Concerning Spiritual Gifts... Part 2

The nine manifestations or gifts of the Holy Spirit are generally divided as follows:


Three revelation gifts -Spiritual gifts that reveal something:

•     The word of wisdom
•     The word of knowledge
•     The discerning of spirits

Three power gifts -Spiritual gifts that do something:

•     The gift of faith
•     The working of miracles
•     The gifts of healings

Three utterance or inspirational gifts -Spiritual gifts that say something:

•     Prophecy
•     Divers kinds of tongues
•     Interpretation of tongues

The Word of Wisdom

The word of wisdom is a supernatural revelation by the Spirit of God concerning the divine purpose and plan in the mind and will of God.

The Word of Wisdom Is Not Wisdom in the Affairs of Life

The word of wisdom is confused many times with simple wisdom in the affairs of life, but simple wisdom in the affairs of life is not a spiritual gift. In the beginning of Joshua's ministry, God told him that the key to his success would lie in meditating on the Word of God, and that is how Joshua was to obtain wisdom in the affairs of life.

The Gift of the Word of Knowledge

Notice that this gift is called "the word of knowledge." It is not "the gift of knowledge." There is no such thing as a spiritual gift of knowledge. There is, however, a spiritual gift, called the word of knowledge. The word of knowledge is the supernatural revelation by the Holy Ghost of certain facts in the mind of God  — facts about people, places, or things in the past or present..

The Word of Knowledge vs. The Word of Wisdom
The difference between the two gifts — the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom — is that the revelation the word of knowledge brings is always present tense or concerning something that has happened in the past.

 On the other hand, the word of wisdom always speaks of the future.
The Word of Knowledge and the Word of Wisdom Can Operate Together
We divide the two gifts of the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom and deal with them singularly. However, as I mentioned, very often spiritual gifts operate together.

The Gift of the discerning of spirits

The gift of the discerning of spirits is supernatural insight into the spirit world.
The discerning of spirits actually has a more limited range of operation than the other two revelation gifts, the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge. That is because its revelation is limited to a single class of objects — spirits.

What the Discerning of Spirits Is Not

Someone has said that the best way to find out what something is, is to find out what it is not.
So let's discuss what the discerning of spirits is not. It is not discernment. I've heard people say, "I believe I have the gift of discernment."
Actually, there is no such thing mentioned in the Bible as the gift of discernment. It is the discerning of spirits. Many times what people call the gift of discernment is really the gift of the word of knowledge in operation.
In other words, sometimes people know things by the Spirit of God and call it discernment. But that doesn't mean it is really discernment. It is actually the word of knowledge in operation.

Also, the discerning of spirits is not a kind of spiritual mind reading. And the discerning of spirits is not psychological insight, nor is it mental "penetration." It is not the power to discern the faults of others.
You will find that the power to discern faults in others is possessed not only by believers but by unbelievers as well. You don't even have to be a Christian to have that "gift"! As a matter of fact, the power to discover or discern the faults in others is absolutely forbidden in the Scriptures. "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matt. 7:1).
One purpose of the baptism in the Holy Ghost is to destroy this "gift" of discerning faults in others, which is nothing more than criticism, and then to replace it with the sweet gift of gentle forbearance. The gift of discerning of spirits is not faultfinding. If those who think they have the "gift" of faultfinding would just turn that "gift" on themselves for about fifteen seconds, they
would never use it again.

Therefore, the discerning of spirits is not a spiritual gift to uncover human failures. Christians should walk in love, and the Bible says love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Paul, writing to the Church at Ephesus, said, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32). Paul was talking here to Christians.
No, the discerning of spirits is not discerning of character or faults; it is not even the discerning of people. It is called the discerning of spirits, and it deals with spirits that exist in the spirit realm, whether they are divine, satanic, or human.

Discerning of Spirits Is Not Simply Discerning of Devils

Let me point out that this gift of discerning of spirits is not just the discerning of devils, nor is it the discerning of just evil spirits.
To say that the discerning of spirits has to do only with devils is misleading. This gift has to do with the entire class of spirits, including good spirits, bad spirits, and human spirits. It is supernatural insight into the realm of spirits. The discerning of evil spirits is included, of course, but too many times folks have thought that seeing demons and devils is all this gift encompasses and they have been misled.

Gifts of the Spirit Are Supernatural

All of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are supernatural; they are not natural. Every one of them is a supernatural manifestation of the Spirit of God.
There are Bible teachers who say that some of the gifts of the Spirit are natural and some of them are supernatural. But if one of them is supernatural, then all of them are supernatural.
Every single one of the gifts of the Spirit listed in First Corinthians 12:8-10 is a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

The Gift of Special Faith

It is a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit whereby a believer is empowered with special faith, or wonder-working faith
The Gift of Special Faith Is Not the Same as Saving Faith
Every believer already has general faith or saving faith, which is also a gift. Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."
The faith that you are saved by is a gift of God, but it is not one of the nine gifts of the Spirit.
Saving faith is given to you through hearing the Word, because the Bible says, "So then faith [saving faith ] cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17).
The faith which we are talking about in this lesson — special faith — is something other than general faith or saving faith. It is a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit whereby a believer is empowered with special faith, or wonder-working faith, and it is beyond simple saving faith.

The Gift of the Working of Miracles

A miracle can be defined as a supernatural intervention by God in the ordinary course of nature. The working of miracles is used to display God's power and magnificence.
In Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible, the Greek word for "miracles" in First Corinthians 12:10 is "dunamis," and can also be translated acts of powers.

The Gift of Faith vs. The Gift of the Working of Miracles

The gift of faith is also distinct from the working of miracles, although both gifts produce miracles. One of them is active and the other is passive.
The working of miracles is active; it actively works a miracle. The gift of faith doesn't work a miracle, but passively receives a miracle.
In other words, the difference between the working of miracles and the gift of faith is that the gift of working of miracles actively does, and the gift of special faith passively receives.

Gifts of Healings: Not Medical Science

First, I want to emphasize the supernatural character of the gifts of healings. The gifts of healings have nothing to do with medical science or human learning.
Luke, who was a medical doctor, was with Paul on many of Paul's missionary journeys.
Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles as well as the Book of the Bible that bears his name. Luke was with Paul when he was shipwrecked and they were on the Island of Melita.
Nothing at all is said to the effect that Luke ministered to the folks on that island with his medical knowledge. But the father-in-law of the chief man of the island was sick, and Paul laid his hands on him and he was healed. He was healed by the supernatural power of God. This was the gifts of healings in manifestation.

Note: There is a difference between receiving healing through the manifestation of gifts of healings and just simply receiving healing by our own faith in God's Word.

The Gift of Prophecy

Prophecy is supernatural utterance in a known tongue. is simply means divinely inspired utterance in a known tongue

The Bible says, ". . . greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret ..." (1 Cor. 14:5). This infers that to speak with tongues and to interpret the tongues
is equivalent to prophecy.

tongues + Interpretation = prophecy

Therefore, prophecy is really the most important of these three gifts of inspiration or utterance in that it does not require another gift to complete it.

The Simple Gift of Prophecy Is Not Prediction

Many people think the gift of prophecy is prediction. The simple gift of prophecy, however, is not prediction but is speaking unto men ". . . to edification, and exhortation, and comfort" (1 Cor. 14:3).

Difference between prophecy in the Old Testament and prophecy in the New Testament.
It is also interesting to note the difference between prophecy in the Old Testament and prophecy in the New Testament. In the Old Testament prophecy was essentially foretelling, but in the New Testament we see that the gift of prophecy shifts strongly to forth telling.
The Gift of Prophecy vs. The Office of the Prophet
The gift of prophecy should not be confused with the prophetic office. The simple gift of prophecy has no revelation in it. Rather, it speaks unto men for their edification,
exhortation, and comfort (1 Cor. 14:3); it is to edify the Church (1 Cor. 14:4).
Notice that in First Corinthians 14:1, Paul was telling the whole Church at Corinth to covet to prophesy and to desire spiritual gifts, ". . . but rather that ye may prophesy." Yet in First Corinthians 12:28, Paul said that all are not prophets. If prophesying made a person a prophet, then Paul would be contradicting himself. In other words, the fact that the gift of simple prophecy operates through a person doesn't make him a prophet.

Therefore, the prophet would have other revelation gifts operating in his ministry, as well as the gift of prophecy.
To constitute standing in the office of the prophet, a person needs to have at least two of the revelation gifts operating on a continual basis in his life and ministry, plus the gift of prophecy.
In other words, for a person to stand in the office of the prophet, he would need to be called to the fivefold ministry as a preacher or teacher of the Word (Eph. 4:11,12), and have two of the three revelation gifts — the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, or the discerning of spirits — plus prophecy operating consistently in his ministry.
Therefore, we should not confuse the office of the prophet with the simple gift of prophecy which we are all told to covet.

Paul said, "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to EDIFICATION, and EXHORTATION, and COMFORT" (1 Cor. 14:3).
Thus, we can readily see that in the simple gift of prophecy there is no revelation. The simple gift of prophecy is given for edification, exhortation, and comfort. In the office of the prophet, however we very often find that revelation or foretelling does come forth, even through the vehicle of prophecy.

The Gift of Tongues

Divers kinds of tongues is supernatural utterance in an unknown tongue.

The Gift of Tongues Is a Supernatural Sign

Divers kinds of tongues is supernatural utterance by the Holy Spirit in languages never learned by the speaker, nor understood by the speaker, nor necessarily always understood by the hearer. Speaking with tongues has nothing whatsoever to do with linguistic ability; it has nothing to do with the mind or the intellect of man. It is a vocal miracle of the Holy Spirit.
We might ask, "What is the good of speaking with tongues?" Jesus said in Mark 16:17, ". . . these signs shall follow them that believe . . . they shall speak with new tongues."

The Gift of Tongues Is Unique To This Dispensation

One preacher disagreed with speaking in tongues, saying, "John the Baptist had the Holy Ghost and he didn't speak with tongues. Prophets of the Old Testament had the Holy Ghost, but they never spoke in tongues. So why do we need to speak in tongues?"

Initial Evidence of Receiving the Holy Spirit

Speaking in tongues is the initial evidence or sign of the Holy Spirit's infilling Presence (Acts 2:4). I believe, of course, that there are other evidences that will follow, but this is the first or initial physical evidence.

Speaking Mysteries Supernaturally to God

Paul gives another reason for speaking with tongues in First Corinthians 14:2: "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but UNTO GOD: for no man understandeth him; howbeit IN THE SPIRIT HE SPEAKETH MYSTERIES" (1 Cor. 14:2).

The Gift of Interpretation of tongues

Interpretation of tongues is a supernatural showing forth of that which has been said in an unknown tongue.

The gift of interpretation of tongues is the least gift of all of the gifts of the Spirit because it depends upon another gift — divers kinds of tongues — in order to operate. It does not operate unless tongues have been in operation.
The purpose of the gift of interpretation of tongues is to render the gift of tongues
understandable to the hearers so that the whole church congregation, as well as the one who gave the utterance in an unknown tongue, may know what has been said and may be edified thereby. Paul said,". . . greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, THAT THE CHURCH MAY RECEIVE EDIFYING" (1 Cor. 14:5).
All these gifts operate by faith, but it takes more faith to operate in the gift of prophecy than tongues or interpretation of tongues.

The Gift of Interpretation — Not Translation

As we mentioned earlier, the interpretation of tongues is not a translation. I am sometimes asked why it is that when someone speaks at length in tongues, an interpreter will occasionally give only a short message.

Note: all the spiritual gifts listed above are manifested by the Holy Ghost as he wills. you cannot start the operation of a spiritual gift like if you switch on your TV set at home. The manifestation of the Spirit is given by the Holy Spirit Himself. Nevertheless some gifts can be operated by faith (e.g gift of tongues)

Recommended book
 The Holy Spirit and His Gifts by Kenneth Hagin

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Concerning Spiritual Gifts... Part 1

With regard to Spiritual Gifts...

1 Corinthians 12:1-14 (NET)
 With regard to spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.  You know that when you were pagans you were often led astray by speechless idols, however you were led. So I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
  Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are different ministries, but the same Lord.  And there are different results, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all.  For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit,  to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,  to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.  It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things.
  For just as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body – though many – are one body, so too is....

1 Corinthians 12:1-14 (KJV)
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

For the body is not one member, but many....

Don't Be Ignorant (Uninformed) of Spiritual Gifts

A lot of people in the Church today are ignorant about Spiritual Gifts.

Paul said by the Holy Spirit to the Church at Corinth, "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I WOULD NOT HAVE YOU IGNORANT" (1 Cor. 12:1 - KJV).

With regard to spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed (1 Cor. 12:1 - NET)..

The Spirit of God through Paul said that He didn't want the Church at Corinth to be ignorant (Uninformed) concerning spiritual gifts, then certainly the Spirit of God does not wants the Church today to be ignorant concerning spiritual gifts.

However, a gross ignorance does exist in the church today concerning these things. In some assemblies people know nothing at all about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or even that such gifts exist. They think these gifts have ceased to exist. In other places people know something about the gifts of the Spirit, but their knowledge is very limited.

What are Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual Gifts are endowment given to Holy Ghost baptised believers for the furtherance of the Gospel and exaltation of Jesus. It is an endowment. It is not worked for. God gives to every Holy Ghost baptised believer as He wills. 1 Cor 12

Spiritual Gifts Will Exalt Jesus Christ

Paul also said to the Church at Corinth, "Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led" (1 Cor. 12:2). These people had previously worshipped idols and in this idol worship, motivated by the wrong spirit, they would say a lot of things that were in error.

Church history tells us that some of these people would come into the Christian assembly and when the Spirit of God began to manifest Himself, these people would yield to a wrong spirit and say things under the influence of the wrong spirit.

Some of them would even rise up in the services when the gifts of utterance were in operation and they would say that Jesus was accursed (cursed). And the Scripture says that no one speaking by the Spirit of God would call Jesus accursed.

Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the spirit of God calleth (calls) Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. (1 Cor. 12:3)

In other words, Paul said that when the Holy Spirit is in manifestation, He will make Jesus Lord. If an utterance gift, that is, a vocal gift—prophecy, divers kinds of tongues, or the interpretation of tongues—is in manifestation, then, of course, it will be clear by what is said that Jesus is Lord.

Holy Ghost Inspired Gifts will exalt Jesus

If the other gifts are in manifestation, they will always uplift the Lordship of Jesus, not the lordship of some man. They will not attract attention to some man, preacher, prophet etc but rather to Christ.

You can be sure that if someone is operating in what appears to be one of the vocal gifts, and calls Jesus accursed or speaks against Him in any way, then he's not speaking by the Holy Spirit.

Then Paul said in First Corinthians 12:3 that no man can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. In other words, Paul was saying that if someone is speaking by the right spirit—by the Holy Spirit—then what he says will exalt the Name of Jesus.

Personal testimony by Reverend Kenneth E. Hagin (of Blessed Memories)

Once in a meeting while I was praying for people for healing, I sensed that someone in the prayer line had a wrong spirit. I knew within my own spirit who this person was before she ever stood in front of me to be prayed for.

When she stepped up in front of me for prayer, I asked her, "Are you a Christian?" She replied that she belonged to a particular church.

I said, "Well, you can belong to any church and still not be a Christian. You have to be born again."

"Oh, I am saved and filled with the Holy Ghost," she said. "Do you want to hear me speak in tongues?" Then she started saying something that sounded like tongues.

I said, "Sister, say this prayer after me from your heart." I prayed a prayer to God the Father and she repeated the words after me. Then I said, "I acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as Your Son, and I acknowledge that He is come in the flesh."
But when I said that, she said, "Jesus Christ is not Your Son and He is not come in the flesh." It was immediately apparent that wasn't the right spirit speaking.

Those tongues she was rattling off—some kind of "gibberish"—weren't given by the Spirit of God. I tried two or three times to get her to repeat that prayer after me. Finally, she said, "Something on the inside of me won't let me say what you said."

"I know it," I said. "Do you want to be free from it?"

"I sure do!" she answered. I cast that spirit out of her in the Name of Jesus. Then I had her pray the sinner's prayer and she was born again. She was then filled with the Holy Spirit and went home speaking in tongues.

This woman was saying, "I am saved, I am born again, and I am filled with the Holy Ghost," but she wasn't at all. People can make a lot of statements, but that doesn't necessarily make them true. When the Spirit of God is in manifestation, He will make Jesus Lord. The wrong spirit won't acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and won't say that Jesus is Lord.

The Nine Gifts Categorized
For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another THE WORD OF KNOWLEDGE by the same Spirit....(1 Cor. 12:8)

Paul goes on to list nine manifestations or gifts of the Spirit. The nine manifestations or gifts of the Holy Spirit are generally divided as follows:

Three revelation gifts—spiritual gifts that reveal something:

• The word of wisdom
• The word of knowledge
• The discerning of spirits

Three power gifts—spiritual gifts that do something

• The gift of faith
• The working of miracles
• The gifts of healings

Three utterance or inspirational gifts—spiritual gifts that say something:

• Prophecy
• Divers (different) kinds of tongues
• Interpretation of tongues

Very often these gifts work together, as tongues and interpretation work together. But we divide them as they are divided here in 1 Corinthians 12 in order to distinguish them and to talk about them...

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The power of speaking Gods Word

God Spoke and It Stood Fast!

One of the most amazing truths in the Bible is that the world
and the vast reaches of space and of the universe — all that the
eye can see and beyond what the eye can see — were spoken
into existence by God. The Word of God — God's own words
— are absolutely irresistible! It's amazing to realize that God
made everything that is — the universe, the stars, the constellations, animals, oceans, rivers — by His Word. He simply spoke it, and it was; the worlds came into being.
Nothing can stand in the way of the words that God speaks. There is no force in the universe that can refute, come against, or deny the power in God's irresistible and irrefutable Word.
There is no force strong enough to nullify God's Word. The Word that God speaks is irresistible! The Bible is God's Word,
and no Word of His is void of power or impossible of fulfillment!

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What Faith is...

FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
- Hebrews 11:1
God is telling us exactly what Bible faith is. Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the evidence of things not seen and faith is the substance of things hoped for. In other words, faith is
substance. Moffatt's translation of Hebrews 11:1 reads: "Now faith means that we are confident of what we hope for, convinced of what we do not see." Another translation
reads: "Faith is giving substance to things hoped for."

Human Faith vs. Bible Faith
However, we must understand that there are a number of kinds of faith. For example, everyone has a natural human faith, whether they are saved or unsaved. But in Hebrews 11:1, God is talking about a scriptural faith - a Bible faith. Bible faith is
believing with your heart.
There is a vast difference

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