The gifts of the Holy Spirit are divine appointments and empowerments to individuals who accept the Lordship o
f Jesus Christ in their lives.
“Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 28 And God has appointed these in
the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that, miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?” 1 Corinthians 12:27-30.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are designed to position every believer in Christ Jesus to fulfill a particular purpose on earth within the Body of Christ, also called The Church.
1 Corinthians 12:12-21 compares the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ to members in the human body.
“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.
If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-21”
Every serious believer belongs to the Spiritual body of Christ and has received a spiritual gift from God to contribute to the benefit of the entire body.
How can we define unity between the members of a biological body? How can we express unity between the eye and the foot? It is clear that each eye and the foot function for the entire body’s benefit. Their unity or agreement is based on their aptitude to function, not for their benefit but for the benefit of the whole body.
The concept of functional unity is God’s design of how each member of the body of Christ is supposed to function for the benefit of the entire body. Spiritual gifts must complement each other as members operate in our physical bodies. Promoting this divine design will help the Church on Earth transcend denominational divisions and increase unity among believers based on their understanding that their Spiritual gifts are more effective as they actively team with believers with different spiritual gifts in the body of Christ. Believers in Jesus Christ who understand the concept of functional unity in the body of Christ can come closer to one another and complement each other in serving Christ.
Promoting this Divine design will strengthen the body of Christ and prepare us to see the manifestation of the unity that our Lord Jesus Christ prayed for in John 17 before returning to The Father.
Reinhard Bonnke was an Evangelist. During many crusades he organized in numerous countries of Africa, Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke was always ministering within a team, including a significant complementation of Spiritual gifts and unity beyond Christian denominations. This example was a case of functional unity. Wherever the Holy Spirit sent him to preach The Gospel of Jesus Christ in Africa, Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke could easily connect his spiritual gift as an evangelist to other spiritually gifted ministers regardless of their denomination.
Through the evangelistic organization “Christ for All Nations, which he founded in 1974, ” Evangelist Bonnke brought millions to Jesus Christ. During his crusades in every country, he connected new believers to pastors involved in preparing and supporting the campaign. After the crusade, he ensured each new believer found a spiritual home to grow in Christ.
He always presented the crusade as a nondenominational and purely Christian event. During the preparation of each evangelistic crusade, teams from the local churches were involved long before the crusade. He invited most of the church denominations in the country he visited for a month to participate. Most churches in the city were involved in some way, and each church willing to participate needed to appoint delegates to join the crusade.
Every crusade was accompanied by a pastors’ workshop, generally for the pastors of the churches involved in the campaign. Bonnke took this pastor’s workshop very seriously. He always said, “Pastors are the key to the future situation.” He was assured that those who believed would grow in the knowledge of Christ.
This brief review demonstrates that in the ministry of Evangelist Bonnke, there is a functional connection between the evangelist and many ministry gifts of the Holy Spirit (Apostles, pastors, doctors, administrators, and more) for the campaign’s success and beyond.
David Christian Network International (DCNI) is a Global platform for disciples of Jesus Christ worldwide. DCNI promotes all spiritual gifts available in the body of Christ and functional unity in the Church. Unity in the body of Christ is a reason for the prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 17.
Since 2022, DCNI implemented activities promoting functional unity and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Africa (Cameroon) and in Pakistan.
In Cameroon, non-denominational activities for evangelism involved ministers with diverse gifts of the holy Spirit in cities and villages. In every town, before evangelism, the concept of functional unity was presented, and believers who wanted to be part of this vision of functional unity in the Church were encouraged to join David Christian Network International. Participating ministers can participate in all programs within the DCNI Network. The goal is to increase the collaboration among the disciples of Christ and ministers based on the gifts of the Holy Spirit in all cities wherever DCNI is implemented.
We expect the number of participating Ministries in Cameroon, in all African Countries, and in all countries and continents to increase.
Click here to join DCNI and participate in the movement.
The gifts of the holy Spirit are divine appointments and empowerments to individuals who accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ in their lives.
“Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that, miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?” 1 Corinthians 12:27-30.
The gifts of the holy Spirit are designed to positioning every believer in Christ Jesus to fulfilling a particular purpose on earth within the Body of Christ, also called The Church.
1 Corinthians 12:12-21 compares the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ to members in the human body.
“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.
“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.
If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-21”
Every serious believer belongs to the Spiritual body of Christ and has received a spiritual gift from God to contribute to the benefit of the entire body.
How can we define unity between the members of a biological body? How can we define unity between the eye and the foot? It is clear that each, the eye and the foot function for the benefit of the entire body. Their unity is based on their aptitude to function, not for their own benefit, but for the benefit of the entire body.
The concept of functional unity is God’s design on how each member of the body of Christ is supposed to function for the benefit of the entire body. Spiritual gifts must complement each other as members operate in our physical bodies. Promoting this divine design will help the Church on Earth transcend denominational divisions and increase unity among believers based on their understanding that their Spiritual gifts are more effective as they actively team with believers with different spiritual gifts in the body of Christ. Believers in Jesus Christ who understand the concept of functional unity in the body of Christ can come closer to one another and complement each other in serving Christ.
Promoting this Divine design will make the body of Christ stronger and ready to see the manifestation of the unity that our Lord Jesus Christ prayed for in John 17 before returning to The Father.