FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
THE GIFTS
OF THE SPIRIT – IX
1 Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every
man to profit withal.
8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to
another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the
gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy;
to another discerning of spirits; to another various kinds of tongues; to
another the interpretation of tongues:
11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit,
dividing to every man severally as he will.
Last week we concluded with this thought:
To those whose hearts are not ready to implement the rest
of this series in a manner worthy of a disciple; I commend you to the
discipline of the Father. These are matters too dangerous to consider without
the fear of IAUE as the anchor of our souls.
I cannot overstate how guarded we must be
against pride. It is the most sinister
evil of the flesh; and the one most hated by IAUE. Do not appropriate any of the information to
come in this series if you have not yet laid the axe to the root of pride in
your life.
Isaiah 2:11 The lofty looks of man
shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and IAUE alone
shall be exalted in that day.
12 For the day of IAUE of hosts shall be upon every one that is
proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought
low:
Remember, we have stated over and over again
that the ultimate objective of the gifts of the Spirit is to empower us to do
the will of IAUE in ways that are supernatural to man. If doing the will of IAUE has not yet become
the focus of our life, the absolute purpose of our existence, this series of
lessons will only get you into trouble.
Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith
unto me, Master, Master, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which
is in heaven.
22 Many
will say to me in that day, Master, Master, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out
devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from
me, ye that work iniquity.
Unbelievers can turn
on their televisions and watch televangelists with their healing and miracle
services and see the pride and ego oozing from the screen. They can see the $20,000.00 rings and
necklaces adorning their bodies, and their $200.00 haircuts. They can recognize
easily the posture of their bodies and their facial expressions and know they
are observing a con in progress. They can see plainly how these so-called
ministers manipulate audiences for financial gain; and yet, the church seems so
ready to be drawn in by these fleshly ministers because it cannot see what the
world can see.
The world wants
Truth. The world wants the reality of
IAUE; while the church, instead, wants the world. It offers the world what it already has, so
its message does not appeal to the world.
Its only appeal is to those within the church who are not supposed to
have the world but still want it. This is an awful testimony against the
church.
I will say it just
once more before we continue. These are
dangerous matters. If these lessons open
the door for you to discover the gift(s) within you by the Spirit; and you use
them to serve anything other than the Father’s will, you will find yourself on
the wrong side of IAUE’s wrath.
* * * * *
In 1 Corinthians 12,
we have a list of nine empowerments of grace.
There are many books written on this subject; and frequently, these
gifts are subdivided into three kinds of giftings.
Revelation Gifts: the word of wisdom; the word of knowledge,
discerning of spirits
Power Gifts: faith, the gifts of healing, the working of miracles
Utterance Gifts: prophecy, various
kinds of tongues, the interpretation of tongues.
Even though the Scripture does not list them grouped
together in these batches of three gifts, it is helpful in understanding the dynamics
of the gifts to think of them in this manner.
1 Corinthians
12:27 Now ye are the body of
Messiah, and members in particular.
28 And Elohim hath set some in the
church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that
miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
Some have taken these verses to mean that the
gift of “various kinds of tongues” is the least of the gifts; and somehow, from
that they attempt to minimize that gift as insignificant and unimportant. This passage, however, is not discussing the
significance of the gifts, but rather the order of importance to the Body of
the ministries that are produced from the equipping of the gifts. Remember, in verse 5, the gifts manifest
through different ministries. Apostles and prophets and teachers are not gifts
of the Spirit. They are ministerial
officers of the church. If speaking in
tongues is the least of the gifts, where in this list is the gift of faith, or
discerning of spirits, or the word of wisdom?
Is speaking in tongues a greater gift than these because they did not
even make this list? Of course not. They did not make this list because their
function does not define a specific ministry to the church. The one who has the
gift of various kinds of tongues actually does have a ministry function in the
church. (Notice, however, that the ministry of the “pastor” did not make this
list at all. Why is that? It is because the office of the pastor is not
one that is borne of the equipping of the gifts of the Spirit.)
Let’s take a brief look at our three
categories of gifts.
Revelation gifts: These are called revelation gifts for one
reason only. They are gifts that operate
on information that is revealed to the disciple by the Spirit. The word of wisdom, the word of knowledge and
the discerning of spirits are not learned information. One may not study the Scriptures enough to
learn enough knowledge and acquire enough wisdom to be able to function in
these gifts. Such study is not related
to the function of these gifts. These
gifts impart information that is obtained only by revelation. Such information cannot be learned through a study
of the Scriptures and imparted later.
For example, I have learned many things through my study of the
Scriptures and through my walk and my experience over the past 40 years and I
function somewhat as a spiritual diagnostician; but when my diagnosis of a matter
has been made, it may be no more accurate than a doctor diagnosing a health
condition. The doctor may be right. He very likely is right because of his
knowledge and experience with such matters; but he may equally be wrong because
it is a diagnosis based on observable conditions. Revelation is not based on
observable conditions. It is based upon the divine impartation of information.
Power gifts: These
are called power gifts because they represent a release of the power of IAUE to
produce a miraculous effect. Faith, the
gifts of healing and the working of miracles are the “signs and wonders” gifts
that result in tangible evidence to the authority of the gospel and the
existence of the invisible Elohim. Though
they certainly are not exclusive to them, at least two of these gifts are always
found in the evangelist, the one who preaches the gospel and brings souls to
Messiah. If they are not in
manifestation attesting to the authority of the message preached, that person
is not an evangelist. (You may notice
that the evangelist, also, is not included in the above listing of the order of
ministerial offices in the church. The
reason for the evangelist’s exclusion in that list is due to the fact the
evangelist is not a minister to the Body; but to the lost.)
Utterance gifts: It is obvious why these three gifts
(prophecy, various kind of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues) are
called utterance gifts. They cannot
manifest apart from being spoken. While
the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge might be spoken; they are not
required to be uttered in order to be manifested. (The contemporary church’s experience with the
word of wisdom and the word of knowledge is entirely within a fabricated
context for the manifestation of these gifts; and as such, it is imperative
that our thinking be reshaped about them.)
It is interesting to note that one of the gifts, the interpretation of
tongues, is utterly dependent upon the manifestation of another gift, various
kinds of tongues, before it may be manifested. No other gift is dependent upon
another gift in order to exist. In its
ministry within the assembly, however, the gift of various kinds of tongues,
though independent in its manifestation, is entirely dependent upon the
presence of one with the gift of interpretation of tongues for his gift to
provide benefit to the church; so they must work as a team in the assembly.
Next week, we will begin taking the gifts of
the Spirit one at a time and discuss what they are, how they operate, and what
kinds of ministries evolve from them. I
will also be sharing specific experiences with each of the gifts of the Spirit
to illustrate their use.
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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