GIFTS
INTENTION:
We have all been given the same Holy Spirit—as such, we
have all been given the same Gifts.
Let us freely give and use those Gifts, as they are
provided without debt (hence why it is called a gift).
I.
TOPIC:
We want to look at Gifts.
These Gifts (as with all Gifts from the Lord) are given to
you because you are Unconditionally Loved by Him as His child. Unconditional in
that it has nothing to do with your merit (working for it to earn it / the Law),
but on His Love. Just as He called Jesus His Child, so are you. And just as
Jesus was freely given all these Gifts, so are you.
You are fully given the ability to operate in each and every
one of these Gifts at any one time, multiple times, or together at times. This
is what Jesus and the Disciples demonstrated for us. So, even though you may
find yourself more comfortable or confident in a specific Gift (“in season”),
you must not restrict the Lords Work in you to operate in any of the other
Gifts (“out of season”)—2
Timothy 4:2.
With these Gifts, remember, the greatest of these Gifts is
the Lord’s Agape Love (as we learned in a previous Bible Study – Lesson
033). As being the greatest, though, it does not discount or make any of
the other Gifts irrelevant or discontinued. It says we must operate in all the
gifts through the gift of Agape Love—that without performing these Gifts
through Love, we are only calling attention to ourselves, not to the Lord.
Hence how “a noisy gong or clanging cymbal” tries to make people pay attention
to you, not the Gift from the Lord.
Let us not hide these Gifts or discount them, for they are a
Testimony of and to the Lord!
The verses following are an overview of where we read
about the Gifts, not looking in depth at what each Gift is, but looking at how
Jesus and others operated in these Gifts to demonstrate for us that we too
operate in them.
We are first going to look at that greatest Gift being Love,
but also read about all the other Gifts given with verses that show both Jesus
and others operating in these Gifts.
II.
READING: 1
Corinthians 13:1-13 (EXB)
I may speak in ·different languages [tongues] of people or
even angels. But if I do not have love, I am only a ·noisy [resounding] ·bell
[gong] or a ·crashing [clanging] cymbal. 2 I may have the gift of prophecy. I
may understand all ·the secret things of God [mysteries] and have all
knowledge, and I may have faith so great I can move mountains. But even with
all these things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing. 3 I may give away
everything I have, and I may even give my body ·as an offering to be burned [to
be burned]. But I gain nothing if I do not have love.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not ·jealous [envious],
it does not brag, and it is not ·proud [arrogant; conceited; puffed up]. 5 Love
is not ·rude [disrespectful], is not ·selfish [self-serving], and ·does not get
upset with others [is not easily provoked/angered]. Love does not ·count up
[keep a record of] wrongs that have been done. 6 Love ·takes no pleasure [does
not rejoice] in ·evil [wrongdoing; injustice] but rejoices over the truth. 7
Love ·patiently accepts all things [bears all things; or always protects],
·always trusts [believes all things], ·always hopes [hopes all things], and
·always endures [endures all things].
8 Love never ·ends [fails; falls short]. There are gifts of
prophecy, but they will ·be ended [cease; pass away]. There are gifts of
·speaking in different languages [or ecstatic utterance; tongues], but those
gifts will ·stop [cease; fall silent]. There is the gift of knowledge, but it
will ·come to an end [pass away; be set aside]. 9 ·The reason is that [For]
·our knowledge and our ability to prophesy are not perfect [we know in
part/imperfectly and we prophesy in part/incompletely]. 10 But when ·perfection
[the perfect; completeness; wholeness] comes, the ·things that are not perfect
[partial] will ·end [pass away; be set aside]. 11 When I was a child, I talked
like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a
man, I ·stopped [set aside] those childish ways. 12 ·It is the same with us
[For…]. Now we see ·a dim reflection [obscurely; or indirectly], ·as if we were
looking into a mirror [through a glass darkly], but then we shall see ·clearly
[face to face]. Now I know only a part, but then I will know fully, as ·God has
known me [I am fully known]. 13 So these three things ·continue forever
[endure; remain]: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.
III.
RELATED VERSES AND QUESTIONS:
A. For
by “God’s Grace” and “Christ’s Faith” we are saved—for they are Gifts to us (Ephesians
2:4-10). These Grace and Faith Gifts are the beginning of our Salvation;
for without them, we have no hope for salvation. Yet, the Gifts do not stop
there, but continue because of God’s ongoing Grace. And Christ’s “one Faith” is
what we all have been given—this is the “amount of faith” we’ve been given.
Romans
12:3-8 (EXB)
Because God has given me
·a special gift [his grace], I have something to say to everyone among you. Do
not think you are better than you are. [Instead] You must ·decide what you
really are [think sensibly; think with sober discernment] ·by [based on; in
accordance with] the amount of faith God has given you. 4 [For just as] Each
one of us has ·a [one] body with many parts, and these parts all have different
·uses [functions]. 5 In the same way, we are many, but in Christ we are all one
body, and each part belongs to all the other ·parts [members]. 6 We all have
different gifts, each of which came because of the grace God gave us. The
person who has the gift of prophecy should use that gift ·in agreement with the
faith [or in proportion to their faith]. 7 Anyone who has the gift of serving
should serve. Anyone who has the gift of teaching should teach. 8 Whoever has
the gift of ·encouraging [exhorting] others should ·encourage [exhort]. Whoever
has the gift of giving to others should give ·freely [generously]. Anyone who
has the gift of being a leader should ·try hard when he leads [lead
diligently/enthusiastically]. Whoever has the gift of showing mercy to others
should do so with ·joy [cheerfulness].
i.
Matthew 4:23-25 (EXB)
Jesus went everywhere in Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching
the ·Good News about [Gospel of] the kingdom, and healing ·all [or every kind
of] the people’s diseases and sicknesses. 24 The ·news [fame] about Jesus
spread ·all over [or as far as] Syria, and people brought all the sick to him.
They were suffering from different kinds of diseases. Some were in great pain,
some ·had demons [were demon-possessed], some were epileptics, and some were
paralyzed. Jesus healed all of them. 25 ·Many people [Great crowds] from
Galilee, the ·Ten Towns [Decapolis; the area east of Lake Galilee that once
had ten main towns], Jerusalem, Judea, and ·the land across [beyond] the
Jordan River followed him.
ii.
Acts 20:22-28 (EXB)
But now [indeed; behold] ·I must obey the Holy Spirit and
[bound/compelled by the Spirit, I must] go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what will
happen to me there. 23 I know only that in every city the Holy Spirit ·tells
[warns; testifies to] me that ·troubles and even jail [chains and
persecutions/afflictions] wait for me. 24 [But] I don’t ·care about my own life
[consider my life worth anything]. ·The most important thing [or My only goal]
is that I ·complete [finish] my ·mission [task; course; race; 2 Timothy 4:7; Hebrews 12:1], the ·work [ministry; service] that ·the Lord Jesus gave me [I
received from the Lord Jesus]—to ·tell people [testify/witness to] the ·Good
News [Gospel] about God’s grace.
25 “And now [look; behold], I
know that none of you among whom I was ·preaching [proclaiming] the ·kingdom of
God [kingdom] will ever see ·me [my face] again. 26 So today I ·tell
[testify/witness to] you that ·if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible
[I am innocent/clean of the blood of everyone; Ezekiel 33:9], 27 because I ·have told [have not held back from telling] you
·everything God wants you to know [or the whole purpose/plan/will of God]. 28
·Be careful for [Keep watch over] yourselves and for all the ·people [flock]
the Holy Spirit has ·given to you to oversee [made you overseers/guardians; John 21:16]. You must be like shepherds to the church of God, which he ·bought [or
obtained] with the ·death of his own Son [with the blood of his own (Son); or
with his own blood].
[Therefore,] As a prisoner ·for [because I belong to; or in] the Lord,
I urge you to ·live [walk] in a manner worthy of the calling ·you have received
[to which you were called]. 2 ·Always be [or Be completely] humble, gentle, and
patient, ·accepting [putting up/bearing with] each other in love. 3 Make every
effort to preserve the unity ·of [provided by; available through] the Spirit
·in [through] the ·peace that joins us together [bond of peace]. 4 There is one
body and one Spirit, and God called you to ·have one hope [one hope of your
calling]. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. 6 There is one God
and Father of everything. ·He rules everything and is everywhere and is in
everything […who is over all and through all and in all].
iv.
Hebrews 3:12-14 (EXB)
So brothers and sisters, ·be careful [see to it] that none of you has
an evil, unbelieving heart that will ·turn you away from [desert; forsake] the
living God. 13 But encourage each other every day while it is “today” [meaning
the time of opportunity to be saved]. ·Help [Encourage] each other so none
of you will become hardened ·because sin has tricked you [by sin’s deception].
14 [For] We all ·share in [or have become partners with] Christ if [indeed; in
fact] we ·keep [hold firm] till the end the sure ·faith [conviction;
confidence] we had in the beginning.
Question: Which
do you function in? Do you believe about yourself that you can function in
one’s you haven’t yet?
B. Though
we can all operate in each and every Gift at any given time, we as humans tend
to be more comfortable operating in the Gifts we find we have confidence in. As
such, the Lord takes this into account and treats each of us as parts of a
whole. Each strength we have that differs from someone else makes us a unique
part of the “Body of Christ” giving us all the Gifts through the entire Body of
believers. This is the meaning behind “not all” being a specific Gift-operator.
This too, that each of us grow and mature in Christ differently as someone
else—thus one person’s Gift-strength may be developed more than another; yet,
make a whole.
1
Corinthians 12:1-11; 27-31 (EXB)
Now, brothers and sisters,
I don’t want you to ·misunderstand [be uninformed] ·about [concerning; or in
regard to your question about] spiritual gifts. 2 You know the way you lived
·before you were believers [when you were pagans/Gentiles]. You let yourselves
be influenced and led away to worship idols—things that could not speak. 3 So I
want you to understand that no one who is speaking ·with the help of [by means
of; in the power of] God’s Spirit says, “Jesus be cursed.” And no one can say,
“Jesus is Lord,” ·without the help of [except by means of/in the power of] the
Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but they are all from the same
Spirit. 5 There are different ·ways to serve [ministries] but the same Lord to
serve. 6 And there are different ·ways that God works through people [kinds of
action; activities] but the same God works ·in all of us in everything we do
[all things in all people]. 7 ·Something from the Spirit can be seen in [The
manifestation/disclosure of the Spirit is given to] each person, for the common
good. 8 The Spirit gives one person the ·ability to speak with wisdom
[message/word of wisdom], and the same Spirit gives another the ·ability to
speak with knowledge [message/word of knowledge]. 9 The same Spirit gives faith
to one person. And, to another, that one Spirit gives gifts of healing. 10 The Spirit
gives to another person ·the power to do miracles [works of power], to another
·the ability to prophesy [prophecy]. And he gives to another the ·ability to
know the difference between good and evil [discernment/distinguishing of]
spirits. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of
·languages [or ecstatic utterance; tongues] and to another the ·ability to
interpret those languages [interpretation of tongues]. 11 One Spirit, the same
Spirit, does all these things, and the Spirit ·decides what to give
[distributes just as he wishes to] each person.
27 ·Together you
[You; the Greek is plural] are the body of Christ, and each one of you
is a part of that body. 28 In the church God has ·given a place first to
[appointed/placed first] apostles, second to prophets, and third to teachers,
then those who do ·miracles [acts of powers], those who have gifts of healing,
those who can help others, those who are able to ·govern [lead], and those who
can speak ·in different languages [or with ecstatic utterance; different kinds
of tongues]. 29 ·Not all are apostles [Not all are apostles, are they? (vv.
29–30 are all rhetorical questions assuming a negative answer)]. Not all
are prophets. Not all are teachers. Not all do miracles. 30 Not all have gifts
of healing. Not all speak ·in different languages [or with ecstatic utterance;
in tongues]. Not all interpret those ·languages [tongues]. 31 But ·you should
truly want to have [eagerly desire; be zealous for] the greater gifts.
i.
John
6:12-14 (EXB)
When they ·had all had
enough to eat [were filled/satisfied], Jesus said to his ·followers
[disciples], “Gather the leftover ·pieces of fish and bread [pieces] so that
nothing is wasted.” 13 So they gathered up the pieces and filled twelve baskets
with the pieces left from the five barley loaves [2
Kings 4:42–44; Jesus’ miracle surpasses that of Elisha].
14 When the people saw
this ·miracle [sign] that Jesus did, they said, “He must truly be the Prophet [probably
the “prophet like Moses” of Deuteronomy
18:15–18] who is coming into the world.”
ii.
Acts
4:8-10 (EXB)
Then Peter, filled with
the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and you elders, 9 are you
·questioning [examining] us [today] about a ·good thing [good deed; act of
kindness] that was done to a ·crippled [lame; sick] man? Are you asking us ·who
made him well [or how he was made well/healed]? 10 We want all of you and all
the people [of Israel] to know that this man was made well ·by the power [in/by
the name] of Jesus Christ ·from Nazareth [or the Nazarene]. You crucified him,
but God raised him from the dead. This man was ·crippled [lame; sick], but he
is now ·well [healthy] and able to stand here before you because of the ·power
[name] of Jesus.
iii.
1
Corinthians 14:13-19 (EXB)
[Therefore] The one who
has the gift of ·speaking in a different language [or ecstatic utterance;
tongues] should pray for the gift to interpret what is spoken. 14 If I pray ·in
a different language [or with ecstatic utterance; in a tongue], my spirit is
praying, but my mind ·does nothing [is unfruitful]. 15 So what should I do? I
will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will ·sing [sing
praises/psalms] with my spirit, but I will also ·sing [sing praises/psalms]
with my mind. 16 [Otherwise] If you ·praise God [or pronounce a blessing] with
your spirit, those persons there ·without understanding [or without the gift;
or who are inquirers/seekers] cannot say “Amen” [from a Hebrew term meaning
“it is true”; 1
Chronicles 16:36] to your prayer of thanks, because they do not know
what you are saying. 17 You may be thanking God ·in a good way [well enough],
but the other person is not ·helped [edified; built up].
18 I thank God that I
speak ·in different kinds of languages [or with ecstatic utterance; in tongues]
more than all of you. 19 But in the church meetings I would rather speak five
words ·I understand [with my mind] in order to teach others than thousands of
words ·in a different language [or with ecstatic utterance; in a tongue].
Question: What do you believe about this? Are
all Spiritual Gifts for/with/through every believer (as with Jesus)?
C. As
we also see, Jesus was first an Apostle, but also operated as a Prophet
(speaking of the grace to come), Evangelist (spreading this grace message
around), Pastor / Shepherd (guiding His Disciples and others), and a Teacher
(educating and demonstrating to others the way Father God Works). Furthermore,
we see His Disciples and Paul working in many of these as well—Paul being an
Apostle to the Gentiles as well as a Teacher. And these Gifts were given to
both men and women (Romans
16:7) as there is neither male nor female in Christ and the same Spirit
works with and in all who believe (regardless of gender, age, identity,
nationality, etc.).
Ephesians
4:7-13 (EXB)
Each one of us has been
given the ·special gift of grace [grace; or gift], ·showing how generous Christ
is [or in proportion to Christ’s gift; according to the measure of Christ’s
gift]. 8 That is why it says in the Scriptures,
“When he ·went up
[ascended] to the heights, he ·led a parade of captives [or took captives into captivity],
and he gave gifts to people [Psalms
68:18].”
9 When it says, “He ·went
up [ascended],” what does it mean? ·It means […except] that he first ·came down
[descended] to the ·earth [or lower regions, namely the earth; or the depths of
the earth; (probably refers to: 1. the Incarnation, though possibly, 2.
Christ’s descent to Hades after his death (1
Peter 3:19–20), or 3. Christ’s descent through the Spirit at
Pentecost (Acts
2))]. 10 So the one who ·came down [descended] is the same one
who ·went up [ascended] above all the heavens. ·Christ did that […in order] to
fill ·everything with his presence [all things]. 11 And ·Christ gave gifts to
people—he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell
the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s
people [he himself gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors/shepherds, and
teachers]. 12 ·Christ gave those gifts to prepare […to equip] God’s holy people
for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger. 13 This work must
continue until we ·are all joined together in the same faith [or all reach
unity in the faith] and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. We must become
like ·a mature person [or the perfect Man; Christ], ·growing until we become
like Christ and have his perfection [to the measure of the stature of Christ’s
fullness].
i.
Hebrews
3:1-6 (EXB)
·So all of you [Therefore]
holy brothers and sisters, who ·were called by God [are partners/partakers in a
heavenly calling], ·think about [consider; focus on] Jesus, who ·was sent to us
[or is our apostle; a commissioned messenger] and is the high priest ·of our
faith [or whom we acknowledge/confess; of our confession]. 2 Jesus was faithful
to God who appointed him just as Moses was faithful in God’s ·family
[household; house]. 3 Jesus ·has [deserves; is worthy of] more honour than
Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honour than the house itself. 4
[For] Every house is built by someone, but the builder of everything is God
himself. 5 Moses was faithful in ·God’s family [all of God’s house; Numbers
12:7] as a servant, and he ·told [testified to] what God would say in the
future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a Son over God’s house. And we are God’s
house if we ·confidently maintain our hope [or maintain our courage and
confident hope].
ii.
2
Timothy 1:1,11 (EXB)
From Paul, an ·apostle
[messenger] of Christ Jesus by the will of God. ·God sent me to tell about
[…according to] the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.
11 I was ·chosen
[appointed] ·to tell that Good News [a preacher/herald] and to be an apostle
and a teacher.
iii.
Revelations
1:1-3 (EXB)
This is the revelation ·of
Jesus Christ [about Jesus Christ; or given by Jesus Christ; the author could
be intentionally ambiguous], which God gave to him, to show his servants
what must ·soon [quickly] happen. And Jesus sent his angel to ·show it [make it
known] to his servant John, 2 who has ·told [witnessed; testified to]
everything he has seen. It is the word of God; it is the ·message [witness;
testimony] from Jesus Christ. 3 ·Blessed [Happy] is the one who reads the words
of ·God’s message [the prophecy], and ·blessed [happy] are the people who hear
this message and ·do [keep; obey] what is written in it [the context
envisioned is a leader reading to a congregation]. ·The time is near when
all of this will happen [For the time is near].
Question: For those you know who operate with
the Gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors/shepherds, and teachers…
do they make you strong, unified, and mature; or do they make you feel worse
about yourself?
D. Once
again, we are told that Love is the most important Gift. And thus, Speaking and
Ministering will always edify the Body of Christ and Glorify God. We have to
remember that it is the “correct knowledge” of the Lord that multiplies “grace
and peace” (2
Peter 1:2).
1
Peter 4:7-11 (EXB)
The ·time is near when all
things will end [end of all things is near]. So ·think clearly [be
serious/alert] and ·control [discipline] yourselves so you will be able to
pray. 8 Most importantly, love each other ·deeply [earnestly], because love
·will cause people to forgive each other for many sins [covers a multitude of
sins; Proverbs
10:12; Luke
7:46–47]. 9 ·Open your homes [Be hospitable] to each other, without
·complaining [grumbling]. 10 Each of you has received a gift to use to serve
others. Be good ·servants [stewards; managers] of God’s various gifts of grace
[Romans
5:15–16; 6:23]. 11 Anyone who speaks should speak ·words from God [or
oracles from God; or as one bringing God’s message]. Anyone who serves should
serve with the strength God gives so that in everything God will be ·praised
[glorified] through Jesus Christ. Glory and power belong to him forever and
ever [Colossians
3:17]. Amen.
i.
Matthew
10:19-20 (EXB)
When you are arrested,
don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. [For] At that time you will be
given the things to say. 20 It will not really be you speaking but the Spirit
of your Father speaking ·through [in] you.
ii.
Acts
4:31 (EXB)
After they had prayed, the
place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy
Spirit, and they spoke God’s ·word [message] ·without fear [with
boldness/confidence/courage].
·Dear friends [Loved ones;
Beloved], we are saying this to you, but we ·really expect [are
convinced/confident of] better things from you that ·will lead to [or
accompany; come with] your salvation. 10 [For] God is ·fair [not unjust]; he
will not forget the work you did and the love you showed ·for him [in his name]
by ·helping [serving] his ·people [holy people; saints]. And he will remember
that you are still ·helping [serving] them. 11 We ·want [desire for] each of
you to ·go on with the same hard work [demonstrate the same zeal/diligence]
·all your lives [until the end] ·so you will surely get what you hope for [or
until your hope is fulfilled/attained].
IV.
FURTHER THOUGHT:
A. James
1:17-18;22-25 (EXB) {PoG}
Every good ·action [or act
of giving] and every perfect gift ·is from God [comes from above]. These good
gifts come down from the ·Creator of the sun, moon, and stars [the father of
lights; referring to God’s creation of the heavenly bodies (Genesis
1:14-19; Psalms
136:7-9; Jeremiah
31:35)], who does not change like their shifting shadows. 18 God ·decided
[chose; willed] to give us ·life [birth] through the ·word of truth [true
message] so we might be ·the most important [or the first of many; a kind of
firstfruits; firstfruits were the first crops to be harvested and guaranteed
the coming harvest; Exodus
34:22; 2
Thessalonians 2:13; Revelations
14:4] of all ·the things he made [or his creatures].
22 ·Do what God’s teaching
says; when you only listen and do nothing, you are fooling yourselves [Be doers
of the word, and not only hearers, deceiving yourselves; Luke
11:28; Romans
2:13]. 23 Those who hear God’s ·teaching [word] and do nothing are like
people who look at ·themselves [their natural face; the face of their birth] in
a mirror. 24 [For] They ·see their faces [gaze at themselves] and then go away
and quickly forget what they looked like. 25 But ·the truly happy people are
[blessed are] those who ·carefully study [look intently into; stoop down to
look at] God’s perfect law that makes people free {Agape Love [probably
refers to the law of Moses as it is fulfilled in Christ]}, and they
·continue to study it [persevere in it]. ·They do not forget what they heard,
but they obey what God’s teaching says [not being a forgetful hearer but an
active doer]. Those who do this will be ·made happy [blessed].
Thoughts: Not only are all these Gifts good
and perfect from God, they are to be used—made manifest in your life. For
keeping them at bay means you are not being a “doer”. Let’s be doers and
demonstrating ourselves as members of the Body of Christ.
Just as we can manifest
the Fruits of the Spirit, we can operate / manifest all these Gifts. We too,
can “Just Be” (Him) in all these as we learned in the previous Bible
Study (Lesson 034).
V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & SUPPORT:
A thank you to Kelly and Joshua who are inspirational in this life-journey. And to all the family, friends, sponsors, and donors who have fed into this ministry and outreach.
If you would like to support this ministry and outreach, you may do so via our website or at:
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