The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Part 5

of our study of the Person & Work of the Holy Spirit

Welcome!

Would you open your Bibles to...

1Co 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:

Intro

√ Did you do your homework?

Read and study…

Romans 12:6-8

I Cor. 12:4-11

I Cor. 12:28

Eph. 4:11-12

Every believer has a gift

√ Important to understand that all of us are given a gift by the Holy Spirit – it’s not just the pastor!

Every Christian has at least one spiritual gift.

1Pe. 4:10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

You may not know what your gift is, but each one of us has been given one.

Did you pray this last week about it?

Gifts are for others benefit

√ The purpose of spiritual gifts are to build up and encourage other believers.

They are not for self glorification or pride.

I Cor. 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

Important point: all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given in the context of the Body of Christ – that is, they are given to be used for the benefit of the local church.

Therefore, Christians who do not make church involvement (more than just attendance) a priority, are not using their gifts according to the purpose for which they were given.

Ex. Teaching – if I don’t come to church who will I teach? Prophecy – if I don’t fellowship with other Christians to whom will I prophecy?

Ap. The point is that when folks chose not to come to church they are neglecting their responsibility to the Lord and the local body of believers who are not receiving the benefit of their gifting.

God gives the Gifts

√ God is the source of all spiritual gifts. The Bible teaches that each member of the Trinity is involved in giving spiritual gifts.

The Father

Rom. 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

The Son

Eph. 4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Eph. 4:8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."

The Spirit

I Cor. 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

We cannot earn a gift through human effort. Spiritual gifts are not rewards for diligence.

No one should boast or be idolized for having a more prominent or visible gift.

The gifts do not represent a degree of spiritual growth.

They are given by God to certain believers as He desires.

Ap. So important to recognize these truths for it is human nature to elevate someone in our mind because they have a gift that draws a lot of attention.

Ex. Evangelism – Billy Graham

If you have the gift of administration and are responsible for getting Mr. Graham to the places that he preaches – if you do that faithfully unto the Lord – your reward will be just as great!

We’re rewarded for our faithfulness to use the gifts that God has given us – not for possessing the gift!

The Gifts are varied

√ There are many gifts – all of them important to the proper functioning of the Church.

Paul likens them to a human body.

I Cor. 12:18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.

I Cor. 12:19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be?

I Cor. 12:20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.

So, every believer has a gift, but no one has all the gifts!

Each member of the Body needs the other members.

There are no unimportant members.

Ex. Just like the human body – sometimes in our own wisdom we think that some part is not essential – like an appendix – but every part is needed for the body to work properly.

Gifts can be developed

√ Some gifts, like teaching for example, can and should be developed through repeated use and study of God’s word.

2Ti 1:6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

Other gifts, like healing, can’t really be developed – however, they are operated by faith which can be developed by prayer, study of God’s Word and by use.

Mat. 17:14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying,

Mat. 17:15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.

Mat. 17:16 "So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."

Mat. 17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me."

Mat. 17:18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

Mat. 17:19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"

Mat. 17:20 So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

Mat. 17:21 "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

Ap. Unbelief and spiritual envy keep many Christians from experiencing the full blessings of God.

The solution is to develop your relationship with Jesus through prayer and the Word.

The Gift of Apostle

√ The first gift mentioned is that of apostle.

I Cor. 12:28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles,

And…

Eph. 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles,…

“apostle” = apostolos - “one who is sent”

The gift of apostle is the special ability to introduce the Gospel message to a new group of people, or a particular group of people.

Then, to disciple those who have believed and plant a church.

In a broad sense a missionary or church-planter is functioning as an apostle.

√ The gift of apostle was given for the instruction and nurturing of believers in the Way of God as declared in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is different than the gift of pastor in that a pastor serves one congregation, while an apostle establishes and equips more than one group of believers.

Ex. Paul – didn’t stay long in any one city where he planted a church.

An apostle may stay with a congregation and serve as a pastor for a time – but will eventually turn the church over to a pastor.

√ The big question! Do people today have the gift of apostle?

That’s a HOT potato!

On one side of the Christian church we find folks who firmly believe that the gift of apostle died with the 12.

While on the other side of the spectrum we have folks who claim to be apostles today.

Let’s see what the Bible says and base our doctrine on what we find there.

Luke 6:13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:

And…

Eph. 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

Eph. 2:20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,

And…

Rev 21:14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

So far so good if you hold to the traditional view that there were 12 and only 12 apostles.

We’ve got 12 apostles – appointed by the Lord Jesus and symbolically represented as the foundation of the Church.

Except…we’ve got a little problem – which 12?

√ The New Testament lists more than 12 apostles!

Judas was one of the original 12 appointed by Jesus – yet he was replaced by Matthias after Judas’ suicide.

Both Paul and Barnabas were called “apostles”

Acts 14:14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out

And James – Jesus’ half-bother.

Gal. 1:19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother.

And finally, Paul’s warning in II Cor. 11:13 to watch out for false apostles would have no meaning if there weren’t more than the original 12.

II Co. 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.

So, how do we reconcile these two sides which seem to contradict one another?

On the one hand we find the Bible saying “12”, yet we find that more than 12 are mentioned!?

√ I believe the best solution is to recognize that the gift of apostle has both a specific designation, and a general designation.

That is, there were the original 12 (I would submit that Paul was God’s choice to succeed Judas – Acts 9:20) – none of which were succeeded.

Then, there are many others who operate the gift of apostle in that they do the work of church planting.

Ex. Hudson Taylor in China

Ap. For those who like to argue about it I often think of two children looking at opposite side of the same coin and arguing about what is inscribed on the coin.

Both heads and tails can be true depending on which side you look at!

Homework

√ Define what a prophet is.

√ Define what the gift of prophecy is.