Jesus, in His final moments with His disciples in the upper room, has spelled out clearly the Holy Spirit’s impending return. He would come to take up His role as Jesus’ “other self”, fulfilling in them what the Father had planned from the beginning.
However, the Apostle Paul had to deal with the inevitable issue of “the flesh” that was creeping into this predominately Gentile church in Corinth…the issue of competition, since the gift of “tongues”… speaking supernaturally in an unlearned language… which is what happened in Jerusalem at Pentecost…seems to have morphed into a new phenomenon…uttering strange-sounding words regarded as a “heavenly language”.
These “tongues” were spectacular and extraordinary. It seems that everyone in the Corinthian church wanted this gift. However, Paul had to correct their understanding. Using the analogy of the human body…
Not everyone has the same gift , since the human body is made up of many parts with different functions…so the members of body of Christ are different with functions but…
…every gift has the same purpose…to edify and build up the whole body.
So…as Paul explained…
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are an integral part of His ministry in the church for a specific purpose, not for the glory of individual but for the good of whole body.
When we put the Holy Spirit’s gifts in perspective and in their right place…first, we must understand that they flow from our relationship with Jesus. Outside of that, they are nothing but showmanship which Jesus does not acknowledge.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Matthew 7:21-23 NIV
Second, if the gifts of the Spirit are not used for the purpose for which they were intended and under the leading of the Spirit, they are of no value to the body of Christ.
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.”
1 Corinthians 12:7, 11, 26-28 NIV
“So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.”
1 Corinthians 14:9, 12, 20, 26, 29, 33 NIV
The exercise of a variety of spiritual gifts in the body, dispersed and directed by the Holy Spirit, and practised under the instruction and guidance of church leaders, should have three outcomes…
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV
…unity in the faith
…maturity in character and behaviour of the members,
….fullness in Christ.
So, we see that the Holy Spirit has two specific functions…in the believer, to restore and reproduce the likeness of Jesus…
…and in the body of Christ, to produce a healthy, functional unit, mature and complete.
This is the gift God promised Abraham in principle…and was poured out in fulness on the day of Pentecost.
…and this gift is for everyone who believes…not only for some who are equipped for a special task.
“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.””
Acts 2:38-39 NIV
He is automatically given when we are born again by the Spirit…
“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
1 Corinthians 12:13 NIV
He is God’s seal and guarantee of eternal life un every believer,
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV
He will teach and guide every believer throughout life and administer all the benefits of the New Covenant.
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.””
John 16:13-15 NIV
Nowhere in Scripture are believers urged to seek the “baptism” of the Holy Spirit. Rather, we are instructed to receive Him, obey Him, be led by Him, and allow Him full control. We are cautioned not to grieve Him or put out His fire in us…which we can do by disobeying or ignoring Him in the course of our daily lives.
The Holy Spirit is our “paracletos”, our Helper. He is our closest companion, friend, counsellor, and the representative of Jesus in us. Every new believer who is not introduced to the Spirit and made aware of His presence in him/her is robbed of the assurance of the presence of the one person who stands between growing up into Christ or failing and falling at every obstacle and test.
It is imperative, then, that those who introduce people to Jesus, also ensure that new believers understand the presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit in them.
To be continued