Laura J. Davis's Blog, page 3

What is the Gift of Faith?

What is the Gift of Faith? Doesn’t every Christian have this gift? Isn’t it a kind of pre-requisite for belief in God? And how do you explain faith to someone who doesn’t believe? What does God say? He says that we wouldn’t even have faith in Him at all, if it wasn’t for His gift of grace to us in the first place!

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).

How astounding! I can’t even wrap my head around that one. It wa...

The Word of Wisdom and the Word of Knowledge

What is the difference between the Word of Wisdom and the Word of Knowledge? There is much confusion and debate about what these words mean, so it may be better to approach this from a different angle – what these gifts are not and how some Christians today are coming dangerously close to ignoring Scripture because they misuse these two gifts.

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of acti...

The Gift of Mercy

Mercy is described in Vine’s Expository Dictionary as “showing kindness, by beneficence, or assistance” and is translated as “having compassion.” In general, it is to sympathize or empathize with the misery of another, so much so that you feel compelled to act. If not for mercy, you and I would still be lost, and Jesus would not have died a gruesome death to redeem sinners from eternal suffering. It is mercy that drove Jesus to the cross and it is mercy that all Christians are to extend t...

Is Leadership a Spiritual Gift?

When it comes to leadership within the church, we always look to the Pastor. He is the one who is charged by God to lead congregants into all truth by preaching (exhorting) from the Scriptures. In Romans 12:8, Paul says, “He who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” The Greek word used for “lead” is proïstēmi and is translated as “rule or set over,” but it literally means “to stand before, to lead, or ...

What the Spiritual Gift of Giving Really Means

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness (Romans 12:6-8, NKJV).

One would think that the spiritual gift of giving would require the person with this gift to have lots of money so t...

The Gift of Exhortation

Till I come, give attention to reading,
to exhortation, to doctrine.
​1 Timothy 4:13​ Dictionary.com says this about the meaning of the word exhortation – “an utterance, discourse, or address conveying urgent advice or recommendations.” The word used in Greek for exhortation is paraklēsis. According to Vines Expository Dictionary, it means something slightly different - “a calling to one’s side” (para, “beside,” and kaleo, “to call”), and so it is often translated as comfort, consolation, ...

The "Gift" of Teaching

Previously, we established that a teacher is not a gift and that the “gift of teaching” is a combination of several gifts that give one the ability to teach from Scripture. However, to keep things simple, I will refer to teaching as a gift because it is a blessing (a gift) God has given to certain people to edify the church.

Teachers usually have the spiritual gifts of prophecy, exhortation, wisdom, knowledge and discernment, which help them to expound on the Scriptures and, in turn, help ...

Understanding Your Spiritul Gifts

One problem that needs to be addressed before we get too deep into our look at Spiritual Gifts is the issue of what makes a spiritual gift a “gift” rather than a talent, calling, or position. How do we differentiate between them?

First Corinthians 12:28 says, “And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.” Notice the word “appointed.” In Greek, it is tith...

The Gift of Ministry or Serving

One of the greatest wonders concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit is not in how many gifts are available but in how they are used within the body of Christ. As we learned previously, all gifts are for building up the church. The gift of prophecy is one of the best (according to Paul) in edifying the church. But another gift that is just as important is the gift of ministry or serving.

The word “ministry” comes from the Greek word diakonia, meaning “servant.” You often hear people within ...

What is the Gift of Prophecy?

The Apostle Paul once said, “Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1, NKJV). Why did he stress the importance of the gift of prophecy? He answers in 1 Corinthians 14:3 when he says, “But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.” From that verse alone, we see three crucial aspects of prophecy that make it a meaningful gift:
​EdificationExhortationComfort
The word “edification” comes from the Greek oikos...