Study on Spiritual Gifts
(Note: Versions used/consulted by the group during study included KJV, NIV, NASB, and Amplified.)
Summary of Key Findings:
- Gifting bears no relationship to level of spirituality
- "My" gifts are for the benefit of others, not for the benefit of me.
- Spirituality and functioning ministry for every believer is encouraged in light of the conclusion of the world
- Gifts are without value outside of love for God and others as the driving motivation causing us to use them
- Gifts emerge in the context of fervent love for one another and in the context of allowing people inside our lives (hospitability, interuptability)
- Our consecration to God and others is not based on consecrating our gift to God, but our whole selves.
- Opponents we face in serving one another through our gifts are: false humility; thinking it is our capability rather than God's capability at work in us; the world culture around us which promotes selfishness and self-centeredness as normal, good and right; laziness
Key Findings by Passage:
I Pet 4:7-11
- 7. Spirituality and functioning ministry is encouraged in light of the conclusion of the world (apocalyptic; see also Rom 13:11-14)
- 8. Gifts emerge in the context of fervent love for one another (see also Rom 12:9; 13:8-10; I Cor 13)
- 9. Gifts minister within context of hospitality-extends our own comfort zone for the benefit of others and must be offered without keeping score)
- 10. Functional ministry to one another is through our particular giftings (see also Rom 12:6-8)
- 11. Knowing that gifts are from God, we need not be ashamed to function (false humility or lack of God-confidence minimizes and opposes our capability to function) and to pursue excellence (see also Rom 12:3,11)
Rom 12:1-16
- 1. we do not consecrate only our gifting-but our whole self for ministry to others
- 2. the world culture will push us to do less than this (another opponent to gift based service to God and others (see also Rom 12:3, 11; I Pet 4:11
- 2. we need to allow God to change our thinking and mindset, our cultural antagonism towards fully serving God and others. (see also II Cor 10:4,5)
- 3. parallels thought in I Pet 4:11 "Knowing that gifts are from God, we need not be ashamed to function (no false humility or lack of God-confidence that minimizes our capability to function) and to pursue excellence"
- 4. "Office" of a human body part is different for the various body parts…and so…
- 5. We are intertwined within the same body …and so…
- 6. we each have differing giftings to function together as part of this one body
- 6-8 parallels thought in I Pet 4:10 "Functional ministry to one another is through our particular giftings"
- 9,10. Functioning through gifts a method of loving one another and we should take care that our actions of love for one another through our gifts is sincere-based on desiring to bring out the best in others and not based on deceiving ourselves or others and in fact used to build up our own selves and/or our own private kingdoms. (see also I Pet 4:8; I Cor 13)
- 11. parallels I Pet 4:11 and Rom 12:3 but places laziness as the opponent to pursuing excellence in using our gifts.
- 12. unchanging in good and bad times; supported through prayer.
- 13. giving and hospitality manifest the love environment
- 14 love extends to enemies
- 15 empathy characterizes love relationships
- 16 humility thrives in a love environment
I Cor 12-14
- 1. We are not to be ignorant in the area of spiritual gifting.
- 4-6 Gifts from the Spirit; Administrations from the Lord; Operations from God (see especially distinction in Eph 4 between gifts given to people, and people given to the church).
- 7. spiritual gifts are for the group, not for the person possessing the gift
- 11. God chooses who gets what gift; everyone gets at least one gift
- 21-25. we are made interdependent-incomplete on our own-to foster unity and preclude division.
this is where we are presently in our study together
Eph 4
Rather than a one dimensional list of giftings, we are presented with a two dimensional list that has both spiritual gifts to every believer from the Holy Spirit, and gifts of administrative people to the church from Jesus Christ:
In this model, it is clear that administrative people, like every saint, have various giftings. The roles of the Pastor (Elders) administrative people:
- rule (oversee), I Tim 3:5; 5:17; Heb 13:7, 17
- model (example), I pet 5:3; Titus 2:7
- teach (God's word), I Tim 3:2; II Tim 2:2, 23-26
- guard (themselves as well as the flock), Heb 13:17; Acts 20:28-31
- admonish (including mutual accountability), I Thess 5:12-14
- pray (laboriously), Acts 6:4
When you create a chart showing the distribution of giftings (enablements to accomplish work), the importance of Eph 4:12—and who does the work of the ministry in building up the saints—becomes glaringly evident: Most of God's power to accomplish work is invested in the saints!
Then we can add a third dimension to gifts and administrations, that of spirituality vs. carnality:
This helps us clarify the work of administrators among us, and describes how servanthood, not competition, is how you "climb" higher in the church ("he who seeks to save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake will keep it"; "he that will be greatest among shall be a servant to all"). The highest acclaim any believer can achieve is that we are servants. This quality has always been rare in the church:
"But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's." Phil 2:19-21
Here is a gifts listing and categorization adapted from Charles Stanley's In Touch Website:
1 Corinthians 12:8-10
Word of wisdom
Word of knowledge
Faith
Healing
Miracles
Prophecy
Distinguishing of spirits
Tongues
Interpretation of tongues |
1 Corinthians 12:28
Apostle
Prophecy
Teaching
Miracles
Healing
Helps
Administration
Tongues |
1 Corinthians 12:29-30
Apostle
Prophecy
Teaching
Miracles
Healing
Tongues
Interpretation of tongues |
Romans 12:6-8
Prophecy
Serving
Teaching
Exhortation
Giving
Leading
Mercy |
Ephesians 4:11
Apostle
Prophet
Evangelist
Pastor/(Teacher)
(or) Teacher |
1 Peter 4:11
Speaking
Ministering |
The gifts in these lists can be broken down into two categories and one of them further into two subcategories:
|
Motivational Gifts:
These gifts serve as the primary motivation for their recipient's service. There are two categories of motivational gifts.
| Equipping Gifts: |
These gifts are listed in Ephesians 4:11. They were given to certain believers to enable them to equip others to do the work of the ministry.
|
| Ministry Gifts: |
These gifts are primarily service oriented. These are the gifts used by the saints in doing the work of the ministry. |
|
|
Sign Gifts:
These gifts validate the authenticity of God's messengers along with their message. |
So that we have three categories of gifts:
|
Motivational Gifts
Equipping Gifts
Apostle
Prophet
Evangelist
Pastor/(Teacher)
(or) Teacher
Ministry Gifts
Administration
Exhortation
Faith
Giving
Prophecy
Service
Mercy
Leadership
Word of Wisdom
Word of Knowledge |
Sign Gifts
Miracles
Healing
Tongues
Interpretation of tongues |
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Dayspring
Fellowship 
