Ritajanice
Born-Again
The Nature of Spiritual Gifts
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul dealt with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He opened the chapter with the statement, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware” (v. 1). Then, in verses seven through eleven, he listed nine distinct gifts:The key word that explains the distinctive nature of these gifts is “manifestation” (v. 7). The Holy Spirit Himself, dwelling in a believer, is invisible. But by these gifts operating through a believer, the presence of the Holy Spirit is made manifest to human senses. In each case, the results produced are in the realm of the senses; they can be seen or heard or felt.
Since these gifts are manifestations, not of the believer’s own personality, but of the person of the Holy Spirit within the believer, all of them are supernatural in character. In every case, the results that they produce are on a higher level than the believer could ever achieve by his or her ability alone. Each result is possible only through a direct, supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit. By these gifts, and through the believer, the Holy Spirit comes forth out of the invisible spiritual realm and makes a direct impact upon the physical world of space and time.
Paul established two important practical points concerning these gifts. First, they are distributed solely at the discretion of the Holy Spirit, according to His sovereign purposes for each believer’s ministry. Human will or achievement are not the basis for receiving these spiritual gifts. Second, they are given “to each one…for the common good” (v. 7), for a useful, practical purpose. As Bob Mumford said, “The gifts of the Spirit are tools, not toys.”
It has often been pointed out that these nine gifts fall naturally into three groups of three:
- Three gifts of utterance. These are gifts that operate through the believer’s vocal organs. They include prophecy, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.
- Three gifts of revelation. These are gifts that impart spiritual illumination. They include the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, and the distinguishing of spirits.
- Three gifts of power. These are gifts that demonstrate God’s supernatural power in the physical realm. They include faith, the gifts of healing, and the working of miracles.