SPIRITUAL GIFTS.

Gifts played an important role from the earliest time in daily life. Abraham's aged servant gave gifts of jewelry to Rebekah after seeing evidence that GOD had assigned her as a wife for Isaac.
GENESIS 24:10-15.- The servant, who was in charge of Abraham's property, took 10 of his master's camels and went to the city where Nahor had lived in Northern Mesopotamia. When the servant arrived, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city. It was late afternoon, the Time when Women came out to get Water. The servant prayed,"Lord, GOD of my Master Abraham, give me success today and KEEP YOUR PROMISE to my Master. Here I am at the Well where the young women of the city will be coming to get Water. I will say to one of them, 'Please, lower your jar and let me have a drink.' If she says, 'Drink and I will also bring water to your camels,' may she be the One that You Have Chosen for your servant Isaac. If this happens, I will know that you have kept Your Promise to my Master." Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah arrived with a water jar on her shoulder. (10-15)  She was a very beautiful young woman and still a virgin. She went down to the well, filled her jar, and came back. The servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a drink of Water from your jar." She said, "Drink, sir" and quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and held it while the servant drank. When he had finished, she said, "I will also bring water for your camels and let them have all they want." She quickly emptied her jar into the animals' drinking trough and ran to the Well to get more water, until she had watered all his camels. The servant kept watching her in silence, to see if the Lord had given him success. When she had finished, the servant took an expensive gold ring and put it in her nose and put two large gold bracelets on her arms. The servant said, "Please tell me who your father is. Is there room in his house for my men and me to spend the night?" "My father is Bethuel son of Nahor and Milcah," she answered. "There is plenty of straw and fodder at our house, and there is a place for you to stay." Then the servant knelt down and worshiped the Lord. He said, "Praise the Lord, the GOD of my Master Abraham, Who Has Faithfully Kept HIS PROMISE to my Master. The Lord has led me straight to my Master's relatives." The young woman ran to her mother's house and told the whole story. (16-28)
GOD imparts His Spirit as a gift to His People, enabling the to avoid the degrading works of the flesh and to cultivate instead the fruitage of the spirit, namely, Love, Joy, Peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, Faith, Mildness, and self-control.
ACTS 2 says, When the Day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered Together In One Place. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong Wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak. There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the World. When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages. In amazement and wonder they exclaimed, "These People Who Are Talking like this Are Galileans! How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages? We are from Parthia, Media, and Elam; from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Capadocia; from Pontus and Asia; from Phrygia and Pamphylia; from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of you are from Rome, both Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism, and some of us are from Crete and Arabia -yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the Great Things that GOD Has Done!" (1-12)
The apostle Paul says in Romans 8: "There is no condemnation now for Those Who Live in Union with JESUS CHRIST. For the LAW of the SPIRIT, which BRINGS us LIFE in Union with GHRIST JESUS, has set me free from the LAW of SIN and DEATH. What the Law could not do, because human nature was weak, GOD DID. He CONDEMNED SIN in human nature BY SENDING HIS OWN SON, Who Came with a Nature like our sinful nature, TO DO AWAY WITH SIN." (1-3)
"God did this SO that THE RIGHTEOUS DEMANDS of the LAW might BE fully SATISFIED IN US WHO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT, and not according to Human Nature." (4)
"But you do not live as your Human Nature tells you to; instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to -IF, IN FACT, GOD's SPIRIT lives in you. Whoever does not have the SPIRIT OF CHRIST does not belong to him." (9) So then, my friends, we have an obligation, but it is not to live as our Flesh wants us to. For if you live according to your Flesh, you are going to die; but if you live BY THE SPIRIT you put to death your sinful actions, and you will live." (12)    GOD's SPIRIT Joins Himself to our spirits to declare that We Are GOD's CHILDREN. Since we are God's children, WE WILL POSSESS with CHRIST what GOD has kept for Him; for if we share CHRIST' s SUFFERING, we will also SHARE HIS GLORY." (16)
In the 1rst century CE miraculous gifts attended the Baptism with Holy Spirit. These served as signs and portents that GOD was no longer using the earthly Jewish congregation in His Service but that His Approval rested on the Christian congregation established by His Son.
HEBREWS 2 says: "This is why WE must  HOLD on all the more FIRMLY to the TRUTHS we have HEARD, so that we will not be carried away." (1)
"GOD has not PLACED the angels as RULERS OVER the NEW WORLD TO COME -the World of which we speak. Instead, as it is said somewhere in the Scripture: 'What are humans beings, O GOD, that YOU Should Think of Them; mere Humans Beings, that You Sure Care For Them? YOU made them for a little while lower than the angels; YOU Crowned Them With Glory and Honor, and MADE THEM RULERS over all things.' " (5-8)
"The Scripture says that GOD made human beings 'rulers over all things'; this clearly includes every thing. We do not, however, see human beings ruling over all things now. But WE do SEE JESUS, Who for a little while, Was Made Lower than the angels, so that THROUGH GOD's GRACE He should DIE FOR EVERYONE. We SEE HIM now CROWNED with GLORY and HONOR because of the DEATH HE SUFFERED. It was only RIGHT that GOD, Who Creates and Preserves All Things, SHOULD MAKE JESUS PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING, in order to bring many children TO SHARE His GLORY. JESUS is the One Who LEADS them TO SALVATION."(9-10)
Assignments of service in GOD's earthly arrangement or organization are really gifts from GOD.
The apostle Paul in Romans 12 says: "So then, my friends, because of GOD's great MERCY to us I appeal to you. OFFER yourselves as a living sacrifice to GOD, dedicated to His Service and Pleasing to Him. This is the TRUE WORSHIP that you should offer. Do NOT CONFORM yourselves TO the standards of this WORLD, but let GOD TRANSFORM YOU INWARDLY BY a complete change of your MIND. Then YOU WILL be able to KNOW the WILL OF GOD-what is good and is pleasing to Him and is perfect." (1-2)
Since gifts in the form of bribes can destroy the heart and pervert Justice, the Scripture admonish the hating of such gifts. Those who chase after gifts are condemned. (Deuteronomy 16:19,20; Ecclessiastes 7:7; Proverbs 15:27; Isaiah 1:28) There is no merit in giving because one expects something in return. (Luke 6:30-36; 14:12-14). To be pleasing to GOD, giving must be done unselfishly and without showy display. (Matthew 6:2-4; 1 Corinthians 13:3)
The apostle Paul says, "Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for GOD Loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)
Christian can give things more valuable than the material ones. They can give of their time and abilities to edify and build others up spiritually and mentally, which brings greater happiness. The greatest gift that one can offer to another is an understanding of GOD's WORD, -for this can lead to the receiver to everlasting life." (John 6:26, 27; 17:3; Acts 20:35; Revelation 22:17)
Earthly wisdom can be acquired through study, application and experience, but the "spiritual speech of Wisdom" mentioned in the Scripture, was a miraculous ability since it was "to apply knowledge in a successful way to solve problems." It was "according to this wisdom given him" that the apostle Paul wrote Letters that became part of GOD's inspired WORD. (2 Peter 3:15, 16) This gift also appears to have been manifest in the individual's acquaintance with the sacred secrets and his ability to make a defense that opposed people were unable to resist or dispute. (1 Corinthians 13:2; Acts 6: 9, 10)
When mentioning some of the operations of the Spirit in conjunction with the placement of the individual members of Christ's body, Paul sates: "GOD has set the respective ones in the congregation, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then powerful works; then gifts of healing; helpful services, abilities to direct, different tongues." (1 Corinthians 12: 27, 28)
Apparently those having the gifts of the Spirit were in a position to use them only when GOD's Spirit Came To Be Operative Upon Them to exercise the gift. For example, although at Caesarea Paul stayed in the home of Philip, who "had 4 daughters, virgins that prophesied," it was not one of these daughters who foretold Paul's arrest, but Agabus, a prophet who had come from Judea. (Acts 21: 8-11)
At a meeting of the congregation a prophet could receive a revelation while another prophet was speaking. Moreover, those having the gifts of the Spirit had control over these when GOD's SPIRIT enveloped them, that is, they could refrain from speaking until opportunity was afforded. Therefore prophesying, speaking in tongues and translating could be done in an orderly way inside the congregation, for the edification of all. (1 Corinthians 14: 26-33)