Post Pandemic Preaching - Gift
Acts 2:38 in the English Standard Version
[This is the 15th lesson of this series]
This will be the 3rd installment of this lesson, the 1st is The Church and the 2nd is Believed & Baptized.
In this 3rd part we will close out Acts 2:38.
Receive The Gift of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit has always been the most mysterious if not the least known Person of the (Christian) God. Many believers can spend all their days without personally encountering Him (the Holy Spirit).
This subject of discussion is actually a delicate one. Different believers believe differently, and most are unyielding in their beliefs and their traditions. This especially, on the topic of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit or the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and particularly over the gift of speaking in tongues. We will not go into this lesson here, but if you are interested this has been introduced in the Rebirth Series and discussed in the New Believers Series.
What all followers of Christ should agree on is that every believer has received the Holy Spirit, and has been given a (spiritual) gift.
[A gift essentially is free. It is given not earned or compensation, and could be accepted or not, utilized or not, acknowledged or not. It's our call.]
Spiritual Gifts: Unity in Diversity
"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills."
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 in the New King James Version
In this passage, the Apostle Paul has listed the following spiritual gifts:
-Word of wisdom
-Word of knowledge
-Faith
-Healing
-Working of miracles
-Prophecy
-Distinguishing spirits
-Various kinds of tongues, and
-Interpretation of tongues, all are given by the Spirit of God.
Spirit & Truth
God is spirit, the third Person in the Trinity of God -- the other two are God the Father (revealed in the Jewish Scriptures) and God the Son (revealed through Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, in the Christian Scriptures).
God gives spiritual gifts and these are bestowed for ministering or for service to others, these are given to believers by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, like the Son and the Father were present in the beginning and like them, nothing was made without Him or apart from Him.
In Romans 12:6-8, we can read about the spiritual gifts given to believers by the Spirit.
Serve God with Spiritual Gifts
"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness."
God works through believers by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul listed the following spiritual gifts:
-Prophecy, the eyes of the body of Christ
-Service or Ministry, the hands of the body of Christ
-Teaching, the mind of the body of Christ
-Exhortation, the mouth of the body of Christ
-Giving, the arms of the body of Christ
-Administration or Leadership, the head of the body of Christ, and
-Mercy, the heart of the body of Christ.
These are given out to each member of the Body of Christ, regardless of the gift received, each member is essential to complete the whole Body of Christ. At the endtime, Christ will come back to take His bride (the whole Body of believers) to a place He has prepared for them, taking the rightful place of the Bride of Christ.
Now whatever God gave each believer we are able to confirm or verify if it is accompanied by the fruit of the Spirit, which according to Galatians 5:22 is:
-love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Without these, then all the so-called gifts, our beliefs and all our learning are hollow if not empty -- white washed tombs, nice looking in the outside but decaying flesh inside, humanmade and superficial, fleeting and will not pass the test of time. People created religions, Jesus brought God's Kingdom and Kingdom living here on earth as preparation, and the gift of the Holy Spirit as evidence and guarantee to permanent Kingdom living with them for eternity.
Spiritual Gifts: Unity in Diversity
"There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills."
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 in the New King James Version
In this passage, the Apostle Paul has listed the following spiritual gifts:
-Word of wisdom
-Word of knowledge
-Faith
-Healing
-Working of miracles
-Prophecy
-Distinguishing spirits
-Various kinds of tongues, and
-Interpretation of tongues, all are given by the Spirit of God.
Spirit & Truth
God is spirit, the third Person in the Trinity of God -- the other two are God the Father (revealed in the Jewish Scriptures) and God the Son (revealed through Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, in the Christian Scriptures).
God gives spiritual gifts and these are bestowed for ministering or for service to others, these are given to believers by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, like the Son and the Father were present in the beginning and like them, nothing was made without Him or apart from Him.
In Romans 12:6-8, we can read about the spiritual gifts given to believers by the Spirit.
Serve God with Spiritual Gifts
"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness."
God works through believers by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul listed the following spiritual gifts:
-Prophecy, the eyes of the body of Christ
-Service or Ministry, the hands of the body of Christ
-Teaching, the mind of the body of Christ
-Exhortation, the mouth of the body of Christ
-Giving, the arms of the body of Christ
-Administration or Leadership, the head of the body of Christ, and
-Mercy, the heart of the body of Christ.
These are given out to each member of the Body of Christ, regardless of the gift received, each member is essential to complete the whole Body of Christ. At the endtime, Christ will come back to take His bride (the whole Body of believers) to a place He has prepared for them, taking the rightful place of the Bride of Christ.
Now whatever God gave each believer we are able to confirm or verify if it is accompanied by the fruit of the Spirit, which according to Galatians 5:22 is:
-love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Without these, then all the so-called gifts, our beliefs and all our learning are hollow if not empty -- white washed tombs, nice looking in the outside but decaying flesh inside, humanmade and superficial, fleeting and will not pass the test of time. People created religions, Jesus brought God's Kingdom and Kingdom living here on earth as preparation, and the gift of the Holy Spirit as evidence and guarantee to permanent Kingdom living with them for eternity.
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