Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. 1 Corinthians 12:4-18
Today, we start with a new subtopic: Spiritual Giftings: Honouring the Giver and the Word. The central purpose of spiritual gifts is established in scripture. The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with all. As 1 Corinthians 12:7 (NLT) states, a spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
The gift in the body of Christ is emphatically not to glorify the bearer of the gift, nor is it to benefit the bearer, but rather it is for the common good of the body and to help other members. God exalts selflessness through the giving of the gifts.
Those who bear gifts make sacrifices—fasting, praying, consecrating themselves, and staying away from gossip—not for personal wealth or gain, but so they can be used for the benefit of the body, to feed, comfort, edify, and help others. These sacrifices are rewarded, but if done for self-glorification, it is a “wrong spirit that needs to be dealt with.”
Every member of the body of Christ has one gift or the other. If you are a member of the body of Christ, you cannot be useless. If a part of the body is not used, it will start to shrink and die away; growth comes from being used, not being useless. Whether it is a vocal gift, a passion for helping people, or a heart for young children, the gift God deposited in you is not for your own selfish agenda, but for the benefit of another person.
Confirming the Word: Tracking God’s Words in Prophecies
We must glorify Christ, not the vessel through which the gifts operate. One way to encourage ourselves and appreciate what the Lord is doing is to track these divine works.
Scripture provides an example of this tracking: Agabus prophesied a great dearth (famine) that came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar (Acts 11:27). We, too, have witnessed powerful fulfillment of prophecies, such as:
- A prophecy that the West would experience intense “troubling of their waters,” which came to pass a year or two later with the COVID-19 pandemic.
- During COVID-19, when media projected a high death rate for Africa, the spirit of God declared that He would contain it and not allow it to be too severe in certain countries.
- A sister received a message/vision to use specific things for a daughter’s chronic skin disease, resulting in the Lord bringing total healing after many specialists failed.
- A riot (the End SARS story in Nigeria) was prophesied about, where the youth would revolt against the government, which eventually came to pass.
- Spiritual gifts exposed the devil’s plans to put an end to a brother’s life, with the Lord intervening through dreams and messages.
- Messages received have revealed “secret things that even your husband does not know about,” leading recipients to fear God, trust God, and know that God is present.
If you don’t know how to glorify what God does for you, you risk weakening the hand of God and allowing the devil to discourage you.
Administration: The Head vs. The Members
The Apostle Paul compared the church—the body of Christ—to the physical body of a person.
- The hand has a gift (e.g., scratching an itch on your back).
- The head (the brain) interprets the need (e.g., deciding you need a bath) and sends the signal to the hand to act.
A body is whole not just because its members (hands, eyes, and legs) exist and function, but because they are doing what the brain, which is the head, has instructed them to do.
Similarly, it is not the mere presence of gifts in the church that makes it a Bible church. A church is a Bible church when the gifts are administered according to the word of God, which is the brain of the church.
Ascension Gifts vs. Spiritual Gifts
We must distinguish between the two categories of gifts mentioned in Scripture:
| Gift Category | Scriptures | Purpose | Recipient | Nature | Role |
| Ascension Gifts (The Great Gift) | Ephesians 4:7-10 | Perfecting of the saints (work of the ministry) | Men (strictly the masculine gender) | Born with them; not impacted by laying of hands | The Head/Brain |
| Spiritual Gifts (Bodily Gifts) | 1 Corinthians 12/14 | Edifying, exaltation, and comfort | Every man (every believer) | Received in the body | The Members/Hand |
A church cannot be built on spiritual gifts and expect to mature; it will lack nutrition from the brain. The responsibility for the work of the ministry—the perfection of saints—lies with the ascension gift, which is the Head.
Honoring the Giver Above the Gift
We often see in Pentecostalism and charismatic movements that the gift is more important than the person giving the gift (the Word). This is a dangerous spiritual trajectory.
Consider the story of Rebecca and Eliezer: Eliezer brought Rebecca many gifts from Isaac. Rebecca could have become overwhelmed by the gifts, falling in love with them and deciding she didn’t need to meet Isaac.
However, because Rebecca was a true bride, her excitement was not dependent on the gifts but on the union with Isaac. The church becoming the true bride of Christ is not dependent on the gifts but on union with the undiluted Word of God.
If an individual or assembly begins prioritizing the gift above the Giver (the Word), they will experience stunted growth. Just as Rebecca would never become like Isaac by staying with the gifts for 500 years, an assembly will never become like Christ if the gift is placed above the Word.
The only way to become like Christ is to consummate the relationship, dwell with the Word, talk with the Word, and meditate on the things the Word says.
The Need to be Under Subjection
If gifts are not administered according to the Word, they can become the opposite of beneficial. A sick person’s body acts irrationally—the hand may move where the brain has not instructed it, or the mouth may eat what the brain has not requested. Similarly, if the functionality of the brain (the Word) is lost, a member may harm the body instead of helping it.
The Bible commands us to judge spiritual gifts. We judge them by the Brain (the Word/Head gift). If a spiritual message is received, it cannot benefit another member unless it is passed through the brain (the head gift/leadership), because the gifted person may not know the actual need, and the message could potentially harm the person.
Even if a prophetic message is true (like when Agabus warned Paul about his trip to Jerusalem), the person holding the head gift has the mandate to process that signal and decide whether the inspiration is to proceed despite the known obstacle.
If your primary love and interest is not in the Word of God, you are shifting towards prioritizing the gift over the Giver. The purpose of God giving you comfort and foretelling events through gifts is to woo you to His word. If you are only stuck with the gift and rude to the Word, you will not grow and may risk missing the rapture.
Let all things be done decently and in order. Every gift must be awakened, but all under subjection to the word of God, which is the brain of God. Your gift is for the profiting of the body; it is a sacrifice God has entrusted into your hand, not a “superiority contest.”
The only way you will not use your gift to harm the body is to ensure that it always comes from the brain—let it be processed and judged by the brain. God Himself places His word above His name. Why, then, put anything else above it?
The word of God is what you should fall in love with if you want to mature. The sign of an assembly of the restored truth is that everything is done according to the word of God. The love of the people must be for the Bridegroom, not the gifts of the Bridegroom.
We must pray for an increasing love for God’s Word, seeking to subdue ourselves under its authority and the authority of the headship. By doing this, the church will grow, and the reward will come to the bearer of the gift.