1 Corinthians 12:7-10

"To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy…"

 

The Bible is full of stories of great miracles (some English Bibles use the word "wonders," which means the same thing).  These start with God creating the world out of nothing in Genesis 1.  The Bible ends with God replacing the present earth and heavens with a New Heavens and a New Earth, another amazing wonder.  Today, the Spirit still operates miracles as believers pray.  Christians in every country have seen amazing demonstrations of God's power in their land.

 

When we teach about spiritual gifts, we are talking about a specific manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the faithful CHURCH, the Body.  We are not talking about the isolated signs and wonders that occur in the world (as in Luke 21:11 & 25).  We are talking about the 5th gift in Paul's list of 9 spiritual gifts from the passage above.  In this context, the Bible speaks of manifestations of the Spirit that are given to the church, not just demonstrations of God's power or even "ministries" that men may have.  Spiritual gifts can be given through any member in the church, not just the pastor – in fact, a healthy church will have all the members functioning in various spiritual gifts.  Members do not "own" a certain gift (including miracles) – instead, the Spirit may use an individual in one gift today and a different gift later; and he may use one member in operating a miracle today, and a different member for a miracle next week.  Like "gifts of healing," this spiritual gift is in the plural because it can occur in many different ways.

 

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