Jesus assured His followers
that they would receive the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49),
and Pentecost marked the fulfillment of this promise
(Acts 2:1-4).
God always follows through,
and sending His Spirit was no exception.
In fact, this amazing blessing still applies today.
The moment a person places faith in the Savior,
the Holy Spirit indwells that new believer.
He seals all Christians in Him for eternity
so nothing can ever steal them from God.
But sadly, some don’t choose to live in that power—
believers can be saved
and yet continue to live in their own strength.
Being “filled with the Holy Spirit”
is not an emotional experience.
Instead, it involves allowing God
to live His life through our actions, thoughts, and words—
which means surrendering our desires and self-focus.
Walking in the Spirit
has nothing to do with our own abilities.
Rather, it depends solely on God’s.
We trust, ask Him to take over,
and follow in obedience.
He will lead us as we pray to Him.
And through silent, attentive meditation upon His Word,
as well as through the counsel of other believers,
we can experience our Father’s guidance,
power, protection, and help.
His still, small voice
will become more obvious to us as we mature in Christ.
If you are saved, God’s Spirit lives within you.
But He longs to do much more than simply reside there.
He desires to commune with you in intimate relationship
so that you experience abundant blessing.
Living in your own strength will lead only to failure.
Walking by the Spirit brings life.
|
|
The Holy Spirit is given to us the moment we accept Christ. "It is a down payment as the guarantee that when we accept Jesus we are saved" The evidence of the Holy Spirit is a physical reminder that God promises to take us home with Him. Now, "the gifts" are "the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit" and we are told to pray for the best gift[s]. So, we are to pray for whichever gift we think we would use best for God. Be it prophesy, knowledge or Tongues or Evangelism....etc. There are 9 gifts and 9 Fruits. The gifts and fruits we pray on...and will receive what we pray for.
Every Christian is given a spiritual gift as soon as he or she becomes born again. At that very moment the Holy Spirit will unite with that person's spirit (Romans 8:16-17). When we are born physically, we possess certain natural abilities. When we are born again spiritually, God takes these natural abilities and turns them into the means by which He can work through us supernaturally. Jesus "gave gifts unto men ... For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith..." (Ephesians 4:8, 12-14).
How Many Gifts Does Each Christian Have
There are three types of gifts: motivation, ministry, and manifestation. We only have one motivational gift and the possibility of many ministry and manifestation gifts. These gifts are outlined further below. The Apostle Paul writes:
"Now there are diversities of gifts (motivation gifts of the Father), but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, (ministry gifts of the Son) but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit (gifts of the Holy Spirit) is given to every man to profit withal"
(I Corinthians 12:4-7).
What is the Apostle Paul trying to tell us< Well, he is simply saying that there are three categories of spiritual gifts:
Gifts of the Father Romans 12:6-8 Motivation
Gifts of the Son Ephesians 4:11
I Corinthians 12:28 Ministry
Gifts of the Holy Spirit I Corinthians 12:7-11 Manifestation
The gifts of the Father are motivational gifts. The Greek word for "gift" is charisma which comes from the word char meaning "joy." Charis is the Greek word for grace, which is God giving us the desire and power to do His will (Philippians 2:13). The term motivation is simply defined as the work of God's grace.
These seven gifts (which can be found in Romans 12:6-8) seem to characterize basic motivations or inherent tendencies in a person by reason of the Creator's unique workmanship in their initial gifting. A believer usually displays one dominant motivational gift although he or she may have a small mixture of the other six. Peter writes, "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (I Peter 4:10). Thus by having one primary motivational gift, we are able to nurture and develop it.
The gifts of the Son (Jesus Christ) are administration or ministry gifts. The term administration comes from the Greek work diakanion from which we get our English word deacon. This word relates to the ministries and outreach of the local church. These gifts (Ephesians 4:11; I Corinthians 12:28) are pivotal in assuring that the motivation and manifestation gifts are being applied in the body of the church.These gifts are confirmed by ordination.
(I Timothy 4:14).
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are gifts of manifestation or operation. The term operations comes from the Greek word energeia. Its English equivalent is energy. As God gives power through our motivational gift, the effects produced by it are the operations or manifestations of the Spirit. These nine gifts of manifestation (I Corinthians 12:7-11) are given to profit the body of the church.
To summarize, it is our responsibility to develop our motivational gifts, it the church's responsibility to confirm ministry gifts, and it is the Holy Spirit's function to reward the use of the gifts for the profit of all.
The Nine Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Although I briefly highlighted the three categories of gifts from the Godhead, the remainder of this teaching will only focus on the third set of gifts: the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
God has given His people nine mighty gifts of the Holy Spirit to enable them to mature spiritually, edify others, and do the work of the ministry. Although these gifts of God are perfect, the manifestation of these gifts are sometimes not so perfect because they are manifested through an imperfect channel: men and women.
However, perfect or imperfect, it is still God's will that the Church have all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in operation and that every believer be open to the working of these gifts in their life. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul confirms this statement when he exhorted God's people by writing: "That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 'So that ye come behind in no gift;' waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ." (I Corinthians 1:5-7). Therefore, these gifts are not only essential for spiritual maturity and ministry, but they also prepare you for Christ's return.
The gifts are the spiritual senses of the Church. Just as we have five physical senses that allow us to function in the natural realm (world), so we also have nine gifts of the Holy Spirit (the "spiritual senses") that enable us to function properly in the spiritual realm.
These gifts are identified in I Corinthians 12:8-11
"For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discering of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."
These nine gifts can be broken down into three categories:
Revelation Gifts - gifts that reveal something
Word of Wisdom
Word of Knowledge
Discerning of Spirits
Power Gifts - gifts that do something
Faith
Healings
Miracles
Inspiration Gifts - gifts that say something
Prophecy
Diverse Tongues
Interpretation of Tongues
Purposes of the Gifts
Spiritual maturity
You cannot strengthen someone who is weak unless you are mature yourself. Spiritual gifts help you mature so you can edify the Church and strengthen others
(I Corinthians 14:12).
Edification
Spiritual gifts are used for the edification of the Church and are tools that bring us into spiritual maturity: "Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church."
(I Corinthians 14;12)
Credentials
A credential is having evidence or testimony concerning your authority. When the gifts are displayed, it publicly confirms that you are a true believer, an ambassador of God: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover ... And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen." (Mark 16:17-18,20)
We are identified as believers through the gifts of the Spirit: "God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost..." (Hebrews 2:4)
Spiritual Prosperity
I Corinthians 12:7 declares, "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal." The gift of the Holy Spirit can be compared to a precious stone which brings prosperity. Proverbs17:8 says that "A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth."
Can We Have All of The Gifts<
The revelation, power, and inspiration gifts were all operative in the ministry of the Apostle Paul. God wants you to have these gifts of the Spirit; that is why the Bible encourages us to "covet earnestly the best gifts..." (I Corinthians 12:31).
How to Receive These Gifts<
These nine spiritual gifts come by prayer, so ask for them, desire them, pray to receive them, and covet earnestly the best gifts (I Corinthians 12:31).
Personal Rewards of Spiritual Gifts
Knowing we have a gift that is an asset to the body of Christ, we are able to achieve a deeper level of self-acceptance and purpose in life. As we exercise our gifts, we experience personal fulfillment and a deep sense of joy. By concentrating on our gifts, we achieve maximum fruitfulness with minimum weariness.
Spiritual Gifts
Wisdom Knowledge Discernment
Faith Healings Miracles
Prophecy Diverse Tongues Interpretation
The gift of Tongues
Supernatural utterance through the power of the Holy Spirit in a person that manifests as spiritual language. The Holy Spirit energizes the tongue to edify believers through language and music.
Diverse tongues is the most misunderstood and dynamic gift. It is not your prayer language, but it can surface through intercession, conference, or through the individual.
Supernatural utterance in languages not known to the speaker; these languages may be existent in the world, revived from some past culture, or "unknown" in the sense that they are a means of communication inspired by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 28:11; Mark 16:17; Acts 2:4, 10:44-48, 19:1-7; I Corinthians 12:10, 13:1-3, 14:2, 4-22, 26-32).
The spiritual gift involving ability to speak in foreign language(s) not previously studied or to respond to experience of the Holy Spirit by uttering sounds which those without the gift of interpretation could not understand. At Pentecost the church received the gift to communicate the gospel in foreign languages (Acts 2). God gave His Spirit to all His people to empower them to witness and prophesy. In Corinth some members of the church uttered sounds the rest of the congregation did not understand (I Corinthians 12-14). This led to controversy and division. Paul tried to unite the church, assuring the church that there are different gifts but only one Spirit (I Corinthians 12:4-11).
There are three types of tongues mentioned in the Bible:
Three Types of Tongues
1. An unknown tongue unto God (I Corinthians 14:2).
This type of tongue edifies you (I Corinthians 14:4; Jude 20), assists you in prayer (Romans 8:26-27), stirs up the prophetic ministry (I Corinthians 14:5), refreshes your soul (Isaiah 28:11-12), gives victory over the devil (Ephesians 6:18), and helps you worship in the Spirit (I Corinthians 14:14-15; Hebrews 2:12).
When you sing in the Spirit, God joins in with you and confuses and defeats the enemy (Isaiah 30:29-31); it breaks the yoke of bondage (Acts 16:25); it brings you into the presence of God (Psalm 22:3); and it aids you in intercession (Romans 8:26).
2. A known tongue that is a sign to unbelievers.
(I Corinthians 14:2; Acts 2:6).
3. A tongue that is understood through interpretation and edifies the church (I Corinthians 14:15).
Please note that the gift of tongues (as well as your prayer language) is a product of both God and man. Every believer has a part to play in speaking in tongues for the Spirit gives you utterance, and you do the talking. The Holy Spirit does not talk with tongues. In fact, nowhere in the Bible does it mention that the Holy Spirit ever talked with tongues. Instead, you will be doing the talking in the flesh; after all, God said He would pour out His Spirit on all flesh. Everyone who has ever spoken in tongues was in the flesh; however, he or she was inspired by the Spirit when they spoke.
|
FREEDOM IN CHRIST/LIBERTY OF BEING BORN AGAIN
References to, from prophesy to completion.
|
|
