Gifts from God, everybody loves gifts, but gifts from God, wow what a concept! As you will see in this study faith is a gift from God, not everybody gets it. Everybody has a chance to receive that gift, but it is their choice. I tell people all of the time that children are a gift from God (Psalm 127:3), but not everyone sees children this way. Some people when you give them a gift, if it is not up to their expectation, do not show any appreciation for the gesture. They either re-gift it or throw it away, donate it, etc. I believe this is the way some people view their children. Those who know that their children are gifts from God usually treat them well, and they really do become quite the blessing in their lives.
God has quite a list of gifts that He specifically gives to the people. Faith, prophecy, ability to speak in tongues, gift of interpretation of tongues, apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors, teachers, peace of mind and heart, to enjoy your work and lot in life, the ability to give wise advice, the gift of special knowledge, the power to heal the sick, the power to perform miracles, the gift to discern between the Holy Spirit and another spirit, ears to hear and eyes to see are a gift from God. The Holy Spirit gives these gifts to whoever He decides, that is His job. There are a few gifts that we are told to pray for, like the gift of prophecy, this type of prophecy means to have edifying speech for the people of the church. To help people in their time of need, by ministering to them. The gift of tongues is addressed by Paul, because people who had this gift were not using it properly and others did not understand it so they did not necessarily like it. The gift of tongues is a gift to that person so that they can speak to God and be edified for themselves. If there is someone to interpret the tongues than it can be used to edify the church, but remember that God is a God of order, not disorder. That is the reason Paul told those who had the gift of tongues to pray for the interpretation of tongues, to edify the church with what the LORD was speaking to them about.
Scripture teaches us to not be shy and to ask the LORD for these different gifts. I believe that the LORD has a plan for each of us and that His Holy Spirit knows exactly what we need and when we need it to glorify God. Each one of us according to Scripture has been given gifts and it is our job to explore them and see what we already have. Remember that God has given all of us gifts and be thankful for the gifts that we have received from the perfect gift giver. Explore your gifts and share them with others and you will have an abundant life!!! I hope that you get something out of this study and that it is revealed to you what your gifts are so that you can use them to edify the church body. May God Bless You and keep you and enjoy your gifts!!!!!!!
Ephesians 2:8-10
God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
1 Corinthians 13:8-10
Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will all disappear. Now we know only a little, and even the gift of prophecy reveals little! But when the end comes, these special gifts will all disappear.
1 Corinthians 14:1-17
Let love be your highest goal, but also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives, especially the gift of prophecy. For if your gift is the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking to God but not to people, since they won’t be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious. But one who prophesies is helping others grow in the Lord, encouraging and comforting them. A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally in the Lord, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church.
I wish you all had the gift of speaking in tongues, but even more I wish you were all able to prophecy. For prophecy is a greater and more useful gift than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church can get some good out of it.
Dear brothers and sisters, if I should come to you talking in an unknown language, how would that help you? But if I bring you some revelation or some special knowledge or some prophecy or some teaching – that is what will help you. Even musical instruments like the flute and the harp, though they are lifeless, are examples of the need for speaking in plain language. For no one will recognize the melody unless the notes are played clearly. And if the bugler doesn’t sound a clear call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle? And it’s the same for you. If you talk to people in a language they don’t understand, how will they know what you mean? You might as well be talking to an empty room.
There are so many different languages in the world, and all are excellent for those who understand them, but to me they mean nothing. I will not understand people who speak those languages, and they will not understand me. Since you are so eager to have spiritual gifts, ask God for those that will be of real help to the whole church.
So anyone who has the gift of speaking in tongues should pray also for the gift of interpretation in order to tell people plainly what has been said. For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.
Well then, what shall I do? I will do both. I will pray in the spirit, and I will pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will sing in words I understand. For if you praise God only in the spirit, how can those who don’t understand you praise God along with you? How can they join you in giving thanks when they don’t understand what you are saying? You will be giving thanks very nicely, no doubt, but it doesn’t help the other people present.
Ephesians 4:4-13
We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all. However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say,
“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to the people.”
Notice that it says “he ascended.” This means that Christ first came down to the lowly world in which we live. The same one who came down is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that his rule might fill the entire universe.
He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.
John 17:6-8 Side note: This was Jesus speaking to God the Father in heaven.
“I have told these men about you. They were in the world, but then you gave them to me. Actually, they were always yours, and you gave them to me; and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the words you gave me; and they accepted them and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.”
1 Peter 4:10-11
God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God’s generosity can flow through you. Are you called to be a speaker? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory in everything through Jesus Christ. All glory and power belong to him forever and ever. Amen.
Matthew 7:7-11
“Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. You parents – if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.”
Ecclesiastes 5:19-20
And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life – that is indeed a gift from God. People who do this rarely look with sorrow on the past, for God has given them reasons for joy.
John 14:27-29
“I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid. Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really love me, you will be very happy for me, because now I can go to the Father, who is greater than I am. I have told you these things before they happen so that you will believe when they do happen.”
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
And now, dear brothers and sisters, I will write about the special abilities the Holy Spirit gives to each of us, for I must correct, your misunderstandings about them. You know that when you were still pagans you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. So I want you to know how to discern what is truly from God: No one speaking by the Spirit of God can curse Jesus, and no one is able to say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving. There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.
To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another he gives the gift of special knowledge. The Spirit gives special faith to another, and to someone else he gives the power to heal the sick. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and to another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to know whether it is really the Spirit of God or another spirit that is speaking. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, and another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Holy Spirit who distributes these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
Proverbs 20:12
Ears to hear and eyes to see – both are gifts from the LORD.
Psalm 127:3-5
Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hands. How happy is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 12:6-11
God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you have faith that God is speaking through you. If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching. If your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.