By Sidharth Mohandas

Introduction

In our previous articles we shared with you on how important it is to actively desire the supernatural gifts that Abba has offered to us through His Spirit.

Paul, after instructing us to actively desire these gifts, goes on to say something that he considered more important. He says, “And now I will show you the most excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). The Greek word for excellent here is “huperbole”, which means “supereminence” or “something of the highest priority”. What is this “way” that is super eminent to even charisma? It is the force of the highest order - love or simply the fruit of the Spirit.  (1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Galatians 5:22)

Gifts of the Spirit vs. Fruit of the Spirit (Love)

Let me use a common analogy to distinguish the gifts of the Spirit from the fruit of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit can be likened to the gifts hung on a Christmas tree, while the fruit of the Spirit can be likened to the fruit that  naturally grows on a tree. We hang gifts on a Christmas tree by one single act. In the same manner, God imparts the gifts of the Spirit to us also by a single act. On the other hand, the fruit of the Spirit is an outcome of growth over a period of time, just how the fruit on a tree is the result of growth over time.

Let us now take some time to evaluate ourselves to see whether we bear this fruit. Are we abiding in Abba’s love? We may have imparted healing to the sick, worked miracles or operated in the prophetic, but how much of it was done with a motive to express Abba’s love? Paul tells us that if we operate in the gifts and do not have love, we amount to nothing on God’s scales. We should never make the mistake of equating the manifestations of the Spirit in a person, to maturity or well-developed character.

King Saul, for example, had received the gift of prophecy when Abba anointed him. We also find that even after King Saul fell and the Spirit of God left him (1 Samuel 16:14), he was able to operate in the prophetic gift (1 Samuel 19:23). Balaam is another baffling combination of supernatural spiritual gifts and a corrupt character. In spite of the greed and avarice in his life, he could still operate in the prophetic gift. Why was this so? It is because God’s gifts and callings are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). This means that once Abba gives you a gift, He will not take it back.

Now, how are the takeaways from these examples applicable to our daily lives? First, we need to raise our standards for discernment. Just because someone operates in some supernatural gift, we cannot blindly conclude that he belongs to the Lord. Remember, Jesus’ criterion for discernment was the fruit of the Spirit (Matthew 7:15-19). He said, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:22-23).

Abiding in Love

Well, now that we have placed ‘love’ on a higher plane than the ‘gifts of the Spirit’ should we start treating the gifts of the Spirit with contempt? By no means! In fact, a person who is walking in the love of God will all the more want to see the gifts of the Spirit operating in his life. Why? This is because his focus is on profit-for-others and not profit-for-self.

What is the secret to walking in the love of God? It starts off by you and I experiencing Abba’s love at a personal level – as simple as that! This is a truth that the majority of Christians have overlooked. A person who has experienced Abba’s love and who continues to abide in it will automatically bear the fruit and keep on growing in love for others.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:11). 

In other words, it is impossible for a person who has met with Abba not to grow in love! Let me explain why. Have you ever tried spending time with someone who has a character superior to yours? You would have noticed that shortly afterwards, his or her character has started to rub off on you. The same goes for the Lord. When you fellowship with Him, His love rubs off on you and you naturally start loving others the way He does.

Our heart’s desire here at Imrah is to see the body of believers established in the Word, not only getting developed in charisma but also in character. With this, we come to an end of the Gifts of the Spirit series. 

By Sidharth Mohandas

In this article I will be dealing with the last three gifts of the Spirit, which can be collectively called the Gifts of Power.  I will quickly brush through these three gifts as they don’t need much of an explanation.

(a) The Gift of Faith

The “gift of faith” should not be confused with “saving faith” or with  “growing faith”. What is “saving faith”? When an individual hears the Gospel, faith is imparted to him as a gift (Greek for gift here is dorea; Romans 10:17, Ephesians 2:8-9). This  can be called the “saving faith”.  What is “growing faith”?  The seed of saving faith grows and matures as the person exercises it and continues to abide in God’s Word. This can be called the “growing faith”.

So, what is the “Gift of Faith”? It is a supernatural and spontaneous faith, which is not necessarily received as a result of training in the Word. It was by the manifestation of this gift that the Hebrew boys quenched the violence of fire (Daniel 3:25, Hebrews 11:34), that Daniel stopped the lions mouth (Daniel 6:19-22, Hebrews 11:33), that the Red Sea was parted, etc.  Further, the operation of this gift has nothing to do with one’s personal faith! For example, Elijah used this faith to call down fire on an altar that was drenched with twelve large jars of water (1 Kings 18:30-38).  However, moments later we find him under a Juniper tree, afraid and wanting to die (1 Kings 19:3-4). His personal faith failed here. So we can infer from this example that this “gift of faith” is given for a certain period of time in order to fulfill a certain task.

(b) The Gifts of Healings

Through this gift, healing is supernaturally imparted to a sick person. This gift is accompanied with the gift of faith, most of the time.

As you would have noticed, gift and healing are in their plural form. This implies that a person can have the gift to bring healing for a particular sickness, but may not have the gift to bring healing for some other type of sickness. That is, the healing for each sickness is considered as a different gift. For example, a  person may have the gift to heal cancer, but may not have the gift to heal AIDS.

(c) The Working of Miracles

Literally, this gift is putting into effect the power of God. The result is a happening or event that supercedes the natural order or physical realm. This gift was in operation when Jesus fed over 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fishes (Mark 6:30-44), when He stilled the raging storm (Matthew 8:23-27), when He walked on water (Mark 6:48-50), when He raised Lazarus  from the dead (John 11:41-44),etc. 

This is the last article in this series on the gifts of the Spirit. In the coming post, I will be dealing with the balance that we as Christians are required to maintain while we operate in the gifts of the Spirit.

By Sidharth Mohandas

What should our response be to the manifestation of the prophetic gift? If someone gives you a prophecy, what do you do with it? In this article I wish to answer this question under two headings:

(1)  Our response to its offer
(2)  Our response to its operation  

Let’s start with the first heading…  

(1) Our response to its offer:  

Abba has offered the gift of prophecy to us by His Spirit mainly for building, encouragement and comfort. Let me give you an example:

In the year 2005, my mother and I had gone to a meeting where a man of God had come down from Pennsylvania. At that time my mother was extremely burdened for my sister and her lifestyle. In one of these meetings, this man of God started prophesying after preaching a message. As he passed by my mother, she reached out in faith and touched his hand. In a very different manner from the message he gave, the man said “GIVE your daughter to Me, she is MINE, says the Lord”. 

That word from the Lord strengthened my mother in a great way, and changed her attitude towards my sister’s salvation. A year later my sister gave her life to the Lord! 

This gift is a necessity in the church, so much so that Paul tells us twice to COVET to prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:1, 39 KJV). The Greek word used for “covet” is the word “zeloo”, which means “to have warm feelings either towards or against”. Today, I encourage you to follow Paul’s instruction and deeply desire (be zealous) to the gift of prophesy. Why? In order to equip believers and build them up into unity and maturity of faith. (Ephesians 4:11-13 ESV). 

(2) Our response to its operation: 

Now how do we respond when someone delivers a prophecy? This is what Scripture instructs us: Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. (1 Corinthians 14:29)

The Greek word for “judge” here is diakrino, which means to thoroughly separate and examine. Failing to do this has led to the destruction of individuals, families, and even ministries. I remember a time I heard a well-known preacher prophesying in the media about something that would take place in the year 1998. Later when I analyzed his message, I realized his message was a message of condemnation, and not a message of “edification and exhortation and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3) as it should have been. The year 1998 passed by, and what this man said did not come to pass, even though his followers endorsed what he said when he prophesied it. If they had taken heed to Scripture to judge what was prophesied, they would not have been fooled.

What about personal prophecy? 

I had a friend of mine relate how a trusted man of God delivered a prophecy that a certain man was to marry a girl in the congregation. They made arrangements to get married but before the marriage took place the girl died! Isn’t it sad how people get deceived because they fail to judge what was prophesied? Personal prophecy is never given for direction, it is given for confirmation. God will never speak to you through prophecy if He has not spoken to you or will speak to you personally. If such a prophecy has been delivered to you and you are not sure if it is from God, do not act on it immediately. Wait on God, and He will make things clear to you.

Here is an instance in Scripture where this is clearly shown: the disciples of Tyre through the Spirit urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem (Acts 21:4). Later on, the prophet Agabus comes to Paul and warns him of the danger he was going to face in Jerusalem (Acts 21:11). What was Paul’s response to these? Scripture tells us that Paul still continued on his journey to Jerusalem. Do you know why? It was because the Holy Spirit had personally compelled him to go to Jerusalem beforehand (Acts 20:22). Yes, Paul did face danger in Jerusalem as the disciples of Tyre and prophet Agabus perceived (Acts 21:27-36), but it was not God’s will for Paul to retreat. The disciples probably perceived danger, but their interpretation of what they perceived was not what was in God’s mind.

Please note–this should not cause us to treat prophecy with contempt, but rather we should thoroughly test it and hold on to the good. (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21)

With this, we finish the Vocal Gifts. In the coming article I will deal with the Power Gifts.