God’s gifts to the Church are many and diverse. He gives spirituals gifts to believers at will and gifts people to the Church for the benefit of all.  In 1st Corinthians chapters 12 through 14, the apostle Paul enlightened us concerning these gifts.

Sign Gifts and Benefits of the Holy Spirit

“For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:8-10 NKJV).

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are quite amazing and with them you can accomplish some really great and awesome things for God.  Jesus assured His disciples, “He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14:12 NKJV).  This is how they do these great works! It is through the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit!

You and I can do the same works and even greater works if we earnestly seek God for these gifts. From the words of our Lord and Master, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7 NKJV). We are taught by the apostle Paul to “earnestly desire the best gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31) so that we may be able to use them for the benefit of others which will ultimately bring glory to God.

As the apostle Paul taught, “…The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal” (1 Corinthians 12:7 KJV). The gifts or manifestation of the Holy Spirit profits or benefits the person who receives them as well as the people to whom he or she ministers.  The gifts are given to “every man” to profit from.  This tells me that these gifts are available to all believers and that every single person who receives these gifts receives a great blessing within his soul, a joy which overflows outwards to bless others, and power to work within the area of his calling.

If you earnestly desire these gifts and actively seek after them, God will grant them to you. I am encouraging you to eagerly seek after these gifts, especially the ones that will help you in your ministry to others.  As you minister to others, you will be richly blessed yourself.  As you share your knowledge to edify others within the body of believers or seek to win lost souls for Christ, your own knowledge will also increase.  As you give to enrich and to bless the lives of others, others will give to bless you.  The more you pour into others, the more God will pour into you.

As the book of Proverbs tells us, “The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself” (Proverbs 11:25 NKJV). The apostle Peter taught, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10 NIV). Are you a sharer of God’s Word?  If not, I am encouraging you to become one today.  A good place to start is by sharing your testimony with others.  You know best what God has done for you.  Share your testimony with others to bless and to encourage them.

The Holy Spirit is the giver of all spiritual gifts and He gives them to every person at will. (1 Corinthians 12:11). He decides which gifts to give to each person.  He calls each of us to the ministry and He gifts us for the area in which He calls us to serve.  Once we receive these gifts, they immediately start to flow out through us to others.

A good way for you to recognize your gifts is to evaluate what area of the ministry you are naturally drawn to. What are you passionate about?  “…It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 NKJV).  This is how the gifts of the Spirit work.  As God places these gifts in you, you receive the desire to serve and to do the will of God.  This is for His glory but you will find great pleasure in obeying Him and in serving Him.  The area in which your strength lies is the area to which you are called.  Seek God for further direction as you faithfully pursue the area of ministry to which you are drawn.

The gifts from the Holy Spirit make our ministries a lot more effective.  When you use your gifts and talents to serve in the areas of your calling, everything flows a lot more smoothly.  This doesn’t mean you will not encounter problems along the way.  Problems are a part of life and you learn and grow by them.  You will therefore have problems but with the gifts bestowed upon you by the Holy Spirit, you will be a lot more effective in your ministry.

People Gifts of the Holy Spirit

In chapter four of the book of Ephesians, we read, “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:7-8, 11 NKJV).  In 1st Corinthians chapter 12:28, we read of two additional ministry gifts.  These are helps and administrations.   First Timothy chapter three introduced two other ministry areas, the offices of the bishop and the deacon.

Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, gifts all these men and women to the Church for a specific purpose. Paul explained this purpose to us in Ephesians 4:12-16.  This purpose is to equip believers for the work of the ministry and to edify the body of Christ,

• Until we all come to the unity of the faith,
• Until we all come to the knowledge of the Son of God,
• Until we each become perfect in Christ,
• Until we all understand the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
• Until we become mature in Christ and not like little children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine,
• Until we are able to discern spiritual things and not become trapped by the trickery of men, their cunning craftiness and deceitful plotting,
• Until we are able to speak the truth in love,
• So we may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ,
• So that the body of Christ may be joined together as one unit,
• So that each member or part of the body will do his share of the work,
• To bring growth to the body of Christ,
• And to the edification of all in love.

More to come next week…