The Invitation/ Sanctified/ Seven Pillars of Knowledge

#4 The Gifts: Given by the Spirit

1 Cor 12: vs 1, 4-11 October 2, 2015

Few things, during the revival of our times, has stirred more controversy than the rekindling of the spiritual gifts. Citing both real and imagined abuses, some have preached against the gifts of the Spirit; others have dismissed them as emotional superstition; and still others have gone so far as to say they are out and out Satanic. No matter the objections, God desires to give us gifts. First and foremost, will always be the gift of His Son and the work Jesus did on Calvary. But close behind the gift of the ‘cross’ are the gift of the active presence of the Holy Ghost within us and His spiritual gifts given in order to help and mature the body of Christ. Whatever the abuses (and there have been abuses), or whatever the fine religious arguments fashioned to oppose the free-flow of the gifts in the Church, one thing remains sure in God’s Word: We are told not to be ignorant of the gifts. The twelfth chapter of 1 Cor. vs 1,4-11 is explicit:

“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant…
Now there are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit. “And there are differences of the administrations, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which works 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 the discerning of spirits; to another diverse kinds of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues;
But all these worketh that one and selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”

If we refuse the gifts of the Holy Ghost we will remain ignorant, not only in this crucial area, which is meant to help in our walk, but in other areas of our Christian life as well. Throughout the Age of the Church the Christian world has maligned the Jews for rejecting Christ, the one whom God had sent; and at the same time we have been horribly guilty of rejecting the Holy Spirit, the one whom Jesus sent. What sort of hypocrisy do we engage in when we judge the Jews for rejecting Christ and turn around and reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit? The Holy Ghost is the Comforter, the Teacher, the Judge; He is the one sent of Jesus to lead the Church into all truth. Yet we have preferred to lead ourselves. Regardless, Christ’s words are no less true today than they were the moment He first spoke them to his disciples at the Last Supper.

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he hears, that shall he speak and he will show you things to come.
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16:13-14

There can be no question: the single greatest factor in the lifting of the apostasy of the Church has been the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on our generation. The gifts are given to help believers enter into the resurrected life. The gift of wisdom is given to the Church to help her in situations that are impossible to cope with by human means. The gift of knowledge is given to enlighten the Church in time of special need; supernatural faith is given to accomplish the impossible; healings are brought forth to aid salvation’s work; miracles are performed to witness to the Gospel; discerning of spirits is given to protect and deliver the Church, and prophecies come forth to edify the believer and give praise to the Lord Jesus. These and other gifts are bestowed on the Church as the Spirit wills, in the manner the Spirit wills.

Do Not Let Abuses Stop You From Receiving Gifts
Some churches have fallen into the mistake of thinking there is a set pattern which the Holy Ghost uses in bringing forth the gifts. There is, however, neither a pattern nor a single way in which the gifts are administered. As the Scriptures plainly say there are differences in the way gifts are administered and a diversity of ways in which they operate (1 Cor.12). But they are not for entertainment either. In some places the gifts have been exploited as entertainment, P.T. Barnum style.

Some charismatic groups have wrongly invited people to be baptized in the Holy Spirit never considering whether the person has even been born again. Others, preferring power, have forgotten their first love – Jesus, and sought the gifts above hearing the voice of God and being obedient to it. Do not, dear brethren, let these abuses deter you from receiving the blessings that the gifts of the Holy Ghost provide. If abuses were an excuse for discarding the truth then the whole world would only need to cite the abuses perpetrated by “Christianity” in the name of Christ as an excuse for rejecting Jesus. There are no excuses for rejecting God’s gifts and if we do we will remain ignorant.

In preaching to the Corinthian church, a church that had been abusing the gifts, Paul first warned them to do things in order, but still used words like “desire” and “earnestly covet” to teach them to want the gifts. A word to the wise. Often, if not always, the controversy over the gifts settles on the gift of tongues. Relying on their intellect, Christians become embarrassed by the gift of tongues; to them the gift of tongues is absurd, or foolish, or even demonic. Ignorant men say that God gave it to the Church, but doesn’t any more, and now only Satan has it and uses it to mock God. If what they say is true then God gave a gift to his Church, took it away, let Satan have control of it, and now allows His Church to be tossed round and round in total confusion. It is clear from the full context of 1 Corinthians (especially chapters 12 & 14) that Paul and the Holy Ghost agree: tongues is a purposeful and valid gift of the Spirit. Any honest searcher of the Scriptures will come to know that tongues are very closely associated with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is, in its prayer form and not its prophetic form, the confirmation to the believer that he is immersed in the Holy Ghost by faith. Paul ended his teaching on the gifts and speaking in tongues to the Corinthians with this: “Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order.” 1 Cor. 14:39

How Do the Gifts Come Forth?
The gifts will be given to us and administered to us by dream, or vision, or a still small voice, but when and how the gifts come forth is often up to the discretion of the vessel receiving them. “The spirit of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” 1 Cor. 14:32 This means that the recipient of a gift will have to initiate the operation of the gift. The feeling to bring forth the gift may be so intense that the person feels like they will explode if they do not get it out. Or, it may be just a gentle prodding of the Spirit. People often think they have to be put into some kind of spiritual trance before they can bring forth a gift of the Spirit. Not true. Not all times are proper, but when the time is right I have to act by faith and let the gift flow. “Let all things be done decently and in order.” 1 Cor 14:40

What then do the various gifts of the Spirit have in common? If it is not the way they are administered, or how they are given, or in their operation, what, then, makes the gifts true gifts from God? The test of the gifts is not in their glamour or even in their miraculous nature. Satan can, and will, perform miracles of his own. The proof of the gifts lies in to whom and to what they testify. The single common thread running through all the gifts of the Spirit is that they edify the Church while they sing the praises of Jesus Christ. If the gifts are not to be abused, then the recipients and the beneficiaries must test them with all diligence. Dreams, visions, prophecies, and all profound words, must be tested. They must conform to the Good News. The operation and administration of the gifts may vary, but the one thing which will never vary is their Gospel truth. The Holy Spirit praises Christ and never lies or blasphemes about God in any way.

To have gifts flowing in our church increases our responsibility as believers, for it means added responsibility in testing their truth, and that means we must be knowledgeable in all areas of the Gospel, especially where the Holy Spirit has told us to beware and to “not be ignorant”. We must know God’s Word in order to hold the gifts up to the proper scrutiny. We cannot rely on a pastor or leader to know God’s Word for us. The gifts mean added responsibility. We must be able to detect which spirit is speaking, whether it is the good Spirit of God or the wandering, fallen spirits of Satan. And for that, we need to be of good understanding. We must not be ignorant, brethren.

#6 Fast Approaching: Judgment Day