Yet we may hear God’s call but reject it because “that’s not in our area of gifting.” With the Holy Spirit, God can do anything through our life He chooses to do. It wasn’t that Saul lost his salvation, but that the equipping to be king was taken away. According to 1 Corinthians 12:6, God the Father pours in the power, Jesus the Son assigns the ministry, and God the Holy Spirit gives out the gifts as He deems necessary for the proper functioning of the church body. 1. In 1 Corinthians 12, two Greek terms are translated as "spiritual gifts". One example of an Old Testament passage that speaks this language is Ezekiel 36:26, which says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” This passage promises a new spirit and a new heart. Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? 4. It’s a big temptation to follow something concrete and “human” like a test rather than depending on the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Pray the Prayer God Guarantees to Answer, from Xulon Press. The Spirit can do this not only with artistic gifts, but also with gifts in education, business, politics, law, etc. We are not given spiritual gifts so we can feel good about ourselves; we are not given spiritual gifts so we can look good to others; we are not given spiritual gifts to manipulate or get our own way. The Spirit can give people power to elicit trust through their speech. Each Christian’s specific calling is related to the Spirit’s work in the creation, personal regeneration, and empowerment for one’s work in the church and in the world. Perhaps the most thorough source on this topic is a book by Leon Wood, The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, in which chapters seven and eight focus on “Spirit Renewal in the Old Testament.”1. When kept in the proper perspective, the test can be a helpful tool, but we must remember it is limited. Spiritual gifts are endowments given by God to His people for accomplishing His purpose on earth. Since spiritual gifts tests tend to reveal our own strengths and talents, we may use the assessment to find ways to “serve” that can be undertaken in our own power. Dr. Wood, Leon J. The Spirit can give leadership not only to judges, but to people with political power, like kings. This article is part of our larger Spiritual Life resource meant to answer your questions about the Bible, God and the Christian faith. God has made everyone in a unique fashion to express his or her gifts in both the secular and sacred arenas—in church, at work, and around other people. It is also important to realize that the early church did not have the completed Bible, as we do today (2 Timothy 3:16-17). 12, 1 Cor. Each Christian should have an opportunity to use his/her gifts interdependently with others (Romans 12:4-6). Paul advised Timothy, "Neglect not the gift that is in you," 1 Timothy 4:14. We will use the most common grouping. These gifts are used primarily to organize and administrate the church so that it may best carry out its responsibilities. The Hebrew word ruach and the Greek word pneuma could both mean “spirit,” “breath,” or “wind,” depending on the context. Used by permission. God can unfold, redirect, or develop the potential of the gifts he has given us. 4), are not dogmati-cally presented. A group of thirty men from the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to David. 2 2 Chron. (1 Corinthians 12:29-31). This gift of leadership is still present today and we can ask for the Spirit’s power both in the church and in the world. 1 Sam. 4, 1 Pet. God gave people with artistic skill even more skill by his Spirit so they could fulfill his plans to build the tabernacle and fashion its utensils. The Works of John Owen. So he prayed that the anointing, the empowering, or gifting not be taken away from him. They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom. Many people think the spiritual gift of prophecy is just predicting the future, but it is far more than that. What ministry in my life is God blessing? Accordingly, when I was pastoring, in order to curtail the misuse of the gift of tongues in our church worship services, we encouraged people to use the gifts of tongues and interpreting tongues only in private settings. In addition to being an author and sought-after conference speaker, Roger has mentored or taught thousands of pastors, missionaries, and Christian leaders worldwide. Remember that as you read these articles, the Holy Spirit will give you understanding and discernment to make the right decision for your walk with Jesus Christ! We can ask for the Spirit to give us persuasive speech so that others will have immediate confidence in the truth of what we say. He was able to speak so persuasively that David took the thirty men and made them captains or chiefs of his mighty men. The Holy Spirit inspired the prophets to speak God’s word. We will be more effective as we put them to use for God’s glory and not our own. The Work of the Holy Spirit. People in both Testaments need to be born from above and need their hearts of stone to become hearts of flesh. See pages 9-46. I don't think there are those that operate it and [others] that don't. They can be withered, misdirected, or dormant. We may forget that as a believer we have the entire person and power of the Holy Spirit residing within us. 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