Spiritual Gifts: Mercy, Faith, and Discernment

The Holy Spirit gives gifts to believers to serve one another in the church. In all of those Scriptures, including 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and Romans 12, we have pulled together the listing of the categories of spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit has granted to the church. These are Holy Spirit enablements allowing us to minister to one another within the body of Christ, so that we are not spectators, but rather we are involved in the actual operation of the church carrying out the ministry as God has designed it and the Spirit of God has planned it.

The Nature of Spiritual Enablement

It is clear to us at this time that the Spirit of God has given to the church gifts. All those different words are used to describe the same things: they are manifestations and energizing services. To better understand these terms, we can look at their definitions:

Term	Definition
Enablement	To provide somebody with the resources, authority, or opportunity to do something.
Manifestation	The act of showing or demonstrating something; an indication that something is present, real, or exists.
Energizing services	To supply somebody with strength or power.

The Church as a Habitation of the Spirit

Ephesians 2:22 says this: "In whom ye also are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." The apostle Paul says that the church collectively is a habitation of the Spirit. In other words, the Spirit of God not only indwells individual Christians, but indwells the collective assembly of believers. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 states, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God." Ye collectively, you in total, are the composite temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you.

The Spirit of God dwells in the individual Christian and in the bodies collectively of the corporate assembly of believers. Since we are an assembly of believers that are the occupancy of the Spirit, it seems obvious and reasonable that the Spirit of God should be in control of this assembly. Since He dwells in us He should manifest His indwelling by His power and control over us.

Focus on the Gift of Mercy

The document discusses the spiritual gift of mercy. The gift of mercy involves showing mercy to others with cheerfulness. The gift allows believers to minister compassion to those in need and is one of the clearer spiritual gifts to understand. As we learn our gifts, as we learn how they operate, and as we understand how the Spirit of God works through us, we can give a greater and deeper and broader commitment to do that thing, which God has gifted us to do.

The Importance of Spiritual Awareness

We're studying the spiritual gifts, and in order for you to get the whole picture you need to get all that's involved because we're taking it a piece at a time. The Spirit indwells any individual believer, but the church can be equally carnal if they manifest selfishness and self will. Therefore, as we look at the Gift of Mercy, Faith, and Discernment in 1 Corinthians 12:9-10, we see that we are the temple of the Spirit of God.