“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines” (1 Cor. 12:7, 11).

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others faithfully, administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10).

Most born-again Christians have heard something about the gifts of the Spirit, but some things we’ve heard are not consistent with what the Bible teaches. The enemy must know what powerful tools these gifts are because he has pulled out all the stops in his efforts to neutralize them.

In some parts of the Church he has used false teaching to convince people the gifts are no longer being distributed, while in others he has used counterfeit manifestations to turn religious gatherings into circus sideshows. The result is a Church that has become what Paul said we’d be; a people having a form of godliness but denying its power.

The truth is we’ve all been given at least one spiritual gift, so in this study we’ll review what the Bible says about them and get some accurate information straight from the source.

What Are They?
Paul spoke about the gifts of the Spirit in his letters to the Romans, the Corinthians, and the Ephesians. He wrote 1 Corinthians first, and 1 Cor. 12:7-11 contains his first description of gifts that the Holy Spirit distributes to believers as He determines, for the common good of the Church.  In these four verses he listed nine gifts.

Wisdom … The application of biblical truth to everyday life situations.Knowledge … The ability to understand the deep things of God and the mysteries of His Word.
Faith … The ability to believe in the power of God to provide without limit.
Healing …  Applying God’s power to cure human ailments through prayer.
Miraculous powers … Performing supernatural acts in the power of God.
Prophecy … Declaring God’s purpose by foretelling future events. Discernment … Intuitively understanding whether something is from God or not.
Tongues … Speaking a human language one has not learned.
Interpretation of tongues … Translating a human language one has not learned.

In 1 Cor. 12:28 Paul repeated some from the first list and added some others.

Apostle … One who has been sent forth with orders, a delegate.
Prophet … One who can foretell future events pertaining to the kingdom of God.
Teacher … One who teaches concerning the things of God and the duties of Man.
Miracle worker …  One who can manifest God’s supernatural power to accomplish the impossible.
Healing … One who can heal diseases, ailments, etc. through prayer.
Helps … One who skillfully renders support or assistance to those in ministry.
Administration … One who can organize and steer others toward the achievement of goals.
Tongues … One who can speak a human language he or she has not learned.

Romans 12:6-8 includes a list of 7 gifts, and again there are some duplicates.

Prophecy … Declaring God’s purpose by foretelling future events.
Service … Ministering to the needs of others.
Teaching … Providing instruction concerning the things of God, and the duties of Man.
Encouraging … Offering exhortation, encouragement, or consolation.
Giving … Offering material support to those in need.
Leadership … Presiding over something, as a protector or guardian.
Mercy … Caring for the sick or afflicted.

And in Ephesians 4:11 five gifts are listed, most of them duplicates from the other lists.

Apostle … One who has been sent forth with orders, a delegate.
Prophet … One who can foretell future events pertaining to the kingdom of God.
Evangelist … One who brings the Good News of the gospel.
Pastor … A shepherd, one to whose care others have committed themselves.
Teacher … One who teaches concerning the things of God, and the duties of Man.

From various other passages we find the following additional gifts identified.

Celibacy 1 Cor. 7:7-8 … The ability to abstain from sexual relations.
Hospitality 1 Peter 4:9-10 … Cheerfully providing comfort and sustenance to guests.
Martyrdom 1 Cor. 13:3 … Surrendering one’s life for the faith.
Missionary Ephes. 3:6-8 … Going among the unsaved, sharing the Good News.
Voluntary poverty 1 Cor. 13:3 … Living at the minimum sustainable level to help the poor.

Since these are all gifts from the Holy Spirit, it’s important to apply a supernatural component to their descriptions. Exercising our gifts for His purpose will result in performance that exceeds normal human capability in a way that’s obvious to others. Whether it’s teaching, caring for the sick, making others feel comfortable, or seeing to it that things run smoothly, the power of the Holy Spirit will be an obvious enhancement to our capabilities, producing an outcome that exceeds normal expectations.

Why Are We Given Them?
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Cor. 12:27).

In 1 Cor. 12:12-27 Paul compared the Church to a human body. He said a human body has many parts, each one of which has a unique purpose. The body needs all of its parts to achieve their purpose in order for it to function properly.  If it had too many of one part or was missing some others it wouldn’t work the way it’s supposed to.

The Church is a spiritual body, the Body of Christ. It also has many parts and needs them all to achieve their purpose in order for it to function properly. We are the parts in the Body of Christ. Each of us has a unique purpose. Since the Church is a spiritual Body, the Lord has given us spiritual gifts which empower us to achieve our purpose so the Church can function properly.

Who Gets What?
“All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines” (1 Cor. 12:11).

“This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will” (Hebrews 2:3-4).

Paul said the Holy Spirit distributes His gifts to each believer by His own determination, and the writer of Hebrews confirmed it.   But Paul also said we should eagerly desire the greater gifts (1 Cor. 12:31) and specifically mentioned the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 14:1).  Obviously, it wouldn’t make sense for everyone to have the same gift, but Paul didn’t say anything about us being limited to just one.

From their descriptions, you can see that many of the gifts have a secular application as well as a spiritual one. In fact one of the clues to pursue in discovering your gift is to look at what things on these lists you like doing most or are really good at. You could be catching a glimpse of your spiritual gift. If so, putting it to work for the Lord will add the power of the Holy Spirit to something you’re already good at.

The Holy Spirit does not gift us in areas where we have no aptitude or interest, so whether we’re  working to earn a living or working for the Lord, we will be more productive and more fulfilled when our responsibilities fall within the area of our gift. And when we’re applying our gift to His work it will often seem like our natural aptitudes and interests are being enhanced to a supernatural level.

It’s important to remember that like our salvation, our gift is something we don’t deserve and didn’t earn. Whatever we accomplish with it is the Lord’s doing not ours. Paul’s advice that we should eagerly desire the greater gifts (1 Cor. 12:31) cannot be taken solely for the purpose of  drawing attention to, or elevating ourselves, but must be in pursuit of the purpose for which they are intended, the proper functioning of the body of Christ, to His glory.

Does The Holy Spirit Still Do That?
“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears” (1 Cor. 13:8-10).

Today, some parts of the church teach that the gifts of the Spirit were withdrawn after the time of the Apostolic Church, using the passage above as their justification. In my opinion this an incorrect position, based on a misinterpretation of the passage.

Those who deny that the gifts are still being given say that 1 Cor. 13:8-10refers to the completion of the New Testament canon. They say the gifts were for the time when the Church didn’t have the completed Word of God and the apostles had to rely on their spiritual gifts to build the Church.

But Paul went on to say that now we see only a poor reflection, then we shall see face to face.  Now we know in part, then we shall know fully even as we are fully known (1 Cor. 13:12). The first time this statement will be true is just after the Rapture when we’ll be standing before the Lord in our perfected bodies. That’s the time when John said we’ll be like the Lord for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). That’s when perfection will come and, since we’ll no longer need them, that’s when the gifts will cease.

Think about it. How many of us, having the complete New Testament in our hands, have seen the Lord face to face, and know everything about His plan for Man, just as He knows everything about us?  Insisting the gifts have ceased is a position without merit, and strangely enough was never heard in the Church before the early 1900s just as the Pentecostal movement was being born and the gifts of the Spirit were re-emerging.

How Can I Discover My Gift?
Recently a visitor to the site asked, “Why do we have to discover what our spiritual gift is? Why doesn’t God just tell us?”

Earlier I said that one of the clues to pursue in discovering your gift is to look at what you like doing the most or are really good at. We’ve also seen that God had the New Testament writers  include a list of Spiritual gifts in the Bible. So if you compare the list of gifts with a list of things you are really good at or enjoy doing, you’ll have a clue as to what your Spiritual gift might be.  So in that sense, God has given you some direction.

But the real path to discovery lies in Romans 12:1-2:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship [service].

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Once we abandon the spiritually bankrupt ways of the world and turn toward God, He initiates a renewal process in our minds, opening them up to His way, and helping us see what He really wants for us. This doesn’t require a radical shift in our current circumstances, just in our perspective. God will meet us right where we are. He knows we have responsibilities and obligations, but He never intended for us to be one kind of person six days a week and another kind on the seventh.

In other words, He knows we’re in the world, He just doesn’t want us to be of the world. He hates to see us locked up in a prison of our own making, pursuing our empty dreams, when He’s standing right beside us holding the keys to real freedom and fulfillment.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving”(Colossians 3:23-24).

Simply by changing our perspective about who we’re really working for, we can begin to see ways to serve him no matter where we are.  As we turn toward Him, He will turn toward us (James 4:8) and begin to show us all the wonderful things He wants for us, including the special gift He’s given us to help us along the way.

It’s no coincidence that Paul’s list of Spiritual gifts in Romans 12 immediately follows His admonition to offer ourselves as living sacrifices. The gifts are given for a purpose and until we’re ready to achieve that purpose we really have no need for them. That’s why He doesn’t just tell us what they are.

If you are a born-again believer you have at least one spiritual gift. Now you have a better understanding of what the spiritual gifts are, and if you don’t already know what yours is, you have a way to discover it as well.

Some of you are aware that I post a “Question of the Day” on Face Book each day. Recently one of these questions received more comments than any other we’ve ever posted by a wide margin.

It concerned a woman’s frustration because in a recent conversation her friends confirmed that they believe in an any moment Rapture but then went on to tell her their plans for the next 10-20 years, what they expect to do when they retire, what kind of career they hope their children will have, and how they can’t wait to have grandchildren. She felt like they were just paying lip service to the nearness of the Rapture and were more focused on their long term hopes and plans for this world.

I agreed with her, saying that what people pay attention to in their lives gives you a clue as to what their intentions are for their life. When people spend more time talking about their long range plans for their life in this world than they do about their longing for the Lord to return for the church and what they’re doing for Him while they wait, it tells us they intend to be here for a long time.

The comments I received in response to this posting were all over the place. A few agreed with the questioner, but most thought there is nothing wrong with making long term plans for our lives because we can’t know for sure when He’s coming. And more than one person said, “We can’t just abandon our lives and go camp on a hill waiting for Him.”

Several quoted the phrase “Occupy until I come” from the Parable of the Ten Minas (Luke 19:11-27) as their justification for making long term worldly plans, but I wonder how many of us realize the context in which the Lord said this.

In the parable, a man of noble birth was going on an extended trip and was leaving his servants in charge of a portion of his wealth saying, “Occupy till I come.”

As you know a parable is a heavenly story put into an earthly context where every character is fictional and represents an actual one. In the Parable of the Ten Minas the man of noble birth represents Jesus, and His servants represent us.

The Greek word translated “occupy” in the King James translation of Luke 19:13 can mean to be occupied in anything, but in the context of the parable it means to “carry on a business.” In place of “occupy till I come” some English translations have the nobleman saying, “Put this money to work until I come back.” Others say, “Engage in business with this until I return.”

While there are a number of ways in which different translations convey this idea, I didn’t find a single one that indicated the nobleman was just telling his servants to idly wait for him as in “camping on a hill.” Nor did I find one that had the nobleman telling them to do whatever they wanted while he was gone. They all conveyed the idea that he expected them to conduct his business on his behalf using the resources he was leaving with them.

Therefore, the phrase “Occupy until I come” doesn’t mean we’re free to live our life according to whatever priorities we’ve established while we wait for the Rapture. It means we’re to be occupied in the work He’s given us until He returns, and have something to show for it. The fact that the nobleman criticized the servant who preserved the money he’d been given but didn’t increase it at all lends credence to this interpretation. He expected a return on his capital.

What Work Has He Given Us?

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God–this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1).

Romans 12:1-2 could be called Paul’s interpretation of the phrase “Occupy until I come.” I say that because the Greek word translated “worship” in Romans 12:1 is not the one that would normally be used. In fact, it actually means “service” and that’s the way many translations render it. The King James translation calls it our “reasonable service”. In Romans 12:1 Paul urged us to offer ourselves to God to perform whatever service He has in mind for us as our response to the mercy He has shown us. And how are we supposed to know what that is? Verse 2 gives us the answer.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).

Do you know what God’s will for your life is? We can discover His will for us by refusing to accept the pattern of this world with its “bigger this and more of that” mentality and allowing our minds to be renewed and become focused on the much more meaningful plans God has for our lives..

You can make this discovery at any point in your life. The minute you decide to give your life to the Lord and start seeking His will for you, He will meet you right where you are. The only radical change you’ll have to make is in the area of your priorities. God has to replace you or anything else you might currently have in your number 1 position. But even then, He knows you have family and financial responsibilities and will not expect you to abandon them.

Remember, in the early church there were no paid positions. Everyone was a volunteer, and earned his or her own living. Even today there are untold numbers of bi-vocational pastors,           para-church ministries, missionaries, etc. who earn their own way in life, yet consider the work they do for the Lord as their reasonable acts of service and their number 1 priority.

Remember, the mission fields aren’t all in faraway places. They are all around us. There are people everywhere who need food, shelter, and clothing. There are sick people who need visitors to comfort them, lonely people who need someone to talk to, ministries who need volunteer help, the list goes on and on. Some are even missionaries to their own local congregation. Also, there are two kinds of missionaries; those who go and those who send those who go.

Gifted for Service

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in everyone. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:4-7).

“All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines” (1 Cor. 12:10-11).

The ten minas the nobleman gave to each servant can represent the Spiritual gifts we’ve all been given to enable us to accomplish the Lord’s will for us. And just as the nobleman expected his servants to put what he had given them to work, so does the Lord expect us to put the gifts He’s given us to work for him. Listen to these words He spoke.

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:14-16).

Do you know what spiritual gifts He’s given you to help you achieve His will for your life? We all have them, you know. We just need to discover them, and put them to use. That will happen as we seek His will for our life.

No One Knows the Day or Hour

Most people have no idea that the Lord only spoke this phrase in reference to the 2nd Coming, never the Rapture. Even so, no one knows exactly when the Rapture will happen. But the Bible gives us a number of signs as to when the end of the age will arrive, and tells us the Rapture will precede it. And for the first time in history, every one of those signs is visible today.

Paul said the coming day of the Lord should not take us by surprise because we’re children of the light (1 Thess. 5:4-5). That means we’ve been given all the information (light) we need to know the times and seasons of His Coming. The only people who can be taken by surprise are those have not made themselves familiar with end times prophecy, whether by accident or design. In other words, those who say we can’t know the nearness of the Rapture simply haven’t made an effort to inform themselves.

Read what the Lord said to the generation that wasn’t expecting Him the first time He came.

“When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times” (Matt. 16:2-3).

It was not that they couldn’t have known He was coming, because their Scriptures contained hundreds of prophecies of His first coming, many of which pointed to their time. It was that His coming had become less important to them than knowing what the day’s weather would be, so they didn’t bother learning about it. He could say the same thing to much of the church today.

Some scholars are calling what’s happening in our time the convergence of signs. That means we don’t just have a few signs showing up, which would be exciting enough. It means that all the signs we were told to look for can now be found and they are all converging on a point in our not too distant future. No generation since His first coming could say this.

Does This Mean I Can’t Have a Life of My Own?

Truth be told the Bible never promised us a life of our own. In fact it says,“We are not our own. We’ve been bought at a price” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). But God never forces any of His children to do anything. The single condition for our salvation is to “believe in the One He sent” (John 6:28-29). So you can have a life of your own.

If all you want is to have your “fire insurance” policy paid up, you did that by becoming a believer (Ephes. 1:13-14). Even if you never do a single thing for the Lord and all your works are burned up in the fires of judgment, you yourself will still be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames (1 Cor. 3:15).

In Romans 12:1 Paul said, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy …” He didn’t order or command us, he urged us. Even the Holy Spirit is only our counselor, not our commander. No one will force you to do anything.

Instead, what this means is you can have a better life than the one you’ve planned for yourself. Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). In the first place, when you turn your life over to the Lord, He will see to it that all your needs are met, so you won’t have to worry at all about what tomorrow might bring (Matt 6:31-34).

He will see that everything works together for your good (Romans 8:28). He will give back to you all out of proportion to what you give to Him (Luke 6:38). He will make you rich in every way so you can be generous on every occasion (2 Cor. 9:11), and you’ll be storing up untold treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:19-21) as well.

So you see, neither camping on a hilltop and waiting nor getting on with life while waiting is the biblically correct approach. To occupy till He comes is to be engaged in the conduct of the business He has called us to.

Final Thoughts

In closing, I’m reminded of my favorite paraphrase of James 2:17 where the apostle wrote, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by deeds is dead.” The version I like goes, “If what you say you believe does not result in action, maybe you don’t really believe it.” If you’re not longing for the Rapture and engaged in the Lord’s work while you wait for it, then maybe you don’t really believe it’s coming soon.

When viewed from a strictly human perspective, the Rapture of the church is the most incredible event in history. The resurrection of believers is the fulfillment of a promise that was made on the cross, the delivery of the greatest blessing ever given to mankind. And among resurrected believers, no other group has been or will be blessed as richly as the church. Paul said God is doing this so that in ages yet to come He might demonstrate the incomparable riches of His Grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus (Ephes. 2:7).

But even above all this, He has chosen one generation of the church to pass directly from mortal to immortal without experiencing death. This generation will be standing on earth in our mortal, sin filled bodies and then in the twinkling of an eye we’ll be transformed directly into a perfect, immortal version of ourselves. Immediately, we’ll be transported to the home He has spent the last 2,000 years preparing for us to begin a life with Him that is literally beyond imagining. And it could happen any day now.

But what if it doesn’t happen today? I was a business consultant when I became a believer 30 years ago. One of the services I provided was to help individuals and companies identify and achieve long term goals. Following my own example, I had binders full of five year plans for myself and my company which I faithfully tracked each month and completely updated annually.

I had learned about the Rapture early in my life as a believer and like most people, I was immediately excited about it. When I felt the Lord telling me to put my plans for my life aside and follow the path He had laid out for me instead, I thought, “Why not? We won’t be here that long anyway.” I decided to stop making my own plans for the future, and began letting Him implement His plan instead. Later I realized that this is what He meant in Matt. 16:24-25:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

That was 30 years ago, and I haven’t made any future plans for me or anyone else since. The life I have today is nothing like the one I had planned for myself. But it’s more exciting and more fulfilling than anything I could have imagined. I still see the Rapture as an “any day now” event and I’m ready to go the instant I hear the trumpet. But I also realize that if that doesn’t happen today, the plan the Lord is unfolding for my life is the next best thing that could have happened to me, because I’m occupying until He comes.