I Corinthians 12:4 “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the
same Spirit.”
“Diversities”, here, means distinction, variety, difference.
Then, this is saying, there are many different gifts, but all gifts
come by the same Spirit. James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with
whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” The differences
in the gifts are as wide as the people receiving the gifts.
I Corinthians 12:5 “And there are differences of administrations,
but the same Lord.”
This, on the basis of an individual, means that a person
administers the gift God has given them in his own unique way. I
believe this goes even further than individuals and is speaking of
different denominations, who might not cross every T and dot every I
the way another denomination does, but is still administering the
gifts the Holy Spirit has given them to the best of their ability. One
may call themselves Methodist and another call themselves Baptist,
but they are serving the same Lord. I could have used any other
protestant church, but everyone is very familiar with these two. No
harm was intended.
I Corinthians 12:6 “And there are diversities of operations, but
it is the same God which worketh all in all.”
I always say, it is alright to be a Baptist, if you are a
Christian Baptist, not a Baptist Christian. Or a Methodist, or an
Assembly of God, or a Pentecostal, etc. We are all worshipping the
same God. We may be taking a little different route to get to heaven,
but we all have the same destination. Read the 4th chapter of
Ephesians to understand better. Why do we Christians fight each other
about denomination, when we should be banning together fighting the
atheist and those who do not look to Jesus as their Saviour?
I Corinthians 12:7 “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given
to every man to profit withal.”
It is not for God’s profit for us to have the gifts of the
Spirit. It is to help us be more effective ministers. How would you
like to build a house without a hammer? The gifts of the Spirit are
the tools that we build with. They are our very present help.
Manifestation is something that is made real. The world cannot see God
with their physical eyes. They see the followers of Jesus. We must be
so full of the Lord Jesus that when they look at us, they will not see
us, but will see Christ in us. A very good friend of mine explains
Jesus in us, this way. He says, we are the glove, and Jesus is the
Hand in the glove. We Christians are actually a kingdom in exile. Our
King is in exile, as well. He is Jesus Christ. We will be in exile,
until Jesus comes back to this earth and sets up His Kingdom. He is
King of kings and Lord of lords. We are better workers, if we have the
Holy Spirit inside of us guiding us and teaching us as we minister.
I Corinthians 12:8 “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of
wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;”
“Wisdom” is an understanding that is a gift from God. “Knowledge”
is accumulated learning. In this case, there would be a supernatural
ability to accumulate learning through the teaching of the Holy
Spirit. Wisdom is from above and knowledge is from within. I know a
number of older people who never went past the second grade in school
who have great wisdom. Many of them can understand the Bible better
than some of the highly educated people. Wisdom is a gift from God.
You do not earn it, or accumulate it. Knowledge is accumulated
learning. The gift of knowledge could be explained by someone who
studies his Bible regularly and the Holy Spirit helps him understand
what it is saying.
I Corinthians 12:9 “To another faith by the same Spirit; to
another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;”
Everyone has their measure of faith. This is not speaking of
that, but a supernatural knowing and trusting in God. This is the
faith that moves mountains. We read in the 14th chapter of John
beginning with the 12th verse, that all believers can heal the sick
with the power of Christ working in them. This is speaking of
something more. Some have been anointed of God to pray for healing.
This, again, is a supernatural ability to heal, such as Paul had.
Peter had so much of this gift operating in him, that his shadow
falling on people healed them.
I Corinthians 12:10 “To another the working of miracles; to
another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another
[divers] kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:”
You would think at a glance that working of miracles would be the
same as healing, but it is not. This is speaking of things like the
water turning to blood on Moses command. It would, also, be things
like the Red Sea parting. We know, from reading the Old Testament,
that there were people who had the gift of telling of things in the
future. That is what a prophet is. God reveals things to them that
will happen in the future. Discerning of spirits is a very important
gift to have. We can be deceived into thinking that someone is of
God, when they are not, if we do not have this gift. We are told to
try the spirits and see whether they be of God or not. All believers
in Christ are to do that, but this means that a person filled with
this Spirit can determine right off whether they be of God or not. Not
all believers in Christ speak with tongues, but it is a manifestation
of the Spirit of God. It is a way of allowing you to know without a
shadow of doubt that you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. This
just means, if your native language is English, you might speak in
Hebrew or French, or some other language foreign to you. This is true,
because the Bible says that every man heard them in his own language.
Acts 2:6 “Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came
together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak
in his own language.” Acts 2:7 “And they were all amazed and
marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which
speak Galilaeans?” Acts 2:8 “And how hear we every man in our own
tongue, wherein we were born?” Acts 2:9 “Parthians, and Medes, and
Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and
Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,” Acts 2:10 “Phrygia, and Pamphylia,
in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of
Rome, Jews and proselytes,” We see, also, why it would be important
for someone in a congregation to be able to interpret for everyone, if
the message from God was to be understood by all. Even in the natural
world, an interpreter is very useful to men of different languages who
want to communicate with each other.
I Corinthians 12:11 “But all these worketh that one and the
selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”
