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The manifestations gifts in 1Cor 12
1 Cor 12:1
Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.
The first thing Paul is saying about the gifts is that we should not be ignorant about them. Obviously it must be important, since he is saying this.
1Cor 12:4-11
4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,A and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
These gifts are supernatural, they are not natural talents that God has put there, but it will be given to us supernaturally when God wants to (he wants it more often than we do) and when we need it.
Since these gifts are supernatural, they’re not from you, but from the Holy Spirit. You are just the channel these gifts work through. A mirror only reflects the sun; it's not the source.
It's the same way with us; we only reflect God’s power, we’re not the source. These gifts don’t belong to me, but the Holy Spirit.
It’s important for us to understand this. If we don’t, we can easily become proud and believe we are so great and spiritual.
When God works these gifts through you, they will appear through your unique personality. God wants to use you the way you are, he wants it to be different because no one is the same.
Some say that when God uses me it's in a different way than when he uses others. But that’s just the way it should be, we shouldn’t try to be like others. There are enough copies in the world.
In the following verses after talking about these gifts, he says that we are different parts of the body, this is important to remember, because it is easy to compare ourselves with others. For instance, thinking that I should prophesy the same way as my pastor.
When God uses you in a specific gift, don’t be afraid of making mistakes. You have to be willing to sacrifice your pride. (This also means that if you do make a mistake, admit it.)
Before God can use you in these gifts it is important for you to put yourself in a situation that gives the Holy Spirit the opportunity to work through you. Start by laying your hands on the sick and begin to prophesy when you pray for people.
You also have to know that when you are using this gift, you will meet resistance, either before or after. It is important to be aware of this, because we can easily be discouraged and give up before we even get started. After a great victory, there often comes a big test. You are most vulnerable right after you have prophesied or have had a testimony, etc. Be aware of the spiritual realm! We have an enemy that wishes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).
Ten points to train yourself up to use the gifts
- You have to desire it.
- Don’t be ignorant.
- Be teachable.
- Don't begin with great (e.g. you shold go to Africa) prophecies. Start with friends.
- Have the right attitude. Be humble.
- Be bold and take risks.
- It can be painful
- Models
- Be persistent.
- Practice makes perfect.
Now, I will go through the nine gifts one by one.
The word of wisdom is a supernatural wisdom you get from God in a situation where your own wisdom is not enough. It gives you, for instance, wisdom in a situation where you don't know what to say.
Jesus operates a lot through word of wisdom. The Pharisees tried several times to “catch” Jesus in what he was saying so they could accuse him for false teaching.
In John 8 we read about a woman the Pharisees had caught in adultery. They brought her to Jesus to test him. And they said:
John 8:5
In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"
If Jesus had said they should stone her to death they could have taken him to the government of Rome, because they were the only ones to summon a death penalty. If he had said she should not be stoned they could accuse him of breaking the Law of Moses. Jesus received a word of wisdom and said:
John 8:7
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
This led the Pharisees to go away, the elders first. They were probably the ones who knew they were not without sin. This word of wisdom defused the situation.
You might find yourself in a situation where you don’t know what to do in the future. Then, you need a word of wisdom from God.
One time I joined the prison ministry from my church, I talked to a person that believed in reincarnation. He had talked with several people that had experienced past life and he really believed in it. Two questions came to my mind. The first one I asked was: “Do you believe in a god and a bad force?” He gave a confirming answer. “How can you be sure that the experience these people have is not lies from the bad force?” He could not answer these questions. I know that the questions I gave him caused him to start thinking. In this situation, I received a supernatural knowledge from God.
The impartation of God's knowledge is to receive a supernatural knowledge of something that has happened or will happen, that we, as human beings never could have known.
For instance, knowing of a disease on another person that you couldn’t have possibly known. In a meeting, it could be that someone enters the pulpit and says: "There is someone here who has a bad left knee while being injured this summer in a motorcycle accident."
It is also something you can experience when you pray or talk to someone.
The experience I had with my friends in the previous chapter shows how this gift works. I got a word of knowledge I could not have known it naturally.
In John 4:16-19 we read about Jesus asking for water from a Samaritan woman at a well. Here, Jesus is working through a word of knowledge.
16He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."
17"I have no husband," she replied.
Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
19"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet.
When you read this story you can see that Jesus operates in more than one gift. He also operates in the word of wisdom and prophecy.
A supernatural faith is to have a supernatural revelation of God’s faith. It will be given to you at a specific time, at a specific place, for a specific purpose.
The gift of faith has nothing to do with the verse saying, “ faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. ”(Rom 10:17)
When this gift functions, supernatural things will happen that have nothing to do with your own faith, only Gods faith.
When the Holy Spirit comes over you, and you work in this gift, you will experience a breakthrough in one-way or the other.
These gifts also work by a strong certainty that you have already received what you have prayed for.
Daniel experienced this gift when he was in the lion’s den. (Dan 6)
Elisha experienced this gift when a raven gave him bread and meat everyday when he was in the desert (1 King 17)
When Peter healed the paralyzed man at the temple gate, he operated in this gift. He said:
Acts 3:16
By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.
This gift works when a person gets healed without a doctor or medicine. Healing is something that can happen gradually, the sick person gets better and better over a period of time. One example from the Bible is when Jesus heals the son of a nobleman.
John 4:50-53
50Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."
The man took Jesus at his word and departed. 51While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. 52When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."
53Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and his entire household believed.
When you feel a great compassion and love for someone that is sick, God probably wants you to use this gift. Be bold and start to lay your hands on the sick! It could also be the Holy Spirit coming over you with an extraordinary power.
Matt 14:14
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Mark 5:30
At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
Some examples of miracles are: To make sun and moon stand still, make water into vine, divide the red sea, walk on water, calm the storm and feed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish.
You can’t make miracles happen, but you can put yourself in a situation where God can use this gift through you. Miracles are something that work instantly; healing can take a longer time.
In the Bible you can see that the working of miracles, the gift of faith and healing go together. When someone has been raised up from the dead, then these three gifts were in use.
Two examples
John 11:41-44
41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Mark 5:40-41
…But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (Which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!").
Before a miracle happens, a command usually has to be given. If you feel the Holy Spirit come over you and give you a command, be aware, this could be the Holy Spirit wanting you to use this gift.
Prophecy is to say something from God, and it is in a language everyone understands.
Prophecy is not something you say of yourself but it is to impart directly what the Holy Spirit wants to say.
The purpose of a prophecy is to edify, exhort and comfort. Paul said that this gift is the one we should seek to get the most.
1Cor 14:1,3-4
1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy…
3But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.
4He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
We have often made prophesy something difficult. We think that if I am to speak out a prophecy it really has to be "something", it has to be great and you have to say: "Thus says the Looord.."
But a prophecy can be that you were reminded of a scripture you wanted to share in a meeting or give to someone and that was an encouragement for the person. Prophecy is for edification, exhortation and comfort.
We always hope that a prophecy is one hundred percent from God, but most of the time it’s not, at least not the first time. The reason is that the vessel he uses is not one hundred percent perfect.
We are so afraid of failing, but if we are going to do something for God we have to dare to fail.
Don’t start with difficult prophecies; "Next year you are going to Africa." But start simple like: So says the Lord: "I love you or I have future and hope for you." If this prophecy is wrong it really doesn't matter. If the person you tell didn't feel loved by God and he really needed to hear it, then it becomes a great encouragement to him. If not, it's encouraging to hear it anyway.
If it is a more serious prophecy you can also say: “I don't know if this is God, but test them in your heart. If it’s not right, forget it or put it on "the shelf".”
The church should be a place where it is okay to fail, but often it is not like that. The church is the worst place to fail because we are such perfectionists.
Prophecies can be misused like the rest of the gifts. That's why we should test what has been said, but not by critical eyes.
Because prophecies have been misused they are often despised. When a prophecy has been said in a church you can see that congregation judging it. It says in the Bible to test the prophecy, but you should know by the first sentence if this is from God.
Receive the whole message, and put things that you know are not from God on the "shelf".
This is how you evaluate a prophecy: Does it lift up the name of Jesus? Does it edify the church? Is it according to the word of God? Does it produce freedom or bondage?
A very good advice when you evaluate a prophecy is:
A prophecy should never lead YOU; it should only be a confirmation of something you already know in your heart.
If you receive a prophecy that doesn’t confirm something you already have in your heart, put it on "the shelf". If it is God, he will remind you of it, and take it forth again later.
Some examples of wrong prophesies
- In a meeting a person came with this prophecy: “So says the Lord: As I was with Abraham when he lead the Israelites out of Egypt, so will I be with you.” After awhile he understood that he had said something wrong, so he stood up again and said: “So says the Lord: I was wrong, it was Moses not Abraham.”
It could very well be that the content of the prophecy was okay, but he had said wrong name. He should have been humble enough to say: I was wrong, not God.
Human weakness can come into a prophecy, but that does not mean that all of the prophecy was wrong.
- It was just before Christmas and one person was prophesying: “So says the Lord: Have a happy Christmas and a merry good year.”
- At a Bible school, during a worship time, one of the students stood up and said: “So says the Lord: I appreciate your worship, because it is good for my health.”
Can God be sick? I don’t think so.
- At another prophecy in a meeting: “Great fear will come upon our land, great fear so that even I the Lord am afraid.”
Can you imagine our God in heaven afraid and with shaking knees?
- One person came with a prophecy in a meeting. Another person did not agree with this prophecy, so he stood up and said: So says the Lord: I have never said this.
- One girl was interested in a boy. One day she walked over to him and said: “God has told me that we should get married.” The boy was thinking for a while before he answered: “I have not heard Him say this to me.”
Again: Prophecy is just a confirmation about something you already have in your heart. It should not lead you. In this case, this girl actually used the prophecy to manipulate, which is dangerous.
This is God’s alarm system for the church against false teaching. This gift enables you to know if someone is lying to you, or if you hear a false prophecy or teaching.
Here are some Biblical examples:
Acts 5:1-4
1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet.
3Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
Peter exposed, with help from the Holy Spirit, the motive behind Ananias and Safira's "good deeds"
Acts 8:18-24
18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
20Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."
24Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me."
This segment is about Simon, the wizard, who had become a Christian. Everything was right. He had received Christ and had been baptized; he went to church and he asked to be filled with the Holy Spirit’s power and authority. But Peter, with help from the Holy Spirit, saw through him and what his motive was.
One time, I was on an outreach team in Thailand. I talked with a person that lived close to the place we lived. He seemed to be very interested in Jesus, so we sat for a while and talked. Suddenly, I got a feeling that something was not right with this man. A few days later, I found out his motive to know Christ. The only reason he showed an interest in Christ, was to get to the girls on my team. I believe that I was operating in the gift of discernment when I got this impression while talking to him.
This gift is also in use when you discern if a person is demon-possessed.
Acts 16:16
16Once when we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future met us. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune telling. 17This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." 18She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her.
This is a tongue that is being said out loud in a congregation, and it should be translated. It can also be a language on earth that you don't understand but someone in the congregation does.
To speak in tongues for your own edification is not one of these nine gifts in 1 Cor 12.
You can use the gift you received when the Holy Spirit baptized you whenever you like, but you can’t use the supernatural gift for the church when you want to. All of these nine gifts are given to you when the Holy Spirit wants to, not when you want.
1 Cor 12:11
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
The way you can sense this kind of tongue is when you feel a spiritual pressure inside of you. You feel your heart beat faster and you feel there is something God wants to say.
Interpretation of tongues
Interpretation of tongues that have been said out loud in a congregation is a prophetic message.
To whom and when will these gifts be given?
I believe we can all operate in all of these gifts; Jesus did. Paul also says in 1 Cor.12: 7
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
In other words, it says that these gifts are given when it's suitable. I believe that if you are in a situation where you need any of these gifts, the Holy Spirit will give it to you then and there. I believe if someone is sick, we don't have to wait for a "healer" to pray for the sick, but God wants to impart faith in you so that you can operate in the gift of healing.
The Holy Spirit will give it to you when you need it.
I believe you can be trained to be more secure and have more faith in using one or more of the gifts, but that doesn’t mean you can't function in all of them.
- These gifts have to be used in love, if not it can be used for your own benefit and you can start to manipulate! (1 Cor 14)
- These gifts should not be used for your own glory, to gain spiritual popularity, or to manipulate forth your own selfish will!
- Desire these gifts, not for your own sake, but for the sake of others!
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