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NASB | 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now about the spiritual gifts [the special endowments given by the Holy Spirit], brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. |
Subject: gifts of Spirit in Heaven |
Bible Note: Hi, Lookin... I thought I did all that in post #203941. :-) In the old days men spoke of the providence of God. The teaching of sound doctrine is something that has atrophied to the point where terminology is characterized more by popular televangelists than it is by Scripture. Studying the passages that specifically deal with gifts (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4; 1 Peter 4) is key. Yet a whole mysticism has risen up on the subject. Since nobody bothers to study church history, they fail to notice that this stuff keeps popping up every century or so, so we end up destined to relive it all over and over. Ah, well, that could be a whole series of posts in and of itself. Let's see, you wanted to know about the gift of evangelism: But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's GIFT [my emphasis]. Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." (In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the EVANGELISTS [my emphasis], the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the BODY [my emphasis] of Christ [not the world], until we [in the church] all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (Ephesians 4:7-14 ESV) Now, I'm assuming that no one will quibble over the fact that the phrase "gift of evangelism" is not explicitly present in Bible. In addition to Ephesians 4:11 there are particular men who were designated as evangelists (Acts 21:8). Indeed, that function was understood sufficiently for Paul to direct Timothy to do an evangelist's work (2 Timothy 4:5). The clear implication is that this particular function ordained by God -- although something that all believers are enjoined and have the blessing to participate in (1 Peter 3:15-16) -- was also something for which He granted special empowerment (1 Peter 1:12; etc.). Further, He did so, for His church (Ephesians 4:12-14), not for the world. In Him, Doc |