Nine Gifts of the Holy Spirit

What are Spiritual gifts?

They can be defined as drives, opportunities, and results given to us by the Godhead to achieve God's supernatural goals. The gifts are the spiritual senses of the Church. Just as we have five physical senses that allow us to function in the natural realm (world), so we also have nine gifts of the Holy Spirit (the "spiritual senses") that enable us to function properly in the spiritual realm.

What are their Purposes?

Their purpose is specific - to "profit" the body of the church. Jesus "gave gifts unto men ... For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith..." (Ephesians 4:8, 12-14). These nine gifts are specifically available to every believer as the Holy Spirit distributes them (I Corinthians 12:11). They are not to be merely acknowledged in a passive way, but rather are to be actively welcomed and expected (I Corinthians 13:1; 14:1).

The primary function of these and all nine gifts was to serve as a sign and means of confirming the spoken word (Mk. 16: 20 Heb. 2: 4). We must realize that the apostles and early Christian did not, at first, have the New Testament, as we possess it today. Today, we can provide book, chapter, and verse to verify and confirm the truthfulness of the Word of God. In the absence of such verification, they often performed miracles to convince the observers. Judging from such verses as Mark 16: 17, 18, these gifts were apparently widespread and common among the early Christians.

The gifts of the Spirit are seen in I Corinthians 12: 7-10 and they are nine in number. Exactly what were these gifts?
     "7: But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8: For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9: To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10: 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".
    

The Gifts:

• "The word of wisdom" The gift of the word of wisdom is the application of knowledge that God gives you ( I Corinthians 2:6-7). This type of wisdom is a gift which cannot be gained through study or experience. The gift of wisdom is the wisdom of God. It is the supernatural impartation of facts; it is not natural. You can't earn it. It is received from God through prayer (Ephesians 1:17). The gift of the word of wisdom is seeing life from God's perspective.
  The gift of the word of wisdom is also the revealing of prophetic future; it is speaking hidden truths of what is not known. It is a supernatural perspective to ascertain the divine means for accomplishing God's will in a given situation, and is a divinely given power to appropriate spiritual intuition in problem solving.
  Furthermore, this gift involves having a sense of divine direction, being led by the Holy Spirit to act appropriately in a given set of circumstances, and rightly applying knowlege.
  
  
• The "word of knowledge" A word of knowledge is a definite belief, impression, or knowing that comes to you in a similitude (a mental picture), a dream, through a vision, or by a Scripture that is quickened to you. It is supernatural insight or understanding of circumstances, situations, problems, or a body of facts by revelation; that is, without assistance by any human resource but solely by divine aid.
  
  Furthermore, the gift of the word of knowledge is the transcendental revelation of the divine will and plan of God. It involves moral wisdom for right living and relationships, requires objective understanding concerning divine things in human duties, and refers to knowledge of God or of the things that belong to God, as related in the Gospel.
  
  The gifts of the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge function together; knowledge is raw material and wisdom builds on it. The "word of knowledge" seems to especially affect the intellect and enable the person having this gift to understand the deeper matters of the gospel. Jesus told the apostles that, "…when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak" (Matt. 10: 19).
  
• "To another faith" The gift of faith is the supernatural ability to believe God without doubt, overcome unbelief, and visualize what God wants to accomplish. It is not only an inner conviction impelled by an urgent and higher calling, but also a supernatural ability to meet adverse circumstances with trust in God's words and messages. Non-miraculous and ordinary faith comes by "hearing and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10: 17). One purpose of Jesus' recorded miracles is that of producing faith (Jn. 20: 30, 31). Hence, there is not the necessity for recurring present day miracles.
      
• "Gifts of healing" The gift of healings refers to supernatural healing without human aid; it is a special gift to pray for specific diseases. Healing can come through the touch of faith (James 5:14-15); by speaking the word of faith (Luke 7:1-10); or by the presence of God being manifested (Mark 6:56).
  
  There are four types of healings: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. There is much diversity within the gift of healings. While one person might have the gift of healing to heal a person of cancer, another person might have a diversity of the same gift to remove the cause of hate, which leads to cancer.
  
  According to Mark 16:17-20, the gifts of healing belong to all believers. You can know whether or not you have the gift of healing by the following:
  
  * By the inner witness of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16).
  * When you have a special ability to believe for physical healing for someone (Romans 12:3-8).
  * When you have an overwhelming feeling of compassion which moves you to action (Matthew 20:34).

  The gift of healing was not bestowed so that the community of believers could be free of health problems. (I Tim. 5: 23, 6: 20)
  

• The "working of miracles" A miracle is the performance of something which is against the laws of nature; it is a supernatural power to intervene and counteract earthly and evil forces. The word miracles comes from the Greek word dunamis which means "power and might that multiplies itself." The gift of miracles operates closely with the power gifts of faith and healings to bring authority over Satan, sickness, sin, and the binding forces of this age.
  
  Miracles can also be defined as supernatural intercessions of God. God exhorts us with energy to do something that is not natural or normal to us.

  Some hold the view that "working of miracles" has reference to the ability to impart to others miracle working ability. The Greek words energemata dunameon ("working of miracles") can be translated, "active efficacy of powers." The reference seems to be to "mighty signs and wonders" (Rom. 15: 19).

• "To another prophecy" People sometimes think that "prophecy" means to predict (foretell) what will happen in the future. Prophecy in the New Testament church carried no prediction with it whatsoever, for "he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort" (I Corinthians 14:3) and helps us build up or strengthen; and should lead us to the Word of God. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to convict of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come (John 16:8-11).
  

  Prophecy is divinely inspired and anointed utterance; a supernatural proclamation in a known language. It is the manifestation of the Spirit of God - not of intellect (I Corinthians 12:7), and it may be possessed and operated by all who have the infilling of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 14:31).

Intellect, faith, and will are operative in this gift, but its exercise is not intellectually based. It is calling forth words from the Spirit of God. The gift of prophecy operates when there is high worship (I Samuel 10:5-6), when others prophets are present (I Samuel 10:9-10), and when hands are laid on you by ministers (Acts 19:1-6).The gift of prophecy enabled the prophet to speak and teach miraculously. The matter that distinguished the prophet from the teacher was the prophet's ability to foretell the future and to issue teaching based on such foretelling.

• The "discerning of spirits" Discerning of spirits is the supernatural ability given by the Holy Spirit to perceive the source of a spiritual manifestation and determine whether it is of God (Acts 10:30-35), of the devil (Acts 16:16-18), of man (Acts 8:18-23), or of the world. It is not mind reading, psychic phenomena, or the ability to criticize and find fault.
  
  Discerning of spirits must be done by the power of the Holy Spirit; He bears witness with our spirit when something is or is not of God. The gift of discerning of spirits is the supernatural power to detect the realm of the spirits and their activities. It implies the power of spiritual insight - the supernatural revelation of plans and purposes of the enemy and his forces. It is a gift which protects and guards your spiritual life. The recipient of discerning of spirits could miraculously determine the truth being taught by the teacher. We have the charge of "trying the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world" (I Jn. 4: 1).

•  "Divers kinds of tongues" The tongues of the New Testament upon close examination do not even resemble the emotional and unintelligible displays that are called speaking in tongues today.
  
  Tongues were languages, supernatural utterance through the power of the Holy Spirit in a person, that manifests as spiritual language. The Holy Spirit energizes the tongue to edify believers through language and music.
  
  Diverse tongues is the most misunderstood and dynamic gift. It is not your prayer language, but it can surface through intercession, conference, or through the individual.
  
  Tongues are uttered in languages not known to the speaker; these languages may be existent in the world, revived from some past culture, or "unknown" in the sense that they are a means of communication inspired by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 28:11; Mark 16:17; Acts 2:4, 10:44-48, 19:1-7; I Corinthians 12:10, 13:1-3, 14:2, 4-22, 26-32).
  
  The spiritual gift involving ability to speak in foreign language(s) not previously studied or to respond to experience of the Holy Spirit by uttering sounds which those without the gift of interpretation could not understand. In Corinth some members of the church uttered sounds the rest of the congregation did not understand.
  (I Corinthians 12-14)

  This led to controversy and division. Paul tried to unite the church, assuring the church that there are different gifts but only one Spirit (I Corinthians 12:4-11). When the apostles were baptized in the Holy Spirit (the fullest supernatural empowerment, short of Jesus' experience, Jn. 3: 34), they "spoke with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2: 4).

We then read: "Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language" (Acts 2: 6). They are called "unknown tongues" only in the climate of the hearer not knowing the language. The phenomenon of tongues allowed those early Christians who possessed this ability to gain the attention of the hearer and to impress upon the hearer that something supernatural was present (see Acts 2: 1-1-13). The gift of tongues also provided the person the capability of conversing with others in their own tongue without having studied the language. Even though Greek was cosmopolitan, there were many languages and dialects still spoken (Acts 2:8-11). Tongues were a highly sought after but abused gift in the church at Corinth (I Cor. 14).

•  "Interpretation of tongues" Just as there were those in the early church who could miraculously speak another language, there were also those who could interpret. Not all hearers in an audience could always understand a language; hence, the need for miraculous interpretation. Unintelligible gibberish was of no use, the speaker had to be understood so the meaning could instruct and benefit (I Cor. 14: 5-19). Specific instruction was given to the church at Corinth regarding tongues. "If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course, and let one interpret," Paul wrote. ""But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church," (I Cor. 14: 27, 28).
  

  It is important to note that "interpretation" of tongues is not the same thing as "translation" of tongues, for the interpreter never understands the tongue he or she is interpreting. For example, the message in tongues may be long and the interpretation short because the interpretation only gives the meaning. On the other hand, one may speak a short time in tongues and then given a lengthy interpretation. Yet still, at other times, the interpretation is almost word for word.

  The Word of God says that if you pray in tongues, you should pray that you will also interpret - not only for the benefit of others - but for your own benefit as well.

If someone speaks in tongues, you can ask God to move through you to give the interpretation so others will understand, but you can also do this in your private prayers for your own personal benefit.
When combined with the inspirational gift of diverse tongues, the miraculous and supernatural phenomenon known as prophecy results.

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