Spiritual Gift: Apostleship

I will get straight to what I believe, from studying the text, about apostleship. I have a hard time seeing this gift being used or given today. However, I believe every other spiritual gift is given or exercised today, so why not this one? I will do my best to answer that without writing a bunch of pages.

The Greek word for apostle is apostolos. This means it is someone sent forth with a message, to delegate, or with orders. This word is always in the passive, meaning apostles had no initiative but were instead put in this position (Matthew 10:1; Romans 1:1). Among the lists of Spiritual Gifts in the New Testament, Apostleship shows up only in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11 and both times seem to be types of leadership roles.

Paul constantly called himself an apostle (1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1, 11:13; Gal. 1:1, Eph. 1:1), but did it end with him? In 2 Corinthians 8:23, Paul calls some of the congregation apostolos. He also calls Epaphroditus an apostolos, in his place, in Philippians 2:25. It seems to me that apostle and evangelist (tomorrow's spiritual gift) are similar because they both deliver a message, although tomorrow you will see one major difference in definitions of the two.

So, whether or not apostleship is for today, I don't know. Some would say it is like leadership or the ability to plant churches. However, if we stay in the text we see that it is usually a messenger and all, except 3 (Philippians 2:25; 2 Cor. 8:23; and Acts 1:26), were instituted by Christ himself.

Spiritual Gift: Prophecy

The spiritual gift of prophecy is found in 4 areas of the Bible: Romans 12:6, 1 Corinthians 12:10, 1 Corinthians 12:28, and Ephesians 4:11. Prophecy is the God-given ability to receive direct revelation from God, proclaim the revelation for the encouragement of the body, and even some prophets can predict the future (from God). Throughout the Old Testament, we have a ton of prophetic books...from Jeremiah to Malachi.

God used these prophets to warn Israel of future destruction, blessing, and covenants. For some of the bigger and clearer example of prophecy, read Isaiah 52:12-53:12; Jeremiah 31:1-40; Psalm 22; these are just a few among MANY!! We also see examples prophecy in the New Teastament: Acts 21:11; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21; and all throughout 1 Corinthians 12-14.

So what about today? Do we see prophecy still, and if so, what is the prophets purpose? Once again, I believe all the gifts are for today but alot of churches don't encourage them. In Romans, Paul instructs prophets to only prophecy when the Holy Spirit is leading or directing them to do so. Also, in Ephesians 4:11-12 prophets are called to equip or train others in the Church (alongside the teachers, evangelists, apostles, and shepherds), so the Church can do work for the ministry. That's right...everyone should be doing work for the ministry!!!

If you have the gift of prophecy, you should be 1)Using it 2)Using it when led by the Holy Spirit 3) Using it for the encouragement of the church.

Spiritual Gift: Ability to distinguish between spirits

This spiritual gift is designed to distinguish demons from the Holy Spirit. I sat here for a while this morning thinking through this. I believe this is a gift that needs to be used and WOULD encourage the Church. So many times, myself included, have felt led towards a conclusion about a certain situation. If not well disciplined in waiting for conformation from the Holy Spirit, I think we can be misled into the plans of Satan and his demons.

The Greek words for distinguish and spirits are diakriseis and pneumaton. Some scholars believe that this means to interpret revelation, like prophecy. However, more bible students would conclude that it means to distinguish between the Holy Spirit and demons.

Remember in Exodus 7:10-12 when Moses was doing miraculous signs by the Spirit, then Pharaoh's wisemen and magicians would do the same tricks. Moses was able to distinguish between spirits here. Pharaoh was hard hearted and was being led by powers of evil. Again, in Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus says that many peeps would come performing miracles and casting out demons in his name...but Jesus says he never knew them. How scary is this? How many people say daily that they feel God is doing something huge? How do we know it is Him? I am not trying to scare you, but am hoping I lead you more into a discipline of Scripture reading and prayer, to help discern between spirits.

Let's pray that God would show people in the Church who has this gift, or develop it in someone who doesn't know they have it...for the encouragement of the body and above all, the glory of God!! Peace and grace.

Spiritual Gift: Utterance of wisdom

The only place in Scripture that the spiritual gift of wisdom is located is 1 Corinthians 12:8. It says this: For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit.

Like the other spiritual gifts, wisdom is given by the Holy Spirit. It is not a natural wisdom, but an imparted gift from the Spirit for the encouragement of the Church. According to Frank Thielman, Ph.D. of Divinity at Duke University (ESV Study Bible), this is the only place in Scripture Paul uses these specific Greek words together: logos sophias and logos gnoseos. These mean the speaking or words of divine or mysterious things and the speaking or words of more advanced knowledge.

Since we know Paul uses a separate term for prophecy (propheteia), we could believe that Paul is explaining the gift as an ability to speak wisely or with knowledge into a hard to understand or discerning situation.

D.A. Carson says in his commentary on 1 Cor. 12:8 "In the Old Testament, wisdom was split into two approaches: 1) A practical way of telling believers how to live their lives under the fear of God 2) Wisdom was more theoretical and doctrinal explained through teaching."

We must realize the verse in context and how it is grouped with other spiritual gifts, with the purpose of encouraging the Church. If you have this gift, which is a temporary gift that comes and goes, feel free to comment and encourage myself and others. Peace and grace!

Spiritual Gift: Teaching

I decided to add an extra day to the spiritual gifts series. I will only do teaching today and add shepherding to August 4th.

In the American church, a lot of "pastors" have limited themselves by fulfilling the role of pastor and teacher. Some might view these as the same spiritual gift, but scripture would say different. Now, people can have both gifts but the problem arises when a person only has one gift and tries to fulfill both.

The spiritual gift of teaching is the God-given ability and desire to study and explain the truths of Scripture. The person with this gift is usually very passionate about the scriptures but has an ability to make them clear and understandable to others. One of the clearest examples of this is Acts 7, please read this chapter. Also, read Matthew 5-7; 24-25; Acts 18:11; 19:8-10; and 18:24-28.

I would like to look at one verse specifically from above, Acts 18:11. It says Paul stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. Key point: Paul made sure that the people knew the scriptures. Teaching God's word is not for the encouragement of the teacher (although it should bring tremendous joy to study it), and should not be a tool to draw attention to himself. Teaching is to be used for the encouragement of the Church! Teaching should not be limited to a man standing on stage, it should be an investment of those in the Church.

Caution: Teaching can cause pride (1 Corinthians 8:1; 13:1-3). It can also cause the teacher an over-emphasis on their importance in the Church. If you have the gift of teaching, seek opportunities to teach in youth ministry, small groups, be a student of other teachers, go to seminary, do what is necessary to maximize your gift.

Spiritual Gift: Serving

The spiritual gift of serving is another much-needed gift in the church. I am not talking about those who serve and do what they can until they get burned out, but those who truly have the gift of service. One thing I have not mentioned throughout this series is the effect a spiritual gift will have on you when exercised properly. It should give you maximum effectiveness and minimum fatigue. The same applies with serving, it should encourage the body and get you all hyped up like a 5 year old drinking Monster energy drinks and watching Transformers.

The Greek word for serving is diakanon (Romans 12:7). This means to serve or minister, especially of those who execute the commands of others. Service can be displayed as those serving by using other spiritual gifts i.e. teacher, pastor, evangelist, prophet, elder, deacon, etc. Serving can also be seen as meeting the needs of others in the Church; like contributing help to the meeting of needs like collecting and distributing charity for believers or meeting individual needs of the Church.

A great example of service for us believers should be first and foremost Philippians 2:5-11. That is the mind of humility we should all have when serving one another, but especially those with the gift of serving. A good example of this played out is in 1 Corinthians 16:15-18, read it. The last thing I would like to address is more of a warning. I have seen a lot of "serving" in the church plant I have been involved in and have seen a scary effect come from serving, even within myself sometimes. Serving can ultimately lead to bitterness when your serving is not recognized. If this is the case, check yourself and make sure you know what your spiritual gift is. If serving is not bringing effectiveness and is wearing you out, meet with your church leaders and start serving where you are spiritually gifted.

Spiritual Gift: Exhortation

The spiritual gift of exhortation is a much-needed gift in the church, especially among the men. Women have the natural gift of encouragement and I believe the Lord uses those more accepting of it to give the gift of exhortation. In the Greek, exhortation means “a calling of someone alongside to help. Tyndale dictionary says that the same Greek word may include the idea of consoling and comforting, depending on the context.

In Luke 3:7-18, we see exhortation in the context of inciting or spurring someone on. John the Baptist is exhorting them to repent and be baptized, to bear fruit, share their food and clothes with the poor, and to be happy and content with their current wages. John was exhorting them to be more Christ-like which probably was encouraging to all present further populating the Kingdom of Heaven.

As I have reiterated throughout this series, spiritual gifts are for the encouragement of the Church, exhortation is no different (Romans 12:8). Exhortation can be one of the results of the gift of prophecy being used right )1 Corinthians 14:3;31). In 1 Timothy 4:13 we can also see the gift of teaching, if used properly, can bring exhortation.

As far as the consoling and comforting context. we should look to  2 Corinthians 1:3-7. In this passage it is clear that God comforts his kids in times of suffering, and those with the gift of exhortation should be doing the same to suffering believers. Also, Acts 15:31 demonstrates the clear exhortation that took place at the council in Jerusalem.

So, we see that exhortation can take place through different spiritual gifts. The gift of exhortation can be used to too incite somebody on to do something that will produce spiritual maturity, or exhortation can be seen through the consoling or comforting of someone in the Church that needs it.