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Spiritual gifts, here, simply refers to any God-given supernatural impartation from one person to another whereby the recipient is edified (i.e. built-up or encouraged). Jesus said that it was good that He should depart so that he could send the Holy Spirit. It is good indeed because He baptizes each one who so desires into the power of His Spirit so that the ministry which was once centered on his literal body can now be carried out by all believers - His new body on the Earth! His ministry was to bind up the broken-hearted, set captives free, heal and save. We now perform these activities by the power of the Holy Spirit that works in us. Spiritual gifts can be used to help those in the world as well as brothers and sisters in Christ. We want to talk more here about the wonderful process by which we minister these gifts one to another in cell meetings and in church life in general.
First, we want to say that seeking God and believing Him for this power is the starting place. He says He will give the Holy Spirit to His children who ask. We will encourage each member of our cell group to pray often for some gift from Heaven to help someone in the group the next time we gather. It may be that a word of encouragement or a scripture verse for someone comes to mind during or before the meeting. It may be that God would give you supernatural knowledge about someone's situation that would help them. We know of cases where someone was praying for another member of the group and received a vision for that person that was specifically an answer that person needed. Ask and you shall receive! Continue in the practice of praying for others and praying that God would give you something to impart to them. He wants to use you in ministry!
Following, we provide brief definitions and some guidelines for the specific "manifestation" gifts that Paul lists in the book of I Corinthians. Each one of these gifts should always be used to "build up" another person, the group or the congregation. They should always be used with love and a heartfelt desire that the recipient be helped. Since these particular gifts are directed at a person or the group, we will avoid being rude, interrupting others that are speaking, or causing confusion. These gifts must be used in an orderly fashion. The speaker is in control of when and how he exercises the gift. When we are worshiping God, or praying corporately, there may be many people speaking and/or singing different praises and prayers at the same time. Not so with the use of these gifts. If someone begins to speak up in a manner that it is obvious they intend to use a gift, others should begin to quiet down.
Gifts such as a word of knowledge or wisdom or a prophesy should be "tested". Are they from God? They should be treated as confirmation of what God is directing through different sources, not as a sole source of direction. If something spoken does not seem to apply to you at the moment, be gracious with the speaker and keep the word in the back of your mind (or in your journal). If it is from God, it will make perfect sense at some time in the future. Discard anything that does not seem to be from God. Those who are speaking should never knowingly try to "make up" anything on their own. Do not speak out everything that crosses your mind as a word from God. Let it be confirmed in your heart by an increasing, even supernatural, urgency that will not let you remain silent. If you feel God's go-ahead, though, do not be timid. If this is new to you, you may wish to say something like "I believe God is saying..." and give the word. You will find the flow will become sharper as you exercise the gift.
Here are some basic definitions of these gifts:
1) Word of Wisdom. This gift manifests when God uses someone to speak to another person or the group about what they should do. It generally provides steps that should be taken in a particular situation or helps to choose between different options that are available in a situation. Wisdom from God should be sought at each turn in our lives and we should remember that just because we encounter the same situation twice does not mean that we should proceed as before without inquiring of God the second time.
2) Word of Knowledge. This is God-given information about a person or situation that you could not possibly have known otherwise. It can help bring out hidden issues that a person may have as a root cause of a problem (often without realizing it). It can reveal a danger, helping someone avoid or prepare for a pitfall. It can be accompanied with a healing or a word of wisdom to shed light on what God is doing.
3) Discernment of Spirits. This gift may allow the one who is exercising it to literally see or hear into the coexisting realm where angels and demons dwell. Or they may simply have a strong sense of something that is going on in that world. They may then tell others what they discern. It may manifest as the ability to tell whether a visible occurrence (sometimes supernatural) is of God or of the enemy.
4) Prophesy. This a word from the Lord. It can be encouraging, it can be a reminder of spiritual truths or it can be foretelling the future. Paul says to earnestly desire this gift, so do not be shy about praying for it. Click here for more thoughts on the nature of prophesy.
5) Tongues. This gift, as with prophesy, is also a word from the Lord. It is merely given in a language that the speaker does not know. It can be a known language (i.e. one commonly used by some people group in the world) or a "heavenly" language. If used in a group, the gift of interpretation (or natural interpretation if a speaker of the language is present) should be used when two or at most three messages have been given - before any more messages in tongues are given. Otherwise, if no interpretation occurs, do not continue to use this gift in the meeting, since it is not edifying anyone else!
6) Interpretation. This gift is always used after the gift of tongues has been used (see above). The interpreter will have a deep sense that they know what the message in tongues was saying or may even hear it in their own language (generally being the only one present to experience this!) . They may then give the interpretation.
7) Faith. This can be a word that inspires faith in others for that which is not possible without God. It may also be a gift that comes to a person exercising or receiving the gift of miracles or healing. As the gift is being used, the faith needed for the miracle rises up supernaturally in the people involved.
8) Healing. This gift allows the one exercising it to be used to heal the body of one who is in need of some kind of healing. It is often accompanied with the laying on of hands and sometimes preceded by a word of knowledge.
9) Miracles. This category of gift allows for a wide range of miraculous occurrences to be brought forth by the exerciser. Some unusual events are recorded in the Bible, so do not be close-minded as to how this will manifest. Only let all who are present use discernment to make sure that which is happening is edifying and of God.
Another impartation of the power of God that can be used in body of Christ is casting out of demons. This may occur after an obvious manifestation of the demon or after the gift of discernment of spirits has been used to detect it. All believers have the power to command demons to leave in the name of Jesus.
Be open also to the Holy Spirit giving you dreams and visions. He may impart plain messages or messages in symbolic themes through these means. Visions are typically shown to you as images that you "see" when your eyes are closed. As always, judge carefully whether these are indeed from God or if it may be from your own brain. Another ability the Holy Spirit may impart to members of the church is the ability to interpret the symbolism found in your dream or vision. As a practical suggestion, begin writing some of your dreams - especially those that you feel the presence of God on or that you dream repeatedly. Tell others and pray for interpretation. You may be surprised how often God is already speaking to you!
Spiritual gifts, here, simply refers to any God-given supernatural impartation from one person to another whereby the recipient is edified (i.e. built-up or encouraged). Jesus said that it was good that He should depart so that he could send the Holy Spirit. It is good indeed because He baptizes each one who so desires into the power of His Spirit so that the ministry which was once centered on his literal body can now be carried out by all believers - His new body on the Earth! His ministry was to bind up the broken-hearted, set captives free, heal and save. We now perform these activities by the power of the Holy Spirit that works in us. Spiritual gifts can be used to help those in the world as well as brothers and sisters in Christ. We want to talk more here about the wonderful process by which we minister these gifts one to another in cell meetings and in church life in general.
First, we want to say that seeking God and believing Him for this power is the starting place. He says He will give the Holy Spirit to His children who ask. We will encourage each member of our cell group to pray often for some gift from Heaven to help someone in the group the next time we gather. It may be that a word of encouragement or a scripture verse for someone comes to mind during or before the meeting. It may be that God would give you supernatural knowledge about someone's situation that would help them. We know of cases where someone was praying for another member of the group and received a vision for that person that was specifically an answer that person needed. Ask and you shall receive! Continue in the practice of praying for others and praying that God would give you something to impart to them. He wants to use you in ministry!
Following, we provide brief definitions and some guidelines for the specific "manifestation" gifts that Paul lists in the book of I Corinthians. Each one of these gifts should always be used to "build up" another person, the group or the congregation. They should always be used with love and a heartfelt desire that the recipient be helped. Since these particular gifts are directed at a person or the group, we will avoid being rude, interrupting others that are speaking, or causing confusion. These gifts must be used in an orderly fashion. The speaker is in control of when and how he exercises the gift. When we are worshiping God, or praying corporately, there may be many people speaking and/or singing different praises and prayers at the same time. Not so with the use of these gifts. If someone begins to speak up in a manner that it is obvious they intend to use a gift, others should begin to quiet down.
Gifts such as a word of knowledge or wisdom or a prophesy should be "tested". Are they from God? They should be treated as confirmation of what God is directing through different sources, not as a sole source of direction. If something spoken does not seem to apply to you at the moment, be gracious with the speaker and keep the word in the back of your mind (or in your journal). If it is from God, it will make perfect sense at some time in the future. Discard anything that does not seem to be from God. Those who are speaking should never knowingly try to "make up" anything on their own. Do not speak out everything that crosses your mind as a word from God. Let it be confirmed in your heart by an increasing, even supernatural, urgency that will not let you remain silent. If you feel God's go-ahead, though, do not be timid. If this is new to you, you may wish to say something like "I believe God is saying..." and give the word. You will find the flow will become sharper as you exercise the gift.
Here are some basic definitions of these gifts:
1) Word of Wisdom. This gift manifests when God uses someone to speak to another person or the group about what they should do. It generally provides steps that should be taken in a particular situation or helps to choose between different options that are available in a situation. Wisdom from God should be sought at each turn in our lives and we should remember that just because we encounter the same situation twice does not mean that we should proceed as before without inquiring of God the second time.
2) Word of Knowledge. This is God-given information about a person or situation that you could not possibly have known otherwise. It can help bring out hidden issues that a person may have as a root cause of a problem (often without realizing it). It can reveal a danger, helping someone avoid or prepare for a pitfall. It can be accompanied with a healing or a word of wisdom to shed light on what God is doing.
3) Discernment of Spirits. This gift may allow the one who is exercising it to literally see or hear into the coexisting realm where angels and demons dwell. Or they may simply have a strong sense of something that is going on in that world. They may then tell others what they discern. It may manifest as the ability to tell whether a visible occurrence (sometimes supernatural) is of God or of the enemy.
4) Prophesy. This a word from the Lord. It can be encouraging, it can be a reminder of spiritual truths or it can be foretelling the future. Paul says to earnestly desire this gift, so do not be shy about praying for it. Click here for more thoughts on the nature of prophesy.
5) Tongues. This gift, as with prophesy, is also a word from the Lord. It is merely given in a language that the speaker does not know. It can be a known language (i.e. one commonly used by some people group in the world) or a "heavenly" language. If used in a group, the gift of interpretation (or natural interpretation if a speaker of the language is present) should be used when two or at most three messages have been given - before any more messages in tongues are given. Otherwise, if no interpretation occurs, do not continue to use this gift in the meeting, since it is not edifying anyone else!
6) Interpretation. This gift is always used after the gift of tongues has been used (see above). The interpreter will have a deep sense that they know what the message in tongues was saying or may even hear it in their own language (generally being the only one present to experience this!) . They may then give the interpretation.
7) Faith. This can be a word that inspires faith in others for that which is not possible without God. It may also be a gift that comes to a person exercising or receiving the gift of miracles or healing. As the gift is being used, the faith needed for the miracle rises up supernaturally in the people involved.
8) Healing. This gift allows the one exercising it to be used to heal the body of one who is in need of some kind of healing. It is often accompanied with the laying on of hands and sometimes preceded by a word of knowledge.
9) Miracles. This category of gift allows for a wide range of miraculous occurrences to be brought forth by the exerciser. Some unusual events are recorded in the Bible, so do not be close-minded as to how this will manifest. Only let all who are present use discernment to make sure that which is happening is edifying and of God.
Another impartation of the power of God that can be used in body of Christ is casting out of demons. This may occur after an obvious manifestation of the demon or after the gift of discernment of spirits has been used to detect it. All believers have the power to command demons to leave in the name of Jesus.
Be open also to the Holy Spirit giving you dreams and visions. He may impart plain messages or messages in symbolic themes through these means. Visions are typically shown to you as images that you "see" when your eyes are closed. As always, judge carefully whether these are indeed from God or if it may be from your own brain. Another ability the Holy Spirit may impart to members of the church is the ability to interpret the symbolism found in your dream or vision. As a practical suggestion, begin writing some of your dreams - especially those that you feel the presence of God on or that you dream repeatedly. Tell others and pray for interpretation. You may be surprised how often God is already speaking to you!