Bro Branham taught that the nine spiritual gifts of 1 Corinthians 12—word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues—are active in the church today and should operate in every local assembly, but only after the baptism of the Holy Ghost fills the believer and activates pre-existing gifts and callings which are without repentance. Evidence: [CHURCH ORDER — 58-1007: ¶11–¶13]
He emphasized that these gifts are ministries in their own right, like preaching or healing, and each person must wait on their own gift without interrupting the service, especially not while the preacher is in the pulpit, as "the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets." Evidence: [CHURCH ORDER — 63-1226: ¶30–¶32]; [GOD BEING MISUNDERSTOOD — 61-0723E: ¶131–¶135a]
Gifts must be judged by two or three witnesses with discernment before acceptance, meeting privately before services to pray and test messages like "THUS SAITH THE LORD," ensuring no more than two or three messages in tongues or prophecy per service to edify the church orderly, avoiding fanaticism or unlearned visitors thinking believers mad. Evidence: [QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THE HOLY GHOST — 59-1219: ¶128–¶133]; [A GREATER THAN SOLOMON IS HERE — 58-0625: ¶197–¶205]; [GOD BEING MISUNDERSTOOD — 61-0723E: ¶131–¶139a]
Discernment
Bro Branham described discernment as a gift identifying spirits or revealing secrets of the heart, used by multiple people to confirm prophecies or tongues, as in private meetings where discerners witness "It was of the Lord" before signing messages. Evidence: [QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON THE HOLY GHOST — 59-1219: ¶131–¶133]; [JEHOVAH-JIREH — 56-0429: ¶60–¶61a]
Prophecy
Prophecy differs from a prophet (born with THUS SAITH THE LORD, unjudged like Isaiah); gift prophecy moves among believers, must be judged, limited to 2-3 messages, and edifies via specific direction like warnings of cyclones. Evidence: [QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
