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Are you a follower of Jesus? If so…Congratulations…You’re gifted! 

Today we do a deep dive to examine God’s grace-gifts which are

intended to bless His people and further His Kingdom.

• Greek term for gifts (charismatōn) comes from the root word charis (grace); and where we get the terms charisma and charismatic. 
• D.A. Carson notes that this Greek term could be translated as “grace gifts”, FREE GIFTS from the Spirit of God.

The PURPOSE of the different gifts/ministries/activities are for the common good (1 Cor 12:7) - NET for the benefit of all; NLT “so we can help each other”.

• John MacArthur: “Spiritual gifts...are not natural, but rather are supernaturally given by the Holy Spirit only and always to believers in Jesus Christ, without exception (v. 7). Spiritual gifts are special capacities bestowed on believers to equip them to minister supernaturally to others, especially to each other.”
• Spiritual gifts aren't to elevate the individual, but to encourage the Church.

These gifts are determined by the Holy Spirit, not by US (1 Cor 12:11). Thank God for the gifts He has graced to others and thank God for the gifting He has graced to you. 

Several important Considerations

1. It is possible that there are more than 16 spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Cor 12 and Rom 12. Some believe Paul’s list is NOT exhaustive. Further, we differentiate between SPIRITUAL GIFTS and NATURAL ABILITIES.
2. The Scriptures don’t clarify if all these gifts are life-time giftings and some could even be given for a specific time & place. Since the Scriptures don’t give precise clarity on this, we cannot be rigid about it either.
3. This study takes a CONTINUATION view (all the gifts CONTINUE) vs. a CESSATION view (some of the gifts CEASING).

• WISDOM: This person is gifted to help others with clear, biblical advice, even when confronted with complicated problems.
• KNOWLEDGE: This person is gifted to understand truth that is unknown by normal means. It’s possible that knowledge is also related to teaching (Rom 12:7) as this is knowledge intended to be shared to help others. This person might also be enabled to bring a word from God to another person.
• FAITH: This person is enabled to trust God even when circumstances make it difficult to believe, expecting God to handle the obstacles and trust Him for what cannot yet be seen.
• HEALING & MIRACLES: Those with the gift of healing are empowered to bring physical healing through prayer or touch. Those gifted with miracles are used by God to make the impossible, possible - to do what is super-natural, (e.g. casting out a demon). *This gifting seems to be very limited to only a few people.
• PROPHECY: Paul later writes that “the person who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement, and consolation.” (1 Cor 14:3). Those gifted with prophecy are empowered to speak truth FOR God in a persuasive & often “in your face” way to strengthen, encourage, comfort, & confront wrongs.
• DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN SPIRITS: With so many who make false claims on behalf of God, God has given some the supernatural ability to distinguish between spirits (aka discernment) - the God-given ability to discern what is truth from what is false, what is from God and what is counterfeit.
• TONGUES is the gift of being able to 1) communicate the Gospel in a real language, previously unknown to you OR the ability to encourage the church in a foreign language when linked with someone who has the ability to INTERPRET what was said to the Church. 
• The need for tongues & interpretation is much less necessary today as in Paul’s day since they had very little of the New Testament, and we have it all. The Corinthians likely didn’t have copies of all the Gospels & letters written by Paul, Peter, Jude, James, the author of Hebrews, and Revelation. So, the Lord could reveal His will through tongues and interpretation, as they did not yet have access to the Scriptures.

Apostles & Prophets played a prominent role in the New Testament and the Old Testament.

APOSTLES: The position of apostle was very specific. The apostles were those who personally knew and were trained by Jesus, having seen Him raised from the dead (Acts 1:21-22). Some think the “gift of apostle” is pointing to missionaries - who like the apostles - take the gospel to new places, but this is NOT what Paul referred to.

• Paul was an exception; the Lord Jesus called Paul after His death, burial, resurrection, & ascension. Paul called himself “the least among the apostles” because he was not around during the ministry of Jesus and because he had previously persecuted many followers of Jesus (1 Cor 15:8-9). 

PROPHETS had foretold about the coming of the Messiah before Jesus showed up. Further, there were prophets in the New Testament (see 1 Cor 14:29-32; Eph 3:5, 4:11) who boldly spoke by the Spirit to build upon what the apostles had first communicated.

• TEACHING (1 Cor 12:27; Rom 12:7): It is possible that 1 Cor 12:8’s use of knowledge is parallel to Paul’s use here of TEACHING. Those who are gifted with TEACHING are enabled to clearly explain, train, & challenge others with real life applications from the Bible in a way that they can understand.
• HELPS/SERVICE: The person with the gift of helps/service, serves with a smile without needing applause from people, like the worker ant who does the basic, important tasks (e.g. cooking, cleaning, preparing environments for events, taking care of the Church grounds, or serving other people’s basic needs).
• LEADING/ADMINISTRATION (1 Cor 12:28; Rom 12:8): A leader attracts & motivates others to work together for a common purpose with a clear purpose and direction.
• 1 Cor 12:28 can be translated as administrating (ESV, NAS). The Greek term comes from a word referring to steering a ship or to guide. Leaders who get others to move forward need to administrate by thinking through the details to organize people, resources, & time, or finding someone to help them with that.

The gifts in BLUE have previously been mentioned in 1 Cor 12, but the gifts in YELLOW have not - with the possible parallel of teaching/knowledge.

• EXHORTING/ENCOURAGING: The term used in the CSB is “exhorting” - meaning to encourage or to console. The Greek term (parakaleo) refers to calling to one’s side in order to help him/her. Those gifted at ENCOURAGING are driven to build others up with words, letters, or physical touch.
• GIVING: Those enabled with GIVING are excited to provide for the financial needs of others, and are often given many resources to help do so.
• MERCY: Those with the gift of MERCY are driven to help meet the needs of people who hurt and are quick to forgive even when personally hurt.

1. Work on SPIRITUAL GIFTS DISCOVERY. Spiritual Gifts Discovery Link
2.  Consider how God SHAPEd you. = Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, & Experiences. Consider taking this online SHAPE Test: www.freeshapetest.com (this test leaves out/adds some gifts not on our Spiritual Gifts Inventory). Then send this to Christy@FOM.life or Jackie@FOM.life
3. Plug into minisTRY (find the right fit) - Aug 21st we will have CONNECTION SUNDAY - hear about GROUPS and MINISTRIES you should consider plugging into.
4. Listen to your Faith Family’s Affirmation. Other believers who know you will help give you thumbs up on whether you are functioning within your gifting.

1. What challenged or encouraged you most from today’s teaching? Explain your answer.
2. After hearing the explanation of these gifts, which one of the spiritual gifts do you think you might have? Explain your answer. Then, take a shot at guessing other people’s GIFTING who are in your group - and explain your reasoning.
3. Answer this question: Have you ever taken a Spiritual Gifts Test and how did it help you or confuse you? Explain your answer. 
4. Look back to the 4 Feet2Faith challenges and share why/how all 4 can help give insight to your gifting, rather than just using a Spiritual Gifts Test.
5. SHAPE stands for Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, & Experiences. Beyond your spiritual gift(s), what are some Abilities you have and have you every considered using them to serve Jesus? Explain your answer.
6. What are some Experiences (good or bad) that God has used to SHAPE you and use you? (e.g. one who has been sick can help others going through the same thing)
7. What other questions has this teaching or discussion prompted for us to talk about?
8. Share prayer needs and pray for one another.