THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is the real person who came to reside within Jesus Christ’s true followers after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven.

He is considered to be the third member of the Godhead.  A primary role of the Holy Spirit is that He bears “witness” of Jesus Christ, acting as a Christian’s teacher, revealing God’s will and truth to the Christian and telling people’s hearts about God’s truth.  The Holy Spirit was given to live inside those who believe in Jesus, in order to produce God’s character in the life of a believer.  In a way that we cannot do on our own, the Holy Spirit will build into our lives love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; so that, rather than trying to be loving, patient, kind, we will rely on God to produce these qualities in our lives.

The gifts of the spirit are major power gifts, for every Christian and they are supernatural, miraculous manifestations, direct from the Holy Spirit Himself.

According to the scriptures, :

“.…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 healing 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.”  (I Corinthians 12: 7-11).

The Holy Spirit distributes the gifts of the Spirit as He sees fit (1 Corinthians 12: 7-11).  God does not want us to be ignorant of how He wants us to serve Him.  However, it is very easy for us to get caught up in what spiritual gift(s) we have and then only serve God in that area of ministry.  That is not how it works, God calls us to obediently serve Him.  He will equip us with whatever gifts of the Spirit we need to accomplish the task or tasks He has called us to.

All believers, as members of the body of Christ, must be serving together in order for the body to be fully functional.  The service of each Christian should be in proportion to the gifts which he possesses (1 Corinthians 12-14).

That is why a church needs pastors, teachers, helpers, servants, administrators, those with great faith, etc.  All of the gifts of the Holy Spirit working together are needed to produce the full potential of the church.  Since the gifts of the Spirit are gifts of grace, their use must be controlled by the rule of love – the greatest of all the gifts of the Spirit (I Corinthians 13).

As we celebrate yet another PENTECOST today, I urge each and every one of us, to desire earnestly to possess these gifts of the Spirit.

These Gifts of the Spirit are known to work in perfect unity with the Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, fulfilling several roles to help us live righteously and receive the blessings of the gospel.  As we strive to stay on the path that leads to eternal life, the Holy Ghost can guide us in our decisions and protect us from physical and spiritual danger.  Through Him, we can receive gifts of the Spirit for our benefit and for the benefit of those we love and serve.