The gifts of the Holy Spirit are basically empowerment/tools for service.
It is not the same as MINISTRY GIFTS. Apart from the depth of maturity required, many gifts of the Spirit are required for someone to be able to stand in a Ministry Gifts. For example, 7 Gifts of the Spirit come into the spectrum of a PROPHET while an apostle should be able to function in all the Spiritual gift. So, he that prophesy is NOT NECESSARILY a prophet. By God's permission, I will do a series of teachings on Ministry Gifts next year. They are MORE THAN THE POPULAR FIVE OF Eph. 4 that you know. Let me pause and face today's business. I said yesterday that Spiritual Gifts have been broadly divided into three. Let's explore them now.
A. REVELATIONAL GIFTS: They reveal something about both the Creator and the created things whether visible or invisible. They are directly under the Ministry of the Spirit of Seeing and Knowing. These gifts SEE, HEAR AND KNOW THINGS ABOUT ANYTHING AND ANYONE that exists. They are:
1. THE GIFT OF A WORD OF WISDOM: This is the correct name from the Greek rendering. It is a sudden impartation of a fragmental wisdom of God showing you WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE/ WHAT TO DO. Selah. It is ALWAYS ABOUT THE FUTURE. So, every revelation in the Bible about the future is the manifestation of this gift. If I have to state every occurrence in the Bible, even you will get bored. However, let me state a few:
God's judgment in Gen. 3 is part of it, Isaiah talks about the death of Jesus in Is. 53, Ananias in Act 9:15-16. The revelation of what will happen and what SPIRITS (GOD, HUMANS AND DEMONS) are about to do are unveiled by the gift of a Word of Wisdom. This is NOT MIND READING, FORTUNE TELLING or the gift of Wisdom just like that in Solomon. It is A WORD OF WISDOM.
2. THE GIFT OF A WORD OF KNOWLEDGE: It is a spontaneous impartation of a fragmentary knowledge about THE PAST AND THE PRESENT TO YOU. Selah. It is always about the PAST AND PRESENT. Examples abound in the Scripture. Moses wrote Genesis by this gift. He also received many words of Knowledge on their journey to the Promised Land. Many times Jesus knew and answered people's thoughts (Mt. 9:4, Luke 11:17), Paul knew the voyage to Rome will be disastrous by this gift. Act 27:10. Most of the time, word of Knowledge comes before word of Wisdom. The occurrence of the two of them together confuse people that don't know the difference between them.
3. THE GIFTS OF DISCERNING OF SPIRITS: it is the impartation of the ability of the Spirit to SEE AND/OR HEAR into the realm of spirit. This gift is limited in scope to SPIRITS. Unlike the gift of a word of knowledge and wisdom that cover the entire scope of existence, discerning of Spirits is limited to SPIRITS BEINGS. With it, you can see the actions of spirits; GOD AND THE ANGELS, HUMANS AND DEMONS. This is a very sensitive gift in Spiritual Gifts. IT IS THE UMPIRE THAT TELLS THE SPIRIT BEHIND EVERY SPIRITUAL MANIFESTATION. The Bible says Satan transform into an angel of light.
2 Cor. 11:14. Sadonic to say, all the 9 gifts of the Spirit except this one can be counterfeited by the demonic realm.
For example, a person operating in familiar spirit can mimic the operation of Word of Knowledge and Wisdom. So, the gift of Discerning of Spirits is to separate between the spurious and reality. To Discern means to see through; judge. Every time dreams, visions and supernatural revelations involve SEEING AND HEARING, Discerning of Spirits is involved. It is different from Christian Discernment- an ability cultivated over time as a result of spiritual maturity.
It is NOT a gift of FAULT FINDING-such ability should be buried so as not to grieve the Lord.
It is not a gift of CRITICISM.
It is not just to be seeing Devils alone. The whole spectrum of the spirit is available. Micaiah in 1 KGS 22 saw the plot in the Heavenly Council to deceive Ahab to go to war by this gift.
Paul the apostle discerned the spirit of divination in that lady by this gift. Act 16.
The gift of a Word of Knowledge and Wisdom manifest as inner knowing, visions, dreams. Prophecy can also become a vehicle to convey this gift. The same goes with the gift of discerning of Spirits. Let me stop here today.
Next post is: GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT PT. 3.
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