“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. This scripture comes right after the chapter (Chapter 12) on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and these two are linked through the last verse in this chapter which says, “But earnestly desire and zealously cultivate the greatest and best gifts and graces. And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one that is better by far and the highest of them all–love]” 1 Corinthians 12:31 AMPC. Although this scripture teaches us to earnestly yearn for the greatest and best gifts, it further highlights that there is something greater and far better than these, which we see in 1 Corinthians 13 as love. As we use the gifts of the spirit for the betterment of the church, we must also use these in love. Subsequent paragraphs in today’s post will seek to highlight the various gifts based on the scriptures, explain some briefly, and provide examples of how we can use them in love.
To start with, according to Ephesians 4:11, Christ himself gave the following offices in the church which are meant to equip the saints for ministry and to edify the church. These are as follows:
The Apostles: The word "apostle" comes from the Greek word 'Apostolos', which means "one who is sent out". These are messengers or ambassadors who are chosen by Jesus to spread his message. The original apostles were Jesus’ 12 disciples and we see this explanation clearly evidenced in how they lived their lives. As an apostle, love can be shown by sharing God’s love with as many people as possible as we go about preaching, people we know and even don’t know. People in church and outside church. Seek to let everyone you meet know about God’s love.
The Prophets: The Hebrew word for prophet is 'nabi', which comes from a root meaning "to bubble forth, as from a fountain". Prophets are intermediaries between God and the people, communicating God's will and encouraging faithfulness. They are chosen by God to be a divine voice on earth. Prophets see beyond the normal and this can help prevent people from making wrong turns and encourage people. As a prophet, love can be demonstrated by checking our motives and pride when using this gift. God has given this gift freely and must be used freely for people who don’t have money as well as those who are financially sound. If you’re blessed by others through the loving use of the gift, that is well and good but making money should not be the sole reason for using the gift.
The Evangelists: Evangelists and apostles have similar purposes with the goal being to spread the message of Jesus. The King James Bible Dictionary further says evangelists are licensed to preach but do not have charge of a particular church. Here also, love can be demonstrated in speaking about God’s love more and more and demonstrating that in being kind and loving to people we encounter.
The Pastors: The word "pastor" comes from the Latin word pastor, which means "shepherd". A pastor is a recognized leader of the church who serves under Jesus, the Chief Shepherd. Here we see that Pastors are likened to Shepherds and shepherds cannot perform their role without love. Shepherds are nurturing, they lead, feed, carry, and take care of their sheep. As a pastor, love can be demonstrated by treating everyone equally although it may not always be easy to do so. Love can be demonstrated by seeking to serve and be the shepherd rather than seeking to be served as the big man at the top.
Teachers: A teacher's role is to create an environment where others can learn and grow in their knowledge and understanding of the Bible. A teacher's goal is to illuminate, reveal, and transform people, not just educate them. A teacher needs to have the gift of teaching and the ability to explain God's word clearly and in a way that others can understand. As a teacher, love can be demonstrated by seeking to transform the lives of people through a good explanation of the scriptures. Taking time to study the scriptures is very key to providing life-changing teachings to people. Teaching can also be done through exemplary living with Jesus as the role model.
We see some or all of these at work in some churches but let’s all remember that these are meant to be deployed in love and for the benefit of the church. The roles above and gifts below as explained in 1 Corinthians 12:12-19, 21-26, represent parts of one body in Christ which are all important and useful and for which none should be disregarded. See a few extracts from 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 below:
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? So that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”
In addition to the above and preceding 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 AMPC further highlights the following gifts of the spirit:
Message of Wisdom: Receiving insight and guidance from God
Word of Knowledge: Understanding spiritual truths and applying them
Wonder-Working Faith: Trusting God for miraculous interventions
Healing: Ministering physical, emotional, or spiritual restoration
Miracles: Experiencing supernatural interventions
Prophetic Insight: Discerning God's will and purpose
Discernment: Distinguishing between true and false spirits
Various Kinds of Tongues: Speaking in unknown languages
Interpretation of Tongues: Understanding spoken languages
All these are supernatural, beyond the physical and above what is considered normal. As such these require complete dependence on the Holy Spirit to receive and use as he distributes them just as he determines. The Holy Spirit Himself determines who to give certain gifts to but as the last verse in 1 Corinthians 12 says, these can be desired and prayed for. The key here is to develop a deep relationship with God and the Holy Spirit such that our goals, desires, dreams, and purposes are aligned with His and He in turn fills us with gifts to benefit the church and the kingdom. It’s worth mentioning that, as the Holy Spirit determines, a person can have more than one gift at work in them or even all. This always reminds me that there is more to the natural, physical realm. The spirit realm becomes more real to us as the gifts of the spirit are used.
Now, after we have received these gifts, how do we then use them in love?
We do this by always surrendering these gifts to God and allowing Him to rule our hearts as we use them.
Being part of a local church and being under authority where we can be directed as we use our gifts to edify the church
We should always check our motives for using a particular gift. Check the way for its use and make sure it’s directed towards love and benefiting the church, not ourselves.
Assess our level of pride when it comes to our use of the gift. Pride has a way of creating self-importance around our giftings and must be checked and controlled.
Seeking to use these gifts for people who have nothing as much as we do for people who are well-to-do. This may seem very obvious but it’s quite shocking how we fall short of this.
Praying always for our church, community, and people we come across and through which our gifts are used.
Being open to being challenged. 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 says “Do not scorn or reject gifts of prophecy or prophecies. But test all things carefully [so you can recognize what is good]. Hold firmly to that which is good.”
The more we use the gifts of the Spirit, the more people come to know God and experience His love. Therefore just by being obedient and using the gifts, the love of God is demonstrated.
I also wanted to add that these gifts are not available to just leaders of the church. We all have access to the gifts of the Holy Spirit as we draw closer to Him. I am an example of this. I am not a leader of a church, I am a mere person who decided one day to learn more about God’s word and draw closer to Him and through this relationship, I experienced a series of manifestations of the gifting of the Holy Spirit, not just in my life but in the lives of people around me. See further details on this in my post titled “ I have a Testimony”. Aside from these, there were countless times when I had a word of knowledge about something or someone that turned out to be true. Imagine my shock at these events as I previously never considered myself as someone who could be used by God.
You also can be used by God and receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Start with a desire to know God better, a desire for the Holy Spirit and knowledge of Him, and consistency in the presence of God. Tommy Tenny in his book, Favor with the King says, “Whispered words from a place of intimacy can be more powerful than shouted petitions from the courts” and I completely agree. As we lean into God and develop intimacy with God, we hear Him more and this is the place where the gifts are birthed. As we desire the gifts, let's seek to use them in love and our lives will never be the same. The above-mentioned gifts are also not exhaustive, there are more gifts to be received as we lean into the Holy Spirit.
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This is our last post on the series about the Holy Spirit. I sincerely hope you have learned as much from these as I have. This should be the beginning of your search for the Holy Spirit. There is more to know and learn about Him. God richly bless us all.
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