The ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is crucial. First, the Holy Spirit is the life force that keeps us all alive. Second, He is the spiritual force that causes us to be born again. Third, He is also the mechanism for conviction and repentance in our lives
and, fourth, the Holy Spirit is the mechanism for our sanctification after our regenerating “born again” experience, if we let Him. All of this is covered at length in the blog, The Ministry of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is also the giver of special gifts that we use to navigate our life here on earth as we walk with God. There are nine specific gifts the Holy Spirit gives to those who seek to walk with Him. They are recorded in 1 Corinthians 12.
1 Cor 12:4-11 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. NASB
Much has been made of these gifts and, sometimes, too much is made of them. We will try to define them and put them in perspective in this essay. We are told that there are a variety of gifts that have a variety of purposes (1 Cor 12:4). We can all participate in these gifts if and when the Holy Spirit endows them upon us. They are not merit badges, nor are they symbols of our maturity. They are given to assist in the ministry as they are needed.
The Holy Spirit gives them to us individually as He wills. We cannot demand them. They are gifts, not rights. They are given for the benefit of the body of Christ, not to make us superstars. They usually show up where the church is emerging or growing and in need of special assistance from God or where the people of God are seeking His will and wisdom and need similar divine assistance. They are also seen predominantly in times of revival in the church.
Wisdom, Knowledge and Faith
These nine special gifts are listed in three groups of three that are interrelated and often work in conjunction with each other. The first grouping is words of wisdom, knowledge and faith. All three of these, as common virtues, are available to all of the saints at all times, but as listed above in 1 Corinthians 12, these gifts are about special uses of wisdom, knowledge and faith.
A “word of wisdom” is a specific, prophetic supernatural understanding about what someone should do in a certain circumstance. It is particularly employed to find answers for knotty problems. People are in a conundrum and do not know how to solve a problem. They pray for God to show them an answer, and it suddenly occurs to them by revelation just what will work in their particular circumstance. Perhaps your child is rebellious and unreachable and you have tried everything you know. You ask God for a word of wisdom and He shows you an answer you never would have thought of. You employ it and your child is miraculously turned around.
Solomon is famous for his wisdom. The story is told (1Kgs 3:16-27) of two prostitutes who lived under the same roof and who each had a new baby. One night one woman overlaid her baby in the night and the child suffocated. Discovering this before the morning light, she switched babies with the other woman. When the true mother of the living child realized the swap had taken place, she came to the king to get him to adjudicate between the two women. It was a typical “she said/she said” scenario.
The Lord gave Solomon a word of wisdom for how to ferret out the truth. He decreed that the living baby should be cut in two and half given to each mother. The true mother’s love for her child caused her to relinquish her claim in order to save the child’s life. The false mother was quite willing to see the child divided. Solomon discerned who the real mother was by their responses and gave the child to its true and compassionate mother. This is a typical “word of wisdom” as referenced by Paul above in 1 Corinthians 12:8.
A “word of knowledge” is similar, but it relates to receiving in your spirit or mind a fact or piece of information rather than how to do something. Your child is missing and you cannot find him or her anywhere. You have exhausted all ideas that are likely and normal. You and your friends pray and ask God for a word of knowledge about where the child is, and God shows you specifically where he can be found. Maybe a picture comes into your mind or a location revels itself to you. It is not a place you ever would have looked in 100 years. It is a supernatural revelation of information needed.
Jesus encounters a woman at a well in Sychar in Samaria (Jn 4). The Holy Spirit reveals to Jesus that this woman is living unmarried with a man and that she has had five husbands before that. He had had no prior relationship with or prior knowledge about this woman. He had never been in Sychar before and knows no one there. She is a total stranger to Him and He to her. The purpose is ministry-related, not to make Jesus look like Kreskin. This is a typical word of knowledge as referenced in 1 Corinthians 12:8.
The “gift of faith” here means a sudden, spiritually-derived ability to trust God for something that is usually outside of your experience. All of us operate in faith at some level, but this is unique and definitely supernatural. You just know, that you know, that you know you can do something or that God has things under control. You are confident and at peace and you do not understand why.
Many martyrs have exhibited a supernatural and specific faith to endure the experience of martyrdom. Stephen shows us this one in Acts 6. Less dramatically, you may not ordinarily be able to talk to people, but you want to share with someone who intimidates you, so you ask God for the faith to pull it off. Your testimony is that the Holy Spirit just empowered you to do what you never could have on your own.
The prophet Elijah journeyed to the Phoenician city of Zarephath (1 Kgs 17:6-16) and there he encountered a woman who had fallen on hard times. She was about to prepare a meal with her last flour and oil after which she was expecting her and her son to starve to death. She was at the end of her rope and of her resources.
This woman is not an Israelite and has no loyalty to Yahweh or Elijah in any way. Elijah, in obedience to God’s direction, makes the highly unlikely demand that the woman take her last flour and oil and make the cake for him, Elijah, to eat. Elijah promises that if she will do that, her flour and oil will miraculously not run out until better times have returned to her and her son.
For reasons known only to the lady, she believes this stranger from another country and does as he asks. As Elijah promised,
1 Kgs 17:16 The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah. NASB
It is just as surprising that Elijah trusts God to go to a foreign country and ask a widow for her last food, but he does. Both of these are examples of a typical gift of faith as referenced in 1 Corinthians 12:9.
Healing, Miracles and Prophecy
The second grouping of three special usage gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 is healing, miracles and prophecy.
The “gift of healing” is similarly an inspired revealed ability to pray for someone to be made well that is outside of or beyond your usual comfort zone for praying for and believing for healing. Some people have had a ministry of healing and operate in this gift on a regular basis, but this gift can be given for a specific and infrequent use as well.
In Luke 10:1-20, Jesus sent 70 fairly new and untested disciples out two by two into villages and empowered them to be able to heal people. They were quite surprised when they were successful. It was not yet a part of their ministry. The Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on them. They were not yet born again. This experience is a typical example of the gift of healing as referenced in 1 Corinthians 12:9.
The “gift of miracles” in 1 Corinthians 12:10 is similarly described except it extends beyond just healing. The Bible has stories about food that miraculously appeared or supplies such as oil that miraculously lasted abnormally long times. I once had a miracle in Africa whereby I was able to breathe on my own and sleep without mechanical assistance for 11 days in spite of the fact that I have a paralyzed diaphragm and cannot breath lying down without a breathing machine.
My machine broke and there was no way to fix it until I got back to the US eleven days later. I really needed a miracle from God and He answered my prayers and the prayers of hundreds of others who were praying for me. For the next eleven nights, I was able to breathe as I slept without the use of the machine, previously a physical impossibility. My breathing problem is structural, not psychosomatic, as my doctor will attest.
The “gift of prophecy” is another spiritual gift of the Holy Spirit that is sometimes exercised on a regular basis by someone like Isaiah. However, there are instances when an ordinary Christian is inspired to prophesy. Remember that the prophets convict the sinners concerning their sins and comfort the afflicted and sometimes, in doing so, they foretell the future. The way this would work in most of us is that in the process of comforting someone or warning someone, we get a mental picture (a kind of vision) or hear a word in our minds that is used to back up or verify our message.
For instance, you might find your son in depression over his lack of direction and malaise. As you begin to encourage him in a general way, you get a strong message in your spirit that he is going to become a great salesman or a skilled administrator. You can see it clearly in your mind. You just know it in your spirit. So you tell him and the message imbeds itself in his psyche.
It is not just fluff. It is a message that carries a supernatural power and it changes his whole demeanor. It gives him hope. It is “revealed” to him more than it is understood intellectually. He believes it because it has dunamis (authority and strength). He will remember it for the rest of his life as a turning point in his life’s direction.
On the other hand, you may be confronting your son on his wayward behavior and God tells you that he is about to get into some serious trouble with the law or at school. You just know it. So you tell him and you offer to work it out with him when it happens. He does not believe it, but it comes to pass and he realizes that what you said was true. It was revelation more than just logistical insight.
When our son, Benjamin, was caught up in drugs, we were unable to persuade him to even want to get out of it. Having tried everything we knew, we gave him to the Lord to discipline him. Then we waited for the police to show up because it was revealed to us that it would come to that before it got better. That is exactly what happened and it was no surprise when it happened.
That is what Paul means by the gift of prophecy in 1 Corinthians 12:10. It is specific revelation usually associated with confronting or comforting someone. It is what we see the prophets doing in the Biblical text.
Discernment of Spirits, Speaking in Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues
The third grouping of three special usage gifts as listed in 1 Corinthians 12 is discernment of spirits, speaking in tongues and the interpretation of tongues.
The “discernment of spirits” is a supernatural revelation concerning the activity of demonic or angelic spirits in the physical world. Typically, it shows up when we are confused about someone as to whether or not they are a good guy or a bad guy. If we ask the Holy Spirit, He will often tell us. Maybe someone is offering a financial deal that is too good to be true and your spirit warns you to avoid this person. “He made my skin crawl,” is a common way it is described. Alternately, someone comes to your rescue from out of nowhere and you discern that you have been assisted by an angel of God. It happens in the Bible and in real life more than we know.
Heb 13:1 Let love of the brethren continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. NASB
Discernment of spirits is often associated with spiritual warfare and the casting out of demons. Our enemies on earth are the world (the culture), our flesh (sinful and selfish desires) and the devil. Sometimes our sense of foreboding is just natural circumstances and sometimes it is a direct spiritual attack by Satan. You cannot counsel a demon away or talk yourself out of an attack of spiritual oppression by the devil. You must rebuke him to get him to flee. Jesus gave us that authority and we are meant to use it.
However, you must first “discern” that your oppression or your oppressor is demonic and not just natural circumstances; i.e., not just (as Ebenezer Scrooge thought) “an underdone potato or a cold piece of beef.” Jesus knew when to pray for healing in someone and when to cast out a demon that was causing the problem.
That takes discernment of spirits and the Holy Spirit will give that to us if we ask. It is true that not everything is a demon, but it is also true that demons (evil spirits) still operate among us and we need to discern the difference.
James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. NASB
2 Cor 10:3-4 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. NASB
Eph 6:11-13 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. NASB
The “discernment of spirits” is a particularly useful gift and one we should seek. Deception abounds in Satan’s world and people are not often what they seem to be. Candidates for public office promise the moon and are good at appearing to be sincere. Dangerous men and women will try to capture us in relationships. The results are often expensive lessons and can be fatal. We need discernment as to what spirit, if any, is operating in the people we encounter. Is it the Holy Spirit or a demonic spirit? Our well-being and the well-being of our loved ones often depend on us getting this right.
The “gift of tongues” and “the interpretation of tongues” are subjects which have often generated more heat than light. I will tell you what my 40 years of study have taught me. Others may not agree with me. It happens. We are not authorized by the Bible to fight over it. I am sure of that.
Some want to describe “tongues” in a manner that suggests it is the miraculous ability
to speak in or understand a known human language that you have never studied. For instance, a missionary is suddenly able to speak SiSwati or Swahili without having been taught it or a native is able to understand a sermon being preached in English without having ever been taught it. I am sure this has occurred some and God can certainly cause this to happen if needed. This can fall under the heading of a miracle, if nothing else. However, this is not what I think is meant here.
The Greek word for tongues hear is “glossa.” It usually refers to a special, non-standard language and, in this case, a spiritual language. It is referred to in the Bible as the language of the angels and it implies to me that it is made up of “nonsense syllables” as has been claimed by much of Christendom for 2000 years.
On Pentecost Sunday, a number of Galilean fishermen were praising God in the temple after the Holy Spirit had come upon them in an upper room of a nearby house. They appear to have been doing so in a glossolalia; i.e., an unknown tongue made up of nonsense syllables (as Paul describes later in First Corinthians 14:14-19). The second miracle was that some men from numerous countries were able to understand them in their own language. God apparently gave these listeners the ability to interpret these tongues.
Five times the Book of Acts describes events in which the Holy Spirit fell upon new believers. In three of those events, the new believers spoke with unknown tongues. Just as important to note is that in two of them they did not appear to do so. The Bible does not say that every new believer receives the gift of tongues (as some have implied). It does say, however, that some did and my experience is that some still do. I have known many solid Christian believers with both experiences.
My observation from reading Christian history as well as the Bible is that the widespread outpouring of the gift of tongues is prevalent in times of revival and is often used to support or prove that the Holy Spirit is acting in renewal. Many good Christians ask for the gift of tongues and do not receive it. Others seek the gift of tongues and receive it. Still others (like Cornelius’s family in Acts 10) do not specifically ask for it but receive it anyway. God is sovereign and gives to whom He will whatever He will.
The story of our American revivals, the First and Second Great Awakenings, the Azusa Street Revival of the early 1900’s and the Charismatic Renewal of the 1970’s all were accompanied with the outpouring of the gift of tongues. It is one of the hallmarks of modern Pentecostalism. However, there have been other revivals where this has not been a predominant feature.
You cannot put God in a box. He does not always do things the same way. Many who have not had the experience want to proclaim that it is not valid. Others who have had the experience want to proclaim that anyone who doesn’t speak in tongues is not a valid or a mature Christian. Both are equally in error. Paul is clear that tongues will someday cease, but love is an eternal component of Christianity. Let us love one another and allow each man to walk with God as the Lord will lead him. Let us neither be jealous nor be critical
of another man’s gifts.
It should be noted that Paul says that he spoke in tongues frequently. His main teaching on this subject can be found in 1 Corinthians 14 and every Christian should be familiar with it. Corinth was the home of many mantic prophets and prophetesses of many different religions. It was a town given to religious excess and spiritual esoterica; i.e., unusual manifestations. Some of his comments are related specifically to those excesses and esoteric experiences as they were brought into the Corinthian church by converts from paganism. His comment about women being silent in church is a good example.
However, Paul is not against speaking in tongues per se. He thinks it is a valid gift that must be managed properly. (Probably no gift of God had been used more improperly over time than the gift of human sexuality, but I am not planning on giving it up just because other people have misused it ?.)
Paul says that he wished that everyone could speak in tongues. He told his churches they should not forbid speaking in tongues. Paul made a distinction between tongues used in a public church service and tongues used as a prayer language.
1 Cor 14:18-19 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 19 however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind, that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue. NASB
1 Cor 14:5 Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying. NASB
1 Cor 14:39-40 Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. 40 But let all things be done properly and in an orderly manner. NASB
Paul was clear that tongues used in a public service can be confusing and must be handled in an organized manner providing an interpretation. It is my experience that many churches, like the one Nancy and I met the Lord in, are organized in such a way as to make the use of tongues valuable and edifying.
However, many churches do not prepare people to handle the use of tongues in a public service and Paul would speak against their use in those public services. Usually a prophetic message in the common language will be as useful and less disruptive as a message in tongues.
The real benefit to the gift of tongues, in my opinion, is as a private prayer language. Paul has much to say about that in recommending it for people who have the gift. He points out that we often are unsure about how to pray about something. In those cases, he says the Holy Spirit who knows the mind of God can pray through us with “groanings too deep for words.”
Rom 8:26-27 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. NASB
Paul refers to this kind of praying as praying with the Spirit versus praying with the mind. Paul says he does both (prays in the Spirit and with the mind), but in church he prefers that people pray with intelligent words.
1 Cor 14:14-19 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What is the outcome then? I shall pray with the spirit and I shall pray with the mind also; I shall sing with the spirit and I shall sing with the mind also. 16 Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. 18 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 19 however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind, that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue. NASB
The ninth spiritual gift listed in 1 Corinthians 12 is “the interpretation of tongues.” Once again there are those who want to define this gift as having a particularly easy time learning known foreign languages. It may be, but I do not think so. In every case in the New Testament where the words “interpret or interpretation” are used in conjunction with “tongues,” it refers to a supernatural understanding of a nonsense language.
This gift is usually used in a public meeting when someone brings a message in tongues. A message is offered in tongues and then all wait for someone to offer the interpretation. Paul tells the Corinthians that no one should bring a public message unless there is someone there who can interpret it. As with prophecy, the interpreter should have a proven gift and be acknowledged by leadership as having a valid gift in this area. The “spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, for God is not a God of confusion” (see verse 32 below).
These gifts used in a public meeting must be humbly offered and submitted for testing. They are usually followed by some acknowledgement from the leadership that this was a valid message. A blueprint for this public meeting activity can be seen in Paul’s instructions below.
1 Cor 14:26-33 What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and let one interpret; 28 but if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. 30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; 33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. NASB
Ultimately the purpose of these gifts is to edify (build up) the church, to inspire people. God uses them to offer insights to benefit those present. These gifts involve an active participation by all present and are not found when the meeting is led by a few “professionals” while everyone else is sitting back being entertained. They are employed where the people as a group have a relationship with God and not just as individuals. These public meeting gifts require maturity among the people as well as understanding.
These nine gifts of the Holy Spirit are not the only gifts given by the Holy Spirit. The Bible also mentions gifts of administrations, helps, intercession and the fivefold ministry gifts; i.e., apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists and teachers. Gifts are important, but not more important, Paul tells us, than love. It is interesting to note that nestled between the two chapters on gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 and 1 Corinthians 14 is the great chapter on love, 1 Corinthians 13.
1 Cor 12:28-31 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way. 13:1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. NASB
Many Christians become too focused on spiritual gifts, especially on the gift of tongues. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are, first and foremost, gifts, not entitlements. God gives them to whomever He will. Such a gift does not make us superior. The underlying Greek word for gift (charismata) is also the word for grace (charis) and it means “unearned favor.” It says more about the goodness of God, the giver, than the deservedness of us, the receiver.
There has been too much pride and arrogance on one side and envy and resentment on the other side, none of which blesses God. The best way to tell if a man or woman is not by reviewing his gifts. It is by reviewing his fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, etc. Let us seek these things and our gifts will take care of themselves.
Gal 5:16-26 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. NASB