The gifts of the Holy Spirit were releases when Jesus returned to Heaven. To identify and grow in the gifting given to us, we must begin with some basic understanding.
Holy Spirit Gifts
The best explanation of the gifts comes through the apostle Paul, who writes about them in 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
Nine gifts are listed in this passage: words of wisdom and knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous power, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in and interpreting different tongues.
Gifting Overview
Let’s take a brief look at what each gift entails.
Message of Wisdom: Most people call this gift a word of wisdom. To better understand, I used the NIV concordance, which only works if I use the NIV scriptures. The NIV calls this a “message” instead of a “word.”
The word message comes from the Greek word logos. Logos means word, spoken or written, often focusing on the content of a communication. Wisdom is the word Sophia in Greek. It signifies wisdom that is either secular or divine and works in conjunction with Sophos, which means wise, expert, or skilled. In other words, a message of wisdom is a spoken or written word that comes from an experienced person that originated from Holy Spirit
Message of Knowledge: Many people call it a word of knowledge, and again, the word is logos. Strong defines knowledge as gnosis, which means knowledge and understanding. If we put the two words together, the definition is; a spoken or written word that comes through a person’s understanding. It is essential to recognize that this understanding is given to someone by Holy Spirit, which is why it is on the gift list!
Faith: The word faith comes from the Greek word “pistis” which means belief, trust, with an implication that actions based on that trust may follow.
Gifts of Healing: There are different ways healing works as this scripture says gifts – notice it is plural? We will discuss this more in-depth in another blog.
Miraculous Powers: It means exactly what you expect it to mean! According to the Farlex online dictionary, it is an event contrary to the established laws of nature and attributed to a supernatural cause or an extraordinary occurrence that surpasses all known human powers or natural forces and is ascribed to a divine or supernatural cause, especially God.
Prophecy: In this passage, the word prophecy is propheteia which means: an inspired message, sometimes encouraging obedience to God, sometimes proclaiming the future as a warning to preparedness and continued obedience.
Distinguishing Between the Spirits: This gift is also known as the gift of discernment. Distinguishing comes from the word diakrisis, which means differentiation or passing judgment. This gift helps the person see what is going on in a situation even when it’s not apparent.
Different Kinds of Tongues: The word tongues come from the Greek word glossa, which means tongue, language, and in this case, it refers to the supernatural gift of tongues. In other words, you can speak a language you have no connection to.
The Interpretation of Tongues: Interpretation comes from the word hermeneia, which means translation, to translate meaning from one language to another. In the NT a gift of the Spirit is necessary for understanding the gift of tongues when given in an assembly.
Brief Blog!
I know this is a short blog and I realize there may be a lot of questions regarding these gifts. Therefore, the following several blogs will be about these gifts and how they operated in the Old Testament, New Testament, and today.
Until next time under the palm, be blessed!
