The Gifts of the Spirit
"Therefore, my brethern, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. But let all things be done properly and in an orderly manner." (1 Corinthians 14: 39-40)
The Holy Spirit dwells in the spirit of all born again believers. He moves from the spirit, through the soul, as the believer allows Him to. The fruit of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, patience, understanding, etc., will be produced in the lives of all who earnestly seek to do the will of the Father and who are willing to be led by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit equips each person with abilities helpful to advance the kingdom of God. Yet while all of that is certainly good and necessary, there is still an impartation of power that God wants each child of the kingdom to have. Usually that is not a result of a natural growth in spiritual maturity, but instead is a special gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift floods the soul part of man and can often result in the impartation of what scripture calls the "gifts of the Spirit". The initial bestowing of this special gift is known as "the baptism of the Holy Spirit", indicating an immersion of the soul into the Holy Spirit, and a death of self-lordship in the soul.
There are nine gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12; "For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues". These are not natural abilities that we are born with, or learned actions. These gifts are not dependent on the maturity of the believer, but instead result from the willingness of the person to yield (a decision of the soul) to the moving of the Spirit in a supernatural way. The Corinthian church was filled with immature believers and leaders who non-the-less were blessed with many supernatural giftings of the Holy Spirit. Paul's instructions were part of their process of gaining spiritual maturity in the use and operation of the gifts.
The gifts of the Spirit come from God and not from the knowledge or ability of man. Wisdom would be a Spirit given instruction, knowledge would be a Spirit given revelation, faith would be a Spirit given assurance. As there are different types of sicknesses and injuries, so there are needed different kinds of healing gifts for the purpose of bringing about a physical restoration of the body. A miracle is a creative work of the Spirit, adding or accomplishing something not normally possible in nature. There are at least two types of prophetic words. One is a word of encouragement given by God, and the other is information given about something in the future. Distinguishing of spirits is revelation given by the Holy Spirit showing the source and sometimes the idenity of spiritual forces active in a person or location. There are three types of tongues that I am aware of. One is a Spirit given private prayer language. The next is a Spirit given ability to speak to another person in their language or dialect. And the third is when the Spirit directs someone to speak out in a meeting in tongues. The last type should be accompanied by a Spirit inspired interpretation of tongues. The operation of the two gifts together is often refered to as prophecy.
Notice how the moving of the Holy Spirit in the soul is expressed in the physical. The Spirit gives us direction or guidance, and often times He will only give us a part or a beginning, and the gift becomes manifest as we start to act or speak out in the physical. Sometimes when we are praying for a person my wife will get a prophetic word for them. She may have a picture in her mind of what the Spirit wants to convey, or an impression of an overall theme, or maybe just the start of a sentence. But the word for that person takes shape and becomes complete only after she begins to speak out. God wants us to trust Him and to believe without first physically seeing, and the Spirit helps us grow in the gift as we learn to be obedient to the Spirit's prompting.
That is why the gift of tongues as a prayer language is such an important part of the baptism of the Holy Spirit It is valuable as an initial gift, and as an aid in growing to maturity in the Spirit. Although I believe it is possible for a person to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and yet not be able to speak out in tongues, tongues is usually the first gift evident in a Spirit-baptized person. The yielding to the move of the Holy Spirit through the surrender of our language in the physical, builds up our faith, thus opening up for us the activity of all the other gifts as well. And speaking in tongues daily as one part of our conversation with God not only helps us to be more sensitive to the moving of the Spirit, but it is a spiritual exercise for our soul. We want to be able to talk to God all through the day, with understanding as well as with a language that the Spirit gives us. Through tongues our soul and spirit express to the Father worship, praise, and inner desires and concerns that we often cannot find the proper words for.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the gifts associated with it, are for the building up of the body of Christ, of which all people who are reborn in their spirit are members. Jesus sent the Spirit to help us grow to maturity in our soul, and to better enable us to minister in the power of the Spirit to those already in the body. The baptism of the Holy Spirit also equips us to minister in power to those outside the body. Jesus provided for us a salvation that changes the spirit of man, and in His love for us He has sent the Spirit to transform our souls, and our physical nature, so that we may be built up into the image of Christ, Who is our Lord and Saviour.
The Holy Spirit dwells in the spirit of all born again believers. He moves from the spirit, through the soul, as the believer allows Him to. The fruit of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, patience, understanding, etc., will be produced in the lives of all who earnestly seek to do the will of the Father and who are willing to be led by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit equips each person with abilities helpful to advance the kingdom of God. Yet while all of that is certainly good and necessary, there is still an impartation of power that God wants each child of the kingdom to have. Usually that is not a result of a natural growth in spiritual maturity, but instead is a special gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift floods the soul part of man and can often result in the impartation of what scripture calls the "gifts of the Spirit". The initial bestowing of this special gift is known as "the baptism of the Holy Spirit", indicating an immersion of the soul into the Holy Spirit, and a death of self-lordship in the soul.
There are nine gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12; "For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues". These are not natural abilities that we are born with, or learned actions. These gifts are not dependent on the maturity of the believer, but instead result from the willingness of the person to yield (a decision of the soul) to the moving of the Spirit in a supernatural way. The Corinthian church was filled with immature believers and leaders who non-the-less were blessed with many supernatural giftings of the Holy Spirit. Paul's instructions were part of their process of gaining spiritual maturity in the use and operation of the gifts.
The gifts of the Spirit come from God and not from the knowledge or ability of man. Wisdom would be a Spirit given instruction, knowledge would be a Spirit given revelation, faith would be a Spirit given assurance. As there are different types of sicknesses and injuries, so there are needed different kinds of healing gifts for the purpose of bringing about a physical restoration of the body. A miracle is a creative work of the Spirit, adding or accomplishing something not normally possible in nature. There are at least two types of prophetic words. One is a word of encouragement given by God, and the other is information given about something in the future. Distinguishing of spirits is revelation given by the Holy Spirit showing the source and sometimes the idenity of spiritual forces active in a person or location. There are three types of tongues that I am aware of. One is a Spirit given private prayer language. The next is a Spirit given ability to speak to another person in their language or dialect. And the third is when the Spirit directs someone to speak out in a meeting in tongues. The last type should be accompanied by a Spirit inspired interpretation of tongues. The operation of the two gifts together is often refered to as prophecy.
Notice how the moving of the Holy Spirit in the soul is expressed in the physical. The Spirit gives us direction or guidance, and often times He will only give us a part or a beginning, and the gift becomes manifest as we start to act or speak out in the physical. Sometimes when we are praying for a person my wife will get a prophetic word for them. She may have a picture in her mind of what the Spirit wants to convey, or an impression of an overall theme, or maybe just the start of a sentence. But the word for that person takes shape and becomes complete only after she begins to speak out. God wants us to trust Him and to believe without first physically seeing, and the Spirit helps us grow in the gift as we learn to be obedient to the Spirit's prompting.
That is why the gift of tongues as a prayer language is such an important part of the baptism of the Holy Spirit It is valuable as an initial gift, and as an aid in growing to maturity in the Spirit. Although I believe it is possible for a person to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and yet not be able to speak out in tongues, tongues is usually the first gift evident in a Spirit-baptized person. The yielding to the move of the Holy Spirit through the surrender of our language in the physical, builds up our faith, thus opening up for us the activity of all the other gifts as well. And speaking in tongues daily as one part of our conversation with God not only helps us to be more sensitive to the moving of the Spirit, but it is a spiritual exercise for our soul. We want to be able to talk to God all through the day, with understanding as well as with a language that the Spirit gives us. Through tongues our soul and spirit express to the Father worship, praise, and inner desires and concerns that we often cannot find the proper words for.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the gifts associated with it, are for the building up of the body of Christ, of which all people who are reborn in their spirit are members. Jesus sent the Spirit to help us grow to maturity in our soul, and to better enable us to minister in the power of the Spirit to those already in the body. The baptism of the Holy Spirit also equips us to minister in power to those outside the body. Jesus provided for us a salvation that changes the spirit of man, and in His love for us He has sent the Spirit to transform our souls, and our physical nature, so that we may be built up into the image of Christ, Who is our Lord and Saviour.
posted by Bob | 6:08 PM
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