The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

The Apostle Paul did not feel sufficient to accomplish the work God gave him to do (2 Corinthians. 2:16), and yet he was a man of great natural talent. His personality was of a zealous nature, courageous, intelligent, and he must have possessed good health to endure, with God's help, what he endured (2 Corinthians. 11:22-28). Yet he considered himself an earthen vessel (2 Corinthians. 4:7).

Paul was a very highly educated man. He was a Pharisee (Acts 23:6 & 26:5), which meant he was very well versed in the Scriptures. He was multi-lingual (1 Corinthians. 14:17) speaking Hebrew, Roman, and Greek, and perhaps others. He was acquainted with the literature, and wisdom of his day (1 Corinthians. 1:22; Acts 17:28). But these personal abilities Paul counted as insufficient to lead people to believe in Jesus. "And I brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. Andy my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that you faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

All God's Biddings are His Enablings:

1 Corinthians 15:9-10; 2 Corinthians 1:1 - By the grace and will of God Paul was a minister.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 - God desires to make weak people strong in ministry.
1 Corinthians 1:17-29 - God often chooses the weak to confound the world.
Acts 4:13 - The apostles were uneducated and untrained men.
Judges 7:2 - When God enables the weak to be strong then He gets the glory.
Acts 1:8 - The Christian becomes powerful through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12 - The Holy Spirit will impart divine gifts to enable you to be successful.

"It is the accompaniment of the Holy Spirit of God that prepares workers, both men and women, to become pastors to the flock of God. . . Those who have faith in this divine Attendant will develop. They will be gifted with power to clothe the message of truth with a sacred beauty." Gospel Workers, pg. 97.
"Receive the Holy Spirit, and your efforts will be successful. Christ's presence is that which gives power." Selected Messages, book 1, pg. 85.
"The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions." Great Controversy, pg. 606.

Natural and Acquired Abilities

In Daniel chapter one, four naturally gifted young men are spared in the takeover of Israel by Nebuchadnezzar because of their gifts (Daniel 1:3-4). But Daniel knows it is not their natural abilities alone that will see them through. Therefore he and his friends seek the blessing of God on their efforts (Daniel 1:8,17).
We too may have the blessing of God on the abilities we have received by birth or training, which in reality come from God (James 1:17). When we have His blessing through the anointing of the Holy Spirit, our abilities will become even more effective.
In Exodus 31:3 & 6 already gifted artisans are endowed with the blessing of wisdom, which enabled them to construct the beautiful tabernacle.

Natural and acquired talents only become spiritual gifts when they are controlled by the Spirit of God through our submission to Him. He will then use our natural abilities for His glory.

"The special gifts of the Spirit are not the only talents represented in the parable [the talents, Matthew 25:13-30]. 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." Christ's Object Lessons, pg. 328.
Natural and acquired endowments are all gifts of God and need to be constantly held under the control of His Spirit, and of His divine, sanctifying power." Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, pg. 189.

Spiritual Gifts

The difference between natural gifts and spiritual gifts is that natural gifts are the result of birth, or education, or training, but spiritual gifts are miraculously bestowed, or they are natural abilities miraculously blessed as the Holy Spirit wills (1 Corinthians 12:11). Spiritual gifts enable a person to accomplish a task otherwise impossible for that person. For instance, when the apostles spoke to the multitudes gathered in Jerusalem they were able to do so because they had received that miraculous ability directly from God (Acts 2:1-4). Remember that all of God's biddings are His enablings. Therefore, if you would like to work for God, but feel unable because of a lack of talent or education then turn to God and pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit upon you, for spiritual gifts are imparted to those who receive the Holy Spirit in their life.
When Jesus went to heaven to become our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14) He poured out the Holy Spirit and bestowed rich spiritual gifts upon His followers (Ephesians 4:7-10). This is what John meant in John 7:38-39 about Jesus being glorified before the Holy Spirit could be poured out.

Various gifts are given to build up the church and bring people to Jesus for salvation (1 Corinthians 12:8-11). These gifts are not limited to just a select few, but are available to all. "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:39. In fact, we are encouraged by the Bible to seek for spiritual gifts. "Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy." 1 Corinthians 14:1.

"The gifts are already ours in Christ, but their actual possession depends upon our reception of the Spirit of God." Christ's Object Lessons, pg. 327.
"In the great and measureless gift of the Holy Spirit are contained all of heaven's resources." Christ's Object Lessons, pg. 419.
"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. . . This promised blessing, claimed by faith, brings all other blessings in its train." The Desire of Ages, pg. 672.
"The apostles were not always able to work miracles at will. The Lord granted His servants this special power as the progress of His cause or the honor of His name required." Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, pg. 1064.

The Gift of Tongues

Many believe the gift of tongues to be proof that the baptism of the Holy Spirit has been received. This gift is popularly defined as an unknown language to men perhaps of heavenly origin. However, the Bible does not support that idea.
We know that Jesus was filled with the Spirit (Matthew 3:16), and yet there is no record of Him ever speaking in tongues. Besides that there are a number of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1-11) besides tongues. If the presence of a spiritual gift is proof of the Spirit's presence then one of the other gifts could serve as proof just as well as tongues. But no gift of the Spirit is given as proof of being filled with the Spirit. There is only one proof give by the Bible as evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence in the life of the believe and that is the exhibition of the fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. According to Jesus love is the proof that we are His disciples (John 13:35).

In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Paul contrasts the gifts of the Spirit with love, which is the first fruit of the Holy Spirit. In essence he tells us that the presence of these gifts such as tongues, prophecy, knowledge and even faith are nothing unless love is present. Satan can imitate the gifts of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 11:14-15 & Revelation 16:14), but he cannot imitate the fruits of the Spirit. He can only produce cheap counterfeits that when examined by the Scripture reveal their true origin (Matthew 7:15-23). If Satan could imitate the fruits of the Spirit then we could never know the disciples of Jesus.
Some have taken Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 13:1, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels" as support for the idea that Paul spoke in a tongue of heavenly origin unknown to any people on earth. However, in context Paul could not have meant that for he also said, "thought I give my body to be burned", and Scripture does not record Paul being burned. He was simply making large statements to show the importance of love compared to spiritual gifts. Love is of so much more value that the greatest deeds cannot equal it. In other words, even if he could speak the language of angels it would sound like a clanging cymbal compared to the language of love.

It appears that those who believe in practicing this unknown tongue do so among believers in their gatherings. However, the gift of tongues described for us in Acts 2:1-13 was used to communicate to people gathered in Jerusalem from all over the world. Therefore I believe the gift of tongues is the ability to communicate to another person in their language the gospel of Jesus Christ in order that they may repent of their sins and be saved. "Therefore tongues is for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe." 1 Corinthians 14:22. Tongues is for unbelievers, prophesying is for believers, which is one of the identifying marks of God's people in the last days (Revelation 12:17 & 19:10).

In 1 Corinthians 14 Paul is simply clarifying how to conduct the worship service when a variety of believers from other countries are present, such as existed in Corinth at that time. To avoid confusion there were to be only two or three who spoke, and each one in turn, with an interpreter so that the body may be edified (1 Corinthians 14:27-28). Confusion was to be avoided (vs. 33 & 40), which Paul said would arise if all tried to speak without an interpreter leading unbelievers to conclude that Christians were insane (vs. 23).
Some believe Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 14:14, "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful", indicate that tongues is speaking a language you do not understand yourself. However, in 1 Corinthians 2:11 Paul identifies the spirit of a man as his mind, especially the conscience (Romans 9:1). In 1 Corinthians 14:9 & 16 the object of speaking in tongues is so that other people will understand and be edified. Therefore, for the understanding to be unfruitful simply means that other people are not being blessed by what is said because they do not understand. That is why Paul said, "Yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue." 1 Corinthians 14:19. "Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played?" 1 Corinthians 14:7.

"Some of these persons have exercises which they call gifts and say that the Lord has placed them in the church. They have an unmeaning gibberish which they call the unknown tongue, which is unknown not only by man but by the Lord and all heaven. . . Fanaticism, false excitement, false talking in tongues, and noisy exercises have been considered gifts which God has placed in the church. Some have been deceived here. The fruits of all this have not been good." Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, pg. 412.