The Spirit is the Gift

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were heathen, you were led astray to dumb idols, however you may have been moved. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:1-3 (RSV)

Some interpret the Greek word (pneumatikos) for ”spiritual gifts” as “spiritual persons”. Or it could be translated in the singular so it would say, “spiritual gift” not “spiritual gifts” or “spiritual person” not “spiritual persons”. The Greek word does not seem to be clear at this point. Lord, once again, You point out to me that Your gift to me is not an object or thing, but a person. The gifts outlined by Paul are only examples of how the Holy Spirit, as a person, is manifest to others. When someone imparts wisdom, do I hear the person of the Holy Spirit speaking to me? When someone imparts healing, do I see the person of the Holy Spirit working through them? When I receive the benefits of some one administering, do I receive the person of the Holy Spirit through their organization? When someone serves me, do I sense the person of the Holy Spirit in their service? It is not the gift that is important, but the presence of the person of the Holy Spirit working through them that is important. Wisdom can be given without the presence of God working through them. Healing can happen from the hands of a physician or healer without the presence of God being manifest. Service can be given without the presence of God being in it.

Lord, I know I can speak wisdom statements because of what I have learned, but if these statements are not led by Your Spirit speaking through me for that person and that time, they are not spiritual gifts and I am not being a spiritual person. It is only when You speak through me that a wisdom shared is truly wisdom and used to transform lives. I know this applies to every “gift of the Spirit”. If healing is done without Your Spirit working through me, it is a healing from a natural person, not a spiritual person. If service is done without Your Spirit working through me, it is service done from a natural person, not a spiritual person. My life’s experiences have shown me that when I have done something in my own strength (psychikos - natural person), it seems to get twisted into something that is not beneficial or not as I had intended. But when I have done something led by Your Spirit, it has produced transformations beyond what I could have ever imagined. I pray that Your spiritual gift to me would continually be Your Spirit manifest to those around me through whatever means You so chose - be it wisdom, knowledge, healing, service, etc.