The Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual Gifts
Overview
The Apostle Paul wrote, “There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit...To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:4,7). But what are these spiritual gifts? How do you know if you possess them? And, if you do, how do you use them?
In The Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual Gifts, Sam Storms will help you answer basic and foundational questions about the what, why, and how of the unique gifts God gives to each of his children. You will discover the purpose of spiritual gifts in the church and learn how to identify your special mix of gifting. In addition, you will find out how the Holy Spirit uses the supernatural manifestation of gifts to demonstrate God’s presence and power among his people.
Key Features
- Discusses what spiritual gifts are and their role in the church and God’s plan
- Contains guidance on living in the Spirit
- Delivers accessible and easily applicable insight
- Features discussion questions for further reflection
Contents
- When Power Comes to Church
- Right? Wrong!
- Words of Wisdom and Knowledge
- Faith and Healing
- It’s a Miracle!
- Prophecy and Distinguishing of Spirits
- Who Said God Said?
- What Is the Gift of Tongues?
- Tongues and Interpretation in the Church
- Letting Your Gift Find You
Top Highlights
“There’s a crucial principle we need to understand from the outset: Spiritual gifts are not God bestowing to His people something external to Himself. They are not some tangible ‘stuff’ or substance separable from God. Spiritual gifts are nothing less than God Himself in us, energizing our souls, imparting revelation to our minds, infusing power in our wills and working His sovereign and gracious purposes through us. Spiritual gifts must never be viewed deistically, as if a God ‘out there’ has sent some ‘thing’ to us ‘down here.’ Spiritual gifts are God present in, with and through human thoughts, human deeds, human words, human love.” (Page 12)
“My conclusion is this: The real problems, the painful struggles and our diminishing impact won’t be solved short of a fresh infusion of power—not just any power, mind you, but spiritual power, the kind of power that human flesh can’t produce and education can’t conceive and revamped programs can’t strategize. The Church desperately needs the power of her Lord and the energy and activity of the Holy Spirit.” (Pages 8–9)
“But more than knowledge is needed. Mere doctrine won’t suffice. What the Church needs is truth set aflame by the power of the Holy Spirit. What the Church needs is the divine energy of God Himself bringing what we know to bear on how we live and how we pray and how we love and how we witness. And let’s not forget that teaching is itself a spiritual gift, no less a manifestation of the power of the Spirit than tongues or miracles (see Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:29; Eph. 4:11)!” (Page 9)
Product Details
- Title: The Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual Gifts
- Author: Sam Storms
- Series: Beginner’s Guide Series
- Publisher: Bethany House
- Publication Date: 2013
- Pages: 178
- Christian Group: Pentecostal/Charismatic
- Resource Type: Handbooks
- Topic: Spiritual Gifts
Sam Storms earned a ThM in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary and a PhD in intellectual history from the University of Texas at Dallas. He is the founder of Enjoying God Ministries, senior pastor of Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and a former visiting professor of theology at Wheaton College. He has authored over two dozen books and served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society.