Understanding Spiritual Gifts
Scripture: 1 Corinthians chapter 12
Let’s look at the role that praying in other tongues plays in God’s government. To do that,
we’ll have to go to First Corinthians chapter 12, where Paul outlines the operation of the
Holy Spirit in the gifts, offices, and callings of the entire Body of Christ. He begins by saying
in verse 1:
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
Now, I do know this about the Holy Spirit: He would not inspire Paul to make a statement
like that and then leave us ignorant! In the discussion following that statement, Paul by the
Holy Ghost supplies all the information necessary to eradicate any spiritual ignorance, misconceptions, or religious error we may have concerning the operation of spiritual gifts.
Personally, if there is one subject I don’t want to be ignorant about, it is the operation of the
gifts of the Spirit. But, to be frank with you, this is one of the areas in which this generation
of believers is most lacking. We who are charismatic people often pride ourselves in knowing
a great deal about the gifts of the Spirit. It’s too bad we haven’t prided ourselves more in
knowing how to operate in those nine gifts..
Satan, the great deceiver, has successfully spread confusion and division regarding
this passage of Scripture in First Corinthians 12 — so much so that entire
denominations have split over different interpretations of the operation of spiritual
gifts and the offices they empower. So it would profit us to make a careful
examination of what Paul is teaching the Corinthian church in these verses.
In First Corinthians 12:4-6, Paul says this:
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit,
And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of operation, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
What is Paul saying? Well, we know that the “gifts” he is talking about in verse 4 are
the nine gifts of the Spirit listed in First Corinthians 12:8-10: 1) the word of wisdom;
2) the word of knowledge; 3) the gift of faith; 4) gifts of healings; 5) working of
miracles; 6) prophecy; 7) discerning of spirits; 8) divers (or different supernatural
manifestations of tongues; and 9) interpretation of tongues.
Prayer FOCUS
Pray to understand each and begin to function effectively.
Call for a new spiritual landscape to arise (Isa 40:1-3)
Call for keys to unlock same great abilities and capacities in those who will
serve with you in your department.
Call for sons of men to walk in ancient paths again.
Call for the power of create with conscious thought and frequencies of
sound and light that you need to be restored in you.
Call for ancient spiritual technologies only known to the Holy Spirit .
Amen.