What are the most in-depth books on Spiritual Gifts? why?

[Biblicist]

No actually Its called Discover your God given gifts by Don and Katie Fortune.

Thankyou. When I saw your post, which came just after my own which contained those 78 specialist books; as you did not initially provide the title I figured that you were about to give us a well deserved reminder that the information that we are all after is in another book – the Bible.

As I had never previously come across any material by the Fortunes, I did a web search where I came across their book Discover your God given Gifts (2009 Revised).

Of the few pages that I have read I came across what I consider to be some really good material, but as with many other books, which even includes some Commentaries and Lexicons, they can easily end up unnecessarily muddying the waters so to speak with how they define our English word gift or spiritual gift, which is what the Fortunes had done with regard to 1 Peter 4:10;

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The passage of 1 Peter 4:10 (along with a few others) is not specifically about spiritual endowments that the Holy Spirit may outwork through the Believer, not are they necessarily things that the Father might place within us from within the womb.

How we each view how the various English translators have rendered the following Greek words that are translated into our English word gift/s will colour how we understand the entire subject:

• πνευματικός pneumatikos
• δόμα doma
• δῶρον doron
• ἀνάθημα anathema
• χάρισμα charisma
• μερισμός merismos

It’s helpful to remember that Paul never uses the term spiritual gifts but instead he uses the above Greek words to convey what he means, whereas the various translation committees have understandably often struggled to accurately convey Paul’s meaning into English.

The Louw-Nida Lexicon does a fine job with conveying the Greek meaning of the word and they have also included examples of how the word charisma has been used in everyday life.

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As with any discussion regarding specifically the Manifestations of the Spirit (1 Cor 12:8-11), we need to be very careful how we employ the problematic term 'spiritual gifts'.

 

[Frank Jennings]

What are the most in-depth books on Spiritual Gifts? why?

Please allow me a little background testimony if I may.
This is JMO. When the Lord saved me I knew not at all what had happened. I didn't know that I had been saved or even that I needed to be. He came and convinced me of sin outside of any church walls in the rural wooded mountains where I live. Refer to Ezekiel chapter 34 for a precedent.

After I began reading the Bible I began to learn about the savior, the Father and the Holy Spirit. After I realized what had come to pass I still felt a great inner need that something was missing. I didn't know anything about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I watched a testimony by singer Pat Boone's wife Shirley on a religious program one morning before work. She said their marriage was on the rocks and she went to pray. She poured out her heart before God and then saw she had been praying for a good while in a language she never knew. She didn't call the experience by any name and I'd never heard of such a thing. I was so ignorant about God I thought celebrities had more pull than a poor old nobody like me. Pretty ignorant eh!

Home from work and up I'm the attic of a room I was building I wept and poured out my heart to Jesus. As I wept I thought of the testimony I'd heard. As I did a strong thought came. " If God did that for her maybe He'd do it for you too". In blind faith not knowing what to even ask for I began to make up words and mumble them out. After just a minute I was pouring out words I'd never learned or knew. Jesus the baptize in the Holy Spirit had done it for Frank.

1 John 2:27 KJVS
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

I never read any books instructing me about God. Only the Bible. I will read testimonies and biographies but no others on spiritual matters. The Holy Spirit is my teacher. In Bible study and prayer the Lord will teach you, show you, instructions you in everything you need to know.

I have prophesied in church and to individuals. In dreams and visions the Lord has instructed, guided, encouraged and even chastised me.

I believe that He would have you to lean on Him with all your might. He will instruct you in the smallest details. I have given open prophesies in congregations and have seen the Lord interpret the tongues that I spoke in.

I was praying in the spirit, tongues, at home and realized that He was giving in me the interpretation. My wife and I had been married 24 years and had no children. He'd promised us through a prophet to send us a child. He told my wife and I it would be a son.

The interpretation was that He'd done what He promised. At the lab They agreed. Our son Nathan was born about 9 months later. Did we hear or not. Nathan's is 36 today.

The Bible contains so much more than most Christians imagine.

For whatever it's worth this is our testimony. Jesus has everything you need. I trust in the Bible and His Holy Spirit. But you do as you think best. 1John 2:27 is the key. You can read many books and find that they often offer contradictory statements. Men have a tendency to complicate the simplest things. Especially I all things of God. I am a simple person who has placed all of his faith in God. Gifts are given for one reason and one alone. To help people, save, heal, deliver, encourage people. God's people.