How the Holy Spirit Works
I am convinced that few people have a good understanding of how the Holy Spirit works. The church at Corinth had major problems related to spiritual gifts, so the apostle Paul was inspired to write I Corinthians 12-14 to help them overcome some of those challenges. I believe there are 3 of those points that will help all of us.(I Corinthians 12:7,11)
The first reality is that all believers have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Person of the Triune God, so we receive all of Him upon our salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.(Romans 8:9b) He gives us gifts, as He manifests Himself in our lives. Therefore, all believers have spiritual gifts given to us by the Spirit. These are different from talents and abilities, even though they may work together. Paul shares several examples in I Corinthians 12:8-10.
The second reality is that the gifts are given "for the profit of all." They do not help us, except that we benefit from obeying the Lord and serving Him, as we are gifted. They help others in the church know and do God's will, or they help unbelievers come to know Christ. Therefore, we receive insights and help from the Holy Spirit when others impart their gifts to us. Yes, we grow by being filled with the Spirit, too, but God designed us to be interdependent on each other in this way. We need people with the gift of teaching to help us learn, those with the gift of mercy to comfort us, and those with the gift of administration to lead us, etc. When this happens, we grow in the Lord by the Spirit.
Finally, the Holy Spirit gives us the gifts He wants us to have, not what we want. We do not need to ask for them. He distributes them perfectly. We need to be content with the ones He gives us, because they are just what we need, and they are just what those around us need. All we need to do is to pray for the Spirit to show us how to use them. If we all did that well, everyone would grow well, and many people would come to know the Lord Jesus.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Corinthians 15-16 and II Corinthians 1.
The first reality is that all believers have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Person of the Triune God, so we receive all of Him upon our salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.(Romans 8:9b) He gives us gifts, as He manifests Himself in our lives. Therefore, all believers have spiritual gifts given to us by the Spirit. These are different from talents and abilities, even though they may work together. Paul shares several examples in I Corinthians 12:8-10.
The second reality is that the gifts are given "for the profit of all." They do not help us, except that we benefit from obeying the Lord and serving Him, as we are gifted. They help others in the church know and do God's will, or they help unbelievers come to know Christ. Therefore, we receive insights and help from the Holy Spirit when others impart their gifts to us. Yes, we grow by being filled with the Spirit, too, but God designed us to be interdependent on each other in this way. We need people with the gift of teaching to help us learn, those with the gift of mercy to comfort us, and those with the gift of administration to lead us, etc. When this happens, we grow in the Lord by the Spirit.
Finally, the Holy Spirit gives us the gifts He wants us to have, not what we want. We do not need to ask for them. He distributes them perfectly. We need to be content with the ones He gives us, because they are just what we need, and they are just what those around us need. All we need to do is to pray for the Spirit to show us how to use them. If we all did that well, everyone would grow well, and many people would come to know the Lord Jesus.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Corinthians 15-16 and II Corinthians 1.