The Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Part 1
Benny
Hinn
“I love studying about the Holy Spirit and the
spiritual gifts, for we live in such a changing world and we, as believers,
need the power and gifts of God in our lives now more than ever.”
Wherever I go, I see Christians who are spiritually
hungry and want to live a victorious, overcoming life in Christ. Yet, they
remain powerless because they don’t understand how to appropriate God’s power.
It’s time for that to change!
Just before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He said, “But ye shall
receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…” (Acts
1:8).
This
promise of power comes after the Holy Spirit visits your life, empowering you
to witness, strengthening your Christian walk, and equipping you for Christian
service to defeat the enemy.
As our lives
are empowered by the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts or new abilities called the
“Gifts of the Holy Spirit” enable you and me to do the Lord’s work in new and
powerful ways.
Consider:
• The Father desires that we understand spiritual
gifts. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not
have you ignorant” (1 Corinthians 12:1). Remember, the devil’s
success is dependent upon our ignorance. When
you understand how to stir up these spiritual gifts in your life, you will have
power and authority over the enemy.
• The Father has provided these gifts to profit His
children. “But the manifestation of the
Spirit,” the Apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:7, “is given to every man to profit withal.” It’s God’s will that we not lack any spiritual gift (1 Corinthians
1:5-7).
• Our Father wants us to pursue the gifts that He
has provided. Paul wrote, “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto
you a more excellent way” (1
Corinthians 12:31). Paul’s words encourage us to seek the gifts, which are
available to each of us and necessary for our spiritual success. Now it is up to you and me to understand
these gifts and stir them up.
Let’s get into the Word about these gifts!
Three
Groups of Gifts
Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, lists each of the
nine gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. The nine gifts can be divided into three
groups:
Revelation
gifts
Vocal gifts
Power gifts
Revelation gifts include the Word of wisdom, the Word
of knowledge, and discerning of spirits.
Vocal gifts are tongues, interpretation of tongues,
and prophecy.
Power gifts include faith, healings, and the working
of miracles.
Let me share a brief overview of each one. In Part 1
of this teaching, I’ll go through the three Revelation gifts and the first
Vocal gift, then continue with the rest in Part 2.
And as we go through these, I encourage you to take
time to study each more deeply on your own and stir them up in your life.
Revelation
Gift 1: Word of
Wisdom—the application of knowledge
We experience the Word of wisdom when the Holy
Spirit gives us supernatural wisdom or understanding through His Word in
certain situations.
When Jesus was faced with temptation in the
wilderness, He ignored what satan attempted to offer and responded by quoting
the Word of God.
Eve, on the other hand, failed to confront the
devil’s lies and was deceived.
You can use
the Word of wisdom to defeat the purposes of the enemy by knowing how to apply
the Word; at times, it can mean the difference between life and death.
In fact, the Word of wisdom is essential
in the operation of all the other gifts, so it is important to seek this gift.
Pray for this gift. Ask God to saturate your life with it, and as you study Scripture, the
Lord will begin to give you the Word of wisdom to illuminate your
understanding.
Revelation
Gift 2: Word of
Knowledge—receiving facts supernaturally by the Spirit
The Word of knowledge is something that couldn’t
possibly be known without the Holy Spirit’s prompting. There are numerous
examples throughout Scripture where the Word of knowledge is given by the
Spirit with specific information concerning a need or problem. (An example is
in 2 Kings 5, when Elisha the prophet knew that Gehazi had lied to Naaman the
leper).
Ananias and Sapphira pretended to sell their land
and give all to God’s work, but Peter received a Word of knowledge that allowed
him to boldly ask, “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy
Ghost?” (Acts 5:3).
A
Word of knowledge can be personal or may be given for you to share with others.
When you receive it, you should immediately begin praying for God’s wisdom to
share or apply this Word.
Revelation
Gift 3: Discerning
of Spirits—perceiving the source of a manifestation
The last of
the three Revelation gifts helps you perceive whether a spiritual manifestation
is from God, man, or the devil.
It was the discerning of spirits that helped the
Apostle Peter understand the vision spoken of in Acts 10, which in turn led to
evangelism among the Gentiles, for he said, “Of
a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.”
It was the gift of discerning of spirits that led
Paul to cast the evil spirit out of a fortune teller who seemingly spoke all
the right words saying, “I command thee in the Name of Jesus Christ to come out
of her” (Acts 8:23).
We’re in a battle, and the enemy is
cunning. Sometimes, evil masquerades as good. Therefore, we must be watchful
with our supernatural senses, exercising the Revelation gift of discernment
along with wisdom and knowledge.
Vocal
Gifts 1: Tongues—three
supernatural means of communication
There is some confusion about the first of the vocal
gifts because there are actually three different kinds of tongues:
• Tongues unto God (“For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue
speaketh not unto men, but unto God”—1 Corinthians 14:2).
• Tongues as a sign to the unbeliever (Acts 2 gives
the account of people who marveled at hearing their own native tongue).
• Tongues which edify the body of believers (“For greater is
he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that
the church may receive edifying”—1 Corinthians 14:5).
There is a place for each kind. Paul was certainly
not dismissing the value of tongues, for he wrote, “I would that ye all spake with tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:5) and “forbid not to speak with tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:39). He even wrote, “I thank my God,
I speak with tongues more than ye all” (1 Corinthians 14:18).
This gift is critical for intercession
and spiritual warfare. It’s a powerful entranceway to
deep, intimate fellowship with the Savior. Without
tongues, you overlook one of the most special of all the gifts of the Holy
Spirit.
(We will continue this study of the remaining two
Vocal gifts and the three Power gifts in Part 2).
All
Nine Gifts Needed Now
The enemy has always hated the gifts,
for they strangle his effectiveness. These gifts are not only essential to
doing God’s work, but stirring up and releasing the gifts brings divine,
scriptural prosperity in all areas of life.
We cannot do any part of God’s work
effectively without the gifts. The Holy Spirit uses them to produce eternal
fruit.
If a time ever existed when the gifts of the Holy
Spirit are essential for victorious Christian living, it is now!