When He Is Come - Media Sabda Org

is threefold. Paul says it is "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12). These are the grant of the ascended and glorified Son
of God.
IV. Gifts Which Are the Grant of the Holy Spirit
The gifts of the Spirit differ from the gifts of Christ. The gifts of the Spirit, as mentioned before,
are implements, enablements, or tools. Christ called the disciples to follow Him, then He also told
them to tarry until they had been endued by the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are enumerated in I Cor.
12:8-10. These are: "For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of
knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by
the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of
spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues." Here we learn
that one gift is given to one and another gift to another. These gifts differ. One person does not
possess all of these gifts, for we read "but the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to
profit withal," which means these gifts are not given for personal profit, but for the profit of all, even
others. It is the Spirit's office to enable and to endue each one whom He calls to any special work.
The gifts of the Spirit are essential to the spiritual progress of the church.
V. Balancing Gifts with Grace and Love
Gifts may become dangerous for they tend to puff up. Not all people can be trusted with great gifts
for the reason that they would become elated, and proud, and thus lose their grace. Such a loss
endangers their personal salvation. The first concern of every person should be that he is well saved
and thoroughly established. Then, his next concern should be the salvation of others. It is very
essential that the Lord give the needed amount of grace and divine love to everyone who is gifted
along any line in order to properly balance his gift so that it will not cause an unbalanced state in his
Christian experience. It is very proper that grace is given by the Lord according to the measure of
the gift that is bestowed on each person (Rom. 12:6; Eph. 4:7). The gifts of the Spirit are attended
by special grace. In the parable of the talents, there was given "to every man according to his several
ability." Christ makes a special grant of grace to those on whom the Spirit divides gifts. Gifts without
grace are dangerous. The world's most highly gifted men without grace are the world's most
dangerous men. Examples in which gifts outbalanced grace in men who were highly gifted, but sadly
lacking in grace were Balaam, Gideon, Samson, Saul, David, Solomon, and Judas Iscariot. Balaam
was highly gifted as a prophet, and he uttered some great prophetic messages and Messianic
prophecies; nevertheless, he joined his enemies and died not as the righteous dieth, but fell on the
battlefield fighting the very people whom he was forced to bless. Gideon was mightily used by the
Lord and brought great deliverance to Israel; however, in taking the idols and gold from the enemies
he conquered, he made them into gods of his own and worshipped them. Samson's history presents
a mystery. He was highly gifted and could conquer his enemies, but failed to conquer himself. He
went to loving the Philistines instead of destroying them, and gave away his secret of power. He lost
his hair, his power with God, and also his eyes. His hair grew and so did his repentance. He died with
the Philistines; however, he died not as a Philistine. Saul, also, was lacking in grace and became a
failure. David could kill a lion, a bear and the giant, but on one occasion he failed to control himself,
which brought a great blot on his life. Solomon was highly gifted, but lacked in holiness and grace.