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A Gift for Everyone |
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Spiritual Gifts and You |
| 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 |
Comments |
| 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 |
Comments |
| [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.» |
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. |
2 Corinthians 5:20 |
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| Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ. |
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John 14:16 |
Comments |
| [Jesus said,] «I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.» | 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. |
Acts 1:8 |
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| 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. |
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Acts 2:1-4,16,17 |
Comments |
| 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 |
Comments |
| 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. | Since this Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has been working continuously, bringing souls to the cross of the Savior, Jesus Christ. |
Acts 10:44 |
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| While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. |
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1 Corinthians 6:11 |
Comments |
| 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. | After having led us to salvation, the Holy Spirit plays an important part in our sanctification, that is, our continuous spiritual growth. |
2 Thessalonians 2:13 |
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| God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. |
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1 Samuel 10:6 |
Comments |
| Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and be turned into another man. | 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. |
John 14:17 |
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| The Spirit of truth (...) dwells with you and will be in you. | |
Galatians 2:20 |
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| It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. |
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Galatians 5:16,17 |
Comments |
| 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. |
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. |
Galatians 5:25 |
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| If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. |
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A Gift for Everyone |
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1 Thessalonians 4:1 |
Comments |
| 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 |
Comments |
| 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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A Gift for Everyone |
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John 14:15,16 |
Comments |
| [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.» | The Holy Spirit also causes us to grow and increase spiritually, as we obey the truth He reveals to us day after day. |
Acts 5:32 |
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| And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him. |
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1 Peter 4:10,11 |
Comments |
| 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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| Why does God impart spiritual gifts to each one of us? | ||||||||||
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1 Corinthians 12:4-7 |
Comments |
| 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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| «There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.» (1 Corinthians 12:4) | |||
| Administration | Exhortation | Knowledge | Service |
| Apostleship | Faith | Leadership | Shepherding |
| Craftsmanship | Giving | Mercy | Teaching |
| Creative communication | Healing | Miracles | Tongues and Interpretation |
| Helps | Missionary | ||
| Discernment | Hospitality | Music | Wisdom |
| Evangelism | Intercession | Prophecy | Writing |
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Matthew 25:14,15 |
Comments |
| 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 |
Comments |
| 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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| Distinction between spiritual gifts and spiritual disciplines : |
| Spiritual Gifts
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Spiritual Disciplines ====================================|=================================== Not everyone is called to serve | ... but everyone is called to grow using these spiritual gifts... | doing these spiritual disciplines: Knowledge <-----|-----> Bible study Intercession <-----|-----> Prayer Evangelism <-----|-----> Witnessing Giving <-----|-----> Tithes and offerings ------------------------------------|----------------------------------- «There are diversities of gifts, | «Beware lest you also fall from but the same Spirit. (...) Are all | your own steadfastness, being led apostles? Are all prophets? Are all | away with the error of the wicked; teachers? Are all workers of mira- | but grow in the grace and know- cles? Do all have gifts of heal- | ledge of our Lord and Savior Je- ings?» (1 Corinthians 12:4,29,30) | sus Christ.» (2 Peter 3:17,18) |
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1 Corinthians 12:12 |
Comments |
| 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 |
Comments |
| 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 |
Comments |
| 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 |
Comments |
| 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 |
Comments |
| 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. |
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. |
Romans 13:12 |
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| 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. |
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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 |
Comments |
| [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!» | 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. |
Acts 2:38,39 |
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| 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. |
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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. |
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