Joshua Mocek
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Introduction to Spiritual Gifts

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    Joshua Mocek
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spiritual-gifts

Introduction to Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual gifts are fun and mysterious. They are an amazing way to edify the church and the people in it. If you have trouble hearing God, then you’re in the right place. Going through the prerequisites and learning how to use the gifts will help you hear God more clearly. It takes spiritual maturity to hear God.

"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone."
1 Corinthians 12:4 ESV

Understanding Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual gifts are just that, spiritual. In order to have spiritual gifts, there has to be some sort of spirit. In this post, I will be referring to the gifts mentioned for believers, those whose gifts come from the Holy Spirit. These gifts are listed in the Bible and are meant to build up the body of Christ.

"Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy."
1 Corinthians 14:1 ESV

An important aspect of spiritual gifts is the need to align with the right spirit. If you are not a believer and attempt to use spiritual gifts in the way I describe, you could become a prime candidate for dark spirits. This is not to scare you, but to prevent what happened with Simon the sorcerer.

Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!"
Acts 8:18-20 ESV

The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts

Why do you want spiritual gifts? If it’s for any reason other than helping others or glorifying God, then you might not be ready for them. Even if you aren’t ready, I believe going through these steps will lead you to have the correct mindset towards spiritual gifts.

Prerequisites for Spiritual Gifts

There are four required prerequisites and six non-required prerequisites to prepare a believer for learning and using spiritual gifts. These are in place to protect and prepare the believer for the spiritual world and feeling the Spirit.

Required Prerequisites

  1. Faith in Jesus Christ
    • Believe in Jesus Christ and that He rose from the dead for the forgiveness of your sins. This foundational faith is crucial for receiving and using spiritual gifts.
  2. Crucify Your Flesh
  3. Renew Your Mind
    • We are not under the old law. You have three commands, love God, love others, and follow the Holy Spirit.
    • Start the process of renewing your mind, looking at the world from a spiritual perspective and reading the Bible from a spiritual perspective.
    • Know and practice the Great Commission to preach the Kingdom of Heaven
  4. Forgiveness and Healing from Emotional Damage
    • Forgive others and yourself.

Non-Required Prerequisites

Though these are not required, I would highly recommend all of these.

  1. Regular Church Attendance
    • Being part of a church community helps you grow and learn from others. It provides a support system and opportunities to use your gifts.
  2. Discipleship and Accountability Partners
    • Having someone wise to disciple you as you learn and having accountability partners can help you stay focused and grow in your spiritual walk. They can pray with you, encourage you, and help you stay on track.
  3. Biblical Knowledge
    • While not required, having a good understanding of the Bible can help you discern God’s will and understand how to use your spiritual gifts effectively. The Bible is God's word, it's important we know what it says so we can vet everything against it.
  4. Prayer and Meditation
    • Spend time in prayer and meditation on God’s Word. This helps you to align with the Holy Spirit and understand God’s will for your life.
  5. Dreams
    • Record the dreams God gives you and learn to interpret them.
  6. Visions
    • Learn how to see visions and interpret them. This is the first step to being able to see in the spirit.

What Are The Spiritual Gifts?

There are three areas where spiritual gifts are listed: 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and Romans 12. The purpose of this is to teach how to use the gifts. If you want more broad information you can read here.

7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
1 Corinthians 12:7–10 ESV

28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
1 Corinthians 12:28 ESV

Sometimes people get saved and the gifts are active immediately, sometimes people have to learn them. I'm putting these in the order that I believe they should be learned.

  1. Tongues
    • Praying in tongues
    • Various kinds of tongues
    • Tongues of angels
  2. Discernment of Spirits
    • Seeing in the Spirit
    • Discernment of words
  3. Interpretation of Tongues
  4. Faith
  5. Helping
  6. Gifts of Healings
  7. Working of Miracles
  8. Word of Knowledge
  9. Word of Wisdom
  10. Administration
  11. Prophecy

Gifts in Romans

6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;
7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;
8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Romans 12:6–8 ESV

  1. Prophecy
  2. Service
  3. Teaching
  4. Exhortation
  5. Contributing
    • Givers to the church
    • Impart to members of the church
  6. Leading
  7. Mercy

Spiritual Offices

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
Ephesians 4:11 ESV

  1. Apostles
  2. Prophets
  3. Evangelists
  4. Shepherds
  5. Teachers
  6. Administrators

Conclusion

Spiritual gifts are a powerful and mysterious way to edify the church and those within it. By preparing yourself through faith, prayer, spiritual maturity, and a desire to serve, you can open yourself up to the amazing ways God wants to use you. Remember, spiritual gifts are about glorifying God and helping others, not for personal gain. Seek the Holy Spirit, and let Him guide you in this journey.