1 Corinthians 12:1, “Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.”

Who would you rather learn to fly from- an experienced Air Force F-22 pilot or someone who has never flown a plane?  And better yet, who would you trust your life with in a plane- the Air Force pilot or the inexperienced civilian?  Most people would say the pilot because he has better information regarding flying.

Plus, not only does he have better information but he also has more experience that has been tested and proven true.  Certainly, someone doesn’t have to experience everything in life to have information about it, but at the same time, those who have information and experience are better off then those who just have information.

The same is true with spiritual gifts.  There are some “uninformed” and “inexperienced” Christians that try to teach people that the gifts of the Spirit have ceased.  They believe in a false doctrine called, “cessationism,” which basically asserts that after the New Testament was written God removed His spiritual gifts from the church.

However, there are hundreds of millions of people alive today (like myself) who have actually experienced and witnessed the gifts of the Spirit in action!  Thus, for them to assert their belief to persons like myself is nothing short of ignorance.  How could an inexperienced civilian have any real understanding of flying a F-22 compared to the Air Force pilot?  The person with the “experience” will never be at the mercy of a person with just an “argument.”

Therefore, I urge you to follow Paul’s advice when it comes to spiritual gifts and not be uniformed and ignorant.  Humbly accept and receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and operate in the gifts as experienced leaders train and equip you.  I would rather trust Paul then any leader who contradicts him.

The spiritual gifts are for you and they are for today!

Reflection

Are you experienced and informed in the spiritual gifts?

Action

  1. What spiritual gifts have you personally experienced?
  2. Do you believe that spiritual gifts are for everyone?
  3. Whenever someone tries to dissuade you from your beliefs- remind them of the F-22 pilot example and say, “I’d rather fly high with the Holy Ghost, then stay on the ground with a failed argument!”