God At Work Through The Spirit Filled Believer

“And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus:  and great grace was upon them all.”

Acts 4:33

Spiritual Gifts are supernatural abilities that are born within the Spirit filled believer due to the Holy Spirit operating within him.

The Spirit begins to manifest (become visible) through different Gifts.  The Gifts are given by God for:

·        A specific purpose.

·        At a specific time.

·        Through specific people.

·        For specific people.

The Gifts can be classified and put in three different categories:

1. Thinking Like God Thinks

These are Gifts that reveal something.  They cause us to know.  (Also called Gifts of Revelation or Administrative Gifts)  These gifts are designed to help us with overseeing and preserving the church. They allow a Spirit filled believer to be directed concerning what God is thinking.

·         Word of Wisdom

·         Word of Knowledge

·        Discerning of Spirits

2.  Acting Like God Acts

These are the Gifts that DO something.  These are also called the Gifts of Power or Ministry/Evangelism Gifts. These gifts enable the believer, when directed by the Spirit, to act like God would act.  They draw attention to God’s power and this attracts, persuades, and evangelizes sinners. It strengthens the evangelism thrust of the church.

·         Faith

·         Gifts of Healing

·         Working of Miracles

3.  Speaking Like God Speaks

These are the Gifts that say something.  They are also called Communication/ Inspiration/ Verbal Gifts. They enable the believer when directed by the Spirit to speak like God speaks or speak as God would speak. These express some of the ways that God speaks to His church.

·         Prophecy

·         Divers Kinds of Tongues

·        Interpretation of Tongues

Through these Gifts we are strengthened through exhortation, comfort and edification.

To illustrate the Gifts using a visible means, refer to the chart (page 102) taken from God’s Gifts-For All Occasions! (A Search For Truth Publication).