This is a series on the Gifts of the Spirit in the New and Old Testament. These marvelous gifts are for us today as well. The format will be in an outline with scriptures and notes. They are taken from many books that I have read and my notes. God is a supernatural God and has given us supernatural equipment to minister to one other in the body of Christ and the world around us. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit two thousand years ago is still relevant today. The Bible tells us not to be ignorant or unlearned about the spiritual. 1 Corinthians 12:1 (NKJV)
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant. So we have to learn what the Bible says about this important topic. The Apostle Paul devotes three chapters in the New Testament concerning spiritual gifts and their operation. I want to thank Reverend Gary Bailey of “Reach the World Ministries” for his many years of input into my life and the Churches we pastored over the years. He has greatly encouraged us in the move of the Spirit and to step out in faith in the operation of Gifts of the Spirit. Let this series encourage you that God is still moving in signs, miracles, healings, and wonders. Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV) -8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Gifts of the Spirit- 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14
1. Acts 3:21 (NKJV) -21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
Restoration’ – NT:605 – to set back in order, return to its original state. We are seeing the restoration of the Gifts of the Spirit in the local Church today. A renewed hunger for the move of the Spirit.
‘Reformation’ – NT:1357 – to set right, to make straight, to restore to original condition something that has got out of line or broken or misaligned, to make a structural adjustment.
We are seeing a revived interest in the Gifts of the Spirit in local Churches.
a. 1 Corinthians 14:1 (AMP) –1 EAGERLY PURSUE and seek to acquire [this] love [make it your aim, your great quest]; and earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual endowments (gifts), especially that you may prophesy.
b. Pursue- Greek- dioko– to put in rapid motion; to pursue without hostility, to follow, pursue the direction of.
i. What are we to pursue, follow after, apprehend, secure, and keep ourselves in? Love-The God kind of love-Agape-un-conditional love. 1 Cor. 13:4-8
ii. The same Greek word for the word persecute shows the intensity of that which is sought after or pursued. Acts 8:3, 22:4,
iii. We should never put the Gifts before our love walk in Christ.
c. Desire-Greek. zeloo– to desire earnestly, aspires eagerly after. To grow in our knowledge of.
i. We are to desire spiritual gifts but it does not say to pursue them as it says about love. Mark 16:17 says these signs shall follow them that believe.
ii. Love is obtainable so go after it.
iii. Not all the gifts you desire will manifest in your life. However, we do have the potential to be used in all of the gifts.
iv. The Spirit gives the gifts as He wills.
v. We are to pray for and desire the best gifts for your calling and position in the body of Christ.
vi. Some want gifts that are not requisite or needful for where they are called to function in the body.
d. Zealous- Gr. a “zealot”:- zealous.
i. 1 Corinthians 14:12 (NKJV) -12, Even so, you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.
ii. The Corinthians were zealots for spiritual gifts. However, the reason they were so zealous was so that they would be seen as spiritual. It was for their own benefit and not others.
e. Excel-Gk.-perisseuō –to superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous; also (transposed) to cause to superabound or excel:- (make, more) abound, (have, have more) abundance, (be more) abundant, exceed, excel, increase,
i. Excel in edifying the Church was the main focus not to appear spiritual.
ii This is what love does in the body of Christ.
f. 1 Corinthians 12:7 (NKJV) –7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
g. Manifestation’ – NT:5321 – visible supernatural activity of the Holy Spirit.
h. Each one’ – NT:1538 – every believer has this privilege to express the Gifts of the Spirit.
2. “Church is for the gathering of the saints- believers. Unbelievers from time to time will come into our Christian gatherings. In many churches, they have made the church service all about unbelievers instead of for believers to be equipped, discipled, and trained. The saints are being starved to death! The Word is watered down and the Gifts of the Spirit are forbidden so it might not offend the unbelievers. This is not according to God’s design for the church service. We should have the line-by-line in-depth teaching of the Word of God with the gifts of the Spirit in operation in our services. The saints need both to be perfected so they can do the work of the ministry. God said to go out into all the world and win the lost. He did not say go out into all the church and win the lost. “Rick McFarland
Below are scripture relating to this subject on the move of the Spirit and the Gifts:
3. Mark 16:17 (KJV) -17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
4. Mark 16:20 (KJV) -20 And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
5. John 3:6 (NKJV) -6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
6. John 6:63 (NKJV)-63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
7. John 14:12 (NKJV) -12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
8. Acts 2:17-18 (KJV) -17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
9. Acts 2:38-39 (KJV) -38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
10. Acts 3:6 (KJV) 6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
11. Acts 4:29-3 l; 5:12.-Grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus …. and they spoke the word with boldness .. . And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people.
12. Romans 1:11 (NKJV) -11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift ( Charisma) , so that you may be established. (literal) to turn resolutely in a certain direction.
13. Romans 8:9 (NKJV) -9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
14. Romans 12:5-6 (NKJV) -5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts ( Charisma ) differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them:…….
15. 1 Corinthians 1:4-7 (NKJV) -4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, (Vocal Gifts- 1 Cor. 12:1-7 ) 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you come short in no gift (Charisma), eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
16. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 (NKJV) -4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
17. 1 Corinthians 12:1 (NKJV) -1 Now concerning spiritual (pneumatikos) (plural -things) gifts, ( Gifts not in original language)brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: ( unlearned, not knowing, uninformed about them or ignore them.)
18. 1 Corinthians 13:1-2 (NKJV) -1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, (of things in one’s possession, power, charge, control. (1) Generally and simply, e.g., property ) and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
19. 1 Corinthians 14:1 (AMP) -1 EAGERLY PURSUE and seek to acquire [this] love [make it your aim, your great quest]; and earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual endowments (gifts), especially that you may prophesy…
20. 1 Corinthians 14:12 (NKJV) -12, Even so, you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. ( motive)
1 Corinthians 14:26 (NKJV)-26 How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
1 Corinthians 14:31-32 (NKJV)-31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
21. 1 Corinthians 14:40 (AMP) -40 But all things should be done with regard to decency and propriety (honorably )and in an orderly fashion. (1 Corinthians 14:40 (MSG) -40 Be courteous and considerate in everything.
22. 2 Corinthians 3:6 (AMP) -6 [It is He] Who has qualified us [making us to be fit and worthy and sufficient] as ministers and dispensers of a new covenant [of salvation through Christ], not [ministers] of the letter (of legally written code) but of the Spirit; for the code [of the Law] kills, but the [Holy] Spirit makes alive. God has made us a minister of the Spirit.
23. 2 Corinthians 13:14 (KJV) -14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
a. Communion: from <G2844> (koinonos); partnership, i.e. (literal) participation, or (social) intercourse, or (pecuniary) benefaction :- (to) communicate (-ation), communion, (contri-) distribution, fellowship. Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.We are in partnership with the Holy Spirit. We are co-laborers with Him. It is to our advantage that we learn to flow with Him.
24. Ephesians 4:16-from whom the whole body,( pulpit offices and congregation offices) joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, ( Gifts of the Spirit and Motivational gifts ) according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
1 Thessalonians 5:18-21 (NKJV)-18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.19 Do not quench the Spirit.20 Do not despise prophecies.21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
25. Hebrews 2:4 (NKJV) -4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
26. Hebrews 6:4-5 (AMP) -4 For it is impossible [to restore and bring again to repentance] those who have been once for all enlightened, who have consciously tasted the heavenly gift and have become sharers of the Holy Spirit, 5 And have felt how good the Word of God is and the mighty powers of the age and world to come, (Gifts of the Holy Spirit)
27. James 3:15-18 (NKJV) -15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
28. 1 Peter 4:10 (NKJV) -10 As each one has received a gift, (Charisma) minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
29. 1 John 4:17 (NKJB) -As He is so are we in this world.
30. There are seventy-nine instances of the Gifts of the Spirit in the book of Acts-R. L Brandt
31. What kind of Church do you want? (Rev. Gary Bailey)
a. An evangelistic Church? You must know about evangelism and preach evangelism.
b. A prosperous church? Teach and preach the principles of prosperity.
c. A healed and healthy church? Preach on healing and divine health.
d. A loving church? Preach and emphasize the love of God.
e. A holy church? Preach on sanctification and separation from the world.
f. A Word of God Church? Preach and teach from the scriptures-Topical as well as verse
by verse.
g. A Holy Ghost church? Preach on the Holy Ghost –the move of the Spirit.
Below are quotes from Bible teachers on the subject of spiritual gifts
32. Kenneth Hagin 2003 Prophecy: (partial)
Make your church not only a Word church but a Holy Ghost church. Put the Word first always. move in the Holy Ghost in line with the Word. And the glory shall be made manifest. The glory shall even be seen by many. And the blessings of the Lord will flow like a mighty river. Thank You, Lord Jesus.
33. Gordon Fee (Pentecostal theologian)
If the church is going to be effective in our postmodern world, we need to stop paying mere lip service to the Spirit and recapture Paul’s perspective: the Spirit as the experienced, empowering return of God’s own personal presence in and among us, who enables us to live as a radically eschatological people in the present world while we await the consummation.
34. JR Williams
A community of people proclaiming “Jesus is Lord” in the Holy Spirit is an extraordinary gathering. There are, to be sure, expressions of Jesus in many other ways than through the spiritual gifts; however, it is in and through them peculiarly that extraordinary, even supernatural, demonstrations of His power are made manifest. When this is realized and the community of people are expectant and the Lord begins to move, there is no place so full of anticipation and excitement as that in which the Lord Jesus is glorified. The Lordship of Christ, affirmed in the Spirit, is the primary background for the operation of the spiritual gifts.
35. Kevin Conner
All of these gifts are expressions of “Christ in you”– of Christ in the members of the body….all are to be seen functioning in the church, which is His body. These are His ministries at work in the members. All are needed. All flow through the redeemed personality [better, character] of the individual, and as the believer’s personality [character] is cleansed, purged, and refined by the indwelling Spirit of Christ, then these things will have a more perfect expression and more effective operation to the blessing of those in the body of Christ and to those in the world.
36. Renner, Rick
If you count the verses in the New Testament epistles that address the subject of the manifold, grace-given gifts of the Holy Spirit (including the fivefold ministry gifts, the motivational gifts, and the nine gifts of the Spirit we are discussing in this book) and also give concrete, well-established guidelines on how these gifts should operate in the Church, you will discover there are 103 verses that fit this description (see, for example, Romans 1:11; 12:5-8; 1 Corinthians 1:5-9; 12:1-31; 13:1-13; 14:1-40; Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Timothy 1:18; 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6; Hebrews 2:4; 1 Peter 4:10,11, etc.).
37. Harold Horton
But, say some very dear and highly esteemed Christians, the Gifts of the Spirit in any case are surely optional; you can live without them. Agreed. You can live without eyes and ears and speech. Spiritual Gifts are as optional as eyesight; you can walk without eyes, but you cannot see without them. You can be holy without Gifts, but YOU CANNOT BE MIGHTY IN GOD WITHOUT THEM. It is power, NOT holiness, that heals the sick– the power that the Gifts supply…Does not holiness consist in obedience to EVERY holy command of our most holy God– even the command to “desire spiritual gifts”?
38. Howard Courtney
Let us determine that these gifts shall not be minimized, stifled, suppressed, and suffocated in our personal lives or our churches and that we will not, through ignorance or fear, quench the Holy Spirit and thus suffer a tragic loss individually and collectively.
39. Howard Carter
Without them, the Church lacks the spiritual equipment outlined in the first Epistle to the Corinthians Chapter 12, which is so necessary for an aggressive conflict with the powers of darkness; she is also deprived of that edifying enrichment derived from the manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in her midst.
40. Howard Carter
But if we ignore the GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT we despise the heritage which is granted to us in Christ, and forget what the apostle Paul exhorted in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 1: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.”
41. Steven Brooks
The better understanding we have concerning spiritual gifts, the stronger manifestations we will have regarding them. Brooks, Steven. How to Operate in the Gifts of the Spirit: Making Spiritual Gifts Easy to Understand.
42. Steven Brooks
The manifestation of the Spirit is for the profit of all. It profits the one who is operating in the gift, and it profits the person who is on the receiving end of the gift. The receiver may be one person or vast number of people. The gifts are for our profit. They are not for our failure. The gifts of the Spirit will produce untold blessings in your life and in the lives of others.
These beautiful manifestations of the Holy Spirit draw people into a deeper walk with God. I have found over the years that when Jesus is exalted through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it is very effective in empowering God’s people to break free from the distractions of the world and thus pursue God with a clear and renewed focus.
43. Mike Connnell
God has created every person to be a supernatural spiritual being, with the capacity to function not only in the natural world, but also to access the realm of the spirit, access where God is, and to bring heaven to earth.
44. Mike Connell
With your spirit, you can communicate with the realm of God, with the realm of the spirit. So you are designed to flow and access the supernatural realm of God, so you don’t have to become a spiritual person. You already are spiritual.
45. Mike Connell
As soon as the Holy Spirit empowers you, or comes on you, and you’re baptized in the Spirit, you are able to operate in the gifts of the Spirit immediately if you will learn how to recognize and work with the Holy Spirit.
Stay tuned for more on this exciting subject!
In Christ’s Love
Brent and Linda Bushen
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