- From Introduction chapter: Why do a study on the spiritual gifts? Because the gifts are something that the church was supposed to be using and I feel that we are falling short of what was expected. Without the gifts being used the church is not fulfilling all of its potential. We wonder why we are not reaching all the lost souls in this world, yet we are not doing all we need to do be doing. We are not doing the one thing that each of us has been called to do.
- From Cessationism vs Continuationism chapter: One major problem with understanding the gifts is that we have to know if the gifts are still available or not. Some believe that the gifts have died out when the Apostolic Age ended.... When did Scripture end? Was it perfected in 70 A.D. with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple like Preterism claims? The Futurists think that Revelation, the last book in the Bible was written about 85 to 90 A.D.
- From the main part of the book:Why did the early church need apostles? They needed someone to carry on the miracles and message of Christ. The message of Christ was new to everyone. The whole world did not know what following Christ meant since He ascended into heaven. The apostle (lower cased) had to be the deliverer of the word and to take care of people who wanted to follow Christ. They chose local leaders to carry on the functions and leadership of congregations while they were away. They started churches and watched over them. They handled problems of doctrines and teachings. They gave authenticity to others. With this in mind let us define in detail the gift of apostle..... Greek-“apo” plus “stellos”. Apo means “from somewhere”. Stellos means “send out”. The word means someone who was sent from somewhere. Hebrew- “shaliah”. It means emissary or one sent on a mission, such as a missionary. Clarification and meaning of this gift: One chosen by God to be sent out with a unique mission. A specific mission might be starting a church, acting and speaking on His behalf.
Each chapter is dedicated to a different gift and follows the same pattern; why did the early church have it, why does the church still have it, what are the types of this gift, what personalities and issues happen with this gift, the etymology, clarification, and some misconceptions. Loaded with a full inventory at the end. Great for class studies or personal growth.
For more here on my blogs: Spiritual Gifts Overview and Gift of gifts
