What Do We Mean By The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit?
The gifts of the Holy Spirit can be described as some special abilities, capabilities, skills, or talents given by the Holy Spirit to true believers to be used for the service of God and His church.
They are extraordinary manifestation of God’s grace on earth through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is to be used for the purpose for which it was given and for the enrichment of the church.
What Is The Biblical Meaning Of The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit?
According to the scripture, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are grace given to men for their perfecting, for the work of the ministry and for the edifying of the body of Christ (the church), Ephesians 4:7-12.
It is the grace given to the disciples of Jesus Christ which differs from person to person for the benefit of the body of Christ, Romans 12: 3-8.
What Are The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit?
The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit In The Old Testament
According to the Old Testament in the book of Isaiah 11:2-3, there are seven (7) gifts of the Holy Spirit.
‘And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears’ (Isaiah 11:2-3, NKJ).
Wisdom
Wisdom according to this verse of the Bible is the first gift of the Holy Spirit. Wisdom is the most important gift of the Holy spirit and according to Proverbs 2:6, God given wisdom and out of that wisdom, other gifts are developed. It is wisdom that gives us understanding of the things of God.
It gives us the grace to know and love God better. It invoke in us faith in the things of the Almighty Father.
Understanding
Understanding being the second gift of the Holy Spirit is the ability to comprehense and accept the words of God. To accept it because we know its power in our lies as true believers.
Counsel
This gift of the Holy Spirit simply explain the ability to be able to guide and direct peoples’ attitude. It is an extraordinary skill that comes with wisdom.
It is not everyone that can counsel because it is not easy to advice, warn or guide peoples to keep from or run away from poor attitude. It perfects the cardinal virtue of prudence.
Fortitude
This is the ability to endure, be courageous as concern the things of God and eternal life. You have to be courageous to suffer loss for the sake of Jesus Christ.
It is seen as both a gift and a cardinal virtue. It is understood as having toughness of the spirit, to be fearlessness, long suffering, forbearance and steadfastness in our belief in Jesus Christ.
Knowledge
Knowledge is completely different from wisdom and understanding. This is the ability to have an information about certain actions and happenings of our life.
When we know what will happen to us and others and divine inside into happenings in this life, we have knowledge.
Piety
The acts of being reverent or religious. To be totally devoted to the things of God. It talks about the attitude of sanctity, saintliness, veneration, sacredness and devotion to God.
This is our fidelity to our works and obligations in the call of God. You consecrate yourself to the religious obligation of serving God.
Fear of the Lord
The fear of the Lord settles the theological virtue of hope. It is an act of respecting God’s law in order not to offend him. Abstaining from making God angry with us. To be in reverent awe of God.
It is not the same thing as being afraid. It is giving God the honour as God and submitting to His will. Staying away from sin so as to honour God. With the fear of the Lord, we do all these because of our love for God and we don’t want anything to disturb our relationship with Him.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament
In the New Testament the gifts of the Holy Spirit is spelled out in three different verses; 1corinthians 12:8-10, Ephesians 4:7-13 and Romans 12:3-8.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit According to 1 Corinthians 12:8-10
For to one is given by the spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same spirit. To another faith by the same spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same spirit. To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues (1Corinthians 12:8-10, NKJ)
The Word of Wisdom
This gift of the Holy Spirit is the ability of being wise in mystifying situations. It gives you the ability and understanding of how to apply the word of knowledge. The Gift makes it easier for you to make wise choices and provide leadership that is according to God’s will.
The Word of Knowledge
When we talk of the gift of the word of knowledge, we are talking about divine knowledge. This is the ability to know what has happened, what is happenings and what is to happen. It is only through divine inspiration for us to have information about things that can lead to success in our lives.
The Gift of Faith
Faith as defined by Hebrew 11:1; Is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. That is total trust in God although, expecting miracles to come to pass. Deep trust in God that he has done something and we are hoping to see it manifest. With faith, we know that with God it will be possible for everything to be accomplished. By Faith, we already believe that it has happened with the power of God and we are waiting for its manifestation and it will always come to pass.
The Gifts of Healings
This gifts allow you to access God’s healing power for self and also to become a vessel that provide divine healings to others in diverse ways. There are a lot of healings that the Holy Spirit does in the life of a believer.
The Working of Miracles
The working of miracles has been a divine gift for ages now. When we read the scripture from Genesis to Revelations, we will notice the working of miracles. The movement of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land is the working of miracles. The manifestations of the ten plagues was done by God’s power which is beyond the natural.
The working of miracles is supernatural and it is manifested by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is always in the business of working miracles in every areas of our lives. The working of miracles is real and divine. It is the supernatural things that happened to people which cannot be explain by human comprehension.
It is happening every day in the life of the believers. With this gift, you become a channel for signs and wonders here on earth.
The Gift of Prophecy
This gift gives you the ability to declare a message gotten from God about yourself, others or a place. This give have been existing long ago. In the book of Exodus, Moses prophesized what will happen to Pharaoh if he refuse to let the Israelites go and it came to pass. One sure thing with this gift is it manifestation. Once the gift is from God, it will always come to pass. God’s words and messages are divine and not natural. It is prophecy that saves a nation from being destroyed.
The Discerning of Spirits
The gift of discerning of spirits will enable you to access the spiritual realm and know the different kinds of spirits that operate there and their functioning. The holy spirit open your spiritual sight and exposes the spirits to you in order for you identify the evil spirits that operate around you and in the lives of others.
At times, it is like a movie which will last for a few seconds and you will wonder about it. People with this gift see the supernatural things which cannot be seen by the natural eyes. We are to desire this gift and others because the devil disguise to be angel or your friend in order to kill, steal and destroy you.
Divers Kinds of Tongues
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues, as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance, Acts 2:4.
From the Biblical verse, we notice speaking in tongues is a gift from the Holy Spirit. There are divers kinds of tongues. When you listen to believers pray in tongues, you realized that no two tongues are the same. The utterances are different, why? Because it is a divine gift, something supernatural.
Praying in tongues is highly spiritual. When you pray in tongues, you do not understand what it means but the Holy Spirit does and those with the gift to interpret tongues. You utter words in strange language which act like spiritual bullets in the spirit realm.
The Interpretation of Tongues
This is a rare gift of the Holy Spirit which has been existing. The gift to interpret tongues is given to few. When you pray in tongues, you can’t understand what you are saying but the Holy Spirit and those with the gift to interpret tongues do.
The scripture in 1 Corinthians 14:13-15 tell us to pray for the gift to interpret tongues because if we can’t interpret, our spirit prays but our understanding is zero. Thus we need to pray with the spirit understanding and with the understanding too.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit According to Ephesians 4:7-13
But to every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some apostles; and some prophets, and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; for perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for edifying of the body of Christ. Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
(Ephesians 4:7-13, NKJ)
They have been called the five-fold ministry gifts. These gifts are used for the service of God to win more souls into the Kingdom of God.
The Apostles (Apostolic Gift):
The apostles possess a gift to govern the body of church. The grace given to the apostles is manifested through the apostolic ministry. The apostolic gifts include speaking in tongues, miracle, and healing. They have all round authority.
The Prophets (The Prophetic Gift):
The prophet guides people and nations through the Holy Spirit. Their main gift of the Holy Spirit is the gift of prophecy. They declare the word of God for the lives of people and it comes to pass. They are said to be the eyes that see and ears that hear what God did, is doing and will do in their lives, the lives of others and in nations. They are the eyes and ears in the body of Christ.
The Evangelists (The Gift Of Evangelism):
The evangelists are those who win souls for the body of Christ. They go around sharing the word of God to every one they meet. They are always talking about the message of salvation for people to get saved and be born again. They carry the gift of evangelism.
The Pastors (The Pastoral Gift):
The pastor guards and feed the body of Christ. He is the father to the children in the body of Christ. He takes care of flock in the body of Christ. They have the pastoral gift, that is, the grace to serve as a pastor.
The Teacher (The Gift Of Teaching)
This is the ability to analyze, interpret and proclaim of God’s word to the body of Christ. They have the grace to explain the truth about the scripture to the understanding of people.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit According to Romans 12:3-8
For I say, though the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body and all members have not the same office, so we being many, are one body in Christ and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith. Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering or he thatteacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation; he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
Prophesying:
The ability to hear the voice of the lord concerning you, others and a place. You utter words about what has happened, what is happening and what will happen to people. this gift reveal deep and secret things. Prophecy comes to redeem things in the life of a person.
Serving:
This is the ability to render service in the kingdom of God; carrying out activities for the good of a person or group of people. It is all about giving your energy, time and talents to an activity that advance, promote and edify the kingdom of God.
Most Christians love to go to church and listen to the things of God but are not involve in kingdom service. For example pastoring, preaching, singing in church, usher, prayer intercessor, elder, cleaning the church, teaching, minister, etc. This is done for others comfort when spending time in the presence of God. All these are kingdom service and is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Teaching:
Ability to study, understand, interpret and explain the truth about the word of God. it is the holy spirit that gives us the grace to study and understand the word of God and without an understanding, you cannot teach it to others.
Encouraging:
According to Job, this world is full of troubles and there is a need for people who are gifted with encouragement to constantly inspire and give hope to others. It is not an easy things to encourage people through hard and difficult moments in life. It takes grace to be able to comfort and encourage others because life is full of troubles for everyone particularly Christians as the devil is constantly at war with us. Some have grace of courage which make them able to encourage others, a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Giving:
This is ability to be in the position to always give to those who need help. There are a lot people who are in need in the world. It is a gift of the spirit to be ready to give to the needy. It is not everyone who love giving, many people love receiving than giving.
That is why the book of Acts 20:35 says ‘in everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work, we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ;it is more blessed to give than to receive’.
Leading:
Leadership is a gift of the Holy Spirit. He will give wisdom needed to lead others and the multitudes. Directing and influencing others in particular aspects special divine skills, knowledge, wisdom and abilities. The Holy Spirit gives this gift for effective leadership particularly to those who control multitudes.
Showing Mercy:
It is impossible to life in this world without being offended. You must be offended in one way or another. The question is can you easily forgive and show mercy?
Some years back, I meant a young lady who was so bittered about her mother. She talked with a lot of pains of the horrible treatments she received from her mother. It was obvious that at the slightest opportunity, she will give the same treatment to her mother.
A compassionate heart is a gift from the spirit. We often pray that God should give us the grace to forgive and show mercy to others.
How To Use Spiritual Gifts
The uses of the spiritual gifts is summarised in the book of Ephesians 4:12 which reads thus; ‘for perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for edifying of the body of Christ.
From this verse, how to use the spiritual gifts can be highlighted as follows:
1. For perfecting of the saints
2. For the work of the ministry
3. For the edifying of the body of christ
The Benefits Of The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit, To The Body Of Christ
4. It educates and develop people’s physical and spiritual lives
5. It solves marital problems in the body of Christ
6. It reduces poverty and enable people to enter into wealth and riches.
7. To teach people skills and ability
8. It serves as healing to sick people
9. It helps in conversion and soul winning
10. It helps them to preach the gospel
11. It gives the church victory over the power of darkness
12. It helps the church to bring revival to a place or nation
13. It facilitate the church to reduce crime in the society
14. It helps them to destroy the works of Satan in the lives of its members auc as, sickness, death, poverty, stagnation, fear, failure, disappointment, disgrace and shame.
It brings about the accomplishment of the word of God that says Jesus death for the salvation of the world. The death of jesus was not in vein but to free man from captivity of the devil and for eternal life.
It is only when one is set free from captivities and evil yokes that they are save for eternal life. These gifts ensure that God’s words is fulfil in the lives of believers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can I Receive The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit?
They spiritual gifts can be receive in the following ways:
1. Through baptism
2. Through the infilling of the Holy Spirit
3. Through laying of hands
4. Through constant prayers and seeking for them
When Do You Receive The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit?
There are different situations in which people receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Firstly, when you listen to the Word of God with believe, the spirit comes upon. At that moment, some people instantly receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues.Diverse kinds of tongues is the gift of the Holy Spirit. This can be seen in Acts 2 when the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, they also receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and in Acts 10:44-46 while Peter was till preaching the good news about Jesus Christ, the Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit and the gift of speaking in tongues.
Again, during baptism, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This example was seen in the baptism of Saul that after this act, he had the strength to do a lot of great things.
Another period you can receive the Holy Spirit is when you engaged in serious prayers that brings down the power of God. This was what happened in Acts 4:31 ‘and when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the holy ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness’.
Laying of hands can also lead to the pouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We have an example in Acts 9:17 ‘And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, brother Saul the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightiest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost’. This filling of the Holy Spirit came with the gifts of the Holy Spirit which empower Apostle Paul to preached Christ.
How Do You Identify Your Gift Of The Holy Spirit?
Through prayers:
It is the Holy Spirit who can help you to identify your gift. It is good to go back to him in prayers and seek to know the gift you have.
Through services:
When you constantly render a particular services to people effectively and there are testimonies, it should call your attention that you are gifted in that area. For instance, a great prophet said he identified his spiritual gift by observing that whenever he prayed for sick people, they will immediately get well. You can also discover your spiritual gift in the act of service.
How Can One Use The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit?
The uses of the spiritual gifts is summarised in the book of Ephesians 4:12 which reads thus; ‘for perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for edifying of the body of Christ.
You must use it in the context of Ephesians 4:12. That is, for the service of the church. To help the house of God.
How Can One Develop His Gift Of The Holy Spirit?
When you are given something, you must make sure that it grows. Developing your gift is your responsibility because it is a call from God.
These are some of the things you should do in order to develop your gift.
1. Through using it in the right context, in accordance with Ephesians 4:12.
Once you use your gift for the benefits of the body of Christ and for the glory of God, there will be an out pouring of more.
2. Pray ceaselessly.
3. Study and meditate on the work of God.
4. Seek for the guidance and knowledge from the Holy Spirit.
5. Live a fasted life.
6. Study, learn and listen to elders in the same call. Read spiritual materials.
How Many Gifts Of The Holy Spirit Are They According To The Catholic Church?
The Catholic Church believe in the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit as spelled out in Isaiah11:2-3
‘1And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: 2and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears’ (Isaiah 11:2-3, NKJ).
There are Wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.
Wisdom gives us a divine knowledge and understanding of the things of God.
Understanding is the ability to comprehend and accept the words of God as a powerful tool in the life of a true believers.
Counsel explains the ability to guide and direct peoples’ attitude. It is an extraordinary skill that comes with wisdom.
It perfects the cardinal virtue of prudence.
Fortitude is being able to endure, be courageous as concern the things of God and eternal life. You have to be courageous to suffer loss for the sake of Jesus Christ.
It is seen as both a gift and a cardinal virtue according to the Catholic Church.
Knowledge is completely different from wisdom and understanding. This is the ability to have information about certain actions and happenings in our lives.
Piety is being reverent or religious. To be totally devoted to the things of God. It talks about the attitude of sanctity.
The fear of the Lord settles the theological virtue of hope. It is an act of respecting God’s law in order not to offend him. Abstaining from making God angry with us. To be in reverent awe of God.
What are the 9 Gifts of the Holy Spirit?
The 9 Gifts of the Holy Spirit refer to those according to 1Corinthians 12:1-11.
They include; the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, the gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, divers kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues.
These are talents and abilities inspired by the Holy Spirit into the lives of individuals.
Prayer:
May the Holy Spirit fill us with spiritual gifts for the edification of the body of Christ in Jesus’name. Amen.
