Born to Prophesy by Hakeem Collins

Author:Hakeem Collins [Collins, Hakeem]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: book
ISBN: 9781621364047
Publisher: Charisma House
Published: 2013-10-21T04:00:00+00:00

First Corinthians 12:28 (KJV) is the key list in that it mentions the gifts in order of importance: “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” Since it is obvious that some of the gifts toward the bottom of the list (such as healing and miracles) were in operation before the gifts higher in the list (such as apostles)—apostles being first in rank, then prophets second in rank, and teachers third in rank—this must indicate the order of importance and not just the order in which they were given to the church by Christ.

In the list of the gifts of the Holy Spirit there is some overlapping or mixture in the gifts. It may suggest that there are no two spiritual gifts listed that are exactly the same, though it would be difficult to find any real difference between some of their function since they correlate with each other. In other words, it would be difficult to display and differentiate between the gift of helps and the gift of showing mercy. Both have the same focus: ministry (service) for others. We have the same problem differentiating between ruling and governing, which can be difficult to separate without studying the terms.

Even if exact identity is not intended, there is still mixture in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is the case, for instance, regarding the gifts of the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, exhortation, teaching, helps, and service. Likewise, the gifts of healing may not be as broad as the gift of miracles, but the similarity is obvious and clear.

UNDERSTANDING THE SUPERNATURAL GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

It is my desire that we understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which will help the believer to maximize their full potential in the Lord. We must first understand the nature of these gifts and what 1 Corinthians 12 reveals. I will not discuss the in-depth meaning of each one, but pull out the simple terms biblically.

What is the biblical term spiritual?

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

—1 CORINTHIANS 12:1, KJV

We can see that the apostle Paul was teaching the Corinthian church things that were related to the subject of spiritual gifts, and they were not to be ignorant concerning them. The King James Version uses the term spiritual, which is a Greek word, pneumatikon, describing the things of the spirit, belonging to the spirit, or controlled by the spirit.45 In other words, spiritual gifts are properties and endowments by the Spirit of God, and the church in the first century needed to understand them for clarity. It was Paul’s apostolic heart to bring clarity to things concerning the spirit, which are the spiritual gifts of God. This church was known for their ability to minister in the prophetic and in the gift of tongues but didn’t know how to operate in them. We must understand the foundational and fundamental principle concerning how spiritual gifts work through us.

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