Minister: Pst. Laide Olaniyan
Meeting: Welfare Service
Date: 28th June 2026
Title: An X-ray on The True Essence Of Spiritual Gifts
(1 Corinthians 1:6) – “Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you…”
Paul had laboured with the Corinthian church and laid Christ as a foundation. Some had matured into Christ; however, not all of them had matured; if not, Paul would not have said, ‘is any one spiritual amongst you?’ (1 Corinthians 2:1-7). He knew that there were spiritual people amongst them, but the carnal ones were stubborn enough not to listen to the counsel from the spiritual ones who were among them. We need to understand the Corinthian church; they had issues, and part of the things Apostle Paul laid as a foundation for their recovery was not just instruction for correction but recipes to help them amend and prosper, and part of such corrections are seen in 1st Corinthians 12.
(1 Corinthians 12: 1) – “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” If Paul mentioned that concerning spiritual gifts, he does not want us to be ignorant, then it is dangerous for a believer to be ignorant of the spiritual. Part of the things that plagued the church was their ignorance not just of the doctrine of Christ but of the spiritual. (1 Corinthians 12:2) “Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led” meaning that in their former conversation, you have experienced a kind of leading, not necessarily because they were idol worshippers but because their conversation was governed by the way of idols. Idols are not just graven images, but we see things like covetousness being idolatry. There are idols outside and inside. Some of our celebrities are our idols; they are sacred, and everything they do becomes a trend.
(1 Corinthians 12:3-6) – “3. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 4. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all”
A believer ought to be knowledgeable, or have mastery of the diversities of gifts by the Spirit, the differences in administration by the same Lord, and the diversities of operations by the same God who works all. If we don’t discern, recognize, or accept the workings and operations of God in our lives and in the lives of our brethren, our prosperity in God, that is, grace to move ahead, will be limited. (1 Corinthians 12:7) The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every one of us for our profit, and my profit is my progress.
1 Timothy 4:13-15 “13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 15 Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.” You cannot really really profit if you take heed to doctrine but leave the Spirit; your profit would be limited.
1 Corinthians 1:4-8. “4. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5. That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6. Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7. So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8. Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” The Corinthian church came behind in no gift but they were not profiting because of ignorance. Ignorance is what can make us think less of the gift of God and look at the gifts as not necessary.
The things God teaches us in milk are not low but foundational. The most basic of every form of knowledge is always taught at the beginning. We will always need it, and at no time would we outgrow it. Also, there can be abuses of the gifts of the Spirit because of lack of knowledge. But abuse should not allow us to discard the provisions of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:7 “ But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” Everyone profiting is regardless of our spiritual estate or mileage in God.
1 Corinthians 12:8-9 “8. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit…”
Every believer, according to Mark 16:17-18, has a heritage that if you lay hands on the sick, they shall recover. However, apart from this general heritage, there is a special spirit input of gifts of healings. There is the general provision of healing by God’s word and also healing through the healing anointing. We have also seen different anointings for specific diseases. That the Holy Ghost works miracles through you doesn’t mean you have been called to ministry, does not mean you are spiritually mature; it is not a sign of growth and stability; it is a gift; it is an endowment of the spirit; and it is supposed to help you grow, not a sign that you have grown. If we are not careful, we begin to take it as a sign of validation of some kind of spiritual attainment.
2 Corinthians 12: 10 “To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues…” According to the distribution of the Spirit, a believer can have the ability to work miracles. A miracle is a temporary suspension of the law of nature. Some healings are miraculous, but it is not only healings that are miraculous. Some miracles are wrought by declarations or through angelic interventions. When the workings of miracles come upon a person, the person can have the wisdom to engineer the miracle. Sometimes, healing will not happen; a miracle has to be worked for the healing to happen. To another prophecy: prophecy here is forth telling and foretelling; to another discerning of spirits and not suspicion or seeing devils. The Holy Ghost can cause a person to discern spirits. Discerning of Spirit through the Holy Ghost helps people identify saints and different spirits or angels during encounters or visions. Our journey is in the spirit. Without the spirit, we will not be able to navigate the realm of the spirit. We are spiritual beings called into a spiritual life who have a spiritual heritage. Our faith is divine, and the church is a spiritual house and a sacred/holy ground.
There is the gift of tongues/prayer language, which we get baptised into; there is another kind of tongues, or unknown tongues; there are diverse kinds of tongues. When people don’t know the different kinds of tongues, they mumble it up as we sometimes do in prayers. The operation of tongues is a witness for those who have not believed, and the Spirit enables you to speak in another language that is known to men, e.g Chinese, etc. Tongues also function as a prayer language Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” – groanings helps us to render the desires of our heart in inarticulate words (1st Samuel 1:13). There is a provision of the spirit to help us groan, to make your petition known to God. There is also another where we speak in an unknown tongue: 1 Corinthians 14:2 “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries”. The general gift of tongues, as we saw in Acts Chapter 2, was stated that people heard their own language. But for these unknown tongues, no man understands you, not even yourself, because it is a communication between you and the Lord. Speaking in unknown tongues is a training for every heart that would journey into understanding the mysteries of God. Oftentimes, when we speak this kind of tongue, God is unbundling mysteries. Speaking in an unknown tongue is primarily for one’s personal edification: 1 Corinthians 14:4 “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church”
A believer can navigate the gifts of tongues, unknown tongues, just by staying in the Holy Ghost, but diverse kinds of tongues are a special addition that the Holy Ghost installs in a believer, and it is not just for our personal edification but mostly for the edification of the church. The office of tongues is another category that is categorised with ministry 1 Corinthians 12:29-30. Here, a person stands in an office to give tongues. When it comes to an unknown tongue, we are talking to God. God doesn’t need an interpreter. But for diverse kinds of tongues we don’t understand by natural means, the Spirit has to help with interpretation because God is talking back to an individual or to the church, and the Spirit is needed to interpret the tongue. For an unknown tongue, interpretation is really not needed because you are talking to God. It is called interpretation of tongues and not translation of tongues. That you heard a word (tongue) in your language doesn’t mean the person is interpreting the tongue correctly. The interpreters have to bypass their minds and lean on the Spirit to know what the Spirit is saying to themselves or to the church. It is called interpretation of tongues, and God distributes this gift by the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:11 “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” One of the principles that govern spiritual gifts is the principle of desire: 1 Corinthians 14:1 “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.” This instruction is not just to individuals, but the letter was written to the whole church. Having spiritual gifts helps the church to stop Satan in his tracks; it also helps us to profit, to outsmart Satan so that he will not take advantage of any of us. If you are navigating the spirit without spiritual gifts is like flying without a radar. The essence of the gift is not to make us replace faith; it is to enhance our walking by the Holy Ghost. If we have the gift without the understanding of its administration, we will also err (1 Cor 12:12).
1 Corinthians 12:12-18 “12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him”
It is administration that determines where and what roles everyone plays at different times. But the goal of the Spirit is that whatever role one plays at any time, we function as one body, meaning that no matter how essential or avoidable my role is, I am significant enough to matter; insignificant but significant enough to contribute to the body.
We are not the same, but that does not mean that we are contrary. One of the trainings the Lord is giving us is that we appreciate the workings of the Spirit in another vessel, then celebrate God for it. In any community, the most important thing is that there should be nothing lacking. There must be a supply. It looks like some are overburdened because others are not taking responsibility for their parts. 1 Corinthians 12:21-22 “21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary…”
The gifts are not the members of the body. The persons that are given the gifts are the members of the body because the gift will only operate through persons. None of the gifts are for the person that is using it. They are not primarily for individuals. We will live by our own faith. According to Reverend Hagin, if we don’t learn faith together with our anointing, we will die. We have to build our own faith by the word of God.
1 Corinthians 12:23 “And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.” The parts of the church that we don’t see are very vital. We measure spirituality by visibility, but God doesn’t judge like that. Our uncomely parts are necessary. Without them, we won’t grow. If every member of the church suddenly matures and is perfect, we will not grow again. The imperfection of our brother is an opportunity for us to be exercised in life, for us to grow. Our brother’s imperfection is more of a blessing to us than we can ever quantify in money. It accelerates our growth.
Not understanding the body makes the gift of the Spirit dry among us. We can’t be speaking evil of a person and the Holy Spirit will keep flowing through us. James 3: 8-11 “8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter…” When the gift of the Spirit is at work in our life, our conversation must change because we are guarding the heritage of God. If people will be stewards of the spirit, then we must understand that the gift doesn’t operate independently. There are rules of the Spirit we must be mindful of; otherwise, the fountain of the Spirit will dry up.
Another part of minding the body is being sensitive to the perception and frame of our brother. We must come to the place where our liberty doesn’t affect the conscience of others (Romans 14:1-2). We must be mindful of one another. The dominant rule that the Lord exalts is that we should do all things unto edification; let edification be the basis for which you run everything. If anything will not build my brother up, I should desist from it no matter how right it is, no matter how reasonable it is, no matter my liberties, because if we don’t run by that rule, the fountain of the Spirit dries up and our progress will be stalled. We should seek the things that edify. 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 “25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. 26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it”. As members, we should care for one another. Being mindful of one another creates a way for the Spirit to move amongst us. The mileage we can cover in the Spirit is greatly tied to how well we are exercised in caring for one another. There are certain things God will bring into our hands that we won’t even think about; it won’t become the basis of competition.
Sometimes, God is looking for a vessel to pour in, but He can’t find one because nobody is prepared. (2 Timothy 2:20-21). There is a preparation that a person has in his soul that makes the vessel usable. Not everyone is usable; there are things that must be cleansed. Part of the reason is ignorance concerning the spiritual or the laws of the Spirit. 2 Timothy 2:15-17 “15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus…” The first sign of godliness is shown in your lips: when you are with your friends, what do you talk about? After some gist, the Holy Ghost cannot pass through you because of vain, vulgar babblings. These are rudimentary consecrations for a life in the spirit. The time we also spend on social media has to be reduced as part of our consecration so that the Holy Ghost can find expression as He desires. As we are desiring the gifts and discerning the body, there are consecrations we must keep.
1 Corinthians 12: 28 “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” Part of the things we should discern are those God has set in the body, even though we are one. They are part of the complexities of the life of the Spirit. It is not everybody that is set. God sets some in the church, and it is not everybody that is set. God sets offices and not members. God is the one that sets apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, gifts of healing, helps, governments and diversities of tongues, and these categories are different from the fivefold ministry in Ephesians 4:11-12. The fivefold ministries are gifts of Christ. What God sets in the church is a matter of emphatic order.
1 Corinthians 12:31 “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way” To covet means to desire, and to desire the best gift means it has value amongst others. The best way to covet is to work in charity. I can be walking in charity but not coveting. Walking in charity does not mean we can’t covet spiritual gifts. It is simply a more excellent way to covet. 1 Corinthians 13 is an exposition on how to desire earnestly spiritual gifts. Our walk of charity does not mean we cannot desire spiritual gifts. It shows that we are more qualified to have spiritual gifts. Walking in charity does not exclude spiritual gifts. When I am walking in charity, I am predisposing myself to be qualified for God to send spiritual gifts to us.
TONGUES AND INTERPRETATION
For indeed this veil is yet torn away
There is even yet a place that I ought to bring many
Many have worked in ignorance and lack of understanding
Because of this, I have been limited even to take you further
For there is yet an entrance within the veil,
There is yet a place I want to bring you to within the veil
And you have lacked in many of these things I am speaking
And that is why I have come to bring this understanding
For indeed I want many spiritual men to be raised
I want you to be spiritual
And not by doctrine alone but even in mannerism of the spirit
Even in the administrations of the spirit, even in the operations of the spirit,
Even in the manifestations of the spirit
For you are yet spirit and you’re not supposed to remain carnal
I want to see this manifestations
I want to see many administrations among you
So that I can indeed take you further
For I see that many are fearful
I see that any are being too careful
But I say that indeed the spirit is resting in you
The spirit is abiding in you
Just learn to cooperate with the spirit
Just learn to walk with the spirit
Just learn to do things as the spirit bids you to do it
Don’t restrict him,
Don’t hold him
Don’t cage him
Let him find an expression even according to the many many operations as He would want you to
Yield to the Ghost
Yield to the Spirit
Yield to the Lord and saviour
Yield and you would begin to see many, many breakthroughs
Many coming up
For there is yet a place I want to take man too
You need to enter
Prosper in this
Saith the Spirit.
Message continues…
The exercise of charity predisposes you more to the giftings of the Spirit if you desire it. It is not to exclude you but to include you. The more we enter into the realm of the Spirit, the more spiritual our life would be. The exercise in the life that is in Christ does not automatically exclude the gifting of the Spirit; it is actually an integration into a higher operation of the Spirit. Spiritual gifts are necessary for our profiting. Doctrine alone will not do it, though we don’t despise the place of doctrine. 1 Timothy 4:13-14 “13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery”. By laying on of hands, gifts can be given, but if you don’t give yourself to it, if you don’t meditate on it, the profit of it might not appear. A person can change place in tongue giving because he has profited in that gift, he has used it to increase life, he is operating at another place in the spirit, and if we don’t know these things, Satan can cheat us.
In 1st Corinthians 12:31, Paul only mentioned that we should desire the best gift but did not state which is the best gift but showed us the way/how to get it: 31 “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way”
However, in 1 Corinthians 14:1-2 and Verse 5, Paul begins to show us how to know what is the best gift; that is, how to identify the best gift. “1. Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. 2 For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries” Verses 5 “I would that ye all spake with tongues but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying”
Out of all the gifts, it is only 3 gifts that were mentioned in this verse: prophecy, tongues, and interpretation, which can be categorized as utterance gifts. There is priority for prophesying. Tongues and interpretation equal prophecy, and it is for the edification of the church. The gifts are not called best because of how they sound but how much they are able to build a believer. They are for edification. The best gift to God is building. In the order of the gifts, utterance gifts are sanctified, but that does not mean other gifts are weak because the bible says we should desire everything. If I desire spiritual gifts, I should desire earnestly the best gifts, which are gifts of prophecy. At no time should our desire for it be reduced. We need the gift of prophecy to prosper in the mystery of God. To pierce the heart of the spirit, we need something close to it, which is the operation of the gift of prophecy. While we trust God for other gifts, we will trust God more for the prophetic so we can access the mysteries of God 1st Corinthians 14:1 (AMPC) “ Eagerly pursue and seek to acquire [this] love [make it your aim, your great quest]; and earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual endowments (gifts), especially that you may prophesy ([a]interpret the divine will and purpose in inspired preaching and teaching)…” Prophesying in this context is not telling us about details of our lives, while that is prophetic, but in what we are talking about, prophesying is the ability to interpret the divine will and purpose of God in inspired teaching and preaching. 1st Corinthians 14:3 (AMPC) “But [on the other hand], the one who prophesies [who [b]interprets the divine will and purpose in inspired preaching and teaching] speaks to men for their upbuilding and constructive spiritual progress and encouragement and consolation”
When you read the entire chapter of 1st Corinthians Chapter 3, the principle is to do all things for edification. The gift of prophecy is more instrumental in building the church (1 Cor 14:12, 14:26). We have been following charity but have not been desiring, and this could be partly because we don’t know what to desire, but now we don’t have an excuse. If our gifts are not building up our brother, it has no use. 1 Corinthians 14: 12-17 “12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. 13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. 16 Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? 17 For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified”
Not all tongues are to be interpreted; some are between you and God. But if there is no interpreter for an unknown tongue, we can speak to ourselves – “But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God” 1 Corinthians 14:28. Now, what is the meaning of keep silence in the church? It does not mean don’t speak in tongues in the church; what it means is that don’t speak in tongues when people cannot understand the prayer being said. That is why we lead prayers in English first. 1 Corinthians 14:18 “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all…” Many of us do not maximize speaking in tongues enough. We are supposed to be more exercised in speaking in tongues even at home. We can speak to ourselves and to God. We can talk to the Holy Ghost by ourselves even if we are not speaking to God (Eph 5:18-19). It is a practice we should cultivate: learn to speak to yourself in the Holy Ghost. Even if you don’t have a prayer request or prayer burden, you should learn to speak to yourself. We can culture it to the point that we stay filled with the Holy Ghost, and when you are filled, it is easy for the Holy Ghost to move you. Many of us are not exercised, and that is why when we come to church, we don’t have what to give. As we exercise our spirit, there is a maturity that can come with handling the things of the spirit. A tongue can stay with us for a long time. The spirit is like our compass. It should help us to find directions; you are confused; pray; you lack direction; pray. Speaking in tongues should be our world. When we stay like that, it would be difficult for Satan to push thoughts into your mind that are alien to the plan of God. Why? Because your mind is guarded both with the word and with the spirit. It is not just when you have a burden that you approach the spirit and pray; outside of a burden, can you speak to yourself? Let speaking in tongues be your default mode. When we start praying, some foul things would not stay around us. The more we keep progressing in altitude, the more they begin to fall off. Some things we are busy fighting are because we don’t stay in the spirit. If we follow after charity and stay in the spirit, some things will fall off naturally. The life of the spiritual man is naturally supernatural, and it should be our experience every day.
MESSAGE END.