Tonight, we will begin our study on spiritual gifts. Most of us are familiar with Matthew 28:19-20, in which Jesus gave His disciples the Great Commission to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you.” This task of soul winning and spiritual education was given to Jesus’ disciples. According to The New Bible Dictionary, a disciple is one who is a pupil or learner of a great teacher. Based on this definition, those of us today who are students of God’s Word and who have a relationship with Christ are also His disciples.
Therefore, every believer has the task of winning lost souls for the kingdom and discipling them. Not one of us is exempt from this mandate. The purpose of spiritual gifts is to enable those with different personalities and backgrounds to reach the lost in a way that works best with how they were created; that suits their demeanor or abilities. I know from talking to many Christians that we are not all comfortable with speaking in front of large crowds or witnessing to people on the street corner. That is okay, because God knows that we are not all gifted for those particular techniques of soul-winning.
God does, however, expect each of us to be spiritually sensitive to the needs of others. Sometimes we are to plant a seed in someone’s heart, and at other times we are lead someone to faith in Christ. Through the Holy Spirit the Lord provides us with gifts to help in the task of the Great Commission. In this study on spiritual gifts, we are going to look at the work and purpose of the Holy Spirit in our life, and identify the gifts of the Spirit. At the conclusion of our final session, we are going to have an opportunity to take a “Spiritual Gifts Assessment” which will help us find a place in ministry more suitable to our giftings, and a place in which we will be more effective for the kingdom.
The Promise of the Spirit
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read John 16:5-15: 5 But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, “Where are You going?” 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
12 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
• In verse 7, Jesus stated that He must depart from the world in order that the Helper, or the Holy Spirit, would come. He said it was to their advantage that the Helper come. In verses 8, 13 and 14, what would the Holy Spirit do for the disciples?
He would: 1.) convict the world of sin, 2.) convict the world of righteousness, and 3.) convict the world of judgement (v. 8); He would also 4.) guide the disciples in all truth, 5.) speak to them what He heard from Jesus (v. 13); and 6.) He would glorify Christ (v. 14).
Please note that each of the things the Holy Spirit will do, He will do through Jesus’ disciples; meaning, through us. Whenever we try to uphold the Great Commission, we must remember that we should not attempt to do so through our own strength. Some of us find ourselves afraid to be a witness for Christ, or participate in any kind of ministry, because we feel unworthy or ill-equipped. It is true that we are incapable if we rely on our own strength; however, we do not have to rely on our own ability. That is the beauty of trusting the Holy Spirit. We can rely on God’s strength through the power of the Spirit; and therefore, we will succeed by allowing the Lord to work through us.
How and When We Receive the Spirit
This is a rhetorical question; but, how and when do we receive this Helper that Jesus promised; the Holy Spirit?
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read John 3:1-6: 1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
• In verse 5 we basically encounter two statements: “unless one is born of water” and “unless one is born of the Spirit.” These two statements have resulted in a lot of debate. So, what do you think are the two most divisive arguments that have arisen from this passage?
Some people wish to argue that: 1.) baptism is what saves you – that you must be born of the waters of baptism, to be considered born again; or 2.) that you receive the Holy Spirit at some later time – that there is a water baptism, and then a later Spirit baptism. I want to focus on this second argument first.
Those who are argue for a second Spirit baptism will add that being born of the Spirit must be accompanied by a display of certain “sign gifts” (like speaking in tongues), and if you do not exhibit those gifts then you must be lacking the Holy Spirit, and therefore you are incomplete and perhaps not even saved. This is very judgmental and it hurts a lot of people. It drives a lot of people away.
The part that pertains to us tonight deals with being born of the Spirit. It is important that we come to understand that each of us who have confessed Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord already have God’s Spirit, and that there are no tests we need to pass to be considered born again. If we have confessed Jesus as Lord then we are completely saved and we have God’s Spirit abiding in us. We are also ready to be used by the Spirit for ministry, and we are already equipped with spiritual gifts.
To understand what Jesus was saying, we must take these two statements and view them within the context of the passage. When Jesus said, “You must be born of water,” He was not saying that you are not saved until you are baptized. His statement about water had something to do with childbirth.
In verse 4, Nicodemus asked Jesus how he could go back into his mother’s womb and be born once more through natural childbirth. In verse 5, Jesus clarified his confusion and basically said, “I do not mean that you must come out of your mother’s womb twice. You came out of your mother’s womb once as a tiny baby, and that was when you were born of water – the water in your mother’s womb. When I say, ‘You must be born again’ (v. 7), I am meaning that you must be born of the Spirit of God.”
To reinforce that this is what Jesus was saying, listen as I read verses 5-6 from the New Living Translation: “The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven.”
The part I want us to focus on is being born of the Holy Spirit. The very moment that we confess Jesus as Savior and Lord is the very moment that we are reborn. It is also the very moment that we receive the Holy Spirit, and are born of the Spirit.
Being Filled with the Spirit
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Acts 2:1-8, 38-41: 1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?”
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
I must point out that this is another place in the Scripture from which some denominations will draw the conclusion that we receive the Holy Spirit at some later time. They base this on verse 4, where we encounter the statement, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” The term “filling” is often equated with “receiving.” It is held that the disciples received the Holy Spirit at some later time, at some moment separate from their salvation experience, concluding that receiving the Spirit is a later occurrence.
With the very first believers, which just so happened to be the disciples, it is true that there was a delay between the time they believed in Christ until they received the Holy Spirit; but the reason why this happened is because the Spirit had not yet been manifested in the world. The Spirit’s first-time arrival did not occur until after Christ ascended into heaven. However, after the Holy Spirit’s arrival on the day of Pentecost, from that point forward, people would receive the Spirit as soon as they believed in Jesus Christ.
We read in Ephesians 1:13-14, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Paul said that, having believed in Jesus, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. It happens immediately! We must also note that the indwelling of the Spirit is referred to as being “sealed,” not as being “filled.”
So, what does the term “filled” or “filling” mean? The term “filling” is primarily used to denote the moment at which the Holy Spirit chooses to manifest Himself in power by using an individual for service in the kingdom. It is the moment at which our spiritual gifts are manifested in power. The term “filling” can even be understood as “empowering.”
• In looking at verses 7-8, can you speculate why the Holy Spirit chose to use the disciples by manifesting the spiritual gift of tongues at this particular moment?
During the celebration of Pentecost, the disciples spoke in the languages of the people who were present. There were people from many different countries, and it was necessary to speak these numerous languages to bring these diverse people groups the message of Christ. We see that after speaking in tongues, and after Peter had delivered his speech, that three thousand people accepted Jesus as Savior (v. 41). The Holy Spirit used the disciples at that moment to bring glory to Christ and win souls to the kingdom.
We are utilized by the Holy Spirit, or “filled” with the Spirit, at times in which the Spirit wishes to glorify Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit abides in us at all times, but manifests Himself outwardly through spiritual gifts when deemed necessary by the Lord. So, let us begin looking at the reason for spiritual gifts.
The Reason for Spiritual Gifts
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read 1 Corinthians 12:7-11: 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
• We read here that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to believers. What gifts are mentioned in this passage?
The spiritual gifts listed here in this passage are: “word of wisdom” (v. 8), “word of knowledge” (v. 8), “faith” (v. 9), “gifts of healing” (v. 9), “working of miracles” (v. 10), “prophecy” (v. 10), “discerning of spirits” (v. 10), “different kinds of tongues” (v. 10), and “the interpretation of tongues” (v. 10).
• What gifts might pose a problem or be misunderstood in our day and time?
• What does verse 7 provide as the reason for why Christians are given spiritual gifts?
They are allotted “for the profit of all,” meaning they are beneficial and not a liability. So, even though spiritual gifts might seem strange or controversial today, there is a place and a purpose for them.
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read 1 Corinthians 14:12: 12 Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.
• According to verse 12, why should we desire spiritual gifts?
The answer is “for the edification of the church.”
• Who can tell me what the word edify means?
The Greek word here for edify means “to build up” or “to build a house.” Spiritual gifts are given to believers to use in building the church or the Lord’s kingdom. They are to be used in strengthening the Body of Christ, which is the model for the church that Paul mentioned in 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
Spiritual gifts are given to believers “for the profit of all,” for building the church, and for winning lost people to Christ. Since this is true, then does it not stand to reason that if we fail to utilize them that the church cannot grow properly, and that some souls will not be reached and saved?
This concludes tonight’s study. I want to pass out a “Spiritual Gifts Master List” for you to take home with you. Be sure to look up the verses associated with each gift, and begin contemplating the importance and use of spiritual gifts. Also, begin asking yourself if you possibly have one or more of them.
• Before we close, are there any comments of questions?
Spiritual Gifts Master List
Administration (1 Corinthians 12:28); Apostleship (Ephesians 4:11); Discernment (1 Corinthians 12:10); Evangelism (Ephesians 4:11); Exhortation (Romans 12:8); Faith (1 Corinthians 12:9); Giving (Romans 12:8); Healing (1 Corinthians 12:9); Helps (1 Corinthians 12:28); Interpretation (1 Corinthians 12:10); Knowledge (1 Corinthians 12:8); Leadership (Romans 12:8); Mercy (Romans 12:8); Ministry/Service (Romans 12:7); Miracles (1 Corinthians 12:10, 28); Pastoring (Ephesians 4:11); Prophecy (Romans 12:6, Ephesians 4:11); Teaching (Romans 12:7, Ephesians 4:11); Tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10, 28); Wisdom (1 Corinthians 12:8).
