THE HOLY SPIRIT  (#7)

     Once again we express our sincere appreciation to each one who
has invited me into your home this morning. It is my sincere prayer
that our time will be profitably spent in the study of God's Word.
This is "What Saith the Scriptures," an in-depth study into the book
we call the Bible, brought to you by the White Park church of Christ
each Sunday morning at this same time. Again, we invite your
questions and/or comments to anything that I might say. I continue
to recognize the tremendous responsibility of those of us who speak
publicly. We have the awesome obligation of speaking truth, the
truth of God's Word.  But, you the listener, also have the
responsibility of examining what is said. I am responsible as a
speaker and you are responsible as a listener. In John's letter to
the seven church of Asia, he said to each congregation, "He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches"
(Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). My obligation is to speak
only where God's word speaks. Your obligation is to accept only what
God's Word teaches. So, get your Bible, your pen and paper, and let
us "reason together, saith the Lord."
     For the past six weeks we have been studying the subject of the
Holy Spirit. In our lessons we have made references to the
miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit as referred to in 1 Corinthians
chapter 12. I wish to look as these gifts a little more in detail
this morning.
     I am reading from 1 Corinthians 12, beginning with verse 4,
"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there
are diversities of ministrations, and the same Lord. And there are
diversities of workings, but the same God, who worketh all things in
all. But to each one is give the manifestation of the Spirit to
profit withal. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of
wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same
Spirit: to another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another gifts
of healings, in the one Spirit; and to another workings of miracles;
and to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits: to
another divers kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation
of tongues; but all these worketh the one and the same Spirit,
dividing to each one severally even as he will," reading through
verse eleven.
     Let us examine each of these gifts that were given by the
laying on of the apostles hands as seen in Acts 8 and in Acts 19.
The first is the gift of wisdom. The word wisdom is defined as,
"a faculty, from a good judgment of the circumstances of actions, to
do them at the best time, and in the best manner wherein they may be
serviceable to their ends."  Every Christian needs to use wisdom in
the application of God's word to their lives and affairs. But, this
was a miraculous power (a gift) to assist the early churches to
solve the problems that would arise from day to day. Surely, none in
the church could be wiser than were those to whom the Spirit gave
the word of wisdom.
     The second gift listed is "knowledge." Knowledge is defined as,
"teaching which appeals to the rational faculty,... the intellectual
is made the buttress of the moral and spiritual." This knowledge led
men who could speak the truth, and present gospel facts accurately,
as revealed by the apostles until the New Testament could be
written. Man, of his own invention and mentality, could not know the
mind of God. Thus the necessary knowledge was imparted through this
special gift. Great truths such as God, the Father, Christ, the Son,
salvation from sin, heaven, hell, and the many other needed lessons.
This gift of knowledge was essential to revealing God's mind to
mankind. Remember, the book we call the Bible had not been written
at this early time. So, until the completed written was given, it
was essential that these early converts be divinely guided in the
knowledge of God. We studied the past two weeks the passage in
chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians that this gift was to be done away when
the completed Book of God had been finished. There would no longer
be any need for the gift of knowledge, because God will would be
given to man in written form. That book we call the Bible.
     The third gift mentioned is miraculous faith. You will notice
that this faith is not the faith mentioned in such passages as
Hebrews 11:6, where the inspired writer says, "Without faith it is
impossible to please God...." That faith is obtained by hearing
God's Word. Listen to Paul in Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Saving faith comes through
a study of God's word, an acceptance of the testimony of Jesus the
Christ as the son of God, a belief in the death, burial, and
resurrection of Christ from the dead; His ascension unto the
heavenly Father; and our salvation by obedience to the good news
proclaimed by Christ when He said, "He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). This faith in 1 Corinthians
12 was received after one became the child of God; it was a
miraculous faith; a faith that could move mountains (1 Corinthians
13:2; Matthew 17:20). The Bible does not give us much information as
to the usage of this gift. Perhaps the individual with the gift of
faith knew when God wanted him to perform a particular work.
     The fourth gift mentioned is the gifts of healings. More than
one kind of sickness was healed. Christ wrought miracles on many:
the blind, the dumb, the leper, the palsied, a withered hand, an ear
restored, and more. The apostles worked a variety of healings: man
born lame who walked immediately; many healed in Acts 5:12; the
palsied and lame in Acts 8:6-7; and many more.  There were no
failures after the Spirit came to guide the apostles.
     The fifth gift mentioned is the workings of miracles. Jesus had
worked mighty works and wonders and signs. Peter states, "Ye men of
Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God
unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him
in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know, (Acts 2:22). He
walked on water, fed 5000 with a boy's lunch, raised the dead,
turned water into wine, stilled the storm, etc. The Greek word used
here probably implies works mightier and more striking than
healings, though they are in the same area. The apostles wrought
great miracles: "special miracles wrought by Paul," Acts 19:11, 12;
Ananias and Sapphira struck dead, Acts 5:1-6; raising the dead in
Acts 9:36; 20:10; bitten by a viper without ill effect, Acts 28:4;
casting a blindness upon a false teacher, Acts 13:8, etc.  Indeed,
these early disciples performed great signs and wonders because of
the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
     Let me hasten to point out that those today who claim to have
the same gifts which the early disciples had do not do the things
which these early disciples did. Have you witnessed anyone raised
from the dead; anyone casting a spell of blindness upon another; or
any one of the others that have been mentioned. Often we hear the
explanation given, "It is because you do not have enough faith."
But, you will notice, Elymas was a false teacher upon whom Paul cast
the blindness. Again, I say, cast a spell of blindness upon me and
your claims will be verified. No need to debate, why not
demonstrate?
     The sixth gift listed is that of Prophecy. This gift would give
one the ability to speak by divine guidance. It includes the ability
to foretell future events also. Remember, the Bible had not been
written at this point or time. There was the need to have men who
could speak the truth by direct guidance from heaven. Men who would
not err in this revelation. God did not leave it up to men to
remember everything which Christ had taught them. The Spirit was
sent to "guide them into all truth," (John 16:13). Prophecy was to
exhort (1 Corinthians 14:3); to edify (1 Corinthians 14:4); to teach
the church (1 Corinthians 14:31); to teach the unbeliever (1
Corinthians 14:24, 25). The gift of prophecy was to fill the gap
between the first converts in Acts 2, until the completion of the
perfect message from Heaven. Remember, the gift of prophecy was to
cease, to be done away, 1 Corinthians 13:8, 9, when that which is
perfect, God's completed revelation, is come. We now have that
completed, perfect word and the gift of prophecy is no longer
needed.  Remember, Jude states, "Beloved, while I was giving all
diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was
constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for
the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints" June 3).
Did those early disciples have all they needed to serve God? Who
among us would deny that?  What more could be added today that they
did not have? You see, the need for present day revelation or
prophecy is past.
     The seventh in the list of miraculous gifts is that of the
"discerning of spirits." This gift would give the recipient the
divine ability to determine between truth and error. In Acts 5:1-6,
when Ananias and Sapphira lied, Peter could discern this. There were
many false teachers in the first century, as there are many false
teachers in the twentieth century. How do we today determine if one
is a false teacher?  By comparing what they teach with the Bible,
the word of God. But, in the first century that book had not been
written; so the need for divinely guided members who could determine
whether or not one was speaking the truth, thus the "discerning of
spirits."
     The eighth gift listed by Paul is that of "Tongues." To speak
in tongues was to speak in another language; a language which one
had not learned nor studied. Thus, when the apostles spoke in
tongues in Acts, chapter 2, the audience understood what they were
saying. Acts 2:4 reads, And they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance. Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout
men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound was heard,
the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every
man heard them speaking in his own language," reading through verse
6. Then verse eight says, "And how hear we, every man in our own
language wherein we were born?"  And again in verse 11, "Cretans and
Arabians, we hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of
God."  There was the need for these early disciples to go forth into
all the world and proclaim the gospel of Christ. Jesus had given
them the command, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to
the whole creation" (Mark 16:15). The ability to speak in other
languages enabled them to carry out that command. Since our time is
rapidly disappearing this morning, we shall leave this point and
continue next week with a further study in the matter of speaking in
tongues. I hope and pray that you will tune in again next week as we
continue this important study of the Holy Spirit and specifically
what is involved in the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit.
     You are invited to visit with us during our periods of worship
and study. We meet this morning at 9:00 a.m. for Bible Study; at
10:00 a.m. for morning worship, and again this afternoon at 7:00
p.m. for our evening worship. "Come let us reason together, saith
the Lord."

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