Spheres of Gifts in the Body of Christ
Preached by Apostle Aje Pelser Harvester Reformational Church, Cape Town.

Romans 12:6-8 Wuest’s Translation
“Having therefore gifts differing according to the grace given us, whether that of prophecy, prophesy according to the proportion of your faith;
Or serving, exercise that gift within the sphere of service;
Or teaching, within the sphere of teaching;
Or he who exhorts, within the sphere of exhortation;
The one who distributes his earthly possessions, in the sphere of an unostentatious simplicity;
The one who placed in a position of authority, with intense eagerness and effort;
The one who shows mercy, with a joyous abandon.”

Let’s investigate some of the spheres of gifts and functions in a church.
In case you missed the previous message about gifts of the Spirit, here is a summary:

“The Holy Spirit has a gift for you, with a miraculous quality, that brings deliverance from danger.
Jesus will give you an administration – to perform a good service to bring relief to mankind on behalf of God. God will give you a spiritual operation – to show who you really are by being powerfully active and efficient in your spiritual work.”

1. Sphere of Prophecy
We are encouraged to “prophesy according to the proportion of our faith.”
What exactly does that mean?
In a body of believers, we are given opportunity to stir up th gifts of the spirit:
2Ti 1:6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

How do we receive those gifts in the first place?
What if we get it wrong?

If your church accepts the working of the Holy Spirit in meetings, with supervision of experienced five fold ministry, then you have a ‘grace-space’ wherein to learn and grow in confidence that comes through experience.
When it comes to prophecy, there needs to be a clear distinction between the office of the prophet and the gift of prophecy. There are different levels of responsibility and authority.
A believer operating in the gift of prophecy will be able to speak in these spheres of the prophetic:
1Co 14:3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.

Edification – seeks to build people up according to scriptural understanding of God’s will. It is: the act of one who promotes another’s growth in Christian wisdom, piety, happiness, holiness” Thayer’s Greek Definition G3619

Exhortation is a “instructive, admonitory, conciliatory, powerful hortatory discourse” and a calling near for help, or to offer help. Thayer’s Greek Definition G3874

Comfort is an attribute of the Holy Spirit expressed in a prophetic address: any address, whether made for the purpose of persuading, or of arousing and stimulating, or of calming and consoling. Thayer’s Gr Def. 3889

The office of a prophet is a different level of directional word given to equip the believer for the work of the ministry, calling and sets functions, imparts gifts and releases vision.
If you think of a defining prophetic moment in your life, where one word has set the course for a lifetime of spiritual work, you will realize that this is more than encouragement. When God speaks through His servants the prophets, you can believe it and prosper in that direction.

Ezr 6:14 So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.