Topic: THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Texts: Romans 12:1-11, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Ephesians 4:7-13
Aim: To introduce everyone to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and help us receive and manifest them
INTRODUCTION
Central to the assignment of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to empower us to live for Jesus and bring others to Him (Acts 1:8). This is what ministry is about. The Holy Spirit empowers for ministry, and this empowerment is made possible by the gifts He gives us. Hence, consider the gifts of the Holy Spirit in this study.
DISCUSSION
1. What’s the difference between fruit(s) and gifts of the Holy Spirit?
- The fruit(s) of the Holy Spirit helps us to show the character of God to our world. The gifts of the Holy Spirit help us to show the power of God to the world (John 15:1-5, Acts 1:8).
- The fruit(s) of the Holy comes immediately at salvation. The gifts of the Holy Spirit come when we get baptised in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)
2. What are the classes of spiritual gifts?
- The gifts of the Father (Romans 12:1-11)
- The gifts of the Son (Five-fold ministry gifts; Ephesians 4:7-13)
- The gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)
3. Our focus in this study will be the gifts of the Holy Spirit. What are their categories?
- Revelation gifts; word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits
- Vocal gifts; gift of prophesy, gift of tongues, gift of interpretation of tongues
- Power gifts; gifts of healing, gift of faith, gift of working of miracles
4. Revelation gifts explained:
- Word of wisdom: divine ability to communicate God’s mind for the present and the future with the right strategy for success (Genesis 41:1-41, Romans 12:8)
- Word of Knowledge; is the divine ability given to a man to reveal and communicate the past (and sometimes present and future) with the intent to bring men into the will of God (2 Kings 5:26, 1 Corinthians 12:8)
- Discerning of spirits; is the divine ability given to someone to tell or decipher which spirit is in operation. It reveals the Holy Spirit, demon spirits, and all shades and forms of human spirits (Acts 16:16-18, 1 Corinthians 12:10)
5. Further things to note about the revelation gifts
- It is the gift that shows or reveals
- While word of wisdom deals with the present and mostly the future, word of knowledge deals with past events being brought to bear in the now
- The gift of discerning of spirits is not the same as discernment. The gift deals with spirits generally, while discernment is a spiritual awareness that every child of God is expected to have by the operation of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
- The three revelation gifts often work together or overlap in operation. The most important thing to know is the advantage of revelation or knowledge they bring
- Every believer is expected to function in this gift for their personal advantage in life. But it is also needed in extending ministry or God’s blessings to others. Some five-fold ministry offices also function more in these gifts; prophets, pastors, etc.
- The revelation gifts can function through some other channels like dreams (e.g Pharaoh’s dream/Joseph’s interpretation), teachings, etc.
CONCLUSION
God wants us to reveal Him to our world. We would do this both by character (fruit) and power (gifts). The manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to bring profits to our lives and others. We need to desire these gifts with the right motives of revealing God.
CLASS EXERCISE
- What do you know about the gifts of the Holy Spirit before this class?
- Can you say that you have any gift of the Holy Spirit at all? If yes, what are they?
- How have you been able to differentiate between the gift of discerning of spirits and believer’s discernment?
- How do you ensure that you don’t mistake suspicion for the gift of discerning of spirits
- What atmosphere and activities would you start working on from today to ensure that you are open to the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit?