WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT? Part IV
January 2024
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”
—I Corinthians 12:1-11
The true Bible earmarks of a New Testament church are Bible doctrine and the operation of the Holy Spirit in worship and in the gifts of the Spirit operating to bring edification to the corporate body.
In his book, Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible, Myer Pearlman states, “The gifts of the Spirit must be distinguished from the gift of the Spirit. The former describes the supernatural abilities imparted by the Spirit for special ministries; the latter refers to the impartation of the Spirit to believers as ministered by the ascended Christ. Acts 2:33.”1
The main purpose of the gifts of the Spirit is for the building up of the church of God through the instruction of believers and the winning of converts (Eph. 4:7-13).
In I Corinthians 12, Paul tells us that there are nine gifts of the Spirit, broken into three parts:
· The revelation gifts—word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits
· The power gifts—faith, gifts of healing, the working of miracles
· The vocal gifts—prophecy, divers kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues
Pearlman classifies them this way:
1. Those [gifts] that impart power to know supernaturally: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, discernment.
2. Those that impart power to act supernaturally: faith, miracles, healings.
3. Those that impart power to speak supernaturally: prophecy, tongues, interpretation.2
Pearlman then states, “These gifts are described as ‘the manifestation of the Spirit,’ ‘given to every man to profit withal’ (that is, for the benefit of the church). Here we have the scriptural definition of a ‘manifestation’ of the Spirit—namely the operation of any of the nine gifts of the Spirit.”3
Now, let’s look at these gifts.
REVELATION GIFTS
Word of wisdom. The word of wisdom is not to be confused with the wisdom discussed in James 1:5—the wisdom that James spoke of is the wisdom we need in our day-to-day lives regarding decisions and actions. The gift of the word of wisdom is the mind of God pertaining to futuristic events. Only God can give this kind of knowledge because only God knows the future. Actually, many prophecies given in the Bible were actually words of wisdom. Notice that it is a word of wisdom, meaning that only a portion is given. An example of this is given in Acts 21:11.
Word of knowledge. The word of knowledge is a supernaturally inspired utterance of facts or things you don’t know. Pearlman calls this, “the knowledge of God.”4 Or, another way of saying it is, “the word of knowledge in the mind of God concerning people, places, things, or events pertaining to present or past events. Often, the gift of the word of knowledge will come to help us solve problems to tell us what to do in certain situations. This knowledge, which is from God for a specific purpose, is not to be confused with intellectual knowledge. The more we live and the more that we read and study, we will gain a level of intellectual knowledge. But that can never take the place of the knowledge of God.
Discerning of spirits. Hebrews 5:13-14 states, “For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” We live in a time of great counterfeit demonstration of the Holy Spirit and many false teachers. We need to be able to discern the motivating force behind a person or situation. Also, this gift helps us to discern when something is right and good.
POWER GIFTS
Faith. This faith is special faith different from saving faith or ordinary faith. This faith is like a sudden urge of faith regarding specific needs or circumstances. Acts 3:1-11 is an example of the gift of faith given at a specific time for a specific need.
Gifts of healings. The best way to describe this gift is “gift of healings for supernatural cures.” Pearlman describes this gift as being “used of God in supernaturally ministering health to the sick, through prayer.”5 He then states, “It seems to be a sign-gift…for attracting people’s attention to the gospels.”6 Now it must be understood that this doesn’t mean that the person who possesses this gift has the power to heal everyone. Who is healed is always in God’s purview and not ours.
The working of miracles. Actually one could say “works of power” (Acts 5:12-16, 19:11-12). The gift of miracles is a gift that brings glory to God. There are two things you must never forget: first, God delights in performing miracles; second, God delights in using His children to work these miracles.
THE VOCAL GIFTS
The gift of prophecy. Prophecy is supernatural speech in a known language. Pearlman says, “Prophecy is distinguished from ordinary preaching in that while the latter is generally the product of the study of existing revelation, prophecy is the result of a spontaneous spiritual inspiration. It was not intended to supplant preaching or teaching but to supplement it with the inspirational touch.”7
I Corinthians14:3 tells us that prophecy ministers to believers in edification (building up), exhortation (urging on) and comfort (consolation). The gift of prophecy operates only when there is a special unction placed upon an individual by the Holy Spirit. This gift can either be used in a corporate setting such as a church service or, at times, it may be person to person. One thing must be kept in mind about this gift—the gift of prophecy does not make someone a prophet.
Tongues and interpretation. The gift of tongues is the power of speaking supernaturally in a language never learned by the speaker. It must be understood that one’s personal prayer language is not the same as the gift of tongues. All who are Spirit-filled speak in tongues, but not all have the gift of tongues—they are two different things altogether. One is our prayer language, and the other is a supernatural gift given by God to be used as He moves upon a person’s spirit to give a message from God to His people. Interpretation of tongues is the gift then used by God to translate a heavenly message to God’s people—a message that is always confirmed by the Word of God. If the supposed message is contrary to the Word of God, then it is false and should be rejected. Donald Gee said, “The purpose of the gift of interpretation is to render the ecstatic and inspired utterances by the Spirit which have gone forth in a tongue unknown to the vast majority present, available to the general understanding of all, by repeating them distinctly in the ordinary language of the people assembled.”8
Who can have one or more of the gifts of the Spirit? All who are filled with the Spirit can be used in the gifts. First Corinthians 12:31 says, “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.”
Seek the Lord for the gifts that He wants you to have.
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Sources
1Myer Pearlman. Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible. Springfield, Missouri: Gospel Publishing House, 1981.
2-8Ibid.