Understand Your
Church’s Spiritual Gifts
Basic guidelines for using spiritual gifts
are explained in Paul-Timothy booklet #85 for shepherds. If you have not read
that study, then please do so now. Anchor command. “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one
another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.” 1 Peter 4:10 Anchor story.
Anchor verse. “To each is given
the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Learning goal. Know the New Testament lists of spiritual gifts. Growth goal.
Serve others by gifts that the Holy Spirit has given you. Skill goal.
Help believers to discover their gifts and to employ their gifts in serving
one another. Outcome goal. Congregations
become ministry centres where all believers serve by the Spirit’s grace. 1.
Examine Bible Passages that
Describe Spiritual Gifts
The
New Testament letters reveal that God gives to all Christian believers
special abilities to serve one another. Find
in 1 Peter 4:10 & 11 two basic kinds of gifts that God gives to
believers: “As each has received a gift, use it to
serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever
speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves
by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be
glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and
ever. Amen” [Answer:
The two basic gift functions mentioned by Peter are: Speaking
(telling God’s truth to others). Serving
(showing God’s love to others).] Ephesians
4:10-12 reveals that God also gives people to churches to equip believers for
various ministries. Find in Ephesians 4:11 five kinds of gifted
people: “He
gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of
Christ.” [Answer:
These five kinds of people are: 1. Apostles (who plant
new congregations in neglected communities). 2. Prophets (who strengthen
God’s people with God’s truth). 3. Evangelists (who
announce the Good News to the unsaved). 4. Pastors (who
shepherd congregations). 5. Teachers (who help
others learn to obey the Lord’s commands). ] Romans
chapter 12 teaches that believers have spiritual gifts with which to serve
others, in love. Find in Romans 12:6-8 seven examples of spiritual
gifts that some believers have: “Since we have gifts that differ according
to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if
prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his
serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his
exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he
who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” [Answer:
The seven kinds of gifts are: 1. Prophecy (to
speak God’s truth one to another as in 1 Corinthians 14:3 & 24). 2. Serving (to do
practical work that helps others). 3. Teaching (to
equip believers to serve one another). 4. Exhortation (to
encourage obedience, and to change bad behaviour). 5. Generous giving (to
meet real needs). 6. Diligent leading
(to start or oversee flocks or ministries, helping believers work together in
harmony). 7. Acts of mercy (done
cheerfully). ] 1 Corinthians
chapter 12 shows how to use the different gifts in harmony within a local
body. Find in 1 Corinthians 12:8–10 & 28 more gifts that are
not listed above: “Having gifts that differ according to the
grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in
his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who
contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does
acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” [Answer:
Other spiritual, prophetic gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 are: 8. Words of wisdom
(helping others to apply God’s truth) 9. Words of knowledge
(helping others to understand God’s truth) 10. Tongues (praying, singing or prophesying
in another language) 11. Interpretation of tongues (explaining
what someone has said in another language) Other
spiritual, serving gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 include: 12. Faith (strong belief that God will keep
His promises) 13. Healings (praying for God to heal sick
folks) 14. Miracles (praying that God will provide
what someone urgently needs) 15. Discerning spirits (recognizing bad
spirits and deceit that they produce) 16. Administration (managing projects and
coordinating details)] Sometimes
speaking and serving gifts serve as signs of God’s power, to help people to
believe. This is especially true when believers pray to heal the sick and to
deliver the oppressed from evil spirits. Although
they are not explicitly identified as spiritual gifts in the New Testament,
some teachers consider the following also to be gifts: 17. Celibacy (chastity and abstinence from
marriage, Matt. 19:10). 18. Marriage (1 Corinthians 7:7). 19. Hospitality (Romans 12:13). 20. Martyrdom (grace to be killed for the
sake of the Good News, Revelation 20:4). In
conclusion, we can classify God’s spiritual gifts in three general
categories: · Gifts that help believers to speak
the Word of God. · Gifts that help believers to serve
with strength from God. · ‘Sign’ gifts that reveal God’s
miraculous power to help people to believe. Test: To which of the above
three categories do the following gifts normally correspond? 1) Teaching 2) Showing mercy 3) Helps 4) Exhortation 5) Healing 6) Hospitality [Answers:
1=speaking. 2=serving. 3=serving. 4=speaking. 5=sign. 6=serving.] In addition to the spiritual
gifts that are mentioned in His Word, God may give other gifts that are not
mentioned, when unique circumstances create special needs.
Some congregations appoint
as deaconesses women who are gifted for good works. 2.
Prepare to answer common questions
about spiritual gifts.
Please find the answers to these
questions in your Bible, unless you already know them:
3.
Seek to fulfil the specific
purposes of the various spiritual gifts.
God gives spiritual gifts to all believers.
It is not always necessary for believers to know what their spiritual gifts
are, but it is necessary for all believers to serve one another in love (Romans
12:10). Some believers become trainers in congregations. Some speak the Word
of God effectively, while others serve the practical needs of people, and yet
others perform miracles. A. Each kind of gift has its
purpose.
Speaking
gifts
(“prophecy”) for speaking God’s truth to help people believe and obey: Teaching. Teachers explain
to people how to obey the Word of God. Exhortation. Exhorters
encourage, strengthen and build up people. Faith. People with this
gift inspire others to believe and have a vision of what God will help their
congregation to do, moving people forward. Serving
gifts
(“ministry”) for showing kindness to people, with God’s strength: Giving
liberally.
Givers meet material needs of others. Leading
and administration.
Leaders help people to work together. Showing
mercy.
Merciful persons meet the needs of others in a practical way. Sign
gifts
(Miracles) for showing God’s power to people to help them to believe. Discerning
of spirits.
Discerners distinguish truth and error. Healings. Healers bring
people to physical or emotional health. Tongues and
interpretation of tongues. Some people speak or pray in a language unknown to
them. And, if they speak to a group of people, others are to interpret their
message into a language known to them. Prophecy. Prophecy,
although spoken, is also a sign to believers (1 Corinthians 12:22). B. Each kind of gifted person has
work to do.
Apostles. Apostles are sent
to other places to form new congregations and to train their leaders. Prophets. Prophets proclaim
messages that build up people. Evangelists. Evangelists
announce the Good News about Jesus. Shepherds. Shepherds lead
and edify congregations and cells. Teachers. Teachers provide
instruction in how to obey Jesus’ orders. C. Leaders are to help every
believer to use their gifts.
As
people serve one another in small groups, their spiritual gift will become
apparent, and others will recognize it. Let new believers serve in some way. Provide
opportunities for all believers to use their spiritual gifts in serving one
another. This is best done in small groups. Do not limit the work of the Holy
Spirit by only listening to talented people. Continually
remind believers that they must have love for people when they use their
spiritual gifts. When a believer is angry or unloving, his gift can harm
people. Let
people take responsibilities, offices and ministries in congregations and
cell groups, according to their spiritual gifts. Do not assign jobs to people
for which they are not gifted. Elders
should have a speaking gift, and deacons should have a serving gift. Small groups and ministry teams should have
members with different gifts that the Holy Spirit can harmonize. Avoid simply
grouping persons who have the same gift.
To
help believers to discover the gifts that God has given them, let them
compare themselves to Bible characters who modelled God’s Gifts. Help them to
identify a Bible character whose abilities or virtues they strongly desire to
imitate. Tell the stories about them to the believers, and ask them with
which persons they most readily identify, and why. Here are some examples: Bible Models
Serve, as those did who
rallied to repair the wall around Jerusalem in Nehemiah chapter 3 and
6:15-16. (Do you identify strongly with them?) Give, as Abigail did,
generously, to David’s needy men, 1 Samuel 25. (Find guidelines on giving in
1 Corinthians chapter 9) Encourage (exhort), as Paul
did the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:17-38. Show
mercy,
as the Good Samaritan did in Luke 10:30-35. (Find guidelines to use this gift
in Matthew 25:31-46 and Acts 6:1-7. ) Prophesy, as Jeremiah did
with stirring messages, calling God’s people back to Him, Jeremiah Chapter 1.
(Find the purpose of this gift in the New Testament at 1 Corinthians 14:3-4.) Teach, as Ezra explained
God’s Law to the people in Nehemiah chapter 8. For the true purpose of
teaching see Ephesians 4:11-16. Lead (servant
leadership) as Moses did to help others minister, and Joshua with his troops:
Exodus 18:13-26 and Joshua 4-6. Counsel
with wisdom, as Solomon did in 1 Kings 3. Knowledge, act on facts as
Nehemiah did after examining the walls, or the Bereans
with the Word, Nehemiah 1:11-20 and Acts 17:10-12. Help, as Aquila and
Priscilla did for Paul and Apollos (Acts 18:1‑5, 24‑28). Go,
as an Apostle (‘sent one’ or missionary), as Jonah was after his
underwater training, likewise Paul and Barnabas (Acts chapters 13-14). Find
Paul’s main, guiding, missionary principles in Romans 5:20-21.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
