THE EQUIPPING MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Part 3
In
our study of the equipping ministry of the Holy Spirit we now come to examine
the individual spiritual gifts as taught in the Word of God. There are two categories: The sign gifts and
the permanent gifts. First of all:
Note: The confirming gifts were temporary sign gifts confirming the spoken word in the infant church. Note four of them:
1.
Healing (I Corinthians 12:9) - The ability to heal
supernaturally and instantaneously the bodies of men and women.
2.
Working
of miracles (I Corinthians 12:10) – The ability to perform supernatural
miracles, usually in the physical realm. e.g. raising the dead.
3.
Tongues
(I Corinthians 12:10) – The ability to supernaturally speak foreign languages
without previous study or knowledge of the language.
4.
Interpretation
of tongues (I Corinthians 12:10) -The ability to understand and interpret
foreign languages apart from study or without previous knowledge of the
language.
1.
Prophecy
(Romans 12:6; I Corinthians 12:10) – The gift of prophecy is the ability to
proclaim the Word of God with accuracy and power so as to promote
understanding, edification, exhortation and comfort (I Corinthians 14:3).
2. Teaching (Romans 12:7) - The gift of teaching is the ability
to communicate and instruct others
in divine truth so as to promote understanding and comprehension, and to do it
with comparative ease and efficiency.
3. Exhortation (Romans12:8) - The one who has this gift is one who not
only responds to a call for help, but is also able to give comfort and consolation and help concerning
past/present problems and to exhort and
challenge to a course of action.
4. Word of Wisdom (I
Corinthians 12:8) - The ability to understand and have insight into life’s
situations and people combined with an understanding of what to do and how to
do it. The practical application of
divine wisdom to situations and people.
5. Word of Knowledge (I Corinthians 12:8) - The unique ability to
understand and to systematize the Word of God and related subjects for the
benefit of others.
Serving Gifts
1.
Ministry
(Romans 12:7) – The ability of individual believers to render practical service
to other believers, individually or collectively. The ability to render service in the local church (we have
beautiful examples of this in our church in those who cared for Ginny Kafka as
well as the many others who quietly and faithfully care for the church grounds
and building).
2.
Giving
(Romans 12:8) – The ability to give wisely of one’s possessions (wise
discernment as to where the need really is), and to do it with joy and
eagerness without any motivation that would benefit the giver. The amount given is not the issue – rather
the motive is the important thing. Note: All believers are to give but not every
believer has the spiritual gift of giving.
3.
Ruling
(Romans 12:8) – The ability to lead others in effective endeavors for God. The ability to assume the role of leadership
and to function effectively therein.
Next week we will take up the remainder of the
permanent gifts. God bless
In Christ’s love,