“Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” - Acts 2:41-42

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1 Corinthians 12:12-13 - ”The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink…”

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1 Corinthians 12:12-13 - ”The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink...”  

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1 Corinthians 12:7-8 - ”Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit…” 

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are a very important characteristic of the Work that the Lord performs.  Even so, it is very important to be able to discern between what is from the Lord and what is not from the Lord, and to handle the operation of spiritual gifts properly.  Otherwise, we are doomed to have unnecessary disappointments.   continue

1 Corinthians 12:7-8 - ”Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit…”

When churches try to have spiritual gifts without wisdom controlling them, horrible results follow.

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1 Corinthians 12:7-8 - ”Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit…”

The gift of knowledge is when the Holy Spirit reveals things about the present moment that we could not have known otherwise.  It is not a revelation about the FUTURE – that would be the gift of prophecy, which we discuss in another lesson.  It is a specific revelation about things going on around us, right at this moment, which our eyes cannot see.  The gift of knowledge is a miraculous occurrence, a true revelation, not just human insight, intelligence, or information.  

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1 Corinthians 12:7-8 - ”Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit…”

The gift of knowledge is is a specific revelation about things going on around us, right at this moment, which our eyes cannot see.  The gift of knowledge is a miraculous occurrence, a true revelation, not just human insight, intelligence, or information.  It is when the Holy Spirit reveals things about the present moment that we could not have known otherwise. 

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1 Corinthians 12:7-8 - “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit…”

The gift of knowledge is when the Holy Spirit reveals things about the present moment that we could not have known otherwise.   How does the gift of knowledge occur?  There are three ways: through dreams, visions, and specific revelations(words the Spirit speaks into our hearts).  These should be a regular part of the life of the church.  Not everyone will have these three types of experiences.  Some may have dreams but no visions, while others may have revelations but no dreams, and so on.  All three of these means occurred in the New Testament church as well. 

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1 Corinthians 12:7-9 - ”Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit…”

Paul includes the “gift of faith” as one of the nine spiritual gifts that he lists in 1 Corinthians 12.  We have other lessons explaining the other eight gifts.  This lesson focuses on the gift of faith.

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“To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit…” - 1 Corinthians 12:8-9

Healing is not a ministry.  It is one of the nine spiritual gifts.  There is no biblical basis for “healing ministries,” despite how fashionable these are today.  Some who claim to have a “healing ministry” are actually operating a faith-healing business, where people give money in exchange for a healing.  The Holy Spirit may indeed use certain people in the spiritual gift of healing more than He uses others.  Even so, there is no “ministry” of healing.  The only “ministries” in the New Testament are the five listed in Ephesians 4:11 – apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.       continue