Spiritual Gifts
Manifestations, signs of the Spirit’s presence in God’s people.
1 – Mark 16:17 & 18 – Gifts show divine power of God.
2 – 1st Corinthians 12:1-11 – Spiritual Gifts.
3 – Acts 1:7,8; 2:1-8, 3:1-9 – Manifestations of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
4 – Acts 2:37, Acts 2:41, Acts 3:9,10 – What happens when the Gifts of the Spirit are manifested.
II – Vocal Gifts (Power to Say)
A – Tongues:
1 – Private prayer tongues
a – Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do now know how to pray as we ought, but the spirit
himself intercedes for us with sight too deep for words.”
b – Are usually a prayer of praise and thanksgiving and for intercession. 1 Corinthians 14:2
c – Seem to be given to all who desire it.
d – Need not be followed by interpretation.
e – A means of Spiritual growth for those who yield to this gift. 1 Corinthians 14:4.
2 – Tongues for the Community which when interpreted equals prophecy. 1st Corinthians 12:10
a – Is meant primarily to release God’s message to the community.
b – Seems to be given only to those with a ministry of tongues. (Not for everyone).
c – Should always be followed by interpretation. 1 Cor. 14:27,28
B – Interpretation of Tongues
This gift enables an individual to speak to the assembly, the general meaning of whatever was said aloud in the gift of tongues. 1 Cor 14:1-17
C – Prophecy
1 – A message from God spoken forth as “will” by the speaker. (1 Corinthians 14:32) to give God’s message to His people. It may be for an individual, a group of individuals or for the whole community.
2 – Prophecy can enlighten both the individual and the community about the following
a – Graces to seek from God
b – Action to undertake.
c – Attitudes to develop or to remove from one’s life.
d – Events to prepare for. (Not in the way of fortune telling, which is not a gift from God, but it is to help us to live our lives in accordance with God’s will and to help us to be His witnesses. Amos 3:7. “Indeed, the Lord God does nothing without revealing it to his servants, the prophets.
III – Revelation Gifts (Power to Know)
A – Word of Knowledge
1 – It is mainly a gift that enables one to understand and to teach.
2 – It illuminates what is already known, whereby both the speaker and the listeners are conscious of the anointing of the Holy Spirit accompanying a doctrine.
3 – It enables the teacher to speak the word of God with it’s unchanging sharpness into contemporary situations.
a. Matt. 5 – Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount proclaimed the Old Testament Commandments in a new situation, done in such a way that their aim, the establishment of love between God and man, was authentically realized in this new situation.
b. In Peter’s discourse at Pentecost, he outlined God’s plan in Jewish history and interpreted for those gathered the recent events of Jesus; death and resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
4 – When teaching is anointed, we become conscious of an enlightenment which is beyond our natural ability to give or to receive. It is at such times that the sheep hear the Shepard speaking through human lips; (“The sheep recognize His voice and they follow Him – another voice they will not follow” (John 10).
B – Word of Wisdom
1 – Knowledge is the raw material that Wisdom uses. Wisdom and knowledge go hand in hand.
2 – It enables a person to open the hearers to God’s wisdom in handling or reacting to a situation, or to silence an opponent. It is the right word in times of opportunity or emergency.
a- I Kings 3:16-28 is a good example of the Word of Wisdom that King Solomon received to solve the problem of the two women who claimed to be the mother of the same baby.
b – Luke 18:22 – Jesus advises the rich young man to sell all that he had in order for him to join the kingdom in another example of the word of wisdom.
c – In Matthew 22:21, Jesus silences opponents when he directs them to “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s.”
3 – It is often manifested in a one to one situation, to give advise or counsel.
a – Word is not dictated, but gradually emerges with counselor using this gift as God leads him or her into certain questioning.
b – The Lord will give inspiration as to what to say to a person that is exactly what that person needs to hear.
C – Discerning of Spirits
1 – It is not keen insight to human nature (that’s wisdom).
2 – It is not critical in nature.
3 – It has to do with spirits not with men in their natural course of action.
4 – It is to discover what spirit motivates an individual in a given situation – The Holy Spirit – The human spirit – An evil spirit.
5 – It is a defense against deception because it enables one to detect the activity of evil.
6 – It is offensive in the sense that once an evil spirit is detected as operating through a human channel, that person can be set free.
7 – This gift is very important for leaders of prayer groups because it enables them to discern whether the Charismatic manifestations at a prayer meeting are from God, from the human spirit or from an evil spirit.
8 – It is a very important gift for people baptized in the Holy Spirit.
a – The Baptism in the Holy Spirit lifts a person from the human or natural realm to the spiritual or supernatural realm. One needs to discern where the inspiration he or she receives comes from. It is very important to bear in mind that one must never rely solely on one’s own discernment in any situation, but must always seek the discernment of the body of believers.
b – As a person advances in spiritual life, temptations and evil influences become more subtle. As Jesus put is, “the wolf gets into sheep’s clothing”.
9 – This gift is proof of God’s protection for his church. He does not want his people who are bought with the precious blood of Jesus, to become easy prey to the enemy. If one is in the grip of the enemy, God wants to reveal that through this gift so that the person can be set free.
10- Discerning of Spirits is not for the obvious, it’s for the hidden.
IV – Visable Gifts (Power to do)
A – Faith
1 – Not the faith or faithfulness that is a fruit of the Spirit, but the faith that is given in certain situations where a person knows with certainty that what he or she is praying for or hoping for will come to pass, even when the evidence is to the contrary.
a – Hebrews 11:1
b – acts 3:6 – Peter was given the gift of faith that the lame man would be healed and he acted on that faith. The lame man was given the faith to believe that he would be healed.
c – John 11:4-42 – Jesus’ ministry was filled with power of faith. His prayer at raising Lazarus from the dead is filled with confidence.
d – In the Old Testement, Noah believed God’s Word and stepped out in faith and built the ark.
e – Moses’ parting of the Red Sea was an act of faith.
2 – Sometimes not doing anything about a certain situation comes from the gift of faith, where the person is led to trust that God will remedy the problem.
3 – When people say “If you only had faith, you would be healed”, it indicates a great misunderstanding of the gist of faith. This gift is not something the person has, or can earn, or can work himself or herself up to, it is a gift, given by God in certain situations and no one has the right to presuppose it’s presence inevery case where a healing is needed.
4 – One can yield to this gift by a life of prayer and reading the Scripture. Romans 10:17“Faith comes from hearing (or studying) the Word”.
B – Healing
1 – When the Lord restores a person to physical, mental or spiritual health, usually as a direct answer to prayer. The healing can be instantaneous or gradual.
2 – Healings are not meant to substitute for natural ministries of healing exercised by the medical profession. We are, however, encouraged to seek prayers for healing. (James 5:14-15).
3 – Jesus and the Apostles tried to show healings as tangible proof (signs) of God’s presence among his people.
4 – Old Testament examples of healings were the healing of Hezekiah (2 Kings 20) and the healing of Miriam (Numbers 12: 9-16)
C – Miracles
1 – When the Lord intervenes in humanly impossible or hopeless situations and turns the situation around. (ex. Healing of a terminal disease).
2 – Miracles are meant to remove obstacles to God’s will.
3 – Miracles are most often present when God’s word is preached and lived.
4 – Examples of the Apostle’s power of miracles are:
a – Deaths of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5: 1-10)
b – Miracles of Philip in Samaria (Acts 8:6)
c – Raising of Eutychus from the dead (Acts 20:10)
d – Paul’s safety after being bitten by the snake (Acts 28:5)
V – Fruit of the Spirit
A – Show divine characteristics of god which are produced, grown by the indwelling Spirit.
B – Gifts of the Spirit are given to aid in producing the Fruit of the Spirit.
C – Fruit of the Spirit is a sign of holiness, the gifts are not a sign of holiness. “By their fruit you shall know them”. The Fruits of the Spirit are listed in Galatians 5:22.
D – Fruit of the Spirit is the divine result of the vine flowing into the branches. The nature of the fruit is the nature of the Spirit within an individual. Everything the Spirit is will be reflected in the fruit.
VI – Characteristics of the Father reproduced in His Children
A – Peace –Tranquility, freedom from strift. Philippians 4:7 – then God’s own peace, which is beyond all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus.
B – Love – Charity, love of god, Calvary love. 1 John 4:12 “Good dwells in us and His love is perfected in us”. Also not judgemental; it is forgiving.
C – Joy – Not the absence of suffering,but being in the presence of God. The ability to praise God in all things, the good times and the times of trials and tribulations.
VII – Inherent Characteristics manifested toward fellow men and women
A – Longsuffering or Patient Endurance – Even tempered, forebearing.
B – Gentleness of Kindness – Affable, tenderhearted, compassionate.
C – Goodness or Generous – Benevolent. Galatians 6:10, “Let us do good to all men”. E.g. Good Samaritan.
VIII – Characteristics manifested toward God
A – Faithfulness – Steadfast, loyal, trusting. 1 Cor. 15:58, “Be steadfast.
B – Meekness – Nott weak, but submissive to God’s will. “Thy will be done.”
C – Temperance or Chastity –Self control, self restraint, avoiding excesses regarding appetites and passions, moderate. II Peter 1:6.
IX – The following are means by which the Fruit of the Spirit develops and grows within the believer.
A – Daily prayer and quiet time with the Lord.
B – Meeting regularly with believers to pray together.
a-Attend Mass as often as possible.
b-Be a committed member of a solid, stable, prayer community.
C – Study the Scriptures.
D – read about the lives of the Saints and other good Christian literature.
E – Make a decision to be faithful to the teachings of Jesus and allow Him to truly be the Lord of your life.
Suggested reading for a better understanding of the Spiritual Gifts and Fruit.
A-“Key to the Charismatic Renewal” – Msgr. Walsh
B-“Practice of Godliness: – Jerry Bridges
C-“Baptized in the Spirit & Spiritual Gifts” – Steve Clark
PRAYER REFLECTIONS 