The Giver and the Gifts
By Warren Dayton
“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” (1 Corinthians 12:
7-11).
“Wherefore he saith, When He ascended up on
high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men... And He gave some,
apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for
the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till 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 fullness of Christ...” (Ephesians 4:8:11-13).
As I have meditated upon the subject of the Gifts of the Holy
Spirit and of the Ministry Offices (referred to in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4, as appears above), our Lord has graciously
revealed to my heart some various aspects of truth, which I find very helpful and edifying.
Therefore, I wish to share with you some of these thoughts pertaining to this vital and essential subject.
The Lord has designed to move through the New Testament Gifts of the Holy Spirit
(Spirituals), and Ministry Offices (Five-Fold Ministry); they being one with Him and inseparable. Jesus moved in the fullness of God's Spirit and power during His earthly ministry. "How God anointed Jesus
of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: Who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil;
for God was with Him" (Acts 10:38). Thus, these Gifts and Ministries are totally
supernatural, and must be understood in that dimension.
The Gifts of the Spirit and the Ministry Offices have a GREAT PURPOSE! The greatest purpose is that through their successful and proper operation, we might
glorify and honor our Lord! Also, they are bestowed for the edification of the
Body of Christ; bringing strength, healing, and maturity unto the members thereof. Furthermore,
they are for the establishment of His Kingdom upon the Earth, which includes the reaching of the Lost of this world with the
Gospel. They enable the Believer to be effective in power and supernatural demonstration. (I am reminded of the preaching of an anointed man of God who many times has said,
“The Gifts of the Spirit are tools and weapons: Tools for building the Kingdom of God, and weapons for tearing down
the kingdom of darkness.”)
These Divine Gifts and Offices are from and by the Holy Spirit: As such, they produce
life and dispel death! Jesus is the Life-Producer! The devil is a life-destroyer,
thief, and murderer! Satan cannot create or produce, but being God’s enemy
and the enemy of all that is good, he seeks to corrupt, pervert, and destroy! “Antichrist”
means: he who is against or who opposes the Anointed One, anointed ones, and the anointing.
These Gifts and Ministries are God's creation and His choice;
that which He specifically ordained for the work of ministry, through His Body in the earth.
They are GOD’S ORDAINED METHOD for ministry! The Church should
gladly embrace them, be thankful for them, and begin operating in them. It is
so unfortunate to observe seemingly sincere and dedicated Believers, who spend much time and energy attempting to make light
of these Divine provisions; in some cases, even disputing them, railing against them, and dissuading others from embracing
them.
It has been said, “Focus on the Giver, not on the Gifts.” I agree heartily; our focus should be directly upon our Lord Jesus Christ at all times,
and in every situation! Notwithstanding, we must be quick to remember that it
is He who has placed these Spiritual Giftings in His Mystical Body, and it is He, who by His Holy Spirit, anoints and empowers
His ministers in the operation of the same.
My highest desire is to love and serve
Jesus Christ, love my neighbor as myself, and to minister to those in need! In
order to perform this, I must be equipped with the tools and weapons which He has afforded for all who truly believe upon
His name. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds”
(2 Corinthians 10:4). The antithesis of this arrangement is evidenced in those man-made methods so prevalent in
our day (either outright counterfeit or cunning imitations) of quasi-psychological/meta-physical/new-age disciplines.
For all who truly love and seek to please
their Lord Jesus, there will at some juncture come the necessity of exhibiting that love toward others; as in the case so
beautifully portrayed by the parable of the Good Samaritan. Divine love
will compel us to manifest that same love, without reserve, nor selection, unto even the most needy, destitute, and forsaken;
as well as to every member of His Body. “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which
every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto
the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:16). “For the body is not one member, but many” (1 Corinthians 12:14). “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the
members rejoice with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26).
Following the example of Jesus Christ and becoming His disciple
is tantamount to living for others; that is, lifting the fallen, strengthening the weak, comforting the bruised and broken,
etc. In essence, this is His chosen fast of Isaiah 58:5-14, which is a prophetical
insight into the healing and restoring of Adam’s fallen race, as evidenced proto-typically in the life and earthly ministry
of our Lord Jesus.
To accomplish this great feat, He has chosen
a many-membered Body in the earth, over which He is the singular Head. “...even as Christ is the head of the church: and He
is the Saviour of the body” (Ephesians 5:23). “And He is the head
of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence”
(Colossians 1:18). “...the Head, from which all the body by joints and
bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God” (Colossians 2:19). This
corporate company is the very Body He has called and commissioned, to continue on through this Church Age in the ministry
which He has established; being: “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3).
The Apostle Paul, under Divine unction,
admonishes with urgency all Believers to: “...covet earnestly [earnestly desire; long for; seek after] the best gifts
[the best gift does not denote a qualitative categorization, but rather, that Gift which is most needed in any given situation]...” (1 Corinthians 12:31). “Wherefore, brethren, covet [earnestly desire] to
prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:39). This leaves no doubt in my mind as to the
intention of the Holy Spirit, under whose anointing Paul was speaking. To my
thinking, there is no argument, nor any position for argument here. As a notable
man of God of past generations often declared, “God said it; I believe it; that settles it; case closed!” Hallelujah!
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are THE OPERATION OF JESUS CHRIST,
through the Five-Fold Ministry and the members of His Body! This is His ordained
method of ministry! This is the most effective way of reaching the Lost, and
of strengthening Believers!
By operating in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and under right government,
we will bring glory and honor unto “Him with whom we have to do” (Heb 4:13).
We will be in obedience to His Great Commission, and in compliance with His clearly delineated Divine order, as afore-stated
in Ephesians 4:8-13. Therefore, when we worship Him, we render unto Him glory,
and ALSO, when we minister and express His love to souls in need, we render glory unto Him!
Young disciples often raise the questions: “Where will we
minister? To whom will we minister? How
will it all come together?” For those truly desiring to follow Christ,
it will not take long to find these answers, considering that: Souls of men, women, and children, of all time and history
are the very reason our Lord came down from the “Ivory Palaces,” to face a shameful and horrific death on the
old, rugged cross!
The true disciple (in even His formative stages) will be led in
the footprints of His Lord, who will place burdens and concerns upon his heart and mind for others. By this means, he will be led unto those to whom he shall minister help, hope, strength, and encouragement! God never calls a man or woman to become a passive “bench-warmer,” nor
a worthless “couch-potato:” There is no room for such in His Kingdom! We
must all learn to be about our “Father’s business.” For all
who nurture even a flicker of desire for such, He will fan that “flicker” into a roaring fire, and open doors
and avenues of ministry such as that aspiring disciple could not begin to comprehend.
Have you ever been ministered unto by a
true operation of a Gift of the Holy Spirit? (Please understand that by this,
I refer to that which complies with the Scriptural criteria, and with Divine order.
I certainly do not encourage, nor endorse so called “Gift operations” which are outside of the Divinely
ordered government, which our Lord has set in the local church.) “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the
other judge. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first
hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all
may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints”
(1 Corinthians 14:29-33). “...that in the mouth of two or three witnesses
every word may be established” (Matthew 18:16). “...In the mouth
of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1).
“...Let all things be done unto edifying” (1 Corinthians 14:26).
“Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians
14:40).
If you have indeed been ministered unto in such a manner, you
have been blessed and edified by God! Because of His great love and care for
His children, He has designed for us to be edified (built up and strengthened) in order to be more effective workers in His
vineyard. Such brings great joy to His heart; and within our hearts, an expression
of praise, and glorious worship unto Him.
We are all called to enjoy personal time with our Lord, in prayer,
and communion with Him through personal devotion and meditation upon His Word. We
are ALSO called to minister the love we receive during this cultivation of our personal relationship with Him unto
others, by His blessed Holy Spirit. It is His desire to manifest, express, and
minister Himself through us! A beautiful worship chorus says this very aptly:
“Oh, to be His hand extended,
Reaching out to the oppressed;
Let me touch them, touch them with Jesus,
So that they, too, may know, and be blessed.”
Such an expression of ministry is perhaps
one of the highest forms of loving the Lord our God with all of our hearts, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. “And Jesus
answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord
our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,
and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like,
namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31). “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that
loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
(1 John 4:20).
Whenever dealing with the subject of “Spirituals”
(1 Corinthians 12), it is wise to make reference unto the “Fruits of the Holy Spirit:” “But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no
law” (Galatians 5:22,23). It is the personal conviction of this writer that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and
the Five-Fold Ministries can only be operated in their fullness and purity when ministered through vessels who whole-heartedly
desire holiness, righteousness, and integrity in the sight of God. Admittedly,
many who are anointed may still have struggles in their life, but for those whose heart is set toward the Lord, and who are
pressing on “the upward way,” and striving to walk in the "Highway of Holiness,” it is a given that the
Fruits of the Holy Spirit (at least in their formative stages of development; especially in young Believers) shall be in evidence. An old country preacher is said to have often admonished his congregants: “I
don’t care how high you jump. Just make sure you ‘walk straight’
when your feet hit the floor!”
