The Spirit of God has equipped believers with abilities (gifts) for the work of the ministry. New Testament Scriptures list 3 different categories of gifts given to the Church. Everyone in the body of Christ has been provided by the Spirit of God, the talents, abilities, or gifts for serving the body of Christ:
- The 5-fold Ministry Gifts
- (Eph 4: 11-15) The Ministerial Call and equipping to prepare the Church
- Apostle
- Prophet
- Evangelist
- Pastor
- Teacher
- (Eph 4: 11-15) The Ministerial Call and equipping to prepare the Church
- The body-ministry or Motivational Gifts
- (Romans 12:6-8) Everyone, including lay members, has a God-given motivation for service.
- Prophecy
- Teaching
- Giving
- Exhortation
- Leadership
- Mercy
- (Romans 12:6-8) Everyone, including lay members, has a God-given motivation for service.
- The Gifts of the Spirit – Miraculous Faculties
- 1 Corinthians 12-14 are instructions written by Paul the Apostle about the supernatural equipping of the Spirit of God. These gifts or miraculous faculties are given to meet the needs of the people. (1 Cor 12:7-10). They equip believers to minister to the needs of another and include:
- The Word of Knowledge
- The Word of Wisdom
- The Gift of Prophecy
- The Gift of Faith
- The Gifts of Healings
- The Working of Miracles
- The Discerning of Spirits
- Different Kinds of Tongues
- The Interpretation of Tongues
- 1 Corinthians 12-14 are instructions written by Paul the Apostle about the supernatural equipping of the Spirit of God. These gifts or miraculous faculties are given to meet the needs of the people. (1 Cor 12:7-10). They equip believers to minister to the needs of another and include:
Decently and in Order
4 I, therefore, the prisoner]of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit … (Ephesians 4:1-3)
A believer’s proper motive to operate in spiritual gifts is for the benefit of others. As Paul instructs in 1 Cor 13, Love, not building a reputation ministry or esteem, is the proper motive for operating in the Gifts of the Spirit.
Ephesians 4:3 encourages us “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. “. Unity of purpose and peace, instead of chaos, requires orderly conduct and oversight. Now that does not mean that church should be dead and boring. It is better to have a little disorder than to have ‘the order of a graveyard’. Prov 14:4 teaches us that while we will greatly benefit from what equips us, the equipping itself comes with additional challenges.
Order in Church Meetings
How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. ( 1 Corinthians 14:26)
Edification means to build up; to strengthen, to encourage; simply to help or aide.
Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthian Church Chapter 14 gives instruction for the decent orderly ministry of the local body, one to another. These instructions do not preclude the move of the Spirit of God and the manifestation of the supernatural Giftings or Equipping’s, but rather are guidelines for the operation of such gifts. The Scripture does not forbid the public ministry of Spiritual Gifts, including Speaking in Tongues but teaches us to avoid the misuse and excess of the Gifts of the Spirit.
At VLCC, Titusville, we expect the Spirit of God to minister through us as He leads. Now, this does not mean, that such operations occur without the discretion of the leadership. 1 Cor 14:29 does instruct that Spiritual gifts are to be judged. It is within the authority of VLCC leadership to observe, permit, forbid or give instruction regarding how others, both visiting ministers and laymen, attempt to minister in any capacity within the church. This is for the purpose of protecting others, and for maintaining our integrity with both the Holy Scriptures and the Spirit of God. Pastoral oversight includes how others serve in natural talent, teaching, preaching, sermonizing, and in whatever manner they believe to be following the “leading of the Spirit of God\”.
The Spirit and the Word of God always agree, and so the written Word of God is the Standard of judging what is acceptable and what is not. Everything that is supernatural is not God, and so ‘manifestations’ of Spiritual Gifts are subject to the instruction of the authority of VLCC leadership.
During our Worship Services, someone may speak forth in an unlearned language, and they or another give an interpretation. A more direct prophecy may be spoken without the ‘sign’ of an unknown tongue having been given. This is acceptable and orderly but is subject to further Pastoral instruction if necessary. The church is a place for learning, even to learn to flow with the Spirit of God, so the congregation is encouraged to learn to yield and flow with what the Spirit of God is doing or saying.
Other ministry by laymen during the service, might be prompted by an open invitation from VLCC leadership. Otherwise, any having something to offer, or request, would give an Usher their request. Ushers let the Pastors know at an appropriate time. It is at the Pastors’ discretion when or if to respond to the request.
- Prophecy Log – Documented general prophecies spoken at VLCC, Titusville, FL