Praise Chapel Christian Fellowship of Anaheim
“Spiritual Gifts” (Part #1)
Pastor Albert Garcia
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sunday, August 02, 2009

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 12:1 / 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

INTRODUCTION: In our text Paul is writing to the church at Corinth.

ü In (V 1) Paul tells the church that it was His desire that they would not be ignorant concerning Spiritual gifts.

o Why were they given?

o How each person could serve the church in the capacity in which God has placed him.

o That there would be no misunderstandings in the body of Christ.

ü The Bible has a lot to say about spiritual gifts.

o Three chapters in the N.T. as well as parts of two others, are devoted exclusively to the subject of Spiritual Gifts

ü One man writes:

o “In spite of the frequent manifestation of the Spirit in the New Testament Church, the majority of books on doctrine and theology ignore spiritual gifts or devote a mere paragraph or two to their discussion, much of which is negative”

ü Today I want to speak on Spiritual gifts.

ü I will cover 3 areas….

o The basics every believer should know concerning spiritual gifts.

o The purpose of spiritual gifts.

o A look at four different spiritual gifts.

I. THE BASICS EVERY BELIEVER SHOULD KNOW CONCERNING SPIRITUAL GIFTS.

a. Spiritual gifts are given by Jesus Christ.

1. Ephesians 4:7-8 “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. ⁸This is why it^£ says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”

b. Every believer has been given a gift.

1. 1 Corinthians 7:7 “I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

c. All believers have different gifts.

1. 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? (NOTE: This is not speaking of our personal prayer language) Do all interpret? ³¹But eagerly desire^£ the greater gifts.

d. Every gift is important and plays a vital role in the church of Jesus Christ.

1. 1 Corinthians 12:21-22 “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²²On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,”

The Parable of the Spilled Coffee

“A Bible study group met in a home to study how various ministries should work in the body of Christ. One member commented, “I don’t understand how different gifts can work together.”

At that moment a woman accidentally dropped her cup, which broke and spilled coffee all over the floor. Each group member responded differently to the mishap, according to their spiritual gifts.

The teacher gave some advice.  “Next time if you will put your cup on the coffee table, that won’t happen again.”

The administrator responded by organizing a clean-up committee. “Bill, please go find a mop. Sally, could you help him with a towel?”

Bill, who had the gift of service, hurried to get the mop.

Sally, who had the gift of helps, followed Bill and said, “I’ll help you!”

The person with the gift of exhortation said, “We all make mistakes so don’t let it get you down.”

The person with the gift of mercy put her arm around the woman, patted her hand and said, “I feel so badly for you.”

The person with the gift of giving exclaimed, “I’ll buy a new set of coffee mugs to replace the broken one!”

II. THE PURPOSE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS.

a. For the edification, building and strengthening of the Church.

1. 1 Corinthians 14:12 “try to excel in gifts that build up the church.”

2. 1 Corinthians 14:26 “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.”

3. (Gods Word) “So what does this mean, brothers and sisters? When you gather, each person has a psalm, doctrine, revelation, another language, or an interpretation. Everything must be done to help each other grow.

4. NOTE: This means if the exercise of a spiritual gift does not edify and build up the church they are valueless.

III. A LOOK AT FOUR DIFFERENT SPIRITUAL GIFTS.

a. The message of wisdom. (Also known as “The word of wisdom”).

1 Corinthians 12:8 “To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom”

1. This is the ability to skillfully apply God’s Word to everyday life.

a. The person with this gift can take God’s Word and skillfully apply it to everyday life’s situations in a very practical way.

b. NOTE: This is very important when faced with a difficult decision and you are not sure what course of action you should take that will please God.

c. NOTE: There are people who know God’s word but do not have the gift of the word of wisdom. (They don’t know how to apply it to everyday life!)

2. True wisdom has nothing to do with knowledge.

a. Many people know the Bible but don’t know how to apply it to everyday life’s situations.

b. True wisdom is the ability to apply the Bible to everyday life.

1. Matthew 11:19 ”’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”

3. Jesus Himself operated in this gift.

a. Matthew 13:54 “Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked.

4. It is most likely that Stephen had this gift.

a. Acts 6:10 “but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

b. The message of knowledge. (Also known as “The Word of Knowledge”).

1 Corinthians 12:8 “To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,”

1. This is the ability to clearly understand the revelation of God’s word.

a. This is the ability to have insight to truth!

b. The person with this gift can read God’s Word and clearly understand it.

c. They have insight to the Mysteries that lie within God’s Word.

d. NOTE: They can also understand what God is saying right now to the church!

2. The apostle Paul had operated in this gift.

a. He had received by revelation his call to preach to the gentiles.

1. Ephesians 3:3 “Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, ³that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.”

ILLUSTRATE: How I received a word of knowledge from the young man who came to my house whom I had never met. (He said my sickness was of the devil and there was nothing wrong and that I had many more people to preach to)
***When I went to the doctor he said there was nothing wrong***

c. The gift of faith.

1 Corinthians 12:9 “to another faith by the same Spirit”

1. This faith is different from the normal saving faith that we all process as Christians.

a. The gift of faith is a special faith.

b. It is the ability to have an unusual measure of trust in God beyond that exercised by most Christians.

c. This is MOUNTAIN MOVING FAITH!

d. THIS IS GOD LIKE FAITH!

2. The apostle Paul spoke about this gift when addressing the church at Corinth regarding the issue of love.

a. 1 Corinthians 13:2 “and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3. We find many examples in the life of Jesus regarding this type of faith.

a. When He walked on water. (He exercised this type of faith)

b. When He turned water into wine. (He exercised this type of faith)

c. When He cursed the fig tree. (He exercised this type of faith)

Mark 11:20-24 “In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

²²“Have^£ faith in God,” (NOTE: The Greek means “HAVE THE FAITH OF GOD”) Jesus answered. ²³“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. ²⁴Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is very important that this gift as well as others are being exercised in the church.

ü The person with this gift can believe God for a healing in the life of another. (When no one else can!)

d. The gift of healings.

1 Corinthians 12:9 “to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit”

1. Important Note: (V 9) says “Gifts of healing”.

a. NOTE: The word “Gifts” is plural.

b. Some believe that as there are different types of medicines for different types of illnesses there are also different types of healing gifts for different types of illnesses.

1. Some may be gifted to cure cancer.

2. Some may be gifted to cure a common cold.

3. Some may be gifted to cure depression.

“The gift of healing is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to serve as human intermediaries through whom it pleases God to cure illness and restore health apart from the use of natural means”

Peter Wagner

2. VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Even though God has given some in the church the gifts of healing. (Some will never be healed because it is NOT GOD’S WILL!)

3. The apostle Paul can possibly be an example of this.

a. He had the gift of healing.

1. Acts 19:11-12 “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, ¹²so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.”

b. Even though Paul had the gift of healing there were people he could not heal.

1. A disciple named Trophimus.

a. 2 Timothy 4:20 “Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.

2. Timothy.

a. 1 Timothy 5:23 “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

3. Himself.

a. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

4. The prophet Elisha is another example of this.

a. He raised the Shunammite’s son from the dead.

1. 2 Kings 4:32-35 “When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. ³³He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. ³⁴Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy’s body grew warm. ³⁵Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

b. Even though Elisha could raise the dead. (HE HIMSELF DIED OF ILLNESS!)

1. 2 Kings 13:14 “Now Elisha was suffering from the illness from which he died.

REMEMBER IT WAS GOD’S WILL FOR HIS OWN SON TO DIE!
This means God had a greater purpose at hand.

IN CLOSING: God takes the business of spiritual gifts serious.

ü Every believer has been given a different spiritual gift.

o Do you know yours?

ü Every gift is important and plays a vital role in the church of Jesus Christ.

o Are you involved in the church?

o What are you doing in the church?

ü Gifts are for the edification, building and strengthening of the Church.

o It is never for personal promotion.

ü Do you feel you have one of the gifts I mentioned?

o Message of wisdom?

o Message of knowledge?

o Gift of faith?

o Gift of healing?

o ARE YOU USING IT?