Introduction
In a world where divine encounters are often doubted and spiritual gifts misunderstood, the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit stand as supernatural tools God has entrusted to believers, powerful, precise, and purposeful. These are not mere religious concepts or theological theories, but living expressions of the Spirit’s work in and through us. From revealing mysteries through the Word of Knowledge to healing the sick and discerning unseen realms, each gift is a unique manifestation of God’s grace meant to edify, guide, and empower the Church. In this article, we journey into the heart of the Spirit’s gifts, what they are, how they operate, and how they can be stirred and activated in our daily walk with God.
1. Word of knowledge
As the name suggests, this gift enables us to get knowledge about people, things and circumstances. This is not an exclusive or total knowledge but a fragment of knowledge we receive by the Holy Spirit; only God is all-knowing, omniscient. As to the quantum (measure) of knowledge God can trust an individual with, it is left to the discretion of the Holy Spirit.
When in operation, word of knowledge gives information about the past and present conditions and maybe, circumstances surrounding them. Let us assume a minister of God calls out a congregant by name, accurately mentions his address or telephone number, tells him about the reason for his coming to the meeting and also tells the cause of the situation. This is an example of word of knowledge in operation.
There are many instances of the operation of this gift in scripture. We see the prophet Elisha operating very much in this gift in the Old Testament. He told the King of Israel all the battle plans that the King of Syria discussed with his army.
“Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.” And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.” Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?” (2 Kings 6:8-11)
Now let us look at the response the king got in verse 12,
And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
In the New Testament, we see Jesus operating this gift as Nathaniel approached him.
Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you” (John 1:47:48).
Also Jesus operating this gift told the Samaritan woman:
“For you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet” (John 4:18-19).
This gift operates in diverse ways – through visions, dreams, hearing, smelling, feeling, tasting, knowing or perception.
2. Word of wisdom
This is not wisdom acquired through long term learning, experience or by age. It is solely a gift that the Spirit imparts to a believer irrespective of position, growth and age. This gift is awesome and there is no limit to its range of operation, however I will try to cover three possible ways it may operate in.
(i) Giving insight about the future
Information is given about what will happen or how things will be in the future. An example is getting revelation about the future of a person, events, towns, cities, nations and even things. We are told, “Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, there is a future for you, and your hope will never be cut off.” (Proverbs 24:14).
(ii) Understanding and interpreting revelations
Daniel was gifted with great wisdom from God. “As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (Daniel 1:17). The King of Babylon, Belshazzar the son of King Nebuchadnezzar was troubled about a handwriting that came suddenly on the wall. This is what the queen testified about Daniel,
“There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father – your father the king – made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation” (Daniel 5:9-12).
And in Genesis 41 we read about Joseph moving in wisdom and interpreting dreams.
(iii) Understanding times and seasons and the action to take
In the tribe of Issachar, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, there were some men who had great wisdom to understand the times and seasons and what Israel was to do and they became rulers.
Of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command (1 Chronicles 12:32).
3. Discernment of spirits
Discernment means to identify and examine. This gift identifies and examines spirits as to what sort they are, good and light or bad and dark.
Spirits are beings without bodies, therefore, they cannot be discerned by physical means. All spirits live in the spiritual realm but have influence in the physical realm. This is when this gift comes in handy to enable us discern spiritually through: vision, hearing, tasting, feeling, smelling, knowing, perceiving etc.
Some spirits that interact directly in the physical through inhabiting a body or physical objects such as human bodies, animal bodies, trees, sculptures, toys etc.
The spiritual realm is not millions of miles away. It exists with us and it is just a dimension of existence which our physical faculties are unable to access. As humans, we interact daily with the spiritual realm through our imagination, consciousness, faith, dreams etc.
There is a long list of spirits and groups but this teaching will cover just a small group relevant for us now.
Good spirits
This group consists of Holy Spirit, holy angels, saints in glory and anything in the realm of God. These can adequately be described as spirits of light. “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5b). Therefore anything He lives in or anywhere He dwells is full of light and righteousness.
Evil spirits
In contrast to God’s light, these spirits are darkness and anything they inhabit is filled with darkness, false light, sin, evil, wickedness etc. They include all spiritual beings separated from God. Examples are: Satan, fallen angels, demons, witchcraft spirits, spirits of anger, fear, sexual immorality, etc.
Human spirits
Humans are more of spirit than physical beings. The spirit in the body of man is the real being. The body is just a house permitting it to inhabit this physical plane.
Apostle Paul, speaking about his body and spirit says, “We don’t give up. Our bodies are becoming weaker and weaker. But our spirits are being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16 NIrV)
The body is temporal but the spirit is eternal– it lives beyond physical death. You can identify, interact and examine the human spirit with this gift. The human spirit looks just like the physical body in resemblance.
The spirit also is filled with light or darkness depending on who rules over that person: God or Satan.
Discernment in general
Discernment, which means to identify and examine, does not deal with only spirits. Discerning the past and the present is known as Word of Knowledge and discerning the future is termed, Word of Wisdom. Due to this, I put all the revelatory gifts under a big umbrella called Gifts of Discernment.
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4. Gifts of healing
This gift is a special ability imparted for healing all kinds of sicknesses. Healing could be instant or progressive. It is not every believer who is endowed with this gift. It is given as the Spirit wills.
Does this mean no believer is to pray for the sick? Not at all. There is a general instruction Jesus gave to all believers with regard to healing the sick.
"And these signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover" (Mark 16:17-19).
"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8).
In the book of James, healing by believers is emphasized,
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15).
The general ministration of healing by believers is not by the anointing of the gift of healing but by exercising faith in the Word of God through the Holy Spirit to bring results.
Unlike the gift of healing, which manifests by the ability of God, one has to grow in faith to see results when operating by faith through the Holy Spirit. That is why Apostle James mentions the prayer of faith in James 5:15.
Looking back at gifts of healing, you will observe that there is an “s” added to "gift" to make it plural. This stipulates that there is more than one gift of healing. There are varieties of gifts of healing to match the many illnesses in the world. This brings us to specialty areas, making some ministers see more results in healing some illnesses than others.
5. Faith
The gift of faith is an imparted mighty and absolute faith for ministration. It is often temporary and manifests with the need at hand. There are two major kinds of faith talked about in the Bible.
(i) Gift of faith; measure of faith
Gift of faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:9); however, the measure of faith is the faith every believer has at the time of being born again. “God has allotted to each a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).
The faith grows or increases by feeding i.e. reading and meditating on the Word of God and as one matures and becomes more like Jesus. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). This is the faith we frequently operate in as believers.
In contrast, the gift of faith is not often based on spiritual maturity or what one does to merit it. It is a gift of God and received by grace as the Spirit wills. When it is in operation you have absolute confidence and everything looks possible to you. Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). This scripture becomes practically real to you and you are ready to call forth anything into being.
In many instances, the measure of faith is a prelude or a stepping stone to the manifestation of the gift of faith. In the sermon, “Faith that Prevails” by God’s General, Smith Wigglesworth, we see the manifestation of gift of faith. He said,
“And as I saw, in the presence of God, the limitations of my faith, there came another faith, a faith that could not be denied, a faith that took the promise, a faith that believed God’s Word. And from that presence, I came back again to earth, but not the same man. God gave a faith that could shake hell and anything else. I said, ‘Come out of her, in the name of Jesus!’ And she rolled over and fell asleep and wakened in fourteen hours perfectly sane and perfectly whole.”
6. Working of miracles
Miracles are occurrences that are beyond human ability to create or explain. Miracles defy the laws of science, reasoning and imagination; they are wonders that can only be attributed to a non-human super power– God.
The expression, “working of miracles” denotes it must be done and hence an ability or the gift is needed to get this done. To do this, faith of high magnitude is required to call forth those things which are not present physically to manifest. This is when the gift of faith comes in to get the work done.
In the Scriptures, many miracles were performed that I would classify into two groups as: nature miracles and human miracles. The nature miracles are as follows:
(i) Jesus changed water into wine
This is the first registered miracle of Jesus at a wedding in Cana of Galilee.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the water pots with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, ‘Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!’ ”(John 2:1-11).
(ii) Jesus calmed the storm
“When his day was over, he decided to cross to the other side of the sea of Galilee. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:35-4).
(iii) Jesus fed five thousand people
“But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, ”Bring them here to Me.” Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.” (Matthew 14:16-21).
Now let’s look at human-related miracles. There are many instances Jesus performed miracles on human bodies. Here are some examples:
(i) Man with withered hand restored
“And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand . . . Then He said to the man, ”Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other”(Matthew 12:10-13).
(ii) Jesus opened the eyes of the blind
“When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it” (Matthew 9:27-30).
(iii) Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days. . . Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go” (Matthew 11: 39 and 43).
(iv)Philip performed miracles
In a city in Samaria, Philip preached and performed many miracles. “When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed” (Acts 8: 6-7).
(v) Peter raised Dorcas from the dead in Joppa
“And Peter – having put everyone outside, and having put down his knees – prayed. And having turned to the body, he said, ‘Tabitha, rise up!’ And the one opened her eyes! And having seen Peter, she sat up” (Acts 9: 40).
There are many miracles that happen even in the present day, such as metallic implants turning into bones, sight restored in blind eyes, lost body parts appearing etc.
7. Gift of Prophecy
People may speak under the influence of many things e.g. alcohol, fear, evil spirits etc. Prophecy is speaking forth the Word of the Lord under inspiration or influence of the Holy Spirit. No matter how inspirational words might be, as long as they are not under the Holy Spirit, there is no true prophecy.
The Holy Bible was written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Hence it is a book of prophecy.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things” (2 Peter 1:20).
Prophecy and Believers
This gift is for all believers to seek and receive. “But earnestly desire the best gifts…” (1Corinthians 14:1). This gift of prophecy is not the same as the office of the prophet. Let us examine the scripture in Acts 21:8-10:
The next day, those who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
From this text, we see two classes of people: (i) four virgin daughters who prophesied (ii) a prophet called Agabus.
The ladies might just have had the gift of prophecy, but the Prophet Agabus was in the prophetic office. The ladies are examples of believers having this gift and prophesying.
Importance of the gift of prophecy
Believers move in this gift to (i) strengthen (ii) encourage and (iii) comfort one another. “But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them” (1 Corinthians 14:3 NLT).
Imagine being troubled, and a believer suddenly shows up to deliver the Word of the Lord to you. You will be strengthened, encouraged and comforted.
8. Diverse tongues
This is one unique gift very common among believers. “Tongues” here refers to a spoken language. Jesus foretold that believers would speak in new tongues. “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues” (Mark 16:17).
In scripture, we read about (i) tongues of men and (ii) tongues of angels. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1).
(i) Tongues and receiving the Holy Spirit
Speaking in tongues is a sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came, He descended on the disciples as a tongue of fire, and they spoke in different languages that natives understood (Acts 2:1-13).
The Jewish feast of Pentecost, known as Shavuot, was originally a feast of harvest and later remembrance of the Law given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. It was during this festival that the Holy Spirit came. There were many visitors in Jerusalem on the day to celebrate.
And they were amazed and astonished, saying, Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians–we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.
(ii) Believers at Ephesus
They received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. “And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied” (Acts 19:6).
(iii) Importance of speaking in tongues
(a) Magnify God
“The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.” For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God…(Acts 10:45-46 (NLT).
(b) Speaking to God
“For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries” (1 Cor.14:2).
(c) Edifying ourselves
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit" (Jude 20).
(d) Tongues as a sign
“Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers” (1 Cor. 14:22).
9. Interpretation of Tongues
This gift enables us to interpret what is spoken in tongues. At this point, tongues spoken become a word of prophecy. God can use tongues to speak specifically to a person in their native language, which no other person may understand.
Other than that, there must be an interpretation for the benefit of all. Therefore, this guideline was given in the church of Corinth to believers, “If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God” (1 Cor. 14:27-28).
Interpretation of tongues is not about translating each word of tongue but giving a general interpretation of what is spoken. Therefore:
Prophecy = Tongues + Interpretation of tongues
Conclusion
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not reserved for a chosen few; they are available to every believer willing to yield to God’s will and pursue His presence. These gifts were never meant to sit dormant but to be stirred into action, igniting faith, healing the broken, revealing truth, and glorifying Jesus in a world desperate for divine encounters. As you open your heart to receive and operate in these gifts, may the Holy Spirit empower you with boldness, discernment, and divine insight to transform lives around you. Step out, not just informed, but activated, for the Spirit is still moving, and His gifts are for today.
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Gifts of the Holy Spirit