Spiritual Gifts are our Equipment

Spiritual Gifts are our Equipment Christian Foundational Truths Lesson 11

Israel 1 Peter 1:10-12 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that {would come} to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven-- things into which angels long to look. (NASB)

Israel • The only scripture to which they could go for answers was the writings of the O.T. prophets. • They had no teachers to whom they could go for any other answers. • They themselves were just as astounded as to what God was doing through the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives as were those around them who witnessed what was happening.

The beginning of the Roman Empire 63 BC 5 BC 26 AD Jesus is born Christ began His ministry Christ came to the House of Judah

Israel • Babylonian empire – 626 BC to 539 BC • The head of gold, the Lion • Medo-Persian empire – 539 BC to 331 BC • The chest and arms of silver, the Bear • Greek-Macedonian empire – 331 BC to 63 BC • The belly and thighs of brass, the Leopard • Roman empire – 63 BC to 70 AD • The legs of iron, the 10 horned beast • Revived Roman empire – From the Rapture of the Church until the Second Advent of Christ. • The feet and toes of clay and iron, the 11th horn Interpretation Error

26 AD 30 AD 2000 BC 70 AD Israel Malachi 3:6 "For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. (NASB) 40 years God, the Spirit 3 ½ years God, the Son 2,000 years God, the Father Diaspora

Pentecost 30 AD • They understood Jewish history. • They may have recalled Ezekiel’s promise of a new spirit. • They may also have recalled Jeremiah’s promise of the New Covenant. • They would have thought they were in the last days of Israel. • They remembered that Jesus had told them He was leaving, and that He would return for them.

Israel John 14:1-3 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, {there} you may be also." (NASB)

Israel Daniel 9:24-27 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end {will come} with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations {will come} one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate." (NASB)

Israel ACTS 2:17-21 "AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' GOD SAYS, "THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT AND THEY SHALL PROPHESY. "AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. "THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. "AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.' (NASB)

Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual Gifts • It is through our gift that we come to know God most intimately and that the world sees most clearly the evidence of God in us. • God wants us to know, to understand and to exercise our gift, because it is only through this that we can achieve the greatness for which He designed us. 1 CORINTHIANS 12:4-6 4 NOW THERE ARE VARIETIES OF GIFTS, BUT THE SAME SPIRIT. 5 AND THERE ARE VARIETIES OF MINISTRIES, AND THE SAME LORD. 6 AND THERE ARE VARIETIES OF EFFECTS, BUT THE SAME GOD WHO WORKS ALL THINGS IN ALL {PERSONS.} (NASB)

Spiritual Gifts • The Greek word translated "gift" is charisma, the root of which is charis, "grace." • Spiritual gifts proceed from the grace of God. • Each gift is as unique as the person to whom it is given, yet all gifts bear the stamp of the Spirit of God. • The Holy Spirit is the giver of the gifts and the motivation behind the exercise of the gifts

Spiritual Gifts 1 CORINTHIANS 12:4 NOW THERE ARE VARIETIES OF GIFTS, BUT THE SAME SPIRIT. GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES THE GIFT.

Spiritual Gifts • In the same way that the gifts are as unique as the recipients, so the out-workings of the gifts are as unique as the lives of the recipients. diakonevw (diakoneoo) “one who executes the commands of another” “servant” “ministry” • The word was used for a servant or table waiter.

Spiritual Gifts 1 CORINTHIANS 12:5 AND THERE ARE VARIETIES OF MINISTRIES, AND THE SAME LORD. GOD THE SON, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, PLACES US IN OUR MINISTRY.

Spiritual Gifts • When we serve in the sphere of the Holy Spirit, there will be results, we will affect people. • "Effects" here is from the Greek word for motivational power. • Energeia - from which we get the word "energy" - is used in the New Testament only of superhuman power. • It is a power that makes us efficient and effective in life, and when we are effective, God the Father is glorified.

Spiritual Gifts 1 CORINTHIANS 12:6 AND THERE ARE VARIETIES OF EFFECTS, BUT THE SAME GOD WHO WORKS ALL THINGS IN ALL {PERSONS.} GOD THE FATHER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RESULTS.

Spiritual Gifts 1Corinthians 12:7 7 but to each one is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. (NASB) e{kasto"(hekastos) “absolutely each and every one” divdwmi(didoomi) a gift, a product of grace. fanevrwsi"(phanerosis) “to reveal, to make clear”

Spiritual Gifts • Our spiritual gift is the channel for the manifestation of God first to us and then to others. • It is as we exercise our gift that God quenches our thirst, revealing Himself to us in ways that He reveals Himself to no one else. • Then He reveals Himself to those around us in ways that He can through no one else.

Scripture Romans 12:6-8 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 Prophecy Word of Wisdom Ministry Word of Knowledge Teacher Faith Exhortation Healing Giving Miracles Ruling Distinguishing of spirits Mercy Tongues Interpretation of Tongues 1 Corinthians 12:28-30 Ephesians 4:11 Apostle Evangelist Helps Pastor/Teacher Governments

Spiritual Gifts Ephesians 3:1-3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. (NASB)

Spiritual Gifts Galatians 1:11-12 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but {I received it} through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (NASB)

Spiritual Gifts 2 Peter 3:15-16 and regard the patience of our Lord {as} salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all {his} letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as {they do} also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. (NASB)

Paul’s first Mission trip Acts 13 Paul in Arabia Galatians 1:17-18 Paul writes Galatians Paul Saved Acts 9 33 AD 36 AD 47 AD 49 AD 30 AD The Age of the Holy Spirit begins Acts 2 Paul in Tarsus and Antioch

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Word of Wisdom Apostle Revelation Gifts: Confirmation Gifts: Special Purpose Gifts: Prophet Word of Knowledge Discerning of Spirits Miracles Healing Faith Speaking in Tongues Interpretation of Tongues

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Apostle • Christ appointed twelve Apostles to Israel and only one Apostle to the gentiles. • The Greek word is APOSTOLOS. • Each of the meanings pointed to someone with command responsibility. • The highest of all these temporary spiritual gifts was apostleship.

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Apostle • It was designed for two purposes. • The formation of the canon of Scripture, the New Testament. • Leadership in the pre-canon period of the Age of the Holy Spirit.

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Prophet • Old Testament prophets were national leaders, especially in times of crisis. In times of prosperity, he was the final authority regarding God's word. • Those with the gift of prophecy in the age of the Holy Spirit were not national leaders; • they only functioned within the realm of the local churches.

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Prophet • The gift of prophecy included a message of divine guidance or a warning of judgment, or a prediction about the immediate future. • Because of the tremendous amount of eschatology in the New Testament epistles, it is quite obvious that the writers who were apostles also had the gift of prophecy. • Everything God wants man to know about the future is now written in the completed Canon of Scripture.

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Word of Knowledge • The person with this gift had instant understanding of how to live as a believer in Jesus in a specific circumstance for the moment. • This was a spiritual gift whereby the believer knew a truth having never learned the truth through study since at that time there was no New Testament canon in writing to study. • This knowledge was provided directly by God the Holy Spirit who inserted previously unknown truth into the person's mentality as full knowledge.

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Word of Wisdom • This gift accompanied the gift of knowledge, as the ability to explain and apply the mystery truth taught by the gift of knowledge. • So some taught the mystery truth; others taught the application of that truth. • Today, wisdom comes with spiritual adulthood gained only by the daily intake and application of the Word of God. • No believer has wisdom before reaching the first level of spiritual adulthood we have called ‘spiritual self-esteem.’

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Miracles • The definition of a miracle is the supernatural ability to change the very nature of something. • This temporary spiritual gift was designed to authenticate and certify communication gifts during the apostolic age. • The person who had a communication gift could perform a miracle as he desired as the sign that he was from God. • Today confirmation of the messenger and the message is provided by the completed Word of God.

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Miracles • The greatest miracle in all of history is the power of the Word of God to transform the thinking of the believer in order to become exactly like the humanity of Jesus Christ. • People tended to lean on miracles during the apostolic age, resulting in terrible apostasy. • While no believer today has the gift of miracles, God still performs miracles if He chooses to do so. • But they are not performed by any human through a spiritual gift.

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Healing • Healing was designed to focus attention on the message of communicators before the New Testament was completed and circulated. • Miracles authenticated the person; healing certified the message. • Healing as a spiritual gift does not exist today, • Healing is not a question of God's power. • Healing is not even a matter of someone's faith. Healing is the wisdom of God's sovereign will in individual situations.

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Discerning of spirits • This was the spiritual gift for the detection of false doctrine. • The pre-canon gift that provided the ability to know whether a person who professed to be a spokesperson for God was a true spokesperson or a false spokesperson. • With the completion of the canon of Scripture, this gift was no longer necessary, since the New Testament contains true doctrine and thereby exposes false teachers and false doctrine.

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Faith • Faith requires an object. • The object of faith for salvation is Jesus Christ. • Since salvation is eternal and can therefore never be lost, the object of faith for the believer changes. • The object of faith for the believer is the Word of God.

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Tongues The purpose of tongues was to get the attention of unbelieving Israel from Pentecost 30 AD until the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem and the dispersion of Israel throughout the known world at that time in 70 AD. A more detailed discussion of the gift of Tongues is coming up in our study. • Interpretation of tongues The supernatural ability to interpret a tongues message for a group who heard a message delivered in tongues.

Temporary Spiritual Gifts Word of Wisdom Apostle Revelation Gifts: Confirmation Gifts: Special Purpose Gifts: Prophet Word of Knowledge Discerning of Spirits Miracles Healing Faith Speaking in Tongues Interpretation of Tongues

Temporary Spiritual Gifts 1 Corinthians 13:8 Love never fails; but if {there are gifts of} prophecy, they will be done away; if {there are} tongues, they will cease; if {there is} knowledge, it will be done away. (NASB)

Why Tongues Ceasedin 70 AD

Why tongues ceased in 70 a.d. 1 Corinthians 13:8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. • The spiritual gift of tongues ceased in 70 A.D. and everything that is being called tongues, today, is no more than “gibberish,and is a counterfeit of the original spiritual gift.

Why tongues ceased in 70 a.d. • To present the truth about the biblical gift of tongues. • To expose the modern-day "tongues experience" as a counterfeit of the original spiritual gift. • To expose the shallowness of Bible knowledge regarding the spiritual gift that the modern-day “tongues speaker” claims to possess. • To assist the serious Bible student in his/her search for truth on the subject of tongues. • To send a warning to the spiritually naive and those who lack knowledge of the Word of God.

What is Truth?

Truth • “Where does it say that in the Bible?” • “The Bible says, ‘……….’ ” • “If God says it, I believe it!” “If God did not say it, I will not believer it!”

Lewis Sperry Chafer Of the two methods of dealing with the truth of God’s Word—deduction, by which a theme is expanded into its details of expression, a method belonging largely to the sermonic field, and induction, by which various declarations upon a subject are reduced to one harmonious and all-inclusive statement—induction is distinctly the theological method. Chafer, L. S. (1993). Systematic theology. Originally published: Dallas, Tex. : Dallas Seminary Press, 1947-1948. (Vol. 1, Page 8). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.

Lewis Sperry Chafer Inductions are either imperfect or perfect. Imperfect inductions result when some but not all the teachings of the Scripture are made the basis of a doctrinal statement. A perfect induction is formed when all the teachings of the Scripture, according to their precise meaning, are made the basis of a doctrinal statement. Chafer, L. S. (1993). Systematic theology. Originally published: Dallas, Tex. : Dallas Seminary Press, 1947-1948. (Vol. 1, Page 8). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.

Lewis Sperry Chafer It is evident that to finite minds the perfect induction is more or less ideal, and the fact that varying and imperfect inductions are secured accounts, in some measure, for the wide divergence in doctrinal belief among men of equal sincerity. Chafer, L. S. (1993). Systematic theology. Originally published: Dallas, Tex. : Dallas Seminary Press, 1947-1948. (Vol. 1, Page 8). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.

Inductive Reasoning

Truth

Spiritual Gifts are our Equipment