FRIDAY May 1st
1 Corinthians 12 – The Nine Gifts of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit who himself is a gift to the Church, also comes with gifts. Firstly, there are gifts of service within the Body of Christ. We read of these in Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:27-31
Secondly, there are what we usually describe as the ‘Gifts of the Holy Spirit’ gifts or giftings that are spiritual endowments given to individuals within the Church. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 lists them as:
The utterance of wisdom, the utterance of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, the ability to distinguish between spirits, various kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues.
Nine gifts which are as explained in this chapter apportioned by the Spirit to individuals as he wills.
I am a Pentecostal believer, and I not only believe in the receiving or the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I also believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and that they should be evident in a Pentecostal Church gathering.
Now this is a subject that is too vast for me to cover in these devotions, but too important for me not to overlook! So in this short devotion I want us to be inspired again, I want us to not only be Spirit filled and equipped, I want us to be a Church where there is very real evidence of the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work.
In verses 4-7, we discover that in the area of the Church and gifts of the Holy Spirit there are a variety of gifts but the source is the same – the Holy Spirit (v4) There are a variety of service – but the source is the same – The Lord (v5) and that there are a variety of activities, but the source is the same – God empowers them all in everything (v6) and then in v7, to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit FOR THE COMMON GOOD. Notice the work of the trinity in the bold letters.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are nine in number, usually when someone gives us a gift it is for our own personal benefit, but not when it comes to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, whichever of the gifts he may have given to us individually is for the common good of everybody else, for example, in particular to a local Church setting, if one person has the gift of prophecy it is for the mutual good, or for the benefit of the whole assembly.
The gifts have often been divided into three groups and each group identified in this way:
Prophecy, tongues and interpretation of tongues – voice gifts
Wisdom, knowledge and discerning of spirits – revelation gifts
Faith, healing and miracle – power gifts
Whichever we way we want to group them, does not really matter, what matters is that we seek God for the manifestation of the gifts among us. In our own lives we need to come before God and make ourselves available for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be used.
Following on from chapter 12, we have the famous ‘love’ chapter. I think that Paul by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is giving to us in this chapter, the secret to creating an environment in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit will be used and the only kind of environment in which they should be used. He ends chapter 12 by listing all kinds of ministries and giftings in the Church, ending with these words, ‘But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.’ And what is this more excellent way? It is the way of LOVE. Read through chapter 13 and note as you do all the good that we can do, but if we do not have love it profits nothing! Paul then continues in the next chapter (14) with, ‘PURSUE LOVE, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.’
LOVE – love must be the characteristic that binds a Church together and create the atmosphere in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit can operate. May we pursue love, so that the Holy Spirit will be pleased to impart gifts that in turn will benefit each one of us in the body of Christ, in the local Church.
Of all the Spirit’s gifts to me,
I pray that I may never cease
to take and treasure most these three:
love, joy, and peace.
The Spirit shows me love’s the root
of every gift sent from above,
of every flower, of every fruit,
that God is love.
The Spirit shows if I possess
a love no evil can destroy;
however great is my distress,
then this is joy.
Though what’s ahead is mystery,
and life itself is ours on lease,
each day the Spirit says to me,
“Go forth in peace!”
We go in peace, but made aware that,
in a needy world like this,
our clearest purpose is to share
love, joy, and peace.
Fred Pratt Green CCLI 788682