The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity

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THE GIFT OF EXHORTATION (Rom. 12:8)
Purpose: Strengthening
Definition: “The special ability that God gives to certain members of the body of Christ to
minister words of comfort, consolation, encouragement and counsel to other members of the body
in such a way that they feel helped and healed.” 7
“The supernatural ability to come alongside to help, to strengthen the weak, reassure the
wavering, buttress the buffeted, steady the faltering, console the troubled, encourage the
halting.” 8
Description: The word “exhort” (parakaleo) usually translated “comfort” originally meant
“to make strong.” Today it has come to mean ”express sympathy.” Barclay points out that the
word has a rich meaning referring to that “kind of comfort and consolation in distress which keeps
a man on his feet when, left to himself, he would collapse. It is the comfort which will enable a
man to pass the breaking point and not to break.” 9
In Greek law the word implied advocating and defending. Its noun form is a title for both the
Holy Spirit (Jn 16: 7-11) and Jesus (I Jn 2:1). Paraclete means “one called alongside to help.” In
classical Greek, the verb is used in encouraging and strengthening soldiers and sailors with a peptalk
before they go into battle. 10
Although all are to “encourage one another and edify one another” (I Thess. 5:11; 4:18),
everyone does not have the gift of exhortation (I Cor. 12:29,30).
Examples
Acts 4:3
Joseph received a new name (Barnabas) which means “Son of encouragement” to
represent his gift. The Hebraic expression “son of” suggests that it was his
character to encourage.
Acts 9:27 Barnabas defended Saul (before he became known as Paul) before the other
disciples who were suspicious of him when he claimed to have become a disciple of
Jesus. Barnabas helped Paul become an accepted member and leader of the Early
Church community (Acts 9:28). Barnabas even humbled himself to the extent that
Paul became his leader. He became subject to a younger Christian convert. On
their first missionary journey the order of leadership changed. It was no longer
“Barnabas and Paul,” but it became “Paul and Barnabas.” Someone wrote “It takes
more grace than I can tell to play the second fiddle well.”