In the school of God, The Gifts Empower and Qualify the Offices.
Scripture: John 16:7-11, 1 Cor. 12.
John 16:7-11 says, “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. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of
judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My
Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
What will we look like when the Holy Spirit comes on us? What does 1 Cor 12: 5 mean when
it says, And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord? To understand what
Paul is talking about in this verse, we have to go to Ephesians 4:8 and 11, where it says this:
Wherefore he saith, When he [Jesus] ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave
gifts unto men….
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors
and teachers.
In other words, there are different administrations or offices in the Body of Christ, such as
apostle, prophet, teacher, pastor, and evangelist. But it is the same Lord Jesus Christ who
ascended on high and gave those gifts or offices to men.
Then in First Corinthians 12:6, it says, And there are diversities of operations, but it is the
same God which worketh all in all. So Paul is simply saying this: It is the Holy Spirit who
determines how the nine gifts of the Spirit and the ministry offices operate. It is Jesus Christ
who sets each person into his or her respective office or calling. And it is God the Father who
supplied the original plan.
The verses we just read in Ephesians 4 list the “fivefold ministry gifts” that we hear so much
about. The nine gifts of the Spirit empower and qualify these five offices. You see, God
meant for every person called to one of these ministry offices to preach the Word with signs
following (Mark 16:20). God never intended for the preaching of His Word to seem
powerless.
PRAYER FOCUS
The spiritual gifts empower the ministry offices much the same way a power plant
supplies power to the various appliances in a home. Each appliance is designed to
perform a different function, yet each is hooked up to the same power plant.