Teaching
This motivational gift of the Father is necessary in the building of the Word of God in the body, because teaching is the foundational aspect of the church. The teaching ability can explain and reveal truths of God’s Word for the overall benefit of the church. We must be studious and devoted to the Word of God. I believe prophets and prophetic people should be teachers (equippers) of the Word and reproduce themselves in others. A prophetic minister should teach on the prophetic, prayer, intercession, worship, praise, drama, the arts, and the gifts of the Spirit. We need sound doctrine presented to the body of Christ so that there is Spirit illumination that provides a safeguard against erroneous teaching and the Gnostics teacher who comes with human philosophies and knowledge.
We need the knowledge of God released in the church to upgrade the saints to present truth. Teaching ministry is different from prophetic ministry, but both in their own right are needed. The teaching element brings clarity to the divine truth and makes it simple and applicable to fulfill. Moreover, teachers in particular are lovers of the Word and they are committed to studying, just as prophets and believers should be lovers of the Word of God and maintain a consistent study life. The Bible says to study to show thyself approved. We must understand that the teaching dynamic authenticates what the teacher has spent hours trying to research and discover. This type of gift is considered the “mind” to the body of Christ. The Bible says that we are to have the mind of Christ; we are able to think like Him.
Giving
This motivation gift of giving is a truly a supernatural gift that carries with it the spirit of generosity. A person with this gift feels a burden, call, and Spirit-leading to give to a specific cause, work, vision, ministry, person, project, and purpose. The Father is the Master Giver because He has given to us His own begotten Son. The Bible says that we are more blessed to give than to receive. I realize that at crucial times in my life, God would touch a person’s heart to sow into my life. Usually it would be exactly or more than what I was in need of.
The gift of giving is a God-given gift, and this person isn’t just limited to giving monies, per se, but also resources. This individual becomes a kingdom investor and plants seeds that reap a bountiful harvest. Moreover, the gift of giving is a supernatural giving that meets the need or needs of others. The gift of giving is a strong gift that is needed in the body of Christ. These people give out of their hearts and do not give with any ulterior motives, agendas, and objectives. People who operate in this gift usually do it without anyone knowing and in private. They are blessed to be a blessing. Moreover, prophets should be givers not only in prophecy, counsel, and directing people to God and back to God, but also able to prophetically help others to invest their resources and money wisely.
I have come to find out that we cannot judge a book by its cover. When I was in desperate need of a financial breakthrough and resources for kingdom projects, God would send me someone like the widow woman in the Bible who had something for herself and her child, but gave her last to feed the prophet Elijah; then he asked her what she needed, and God did it for her. Remember, when you help someone else in need, God will supply all of your needs. God sent the prophet Elijah to someone who needed a miracle, and he needed to survive and eat and she fed him, and God multiplied her resources and banking account.
Whenever the widow needed something, the barrel was always supernaturally full. God would send me people that didn’t look like they had anything for face value, but they would bless my life, even though they were obedient to God and gave me their last. It moved me to do something for them and I knew that there was power in my mouth as a prophet. So I would ask them what they needed or what they wanted me to pray for, and supernaturally God would move on their request on the behalf of me prophesying and praying it into being.
The spirit of generosity is connected to the spirit of liberality. God will never make a stingy, selfish, and prideful person wealthy because He resists them and gives grace to the humble. God gives the power to get wealth. But there are those who may not be on the frontline of ministry like the fivefold officers but they are called to support them with their resources and even to help underwrite their vision financially. Those with the gift of giving minister by giving of their own resources to those who may not have any. (See 2 Corinthians 1:12; 8:2; 9:11–13.) This kind of gift is what is considered the “arms” of the body of Christ, technically speaking, because they supply financial and economic support through their personal resources.
Exhortation
I like this type of gift of exhortation because it is one of the prophetic functions. Everyone in the body of Christ needs a little encouragement now and then. This gift is a building gift that in the broader sense can comfort, console, advise, instruct or entreat. (See Acts 4:36; Hebrews 10:25.) The exhortation or encouragement gift is like the “mouth” of the body of Christ that’s sole purpose is to call aside believers to God and make an appeal to them while motivating them to do better and remain diligent to the purposes of God in their lives. Like the prophetic ministry this exhortation gift become the reinforcement of God in a believer’s life to keep on pressing forward and become a champion in the faith.
Administration/Leadership
In the body of Christ we need organization, which is key to the order and structure of things. There are those who are called and gifted with the skill set to make things happen decently and in order. God is raising up those who can carry out assignments with diligence, perseverance, and excellence. Moreover, it will take Holy Spirit-filled individuals with the gifts to model, supervise, organize, and develop a game plan and strategy for success in the body of Christ.
Leadership is the model and foundation that keeps things in their right perspective, place, and position. I do understand that everyone may not have a call or passion to administrate but all are called in one way or another to assist the leadership in its vision to see continuity, productivity, maturity, and synergy in the work of God. Those with the gift to administrate come up with a long-term goal and objective and see to it that it reaches its deadlines. Moreover, those who possess the gift of leadership, administration, or government are usually those who are standing on the front and alongside the leadership team to facilitate the overall vision and gather others to partner with it. I call this type of gift of leadership a “head” to the body of Christ. We know that Jesus is the Head of His church but He uses individuals in His church who reflect and represent Him as models. Prophets are called as one of the fivefold headship leaders to the church of Jesus Christ. They are called to administer and exemplify great ethical, moral integrity and godly character that will promote longevity.
Mercy
The gift of mercy is imperative to have in the body of Christ. There are those who are gifted with the ability to show mercy. I believe that it’s not just a gift but a matter of a person’s character and ability to forgive, forget, and not hold grudges. People with this type of mercy gift love to relate with others by demonstrating love, respect, honesty, empathy, compassion, fairness, and courtesy. Moreover, those with this gift are exceptionally nice, kind, generous, and unbiased, and treat people with dignity and honor. They can share in one’s suffering and pain to bring joy, peace, and encouragement in spite of what they had to encounter. We need believers in the body of Christ who have a heart to forgive and not judge, because we are not the judge—Christ is the Judge.
We are to bring cheerfulness and motivation to the body of Christ. Many have already been judged, condemned, and rejected by others in the world for making a decision to stand for Christ. In addition, we need the mercy ministry as well for those unbelievers who are coming into the kingdom. New believers do not need anyone scrutinizing them and looking at them with an eye of suspicion. The Bible says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7, NKJV). In other words, we must be ministers of mercy so that we ourselves will receive mercy. There is no reason not to give mercy, because there will
come a time in your life that you will want someone to favor you. This mercy gift is what I call the “heart” of the body of Christ.
DIVERSITY OF THE SUPERNATURAL GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Having come to an understanding of the nature of spiritual gifts, it is good to find exactly what gifts have been given. In the New Testament, only the apostle Paul mentions them by name. He gives us five such lists. All the lists are different, so it is necessary to look at them all together. The gifts are found in Romans 12:6–8 (seven), 1 Corinthians 12:8–10 (nine), 1 Corinthians 12:28 (eight), 1 Corinthians 12:29–30 (seven), and Ephesians 4:11 (five). Subtracting those repeated gifts brings the total to nineteen. The following chart below shows them all as they are listed in these New Testament passages:
First Corinthians 12:28 (KJV) is the key list in that it mentions the gifts in order of importance: “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” Since it is obvious that some of the gifts toward the bottom of the list (such as healing and miracles) were in operation before the gifts higher in the list (such as apostles)—apostles being first in rank, then prophets second in rank, and teachers third in rank—this must indicate the order of importance and not just the order in which they were given to the church by Christ.
In the list of the gifts of the Holy Spirit there is some overlapping or mixture in the gifts. It may suggest that there are no two spiritual gifts listed that are exactly the same, though it would be difficult to find any real difference between some of their function since they correlate with each other. In other words, it would be difficult to display and differentiate between the gift of helps and the gift of showing mercy. Both have the same focus: ministry (service) for others. We have the same problem differentiating between ruling and governing, which can be difficult to separate without studying the terms.
Even if exact identity is not intended, there is still mixture in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is the case, for instance, regarding the gifts of the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, exhortation, teaching, helps, and service. Likewise, the gifts of healing may not be as broad as the gift of miracles, but the similarity is obvious and clear.
UNDERSTANDING THE SUPERNATURAL GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
It is my desire that we understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which will help the believer to maximize their full potential in the Lord. We must first understand the nature of these gifts and what 1 Corinthians 12 reveals. I will not discuss the in-depth meaning of each one, but pull out the simple terms biblically.
What is the biblical term spiritual?
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
—1 CORINTHIANS 12:1, KJV
We can see that the apostle Paul was teaching the Corinthian church things that were related to the subject of spiritual gifts, and they were not to be ignorant concerning them. The King James Version uses the term spiritual, which is a Greek word, pneumatikon, describing the things of the spirit, belonging to the spirit, or controlled by the spirit.45 In other words, spiritual gifts are properties and endowments by the Spirit of God, and the church in the first century needed to understand them for clarity. It was Paul’s apostolic heart to bring clarity to things concerning the spirit, which are the spiritual gifts of God. This church was known for their ability to minister in the prophetic and in the gift of tongues but didn’t know how to operate in them. We must understand the foundational and fundamental principle concerning how spiritual gifts work through us. I believe that we must get a better understanding of what pertains to God and function appropriately. I have seen people prophesy and minister in their gift but had no clue about the roles, functions, biblical definition, and purpose of the things that belong to the Spirit of God.
What is the biblical term gifts?
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
—1 CORINTHIANS 12:4, KJV
In this passage of Scripture we see that there are diversities of gifts in the church and they all are from the same Spirit. In other words, when you look at your physical body, there are different members on your body that make up the whole, but it’s still one body or person. So even though there are different kinds of gifts in the body it is still one body and spirit working through it. The word gifts here is translated in Greek charisma, from the root word charis, from which we get the word grace (Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:4, 9, 28, 30–31; 1 Pet. 4:10).46 So to clarify what the apostle Paul was saying, there are different gifts or graces in the body of Christ but the same Spirit. God has given various grace gifts to the body by His Spirit.
When we observe a gifted person, we usually refer to them as being very “charismatic.” A person that has a lot of charisma is a person who is gifted and has a particular grace to do what they do. The Holy Spirit’s gifts are the God graces that are distributed to those whom He chooses to give them to. The things belonging to the Spirit are the different God gifts or graces given to the body for the purpose that the whole body of Christ will profit from them. I believe that spiritual gifts are “charismatic” because they are considered gifts of grace.
Prophets are deemed charismatic in their prophesying, teaching, training, prayers, worship, singing, etc. I have always been very charismatic in my personality because it had the ability to get people’s attention. There are those who are gifted in a particular area of ministry but lack the godly character to sustain momentum and longevity in ministry. Regardless how gifted a person may be, we should never measure a person’s gift, grace, or calling over character. Godly character and integrity enriches our spiritual gift. I have witnessed young prophetic ministers try to flow in the gifts but lack good character, mostly because there is a lack of true accountability, transparency, relationship, fathering, nurturing, and foundational biblical principles established in their lives.
The Bible says that gifts and calls come without repentance. In other words, gifts and callings of the Lord came with you when you were created by the Lord. A person doesn’t have to work for it or receive by merit. The call of God on a person’s life comes without repentance. You don’t have to repent to receive it; it was born with you. I have heard and witnessed some young leaders say that they are anointed and it doesn’t matter what they do or say, “I am anointed regardless.” That type of statement and mentality is dangerous and self-deception.
We should never get to the point that we think we are anointed, called, and graced to do and say whatever we feel because God called us. A wise pastor said to me, “Hakeem, make sure that your character matches the level of your anointing and you will go far in God.” I keep that in the forefront of my mind as I travel across the country ministering in the prophetic and healing ministry. The point I am trying to make is that the people of the Corinthian church were so gifted that they lacked apostolic order and structure. They became so caught up in their ability to move in the Spirit while speaking in tongues and prophesying that they became arrogant, prideful, and self-centered. This gifted church needed the apostolic alignment that came to them through their apostle and apostolic father, Paul. It was Paul’s corrective approach that brought spiritual alignment, clarity, and unity in the functionality of the Holy Spirit gifts.
What is the biblical term administration?
First Corinthians 12:5 (KJV) says, “And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.”
In this passage of Scripture we see that in the church there are also differences of administration, or in other translations it would be the word ministries. The apostle Paul shares that there are different types of ministry services or administrations but the same Spirit working in and through the body of saints. There are those who can administer in different capacities and render their service in their gift. As there are differences of administration or ministries they are provided by the Spirit to serve. According to the Holman Illustrated Bible Dict
ionary, states the King James Version of 1 Corinthians 12:5 speaks of differences of administrations are translated in the Greek diakonia (service).47 We are all called to serve each other for the building up of the body of Christ. The Greek word for diakonia means a service or ministry to the people. In addition, the King James Version translates this word as ministry, ministration, ministering, serving, relief, office, service, administration, do service and to minister which we also get the word deacon from.
What is the biblical term operations?
And here are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
—1 CORINTHIANS 12:6, KJV
The apostle Paul goes on to say that there are diversities of operations but the same Lord which worketh them all in all. In the King James Version the term that Paul calls “operation” is another word called “activities.” We can see that it is the Lord that also gives various operations or activities in the body of Christ and that He works them all in all. In other words, God works through Holy Spirit-filled believers this diversity of activities. I love that the Lord works them all and in all so that the activities of the Holy Spirit are initiated by the Lord and not by the individual. The believers cooperate with the Spirit of the Lord to accomplish His purpose. God grants to those He has designated in His body the ability to carry out the work of the ministry. Jesus stated that He was sent to work the work that the Father sent Him to accomplish, and we are to do the same. These “workings” in 1 Corinthians 12:6 are translated in Greek energeia, from which we get our English word energy.48 Like the energizer bunny, the Holy Spirit enables the believer to keep going and going and going in the Spirit. We have the faith to work the work of God.
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