God wants us spiritual, not spooky or sinful!

1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-11

1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 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. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

TRI-UNITY OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS

Paul gives a tri-unity statement about God’s gifts:

  1. v. 4, “different kinds of gifts,” The Holy Spirit gives the nine spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Cor. 12:8-11.
  2. v. 5, “different kinds of service,” The Lord (Jesus/Son) gives the five-fold ministry gifts mentioned in Ephesians 4:11-13 for service.
  3. v. 6, “different kinds of workings,” God (the Father) gives seven gifts for work in the church mentioned in Romans 12 & 1 Cor. 12:28.

Note: Due to the later part of v. 6 which reads, “but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work,” the three different categories of gifts mentioned to come individually from each person of the Trinity (Father, Lord/Son, and the Holy Spirit) might be better looked at as all of the gifts coming from the Trinity as a whole.  In other words, another way to see the Trinity in these verses might be to assume Paul is relating all the different kinds of gifts to the triune nature of God. Either way, each person of the Trinity is mentioned as well as three different categories of gifts.

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THE NINE GIFTS DESCRIBED

  1. The Gift of the Message of Wisdom: A message from God about the future. Example, Agabus predicting a drought in Acts 11:28.
  2. The Gift of the Message of Knowledge: A message about the past or present from God. Example, Jesus knowing about the woman’s perversion in John 4:18.
  3. The Gift of Faith: A superatural endowment of faith. Example, Peter walking on the water in Matthew 14:29.
  4. The Gifts of Healing: The many apsects of physical healing. Example, Jesus healing the blind man in John 9:1-12.
  5. The Gift of Miraculous Powers: An extrodariary move of God’s power. Example, The building shaking after the disciples prayed in Acts 4:31.
  6. The Gift of Prophecy: Speaking the heart of God to His people for encouragement. Example, Paul telling the jailer he and his whole household were going to be saved in Acts 16:31.
  7. The Gift of Distinguishing Between Spirits: The supernatural ability to discern if a spirit is from man, God, or the devil. Example, Paul rebuking the evil spirit out of the girl who told the future in Acts 16:17-18.
  8. The Gift of Tongues: Speaking a message in tongues to the church, 1 Cor. 14:5.
  9. The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues: Spiritually interpreting the message to the church so they can understand, 1 Cor. 14:5.

Four Reasons Why the Gift of Tongues & Interpretation is Not the Same As the Baptism in the Holy Spirit With the Evidence of Speaking in Other Tongues:

  1. None of the examples of people receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues in Acts had a separate interpretation given with a message of edification.
  2. Paul wrote when people “prayed in tongues” no one understands them because they utter mysteries, 1 Cor. 14:2.
  3. Paul also stated that praying in tongues is for personal edification (1 Cor. 14:4) and the gift of tongues with interpretation is for church edification, equal to prophecy (1 Cor. 14:5).
  4. Lastly, Paul wrote that just as he could sing and pray with his mind and understanding whenever he desired to, he could also pray and sing with his spirit, 1 Cor. 14:15. However, the gift of tongues with interpretation could only be given when the Spirit willed, 1 Cor. 12:11.