Use gifts without imitating gifts

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. (1 Corinthians 12:1–11)

A college course and seminar material shared with me from my sister have taught me that spiritual gifts come in three categories: motivational, manifesting, and ministry, based on the three NT passages that mention them. While some lump the gifts listed in those passages, I’ve found this three-fold distinction very helpful.

The gifts in the above passage are called manifestation gifts. The Spirit gives them to God's people on various occasions. They are not permanent but for the need of the moment. That is, some one who demonstrates them this week may not do the same thing next week.

The reasoning behind that could be related to the old nature’s tendency to take a skill and make it a trademark. That is, if I was involved in working a miracle, I might want to become “a miracle worker” for the rest of my life. This is the same with healing and speaking in tongues and others of this list of gifts. They are for “common good” yet easily grasped and even imitated by the flesh. (Read Watchman Nee’s book, “The Latent Power of the Soul”)

I remember blurting out advice on how to sleep well to a medical student. Saying what I said was a shock to me, and he could have been angry or retaliated, but he was not. The Spirit gave those words that hit a hot button, yet he was glad. That was a “word of wisdom” completely a surprise, yet obviously not from me and not a usual way I would talk. Besides, most of the time, wise words are not my forte.

Speaking in tongues is another example. The Bible says they are given only with an interpreter. It is not given to be a requirement for salvation as some claim. If this gift or any other gift does not make people more like Jesus, then it is a flesh imitation.

Lord, I’m cautious to write this, yet do realize that our old nature has the ability to look good, even seemingly do good, yet what does not come from faith is sin. True goodness comes only from You and glorifies You. Anything else is ego-serving and only looks good to us. No wonder You sweat blood as You felt the weight of our sin. Yet the gifts of the Spirit are necessary. In many ways we cannot bless others without them.
 

Hope for the lost

I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the Lord my God. For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ 
Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 31:18–20)

God hears His OT people pleading for mercy and restoration. They are ashamed and aware of their sin. He then says how He thinks of them with a loving heart and a promise of mercy.

I have a relative whose birth parent remarried a Jewish woman. This person has had a great influence on my relative to the point she now thinks she is Jewish. Research says you do not need to practice the religion to be Jewish, nor do you need to be born Jewish to practice the religion. 

Huh? This makes no sense to someone reading the OT, yet it does when considering verses like these:

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (Romans 4:16)
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:7-9)

In the mind of God, those who believe in Him like Abraham believed and lived are His children. It is not those who culturally decide to join Judaism, but those who humble themselves, are ashamed of their sin, and put their faith in the mercy of God. 

This is completely foreign to my relative. Going along with religious festivities like Passover without understanding their meaning is like celebrating Santa Claus at Christmas instead of the birth of Christ.

Yet there is hope. Should this person be convicted by the Holy Spirit and grieve their sin and plead for mercy, God is willing to call her His child and reveal to her His grace through faith. While people share their faith and speak of sin and its power, unless the Spirit does it, reasoning and excuses keep her from becoming a true Jew who embraces the wonder of God being born in a manger and becoming our Messiah.

Jesus, You encourage me by Your ability to hear the cries of a human heart, even to discipline anyone enslaved by sin. An even greater blessing is to know that You love us and are willing to have mercy on all who ask You for it. May Your Spirit be at work in the lives of all — those who are near and those who are far away.

God’s Spirit . . .

 

 

READ Luke 1-4

Our small group shared stories of God’s power in answer to our prayers, everything from an autistic child finally able to ride in a car, to delivering refugees from persecution and death, to healing accident victims, to giving His people a strong love and connection with one another. We are seeing the Holy Spirit at work. I see that also in these chapters in Luke. God’s Spirit was at work in those early days when Jesus came.

Luke felt it was important to share an orderly account of what he knew about Jesus. He began by sharing the story of John the baptizer saying his parents “will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” (Luke 1:14–15) This is the Spirit’s power; He can fill an infant even before birth!

He can also strike anyone with the inability to speak, just as happened to John’s father who did not believe what God told him would happen. (Luke 1:20) This links God’s Spirit to faith and speaking ability!

The Holy Spirit came upon Mary and she became a pregnant virgin who would bear the Son of God. (Luke 1:35) Lest we doubt that, Luke says: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)

Pregnant Mary hurried to visit pregnant Elizabeth, John’s mother. "When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit . . . .” blessing Mary for believing what God had told her. (Luke 1:39–45) John’ father was also filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David” (Luke 1:67–69).

John was the forerunner who would prepare people for Jesus. Before John’s ministry began, Jesus was born. A righteous and devout man named Simeon was waiting for that event and “the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” When Joseph and Mary brought Jesus into the temple, Simeon was full of the Spirit and blessed Him and praised God for fulfilling His promise. (Luke 2:25–28)

At first, some wondered if John was the Christ but John answered them, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:15–16) Again, the Spirit was highly involved in his ministry as He would be in the ministry of Jesus Christ.

John baptized people and also Jesus. At that, “the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’ ” (Luke 3:21–22) Then Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit” and when He returned from the Jordan, He “was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil.” (Luke 4:1–13)

After that, Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee and began His ministry of teaching and preaching. He also declared:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed . . . .” (Luke 4:18)

Obviously, if God used the Holy Spirit to do all these things, and Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit to do the ministry His Father gave Him, it would be folly to think I can do anything in obedience to God without being filled with the Spirit. It is easy to see that this does not happen just because I want it to happen; it is the work and prerogative of the Lord to fill His people. At the same time, the Bible is clear about the need for it and the results. It is also clear that I am to cooperate with God in choosing to live by His power and not my own:

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:15–21)

What an amazing wonder that the Spirit of God would do this for a sinner such as I!