Gifts of the Holy Spirit (General)

The term “Gifts of the Holy Spirit” refers to special God-given abilities received by each and every Christian. However, not only are abilities bestowed, but also a strong desire to exercise those abilities. These abilities are to be used by the possessor in serving the Lord to strengthen the Church. The following is a list of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: 1)The Gift of teaching 2)The Gift of helping or ministering 3)The gift of administration or ruling 4)The gift of evangelism 5)The gift of being a pastor 6)The gift of exhortation 7)The gift of giving 8)The gift of showing mercy 9)The gift of faith 10)The gift of apostleship 11)The gift of prophecy 12)The gift of miracles 13)The gift of healing 14)The gift of tongues 15)The gift of interpreting 16)The gift of discerning spirits Since the time of the apostles, the gifts of the Holy Spirit have been the victim of two extremes. The first extreme being an overemphasis of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There were and are those who would lift up the gifts as badges of honor signifying the level of one’s righteousness. Certain gifts, such as the gift of tongues, were/are even held out as requirements to signify a special level of spirituality. The apostle Paul specifically addressed this heresy in his first epistle to the Corinthians (Chapters 12 and 14). As we will discuss later in our study, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not received based upon one’s works or level of righteousness, but are given to each and every Christian as a gift solely based on the will of the Holy Spirit. And as with any gift, the receiver should not be prideful concerning the gift, but grateful. The other extreme is to say that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were only applicable during the times of the apostles, and are no longer relevant or attainable for today. This too is a false belief since, as we will discuss later, the primary purpose of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the benefit of the Church, the body of Christian believers. These gifts are to be used in Christian service to buildup and strengthen the Church. Such gifts have and will always play an important role in the Church. Both extremes are not biblical and can lead to heretical or false doctrines. The truth lies in a biblical balance between these two extremes, and, through this study, we should hopefully be able to understand just where this biblical balance lies. Before we discuss each of these gifts separately, let’s first gain a better understanding of the nature of these gifts. Let us first review a passage from the twelfth chapter of Romans: “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” (NKJ: Romans 12:3-8) In this passage, we are given several insights into the nature of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. First, we can see by the context of this verse that the gifts are given to benefit the body of the Church, and are not for the glorification and honor of men, “…not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think,,,,having then gifts differing according to the grace…” We are not to be puffed up or prideful based on the gifts that are graciously given to us. Secondly, we note that we all have differing gifts according to God’s grace and sovereign decision, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us.” (NKJ: Romans 12:6) By definition, “grace” refers to a gift, and is something that is not earned or deserved. Therefore, bestowal of a gift from the Holy Spirit is not based on one’s spirituality, as some would believe, but it is based on God’s sovereign decision. Thirdly, we see that each Christian will receive a gift, or even maybe several gifts, but will not receive all the gifts, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us.” (NKJ: Romans 12:6) Next we will take a look at Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Let’s first look at a passage from the twelfth chapter: “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (NKJ: I Corinthians 12:4-11) In this passage, Paul gives us further insight into the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The first item to note is the gifting of a person is to provide benefit to the whole body, “the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.” As noted before, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are not given to a person as a reward or acknowledgment of their righteousness, but as a tool to be used to benefit the entire body of the Church. The gift is based on God’s sovereign will, and has nothing to do with our will or our works, “distributing to each one individually as He wills.” Of special note should be where Paul lists out a series of gifts, and notes that one person will get one gift and another person a different gift. Thus directly emphasizing the biblical fact that each of us, as Christians, receives a gift, but not all the gifts. An inference can even be given here that each Christian only receives one gift. Whether it be only one or possibly several, the point should be made that gifts are bestowed on each Christian based on the will of God, and no person should glory in their gifts, but should bring glory to Him who, by grace, imparted those gifts. Now I feel it necessary to include the following passage, which followed the above passage, to emphasize again the importance of knowing that each of us, as Christians, has been given particular gifts by which to serve the body of the Church: “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? (NKJ: I Corinthians 12:12-30) The passage above emphasizes that each gift is important and vital to the healthy growth of the body of the Church. Just as our human bodies need all the different organs to function properly, so does the body of the Church. For if everyone had the same gift, then the body of the church could not function properly. God has chosen to bestow on each Christian a certain gift(s) to be used for the benefit of the body of the Church. These gifts were not earned or deserved, but were graciously given to us by God. Before we begin our discussion of the individual spiritual gifts, one very important last item should be discussed. This item is love, as it relates to the use of spiritual gifts. First Corinthians 13 bears witness to the fact that the spiritual gifts should be administered with love, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” (NKJ: I Corinthians 13:1-3) For without love, as the epistle to the Corinthians states, our actions are worth nothing. The motivation to use one’s spiritual gift(s) should be based on love for God and love for those for which the gift(s) will benefit. Let us now turn to reviewing each one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In this study, we are noting 16 gifts of the Holy Spirit that are identified in the Bible. This is the generally accepted list of gifts by most students of the Bible: 1)The Gift of teaching (Romans 12:7; I Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11) This gift relates to an ability to effectively teach and communicate the Word of God to others. Those who possess this gift are able to share God’s Word in a manner that imparts to the listener a clear understanding of His Word. It does not mean that the gift gives the possessor a supernatural understanding, but only refers to the effectiveness of their teaching in enlightening the listener. 2)The Gift of helping or ministering (Romans 12:7; I Corinthians 12:28) This gift relates to an ability to help in spiritual things. The possessor will feel drawn to reach out to others and assist in their needs whether on an individual or group level. 3)The gift of administration or ruling (Romans 12:8; I Corinthians 12:28) This gift relates to an ability to lead and coordinate spiritual activities. The possessor of this gift will feel drawn to take leading roles in church activities, and will bring a sense of organization to such activities. Other Christians will feel comfortable following their leadership. 4)The gift of evangelism (Ephesians 4:11) This gift relates to a desire and ability to preach the Gospel to the unsaved. The possessor will feel drawn to the unsaved, and their heart will yearn to reach out to those who have not accepted the gift of salvation. However, it should be noted that we, as Christians, are all called to preach the Gospel to the unsaved. The Holy Spirit wishes to use all Christians as tools to reach the lost. 5)The gift of being a pastor (Ephesians 4:11) This gift relates to an ability to lead, care for, and protect the Christian flock. This person will lead, provide, protect, and care for those Christians placed in his hands. Along with this gift comes the gift of teaching which is evidenced by a grammatical connection in the original Greek between the words pastor and teacher in Ephesians 4:11. For a pastor to properly care for his flock, one of his duties is to feed them spiritual nourishment, which is the Word of God. A pastor who does not properly teach his flock is not a good pastor. 6)The gift of exhortation (Romans 12:8) This gift relates to an ability to appeal to other Christians to take action, whether it be for personal growth or outward action. They will lead Christians to pursue the will of God in their lives. 7)The gift of giving (Romans 12:8) This gift relates to a spiritual drive in one to commit their earthly possessions to the service of the Lord. Whether it be money or property, the possessor of this gift finds joy in laying out all their possessions before the Lord so that He may use them however He wills. 8)The gift of showing mercy (Romans 12:8) This gift relates to possessing a high level of compassion for others, and being able to bring comfort to those in special need such as the poor, the physically afflicted, or the emotionally distraught. They are able to bring uplifting encouragement to these people in need with a smile and cheerfulness that could only come through the indwelling and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. 9)The gift of faith (I Corinthians 12:9) This gift manifests itself in that the possessor will possess a strong trust in the Lord in all aspects of their life. They will look to Him and rely on Him for everything. Their walk of faith will be a testimony unto both the believer and the nonbeliever. However, it should also be noted that every believer is given a certain degree of faith, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” (NKJ: Romans 12:3) Each Christian should strive to ever increase their faith and trust in the Lord. 10)The gift of apostleship This gift is specific to a certain group of people who lived during the time of Jesus. One of the main qualifications for being an apostle appears to be that one must have seen Jesus Christ during His ministry here on earth, and be able to testify personally about Him (the one exception appears to be Paul for which the Lord came to Him and made Himself know on Paul’s journey on the road to Damascus-Acts 9:1-6) Some will try to point to the Greek word for “apostle” saying that its literal meaning is “ the sent out ones”, but this does not open the door to an expanded population than those identified in the Bible. The apostles were the foundation of the Church, “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone…” (NKJ: Ephesians 2:20) This verse tells us that this gift belonged to the earliest period of the Church. One does not build more than one foundation, but one foundation is laid and then is built upon. For a structure to be secure, it must possess a secure foundation (Jesus emphasizes this in his parable about the two men, one who built his house on sand and one who built his house on rock-Matthew 7:24-28). The gift of apostleship was given for a temporary period during the foundational formation of the Church to assure a secure foundation on which future generations could build upon. The ministry of the apostles was to go out into the world and lay the foundation for the Church. This foundation was to be made of correct doctrine and the establishment churches throughout the region. 11)The gift of prophecy This gift, next to the gift of tongues, is probably the most misunderstood gift. The main confusion comes due to the fact that the term “prophecy” has two different meanings depending on whether it is being used to refer to Old Testament Saints or New Testament Saints. The key demarcation is Luke 16:16, “’The law and the prophets were until John (that is John the Baptist). Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.’” (NKJ: Luke 16:16) The role, or office, of the “prophet”, as it was defined in the Old Testament, ended with the ministry of John the Baptist. The Old Testament prophet would receive messages directly from God through special revelation. The prophet would then communicate God’s message to the people. It was how God generally communicated to the Israelites during Old Testament times. One reason for this was that the Holy Spirit had not yet taken up permanent residence in the heart of believers. The role of the prophet and his ministry was so important to God, that he commanded that if anyone was to say “Thus says the Lord” in the role of a prophet speaking for God, and what he said was found to be untrue, that person was to be stoned to death. A true prophet’s batting average was 100%, “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” (NKJ: Deuteronomy 18: 20-22) The gift of prophecy from the time of the New Testament till now is defined for us by Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, “But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.” (NKJ: I Corinthians 14:3) The purpose of prophecy today is to build up those in the Church through edification, to encourage people in their Christian walk through exhortation, and to speak words of consolation and compassion to bring comfort. To expand this gift beyond its biblical New Testament definition above, is to contradict the vary Scriptures to which this gift belongs. Further biblical instruction is given, regarding the gift of prophecy, in relation to those situations where, in a gathering of Christians, there is more than one person who has the gift of prophecy. When such occasions arrive, those with the gift of prophecy are to speak in an orderly fashion, that is, not speaking over and/or contradicting one another, and then not to have more than three persons share a prophetic message, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” (NKJ: I Corinthians 14:29-33) An additional note should be made regarding the gift of prophecy, which is that the possessor of the gift of prophecy has the ability to control that gift, “And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” (NKJ: I Corinthians 14:32) Those with the gift of prophecy do not babble on uncontrollably, but are in complete control of their gift at all times. Anyone who says that they cannot control what they are saying, is either pretending or under the control of a demonic spirit. Harsh words, but biblically correct. It should also be noted that we, the Church of Christ, should not fear or despise this gift, “Do not despise prophecies.” (NKJ: I Thessalonians 5:20) This verse would indicate that there may be some people who would feel uncomfortable around the exercise of this gift. But we are told here that we should not have such feelings of uncomfortableness, assuming the gift is being exercised in a biblically correct manner. Before continuing, let’s take a step back and do a quick review of the person of the Holy Spirit (I will be making some statements regarding the Holy Spirit that are thoroughly explained in the Bible study on the Holy Spirit). The Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in the hearts of those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (cf. I Corinthians 6:19, John 14:16-17). Because of the continual presence of the Holy Spirit within us, we have constant access to God and He to us. No longer does He have to talk to us solely through prophets, as in the Old Testament, but now He talks directly to us through the Holy Spirit who indwells in each and every one of us who have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Therefore, God does not reveal His will for our lives through other people, especially not those who would supposedly possess the gift of prophecy. He may use someone else to confirm something He has already placed on our hearts, but He will not use another person to reveal to us a first-time revelation. Let me give you an example of what I am stating. There have been times in my life where I feel that the Lord may be leading me in a certain direction, but I am just not sure. Then, out of nowhere, I will have other Christians make comments to me regarding the very issue for which I am struggling. It may be in the form of someone coming up and saying that they just felt the Lord telling them to share a message with me, or simple just a passing “coincidental” comment. But each time their comments have the fingerprints of the Lord. Now, there have also been times when good-intentioned (and sometimes not-so-good intentioned) Christians have come up to me to share what they thought was a message the Lord had given them to give to me. When they share this message, and it is something that I have never felt the Lord was talking to me about, I am polite to say “thank you for sharing that with me”, but I discard their comment as something not from God for He had not spoken directly to my heart, through the Holy Spirit, regarding what had been shared. God, through the Holy Spirit, will always talk to us first before He uses someone else to speak with us. As I mentioned, sometimes these false messages are from good-intentioned Christians, but other times they may be from “Christians” with ulterior and/or self-serving motives. For we are warned in the Bible, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (NKJ: I John 4:1) (cf. Matthew 7:15,24:11,24, II Peter 2:1-3) Therefore, the gift of prophecy in our time is the gift of giving words of edification, exhortation, and comfort to other people. However, it is not a gift by which one foretells future events and/or gives directions to another Christian, for which, such directions have not already been communicated to that person by the Holy Spirit directly. This gift is one of the most misinterpreted and misused gifts. Therefore, be sure to look to God’s Word for the parameters of this gift, and not to that of men or religious denomination. In a general sense, prophesying is preaching in that it is proclaiming God’s Word to the people. However, the gift of prophecy, while it consisted of preaching God’s Word to the people would also include validation of the message being delivered in some way such as associated miracles performed by the prophet and/or an exact occurrence of a prophesied future event. This gift was extremely important during the period of the writing of the Scriptures for the purpose of knowing God’s Word. Once the Scriptures were completed, there was no need for the gift of prophecy with its telling of future events and associated miracles since now the Christians could turn to God’s written Word for guidance and communication with God. Since the writing of our Holy Scriptures, there was, and is, no need for any new revelations from God, since all He desires us to know regarding the past, present, and future is contained in His Word: “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (NKJ: Revelation 22:18-19) 12)The gift of miracles To begin with, let us set forth the definition of a “miracle.” A miracle is an event that occurs which defies or goes against the natural laws that we know. Examples of miracles would be the healing of a body in a manner that defies the natural healing process of the body such as the instantaneous disappearance of a large cancerous tumor or a paralyzed person gaining the instantaneous ability to get up and walk normally after a lifetime of paralysis. Such occurrences would be completely contrary to medical science and indisputable miracles. Miracles can occur through various means such as through individual prayer, group or corporate prayer, or, in the case of the gift of miracles, God can work through an individual to bring about a miracle. Two questions can be asked regarding miracles: 1) Are there still miracles occurring today?, and 2) Is the gift of miracles still for today? Regarding the first question, “are there still miracles occurring today?”, I believe that there is no debate. We have no biblical basis to believe that occurrence of miracles will cease at any point in time. Furthermore, we have many verifiable cases of miracles occurring throughout the centuries from the time of Jesus. In fact, if I may share a personal testimony, my back was healed about 15 years ago in a clear miraculous manner. I had been having increasing back problems over a period of about 3 or 4 years. My lower back had begun to ache, and over several years, the severity of the pain and the frequency of occurrences was drastically increasing. I had gone to two separate chiropractors who x-rayed my back as part of the treatment. Both doctors, independently and unaware of the other’s diagnosis, diagnosed my problem as a severe deterioration of my fifth disk. I was shown by both doctors my x-rays that showed without a doubt a severely flattened fifth vertebrae. After a very severe occurrence of back pain, I had decided to go to an orthopedic surgeon to get advice on what I might do concerning by back problem. Shortly before seeing this orthopedic surgeon, I had accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. My faith in Him was strong, and I had prayed to Him to heal my back. The orthopedic surgeon took some x-rays of my back so he could see for himself how bad the condition was in my back. He came walking into the exam room holding the x-rays with a smile on his face. He popped my x-rays up on the viewing screen, and I will remember his words till the day I pass from this world, “Your fifth vertebrae is just fine. The problem with your back is just this extra segment you have in your back, which is not that uncommon. The reason your back keeps on hurting is that the way you treat this condition is to keep active. If you sit too much, it gets a little tender. If it ever hurts, just go workout. You will never need to see me or a chiropractor for this, and as long as you keep active, it should never give you a problem. If it does begin to act up, it just means your not being active enough.” After he made this comment, I anxiously looked at the x-ray at where he was pointing to my fifth disk. Not only was it not flat, but it was the fattest of all the disks. So as you can see, with no biblical evidence to the contrary and my personal experience, there is no way anyone can tell me that miracles are not for today. The second question is a bit more complicated. Is the gift of miracles still applicable today? One of the primary purposes of miracles during the apostalistic era was to validate the messengers and message of God. One who possesses, or possessed, the gift of miracles is one who is used by God to bring about supernatural events. The men in the Bible who possessed this gift were able to frequently perform miracles at will. These miracles would testify to the validity of the apostalistic office held by these men, and would also validate the message that they were heralding. With the end of the apostalistic era, and the completion of the writings of the Word of God, the need for the gift of miracles ended. Therefore, in the area of miracles, we do still have God performing miracles in our current day; however, we do not have the gift of miracles active in the body of Christ today. 13)The gift of healing The gift of healing gives the possessor the ability to bring about supernatural healing of other people. As with the gift of miracles, this gift had its purpose during the apostalistic era. Whereas miraculous healings are still a blessing that God bestows on us at times, it is no longer a gift possessed by individuals in that they are able to frequently and at will heal others. 14)The gift of tongues The gift of tongues is the enabling of a Christian to be able to speak in a foreign earthly language, that is, a language that is foreign to themselves and those listening around them. Some even believe that the language being spoken is a spiritual language that no one can understand through natural means, but only through the gift of interpretation. Through various scriptures, such as Acts chapter 2 where the language being spoken is of an earthly nature, it would appear that the language being spoken during the exercising of this gift is an earthly language; however, for the sake of our discussion, I would prefer not to dwell on this debate. It is sufficient to say that the language is foreign to the one speaking and those listening. The purposes of tongues spoken in public is to edify, that is, to build up and encourage, the Christian Church (when interpreted), “I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.” (NKJK: I Corinthians 14:5) (cf. I Corinthians 14:26) As with the gift of prophesy, the gift of tongues is not a vehicle through which future events are foretold or new revelations from God are given. This gift is used as a tool to encourage the body of Christ, that is, the His Church. One must adhere strictly to biblical guidelines when trying to evaluate the proper use of the gift of tongues. Let us now review some of the biblical guidelines given to us in the Scriptures: One with the Gift of Interpretation Must Be Present Tongues are not to be used in public gatherings, e.g. during church services, church events, or home Bible studies, unless there is an interpreter present, “But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.” (NKJ: I Corinthians 14:28) (cf. I Corinthians 14:13-20) As we have discussed, public use of the gift of tongues is for the edification of the Church. What edification can be gained if the message, given in a foreign language, is not interpreted for those who are listening, “But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me…. Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.” (NKJ: I Corinthians 14:6-11,12-17) In this verse, we can see that Paul, the writer of I Corinthians, spends a significant amount of time discussing this one aspect of the gift of tongues, that is, that without interpretation of tongues used in public, such utterances are useless and contrary to God’s Word. The Use of Tongues are to be Used in an Orderly Manner and By No More Than Three People at Any One Gathering The Bible tells us, “If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret.” (I Corinthians 14:27) The gift of tongues is meant to be exercised in an orderly manner. Two important biblical requirements are given to us in this verse. First, during any assembly of believers, if the gift of tongues is to be exercised by multiple persons, the maximum number of those persons is three. If more than three persons choose to exercise this gift during a gathering, then we know that some, or all, of those appearing to exercise the gift of tongues are falsely doing so. Second, the exercise of the gift of tongues in a gathering is to be done in an orderly manner, “they are to speak in order.” Those exercising this gift will not interrupt each other and/or talk over each other, but will speak in order, one after the other. Furthermore, a true exercising of this gift will not interrupt others who are preaching or teaching. That is, if there is a sermon or Bible study in progress, this gift will not interrupt those teaching. For those teaching and those exercising the gift of tongues are all working under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will not interrupt Himself, “For God is not the author of confusion…” (NKJ: I Corinthians 14:33) The Purpose of the Gift of Tongues is for Edification of The Church As we have previously discussed, the purpose of the gift of tongues is to edify the Church, that is, to encourage and build up. This is evident in the following verses: “Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.” (NKJ: I Corinthians 14:26) “I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.” (NKJK: I Corinthians 14:5) The Gift of Tongues is not Special Among the Other Gifts, And Is Not an Indicator that the Possessor is More Righteous than Others Speaking in tongues has at times been held out as evidence of spirituality or superior righteousness. This belief is contrary to biblical teaching, and has lead to abuses of this gift. To begin with, as we have discussed previously, the gifts of the Spirit are not earned, but are given to each of us based on the will of God and the Holy Spirit, “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (NKJ: I Corinthians 12:11) Nowhere in the Scriptures does it indicate that any of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are earned or deserved. Second, the main discourses in the Bible regarding speaking in tongues are given in the first letter to the Corinthians, chapters 12 and 14. Apparently, there was a large manifestation of speaking in tongues going on in this Church. However, of all the churches to which Paul wrote, the Corinthian church was the most carnal, and was dealing with many gross sins. Even though, in this carnal church, we see a significant manifestation of speaking in tongues. Obviously, if spiritual righteousness or superiority had anything to do with the gift of tongues, the Corinthian church would be the last church where we would find any such exercising of this gift. This second point also shows us that the gift of speaking in tongues is highly susceptible to abuse based on the abuses noted in the Corinthian church. I personally have been witness to many abuses and false exercisings of this gift. Therefore, I would like to reiterate the point that we must look to the words of our Bible to discern the proper and improper uses of this gift. Be careful that no one leads you astray in this area. The above noted biblical guidelines are some of the more significant, but are definitely not all-inclusive. I would definitely encourage those who are interested in more fully understanding this gift to thoroughly read I Corinthians 12 and 14, and then to read the book of Acts noting each occurrence of the exercising of the gift of tongues. As a final note, I would like to point out that the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 does not include the use of tongues. Futhermore, to be “Christ-like”, one does not need to speak in tongues for Jesus Christ was never recorded as speaking in tongues. 15)The gift of interpreting The gift of interpreting is the ability for a person to interpret what is being said by one exercising the gift of tongues. The person exercising the gift of interpretation will have the ability to translate what is being said by the person exercising the gift of tongues, i.e. speaking in a foreign language, into the common language spoken by those who are listening. For example, if a person begins to speak in tongues during a Bible study where the common language of those attending the study is English, then the person who has the gift of interpretation would interpret the statements being made by the person speaking in tongues into English for the listeners. 16)The gift of discerning spirits The gift of discerning spirits gives the possessor the ability to discern the true from false sources of supernatural revelation during oral delivery. Before the New Testament had been completed, the early Christians did not have the written Word of God; therefore, they did not have a reference point to use to discern true from false doctrines and teachings. This gift would enable the possessor to protect the different Christian congregations from false doctrines that might try to creep into the Church. Now, with the written Word of God, we can always look to His Word for discernment. In addition, the Holy Spirit also works from within each Christian to discern the true from the false. When the Bible was completed, false prophets and false teachings could be discerned through comparing their words against the written Word of God. Therefore, this gift would appear to be one of a temporal nature, one that was extremely useful during the early period of the Church, but one that is not required in the current day. It is not required because each of us, as Christians, can turn outwardly to the Bible and inwardly to the Holy Spirit for discernment regarding scriptural issues. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are just that, gifts, wonderful gifts. They are not earned or deserved, but are lovingly bestowed on each and every Christian to be used to edify the body of Christ, that is, His Church. However, it must be noted that many of the gifts are also basic to the Christian experience, such as evangelism and giving, for which we are all called to do. The difference is that those who have gifts in these areas will feel a great compulsion to excel in these areas. They will find an abundant joy in utilizing their gifts for which the Holy Spirit has generously enabled them.