High Voltage Shareware/high1.zip/high1/DIR46/ALPHON_1.ZIP/H-SPIRIT.010

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                       THE HOLY SPIRIT               Study No.10.

COMMANDS REGARDING THE GIFTS.

A.   We must not be ignorant of them.   l Cor. 12:1; 14:38.

B.   We are urged to earnestly seek for them.  I Cor. 13:31; 14:1.
     Everyone should have at least one.

     But, say some very dear and highly esteemed Christians, the
     Gifts of the Spirit in any case are surely optional; you can
     live without them Agreed.  You can live without eyes and ears
     and speech.  Spiritual Gifts are as optional as eyesight; you
     can walk without Gifts, but you cannot be mighty in God
     without them.  It is power, not holiness, that heals the sick
     - the power the Gifts supply.  And remember, that the highest
     claim to holiness is weakened by an exhibition of undisguised
     irritation or disobedience concerning any of the commands of
     God.  Does not holiness consist in obedience to every Holy
     command of our most Holy God-even the command to "desire
     spiritual gifts"?

C.   We must learn to operate them correctly, in order that we may
     excel to the edifying of the assembly.
     I Cor. 14:12; 31:33.

     WHAT THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT ACCOMPLISH?

a.   Build up, edify - 1 Corinthians 14;3-5; "But he that
     prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and
     exhortation, and comfort.  He that speaketh in an unknown
     tongue edifieth himself; but" he that prophesieth edifieth
     the Church.

     1 Corinthians 14:12, 26, 33, 40, "Even so ye, forasmuch as ye
     are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the
     edifying of the church.  How is it then, brethren? when ye
     come together, everyone of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine,
     hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation.
     Let all things be done unto edifying.  For God is not the
     author of confusion but of peace, as in all churches of the
     saints.  Let all things be done decently and in order."

b.   Establish - Romans 1:11, "For I long to see you, that I may
     impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be
     established."

c.   Profit - l Corinthians 12:7. "But the manifestation of the
     Spirit is given to every man to profit withal."

d.   Our credentials - Mark 16:17-20, "And these signs shall
     follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out
     devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up
     serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not
     hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
     recover.  So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was
     received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
     And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord
     working with them, and confirming the word with signs
     following.  Amen."

     PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS IN THE OPERATION OF THE GIFTS OF THE
     SPIRIT.
     The Scriptures confirm that, though the gifts are the
     manifestation of the Holy Spirit, God operates through a
     person as a cooperative act;  man does not become a puppet,
     or act unconsciously, or go into a trance.  Rather, he must
     cooperate with the Lord to express what God wants to say in
     the way God wants it expressed.

A.   The gifts of the Spirit are to be subject to the written Word
     of God:
     --l John 5:11 - "This is The record..."

     --l Corinthians 14:37 -"If any man think himself to be a
     prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things
     that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord."

     --Revelation 22:18,19 - " For I testify unto every man that
     heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man
     shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the
     plagues that are written in this book, and if any man shall
     take away from the words of this prophecy, God shall take
     away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy
     city, and from the things which are written in this book."

     --Deuteronomy 4:2 - "Ye shall not add unto the word which I
     command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye
     may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I
     command you."

     --Proverbs 30: 5-6 -"Every word of God is pure; He is a
     shield unto them that put their trust in Him., Ad thou not to
     His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar,"

     Though it is true the Spirit still speaks, He will never "add
     to this Book, in the sense of contradicting or changing its
     truth.

      --Ephesians 2:20 -"And are built upon the foundation of the
     Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief
     cornerstone.  "

     No matter how sure of himself that he has a spiritual
     revelation or a word from the Lord, if it contradicts the
     clear teaching of the Scripture, it must not be accepted.
     Our only safety from delusion is to stay within the
     boundaries of revealed truth.

B.   The gifts of the Spirit gre to be subject to the oversight
     ministries of the Church:

     The Scripture clearly teaches that God holds leaders
     accountable for the spiritual health and well being of the
     flock.  Someone must stand accountable and responsible for
     everything that is said or done in the Church.  A failure to
     observe this is one of the greatest errors of the many
     gatherings of believers where gifts operate, but without
     oversight present.  This is, in fact, the means which the
     Lord has provided to see to it that in accordance with the
     Scripture.

     --Ephesian 4:11-15 shows the ministry was given to bring the
     saints to maturity so that they would not be like a little
     Ship in the ocean, "Tossed to and fro, and carried about with
     every gust of doctrine, but the slight of men and cunning
     craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive... but might
     hold the truth."

     -- Acts 20:28-30 - "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and
     to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you
     overseers, to feed the Church of God, which He hath purchased
     with His own blood.  For I know this, that after my departing
     shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the
     flock.  Alas of your own selves shall men arise speaking
     perverse things, to draw away disciples after them."

     --Hebrews 13:17 - "Obey them that have the rule over you, and
     submit yourselves: For they watch for your souls, as they
     that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not
     with grief: for that is unprofitable for you"

     --James 3:1 - My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that
     we shall receive the greater condemnation."

     --Revised Version: - "Be not many teachers my brethren,
     knowing that we shall receive heavier judgment."

     Though God does not have one standard of life for the
     ministry and another for the flock, the ministry is held
     responsible not only for their own walk, but also the welfare
     of others.

     --Proverbs 27:33 - "Be thou diligent to know the state of thy
     flocks, and look well to thy herds."

     (Also see: 1 Peter 5:2; John 10:11-13; 2 Corinthians 7:12;
     8:23; Ezekiel 33:6; Jeremiah 23:4)

     --2 Corinthians 8:23 tells us that the ministering brethren
     are the "ministers of the Churches, and the glory of Christ."

     Even the prophets must be willing to he judged by others.

     I Corinthians 14:29) How much more should we all be willing
     to have our gifts evaluated and judged by spiritual
     shepherds.  This is God's means of checks and balances.  If
     one rejects this "safety", measure, it is because he is
     wrongly motivated.

     This is one of the first things a believers should take
     advantage of: receiving counsel of and working with the
     elders over him as those who are "accountable" for him and
     "feed" him, whose occupation is to " perfect the saints that
     they might minister.." (Ephesians 4: 11-12

C.   The principle of " yielding-your members:(ROMANS 6:13.

     In 1 Corinthians 14;15 Paul said," I will pray with the
     understanding also". This throws much light on how the spirit
     works through a believer. The believer is not to be passive,
     but involved with his will and body; actively participating.
     The participation does not take place when he is in a state
     of unconsciousness or in some ecstatic, euphoric stupor.
     Rather, the participation it intelligent and voluntary.

     We must obey the prompting of the Spirit by faith and the act
     of our will, putting ourselves into a position in which the
     Holy Spirit can use us and manifest Himself through us.  It
     is important to realise that He possesses us in order to use
     His tools through us.  We do not use the Spirit,He uses us.
     There are two extreme positions which should be mentioned at
     this point and which must be avoided:

     1.   That gifts operate at the believers will, so that he is
     free to exercise them anytime, anyplace.
     Some Scriptures which are used to validate this position are;
          --1 Corinthians 14-15- As far as tongues in prayer and
          worship are concerned, this is a correct position

          --1 Cor 14:32 " the spirit of the prophets are subject
          to the prophets".

          --l Timothy 4;14-  "Neglect  not  the  gift  which  was
          given  thee..."

          --2 Timothy 1:6- "Stir up the gift of God.."

D.    Gifts are to be governed by love:

     This is the whole message of 1 Corinthians---13.  It is no
     accident that in the design of Scripture, God permeates the
     subject of the gifts with the emphasis of love.  The "love
     chapter" is actually an integral part of the teaching on the
     gifts.

     Jesus taught, "Ye shall know them by their fruits", and the
     fruit of the Spirit is always the real test. of Quality of
     ministry.
          (Galatians 5:22-26) If love is weak, the gifts will not
          have their full effect.The fruit of the Spirit and the
          quality of love is what gives gifts their full authority
          and power to minister to others.  Without these, the
          gifts can become as "a sounding brass and a tinkling
          cymbal".

     --Galatians 5:16 tells us that even faith is to work "by
     love"  Many of the problems of the past, both in the flock
     and among the leaders, have been based on a violation of
     these principles of love.

E.   The principle of "edification":

     -- 1 Corinthians 14:12-- "Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are
     zealous of spiritual  gifts, seek that ye may excel to the
     edifying of the Church"
          1 Corinthians 14:22 "Let all things be done unto
          edifying"

     I Corinthians 8:1 - "Knowledge puffeth up, but  charity
     edifieth."

     According to the thought of this verse, if a person does
     things that do not edify, then it is doubtful that he is
     motivated by love.

     --2 Corinthians 10:8 - "For though I should boast somewhat
     more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for
     edification...

     --2 Corinthians 12:19 - ...but we do all things dearly
     beloved, for your edifying."

     --l Corinthians 14:33 shows us that God is not the source of
     that which brings confusion and disturbance.  God brings
     peace.

     --l Corinthians 14:40 shows that the pure operations of the
     Spirit are decent and orderly ' It is not enough just to
     prophesy of speak in tongues; it must be done in a proper and
     orderly way.

     This has several aspects.  Some particular areas to which
     this applies are:

     1    The manner in which it is done.  Scripturally, no one
     can be abusive or an exhibitionist, or emotionally
     extravagant, saying that he could not control himself, that
     "it was the Holy Spirit." l Cor 14:32

     Finally, the personality of the Holy Spirit must accompany
     His operations. (Galatians 5:22-23).  If one speaks so fast
     that he becomes unintelligible, or is slow and repetitive, it
     will tend to blur the message and confuse the people, Those
     guilty of these faults simply need to be counselled to
     improve in these areas so that they may communicate more
     effectively.  These excesses do not indicate that the gift is
     not of the Holy Spirit, but, rather, that the person needs to
     learn to yield to a purer expression of the gift.  The
     principle of "Spiritual manners and etiquette" applies
     clearly to one's attitude and behaviour in the gifts.

     2.   Timing - Paul tells the Corinthians not only to do
     things properly, but at the proper time,

     In 1 Corinthians 14:27 he shows that tongues and
     interpretations should flow together with correct timing kept
     in mind.

     In l Corinthians 14:29-33 he show that the prophets are to
     flow together in their timing.

     In 1 Corinthians 14:26 it is obvious that, in order to fulfil
     these practices in an orderly manner, timing is involved.

     --Romans-12:6-10 also involves order and timing.

     One key that is given Romans 12:10 is that real love "prefers
     one another" in other words, a person should not get
     "hoggish" and dominate the meetings.

     3.   The principle of unity - It,is outstanding and beautiful
     how the Lord builds a design in the services of the Church,
     He usually follows a theme or a message, and everyone who is
     walking in the Spirit will speak the same.  Even though there
     are "diversities" in administration and diversities" of
     operations, it is the same Spirit that "worketh all in all."

     (1 Corinthians 12:4-6  as it is the same Spirit working
     through all, then there will be a unity of message and theme.

     The gifts can be abused and misused is clearly demonstrated
     in Scripture. (Ecclesiastes 2:9; Numbers 520:7-13 with
     Deuteronomy 22:48-52; 1 Corinthians 13:1; 14:20,33)

     This abuse and misuse has undoubtedly caused much reproach
     and opposition to the gifts of the Spirit.

     Let us take full advantage of God's safety measures that we
     may edify in all things