ARE THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT SCRIPTURAL?

Read 1 Corinthians chapter 12.  Here Paul is telling the Corinthians, who had been filled with the Holy Spirit, how to use the gifts of the Spirit properly.  He tells them there are a variety of gifts from the Holy Spirit but only one (Holy) Spirit Who manifests through a believer.  The Corinthians were mainly using the gift of 'tongues' out of all proportion and showing off.  This is wrong.  Let's look in more detail at these gifts:
 

THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT:

Verse 8:  THE WORD OF WISDOM ('Message' in some versions).
This is the power from the Holy Spirit to speak with divine insight.  This may be help in solving a problem and can sometimes come through a Christian without he or she realising it.  A Christian with this gift just feels inspired to say something - but beware, the devil can also inspire you and so can the 'flesh'.  You have to learn to hear the voice of God.  You may be defending the faith or resolving a dispute, preaching or teaching the gospel, giving advice.  Read Acts 6:10; Stephen confounded his adversaries.  Don't confuse this gift with a friendly arm around the shoulder and chatting, "Listen, if I were you..."!  It comes with POWER!

Verse 8:  THE WORD OF KNOWLEDGE ('Message').
This is the power to communicate information from God.  It is not something that has been prepared in advance.  It is a matter of opening your mouth and out comes the message by the power of the Holy Spirit who is literally giving utterance.  Sometimes this word can come by way of a thought and put in your own words.  (Beware though - this can often be abused!)

Verse 9:  FAITH.
Doing something in the will of God and relying on Him for everything.  With no funds of his own George Muller cared for 10,000 orphans over 60 years yet never asked for a penny from anyone! Now that's faith!

Verse 9:  GIFTS OF HEALING.
Some believers have this gift.  I have seen many people cured and indeed have been cured myself.  It is listening to the Holy Spirit telling you to pray for someone.   It means sometimes casting out demons, anointing that person with oil (symbolic of that person receiving the Holy Spirit), praying they will be healed and filled with the Holy Spirit.  However, if you take this honour to yourself and pray presumptuously that can mean quite a different outcome!

Verse 10:  WORKING OF MIRACLES.
This is closely linked with the above including dealing with demons, exercising power over the elements, raising the dead and changing matter from one form to another.

Verse 10:  PROPHECY.
Any utterance is to be in line with the Bible.  In another sense anyone who receives personal revelation from God (and we all should) is a prophet.  Others have the gift of foretelling the future.

Verse 10:  DISCERNING OF SPIRITS.
This is power to detect whether a person is speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit, a demonic spirit or simply emotion.  Having this gift enables one to discern whether a person is genuine or an opportunist (and there are many of those).  Read Acts 8:20-23.

It is receiving a check from the Holy Spirit, a sort of red or green light.  Another way this gift manifests is that a description comes into one's mind and certain words the speaker uses seem to be highlighted from the Holy Spirit.  Yet another way is the physical stance of the person.  Controlling spirits are often discerned by their words.  The are crafty spirits and very common.  The spirit of lust is a dirty spirit and so manifests.  Other spirits tell you what they are; for example I'm afraid, I'm confused.

This is truly a blessed gift as one can discern truth from the lies of the devil.  However, beware!  The way to acquire this gift is not by books on body language to help you read people or to study human nature - this is the way of the world and you will not acquire it this way.  It is a Spiritual gift from God himself and acquiring it is by way of prayer and fasting.

Verse 10:  SPEAKING (OR SINGING) IN TONGUES.
This gift is almost certain to upset the unfamiliar.  If there is a religious (demonic) spirit present in someone - sparks will fly!  Often that person will leave the room.  This is the gift of being able to speak in other tongues without ever having learned them.

It is a prayer language.  Read 1 Corinthians14:2 where Paul says anyone who speaks in a tongue speaks to God.  He utters mysteries with his spirit.  Read 14:18; Paul spoke in tongues more than all of the Corinthian believers.  Read 14:39 where he says, "Do not forbid speaking in tongues".  Indeed read the whole chapter!

There is a variation of this gift, that of "Singing in the Spirit".  This is a way of praising God.  This was very common in the early Church but alas as God establishes, man seeks to take over and it was lost to the early Catholic Church.  You can still get an idea of what it sounded like by listening to the monks chant but that is only a pale imitation of the real thing and composed by man.  Singing in tongues is the root of this chanting in "high" churches.

To describe singing in tongues as similar to the monks singing in an abbey is woefully inadequate.  It is like saying music is an assortment of sound waves when we know there is much more to it than that!  When the Holy Spirit truly inspires this gift in a body of worshippers there is no more beautiful musical experience on earth in my view.

Verse 10:  INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES.
This is the ability to interpret tongues manifest through another speaker or yourself.  Inspired by the Holy Spirit the person with this gift is able to convey the message in English (or any other local language) to believers present.

BEWARE:  Not every utterance comes from the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul offers some good advice; "...Eagerly desire Spiritual gifts."  (1 Corinthians 14:1)  These Spiritual gifts build up the body of believers.
 

WHERE TO FIND THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT AND RELATED MANIFESTATIONS IN SCRIPTURE:

We must test everything to see if it is of God (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Interpretation of tongues or prophecy:
John 4:9, 1 Corinthians 12:10 and all of chapter 14.

Word of knowledge:
1 Corinthians 12:8, 2:11-12, 16,  John 4:17-18 and Acts 5:3.

Singing in the Spirit (singing in tongues):
Ephesians 5:18-19 and 1 Corinthians 14:15.

Speaking in tongues:
Acts 2:4, 10:46, 19:6, 1 Corinthians 12:10, all Chapter 14.

Laying on of hands and/or anointing with oil:
Mark 16:18, 6:13, Acts 9:17, 28:8 and James 5:14.

Lifting up hands:
Psalms 63:4, 134:2, 1 Timothy 2:8.

Falling under the power of the Holy Spirit:
Acts 9:4 and 22:7.
 

Bryce Kaye.