Jesus IS Lord!
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper.”
-- Psalm 122:6
What Are Spiritual Gifts and Their Purpose?
Spiritual Gifts or Gifts of the Spirit are special abilities the Holy Spirit gives to each of us to help the church (the "body" of Christ - each other). There are different kinds of Spiritual Gifts, but only the Holy Spirit is the source (I Corinthians 12).
I Corinthians 12:4 - NLT
Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts,
but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the
source of them all.
I Corinthians 12:7-11 - NLT
A spiritual gift is given to each of us
as a means of helping the entire church.
To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give advice;
to another he gives the gift of special knowledge.
The Spirit gives special faith to another,
and to someone else he gives the power to heal the sick.
He gives one person the power to perform miracles,
and to another the ability to prophesy.
He gives someone else the ability to know whether it is really
the Spirit of God or another spirit that is speaking.
Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages,
and another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.
It is the one and only Holy Spirit who distributes these gifts.
He alone decides which gift each person should have.
Why? "One Body with Many Parts"
I Corinthians 12:12-26 - NLT
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body.
So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles,
some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into
Christ's body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part.
If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,"
that does not make it any less a part of the body.
And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because
I am only an ear and not an eye,"
would that make it any less a part of the body?
Suppose the whole body were an eye -- then how would you hear?
Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything?
But God made our bodies with many parts,
and he has put each part just where he wants it.
What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part!
Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.
The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you."
The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."
In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest
and least important are really the most necessary.
And the parts we regard as less honorable
are those we clothe with the greatest care.
So we carefully protect from the eyes of others
those parts that should not be seen,
while other parts do not require this special care.
So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care
are given to those parts that have less dignity.
This makes for harmony among the members,
so that all the members care for each other equally.
If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it,
and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
"Spiritual Gifts" are Members of the Body
1 Corinthians 12:27-31 - NLT
Now all of you together are Christ's body,
and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.
Here is a list of some of the members that God has placed in the body of Christ:
first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who can get others to work together,
those who speak in unknown languages.
Is everyone an apostle? Of course not. Is everyone a prophet? No.
Are all teachers? Does everyone have the power to do miracles?
Does everyone have the gift of healing? Of course not.
Does God give all of us the ability to speak in unknown languages?
Can everyone interpret unknown languages?
No! And in any event, you should desire the most helpful gifts.
Love is the Greatest Gift
1 Corinthians 12:31 - NLT
So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.
But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.
1 Corinthians 13 - NLT
1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.
11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
