Gifts of the Spirit

1 Cor 12:1-11
1Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

So what about the gifts? Are they for us now or just for the early church? If so, how do we use them?

I believe that the gifts are for the church now as much as they were for the early church.

I grew up in a church that was very "spirit-filled". I put it in quotes because that is just what people tend to say, though I believe we all have the spirit in us if we have Christ.

In this spirit filled church though, even as a young girl, I felt pressure to have to speak in tongues and be slain in the spirit, when prayed for. I look back and wonder how real those experiences were (for me). I don't doubt that God does those things in us and through us. I just feel like sometimes too much emphasis is put on these things and it distracts from God's true purpose for us - to be holy and blameless on the day of his coming. I wonder if I spent more time learning his word then trying to impress the congregation, would I have strayed less?

"to SOME are given"...not to all or that all need to experience/receive each gift. God gives gifts to those of his choosing and to be used for his purposes to edify the body...not edify the individual.

Eph 4:11-13
11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Rom 12:5-7
5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

When we talk about gifts people get so stuck on tongues and healing that they forget about so many of the other gifts...like faith, teaching, serving, encouraging, etc. These gifts are no less important and need to be recognized as much as the more "supernatural" gifts. No gift is too small for God to use in amazing ways!