Spiritual
Gifts and You
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Let's pray before beginning this lesson:
Father,
The greatest need facing Your Church today is to receive Your Holy Spirit.
To receive Him will do two things for the Church: it will produce the fruit of the Spirit,
and it will empower the Church through the gifts of the Spirit.
We need the Spirit's fruit and gifts. This is why we insistently ask You to show us the
truth about these important subjects.
We thank You in advance for answering our prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior
and Lord.
Amen.
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1 Corinthians 12:1
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want
you to be ignorant.
To Christians in the city of Corinth, Paul wrote these words to correct the
problem of ignorance in connection with spiritual gifts.
Assuming that such ignorance is still an undesirable condition for Christians, let's begin
what hopefully will be an informative, exciting, and life-changing study on this important
subject.
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Matthew 28:19,20
[Jesus said,]
«Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I
have commanded you.
And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.»
2 Corinthians 5:20
Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ.
While waiting for Jesus' return, each one of us must work for Him, teaching the
people around us the way to salvation in Jesus Christ.
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John 14:16
[Jesus said,] «I will pray the Father, and He will give
you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.»
Acts 1:8
You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and
to the end of the earth.
To accomplish Jesus' great commission, we need the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Shortly before returning to His Father, Jesus announced to His disciples that they would
receive the Holy Spirit, so that God's Church might be born, and then grow by proclaiming
the gospel to all nations.
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Acts 2:1-4,16,17
Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were
all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled
the whole house where they were sitting.
Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. (...)
«This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: "And it shall come to pass in the last
days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh."»
The first outpouring of the Holy Spirit took place on the Day of the Pentecost.
This outpouring made the Church sprout and grow.
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Acts 4:31
And when they had prayed, the place where they were
assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they
spoke the word of God with boldness.
Acts 10:44
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy
Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.
Since this Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has been working continuously, bringing
souls to the cross of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
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1 Corinthians 6:11
But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you
were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
2 Thessalonians 2:13
God from the beginning chose you for salvation through
sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
After having led us to salvation, the Holy Spirit plays an important part in
our sanctification, that is, our continuous spiritual growth.
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1 Samuel 10:6
Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you
will prophesy with them, and be turned into another man.
John 14:17
The Spirit of truth (...) dwells with you and will be in
you.
Galatians 2:20
It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.
This spiritual growth can happen only by the power of the Holy Spirit, who
transforms us day after day into the image of our Savior Jesus Christ.
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Galatians 5:16,17
Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of
the flesh.
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are
contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
Galatians 5:25
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
The sinner has a natural tendency to go against the will of God.
Only the Holy Spirit can give us the power to obey God.
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1 Thessalonians 4:1
Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord
Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to
walk and to please God.
Being justified in Jesus Christ, we are now called to increasingly understand
the will of God.
But even more, through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit within us, God calls us to
obey His will, so that we «should abound more and more».
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Galatians 5:19-23
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are:
adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred,
contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just
as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the
kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
To transform us day after day into the image of our Savior Jesus Christ, the
Holy Spirit produces His «fruit» in the heart of every sincere believer.
What a transformation the fruit of the Holy Spirit can carry out in each one of us, if we
let Him do so!
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John 14:15,16
[Jesus said:] «If you love Me, keep My commandments. And
I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you
forever.»
Acts 5:32
And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is
the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.
The Holy Spirit also causes us to grow and increase spiritually, as we obey the
truth He reveals to us day after day.
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1 Peter 4:10,11
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one
another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it
as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through
Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever.
Moreover, each one of us has been given special abilities for the building of
God's Church.
The Holy Spirit bestows these spiritual gifts, and they are employed in God's service, not
to glorify the possessor, not to uplift man, but to uplift the world's Redeemer, Jesus
Christ.
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1 Corinthians 12:4-7
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of
activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.
The Bible lists many different spiritual gifts. Our spiritual gifts assessment
covers twenty-six of them, named or alluded to in the New Testament.
But all those gifts share a common goal: they are «given to each
one for the profit of all».
Therefore, the spiritual gifts help us glorify God and edify each other.
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Matthew 25:14,15
For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a
far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.
And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to
his own ability.
Aren't spiritual gifts merely amplifications or applications of natural talents
and abilities?
In fact, the Holy Spirit may decide to amplify a natural talent and give it a twist that
makes it applicable to the advancement of the Kingdom.
He may, on the other hand, decide to assign a person a gift that has little or nothing to
do with natural talents or abilities.
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Colossians 1:9,10
We (...) ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of
His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord,
fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of
God.
Also, let's not mix up spiritual gifts with spiritual disciplines.
Spiritual disciplines include personal Bible study, prayer, fasting, tithing, and other
practices that help us grow in faith, control our sinful desires, and develop character.
While spiritual gifts help us SERVE in the body of Christ,
spiritual disciplines help us GROW in our relationship to
God.
The following table illustrates the distinction between spiritual gifts and spiritual
disciplines.
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1 Corinthians 12:12
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the
members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
The apostle Paul uses the analogy of the cooperative functions of human anatomy
as an illustration of how spiritual gifts produce unity within the Church body.
Therefore, all spiritual gifts are important, and operating together in harmony, each
contributes to the whole.
There is no such thing as an insignificant gift!
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Romans 12:6-8
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that
is given to us, let us use them.
If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our
ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives,
with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Using our spiritual gifts is an important part of the larger picture of
Christian service. It implies that active service on behalf of God's Church is an integral
part of the new-birth experience.
Thus, being born again is more than a personal experience. It turns each one of us into a
Christian soldier, ready to fight on behalf of the Kingdom of God.
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1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but
have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am
nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,
but have not love, it profits me nothing.
A proper attitude of love underlying the use of our spiritual gifts is the
essential ingredient that makes the entire system workable.
Love is the glue that bonds the unity and makes it effective through right attitudes and
personality traits.
Through love, we acknowledge that all our spiritual gifts are interdependant and have no
hierarchy of value, even though some carry a more visible profile than others.
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1 Timothy 4:14
Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given
to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
Our spiritual gifts assessment will help you recognize your gifts. Then you can
take steps to develop them to maximum efficiency and usefulness, and set priorities for
your service to God's Kingdom.
You will be much more satisfied and less frustrated knowing that you are doing exactly
what God has called you to do on behalf of His Church.
And you will know you are contributing to the overall work of the body of Christ in
precisely the way you were meant to contribute.
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1 Peter 4:7,10
The end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious
and watchful in your prayers. (...)
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the
manifold grace of God.
Romans 13:12
The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let
us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
And, of course, an awareness of the urgency of the times in which we live
should cause us to give priority to the exercise of our spiritual gifts.
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We all have spiritual gifts, and it is important for us to use them:
«And [Christ] Himself gave some to be apostles, some
prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints
for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the
unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children,
tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men,
in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow
up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and
knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which
every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.»
(Ephesians 4:11-16)
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Luke 11:13
[Jesus said:] «If you then, being evil, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask Him!»
Acts 2:38,39
Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit.
For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as
the Lord our God will call.
If we have not yet responded to God's call to repentance, and if we have not
yet received the Holy Spirit, there is still time to act.
If we sincerely desire that the Holy Spirit work within our hearts to transform us, teach
us, and guide us, the promise is plain: God will fill us with the Holy Spirit, and we will
receive His spiritual gifts.
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Let's thank God:
Father,
Before He ascended, Your Son Jesus Christ gave His Church its marching orders: to take the
Good News to the whole world. This job requires that every Christian be involved in some
form of ministry.
Fortunately, Your Holy Spirit provides special spiritual gifts to each Christian for use
in different ministries.
Which gifts has the Spirit given us? Please help us discover our gifts and learn how to
use them to help finish the work Jesus has given to His disciples to prepare for His soon
return.
In His precious name we pray.
Amen.
Source of the Pictures of this Lesson
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