Spiritual Gifts and Ministries – Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief 17

God bestows upon all members of His church in every age spiritual gifts which each member is to employ in loving ministry for the common good of the church and of humanity. Given by the agency of the Holy Spirit, who apportions to each member as He wills, the gifts provide all abilities and ministries needed by the church to fulfill its divinely ordained functions. According to the Scriptures, these gifts include such ministries as faith, healing, prophecy, proclamation, teaching, administration, reconciliation, compassion, and self-sacrificing service and charity for the help and encouragement of people. Some members are called of God and endowed by the Spirit for functions recognized by the church in pastoral, evangelistic, apostolic, and teaching ministries particularly needed to equip the members for service, to build up the church to spiritual maturity, and to foster unity of the faith and knowledge of God. When members employ these spiritual gifts as faithful stewards of God’s varied grace, the church is protected from the destructive influence of false doctrine, grows with a growth that is from God, and is built up in faith and love. (Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:9-11, 27, 28; Eph. 4:8, 11-16; Acts 6:1-7; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; 1 Peter 4:10, 11.)

* Click here to jump directly to comment section, if you wish *

See also these Bible lessons from previous years:

Some blog posts on the subject, with comments, follow:

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint/PDF/Email
(6)

Significance of One Ordinary Person

Sabbath School Net Posted on by avatar

History is full of the stories of great people who have had a monumental influence on the history of their church, their country or the world. But what about ordinary people – people like you and me? Most of us probably know at least intellectually that Christ would have died for just one sinner – … Continue reading –>

Thursday: Fruits and Gifts

Sabbath School Net Posted on by avatar

What are some of the prime reasons that God gives the gifts of the Holy Spirit to His church? 1 Cor. 12:4-7,Rom. 12:4-8, Eph. 4:11-16. The gifts of the Holy Spirit might be divided into two large categories: some gifts are qualities, other gifts are callings. For example, the gifts of helps, hospitality, exhortation, and teaching are qualities … Continue reading –>

Sabbath:Confession and Repentance: The Conditions of Revival

Sabbath School Net Posted on by avatar

Read for This Week’s Study: Acts 5:30-32, 2 Cor. 7:9-11, Lev. 5:5, 1 John 1:9, Heb. 12:17, Ps. 32:1-8. Memory Text: “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy”(Proverbs 28:13, NKJV). Throughout Scripture, both repentance and confession have prepared the way for spiritual revival. God has always prepared His people to do … Continue reading –>

Wednesday: Sensitivity to the Spirit’s Call

Sabbath School Net Posted on by avatar

Throughout his ministry, Paul was guided by the Spirit, convicted by the Spirit, instructed by the Spirit, and empowered by the Spirit. In his defense before King Agrippa, he described the heavenly vision on the Damascus Road. He then testified that the purpose of his ministry to both the Jews and Gentiles was “‘“to open … Continue reading –>

Monday: Receiving the Promise

Sabbath School Net Posted on by avatar

The mission of sharing His love and truth with the entire world must have seemed overwhelming to this small group of disciples. The challenge was enormous, the task immense. Its accomplishment in their lifetime might certainly have seemed impossible (as it can in ours). The best estimates are that the population of the Roman Empire … Continue reading –>

Giants, Grasshoppers and Reality

Sabbath School Net Posted on by avatar

Reality is 90% perception, or so they say. I don’t know who comes up with these statistics, but it makes a lot of sense to me. When I was in sales, I led my district one year, but also went through a three-week drought with no sales at all. So what was my reality? Was … Continue reading –>

Servanthood: Our Christian Calling

Sabbath School Net Posted on by avatar

We love titles, even in Christian circles. Whether it is Pastor, President, Professor, or Pope, titles are common currency in the church’s vocabulary. Inherent within some of those titles is the concept of hierarchy, authority and very often, privilege. The obvious or unseen but well-known underbelly of titles is church politics. A classic example of … Continue reading –>

Further Study: Spiritual Gifts for Evangelism and Witnessing

Sabbath School Net Posted on by avatar

Discover (or organize) local training opportunities. If you have decided upon an area of witnessing and evangelism and have discussed it with your pastor and evangelism leaders, it is time to consider your readiness for the task. You will want the best possible chance of influencing people for Jesus; thus, training is important. Remember, working … Continue reading –>

Thursday: Gifts and Christian Responsibility

Sabbath School Net Posted on by avatar

Spiritual gifts are not discovered just to satisfy our curiosity but rather to indicate what the Lord would have us do and to show where we fit into the church body. This, of course, brings great responsibility as we seek to fulfill that for which God has especially equipped us.1 Compare Romans 12:4, 1 Corinthians 12:12, and Ephesians … Continue reading –>

Gifted

Sabbath School Net Posted on by avatar

Once upon a time, in the land of Gifted, lived some very miserable people. They trudged through the streets of Gifted every day carrying huge burdens on their backs. A visitor to Gifted once asked why the people of Gifted carried these heavy burdens with them day after day. The answer was surprising. The visitor … Continue reading –>