fruits and gifts of the
Holy Spirit, cannot come through human ability or talent. But, by the Holy
Spirit and our desire to be filled.
We will soon discover the added
strength and power received through the “baptism
in the Holy Spirit.” As we learn and understand the fruits and gifts of the
Holy Spirit, you will begin to find ourselves, able to be used by the Holy
Spirit of God (Who is God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit), in their effective
manifestation.
B.
The THREE gifts of Revelation: Wisdom,
Knowledge, and Discerning of Spirits.
4.
The Gift of Wisdom. “To another, the word of wisdom.”
An utterance from God, a part of His
wisdom.
Bible
Readings: Acts 5:1-11; 6:10; Ephesians 1:17-19.
“That
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your
understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His
calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and
what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according
to the working of His mighty power.”
A word, of God’s wisdom. The gift may come
by an inward voice, a vision, or a dream. But it will come for a divine
purpose. For it will always lead the Church, in the ways and will of the Lord
God.
The gift is manifested when there is a
serious problem in the Body of Christ. When, after believers have come
together, talked the problem through, and struggled in prayer and the problem
are still not solved, a “word of wisdom” comes, and the entire group comes to a
decision.
This is a divine “word of wisdom” from
the Lord, spoken through men, yet all are deeply mindful that the right thing
has been said.
An example of this is found in Acts
15:5-27. The gift must be used in love and be edifying to the Church.
Sometimes we see flashes of wisdom in
the sharing of the Word, knowing that the Lord has spoken to us into a need. Or
in personal problems when something is said, that helps us through. For we need
to listen to what the Lord says to us all.
Wisdom is good judgement based upon
knowledge. The word of wisdom, then, is a word of good judgement based upon
knowledge. But the gift is more than that.
The “word” comes from the Greek word “logos,”
this means “utterance or expression.” Since the gifts of the Spirit are
strictly of the Spirit of God, we understand that the word of wisdom is an
utterance from God. It is not just an utterance of wisdom. The wisdom spoken
here comes directly from God. It is His wisdom.
Therefore, through the gift of the “word
of wisdom,” the Holy Spirit gives to the believer a bit of God’s wisdom. This is
a small portion. It speaks of special wisdom for a special need, a small bit of
God's wisdom spoken at the right time.
This “word of wisdom” is fully
supernatural in its use. One example is found in Acts 15:5-27. A serious
problem arose in the early church. It was about the new Gentile converts. To
deal with the problem, the church leaders met with the other believers. They
talked back and forth. Some had one idea, some another. Finally, James, one of
the leaders spoke out. When he finished, they were all in agreement. Because
James spoke, a “word of wisdom.”
How does the word of wisdom work?
Donald Gee said, “it is the inner consciousness that God as spoken in wisdom,
and that the right thing has been said.” The word of wisdom may be spoken
directly into a man's heart by the Spirit (Ephesians
When is the word of wisdom manifested?
Often circumstances will determine when it is needed. Also, the Holy Spirit can
manifest the gift only when a believer is spiritual ready and available to be
used Romans 12:6 “Having then gifts differing according to the grace
that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in
proportion to our faith;”
We will be helped in our understanding
of the gift, by noting the circumstances under which it was manifested in the
early church.
1.
In Acts
2.
In Acts 5:1-11, it is seen when people had personal problems.
3.
In Acts 5:26-33, we see it in used when persecution arose against the
church.
4.
In Acts 15, we noted it was used when problems arose in the church.
So, what a valuable and useful gift
the “word of wisdom” is. It is an especially useful gift to be manifested in
the church life, both in public meetings and in business meetings.
What is the purpose of the gift? There
is one simple answer, “Everything must be of help to the church” 1
Corinthians
So be FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Seek the Lord for the “gift of wisdom.”
