1st Corinthians 12:7
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
Revelation Gifts
The Gifts that Give a Believer Power to Supernaturally "Know".
These gifts are used by God to REVEAL something through us to others.
1. Wisdom
2. A Word of Knowledge
3. Discerning of Spirits
I’m going to call these “manifestation” gifts because they are supernatural in nature.
As I have said, all gifts come from the Holy Spirit.
But not all gifts are manifested the same way.
When I teach, when I pastor, I do it by making choices based on what I know about God and what I know about people.
When God uses me to manifest Himself THROUGH me, it is not something I do by making conscious choices based on what I know about God or what I know about people.
It is “revealed” in the moment the gift is needed.
Since the time of Adam and Eve, it has been important for mankind to hear from God.
When God communicates to people, He usually uses the Holy Spirit.
Even the OT prophets had the Holy Spirit come upon them, which is why they could hear from God, and then act accordingly to what He said.
What God did for the prophets, He does for the modern Christian as well.
This is where we find a huge division in the church today.
Many Christians do not believe that the whole Bible can be used in the present day.
Many Christians believe that most of what is written in the Bible is no longer in effect.
They believe it stopped with the Apostles in the First Century Church.
When the last of the Apostles died, God stopped being who He had always been in His relationship to man.
And everything that they were able to do as a result of His empowering through the Holy Spirit stopped as well.
If that is true……
Why do we NOW waste our time even READING the Bible?
If it’s only value is as a history book?
Sadly, that is what many Christians believe.
Only the values and morals that we can somehow pick out and separate from the rest of the Bible, especially the HS, can benefit believers today.
NOT!!!!!!
And who is telling us what we can and cannot use anymore??
God knows we STILL need His help and guidance to be successful in life and accomplish what He wants us accomplish.
God WILL NEVER abandon us, by ABANDONING HIS WORD TO US!!
So, these “revelation” manifestation gifts come DIRECTLY from God.
It is not simply a case of one believer trying to “reveal” something they think or they believe to another believer.
These manifestations work together with the human mind, but they are completely separate from it.
That’s the SUPERNATURAL part.
Isn’t God SUPERNATURAL???
Many people, saved and unsaved, give wise advice.
That is not a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
Most Christians have heard from God without even realizing it.
God “provides” information or direction, but sometimes we don’t recognize it as God.
Many times it is only after the fact that we recognize that the “thought” we had was actually revelation from God.
You may “get the idea” to call a friend that you have not called in a long time, only to find out when you are on the phone that your call was “right on time.”
You may “feel an urge” to stop by someone’s house, only to find that the timing of the visit was perfect timing.
These things are not just coincidences.
No. You were operating by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As Christians, the Holy Spirit is sealed inside of us, it “indwells” in us and is part of our very nature.
That is how God can communicate through it seamlessly to our minds.
Every Christian should expect to receive this kind of “revelation.”
And in the process, it builds our faith when we hear from heaven.
Gift of Wisdom
A person operating in the gift of wisdom will receive insight regarding specific needs of another individual.
They receive supernatural direction for how to apply certain facts and information they have about a situation.
A word of wisdom can be defined as “the right application of knowledge.”
A word of wisdom is often used to resolve difficulties because it contains the “here’s what you must do to correct the situation” truth in it.
This gift is a blend of insight and discernment.
Just like when you “felt” led to call someone, this is that same kind of supernatural inspiration to speak the right word in a certain situation.
This is the ability to:
1. apply the principles of the Word of God
2. in a practical way
3. to specific situations
and to recommend
1. the best course of action
2. at the best time.
People with this gift:
1. focus on unseen consequences to determine the next steps to take.
It is therefore, “future” oriented.
2. receive an understanding of what is necessary to meet the needs of an individual or the whole body.
3. provide divinely given solutions in the midst of conflict and confusion.
4. love to read, meditate and commune with God, drawing wisdom that applies the scriptures to everyday living.
The Gift of The Word of Knowledge
This spiritual gift is given when information is needed immediately and when the only way to get that information is through supernatural means.
It is different from the Gift of Wisdom, in that it does not, by itself, give the directions on what to do with the information.
This is why they are often linked together.
But not always.
I may know that you are struggling in your relationship based on a word of knowledge, but I may not know what you should do to make this situation work out for the best.
A word of knowledge will provide a believer with information and understanding.
The Holy Spirit brings this knowledge to the mind of the believer at the moment of need, at the right moment to speak it.
This is supernatural knowledge applied in a godly or correct way.
The Word of Knowledge is not:
1. natural knowledge.
2. a profound knowledge of the Bible.
3. knowledge of God through close communion with Him.
The Bible has examples of the Word of Knowledge manifested through
1. a vision
2. a dream
3. a message from an angel
4. the gift of prophecy
5. directly from God to an individual.
People with The Word of Knowledge:
1. bring supernatural encouragement.
2. give confirmation to what God has already been saying or doing.
3. give insight and understanding of what is ahead in the purposes of God.
4. unlock hindrances to healing/unanswered prayers.
5. reveal where sin is being covered up.
The Discerning of Spirits
This is the supernatural ability to distinguish between spirits such as:
1. truthful or deceiving.
2. reality versus counterfeits.
3. divine versus the demonic.
4. true versus false teaching.
5. spiritual versus carnal motives.
6. spirit of right discernment and the spirit of error.
This gift of the Holy Spirit gives a believer supernatural insight into the spirit world, to see what spirit is behind a person, teaching or situation.
Discerning of spirits is seeing or hearing into the realm of spirits.
What Discerning of Spirits is not:
1. It is not the gift of discernment into the lives of people.
2. It is not spiritual mind reading.
3. Not the power to discern faults in others.
4. It is not just discerning of evil spirits but of good spirits, too.
This Gift is used to help many who are ensnared by Satan.
Supernatural manifestations can come from different sources.
Some things that seem supernatural or miraculous do not come from God.
People can be fooled into following anything that is supernatural or spectacular whether it is of God or not.
The manifestation of discerning of spirits is more than just recognizing them, it also involves entering into battle against them and casting them out.
Discerning of Spirits is:
1. Recognizing demons.
2. Protecting the believers.
3. Casting them out.
Every Christian will encounter demons, whether he recognizes them or not.
By this gift, the believer is enabled to know immediately what is motivating a person or situation.
A thorough knowledge and understanding of God’s Word certainly increases a believer’s ability to discern spirits.
BUT…
This is not a gift that comes from study, training, instruction, or maturity.
People with this gift:
1. Want to be more effective in prayer and spiritual warfare
2. Have a desire for holiness.
3. Curious about the spiritual realm.
4. More sensitive to spiritual atmospheres than most other people.
5. Can see and sense things that others do not see.
6. Have unusual visions, dreams and sensations that alert them to what is
happening in the spiritual realm.
7. Have been “seeing” things since childhood.
8. have the ability to see behind what a person is saying and presenting.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist denomination, wrote the following in his Journal entry for August 15, 1750, "I was fully convinced of what I had long suspected, 1. That the Montanists, (an early form of Pentecostalism) in the second and third centuries, were real, scriptural Christians; and, 2. that the grand reason why the miraculous gifts were so soon withdrawn, was not only that faith and holiness were well nigh lost; but that dry, formal, orthodox men began even then to ridicule whatever gifts they had not themselves, and to decry them all as either madness or imposture."
In his sermon, "The More Excellent Way," he writes, "The cause of this [decline of spiritual gifts following Constantine] was not, (as has been vulgarly supposed,) `because there was no more occasion for them. The real cause was that Christians had no more of the Spirit of Christ than the other Heathens. This was the real cause why the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer to be found in the Christian Church; because the Christians were turned Heathens again, and had only a dead form left."
1st Corinthians 12:12
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit contribute to the orderliness of God’s design for the Church.
As instruments of God, operating in the Body, we must be orderly.
Only then can the Body be edified.
When the Body is edified, God will be glorified!
The time to glorify God is NOW!
So, the time to move in our gifts is NOW!
