1 Corinthians 12
Spiritual Gifts
1 Now, dear brothers and sisters, [1] regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this.
2 You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols.
3 So I want you to know that no one
speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say
Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.
5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord.
6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice [8] ; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. [8]
9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.
10 He gives one person the power to
perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone
else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God
or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to
speak in unknown languages, [10] while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.
11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
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13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, [13]
some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into
one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. [13]
14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.
15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body.
16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body?
17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.
19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part!
20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.
21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.
23 And the parts we regard as less
honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully
protect those parts that should not be seen,
24 while the more honorable parts do not
require this special care. So God has put the body together such that
extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.
25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other.
26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
28 Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:
first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who speak in unknown languages.
29 Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles?
30 Do we all have the gift of healing? Do
we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have
the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not!
31 So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.
spiritual gifts that God has given us. I always thoughts of gifts as
talents. Like I’m really good at working with children or I have a good
heart to help others, etc… I never really thought of gifts as
spiritual given by God.
to do different kids of work. But, all of us together as one body we
can accomplish so much through Him by using our gifts he has given us.
people were asked to go up to the front and get prophecy over. I was
like I’ll go up just to see what they have to say. I felt like I was
hard as a rock in not believing that people can prophecy. As I stood
there a lady came to prophecy over me and she said “there is a dark
cloud blocking you.” I was like yep! I don’t really believe in this
kind of stuff. But the way she knew that I was blocking myself from
believing was evidence that God was speaking through her. Then I just
felt the holy spirit in me with a peace. She asked me have you ever
read the book of Esther? I was like now. She said ” God is going to use
you in the same way as she was used, to SAVE a nation.” Then she said
“close your eyes.” “What do you see?” What I saw was African kids
from a tribe running around. They looked like orphans. She said “that
is the nation you are called to save.” I was in shock! Me? Yeah right?
I’m just Damaris. All I thought was, this lady must be kidding me. Then
that night I went to sleep and prayed about it. I was like “Lord, that
is way to huge for me to do.” Are you kidding me?” Then God was like ”
I used Esther, Moses, and many others. “Why can’t I use you?” “Did you
forget who I am?” “I am the God that makes the impossible, POSSIBLE!”
That just blew my mind!! God still calls us to do radical things. Even
though we don’t think it is possible. As Americans we are taught things
like this can’t happen, but it is truly robbing God from all his glory.
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has given me through the holy spirit. I was able to use this gift many
times at camp and I am thankful I have it. If you want a better
explanation click here: Prophecy
this gift. But it was amazing figuring it out. God has always put sick
people in my path to pray over all the time. Also, a lot of time I have
prayed over them they have been healed. However, while at camp someone
while praying over me said I have the gift of healing. If you want to
know more click here: healing
We are all part of one body and without one we can’t fully function.
God is going to do amazing things through me and my team Azaria!
Why do some people have only one gift while others have several gifts?
First, remember that gifts are given according to the Holy Spirit’s discernment (1 Cor. 12:11, 18).
In His omniscience, He knows exactly what gift(s) would be just right
for you and the church body you are in. God gives the gifts in the
right proportions as He deems best which means we do not have to feel
envious or cheated. Second, realize that it is due to grace that we
have spiritual gifts, not because we earned or merited them. We are all
on the same plain. The person with one gift has that gift because of
God’s grace. The person with many gifts has those gifts because of
God’s grace. It is not a competitive or comparison issue. It is a
matter of trusting God to have made you and equipped you with just what
you need to do the work He has for you.Can I lose my spiritual gifts?
While there is plenty of Scripture to support the loss of
effectiveness and fruitfulness, the Bible does not indicate the actual
loss of gifts. Some may use parables like the parable of the talents in
Matthew 25:14-30
to conclude that you can lose your gifts if you don’t do anything with
them because the master tells them to take the lazy servant’s talent
away from him. Understand that it would be pure interpretation to say
that the talents represent spiritual gifts. Read on to see what happens
to the lazy servant’s talent. It is not only taken from him but given
to the one who had ten. You are going to run into some serious
logistical problems with that. Plus, it implies that gifts are
merit-based in saying that the faithful are rewarded with the gifts
neglected by others. Scripture is clear that gifts are given because of
grace (Romans 12:6a)
… nothing earned or merited. One of the main Greek words used for
gifts, ‘charima,’ means grace. Perhaps the question of whether we can
lose our spiritual gifts must be answered with a deeper question —
whether you can lose the Spirit who bestowed your gift(s) on you at
salvation when He indwelt you.What is the difference between talents, natural abilities, and spiritual gifts?
The bottom line is that all we have is from God so in that
sense they are all gifts from God. Scripture, however, appears to set
apart spiritual gifts as something different from talents and natural
abilities. Perhaps we could say that talents are natural abilities
which
seem to be hereditary, to run in the genes. Unbelievers, as well as
believers, have talents. Perhaps we could say that natural abilities
are either talents or skills that have been learned through
conditioning from the environment we lived in or training we have
received. Again, both believers and unbelievers have natural abilities.
Spiritual gifts, however, are an empowerment of divine origin, not a
result of genetics, training, or conditioning. Only believers have
spiritual gifts.If a person doesn’t have a certain gift, is he/she exempt from ministry that uses that gift?
Evangelism is a good example. Some may feel that because
they do not have the gift of evangelism that they do not have to
evangelize. Timothy, in the New Testament, obviously did not have the
gift of evangelism but yet Paul told him to do the work of an
evangelist (2 Tim. 4:5). We are all commanded to be a witness (Acts 1:8; Matt. 28:19-20).
Make a list of all the gifts found in the key passages on spiritual
gifts (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4; 1 Peter 4) and you can
find counterpart commands for all believers to participate in activity
pertaining to those different gifts with the exception of tongues and
interpretation of tongues.
People with the corresponding gift will usually be more effective,
devote more time and energy, and see greater results in a given area
than those without the gift. Yet, to an extent, as God gives
opportunity, we are all to evangelize, teach, serve, show mercy, etc.Why is it important for Christians to know their gifts?
Being able to label your gift(s) is
not of utmost importance. Using your gift(s) is. Knowing your gifting,
however, helps you to be able to develop that gift better. You will
know what to look for and can avoid pitfalls someone with that gift can
fall into. You will be able to use your knowledge to encourage others
in their gifting. You will have a point of reference for plugging into
ministry where you can be most effective. Click here for a list of the different spiritual gifts and their definitions.
