Gifts Of The Spirit

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Dr. Frederick K.C. Price



Many people make the mistake of lumping together speaking with tongues with the gift of divers kinds of tongues, one of the nine gifts of the Spirit recorded in 1 Corinthians 12. They are not the same manifestation; yet some people and churches say that speaking with tongues and the gift of tongues are one and the same, and use that as an excuse to get out of doing what the Word of God declares.

You need to be careful about what translation of the Bible you read, because many versions of the Bible were translated by people who do not believe in speaking with tongues, or that speaking with tongues is for every Believer. For example, here is how 1 Corinthians 14:2 is translated in The Living Bible:

But if your gift is that of being able to "speak in tongues"....

The way this verse is translated is incorrect, because when you are filled with the Spirit and speak with other tongues, it is not the gift of tongues. The translator is injecting a theological point of view to show that since not everyone has the same gift, not everyone has to speak with tongues. It can seem like a very clever argument to people who are not well-versed in the Word of God.

Let me show you where all the confusion has come from on this point. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Paul writes:

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Paul is talking here about the gift of different or divers kinds of tongues. The gift of tongues is for public assembly, and should always be accompanied by the companion gift of interpretation of tongues. The rare exception to this is when God speaks to an individual through the person doing the speaking. In other words, one person will speak with the gift of tongues, but to the person to whom the message is addressed, it will be in a language he or she will understand.

Notice also that Paul says, "To one is given the word of wisdom." That means the word of wisdom is not given to everyone. Neither is any of the other gifts of the Spirit, including the gift of divers kinds of tongues.

Now read 1 Corinthians 12:28:

And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.

What Paul is describing in this verse are the ministry gifts. There is another rendering of these gifts in the fourth chapter of Ephesians, and if you compare the lists in both of these scriptures, you will find they are the same, with one notable exception.

Notice, Paul starts out by saying apostles. Apostles are people, and they are a ministry gift. Then he says prophets. Prophets are people. Next, he says teachers, and teachers are people. But then Paul says miracles, gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. These are not people. However, they are tools that equip the people to stand in the offices of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher.

The gifts of the Spirit are not for everyone in the Body of Christ. They are actually for the ministry gifts God places in the Church. Nevertheless, every person in the Body of Christ who is filled with the Spirit may on occasion be used by the Spirit in any one of the manifestations of these nine gifts.

Speaking with tongues, on the other hand, is for your personal spiritual enrichment. It does not need an interpretation like the gift of tongues does, because it is simply you speaking to God. An easy way to remember the difference between speaking with tongues and the gift of tongues is that speaking with tongues is man talking to God; it goes from earth to heaven. The gift of tongues, on the other hand, comes from heaven to earth, because it is God speaking through man to other men.

The Best Gift

Alan Riley

If you travel in the mountains of North Georgia, you might pass by a church with the unusual name of Dewberry Baptist Church #2. If you drive on a little while longer, you will come upon another church called Dewberry Baptist Church. When I first encountered these two churches years ago, I asked a friend of mine who was the resident Baptist historian for North Georgia about it. His face lit up. "Oh, that's a great story. That church split over a chicken leg."

Well, now I was hooked. I had to hear the rest of the story. It is, as they say, a doozy! It seems that in the mid-1800s a controversy arose in the congregation of Dewberry Baptist Church about the doctrine of predestination. About half of the congregation had strong feelings about pro-predestination and the other half had very strong anti-predestination beliefs. At the height of the controversy, the two chief proponents - or antagonists might be a better description - of the two points of view were sitting across from each other at a covered dish dinner. At some point in the meal the non-predestination ringleader turned to the predestination ringleader and said, "You mean to tell me that before the beginning of time I it was predetermined that I was to eat this drumstick?" "Yes, brother, you were" replied the other.

The non-predestination leader then said, "HA!", threw the chicken leg across the room and walked out. About half of the church walked out with him. They started a new church, but did not want to give up the church name to "those people," so they named their new church Dewberry Baptist Church #2.

Today, many years later, the controversy is long forgotten, and the two churches get along wonderfully.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is for us to allow ourselves to get sidetracked by things that aren't even a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of eternal consequences? We all can tell horror stories that we have either experienced personally or have heard from someone who was there about churches splitting apart over the color of carpet, the shape of the chandeliers, the style of music, the pastor's salary, building programs, or any number of things that in the context of eternity are utterly meaningless.

This is exactly what motivated the Apostle Paul to write one of the most, if not the most beautiful passages in the entire Bible: I Corinthians 13. We know these four paragraphs of Paul's letter as "the love chapter," but many people don't realize the context in which it is placed. The gist of I Corinthians 13 is that if we as followers of Jesus Christ do not have love as our overarching goal, aim and passion, then we are worthless to the world and to the Kingdom.

The Corinthian Church had many problems, and one of them was that people were using the gifts of the Spirit, and tongues in particular as some sort of spiritual merit badge. Those who exercised the gift of tongues felt they were more spiritual than others, which apparently caused other people to seek earnestly after that gift so they, too would be considered spiritual. In chapter 12, Paul states clearly that God gives a variety of spiritual gifts to people so the church can function well. Just as the eye can't say to the hand, "I don't need you" we cannot say that one gift is more important, or spiritual than another.

At the end of chapter 12, Paul says, "I will show you a more excellent way." His next paragraph (what we know as Chapter 13) begins with, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal..."

Here is what Paul is saying to you and me in those four brief paragraphs: All of the things that we would use to boast of our spirituality or advance the Kingdom are meaningless and worthless unless love rules our lives and our actions!

Want to be a spiritual giant? Let God's love consume you and guide everything that you do. See the world - and the church - through the eyes of Jesus and with the heart of God the Father. Love others as you are loved.

That is the most excellent way.

Celebrating The Gift Of The Spirit

Bishop Jim Swilley


But to each one is given the manifestation of the [Holy] Spirit [the evidence, the spiritual illumination of the Spirit] for good and profit. To one is given in and through the [Holy] Spirit [the power to speak] a message of wisdom, and to another [the power to express] a word of knowledge and understanding according to the same [Holy] Spirit; to another [wonder-working] faith by the same [Holy] Spirit, to another the extraordinary powers of healing by the one Spirit; to another the working of miracles, to another prophetic insight (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose); to another the ability to discern and distinguish between [the utterances of true] spirits [and false ones], to another various kinds of [unknown] tongues, to another the ability to interpret [such] tongues. All these [gifts, achievements, abilities] are inspired and brought to pass by one and the same [Holy] Spirit, Who apportions to each person individually [exactly] as He chooses. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11, AMP)

The Gifts of the Spirit are:

G – od’s grace… the Gifts or Graces of the Holy Spirit…the “Charismata”…are available to us…

I – nfinite inspiration… the God-breathed unction inspires us to action and to good works…

F – ree flow… the Wind blows where it wills…in Him we live, and in Him we MOVE!...

T – imeless treasures… the Spiritual Gifts reveal the “I AM”…the God Who is in the NOW…

S – upernatural signs... “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord”…


O – mnipresent opportunity… God’s enabling Spirit can go anywhere…do anything…

F – irst fruits... Oh, what a foretaste of Glory Divine!...the Former and Latter Rain together…

T – ranscendant talents… we accomplish more in the Spirit than we ever could in the flesh…

H – eavenly help… “But you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you”…

E – cclesiastical equipping… the Gifts bring life and give effectiveness to the Church…


S – pecial services… unique abilities… the Working of Miracles, Gifts of Healing, Gift of Faith…

P – entecostal power… “you shall be My witness…to the uttermost parts of the earth”…

I – nsightful information… Speaking with Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Prophecy…

R – eal revelation… the Word of Knowledge, the Word of Wisdom, the Discerning of Spirits…

I – nvaluable instruction… Helper/Teacher…the Spirit of Truth will lead you into all truth…

T – ransformational truth… Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that PROCEEDS (present tense) out of the mouth of God. The Gifts of the Spirit connect us with the “proceeding” Word of God.

A loose definition of the Greek word for “word” reveals that the Logos is what God has said, the Rhema is what God is saying. God is speaking IN THE NOW through the Gifts of the Spirit, and those gifts are available to every believer!

The Spiritual Gifts are for you!

The Comforter Has Come

Alan Riley

In the 13th and 14th chapters of John's Gospel, Jesus attends to some important last things before He goes out to the Garden of Gethsemane and from there to the cross. Chapter 13 begins with the statement that Jesus knew the hour had come for him to leave this world and return to His Father. So, in light of that, what He did and said next were of the utmost importance.

The first thing he did was to wash the disciples feet, to reinforce the message to them that He - the Son of God - came as a humble servant and they needed to do and be the same. He then predicted His betrayal by Judas and His denial by Peter. The words from Jesus saying He would be betrayed by one of them, denied by another and put to death were understandably distressing to the disciples. So He reassured them with the beatiful words that begin Chapter 14: "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in Me." (John 14:1, NLT).

Jesus went on to tell the disciples that they would do even greater works than He had done during His earthly ministry. Then told them that when He went away, He would send the Holy Spirit to them, Who would teach them all things and remind them of what Jesus had told them. He told them He was leaving them a gift - His peace, which is not peace that the world gives but the peace of God.

Some versions of the Bible translate the Greek word Paraclete - used here for the Holy Spirit - as "Comforter." Others translate it as "Helper." Still others as "Counselor" or "Advocate." Which one is correct? All of them. All of these titles describe the ministry of the Holy Spirit to a believer.

Sponsor AdHe is our Comforter. When our hearts are heavy and we don't even know how to pray or what to pray for, the Bible says that the Holy Spirit comes along side us. "If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves." (Romans 8:26-27, The Message)

He is our Helper. In Romans 8:26, Paul says that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. Writing to the Philippians he says, "I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance." (Phil 1:19, NIV) Writing to his beloved son in the ministry, Timothy, Paul said, "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you - guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." (2 Tim 1:14, NIV). The Holy Spirit help us to manifest the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives, enabling us to be more like Jesus.

He is our Counselor and Advocate. This word brings to mind a defense attorney who is pleading our case before a judge, or one who strengthens and fortifies us. Or one who guides us and advises us. "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26 NIV)

It is ironic and sad that one of the biggest, if not the biggest rifts in the Body of Christ in our day is over the ministry of the Holy Spirit, specifically over the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. Whatever your feelings on the subject, you will join me in recognizing that division in the Body of Christ was certainly not God's intention when He sent the Holy Spirit to us.

No matter which side of the theological street you live on, all of us can agree that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to comfort, help, teach and counsel us as we strive to become more like Jesus.