Let’s play a quick game of Family Feud. Instead of the top ten, we’ll just do the top three. In 2018, the publication Popular Mechanic released the top 100 skills everyone should know (https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/g87/skills-everyone-should-know/). So, take a few moments and write down the three skills that you think made the cut. Ready?
The third most important skill was…build a camp fire.
The second most important skill was…parallel park.
And the number one skill was…being able to escape from a sinking car. Now I don’t know how often you’ll need that number one skill, but if you did, that one time it could literally save your life.
And it’s this idea, of knowing what something is, or how to use something that brings us back to our summer study in 1st Corinthians chapter 12, where will be picking it up in verse 27. And as we get back to 1st Corinthians 12:27, let’s bring ourselves up to speed on where we are.
We started this series with the understanding that Paul was writing this letter so that unity would happen within the Corinthian Church. After his first half of the letter focused on those thing that cause disunity through our personal relationships. In his second half, Paul changes his focus to look at those things that were causing disunity in the corporate worship time of the Church.
And so we looked at two ways that submission plays a role in worship when we looked at the controversial topic of head coverings and how we partake as an individuals in Communion.
After this, Paul moves into another controversial topic, that of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It’s in these gifts that Paul has called us to understand two things: first, we must understand who the Holy Spirit is and that it is he that gives out the gifts at his own discretion. Secondly, we must understand that each of the gifts are equal and necessary to the overall health of the Church.
With this now in our minds, let us continue our study in the letter of 1st Corinthians chapter 12, verse 27.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.
After two weeks of talking about how we are going to talk about the gifts of the Spirit, we are finally going to talk about the gifts of the Spirit. But as we do, we must understand that there are several different passages where Paul brings up these gifts. One of these, is the passage we just read from 1st Corinthians chapter 12 verses 27-30.
And in order to really tackle the topic of the gifts, we need to address those other passages. So the way we’re going to approach this, is by making an alphabetical list of the gifts starting with the passage we just read and then adding to that list by looking at the other three passages that contain the gifts.
So let’s look at those gifts here in 1st Corinthians 12:27-30. We have Administration/Guidance (depending on your translation), Apostles, Healing, Helping, Miracles, Prophets, Teaching, and Tongues.
Alright, let’s move to the beginning of 1st Corinthians chapter 12, and look at our second passage that deals with the gifts of the Spirit. Chapter 12 starting in verse 8 reads, “To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.”
So now in our list we can add, Distinguishing of Spirits, Faith, Interpretation of Tongues, Prophecy is similar to Prophet so I want us to jot that down as a side note, so all that’s left is Word of Knowledge, and Word of Wisdom.
Alright, two down, two to go. Let’s move over to Romans chapter 12, where we’ll be looking at verses 6-8.
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
From this passage, we can add Exhortation or Encouragement (again depending on your translation), Giving, Mercy, and finally Serving. We’ve already wrote down prophecy and teaching, so we don’t need to again.
Okay, so one more passage, which is Ephesians 4, starting in verse 11.
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
We already wrote down apostles, prophets, and teaching, so we only have two to add from this passage, which are, Evangelist, and Pastor/Shepherd (depending on your translation).
Really quick, I have been asked, why is Ephesians 4:11-13 a part of the gifts, when the word gift is not in the passage? And the answer is, first, there are overlaps with the other gift passages. These would be apostles, prophets, and teachers. Second, the use of the language of the Church being Christ’s body is in both 1st Corinthians 12, which is the most exhaustive gift passage, and Ephesians 4:11-13. And third, the whole point of the gifts are to bring unity to the Church, and here in Ephesians, Paul is saying that these five things where given to bring unity to the Church. So there we go, those are the top three reasons why this is a gift passage.
But now that we have our list of the gifts, let’s briefly explore what each of these gifts are through the words that Paul uses. And here I must emphasize, that we are not looking at the gifts from a particular denomination or tradition’s view of the gifts, but rather from the words that Paul uses when he tells us what the gifts are.
First, Administration/Guidance - the Greek word is kubernésis (koo-ber’-nay-sis) meaning governance or leadership. (1st Corinthians 12:28) This gift is given to those leading the Church bodies as coordinators of the work of God. An Elder, a Deacon, a secretary, a treasurer or someone who is getting things in order for an event could have this gift.
Next, Apostles - the Greek word is apostolos (ap-os’-tol-os) meaning messenger, or the commissioned. This word is used in the New Testament almost exclusively of those directly sent by Jesus. (1st Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11) There’s some controversy here, with someone people saying that this gift was only given to those first century men who were directly sent out by Jesus. Which it is true that a distinction is made between those who were Apostles directly sent by Jesus, and other Christians. But the word that is used here means one who is commissioned for a purpose. Jesus in Hebrews 3:1 is called an apostle. In Philippians 2:25 Paul calls Epaphroditus an apostle. And so, this gift looks to be closer to those who today we call missionaries, or church planters. The idea is one who is sent out to start a new ministry.
Third, Distinguishing of Spirits - the Greek word for distinguishing is diakrisis (dee-ak’-ree-sis) meaning an act of judgment; and the Greek word for spirits is pneuma (pnyoo’-mah) meaning spiritual beings or spiritual situations. Together it is implied that this gift is able to make judgments in spiritual happenings around us. Whether that be knowing a false teacher or brother, or the circumstances of the situation that someone might find themselves in. (1st Corinthians 12:10)
Fourth, we have Encouragement or Exhortation - the Greek word is parakaleó (par-ak-al-eh’-o) meaning to encourage or give comfort in times of grief. A believer with this gift has in their presence and in their words the ability to speak words that will encourage someone in their discomfort or grief. (Romans 12:7)
Next is Evangelist - the Greek word is euaggelistés (yoo-ang-ghel-is-tace’) meaning a bringer of good news. Every Christian is to share the Gospel (good news), but an evangelist has a special calling to it. This is most evident when someone has the ability to speak the Gospel in such a clear way that when people hear, they understand, and accept it. (Ephesians 4:11)
The sixth gift is Faith - the Greek word is pistis (pis’-tis) meaning an unshakable confidence through God’s divine persuasion, which is another way of saying God’s self revealing work that causes us to believe. This is usually manifested in a believer’s life when they step out when everyone else says stop, and then God does something amazing through it. They trust God enough to know that when they move forward, he will be there. (1st Corinthians 12:9)
Next is Giving - the Greek word is metadidómi (met-ad-id’-o-mee) meaning to give a share of something or to part with something. Usually people think of money when they think of this, but this could be anything of worth, but specifically it is material possessions. So money yes, but also real estate, vehicles, and more. And it’s not related to donating something to the Church, but rather seeing where God desires it to be given. This type of giving goes beyond every Christian’s regular giving. This doesn’t include our time or meals, because there are other gifts for those areas. (Romans 12:8)
Our eighth gift is Healing - the Greek word is iama (ee’-am-ah) meaning to cure of an alignment. We’re not talking about natural or made made cures, like aspirin, surgery or other such things. No, we’re specifically talking about divine healing that occurs through the power of God himself, where a body is cured of an alignment without the help for natural or human means. (1st Corinthians 12:9, 28)
Then there is Helping - the Greek word is antilémpsis (an-til’-ape-sis) meaning to give one aid, this is where we get the word of minister or ministry. This might happen when a person is stranded on the side of the road and we work all day to get them going. It is going beyond what is required of us in a given situation to help another. (1st Corinthians 12:28)
Next is Interpretation of Tongues - the Greek word is herméneia (her-may-ni’-ah) meaning to give an explanation or a summary of the message. This one walks hand-in-hand with the gift of tongues, which we’ll be going more in depth in a couple of weeks, so we’ll just leave it there. (1st Corinthians 12:10)
The gift of Leadership is similar to the first gift on our list - the Greek word used here is proistemi (pro-is’-tay-mee) meaning to be early, but was used in Paul’s day as a colloquial term to talk about those who are the first to move forward among people, i.e. leadership. In other words, the gift of leadership happens when a person takes the first step to lead others. David in his fight with Goliath shows this gift of leadership. (Romans 12:8)
Our twelfth gift is Mercy - the Greek word is eleeó (el-eh-eh’-o) meaning to take pity on another, or to be loyal to someone by acting on previous agreed upon terms. In other words it’s not feeling sorry for something alone, but being true to someone even as they have not been true to us. (Romans 12:8)
Next is Miracles - the Greek word is dunamis (doo’-nam-is) meaning divine power, might or strength. We tend to use miracles as an umbrella term for all things supernatural, but the gift of miracles speaks directly to divine power with things like, parting a sea, calming a storm, bringing someone back from the dead. In Paul’s distinguishing of the gifts, miracles and healing are separate, even though they are similar in divine power, miracles are grand shows of that power, whereas gifts such as healings are more intimate. (1st Corinthians 12:10, 28)
In our fourteenth spot we have the Pastor/Shepherd - the Greek word is poimén (poy-mane’) meaning a caregiver, feeder, protector, and ruler over a flock. This is someone who is the spiritual protector of the Church, it’s their responsibility to be the gate keeper that allows the things of God in and to keep the things not of God out. It is why we use the Pastor title of those who we call to be the main overseers of our local congregations. (Ephesians 4:11)
After that we come to the gift of Prophets/prophecy - Now in the two places that we saw these two different words used, there are in fact two different Greek words. The Greek word for prophet is prophétés (prof-ay’-tace) (1st Corinthians 12:10; Romans 12:6) meaning an interpreter or forth teller of divine will, one who gives a message from the mind of God to the people. Whereas the - the Greek word prophecy is prophéteia (prof-ay-ti’-ah) (1st Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11), which means communicating or enforcing revealed truth. Now, even though there are two different words, the gift is the same and comes from the Hebrew word for prophet which is nabi [naw-bee’] and means a spokesperson. Now we usually think of prophecy or prophets as those who speak to future events, and there is that aspect of the gift. But that aspect is more in keeping with how to know a false prophet when they come. See in Deuteronomy 18:20-22 Moses lets us know that a false prophet will be known in one of two ways. First their prophecy will not come true, or second they will call people to worship other gods. But the gift of prophecy spoke here is more in keeping with the main work of the prophets in the Old Testament, which was about 20% future telling and 80% calling people back to God’s divine will. This was usually to keep with the Old Testament Law, but after Jesus, it would be in keeping with the Gospel.
Our sixteen gift is Serving - the Greek word is diakonia (dee-ak-on-ee’-ah) meaning service and here we can think of a waiter or waitress. This gift is similar to the gift of helping, but is different because this is someone who sees things that need to be done and does them without being asked. We sometimes see this when people clean up after a potluck, or set up chairs for an event. (Romans 12:7)
Then comes Teaching - the Greek word is didaskalos (did-as’-kal-os) meaning an instructor in the way of the Scriptures. This gift is seen when someone opens up the Scriptures in new ways to help us see the different layers of God’s Word. But this one comes with a warning, in James 3:1-2 we’re told that not all should seek to be teachers, because they are held to a higher standard. (1st Corinthians 12:28; Romans 12:7, Ephesians 4:11)
Next is Tongues - the Greek word is glóssa (gloce-sah’) meaning a language. This word is used of both human and angel languages in 1st Corinthians 13:1. We’re going to discuss this one more in a couple of weeks, so we’ll leave it there. (1st Corinthians 12:10, 28)
At our nineteenth spot we have Word of Knowledge - the two Greek words used here are logos, meaning word and gnósis (gno’-sis) meaning experiential understanding. This gift is given to a believer when they recognize that God allowed them to walk through certain situations as a learning experience, so as to relay that experience of trusting God to someone else as they walk through a similar time. This isn’t as someone have understood it, being educated, but rather real life and the ability to apply God’s truth to it. (1st Corinthians 12:8)
Our last gift seems similar to our previous one, this is Word of Wisdom - the two Greek words here are logos, again meaning word, and sophia (sof-ee’-ah) meaning insight into human or divine affairs. This would be an insight that the Holy Spirit gives someone into a situation that God is working in, and most likely speaks to another person’s inner thoughts or struggles. (1st Corinthians 12:8) This happens when someone says, have you been listening to my thoughts?
There we have it, twenty gifts quickly summarized and analyzed. Each of which are given at the Holy Spirit’s discretion and for the building of the body of Christ in unity.
Now it’s easy to dismiss certain gifts as not being needed for today, and there are Christians that do believe that. In our study today, we do not have time to go into why that is not a biblical stance. But then there’s the other side of the topic that believe that certain gifts are above the others. Again, in our study today, we do not have time to go into why that is not a biblical stance either.
Instead, we must agree with Paul that the gifts are the Holy Spirit’s department. It is his job to deal out the gifts when and as he sees fit. To constrain, or dismiss in any direction the Holy Spirit’s work, even in the gifts, is to flirt with Jesus’ warning of the unpardonable sin in Matthew 12:31-32, which is the denial of the work of the Holy Spirit.
And so, instead, we must seek the Spirit and the gifts, for his purpose. That purpose is the building of the Church in unity. So, even though I may want the really cool gift of miracles, or to speak the Gospel in such a clear way that many people come to Christ, my desire must instead be, that the Spirit would give me the gifts that would do the most good for my brothers and sisters. Not the ones that I desire, but that he desires.
But with all of this talk about gifts, Paul gives us this word in verse 31 of 1st Corinthians 12, “31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.”
And it’s this more excellent way that we will talk about next week. But for the challenge this week, I want to challenge you to realize the gifts the Holy Spirit has given you. Take what we have studied here today, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal which gifts he has given you. Then next week, on the wall I’m going to have all the gifts categorized, and I want you to pin your gifts to the wall so we can see what gifts God has given us for the building of this body of believers.
Let us each walk in the Spirit as he administers the gifts, so that the body of Christ can be built, and the glory of the Father can be seen. Amen.
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