It is or it isn’t

(1 Cor 12:4-7 NKJV)  There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. {5} There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. {6} And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.

 {7} But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

For the last few entries I have been talking about the differences of all believers and the diversity of the gift of holy spirit.  Borrowing from Paul in (1 Cor 14:36 NRSV)  Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?), I have to ask the same question when it comes to the holy spirit and its works and operations in the church.  I have spoke with so many people over the years who acknowledge the holy spirit but deny the results that should be evident. 

I know that many will just say it is the fruit of the spirit that should be the results, according to Galatians 5.22-24.  On a personal level, yes, it should, but not alone.  Fruit stands for maturity, so on a personal level we crucify our own flesh and become more like Christ.  This is a true sign of spiritual growth.  I will never say that having the spirit manifest in you is a proof of ones spiritual maturity.  It seems only those who are mislead and immature would even think that one is spiritually mature just because the spirit is manifested. 

Let’s look at the above verse seven and try to see what is being said here.  For either the holy spirit is true and will be manifested or not.  You can’t have it both ways.  If the holy spirit is the gift and presence of God, then even today, it should be manifesting in those who claim to have God’s spirit.  You cannot claim to have God’s spirit at work in you and then deny its work or say it is no longer needed to be manifested.  Please, those who believe this prove it soundly in scripture.  You cannot say it was just for the Apostles, for the scripture above and many others show us that many believers had the holy spirit manifest in them.  It seemed to be common for believers to have holy spirit manifestations.   

The Greek word used in verse seven is  phanerosis, meaning exhibition, expression.  So, maybe we can read 1 Cor.12.7, like this, but to each one (believer) is given the expression of the Spirit for the common (advantage) good (increase) of all (believers).  The spirit may work differently in each person but the fact still remains that there should be an outward exhibition.  So, what happened to today’s church.  I think it fell victim to a long history of traditions over God’s spirit.

Now, if some of you will just get off your doctrinal high horse and stop worrying about who has all their doctrines right and let God’s spirit work.  We might start seeing a body of Christ coming together for the good of all and a spiritual exhibition of the spirit to an unbelieving world. Either the gift of spirit, God has given the church comes with power and manifestations or it doesn’t.  It either has power to change life’s and demonstrate God’s love and power or it does not.  I have come to the conclusion that today’s churches must have come to the place of acceptance of holy spirit as just a salvation tool and nothing more.  We come to rely more on men’s teachings and abilities in medicine, psychology, and talents than the power and grace of God.

Let’s look at a place where Paul deals with churches who rely on teachings, rules, and abilities.         

(Gal 3:1-5 NRSV)  You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified! {2} The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? {3} Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? {4} Did you experience so much for nothing?--if it really was for nothing. {5} Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

If we are to believe Paul is steadfast and consistent in His teachings then we know Paul was one who encouraged outward manifestations.  So, was the Galatians ones who freely believed and moved in spiritual gifts and manifestations and slipped back into traditions and laws over the power of the spirit?  It seems this way.  Paul even made the claim that it was through the holy spirit and power he was an effective minister to the Gentiles Eph. 3.7.

(1 Cor 2:4-5 NRSV)  My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, {5} so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

(Rom 15:19 NRSV)  by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the good news of Christ.

(Col 1:26-29 NKJV)  the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. {27} To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. {28} Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. {29} To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

So if it was the holy spirit that made Paul effective, because of exhibition and power, is this for us also?    (2 Cor 4:7 NRSV)  But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.  I believe Paul is not talking exclusively, but corporately here.  He is including all those he was writing to and all those who would read His letter.  

(Heb 13:20-21 NRSV)  Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, {21} make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

It is the work of holy spirit that is able to do that complete work. If the holy spirit is at work, then should we not see it on exhibition.  I will not try to tell you what that is supposed to look like in every person, for we know that it works differently in each individual.  All I am saying, there should be a manifestation if there is truly a gift of holy spirit.  I see no place in scripture where the holy spirit is in silent presence, there only as a salvation tool and nothing more.  Over and over again we see that holy spirit is an active gift to help the believer as well as the over all church reach the given objective given by our Lord.  That is to preach the gospel message of the Kingdom of God and all that it entails.  We are empowered to bring our work to an effective completion, to allow the spirit to bring our own lives to an effective completion.

When Jesus comes we will know him for we will be like him in every spiritual way.  The manifestation is given for the whole body to benefit.  As we enter the nine areas of manifestations lets us enter with an open heart and mind to God’s gift to us.  Let’s cast off pre-mind sets and stereotypes we cast on others.  If we are truly lead by God’s spirit then we should be relying more on Him and not on our own abilities.  Should we not be open to let the spirit do a work starting within us then in the rest of the church?  So in closing I have one more question. When it comes to the manifestations of God’s spirit, What Happened to us the Church?

Motorcycles and The Holy Spirit

(1 Cor 12:6-7 NKJV)  And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. {7} But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

I love talking about the holy spirit and all that God has done for, in and through me.  I have been saved since a little boy and have had the holy spirit manifest through me since I was ten.  Yes, I did speak in a language I did not understand.  No, I was not looking for it and was not prompted to do so.  Just one night at a prayer meeting in a home as I was kneeling to pray I felt in a way I never had before and then it just happened.  Ever since that day I have had pursued God with all my heart and have had His spirit manifest through me.  I preached my first sermon at the age of eleven and to this day I want to be obedient to the Father. 

I spoke about my childhood for a reason.  From that time as a child to now, my whole life has been a learning experience.  It has been the holy spirit that has birthed the righteous seed of God in me to say I have been born again.  It has been a journey of change and spiritual growth, and I am not where I need to be yet.  Yet, there is something I always say,” I am not where I need to be, but thank God I have left where I was”.  In all my years of growing in church I have heard every camp of doctrine say that they believed that all those that did not believe like them could not truly be saved or born again.  I say that none of us has the right to make that judgment with anyone. There is no doubt in my mind that I was born again as a young man even though I had much to learn about God and who Jesus is.  It has been the holy spirit that has been my guide to truth, but I had to cast off mans traditions to learn it’s leading.

I can say that what I now have learned is nothing like what I knew over forty years ago.  There has been much diversity in my life and many great memories of God’s spirit at work in me.  As I think Paul was trying to teach us that God works through all of us by His spirit.  That we have to let God do the work and stop worrying about if everyone’s doctrine is right, as long as it is not leading to sin and abominations.  Are there men and women today who are deceivers and false leaders?  Yes, but maybe we need to stop worrying about the false and just let God do what He needs to do in His church.  Let Him work through and in us to bring us to that place He would have us to be. We are all different and God works within that diversity, each one fitting in their place in the body of Christ.

How does all this work with the title of this weeks blog?  Let me please explain, if I can briefly. I want to share a parallel thought, if I may today.  This weekend I spent this last Friday night, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning in a motorcycle safety class.  It is required here in Texas to get a proper license to ride my new motorcycle.  A thought hit me today as I was completing the riding course training.  You see as we met at the ridding course, there were a variety of motorcycles there for us to use. They were all small and different styles from sport bikes, street bikes, to dual purpose bikes.  We were told to pick out the bike that best fit us.  There were a variety of aged students, and experience.  Each person picked out the bike that they felt they could learn their skills on or maybe just liked.

I picked out a street bike that was a Suzuki 250.  That is small and way short of the power of the Harley Davidson I now have.  We were there to learn skills and small was where we needed to start.  Look at the scripture in First Corinthians and all those I closed with last time.  You see we were all different and used different cycles that worked best for each one of us to accomplish a single purpose.  We all had the same goal, complete the course and learn to be a safe rider.  We all learned differently and used different bikes but completed all the same challenges set before us.  We all had different fears to overcome to safely operate the bike.   Not one of us was the same.  There was even a man in our class that had been riding for over 25 years without a motorcycle license.  He was there only because he received a ticket.  Yet, that same man struggled with some of the challenges.  He spoke after a time, saying how glad he was to take the course and that he learned things he did not know and it was going to improve his riding skills.

The point I want to make was we were all given motorcycles they were all different to fit us who were all different.  They work differently based on the ability of each rider.  They all had about the same power but they each worked according to the work of the user.  You see God gave of his spirit to the church, according to the New Testament writers to everyone who is born again.  It is different in each person and works within each person according to their faith, obedience and who they are.  It is the same holy spirit but works differently in each person based on that person.  Those motorcycles were provided for the benefit of each rider for the common purpose to help us accomplish the common goal.  The gift of God’s spirit is just the same way for every believer, it is provided to use for the common good of each of us and the church.  To help us all achieve the same goal in Christ to become as he would have us be and be the church he desires, people of victory and growing into the complete person and maturity in Christ.

We are called into God’s kingdom together. We are all members one of another and He has given us the same hope.  We are all given the same spirit to help us do ministry, and be changed into the image of Christ.  We may all be different and we may all not be on the same level in many ways.  We may not all have let the spirit manifest as it should or taken full advantage of what it is given to do.  None the same, we have come to be born again by the same spirit and are recipients of God’s grace by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We all belong to Him and His spirit will lead us into truth if we would be willing to cast off traditions of men and let the spirit do what it was given to do.

 (John 16:13 NRSV)  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

As a testimony of my own life, it has been that love and passion that has driven me over the years.  With my heart hot after the Father, over the years the holy spirit has lead me to truth and new discoveries.  Many of the things I believed growing up with have changed for me, the doctrines of God, Jesus and many more things have come to a deeper understanding by the spirit.  In the next few weeks we will talk about manifestations and I hope to challenge your thinking.  While we do this let’s remember we are all a part of the body of Christ.

(1 Cor 12:3 NRSV)  Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.

(Col 3:12-17 NRSV)  As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. {13} Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. {14} Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. {15} And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. {16} Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. {17} And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

(Gal 5:13-14 NRSV)  For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. {14} For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

By the way we all passed and our skill levels test had different results, although we all had the same instructor, coach, course, and book.