Scriptural Article

Gifts

of

God

Published by Elder Sean

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Yahweh’s Truth in New Jerusalem

Copyright © 2014 Elder Sean for

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This article will look at the Gifts of God, or Gifts of the Holy Spirit which God gives to some people. Not everybody will receive every Gift from the Holy Spirit, some will get more than others and some will only get a few, depending on their role within The Church and what Yahweh God may require of us.

To start with, we will be looking at the different types of Gifts of the Holy Spirit given to people mentioned in the bible. Many think that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit granted by Yahweh God are only religious or Church oriented type gifts, however we see in the Beginning of the Bible that this is actually not the case, that more practical gifts from Yahweh God can be granted through the Holy Spirit.

The first record of Gifts from the Holy Spirit granted to somebody is found in Exodus, in the Old Testament.

NJB Exodus 35:30-35

The craftsmen for the sanctuary

30.  Moses then said to the Israelites, “Look, Yahweh has singled out Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

31.  and has filled him with the spirit of God in wisdom, knowledge and skill in every kind of craft:

32.  in designing and carrying out work in gold and silver and bronze,

33.  in cutting stones to be set, in wood carving and in executing every kind of work.

34.  And on him and on Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, he has bestowed the gift of teaching,

35.  and filled them with the skill to carry out every kind of work, that of the engraver, that of the embroiderer, that of the needleworker in violet-purple, red-purple and crimson materials and fine linen, that of the weaver, and indeed that of every kind of craftsman and designer.”

While some of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out upon Bezalel and on Oholiab were Church oriented, regarding wisdom, knowledge and teaching, there was also the gift of skill on crafting given to both of them, skills that are useful to them and the Israelites for general work in a manner that would allow them to make a living and also the ability for them to teach those crafts and skills to other people.

The next accounting of a Gift of God granted to man through the Holy Spirit is mentioned in Daniel.

NJB Daniel 1:8-17

THE YOUNG HEBREWS AT THE COURT OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR

8. Daniel, who was determined not to incur pollution by food and wine from the royal table, begged the chief eunuch to spare him this defilement.

9. God allowed Daniel to receive faithful love and sympathy from the chief eunuch.

10. But the eunuch warned Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king: he has assigned you food and drink, and if he sees you looking thinner in the face than the other boys of your age, my head will be in danger with the king because of you.”

11. To the guard assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah by the chief eunuch, Daniel then said,

12. `Please allow your servants a ten days’ trial, during which we are given only vegetables to eat and water to drink.

13. You can then compare our looks with those of the boys who eat the king’s food; go by what you see, and treat your servants accordingly.”

14. The man agreed to do what they asked and put them on ten days’ trial.

15. When the ten days were over, they looked better and fatter than any of the boys who had eaten their allowance from the royal table;

16. so the guard withdrew their allowance of food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

17. To these four boys God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and learning; Daniel also had the gift of interpreting every kind of vision and dream.

Notice how Daniel received an extra Gift. This gift of prophecy was more the Gift of Interpretation as it says, allowing Daniel to interpret visions and dreams. Daniel uses his Gift of Interpretation regularly through the Book of Daniel and you should read Daniel for more information about how his Gift of Interpretation from the Holy Spirit is used.

The first instances of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit being granted in the New Testament start in Mark. These Gifts are granted by Christ through the Holy Spirit to the Apostles when he appears before them and sends them out into the world to preach the good news of the Gospel.

NJB Mark 16:14-20

Appearances of the risen Christ

14. Lastly, he showed himself to the Eleven themselves while they were at table. He reproached them for their incredulity and obstinacy, because they had refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

15. And he said to them, “Go out to the whole world; proclaim the gospel to all creation.

16. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.

17. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues;

18. they will pick up snakes in their hands and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.”

19. And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven; there at the right hand of God he took his place,

20. while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.

There are only 2 Gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned here, the Gift of Tongues and the Gift of Healing. Tongues is the ability to speak and understand different languages, in those days not many people could translate or speak and most of the information about Jesus was in Aramaic before being translated into Greek. None of the Apostles at the time spoke Greek, although they may have spoken bits of Latin with the Roman occupation. The Gift of Tongues for them would have been a great gift, being able to speak and understand people in their own languages and directly impart the knowledge that Christ and God wanted them to impart about the Church and The Truth to people allowed them to do it directly.

The Gift of Healing is not really a gift as can be seen by the way it is mentioned in the above verse. It was a gift in the sense that Christ Jesus commanded the Spirit to give them the ability to request healing for people, but healing is more about the forgiveness of sin and the repair of the body through the removal of that sin. This type of thing can be seen in other verses where Jesus himself heals somebody and tells them not to sin again, indicating that they affliction was caused by sin.

Another Gift that many don’t actually see as a Gift is the Gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not just come to anybody, it does not just reside within any person, it’s a gift in itself from Yahweh God and Christ Jesus when a Person is repents of their sins and is baptised into the Truth. This can be seen in several verses in the Bible shown below:

NJB Acts 2:37-41

37. Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, brothers?”

38. `You must repent,” Peter answered, “and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God is calling to himself.”

40. He spoke to them for a long time using many other arguments, and he urged them, “Save yourselves from this perverse generation.”

41. They accepted what he said and were baptised. That very day about three thousand were added to their number.

NJB Acts 10:43-48

Baptism of the first gentiles

44. While Peter was still speaking the Holy Spirit came down on all the listeners.

45. Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were all astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should be poured out on gentiles too,

46. since they could hear them speaking strange languages and proclaiming the greatness of God. Peter himself then said,

47. `Could anyone refuse the water of baptism to these people, now they have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

48. He then gave orders for them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterwards they begged him to stay on for some days.

The Gift of the Holy Spirit would have to be the first gift received by a member of the Church.

The following verses from the Bible point to many different types of Gifts, none of which would be received without the Gift of the Holy Spirit that bestows the others upon us.

NJB Romans 12:3-13

Humility and charity

3. And through the grace that I have been given, I say this to every one of you: never pride yourself on being better than you really are, but think of yourself dispassionately, recognising that God has given to each one his measure of faith.

4. Just as each of us has various parts in one body, and the parts do not all have the same function:

5. in the same way, all of us, though there are so many of us, make up one body in Christ, and as different parts we are all joined to one another.

6. Then since the gifts that we have differ according to the grace that was given to each of us: if it is a gift of prophecy, we should prophesy as much as our faith tells us;

7. if it is a gift of practical service, let us devote ourselves to serving; if it is teaching, to teaching;

8. if it is encouraging, to encouraging. When you give, you should give generously from the heart; if you are put in charge, you must be conscientious; if you do works of mercy, let it be because you enjoy doing them.

9. Let love be without any pretence. Avoid what is evil; stick to what is good.

10. In brotherly love let your feelings of deep affection for one another come to expression and regard others as more important than yourself.

11. In the service of the Lord, work not halfheartedly but with conscientiousness and an eager spirit.

12. Be joyful in hope, persevere in hardship; keep praying regularly;

13. share with any of God’s holy people who are in need; look for opportunities to be hospitable.

More Gift of the Holy Spirit are mentioned in the following verses:

NJB 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

The variety and the unity of gifts

4. There are many different gifts, but it is always the same Spirit;

5. there are many different ways of serving, but it is always the same Lord.

6. There are many different forms of activity, but in everybody it is the same God who is at work in them all.

7. The particular manifestation of the Spirit granted to each one is to be used for the general good.

8. To one is given from the Spirit the gift of utterance expressing wisdom; to another the gift of utterance expressing knowledge, in accordance with the same Spirit;

9. to another, faith, from the same Spirit; and to another, the gifts of healing, through this one Spirit;

10. to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the power of distinguishing spirits; to one, the gift of different tongues and to another, the interpretation of tongues.

11. But at work in all these is one and the same Spirit, distributing them at will to each individual.

I find it interesting that listed in the above verses from the Bible, that one of the Gifts listed is the Gift of Faith. Faith comes in different measures, and develops, although is still biblically seen a gift. Can it be developed, yes most likely as Jesus tells us many times to have and to keep our faith. For those that learn the Truth, it would be hard to lose or leave your faith in the Truth, how can you leave or lose your faith in the one thing that set you free?

It should be mentioned that some of the Gifts are no longer given specifically, or are only granted on the very rare occasion if the need should arise. The Gift of Tongues is one such, there is no need for the Gift of Tongues in most case now, and the bible has been translated into every single language currently known to mankind. It may be granted to somebody that goes to a tribe in the middle of nowhere that has had no outside contact with the rest of the world and whose language is not known by anybody. This would then be when the Gift of Tongues would be granted for the spreading of God’s word only.

The Gift of healing is another one that is rare these days. With medical technology advanced and continuing to advance at a rapid pass, there is very little need for the Gift of Healing. It is still awarded to those in The Truth, but normally would just occur through prayer rather than the actual granting of the Gift of Healing. This type of person would be mobbed these days. This can be seen in the Bible where Jesus was mobbed by the masses at times when he was going around healing.

Most of the other Gifts mentioned however are still around to some degree or another.

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