Chapter 16 The Gift of the Working of Miracles
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by
the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
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:
But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he
will.
— 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
After Paul listed the nine gifts of the Spirit as shown in the text above, he went on to say, "But
covet earnestly the best gifts . . ."(1Cor. 12:31).
The 'Best' Gift Is the Gift Needed at the Time
Sometimes people become confused about what the best spiritual gift is. They miss the fact
that under some circumstances, even the very best gift of all the spiritual gifts, may not be the
best gift in a given circumstance or the gift needed at that particular time.
For instance, the word of wisdom, which is a divine revelation of the plan and purpose of God,
is the greatest of all the gifts of the Spirit. However, if you are sick, you don't need that
manifestation; you need a manifestation of the gifts of healings.
In other words, under that particular circumstance, the "best" gift would be the gifts of healings,
not the word of wisdom. So, you see, the best gift, the word of wisdom, is not always what's
needed in every situation and circumstance. In that sense, the best gift would really be the one
that is needed at the time.
Find Your Place of Ministry
We look at Paul's letter to the Corinthians in which he said, ". . . covet earnestly the best gifts
..." (1 Cor. 12:31). Paul also said, ". . . desire spiritual gifts . . ." (1 Cor. 14:1). Paul was
exhorting the Corinthians to desire spiritual gifts. Many times, we take this verse of Scripture
personally and we think it means that each person is to desire spiritual gifts as his own
personal possessions.
However, Paul was not writing this letter to an individual member of the Church of the Lord
Jesus
Christ. He was writing to the whole Church at Corinth. He was telling them as a church, as a
group, to desire these gifts. And this also applies to the Church, the Body of Christ today.
Then if believers as a group would earnestly desire spiritual gifts to be manifested in their
midst, the Holy Spirit would manifest Himself, "dividing to every man severally as He wills" (1
Cor. 12:11). The phrase, ". . . dividing to every man severally as he will" in First Corinthians
12:11, infers that each of us will not all have the same spiritual gift manifested through us at
the same time.