Gifts of the Spirit

Gifted to be Led

~ Joe ~ 1 Comment

It’s said that a good sports game is won by having a strong offense and a strong defense. The same is true in a battle. If you want to win a war, you must have strengths in both offense and defense. It’s not one or the other, but both.

The same is true with our Christian lives. However, I feel that most Christians are focused on just the defensive. After entering into a relationship with Jesus, they spend the majority of their efforts on staying away from temptation and sin by reading the Bible and praying for their own needs. Although these efforts are needed for a healthy spiritual life, they are defensive in nature.

So what does a good offense look like for a Christian? I would say it involves being led by the Holy Spirit in activities that impact the kingdom of darkness for God’s Kingdom of Light!
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The Action Gifts of the Spirit

~ Joe ~ 2 Comments

This is part 4 of a 4 part study on the gifts of the Spirit.

The other sections are…

The three action gifts are grouped together because by them the Holy Spirit produces something through the recipient.

Faith

Greek: pistis (pÄ“’-stÄ“s) – a conviction of the truth of anything especially when relating to God, Christ, and the divine; belief.

Defined: The gift of faith is a supernatural gift by the Spirit of God enabling a recipient to supernaturally, and against all odds, believe and trust in God for anything.

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The Spoken Gifts of the Spirit

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This is part 3 of a 4 part study on the gifts of the Spirit.

The other sections are…

The three speaking gifts are grouped together because by them the Holy Spirit delivers a divine message through the recipient.

Unlike the revealing gifts which deliver a divine message to a passive recipient, the recipient of a spoken gift must be willing to speak the message in order for it to be delivered.

Prophecy

Greek: prophÄ“teia (pro-fā-tā’-ä) – a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; especially by foretelling future events.

Defined: The gift of prophecy is a supernatural utterance in a known language given by the Spirit of God which provides strengthening, encouragement, and comfort to believers and/or foretells future events pertaining especially to the kingdom of God.

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The Revealing Gifts of the Spirit

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This is part 2 of a 4 part study on the gifts of the Spirit.

The other sections are…

The three revealing gifts are grouped together because they make known to the recipient of the gift something they had previously not known, a divine revelation.

Unlike the spoken gifts, the revelation that comes through the revealing gifts is usually not given through the recipient’s own mouth. Revealing gifts also do not require the participation of the recipient as do the spoken gifts; the Holy Spirit simply gives the revelation to the recipient whenever He sees fit.

Unlike the action gifts, the revelation that comes through the revealing gifts does not do anything on its own. The recipient must act on the revelation in order to apply it.

Message of Wisdom

Greek: sophia – wisdom, broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters

Defined: The message of wisdom is a supernatural revelation given by the Spirit of God which provides insight into the mind of God, His purposes, direction, and will.

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Concerning Spiritual Gifts

~ Joe ~ 2 Comments

Paul starts his twelfth chapter in 1 Corinthians by saying he doesn’t want us to be ignorant about spiritual gifts. This can mean two different things: 1) we may simply not know anything about these gifts of the Spirit and are therefore ignorant about them. Or 2) as in the case of the Corinthian church, we may have the gifts of the Spirit operating abundantly in our lives and think we know all there is to know about them, but in reality, we know very little about their true purpose, value, and use.

So let’s not be ignorant but instead let’s take a closer look at these nine gifts of the Holy Spirit.

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