Spiritual Gifts

Now concerning spiritual gifts,

brethren, I would not have you
ignorant.
(1Co 12:1)
The Kingdom of God
 ▪The talents that Christ entrusts to His church
represent especially the gifts and blessings imparted
by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11. All men do
not receive the same gifts, but to every servant of the
Master some gift of the Spirit is promised. COL 327.1
 All who received Christ
received a spiritual gift.

But the manifestation of the

Spirit is given to every man
to profit withal.
(1Co 12:7)
But all these worketh that one
and the selfsame Spirit, dividing
to every man severally as he
will.
(1Co 12:11)
Pirpose of the gifts
 ▪If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts
unto your children: how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
him?
▪(Luk 11:13)
 ▪The promise of the Spirit is not appreciated as it
should be. Its fulfillment is not realized as it might be. It
is the absence of the Spirit that makes the gospel
ministry so powerless. Learning, talents, eloquence,
every natural or acquired endowment, may be
possessed; but without the presence of the Spirit of
God, no heart will be touched, no sinner be won to
Christ. COL 328.1
 ▪The special gifts of the Spirit are not the only
talents represented in the parable. It includes all gifts
and endowments, whether original or acquired, natural
or spiritual. All are to be employed in Christ's service.
In becoming His disciples, we surrender ourselves to
Him with all that we are and have. These gifts He
returns to us purified and ennobled, to be used for His
glory in blessing our fellow men. COL 328.2
 ▪The talents, however few, are to be put to use. The
question that most concerns us is not, How much have
I received? but, What am I doing with that which I
have? The development of all our powers is the first
duty we owe to God and to our fellow men. No one
who is not growing daily in capability and usefulness is
fulfilling the purpose of life. In making a profession of
faith in Christ we pledge ourselves to become all that it
is possible for us to be as workers for the Master, and
we should cultivate every faculty to the highest degree
of perfection, that we may do the greatest amount of
good of which we are capable. COL 329.2
 ▪Kindly affections, generous impulses, and a quick
apprehension of spiritual things are precious talents,
and lay their possessor under a weighty responsibility.
All are to be used in God's service. But here many err.
Satisfied with the possession of these qualities, they
fail to bring them into active service for others. COL
352.4
 ▪Not all the gifts are imparted to each believer, but to
every servant of the Master some gift of the Spirit is
promised, according to his need for the Lord's work.
ST March 15, 1910, par. 3
 ▪But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every
man to profit withal (in addition to).
(1Co 12:7)
 ▪Having then gifts differing according to the grace
that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy
according to the proportion of faith;
▪(Rom 12:6)
 ▪Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high,
he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
(Eph 4:8)
 A gift Common to All

▪Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to

hospitality.
▪(Rom 12:13)
 ▪And above all things have fervent charity among
yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As
every man hath received the gift, even so minister the
same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold
grace of God.
▪(1Pe 4:8-10)
 ▪But many are not ready to receive the precious gifts
of the Spirit which God is waiting to bestow on them.
They are not reaching higher and still higher for power
from above that through the gifts bestowed, they may
be recognized as God's peculiar people, zealous of
good works. 8T 247.3
 ▪Christ impressed upon His disciples that they were
to ask God in prayer for the gift of the Holy Spirit, and
then, placing themselves in an attitude to receive, they
would receive all the gifts comprehended in the gift of
the Spirit. 13LtMs, Lt 29, 1898, par. 18
 ▪Before He left His disciples, Christ “breathed on
them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy
Ghost.” John 20:22. Again He said, “Behold, I send the
promise of My Father upon you.” Luke 24:49. But not
until after the ascension was the gift received in its
fullness. Not until through faith and prayer the disciples
had surrendered themselves fully for His working was
the outpouring of the Spirit received. Then in a special
sense the goods of heaven were committed to the
followers of Christ.
“When He ascended up on high, He led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men.” Ephesians 4:8.
“Unto every one of us is given grace, according to the
measure of the gift of Christ,” the Spirit “dividing to
every man severally as He will.” Ephesians 4:7; 1
Corinthians 12:11. The gifts are already ours in Christ,
but their actual possession depends upon our
reception of the Spirit of God. COL 327.2
 ▪Christ has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to His
church, and the promise belongs to us as much as to
the first disciples. But like every other promise, it is
given on conditions. There are many who believe and
profess to claim the Lord's promise; they talk about
Christ and about the Holy Spirit, yet receive no benefit.
They do not surrender the soul to be guided and
controlled by the divine agencies. We cannot use the
Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to use us. Through the Spirit
God works in His people “to will and to do of His good
pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. DA 672.1
 ▪But many will not submit to this. They want to
manage themselves. This is why they do not receive
the heavenly gift. Only to those who wait humbly upon
God, who watch for His guidance and grace, is the
Spirit given. DA 672.1
 ▪Many things that were desirable Christ had set
before His disciples, but the gift of the Holy Spirit was
the all-powerful subject. In receiving the Holy Spirit, all
other blessings would be included. It is the richest gift,
of the greatest and most extensive plentitude. The
capacity of the human agent alone determines the
greatness of the gift he may receive. God help us to
receive the rich gift of the Holy Spirit. Have faith in
God, trust in Him, and you will have light and life.
12LtMs, Lt 150, 1897, par. 12