The Anointing SPIRITUAL GIFTS

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1 Number BB/009 April 2013 The Anointing SPIRITUAL GIFTS Paul was an apostle. An apostle brings correction to the church. The Corinthians, just like the church today, were going way off line and becoming infatuated by the gifts, particularly tongues and the prophetic gifts. This had to be corrected because they were walking into danger. In his introduction to the first letter to the Corinthian church, JB Phillips mentions that Corinth was the largest town in Greece at the time. It was an important sea port, situated on an isthmus a garrison town and a kind of crossroads. It was the capital of the Roman province of Achaia. And it was cosmopolitan, and a byword for immorality, idolatry and loose living of all kinds. Ships would apparently be beached at one side of the isthmus, dragged or rolled on logs across the land and put to sea on the other side. It was a gathering place for seafarers from all parts of the known world travelling west to east and vice-versa. It was a stopping-off point, where sailors could enjoy a bit of rest and recreation for a day or so as their ships were moved. As a result, the town attracted all sorts of vice: prostitution, drunkenness and violent crime such as assault and murder, on the one hand, and idolatrous behaviour on the other. Corinth had a large temple to the goddess Athena with its attendant community of lewd temple priestesses, and temple worship included prostitution, male and female, the occult and idol worship and so on. Being an amoral society, licentious behaviour was normal practice for the Corinthians. One only has to look at the pictures (frescoes), sculptures, pottery decoration found in Roman towns and cities like Pompeii which was buried by ash from the volcano Vesuvius in 79AD to realise the complete abandon with which the populace carried on. So it is perhaps with some passion that Paul says When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don t even eat with such people. It isn t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, You must remove the evil person from among you. [1Co 5:9-13 NLT]... if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. [2Co 5:17 NKJV] Paul felt constrained to tell the Corinthian church how to dress properly, how to behave generally and even how to eat - particularly when visiting pagans. And it was simply because they did not know any better! Do not be fooled! Paul wrote to the Corinthian church addressing the problems of licentiousness and evil influences eroding the Christian community. They were being tempted to fall into worldly behaviour affected by what was going on around them. Many of them obviously came out of those corrupt surroundings and were influenced by it. Does that sound a bit like what the church is experiencing today? But, brothers, I do not want you to go on being ignorant about the things of the Spirit. SWORD MINISTRIES / 1

2 You know that when you were pagans, no matter how you felt you were being led, you were being led astray to idols, which can t speak at all. Therefore, I want to make it clear to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says, Yeshua is cursed! and no one can say, Yeshua is Lord, except by the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit). [1Co 12:1-3 CJB] There were clearly deceivers who visited Christian gatherings for the sole purpose of leading them astray and the Corinthian Christians were being fooled into believing that these deceivers were of God. This is not unlike what is happening in the church today. Sincere people are being misled into accepting deceivers who are establishing churches throughout the world which have nothing to do with Christ, yet they use His Name. They profess to operate by the Holy Spirit, but He is not there. The Gifts manifest frequently, yet they are not of the Holy Spirit. People scream, fall to the ground, writhe around like snakes or like something possessed, rolling eyes to show the whites, gabble in a strange foreign language which the spiritual leaders call tongues. Or else the subjects vaguely dance around in a trance mumbling stuff, occasionally shrieking. This is NOT the Holy Spirit in operation. The Word of God s admonition that we can tell by the fruits and the leading of the Holy Spirit rings loud and clear. There are any number of so-called churches in fact the larger percentage of African Independent churches in South Africa that are not Christian at all. They worship the dead (ancestor worship) and the Gifts that are on frequent display are demonic in nature and effect. People under their influence appear to be possessed, and are. Not by the Holy Spirit, but by evil spirits. The Holy Spirit does not take control of a person to the point where that person is out of control. He operates gently, with love and respect for the person He is using. The prophetic gifts manifested regularly in these churches are those of that ancient Sangoma, Balaam the soothsayer, who tried to curse Israel on behalf of the Moabite king, Balak, for profit, but failed because whom God has blessed, no one can curse. A spirit of divination lies behind these prophets and what they are involved in is nothing less than witchcraft. [Lev 19:26,28,31; Lev 20:6,27; Deu 18:9-12; 1Sa 15:23; Act 13:6-11; Gal 5:19-21; Rev 9:21] So the apostle Paul s admonition to the church of Corinth is very pertinent today. The Spirit of God vs the spirit of the world Andrew Murray, a Dutch Reformed pastor and author, who ministered in South Africa from 1848 until his death in 1917, said: The spirit of this world, which is devotion to what can be seen, is irreconcilably antagonistic to the Spirit of Jesus in heaven, where God and His will are everything. The world has rejected the Lord Jesus; and, to whatever extent it may now make use of the Christian name, the world is still the same untamable enemy. Quoting from the NIV, We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit Who is from God, [1Co 2:12] he continues, the two spirits, the spirit of the world and the Spirit of God, are engaged in a life-and-death conflict with one another. That is why God has always called on His people to separate themselves from the world. Murray says that once Christians have achieved a measure of morality in their walk with Jesus, they begin to feel that they are entitled to enjoy what the world has to offer as much as non-christians. Where a person does not surrender himself to be filled with the Spirit of Jesus and the Spirit of heaven, Christian though he may be, he will come under the power of the spirit of the world. The contributing factor in all this, he says, comes from preaching with the wisdom of persuasive words rather than in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. So their faith is based on the wisdom and work of man rather than in the power of God. As a result, people are not brought into contact with the Living God and it becomes easy to stray. The Word, preaching, and other means of grace will become a hindrance instead of a help if they are not in demonstration of the Spirit. All external means of grace are things that inevitably change and fade. The Spirit alone works a faith that is based in the power of God and so remains strong and unwavering. We should not take the blessing of the Promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, (also Spirit of Christ), lightly. Because it comes at a great price: the death of our Saqviour on the cross. He died so that we might live. He died so that we might have a close, intimate relationship with the Father. Moments before He ascended into heaven, Jesus told us that all authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth, and on that basis He commanded through His disciples: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, SWORD MINISTRIES / 2

3 baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. [Mat 28:18-20 NKJV] It is in HIS authority that we go, given all that goes with it. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, supreme above all things created. In Mark s gospel, we are told, And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. [Mar 16:15-20 NKJV] We have a duty as Christians, to desire and seek - and keep on seeking - firstly the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (with the evidence of speaking in other tongues), and then the spiritual gifts which He gives those so babtised by His grace. Having received the Baptism, we must eagerly, expectantly, seek to operate in the spiritual gifts out of our love for the brethren and for the lost. So it is with yourselves; since you are so eager and ambitious to possess spiritual endowments and manifestations of the Holy Spirit, concentrate on striving to excel and to abound in them in ways that will build up the church. [1Co 14:12 AMP] The Great Comminssion given us by the Lord Jesus demands it as Murray makes it clear. Because without a demonstration of the power of God the church has become weak and divided with Everyman seeking his own and the lost have nothing to look forward to. No one is really interested in man s philosphies and empty promises. People want to know that God is present to do the things that Jesus did when He was with us during His earthly ministry. The Holy Spirit has been given us to continue that work, following Jesus example. But it also takes a dying to self, self-righteousness and self-interest, Jesus told us that if anone wishes to follow Him, he needs to die to himself, take up his cross and follow. Nothing less will do. Spiritual gifts Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 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... But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. [1Co 12:1-7 & 11 NKJV] Notice: as He (the Holy Spirit) wills... It is not as the person sharing the gift wills, or because he or she is extra-special or picked out for elevation in the community by God to be different. The gift is intended to bless those present and the Holy Spirit chooses whom He wants to in order to share that gift, whatever it is. And, most importantly, the sharing of the gift comes with agape love the God-kind of self-sacrificial love... for the ultimate benefit of the Body of Christ. For as the Body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one Body, being many, are one Body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptised into one Body whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free (whether male or female, whether Black or White, Coloured, Green or Purple, he might have added) and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the Body is not one member but many. [1Co 12:1-14] What are the Gifts of the Spirit? The Amplified Bible helps to clarify what the spiritual gifts are and what they are about (or do). They are special endowments of supernatural energy, given for the benefit of the church. As such they manifest the power of God and they are miracle signs and wonders. In many Pentecostal and charismatic churches people have grown so accustomed to their operation that they have become desensitised to the fact that each is a sign and a wonder testifying of the Lord s presence. SWORD MINISTRIES / 3

4 Now there are distinctive varieties and distributions of endowments (gifts, extraordinary powers distinguishing certain Christians, due to the power of divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit) and they vary, but the Holy Spirit remains the same. And there are distinctive varieties of service and ministration, but it is the same Lord Who is served. And there are distinctive varieties of operation of working to accomplish things, but it is the same God Who inspires and energises them all in all. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Holy Spirit the evidence, the spiritual illumination of the Spirit for good and profit. All these nine spiritual gifts are given by and through the Holy Spirit - the ability to speak a message of wisdom. This gift provides the person thus endowed with insight into God s Word and/or what God has in store. It more often than not has to do with future events and can come in the form of wisdom in spiritual matters, but it also means words of counsel given by the Holy Spirit. The information can come in the form of a vision or thoughts (that is, the still small voice of the Holy Spirit). the ability to express a word of knowledge and understanding. By this gift a person operating in it would be given insight into what is in the past or present. It comes in the form of information from the Holy Spirit about a person in need or about a situation, or especially where the Holy Spirit provides knowledge of spiritual truth. It can be in the form of a physical pain or discomfort relating to a person the Spirit wants to minister to, or a vision or simply a thought. the ability to exercise wonder-working faith. Where extraordinary faith is needed by the person operating in this gift, the Holy Spirit gives a much-need boldness and trust in God to do something. (A bit like an adrenalin rush!) the ability to exercise extraordinary powers of healing. While all Christians are instructed to lay hands on the sick and they will recover, the Holy Spirit gives a person who has this gift special faith and ability to pray for the sick usually revealing exactly what is the matter via a word of wisdom or knowledge, often where the gifted person experiences pain or discomfort in the area where the sick person is suffering, until healing takes place. the ability to work miracles. Two gifts would probably operate together here, special faith and workings of miracles, where the bearer of the gift would have to have special faith to believe God for a miracle and where God would step in and do something which no man could possibly do without His intervention. the gift of prophetic insight (that is, of interpreting the divine will and purpose). This gift enables a person to make predictions or to speak forth the mind and counsel of God. the ability to discern spirits. This gift has to do with an ability to discern spirits, whether they are evil or of God. Sometimes God opens up the spirit world so that evil spirits are actually seen. This gift also gives the bearer an ability to discern both human and demonic spirits and to distinguish between true and false utterances or actions by either. the ability to speak in various kinds of unknown tongues or foreign languages. This is (a) the supernatural gift of speaking in another language without its having been learnt, and (b) the use of a spiritual language which requires interpretation by either the person being used or by another member (or other members alternately) of the assembly. the ability to interpret tongues. This is the gift of interpreting the latter. Tongues with interpretation is much the same as the gift of prophecy or prophetic insight. All these gifts, achievements, abilities are inspired and brought to pass by one and the same Holy Spirit, Who apportions to each person individually exactly as He chooses. All of the gifts are for the exortation, encouragement and edification of the Body of Christ. Love The Gifts are there to manifest the love of God. People in the Corinthian church were desiring spiritual gifts because they were elevated in the community because of them. They stood out. They were SWORD MINISTRIES / 4

5 special, or today we would say, super-spiritual. People who were baptised in the Holy Spirit were shouting off in their prayer language in gatherings and of course there was no interpretation so no-one could understand what was being said. No-one was being edified and built up and in some gatherings there was just confusion and a lot of noise. They were contesting with one another to outdo each other. This is not what these gifts are about, and Paul found it necessary to admonish them about it. Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives especially the ability to prophesy. [1Co 14:1 NLT] Paul uses the Greek word, agape, here. Translated charity in the King James Version, but this is really not very adequate. Agape means the God-kind of love, or self-sacrificial love. It is the kind of love that requires a decision on the part of the one bestowing it, most frequently at cost to self. For God so loved the world that He gave His (Son, His only Son whom He loved), that everyone believing into Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. [Joh 3:16 LITV, edits mine] In encouraging the church to eagerly pursue and seek to acquire this special love, Paul says it should also desire spiritual gifts so that its members might better serve one another. He selects one special gift, that of prophecy (Greek, prophēteúo, meaning inspired teaching and preaching and the ability to interpret the divine will and purpose of God) as being a choice gift, because through it the church is edified, inspired and built up. For someone speaking in a tongue is not speaking to people but to God, because no one can understand, since he is uttering mysteries in the power of the Spirit. But someone prophesying is speaking to people, edifying, encouraging and comforting them. A person speaking in a tongue does edify himself, but a person prophesying edifies the congregation. [1Co 14:2-4 CJB] In Romans chapter 8 verse 26, Paul explains that when praying in other tongues (or speaking in other tongues, for that matter) we do not know what we ought to pray, but the Holy Spirit does. So He takes over with our consent and prays the perfect will of the Father either for our lives or our present circumstances or for others, in intercession. The personal prayer language that comes with the baptism of the Holy Spirit does not need interpreting. Paul tells us that we are praying mysteries, so whatever we are praying is private. [1Co 14:14] Spiritual gifts are for the edifying and building up of the Body of Christ as a whole, not to boost egos or for the selfish use of individuals. The only time that tongues is useful in a church gathering (other than in prayer or open worship) is when there is interpretation. That is when the GIFT of tongues operates together with the gift of INTERPRETATION. Because then everyone knows what is being said. Don t be confused! For some odd reason, many people confuse speaking in other tongues with the GIFT of speaking in other tongues. The former is the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and is a personal prayer language. The baptism of the Holy Spirit opens up the way for the spiritual gifts to flow, for without the baptism there will be no spiritual gifting. The GIFT of speaking in other tongues, as we have seen, requires interpretation and can take various forms: it can be a manifestation of tongues that are either identical to or completely different from the person operating in the gift s personal prayer language; or it can manifest as a known language that the person does not understand, but there might be someone in the congregation who speaks that language and understands perfectly what God is saying. It happened on the Day of Pentecost, when a large crowd of pilgrims heard the Galilean disciples who had just received the Promise of the Father in the Upper Room, heard them speaking perfectly in their own languages. Such was the demonstration of God s miraculous wonder that were saved. There are many examples of Spirit-filled Believers speaking in other tongues, only to be asked afterward where they learned such perfectly beautiful Hebrew for instance. Likewise with other known languages but the Believers concerned had never spoken those languages in their lives before and didn t understand what they were saying (unless God gave the interpretation). Even lifeless instruments like the flute or the harp must play the notes clearly, or no one will recognize the melody. And if the bugler doesn t sound a clear call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle? It s the same for you. If you speak to people in words they don t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space. There are many SWORD MINISTRIES / 5

6 different languages in the world, and every language has meaning. But if I don t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me. And the same is true for you. Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will strengthen the whole church. So anyone who speaks in tongues (during the church assembly) should pray also for the ability to interpret what has been said. [1Co 14:7-13 NLT] If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn t love others (the way that God loves them), I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn t love others, I would be nothing... Agape Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance... Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever faith, hope, and love and the greatest of these is love. [1Co 13:1-13 NLT] Only the Holy Spirit can give us this kind of love and as the apostle says, we should absolutely desire it above all else. Only then will we be able to fulfil the Great Commission of Christ Jesus by His grace. The Anointing: Spiritual Gifts. A Sword publication Drawn from a teaching prepared in December First published in April 2013 under ISBN (to be allocated). Copyright Sword Productions April ALL RIGHTS ON OUR PUBLICATIONS ARE RESERVED. Therefore, no part of our publications may be reproduced in whole or in part for sale without the express written consent of the publisher. Our mission is to spread the Word of God freely and request any users to be considerate and respect their source when reprinting or publishing material gathered from Sword Ministries publications. All our published works are provided after prayer and thorough reflection. We fervently believe that they have been given by the inspiration and direction of the Holy Spirit. We use the Word of God as written in the scriptures and quote from the Bible extensively. Though we consider the King James Version of the Bible to be the most accurate translation at our disposal, we continuously refer to other translations in order to make the teachings clear and enjoyable. SWORD INFO SERIES. Sword Ministries, PO Box , Benmore 2010; Tel.: /1; Please contact us at one of the above addresses or telephone numbers if you would like to know more about this series or other publications. Bible References: AMP = Amplified Bible ; BBE = Bible in Basic English 1965; CJB = Complete Jewish Bible 1998; NKJV = New King James Version 1982; ESV = English Standard Version 2001; LITV = Literal Translation of the Holy Bible ; MSG = The Message Bible 2002; NLT = New Living Translation 1996, 2004, 2007; Phillips = The New Testament in Modern English. SWORD MINISTRIES / 6