This post is Day 5 in a series of studies about “Gifts & Giving”. I strongly suggest you begin with the introduction to this study, please click here to read it.

Feel free to comment below with your own thoughts about each verse and how you will be acting on each thought. Also, if you haven’t yet signed up to receive the notifications of new studies, you can do that today (the form is at the bottom of the page).

Gifts & Giving – Day 5

There may be some people who can operate in one special gift and so that person becomes known as the prophet or the intercessor of the church. But these are not intended to be titles, they are actions. On any occasion, it can be different people operating in the gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:1

Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.

The Thought

The “gifts of the Spirit” can be the cause of a huge division in the Christian church today. Maybe less now than when I was a young Christian just learning about spiritual things. I remember arguing with a good friend who insisted that the gifts of the Spirit died with the disciples. Her church taught that they were gifts given to the disciples, and only for them.

How sad that this thought has led to much division even in the modern church. But praise God that many denominations are now seeing evidence of these gifts operating in churches as well as in home meetings.

The most important thing to remember about the gifts is that they are given to all and for the “COMMON GOOD” (emphasis mine) (1 Corinthians 12:7).

There may be some people who can operate in one special gift and so that person becomes known as “the prophet” or “the intercessor” of the church, but these are not intended to be titles, they are actions. On any occasion, it can be different people operating in the gifts. Practice makes us better at it, but that’s just because we often feel more confident in ourselves. That can be a big trap of the enemy!

The gifts in operation should mean that the operator is totally reliant on and hearing from Father God. Habits can be bad!

Action

Read the whole of Corinthians chapter 12, preferably in a modern language Bible to find out more about the gifts. They are listed in verses 8-11.

Remember that once the early disciples had met the Holy Spirit, they went out and did what Jesus did, and you and I are no different; we live under the same commands of Jesus to go and tell, and go and heal. (Matthew 28 and Mark 16)