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.
A. The THREE gifts of Inspiration: Tongues,
Interpretation, and Prophecy.
3. The Gift of Prophecy.
“To another, prophecy”
“He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another
the ability to prophesy” 1 Corinthians 12:10.
Prophecy is the gift that makes the
Body comes alive in God. “He who
prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men”1 Corinthians
14:3. Prophecy, then, is when God speaks through the prophet, to
forth-tell, and to fore-tell, to edify and to build up the Body of the
Church.
A. What does the
prophet forth-tell?
He/she
speaks and tells forth the Word of God, with power and authority. Prophecy is
the power of God spoken into our lives and hearts. The prophet speaks forth,
what has not come out of his own thoughts.
B. What does the
prophet fore-tell?
He/she
fore-tells something before it happens. For God is all-knowing. He knows the
past, the present, and the future. This awakes the church of God to a need.
Oh! The hard walk of those who prophecy
into the Church, to wait upon God in deep prayer and concern, to walk a holy
life, and an upright life. For the prophet’s words are to be judged by all, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let
the others judge” 1 Corinthians
Prophecy should not be thought to be
the same as ordinary preaching, for like the other gifts of the Spirit, it is a
supernatural gift. Ralph Riggs says,
“Prophecy is speaking one’s own language in the power of the Holy Spirit, or
divine ability to forth-tell as well as to fore-tell.”
If we are used in prophecy, are we
prophets? No! So, what is the difference between prophecy and prophets?
A. The gift of
prophecy is the gift of inspired utterance, Paul says, “That you may ALL prophesy, one by one”1 Corinthians 14:31. So all
believers are to desire to receive the gift of prophecy.
B. But the gift of
prophets is the gift of full-time leadership to the body of Christ; all that
prophesy are not prophets. For the gift of prophets is for a small number of
the members of the body of Christ.
So, the difference between the office
of the prophet and the gift of prophecy is all who have the office of the
prophet will prophesy, but all who prophesy do not have the office of a
prophet.
Prophecy, because of its nature, is
perhaps the greatest of the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 “For to one is given the word of wisdom through
the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to
another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same
Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another
discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the
interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things,
distributing to each one individually as He wills.”
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:1 “Desire spiritual gifts, but rather that you may
prophesy.” So, we see, prophecy is an especially important gift. We must
seek to understand it well. It is especially important because it is the
greatest of all nine gifts for building up the body of Christ. It is the gift
which makes the body come alive in a special way.
It can also be a means to lead the
unbeliever to the Lord, “But if all
prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced
by all, he is convicted by all” 1 Corinthians 14:24.
The
fourth-telling part of prophecy.
The great value of forth telling was
made clear on the Day of Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the
disciples, almost at once the gift of prophecy was manifested in Peter's
sermon. This was no ordinary sermon, for at the heart of this sermon was the
mighty power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For Peter spoke ideas that
were not his own, for they came from the Holy Spirit.
Peter being filled with the Holy
Spirit prophesied to the people the glories of the Lord God. When the Ephesians
elders in Acts 19 were filled with
the Holy Spirit, they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
Verse
6 “And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and
they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”
True prophesying is done with the Spirit's
ability and power. For no one can prophesy apart from the Holy Spirit 1 Peter 4:11 “If anyone speaks, let him
speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the
ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through
Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever.
Amen.”
The believer who moves in prophecies
speaks to men 1 Corinthians 14:3 “But he
who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.” What
does he forth-tell? He speaks and tells forth the Word of God, with power and
authority. Prophecy is the fire of God spoken into our lives and heart. Through
the gift of prophecy, the Holy Spirit can bring to the speaker's mind what he
has not thought of himself.
The
fore-telling part of prophecy.
To fore-tell means to tell something
before it happens. We all know that the Lord God knows all things. He knows the
past, the present, and the future.
So, through the Holy Spirit and the “gift
of prophecy,” the Spirit can cause a believer to speak forth something about
the future. The purpose is to awaken the people of God to a need. Fore-telling
is not fortune-telling, for this an evil act inspired by demons, this can be
seen in Acts 16:16 “Now it happened, as
we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of
divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.”
Therefore, all prophecy must be judged.
Sometimes prophesy is used to give
warning, examples are found in Acts 11:27-30;
20:23; 21:10-13. “Except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying
that chains and tribulations await me.”
There are instructions for the use of the “gift
of prophecy” in 1 Corinthians 14:29-40.
We can look at this text.
1.
Prophecy must be according to the faith that we have 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.”
The Holy Spirit can work through the
believer only according to the faith in the believer's heart. To prophesy
without faith is to speak forth out of our own hearts. This makes it especially
important for the believer to pray much, to know God’s Word, and to be filled
with the Holy Spirit of God.
2.
Prophesy must be limited and judged 1
Corinthians 14:29 “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.”
For God desires that there be order in the public service. “To judge” means to
judge thoroughly and thoughtfully.
3.
All may prophesy 1 Corinthians 14:31;
14:5, 24. “For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may
be encouraged.”
This
tells us every believer may be used by the Holy Spirit to prophesy.
4.
Those that have a prophecy to give do not have to speak forth. For the person
who prophesies desires when he will prophesy, and when he will not prophesy,
see 1 Corinthians 14:32-33 “And the
spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author
of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
5.
Those that are used by the Spirit in the “gift of prophecy” must be willing to
take instruction and be corrected, see 1
Corinthians
What is the purpose of the “gift of
prophecy”? Again, ALL the gifts of the Spirit are for the building up of the
body of Christ. Each gift has its own special way for building up the body.
Paul says of prophecy, “He who
prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men” 1 Corinthians
14:3. So we are all encouraged and comforted, and built up spiritually.
So be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Seek the Lord for the “gift of prophecy.”
Conclusion: Of the
gifts of Inspiration.
How can I receive the Holy Spirit, and
His gifts? By waiting upon the Lord in prayer, and worship. By having faith to
receive.
