ADVENTIST SABBATH SCHOOL FORUM

Read 1 Corinthians 14:1 and compare the difference list in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, 27-31; Romans 12:3-8; and Ephesians 4:11,12. Were those gifts given only to the New Testament believers? Why are the gifts available today?............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Read Ephesians 4:11-13, especially verse 13, which say: "till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (NKJV0). What does this tell us about the present need for the gifts in the church?.........................................................................................................................................................................

Read Romans 12:3-8 and Ephesians 4:8-12. What is the purpose of the Spiritual gifts that God give us?............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Why do you think a primary purpose of the gifts is church unity? How can believers with different gifts aim at unity in the church? What needs to take place so that different gifts in the church become a blessing rather than a source of division?

Read Ephesians 4:7 We often think that the Holy Spirit is the One who bestows spiritual gifts. The apostle Paul also connects Jesus Christ with the giving of the gifts. How is Jesus involved in the giving of the gifts?..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... What does Paul tell his readers in 1 Corinthians 12:14-31 about the distribution of the gifts? Why is this perspective so important for understanding how spiritual gifts function in the church?.......................................................................................................................................................................What gifts has God granted to members of your church? What message can you take away from the fact that different people have different gifts?...

The fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit have the same Author.Yet, they are not the same. NO one is required to manifest a gift of the Spirit, but everyone should manifest the fruit of the Spirit, Spiritual gifts do not necessarily testify to spirituality, but the fruit of the Spirit does. while there is only one fruit, there are many gifts, and some are greater than others. Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-7,11. What is the essence of what Paul is teaching here? Why is love so central to all that we do as Christians? How does love, in a sense, "empower" our witness?

When Jesus left His disciples and went to be with His Father in heaven, He gave them a specific task: preach the good news of the gospel to the world. But Jesus did not leave His disciples unequipped. What He commanded them to do He enabled them to do, but in His name and through the power and help of the Holy Spirit.

Read for This Week's Study: 1 Cor.12:4-6,11; Eph 4:7; 1 Cor 12:14-31; Rom 12:3-8; John 4:1-3. Memory Text: "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it the same God who works all in all" ( 1 Corinthians 12 :4-6, NKJV ).