3 Spiritual Gifts: Partnering with Holy Spirit to Answer His Call
“Paul clearly teaches that each Christian believer ought to demonstrate a proper gift or gifts, bestowed by God the Holy Spirit, and that together the believers should accomplish the work of God as a team.”
Peter’s simple breakdown in 1 Peter 4:11 demonstrates that some in the Body of Christ have gifts that enable them to minister by speaking, while others minister through serving and helping others.
While Peter spoke broadly, within those two categories are many sub-categories. Paul captured and expanded these.
In other words, there are various types of both speaking and serving. All speaking and all serving does not look the same. However, every single member of the Body of Christ has received some type of grace-based gift from God with an accompanying responsibility to use it.
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 (Romans 12:4–8 NKJV).
Notice what Paul did not write in verse four. He did not state, “not all the members have a function.” Rather, he asserted that “all the members do not have the same function.”
It is vital that we understand this distinction. If Paul had taught that not all members in the Body of Christ have a function, then pastors would need to get up and tell their congregations that many believers have no use, function, or purpose. There would be, by divine design, two radically divergent groups in the Body of Christ—those with and those without a function. The implication of Paul’s statement is that all believers have a function; they just don’t all have the same function.
And then, so that we don’t get caught up focusing exclusively on our own giftedness, Paul immediately stressed the collective nature of our identity: “We… are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another” (Romans 12:5 NKJV). This reminder—that we are members of one another—helps prevent us from having an isolated perspective of ourselves. I really can’t exercise my gift properly unless I am vitally connected to others.
Some people errantly believe they can have “church” all by themselves. You might have heard someone say, “Well, I don’t really go to church anywhere. I just have a personal relationship with God.” Such an individual might tell you that they never worship with other believers, but instead, just take their Bible to the coffee shop and read it—that doing that is their form of having church. Really, though, that is not church; that is having devotions. It’s great that a person reads their Bible on their own—we encourage that. But if we really read our Bibles, eventually we’re going to come across the passage that says, “Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT).
We are individuals and there is a legitimate sense in which we have a personal relationship with God, but we can’t really be a blessing and help to others if we have a hyper-individualistic mindset. Norman Vincent Peale expressed this same thought:
The man who lives for himself is a failure. Even if he gains much wealth, position or fortune, he is still a failure. The man who lives for others has achieved true success. A rich man who consecrates his wealth and his position to the good of humanity is a success.
While divinely imparted abilities are ours to steward, they really exist for the benefit of others. John Wesley recognized our need for connectedness and noted that he had been advised as a young man that “You must therefore find companions or make them. The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion.”
I can do certain things with my gifts individually, and you can do certain things with your gifts individually. However, when several of us combine our gifts and work together toward a common goal and purpose, the effectiveness of our combined gifts skyrockets exponentially. Billy Graham recognized this concept when he stated:
I realize more than ever that this ministry has been a team effort. Without the help of our prayer partners, our financial supporters, our staff, and our board of directors—this ministry and all of our dreams to spread the Good News of God’s love throughout the world would not have been possible.
Graham and his team operated on a worldwide scale, but every team can achieve far more when the contributing members recognize that they are “individually members of one another.”
The New Living Translation renders the first part of Romans 12:6 as, “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well….” Peter had alluded to different categories of gifts—speaking and serving—when he referred to God’s “great variety of spiritual gifts” (1 Peter 4:10 NLT). This correlates to Paul communicating that we don’t all have the same function, and then Paul proceeded to get significantly more detailed than Peter did.
Those Who Speak
Paul mentioned three specific types of speaking: prophecy, teaching, and exhortation. Let’s look at each of these.
Prophecy
…if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you (Romans 12:6 NLT).
Unfortunately, when many people hear prophecy mentioned, they simply think of foretelling the future. While that element may appear at certain times, the New Testament emphasis is somewhat different. Paul explained that “one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them” (1 Corinthians 14:3 NLT). In the context of a gathering of believers, he also stated that “…one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church” (1 Corinthians 14:4 NLT).
When Peter quoted Joel on the Day of Pentecost, he made it very clear that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit would result in many of God’s children speaking by divine inspiration.
This is what I will do in the last days—I will pour out my Spirit on everybody and cause your sons and daughters to prophesy…. The Holy Spirit will come upon all my servants, men and women alike, and they will prophesy (Acts 2:17–18 TPT).
These statements do not mean that all believers become prophets in the fivefold sense of the term (see Ephesians 4:11), but simply that the Holy Spirit can and does inspire believers to speak words that strengthen and encourage others. The Holy Spirit will help us fulfill what Solomon described when he said, “…A word spoken in due season, how good it is!” (Proverbs 15:23 NKJV).
This does not mean our statements need to be religious-sounding or peppered with phrases such as “Thus saith the Lord.” You can speak relationally with others, in your normal tone of voice, and simply be inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak kind, encouraging, and uplifting words that bring the fresh air of God’s presence into another person’s life or perhaps to a group. Prophesying does not imply that you are trying to predict the future or discern mysterious secrets in their lives; you are simply sharing God-anointed, Spirit-breathed words with them.
Teaching
…If you are a teacher, teach well (Romans 12:7 NLT).
Just as some are given grace by the Holy Spirit to speak inspirationally to bring edification, others are given grace to speak instructionally to bring understanding. Teaching has been a vital means of communicating God’s truth for untold centuries. For example, when the people of God returned from Babylonian captivity, teaching re-emerged in a notable and powerful way.
Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform that had been made for the occasion…. Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet. Then Ezra praised the LORD, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. The Levites…then instructed the people in the Law while everyone remained in their places. They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage (Nehemiah 8:4–8 NLT).
Notice the components of teaching here:
They read Scripture verbatim—word for word.
They clearly explained the meaning of what they had just read.
They helped the people understand each passage.
When minds are open and hearts are eager to learn, teaching is one of the most powerful tools, gifts, or functions that God has placed in his church.
Consider how Jesus and Paul operated in the area of teaching. Luke recorded that when the Lord walked with two disciples on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection, “Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27 NLT). Later, those two disciples “said to each other, ‘Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?’” (Luke 24:32 NLT). Teaching should be life-giving; it absolutely does not need to be—nor should it be—dry and boring!
When Paul met with Jews in Rome, Luke wrote that Paul:
explained and testified about the Kingdom of God and tried to persuade them about Jesus from the Scriptures. Using the law of Moses and the books of the prophets, he spoke to them from morning until evening (Acts 28:23 NLT).
Teaching sessions don’t have to be long and protracted to be effective, but in another case, Paul met with a group of believers to celebrate communion and ended up speaking until midnight. He was “interrupted” long enough to raise a young man from the dead who had fallen out of a third-floor window. He then resumed teaching until dawn (see Acts 20:7–12).
Teaching doesn’t always have to be done by professional clergy, nor is everyone who has been graced to teach been called to teach the Body of Christ at large. Thank God for countless Sunday School teachers and home group leaders who help others grow by teaching important truths from God’s Word. Also, many who do an excellent job teaching in one-on-one situations would not feel comfortable with a large crowd. A person doesn’t have to have a public platform to convey vital information to others.
Consider Priscilla and Aquila who heard Apollos preach in Ephesus. They recognized the limitations of his knowledge, and in parental fashion, they “…took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately” (Acts 18:26 NLT). Teaching can be brief or extended, simple or in-depth, private or public, one-on-one or to great crowds, informal or formal.
Think of the term driver. Someone might drive a bus full of students, or even a semi-truck that hauls massive amounts of products across the country. Someone else might be a race car driver with NASCAR, while another is a hospitality worker behind the wheel of a golf-cart that picks up people in a hospital parking lot and delivers them to the front entrance. All of these people might be called drivers, but the type of work they do and their respective capacities and abilities vary drastically. The same concept applies to various teachers relative to their diverse roles and functions.
Exhortation
If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging… (Romans 12:8 NLT).
A Bible Dictionary states that the word exhortation is a:
Translation of a Greek word literally meaning “a calling of someone alongside to help.” Its primary meaning in the NT is the urging of someone to do something—particularly some ethical course of action. In some contexts, the same Greek word may also include the idea of comforting and consoling. The given context will determine which meaning to use.
Whereas teaching is more logical and instructional, exhortation seems to be more of an appeal—something more motivational in nature. Beyond informing (teaching), exhorting is often an urging for another person to do something, an encouragement to move forward. Exhorters are often considered to be strong motivators who light a fire under people and stir people to action.
Because these different verbal gifts often have similarities, we sometimes see an overlap when Paul mentions them. It might be helpful to think of prophecy, teaching, and exhortation as three petals on the same flower. These expressions are complementary and can work well together; they are not contradictory. For example, Paul told the Corinthians that “he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men” (1 Corinthians 14:3 NKJV). Similarly, he told Timothy, “Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:13 NKJV).
In another place, Paul told Timothy to “teach and exhort these things” (1 Timothy 6:2 NKJV). Apparently, these are not identical, or Paul would have been repeating himself. We also see the value and necessity of this type of expression as the author of Hebrews advised believers to “exhort one another daily” (Hebrews 3:13 NKJV). The Amplified Bible renders this passage, “But instead warn (admonish, urge, and encourage) one another every day.”
It is important to note that this was not written only to pastors or other preachers, but to believers in general. Believers were told to exhort one another. As God graces us, we can and should exhort (admonish, urge, encourage, motivate, appeal to, and light a fire under) each other regularly! How many believers could respond to the grace of God and engage more often in this vital expression of God’s love?
