The deep underlying current of truth that flows in the twelfth chapter of I Corinthians can be described by one word, varieties. Once we get the idea of varieties in our minds we can begin to grasp what God is doing in this Walk. Unless we have a real understanding of that chapter we do not seem to know much of what is going on in the services or what we are reaching for in a ministry in the Body. Much of our terminology comes from I Corinthians 12 as we talk about Body ministry—the functions of the various members within the Body of Christ as the Body makes increase of itself in love. This Walk with God seems to be the most wonderful thing in the whole world when we see God as a God of infinite varieties.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you, that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed” (an anointed utterance would never come out that way); and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. The Lordship of Jesus Christ cannot honestly be proclaimed except by the Holy Spirit. It cannot be done in the flesh. His Lordship is proclaimed by the Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects (energizings or workings), but the same God who works all things in all persons. I Corinthians 12:1–6.
This passage of Scripture is the introduction to the gifts of the Spirit, and it shows that variety is the key. Gifts, ministries, and various workings or effects and energizings are pictured here. Notice three things: varieties of gifts, but it is the same Spirit; varieties of ministries, but the came Lord; varieties of workings, but it is the same God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are represented. We have first of all the Holy Spirit, then the Lord, and then God. The Holy Spirit begins with a variety of gifts: Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.
What is God trying to say to us when He says that the gifts are the gifts of the Spirit? In our immaturity and lack of development we need the Lord’s blessings and attributes to help us because we do not know what to do. So he says, “I’ll give you the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” And there are diversities or varieties of gifts, but it is the same Spirit. The gifts are not given because you suddenly become spiritual enough to warrant them. Nor do you get a gift of the Holy Spirit because you are a mature, sound individual. The Bible does not say, “If you are mature, covet earnestly the best gifts.” It says, “Just covet them, desire them, seek them earnestly” (I Corinthians 12:31), because the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to the Church in its immaturity in order to bring it into maturity.
The fact that a gift of the Spirit is being manifested does not mean we have maturity. If we had maturity and had reached perfection, we would not need gifts. If we knew all things we would not need discerning of spirits, not a word of wisdom, not a word of knowledge. The gifts of the Spirit are the elementary beginning in the Church to enable people to move in something beyond their present spiritual capacities and level of growth. Therefore gifts are not given like merit badges because we finally attain perfection. They are given to us in order to reach perfection. So varieties of gifts is where we start.
Notice in verse 3: … no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes with all these varied workings of the gifts to do one thing: to bring you into such a place of dedication that in your heart Jesus is Lord. You look up and say, “You are Lord; you are Lord.” Only by the Holy Spirit can you say that. The Holy Spirit does not bring the gifts to the people that are wise, that are full of faith, etc. The gift of faith is not needed by someone that is full of faith. The word of wisdom and the word of knowledge are not given to someone who already knows all the answers. These gifts are given to us in our immaturity and imperfections so that we can get into them, so we can become mature.
And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. Verse 5. The same Lord is over them. The gifts of the Holy Spirit can operate to bring us to the place where we are completely submissive to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And when you are submissive to Him as Lord you have a ministry, whereas before you only had a gift. You can prophesy and Jesus may not be Lord over your life completely, but when the Lord has His way completely in you and you have a ministry, then you say, “There are many ministries, but the same Lord.” The Lord is over all of them.
One thing is for certain, if there is a ministry there is also a submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in it. People may have gifts but not know anything about the Lordship of Jesus Christ. They are not submissive to it now, and may never be. But God has given them gifts just the same. How merciful the Lord is to us. He will give us a gift to lead us on, but we will pervert and prostitute everything God is doing if we do not follow the leading of the Spirit that brings us to say, “Yes, Jesus, you are the absolute Lord over my life.”
A gift can become a ministry when the Lordship of Christ has been established through the Holy Spirit within the life. The gifts move through the realm of the Holy Spirit until the Lordship of Christ over that individual is absolutely determined. Then there is a variety of ministries. The ministry comes out of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in the life. And there are (also) varieties of effects, but the same God—energizings, various kinds of movings, but you must understand it is God moving in all. This is the higher plane of God’s moving. The last lesson in the The First Principles, lesson 50, tells about the successive levels and indwelling of God. Not only do we see that if the Spirit of Christ is not with us we are none of His, but the Holy Spirit first indwells us, then Christ comes forth within us in a great maturity, and He must reign until everything is put under His feet; then He delivers it over to the Father.
Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” John 14:23. The ultimate goal is to reach the third step, when we as temples may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19). Not only the Spirit dwelling within us to make us a temple (I Corinthians 3:16), not only Christ living in us (Galatians 2:20), but the Father, the Son, and the Spirit dwelling in us. When we are filled with all the fullness of God, then we have reached the ultimate purpose that God had in mind for us.
After the three stages are named, then the twelfth chapter unfolds step by step. Verses 7 to 11 proceed to list the gifts. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. The manifestation of the Holy Spirit is manifested in nine different aspects. It was said in verse 4 that there are varieties of gifts, and here they are named.
For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. I Corinthians 12:7–11. Nine aspects of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit are described. And we need them all.
Verse 4 says there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. Verses 7 through 11 cover the variety of gifts. Several verses, from 12 on, deal with the Lordship of Christ over the Body in the interrelation of the various members of the Body. How do we identify each of the gifts? First, we must understand that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are to enable us to flow in a divine ability or attribute of the Lord. It is as if the Lord had torn His mantle of anointing in nine different parts and distributed them to us.
We may lack wisdom in a lot of things, but we can say to the Holy Spirit, “I need an answer.” And we get a word of wisdom and a word of knowledge. God dispenses through the Holy Spirit from Christ in whom are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:3. He gives us just a little, just what we need. Whatever the situation is we can go to the Lord and say, “Lord, give us a word.” I have the gift of the word of wisdom, but that does not mean that I have a lot of wisdom. It just means that I can go to the Lord and say, “What’s the word?” He tells me what the word is, and that is what I bring to the people. You come to your elders and say, “I need a word from the Lord.” What you mean is that you are facing a situation and you would like to tune in, just a little, to the wisdom and knowledge of the Lord in order to find out what His will is.
When a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge comes from the Lord, it comes through the Holy Spirit who reaches into that wisdom or knowledge and brings it. These are divine attributes, not human abilities. It is not because a man is particularly wise that the Lord anoints him. It is not human wisdom; it is divine wisdom. It is a word of knowledge. Notice it says, “a word.” This does not mean that God gives to some particular man great wisdom; although I feel the necessity for it many times. Yet, when I am ministering to someone and must have the word of wisdom or the word of knowledge, I tune into it. But if you were to ask me to give you those answers at any time during a twenty-four hour period, I would not have the wisdom or the knowledge unless it were through the moving of the Spirit. But I can get a word of wisdom, and I can get a word of knowledge.
Suppose you were going to travel to a certain town in South Africa, and you wondered what kind of clothing to take. You would probably call a travel bureau, and they would tell you the climate to expect for that area and time of year. For that particular trip they wouldn’t tell you about the weather in Alaska or Samoa, only the weather in South Africa. Similarly, we get a word of wisdom and we get a word of knowledge that comes because we need a word from God. We do not have to know everything, but we have to have a word about what we are to do in a certain instance, a certain situation, or a certain relationship, and we get it through a gift of the Holy Spirit in operation.
Let’s examine these gifts in I Corinthians 12:9–11: … to another faith by the same Spirit… The Lord knows the erratic moving of faith in most of us and so it is necessary for the Body of Christ to have gifts of faith that will sustain it. Faith is like a ballast that holds it. As the scene passes from day to day we are in the midst of various cycles, ups and downs, encouraged today and discouraged tomorrow. We are aware of the fluctuations of human emotions and how difficult it is to sustain for a long period of time even the loftiest of emotions and feelings. We see it even in children. They play together for about a half hour, and then they get mad and start hitting one another. It soon passes; the cycles go fast. Something is needed to hold us steady in the changing, shifting tides and pressures of life. That is why there has to be people in the Church who have the gift of faith. But what kind of faith? The Lord’s faith is needed, not human faith with its variables. We need the kind of gift that is divinely imparted.
… and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit (we are continually facing the fact that people are getting sick), and to another the effecting of miracles… I think a miracle is simply a divine interference with the normal functions of nature (the laws of God), something that changes things. Anyone can walk on water. People are always walking on water in Alaska; people are skating on water. But the miracle would be to walk on water when the temperature is in the 90’s. A miracle is something that interferes with the laws of nature as we know them and makes possible the impossible. Christ did this in His day. Today the Living Word is being sustained by the gift of miracles. It is only God who is taking care of what He raised up in putting this Word out. Every day we are dependent upon a miracle to be sustained. We would go under in a month if it were not for that strange, beautiful process by which God raises up something and also gives the faith for it.
… and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits… King James translates it “discerning of spirits.” The distinguishing or discerning of spirits is very essential. In fact it should be one of the most common gifts in the end time so we can know the motivation behind what a person says or does, or to be able to distinguish what spirit is behind some phenomena we could not otherwise explain. We have to know what is behind what people say. We need to know the motivation and the spirit behind what people say and do. We need to identify what devils are involved in the witchcraft that comes against us. We must be able to distinguish the source and know how to combat these things. Once something is known it can be dealt with instantly, and it is gone.
… to another various kinds of tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues. But one and the some Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. Now we have the picture of these varieties of gifts by the same Spirit, and we understand how they work. They key is variety—varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. They are various gifts. In this is the key of the gifts of the Spirit. Can we all prophesy? Yes, but the minute we all prophesy on the same level with the same anointing we will find that the manifestation of the Spirit is incomplete. The other gifts are necessary. The manifestation of the Spirit is nine-fold.
We have yet to see the manifestation of the Holy Spirit come forth as it should in all things so that all nine gifts become the manifestation of the Spirit. As white light goes through a prism and breaks up into a spectrum of colors, so the Holy Spirit does that exactly with the glorious ability and attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ. It comes through the spectrum of the Holy Spirit and is manifested through the Church in these various gifts of His wisdom, His knowledge, and His abilities such as miracles, signs, and wonders. All the various aspects of Christ’s ministry are perpetuated through the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit in these charismatic endowments of grace that come to us.
Going back to verse 5, after the mention of varieties of gifts by the same Spirit, we read: And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. Starting with verse 12, we read about the various members of the Body and how they are characterized by an individual, distinct ministry or function that is different than anyone else: For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. Christ is not one person. When you say, “Well, I worship the Lord Jesus Christ,” you are worshiping the Head of the Body. Do you understand the difference? He is not one human being wrapped up in flesh sitting at the right hand of God. He has relinquished His individuality in order to incorporate all of us into the one Body with Himself and the Father. This is what He prayed for in John 17: That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.… that they may be made perfect in one… Verse 21, 23. It is beautiful to read. These verses in chapter 17 of John express what Body ministry is all about. Christ has become the Head of a many-membered Body in order that we may be swallowed up in oneness with God. He relinquished His individuality in order that we could come into oneness with Him. Christ is a many-membered Body.
I Corinthians 12:13–27: For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which deem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body, which we seem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our unseemly members come to have more abundant seemliness, whereas our seemly members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another (the SAME care). And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.
This gives us a beautiful picture of what Body ministry is all about. We have talked about the variety of gifts, and we can see the need of that. But the variety of the members of the Body, is another thing. Everyone is a different kind of member; every joint is different. All have different functions, just as there are no two fingers of our hand that are the same. No fingerprints are the same among any of us. We are not all eyes, nor all mouth, nor all feet. It is in the versatility and the variety of the members that we have our unity. There cannot be much unity or essential function if everything is all alike. Conformity is not a secret to unity. Diversity is a secret of unity. Just as in a marriage there is the variety of one male and one female to start with; therefore the function of the home is in the completeness and diversity of both sexes. Because of that diversity there can be children so the family can continue to grow and abound.
When we come to the things of the Lord we see almost the same thing. We become vital and alive and the Body makes increase of that which every joint supplies (Ephesians 4:16). This truth is based on the fact that you have something to give that I don’t, and I have something to give that you don’t. Everyone comes and brings what he has and the Body makes increase of itself in love. The variety is there. And with every one of us coming, we do not despise what another brings. We do not say, “Well, this one is different from me and therefore I reject him.”
Churches try to secure unity by conformity. There are some localities in which people have settled from the same state. When they come together they secure unity by conformity because they sing the same style of songs. They all come from the same place, and they worship in the same manner. If you go to their meetings you feel you almost have to sing as they do because their unity is maintained by conformity, by the fact that they are all the same. Each church tends to gravitate to its own style, doing its own thing. That is why I constantly war against allowing conformity to become the basis of our unity. Diversity is the basis of unity.
In this Walk we are not all from the same background; we are from many different backgrounds. But because it is true Body ministry, we all come into it, young and old, regardless of age and many diverse backgrounds, and the unity we attain is beyond any church I have known. How has it been attained? Not by conformity, not by the fact that we all have to say the same Shibboleth (Judges 12:6): it has come by another way. It has come forth from the fact that God is anointing each man and setting each one in the Body, and the diversity and the variety of ministry becomes the key.
Seldom do I preach dignified sermons. They have impact, but I like to keep the people alive and alert through a little humor. People from Roman Catholic and Episcopalian backgrounds come alive under it. I do not try to cater to what they should seem to need. We do not need the likeness of a mass in order to hold their attention. I do not try to impress people who are scientifically minded with scientific knowledge, yet those who are scientifically minded listen. They are constantly intrigued with the creativity of revelation that comes.
No matter who we are or from what background, because it is God we flow together in a unbelieveable unity. Regardless of the types of people we were basically to begin with, there is something outstanding that God does. Like Paul, I become a Jew to the Jews and a Gentile to the Gentiles. I am all things to all men in order to lead them. But only God can do that. Only God can bring us together from all the various backgrounds and say, “Now you have unity through the diversity of the various members, through the differences and the varieties that are in them.”
Keep this in mind the next time you want to put someone down and say, “He’s a little bit odd from the rest of us.” Don’t be too sure, for he may be just the spice that you need. You may not need much of it, but when you go to spice the stew it takes a little bit. So when someone begins to irk you, just praise the Lord for him and make sure there is a little of him in the stew. He may be spicing it up a bit too much, but on the other hand he may add flavor that becomes necessary.
Sometimes when a new brother speaks he is on his way to learning a great deal and becoming very valuable, yet because we must function properly, in love we hold him right into the flow of the Spirit, so no harm is done to the service, and he learns something about the restraint of the Spirit. When someone does his own thing, and if wild gourds come into the pot, we throw some meal into it and God heals it. We learn to help each other. We learn to minister to each other. Also we don’t expect everyone to look alike. That’s why I wouldn’t want anyone to ever feel he has to cut his hair a certain way. Some of the young people might look better; perhaps they would get better jobs and be better received if they cut their hair, but this is their thing. If they want to wear their hair a certain way it shouldn’t make any difference. I hope we will have all kinds of hair styles. By laying down rules of conformity we can bring ourselves to a place of being spiritually crippled.
Our worship should have this same variety. We should not feel that all singing in the Spirit should be in the ballad style that has been popular with the young people. Some of the songs we sang years ago would now leave us limp. Even some we are singing now ought to be discarded. I think we should continually be more discriminating to find the best vehicles of worship we can find. Our unity exists in variety. We cannot become conformists. Our protest against conformity to the world and being transformed by the renewing of our mind is only the first stage. We must also avoid allowing the Body of Christ to become regimented to conformity. Be open and give every man a chance to expose himself. Every man should have a liberty, not on a human level, but to express the gift that God has given him, and to express the anointing that God has brought forth in him. This becomes the key of the Body ministry. There are varieties of ministries, but the same Lord who governs us all, and He sets us in the Body as it pleases Him.
We have one more group of varieties, and these are the ministries themselves. I Corinthians 12:28–31: And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles (If you were going to start a church wouldn’t you put the miracles first? The Lord didn’t do that.), then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. Administrations would include the elders, deacons, etc. The various kinds of tongues mentioned in a broad scope would mean prophecy, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. All of these are dealing with the utterance ministries, if we would so classify them. All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have the gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way. A more excellent way would be the flow of love. You can earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but love gives a proper motivation for having and ministering the gifts.
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. I Corinthians 13:1. Love gives the proper motivation in the drive toward the gifts in the ministries. We could earnestly desire gifts and want the gift of healing because we might have a ambition. We might be seeking a place and want to be identified as some important member of the Body. Our motivation might not be entirely pure to simply heal the sick and see Jesus glorified. But if we have love it has a way of refining self out of the motivation and drive toward the gifts.
Do you desire earnestly the greater gifts? I show you a still more excellent way. With all your striving and all your seeking and yearning after the gifts of ministries, be filled with the love of God. That will purify your desire for the gifts. I Corinthians 12 is the chapter that speaks to us about God’s infinite varieties of gifts, of members, of ministries in the house of God.
Does this help your understanding of the various workings of the Holy Spirit and make you want to contend for the gift and the ministry that God has for you?