Understanding the Gifts of the Spirit
Kelly McDonald, Jr.
On the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, God poured out the Holy Spirit from Heaven in a powerful way. There were cloven tongues of fire that came upon the disciples; they were filled with His Spirit. This special gift of God’s Spirit imparts to us more gifts of His grace. In this article, we will review nine of these gifts and provide some guidance on their proper use.
In I Corinthians 12:1-31, the Apostle Paul discussed the importance of the Body of Messiah working together. As part of this conversation, he mentioned nine spiritual gifts that God has distributed among His people. In verse one, he wrote: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” We are not supposed to be ignorant of these gifts because God has given them. He does nothing in vain. We need to be aware 1) that they exist, 2) what they are, and 3) how to operate in them.
In I Corinthians chapter 12, the Greek word translated as gift is charisma; it refers to a supernatural gift. In other words, we do not earn them through our works. God imparts these gifts within the Body as He chooses. They are used to build up the body of believers and advance the gospel in this dark world. When a person is baptized in the Spirit, these gifts should flow with abundance and power.
One of the root words for charisma is charis, which means grace. These are literally “gifts of the grace.” When we use or experience them, we experience the grace of God. As we learn to use and receive them, it is one way that we grow in grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18).
We cannot use our human mind to interpret their meanings. We need our spiritual vision restored to understand them. They are supernatural demonstrations of God’s power. As Paul wrote in Romans 12:2,
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
The first of these gifts is the word of wisdom. According to our human mind, we might say that this gift is wisdom based upon human experience. This is not the case with the gift of the word of wisdom! It is a supernatural message from God that brings clarity to a situation or solves a problem. Said another way, it is a skillful way to handle a situation that gives God glory. How do we recognize this gift?
Primarily we recognize it because the person delivering the word of wisdom did not know the answer by his or her human mind. The word of wisdom answers questions such as “How do I accomplish this goal?”; “What course of action do I take in this situation?”; or “How do I solve this problem?”
Example: In 2 Samuel 5:22-24, David asked God how to attack the Philistines. God gave Him specific instructions on how to do this. When he carried these instructions, he had success. The Lord gave him skillful instructions so he could attain victory. It was a word of wisdom.
The second gift is the word of knowledge. Again, this does not mean the knowledge that a person has acquired through his or her natural senses. A word of knowledge is a message from the Spirit of God to impart information or a warning not known to the person receiving it.
It answers questions such as “Why am I struggling with this problem?” or “What is the correct answer to this question?” It is intimate knowledge from God that gets right to the heart of a situation. It will illuminate your understanding. God will get the glory.
Example 1: In 2 Samuel 21:1-3, there was famine in the land of Israel. David asked God why it happened. The Lord explained to him that the famine was due to Saul’s attempt to destroy the Gibeonites. David asked a question and God answered it. This was a word of knowledge.
Example 2: One time I was ministering at a church and during the sermon I suddenly had an urge (by the Spirit) to talk about the importance of forgiveness during the sermon. Unbeknownst to me, someone in the audience was struggling with this issue. They came up to me after the sermon and said that they needed help forgiving someone. This was a word of knowledge.
The third of these gifts is another faith. The Greek phrase is hetero pisits. Hetero means different. Pisits means faith. Literally, this means a different faith than the normal faith. There is a common faith in Christ that all people need to be saved (Romans 10:9-11). There is even a general prayer of faith that all believers can pray (James 5:15).
Another faith is a supernatural demonstration of faith to believe for things that are beyond the imagination of the human mind. There are times believers are faced with situations that seem impossible; it could be financial difficulties, famine, impending natural disasters, illnesses, persecution, or other events. Those with this gift have the faith to believe and pray through these situations for individuals or the entire Body. God has equipped the Body to help each other in times of plenty and times of need. When this gift is exercised, other believers are encouraged to continue believing and/or unbelievers start believing.
Examples: Noah believed that He was supposed to build an Ark when it had never rained (Hebrews 11:7). Abraham believed God could resurrect Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19). In Acts 27:33-38, Paul was on a ship that had blown off course. The men had gone 14 days without eating. During this distress, Paul received an encouraging message from an angel. Based upon that, he believed that they could eat as much as they wanted without getting sick. They ate and no one became sick. These are all examples of the gift of another faith, which was a great faith necessary to believe for what appeared to be impossible.
The fourth enduement is the gifts of healings. It is important to note that the Greek words for gift and healing are plural. There are two reasons for this wording. First, there are various diseases and sicknesses that will be healed. Secondly, there are multiple expressions of this gift.
There have been some serious imbalances with this gift over the years. The first imbalance is to attribute all illness to devils. The second is to attribute all illness to sin. The Pharisees accused a blind man of sinning in John 9:1-2. Jesus corrected them and said: “Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John 9:3). He did not have a devil and he did not sin. He had a physical ailment; Jesus healed him.
Remember, “gifts of healings” is plural. Some illnesses have physical origins. If someone falls from a ladder and breaks his or her arm, then the broken arm came from a physical event. Conversely, some people contract diseases or mental illnesses because of emotional wounds they have experienced. There are sat least five manifestations of the gifts of healings.
1) The healing of physical deformities and injuries. In Matthew 12:1-14, Jesus prayed for a man with a withered hand. This man was healed; his hand was restored to normal. InJohn 9:1-34, Jesus healed a man that was blind. These were physical deformities or injuries that were healed.
2) The healing of sicknesses and diseases that come through biological agents such as bacteria and viruses. In Matthew 8:1-4, Jesus prayed for a man to be healed of leprosy (which is caused by a bacteria). In Matthew 8:14-15, Jesus prayed for Peter’s mother-in-law to be healed of fever.
3) The forgiving of sins. Jesus told a man with palsy: “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:2b). This man was healed. James mentioned that we can confess our faults or sins to one to another and receive healing (James 5:16). This aspect of healing occurs when you pray for someone to have a revelation of their sin so that they may repent. Their acknowledgment of sin and subsequent repentance brings healing. There are some illnesses caused by sin (but not all or most).
4) Casting out of devils. Some illnesses have spiritual origins. Jesus cast a spirit out of a girl in Matthew 15:21-28. When the spirit left, she was healed.
5) The resurrection from the dead. In Luke 8:49-56, Jesus went to pray for a little girl who had died. In verse 50, Jesus said that the girl could be healed if they believed. He prayed and she came back from the dead. This manifestation is a gift of healing because it reverses the process of illness or injury that led to death.
In the Bible, there is the general prayer of faith for healing because of Jesus’ stripes (Isaiah 53:5, I Peter 2:24, James 5:14-16). However, certain believers have the gifts of healings. We can identify people with it when two or more of these examples operate through them.
The fifth gift is the working in miracles. This operation in miracles usually happens when the natural processes of the world or creation itself is changed from what currently exists into a different state or form. The gift changes these processes in a way that brings glory to God and advances His plan and purposes. It is very much connected to the gift of another faith in that the Body of Christ may be faced with situations that seem impossible.
Examples: When Jesus prayed for the bread to be multiplied, natural laws of space, time, and matter were altered to give glory to God (Matthew 14:13-21). Another example would be when Jesus rebuked the storm and waves so that the sea grew calm (Matthew 8:23-26). These miracles turned those situations around.
The sixth of these gifts is prophecy. Some people think that this gift is merely explaining the word of God or preaching. That is incorrect. Once again, this gift is not an explanation of something you already know. This specific gift has a much different meaning. A prophetic message expresses God’s will or reveals another person’s heart.
The gift of prophecy can manifest in a few different forms. The first form is where the message explains God’s express intention to do something.
Example 1: In 2 Kings 20:1, God sent the prophet Isaiah to tell Hezekiah that he would die.
We know from the text that Hezekiah repented, and his life was not taken. This shows us that we can alter our destiny after receiving a prophetic word. We can do things to prevent a good message from coming to pass or prevent a bad one from coming to pass.
Some prophecies manifest where God presents a conditional statement to a person or group of people. In these types of prophecies, God explains the benefits of obedience and the penalty for disobedience.
Example 2: In Jeremiah 17:19-27, God sent Jeremiah to deliver a powerful prophetic message to the people of Judah. If they kept the Sabbath, then the city would be spared. If they did not keep it, then He would destroy the city. They did not heed the prophetic message. They continued to break the Sabbath and the city was destroyed.
Other prophecies are given where God exposes or reveals the intentions of another person’s heart. In these instances, God will explain the consequences if they continue their current course of action.
Example 3: In Acts 8:14-24, the Apostle Peter and other men were laying hands on people to receive the Holy Spirit. Simon the sorcerer came up to Peter and offered him money so that he could receive power. Peter told Simon that he had evil in his heart and that he needed to repent. Simon thought that he was going to come under punishment from God if he did not repent (see also I Sam. 9:19, I Cor. 14:24-25).
In summation, a prophecy is a message given to an individual or group either as a foretelling of what is to come or as a presentation of two choices. Choosing one way will result in good things. The other course will result in ruin. Prophecy directs people towards God’s will.
There is an imbalance with this gift that needs to be addressed. There seems to be a rising tide of sentiment that prophetic messages should only be positive. Below, I have provided some New Testament examples of prophetic messages that would not be considered positive today.
In Acts 11:27-28, Agabus prophesied that a famine was coming to the Roman world. In Acts 21:10-11, he foretold that Paul was going to be bound in Jerusalem and handed over to the Gentiles. In 2 Peter chapter 2, Peter foretells a dreadful end for false prophets.
These are just a few examples to show us that there must be a balance in prophetic messages. People have decisions to make that can alter their own destiny. God rewards those who seek and obey Him. The disobedient suffer adverse consequences. Every word from God is good, but it is how we interpret them and our desire to do what is right that impact our destiny.
The seventh gift is the discerning of spirits. It can manifest as distinguishing the spirits of the supernatural realm to identify whether they are from God or satan. This may include knowledge about the spirit’s influence, goals, or plans. This gift can also manifest as the discerning the spirits of other people as to their emotional state or intent (and discerning what spirits are influencing them). Often it is coupled with the gift of prophecy because the prophetic gifts must be able to discern what type of spirit is influencing a person or a person’s intentions. It can also be coupled with other gifts, such as the gifts of healings.
Examples: In Mathew 16:21-24, Peter tried to say that Jesus would not be crucified. Jesus discerned that the spirit influencing Peter’s words was satan. He then rebuked satan. In Mark 9:14-29, Jesus was brought a young man who could not speak. He threw himself down and foamed at the mouth. To the natural mind, these symptoms sound like a seizure. Jesus discerned that the boy was bound by a deaf and mute spirit. He cast out the spirit, and the boy was healed. Discerning of spirits was necessary in these situations.
The eighth spiritual gift is different kinds of tongues. In the Greek language, this breaks down to three words: hetero gene glosson. Hetero means different, gene means kind, and glossa means tongues. Literally, this means a different type of tongues than the normal kind.
Just as hetros pistis was another type of faith than the common kind, this special gift is another type of tongues than what normally manifests. This type of tongues is only given to certain believers. It is a clearly spoken message in the dialect of a language intended for the hearer to understand. It is meant to confirm the word of God and help others believe in God.
Keep in mind that this is not speaking in a language that you naturally understand or learned through training. Remember, these gifts are supernatural impartations. They cannot be gained by human effort. This gift helps the Body because you may interact with believers that do not speak your language. This gift can be used to bridge that gap of understanding. It can also draw the lost to God; He is given the glory. It does not have to be interpreted whereas the normal kind of tongues can have an interpretation given. Below, I share two examples of hetero gene glosson.
Example 1: In Acts chapter 2, the disciples spoke in heterais glossais. The use of this phrase indicates that they had already spoken in its normal form. This different gift of tongues was for the people gathered that day. They heard their native languages, but also in the specific dialects from their hometowns (Acts 2:8 [dialekto]). The audience understood the language without an interpretation. At the same time, not everyone present understood this event (Acts 2:13). Those who were intended to understand the message heard it plainly and were moved by God.
Example 2: A minister I know one once asked God to grant him this gift to speak to an immigrant who did not know much English. After praying, he went up to this man and ministered to him in his native tongue. This man eventually surrendered his life to God.
The ninth gift is called interpretation of tongues. An interpretation in tongues captures the intent and meaning of the message given. For instance, a person may speak in tongues for 30 seconds. The interpretation may only be 15 seconds long. These interpretations will help people to focus on God’s purpose and will for their lives. After a message in tongues is given, time must be allowed for God to manifest this gift.
Example: I have been in services where someone gave an utterance in tongues. After a moment of silence and reverence, someone else stood up and gave the interpretation.
Conclusion
There are several final points to address about the gifts of the Spirit to help us better understand their intended use.
First, ask God for a revelation your gift or gifts and ask Him to show you how to use them. Through the leading of God’s Spirit, look for opportunities to use them. He provides the unction for us to function! (I John 2:20-27) Do not take something God grants us by His grace and bury it (see Matthew 25:14-31).
Secondly, some of these gifts, such as the word of knowledge, word of wisdom, and prophecy, can manifest as a dream or vision. Dreams and visions are supernatural ways in which God communicates to His people (Acts 2:14-21). If you believe you have had a dream or vision from God, pray about its meaning and what you should do in response.
Third, everyone has something to offer. The gift or gifts God has given you does not exalt you above anyone else. At the same time, your gift (or gifts) does not make you lesser than others. Do not be discouraged. Learn to appreciate what God has given you and others. We are all part of the same Body and operate by the same Spirit.
Fourth, learn to receive gifts. While we should use our gift or gifts, we should also learn to receive someone else’s gift. This takes love and appreciation for others. This allows us to better understand and appreciate other parts of the Body and maintain balance in grace and knowledge.
Fifth, not every believer has every gift. As Paul wrote, “Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?” (I Cor. 12:29). Some people may manifest more than one gift. Others may only have one gift, but they demonstrate it very strongly.
Sixth, we can ask God for a specific gift that we believe the body needs. As Paul wrote: “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way…” (I Cor. 12:31). If you do this, then be prepared to use it. While we may not possess a gift that is needed at a particular moment, God can use you for it if you ask. I personally believe that we should believe and expect God to manifest any gift at any time in our vessel as necessary for His purposes.
Seventh, you can also receive words of wisdom, words of knowledge, etc. for your own daily life. Each of us is part of the Body as well. When we receive help through the gifts, it will benefit the whole (just don’t forget to utilize them to help others).
Eighth, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29). God has given these gifts to people in the Body. It is up to us to use them properly; some people misuse them for monetary gain, personal aggrandizement, or show. Christ will call them to account at His return. We must use these gifts in such a way that God gets the glory.
Ninth, never charge money for using a gift. “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). Some people charge money for prophetic messages or other gifts. This is prostitution with the gifts of God. It grieves the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). In Matthew 7:13-21, there is a strong warning issued to those who engage in such behavior.
Lastly, you can pray in the Spirit to stir other gifts within you (see Acts 19:1-6 for an example). Paul even told Timothy “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6). The Greek word for gift in this verse is charisma. Praying in the Spirit stirs the gifts God has given us.
We belong to a Kingdom that is from another world (John 18:30). We are in this world, but not of this world (John 17). This means we need power from another world to introduce the Kingdom of God into this world. These gifts help the Body in our time of need and display His powerful Kingdom to the world.
These gifts are designed bring glory to God; let us use them and receive them in a way that glorifies the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
All verses taken from the King James Version (KJV).
Kelly McDonald, Jr.
Pastor, David’s Tent