"God works in all of us in everything we do."
1 Cor 12:6
Spiritual Gifts: 1 Cor 12:8-10
This is my Modern Interpretation of the Gifts of the Spirit
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I feel that there is some disconnect when it comes to our understanding of the Gifts of the Spirit. They can be hard to understand, especially for new believers, and even when we do understand, it is hard to relate them to our lives.
My interpretation is straight from my heart, with little research, so flaws will be found, but this is something that helps me and maybe will help others.
I also feel that this interpretation helps take the gifts out of the church exclusive, and into the world throughout; which is what I feel God intended--1 Cor 12:6
Gift: ability to speak with wisdom = ability to give counsel.
Speaking with wisdom is giving people right direction in their lives based on what we know. We gain wisdom through our life experiences, taking the lessons that we have learnt with us, passing them on to others. This is speaking with wisdom. This is something that anyone can do, since we all experience life, but God has gifted specific people with the ability to channel wisdom and help other people. This Gift of the Spirit points specifically to counselors. This could be a Christian counselor or a psychiatrist who is a Christian . Therefore this gift can be used inside and outside of the church.
Gift: ability to speak knowledge = ability to teach.
We gain knowledge through learning; we learn from teachers. This is our system to knowledge. Now, we don't learn everything from teachers. For example, we can do our own research and learn something on our own, especially with the internet. However, someone had to teach us how to use a computer and how to research.
God has gifted specific people with the ability to take knowledge and teach it to others. This can be a pastor who teaches the Bible from the pulpit or a 10th grade teacher, who is a Christian, teaching algebra to teenagers. Both are anointed with the gift of teaching.
Gift: healing and power to do miracles = medicine and science
This is a tricky one, because I know that not everyone who is healed is healed by medicine and science, and miracles come directly from God. I know this personally. My brother in 1997 joined the Marine Corps. A couple of months into training, my brother had an allergic reaction to the vaccinations he was given. After a few days of sickness he was paralyzed from the chest down. Doctors said he would never walk again, and at best he would have to live out his life in a wheelchair. After much prayer and faith, my brother walked out of the hospital 4 months later. Since he has worked to a near full recovery. Doctors did not help my brother, God did!
Even though I do believe with all my heart that medicine and science did not heal my brother, I also believe that God uses his believers within these fields for His purpose of healing and miracles.
People who are able to comprehend the complexity of transplants, save peoples lives. People who are able to understand the mechanisms of our earth can save thousands of lives. I believe that God has a huge hand in medicine and science, and that doctors and scientists who are devoted to HIM have the ability to heal people and the power to do miracles.
I believe that my brother is one of these people. Since his recovery, my brother has become a registered nurse and is worked full time as someone who saves peoples lives.
Gift: Faith = simple trust
Someone who has simple trust is someone who just believes, without question. Some people have this ability. They don't need to ask questions, and they rarely have doubt. These people stand as reminders to those who this does not come easy for. They stand as a reminder that sometimes all we need is simple trust, or faith like a child.
And children are who I feel are the CONSTANT reminder of faith in the church and in the world.
Children have this gift mastered and adults have a lot to learn from these little reminders.
God has gifted children with simple trust.
Gift: Prophecy = Visionary + Dream Releaser
We don't often see Biblical prophets nowadays. I actually believe that the Old Testament Biblical prophet model is irrelevant for us because Jesus opened the door for God to talk straight to every believer with his death on the cross. I believe that every believer has this form of prophecy; and by this I mean the ability to hear God.
Now I see a different twist on prophet. I see a modern day prophet as someone who is future minded. Someone who can raise up, encourage, and support people in their futures. I see them as a visionary. Someone who dreams big and has great optimism about what God is going to do. Then they are dream releaser's. They help people find God's calling, God's future, for them and then do everything in their power to support that person and their purpose. I know that God has gifted people the ability to raise up others and send them on their way fully equipped. You see these people in churches, as the ones who help other believers find their purpose in Christ, and you see them in the business world, as influential leaders who raise up more influential leaders.
Gift: Ability to distinguish between spirits = ability to make Godly decisions
People who have the Gift and Discernment are led by the spirit to black and white decisions as to what is right and what is wrong. These people find it easy to make moral judgments; because they sense right and wrong according to God.
I believe that the best arena for these people to be in are in roles in which decisions need to made. I see this as the justice system. I believe that God has placed people who believe in Him within justice systems around the world, because they know true right and wrong, and will make sound, Godly decisions led by the spirit.
Gift: Speaking in different kind of tongues = evangelism + missions
I see speaking in tongues as the ability to speak! And even further the ability to speak in foreign languages. When someone has this gift, they are able to connect with people through language. This is best paralleled with evangelism and missions. Talking to people about Christ is talking in a tongue, and talking to people in foreign countries is talking in a foreign tongue. God has gifted people with great speaking skills, great social skills, and/or the ability the comprehend and communicated multiple languages. This is the gift of tongues.
I believe that all believers have the potential to fulfill all of these Gifts, since the Gifts are of the Spirit, and the Spirit lives in all of us. However the Bible teaches us that some will have certain Gifts and others will have other ones. And all of them together work to create the church; which is solid within its physical walls but also reaches out into our dying world.
1 Cor 12:6
Spiritual Gifts: 1 Cor 12:8-10
This is my Modern Interpretation of the Gifts of the Spirit
------
I feel that there is some disconnect when it comes to our understanding of the Gifts of the Spirit. They can be hard to understand, especially for new believers, and even when we do understand, it is hard to relate them to our lives.
My interpretation is straight from my heart, with little research, so flaws will be found, but this is something that helps me and maybe will help others.
I also feel that this interpretation helps take the gifts out of the church exclusive, and into the world throughout; which is what I feel God intended--1 Cor 12:6
Gift: ability to speak with wisdom = ability to give counsel.
Speaking with wisdom is giving people right direction in their lives based on what we know. We gain wisdom through our life experiences, taking the lessons that we have learnt with us, passing them on to others. This is speaking with wisdom. This is something that anyone can do, since we all experience life, but God has gifted specific people with the ability to channel wisdom and help other people. This Gift of the Spirit points specifically to counselors. This could be a Christian counselor or a psychiatrist who is a Christian . Therefore this gift can be used inside and outside of the church.
Gift: ability to speak knowledge = ability to teach.
We gain knowledge through learning; we learn from teachers. This is our system to knowledge. Now, we don't learn everything from teachers. For example, we can do our own research and learn something on our own, especially with the internet. However, someone had to teach us how to use a computer and how to research.
God has gifted specific people with the ability to take knowledge and teach it to others. This can be a pastor who teaches the Bible from the pulpit or a 10th grade teacher, who is a Christian, teaching algebra to teenagers. Both are anointed with the gift of teaching.
Gift: healing and power to do miracles = medicine and science
This is a tricky one, because I know that not everyone who is healed is healed by medicine and science, and miracles come directly from God. I know this personally. My brother in 1997 joined the Marine Corps. A couple of months into training, my brother had an allergic reaction to the vaccinations he was given. After a few days of sickness he was paralyzed from the chest down. Doctors said he would never walk again, and at best he would have to live out his life in a wheelchair. After much prayer and faith, my brother walked out of the hospital 4 months later. Since he has worked to a near full recovery. Doctors did not help my brother, God did!
Even though I do believe with all my heart that medicine and science did not heal my brother, I also believe that God uses his believers within these fields for His purpose of healing and miracles.
People who are able to comprehend the complexity of transplants, save peoples lives. People who are able to understand the mechanisms of our earth can save thousands of lives. I believe that God has a huge hand in medicine and science, and that doctors and scientists who are devoted to HIM have the ability to heal people and the power to do miracles.
I believe that my brother is one of these people. Since his recovery, my brother has become a registered nurse and is worked full time as someone who saves peoples lives.
Gift: Faith = simple trust
Someone who has simple trust is someone who just believes, without question. Some people have this ability. They don't need to ask questions, and they rarely have doubt. These people stand as reminders to those who this does not come easy for. They stand as a reminder that sometimes all we need is simple trust, or faith like a child.
And children are who I feel are the CONSTANT reminder of faith in the church and in the world.
Children have this gift mastered and adults have a lot to learn from these little reminders.
God has gifted children with simple trust.
Gift: Prophecy = Visionary + Dream Releaser
We don't often see Biblical prophets nowadays. I actually believe that the Old Testament Biblical prophet model is irrelevant for us because Jesus opened the door for God to talk straight to every believer with his death on the cross. I believe that every believer has this form of prophecy; and by this I mean the ability to hear God.
Now I see a different twist on prophet. I see a modern day prophet as someone who is future minded. Someone who can raise up, encourage, and support people in their futures. I see them as a visionary. Someone who dreams big and has great optimism about what God is going to do. Then they are dream releaser's. They help people find God's calling, God's future, for them and then do everything in their power to support that person and their purpose. I know that God has gifted people the ability to raise up others and send them on their way fully equipped. You see these people in churches, as the ones who help other believers find their purpose in Christ, and you see them in the business world, as influential leaders who raise up more influential leaders.
Gift: Ability to distinguish between spirits = ability to make Godly decisions
People who have the Gift and Discernment are led by the spirit to black and white decisions as to what is right and what is wrong. These people find it easy to make moral judgments; because they sense right and wrong according to God.
I believe that the best arena for these people to be in are in roles in which decisions need to made. I see this as the justice system. I believe that God has placed people who believe in Him within justice systems around the world, because they know true right and wrong, and will make sound, Godly decisions led by the spirit.
Gift: Speaking in different kind of tongues = evangelism + missions
I see speaking in tongues as the ability to speak! And even further the ability to speak in foreign languages. When someone has this gift, they are able to connect with people through language. This is best paralleled with evangelism and missions. Talking to people about Christ is talking in a tongue, and talking to people in foreign countries is talking in a foreign tongue. God has gifted people with great speaking skills, great social skills, and/or the ability the comprehend and communicated multiple languages. This is the gift of tongues.
I believe that all believers have the potential to fulfill all of these Gifts, since the Gifts are of the Spirit, and the Spirit lives in all of us. However the Bible teaches us that some will have certain Gifts and others will have other ones. And all of them together work to create the church; which is solid within its physical walls but also reaches out into our dying world.
