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Importance of the Holy Spirit
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The gifts of the Holy Spirit were not something that were discussed a lot within my church as I was growing up. I feel like I do not know much about the gifts and therefore decided that this would be a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the gifts that people receive from the Holy Spirit. I also feel like people are better able to serve if they know what their gifts are and how God wants people to use the gifts that he has blessed them with. There are many gifts referred to throughout the bible, but, some of them are thought to have disappeared and not be used in today’s age. The Holy Spirit came to help us through our Christian walk when Christ left the earth (Pierson 14).
While people who are not Christians can do “good things” it is not until a person becomes a Christian that they receive one or more gifts of the Holy Spirit. “One of the important ministries of the Holy Spirit to believers today is His bestowal of spiritual gifts to Christians at the time of their conversion” (Walvoord 109). People are then supposed to rely on the Holy Spirit to lead them in how they should use their gifts. The gifts are meant to be used for building up the body of Christ and helping others (Walvoord 109).
There are many gifts of the Holy Spirit, but it seems like some are talked about more than others. Although it seems like some gifts are more important and better to have, in First Corinthians, Paul tells the Corinthians that all of the gifts are needed. First Corinthians 12:22-23 Says “On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty” (Barker 1785). Eve...
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...today that people do not give God the credit for. People today tend to say “wow, you were really lucky!” In actuality God protects people and keeps them from harm, and some of those “chance” things are when God is taking care of his people.
Works Cited
Barker, Kenneth L. Zondervan NIV Study Bible . Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 2008.
Grudem, Wayne. Bible Doctrine . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999.
Oort, Johannes Van. "The Holy Spirit and the early Church: The experience of the Spirit." HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies (2012): 1-7.
Pierson, A. T. The Acts of the Holy Spirit. New Yord: Fleming H. Revell Company , 1895.
Sanders, J. Oswald. The Holy Spirit and His Gifts. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1940.
Showalter, Matt. Interview. Kelly Mast. 30 4 2014.
Walvoord, John F. "The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts." Bibliotheca Sacra (1973): 109-121.
Tavard, George H. "The Christology of the Mystics." Theological Studies 42, no. 4 (December 1, 1981): 561-579. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed December 3, 2013).
... is that he comes to each and every person in need. When we start sinking in the storms of life, we need to cry out to the Lord and he will reach out and will bring you out of the water that has begun to drown you.
"I put my mind on Christ and try to listen and obey the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:5), the Holy Spirit will give me life and peace (Romans 8:6). If a man is a Christian, he has the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9). His spirit has been made alive (Romans 8:10) The Holy Spirit is giving life back to his body, bringing it back from the deadness of sin (Romans 8:11) and bring abundant new life in Christ."(Graham)
Many Christians in the body of Christ are unclear and don’t really understand the Holy Spirit who is the third person in the God head. The author, Charles C. Ryrie, does an excellent job in not only explaining from the Holy Bible who the Holy Spirit is, but also discusses His ministry and work. Ryrie also focuses on the Holy Spirit’s role in creation and shows His intricate and active involvement throughout the Old and New Testaments. This book recognizes questions that a Christian may have and is an excellent teaching resource. Mr. Ryrie does an excellent job in teaching about the person of the Holy Spirit according to scripture.
The Church as a whole debates many concepts that are in the Bible, in both theology and in practice. One of these debates surrounds the gifts that are spoken of in the Bible. In one corner are those who believe that charismatic gifts are alive and well in the church today. The Continuationist view believes that the gifts have continued on through Biblical times and are still relevant for today. In the other corner are those who believe that particular gifts have ceased to be used in the modern church and that they were only given for a particular reason in Biblical times. This view is called the Cessationist. Today each view, and other views in between, and the practice of the gifts in the current culture will be examined for truth, validity, and application by searching through each view and holding fast to the scripture as the final word of authority.
1. Richardson, Cyril C. et al., Early Christian Fathers, Volume 1 (Philadelphia: Westminister Press) 183.
There are four main views on the charismatic Spiritual gifts of tongues, prophecy and healing. These four arguments are the Cessationist view, the Open but Cautious view, the Third Wave view and the Pentecostal view. Cessationists believe that the spiritual gifts deemed the charismatic gifts ceased with the completion of the New Testament and that while God will still perform miracles today, the imparting of the miraculous gifts is no longer in effect. On the other side of the spectrum the Pentecostals believe that all the gifts that were bestowed on the original Apostles on the day of Pentecost are still freely given to all believers today as a sign of receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Those who practice the Third Wave view agree with
While communicating in the work place the fruits of the spirit are a must. Many people exert these nine words and don’t know they are using the “fruits of the spirit.” Some people know what these words mean and still don’t use them. The words I am talking about are found in Galatians 5:22-23. This passage is known as the “fruits of the spirit.” The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self- control.
His role changes dramatically in the New Testament. As the New Testament opens, the main member of the Trinity that is focused on is Jesus, but without the Holy Spirit, Jesus would not have come. Luke 1:35 says, “And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God” (ESV). The Holy Spirit had a direct role in Jesus’ incarnation and throughout the Gospels. The Spirit appears to lead Jesus and Jesus mentions Him to His disciples as one who is to come (Luke 4:1, John 6:63, John 16:13,
Richardson, William E., and Dave Kidd. “Articles.” Pentecostal Evangel. General Council of the Assemblies of God. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.
According to 1 Timothy 4:1, He speaks, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later ties some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons”. This verse is a prophetic word that is spoken by the Holy Spirit, which is a characteristic of people prophesying as well. By the Holy Spirit being able to speak, it makes Him relatable so that we are able to be in communication with Him. He also intercedes on behalf of the people who are weak and have no power. When we are unsure of what to pray, or unable to pray as we should, the Spirit intercedes on our behalf with a grief and groan that so deep that words are unable to be spoken (Romans 8:26). We need the Spirit to pray for us in times of need, because most times we do not pray for the correct things. By His intercession, we are also able to grow closer to God because of our trust put in the Spirit to pray on our behalf. The Bible also says He testifies and bears witness about Jesus, speaking only truth and life (John 15:26). As followers of Christ we are also called to witness about Jesus and speak life into others. Because the Spirit also witnesses, it creates a connection between us so that we can let the Spirit flow through us. With the Spirit flowing in us, we are able to have confidence when witnessing to
The doctrine of the Holy Spirit begins with examining biblical witness to the work of the Holy Spirit in the history of Israel, as well as the ministry of Jesus, and in the life of the church. During the creation account it was the breath of God that grave life to all creation. The Holy Spirit has been a primate actor sin the beginning of time. While the Spirit was present prior to the ministry of Christ, the New Testament speaks in greater detail of the Spirit because it empowered Jesus. From his conception to the day of Pentecost the Sprit was present and active in the life of Christ and the believers. We see in ...
Richardson, Alan, (1958), an Introduction to the Theology of the New Testament. SCM press Ltd, London.
In the book, Unleashing the Power of Praying in the Spirit, Oral Roberts teaches the reader what praying in the Spirit means and explains why it is important to Christians. He goes further with his demonstration by depicting real life situations that he personally was delivered from. As the reader obtains this information from the source, they achieve a greater and deeper understanding of what praying in the Spirit is, how one attains this gift of the Spirit, and why it is necessary to live a true Christian life.
The gifts of the spirit are there to create unity by addressing the needs of the church body. If everyone had the same gifts, there would be no need for unity. Therefore no one has all of the spiritual gifts but every believer has at least one and they use these gifts in cooperation to glorify