The
Gifts and the Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Introduction
Instead of going straight to the working gifts (faith,
healing, & miracles), I feel strongly that we need to form a foundation
understanding the fruit of the Spirit in relation to the gifts of the Spirit. It
is so easy to want or desire the power of God to work and flow through us that
we can easily forget that it is the character of a man or woman that God looks
at before any gifts are given.
All species have certain attributes or characteristics that
make them who they are. Just as a dogs bark, a fish lives under water, or cats
meow they all operate within their God given abilities. It would be quite
impossible for a dog to live under water, a fish meow, or for a cat to bark.
When a species is born they will take on the characteristics of their parents.
Man is no different. When we are born God expects us to take
on His characteristics. The parents should already be practicing and living a
godly lifestyle, therefore the natural tendency of a child would be to follow
the parents example. This is not the average way children are reared. God,
however has not changed, His voice still echoes a way of holiness… “But
as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy (I
Peter 1:15,16). The sons of God should manifest a supernatural nature in life
through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and through faith in the name of Jesus
and His atonement.
The spiritual tools of God are the gifts of the Spirit. As you
spend time in the Word of God it becomes very evident that the believer should
walk in obedience to God’s Word and as the believer does so he or she will
grow, producing fruit. As the fruit matures, God gives the gifts as He wills.
As we study we are no longer ignorant of what is in God’s
Word. Just as Paul put it in I Corinthians 12:1 “I would not have you ignorant”.
God’s word is simple to understand. However, Paul also stated in I Corinthians
14:38 “But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant”. Some people will
want to remain ignorant and never grow in the Lord. How sad!
All the gifts of the Spirit were manifest in the Old Testament
except two, the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues.
Let’s compare the power of the Old Testament saints, Jesus
and the apostles to our walk with the Lord. Are we walking in the Spirit in a
way that would even begin to compare! I think we would have to agree that we
fall far short of this mark.
Today God is moving strongly in the world. Signs and wonders
are more prevalent. Especially in other countries. My desire is to see God move
in a powerful way in America, in our homes as He is elsewhere. This can and will
happen as we seek His face, for His word says in Romans 11:29 that “the
gifts and calling of God are without repentance”. The gifts of God
have not been on loan and taken back. They are as ready for us
operate in now as they were when He first promised them to us who are hungry for
Him.
I.
Questions concerning Spiritual Gifts
1. How many gifts are there? Nine. They are listed in I
Corinthians 12:4-11.
(1) The gift of the word of wisdom.
(2) The gift of the word of knowledge.
(3) The gift of faith.
(4) The gifts of healing.
(5) The gifts of the working of miracles.
(6) The gift of prophecy.
(7) The gift of discerning of spirits.
(8) The gift of divers kinds of tongues or languages.
(9) The gift of the interpretation of tongues or languages.
2. Whose gifts are they, and who works them? They are
the gifts of the Holy Spirit and He is the one who operates them in the
believers life as we can see in I Corinthians 12:4-11; “Now
there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences
of administrations, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same
God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to
every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the
word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts
of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles;
to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to
another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of
tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to
every man severally as he will.”
3. What is the purpose of these gifts? The purpose is
to enable all believers to do the works of Christ and to carry on the work that
He began both to do and teach (Acts 1:1-2, 12-15; I Corinthians 1:7; Romans
12:3-8;
I Corinthians 12:4-31; 14:1-40; Hebrews 2:3-4). We are
commanded by Jesus to do great works and as we obey, we will see signs follow.
Mark 16:15-20 states… “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall
be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 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.” Other references can be found in Hebrews 2:3-4; Romans
15:18-19, 29; John 14:12; I Corinthians 12:28-30; 14:1.
Scripture is clear about the use of the gifts and calling of
God in the believers life. We should always expect God to move in a mighty way
through His people. To expect anything less (I believe) is a discredit to God
and His power. Let us not fail God by disobeying His word concerning spiritual
gifts. Fulfill God’s purpose by desiring all that God has to offer us.
4. Who may receive the gifts of the Spirit? The gifts
of God are for all believers. God’s word tells us to ask and that we will
receive. If you desire one or two gifts to operate in your life ask God for
them. If you desire all of them to operate in your walk with God, ask for them
all. In I Corinthians 12:8-31 scripture states that the gifts are distributed
out as God wills. This would appear that some would have certain gifts and
others would not, and this is mostly true. However, is this what God desires for
the believer? In I Corinthians 1:5-7 we find that the scripture says… “That
in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: So that ye come behind
in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Also in
the Word of God says that if we ask anything in the name of Jesus we can expect
it to come to pass (John 14:13, 14). Remember, in John 14:12 the Word says... “Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do
also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”
Jesus walked in the fullness of the Spirit. If we are to do works equal to what
Jesus did we had better pray and ask God for all nine gifts to operate in us as
He wills.
Jesus taught that all men could get all the gifts He had
(Matthew 9:29; 11:22-24; John 14:12-15; 15:7, 16; 16:23-26; Hebrews 11:6; James
1:5-8; Psalms 84:11).
5. Are the gifts the same and are their operations the
same? No. There are nine distinctly different gifts that can be categorized
in three different groups (we will discuss this later in the lesson). The gifts
are different but THE GIVER IS ONE. The variety of the operations of the Spirit
is that of unity, not division. The diversity of the gifts are corporate, not
competitive! Every aspect of a believers life can be ministered to by the gifts
of the Spirit of God. Remember Zechariah 4:6 says… “Not by might, nor by
power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts”.
6. Has anyone ever received and exercised all the gifts? Some
Men of the Old Testament operated in only as many as seven of the nine gifts
simply because the Holy Spirit was not given until the day of Pentecost (these
are the vocal gifts of tongues and interpretation of tongues). The pouring out
of God’s Spirit in this fashion was foretold in the following books of the
Bible: Isaiah 28:9-11; Joel 2:28-31; Mark 16:15-18; John 15:26; 16:13-15; Acts
1:4-5; 2:14-21, 38-39; 10:44-48; 19:1-6; I Corinthians 12:1-14:40.
Anyone who walks in the fullness of God’s Spirit has the
ability to receive and operate in all nine gifts (John 1:16; 3:34; 7:37-39; Mark
16:15-20; Ephesians 3:19; I Corinthians 1:7).
Jesus was the first to receive the fullness of the Spirit
(John 3:34). Note the following: (1) The gifts of wisdom and knowledge: Luke
2:40-52; 22:10-12; John 2:24-25. (2) The gift of faith: Matthew 8:23-27;
14:22-32. (3) The gifts of healing: Matthew 4:23-24; Act 10:38. (4) The gift of
working of miracles: Matthew 8:26; Luke 22:49-51. (5) The gift of prophecy:
Matthew 5-7; 16:21. (6) The discerning of spirits: Matthew 9:4; Mark 1:34. (7)
The gifts of tongues and interpretation of tongues. The Word of God does
not record Jesus as speaking in tongues. However you cannot doubt His
ability to do so because he walked in the fullness of the Spirit (John 1:16;
3:34).
Also, He would not have the need to do so because He was God
in the flesh (John 1:14).
Paul was another person who had all the gifts of the Spirit
and the fullness of God in His life. He had the power to: impart gifts to others
(Romans 1:11; I Timothy 4:14), impart baptism of the Spirit (Acts 19:1-7). He
had the gift of knowledge and wisdom (Galatians 1:11-17; Ephesians 1:8-19), the
gift of faith (Galatians 2:20; 3:2), the gifts of healing and miracles (Acts
13:6-13; 14:3-10), the gift of prophecy (Romans 11:25-27; I Corinthians 14:6),
the gift of discerning of spirits (Acts 3:9-11; I Corinthians 1:10-12), and the
gifts of tongues and interpretation of tongues (I Corinthians 14:6-22).
7. Are gifts of the Spirit only for those baptized in the
Spirit? No. As we have discussed earlier the Old Testament saints before the
outpouring of Pentecost operated in at least seven.
As Finis Dake puts it, “A man without gifts is a man who
has a job to do and no tools to work with”.
8. Can gifts be abused and misused? Yes. Solomon while
in a backslid condition continued to use his gifts of wisdom and knowledge to
further his own rebellion against God (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18; 2:4-11). Moses
misused his gift of miracles by smiting the rock instead speaking to it (Numbers
20:7-13; Deuteronomy 32:48-52).
9. Can gifts be exercised by man without the Holy Spirit? Only
certain gifts. If a man gains knowledge or wisdom by the Spirit of God he can
later on use what he gained from the Spirit to advance himself in whatever he
may desire. Remember also that I Corinthians 13:1 says that you are as a
sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal if you have certain gifts of the Spirit but
do not have Love. In other words you are useless, and if you are useless that
means that the Spirit of God is not with you or you have lost your anointing.
10. Should we not be afraid of getting an evil spirit that
will try to imitate the Holy Spirit? No! Jesus teaches us in Luke 11:11-13
that… “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he
give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or
if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
11. Are the gifts permanent or temporary? They are
always permanent if they are real gifts from God given to any person, “For
the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29). The
person may backslide and God will cease to use him, but when he repents and gets
back into a relationship with God his gifts and calling are restored to
him.
12. Are gifts exercised at will? If they are permanent
abilities given to the person they can be exercised by them at their will at any
time and in any place. This is proved by the fact that Paul had to rebuke the
free use of gifts in the Corinthian church (I Corinthians 14:1-40). Paul said to
Timothy to “neglect not” and to “stir up the gift” that
was in him, proving that he could let it remain dormant or exercise it at his
own will (I Timothy 4:14; II Timothy 1:6).
13. When should gifts be used? Whenever there is a
personal or public need. The gifts are for personal edification (I Corinthians
12:7; 14:4) and for public edification and profit to build up the body of Christ
(I Corinthians 12:4-31; 14:2-3, 5, 12, 17, 26, 31; Ephesians 4:7-11; Romans
12:3-12).
14. Where should gifts be used? Wherever there is a
need for them. The Word of God teaches us to be instant in season and out of
season (II Timothy 4:2).
15. How can gifts be received? By asking God in prayer
( Luke 11:13; I Corinthians 12:31; 14:1). Never limit your faith. If you limit
your faith, you limit your answer.
There are also other ways to receive the gifts from God and
they are: (1) Jesus received His gifts by prayer and fasting ( Matthew 3:16-17).
(2) The disciples received the power of God by patiently waiting or tarrying
till the day of Pentecost (Act 1:4-8). (3) Paul received his anointing by prayer
and fasting (Acts 9:8-17). (4) The Gentiles received the Holy Spirit Baptism
while listening to the Word of God (Acts 10:44-48). (5) Others by laying on of
hands (Acts 9:17; 19:1-6). (6) Certain gifts have been bestowed by laying on of
hands (Romans 1:11; I Timothy 4:14).
If there is no one available to pray for you or lay hands on
you, you can pray and believe God for what gift you desire (Luke 11:13; I
Corinthians 12:31).
16. Do we have need of gifts today? More than ever.
Jesus gave us the command in Mark 16:15-20 and it hasn’t changed at all.
17. Can we choose which gifts we want? Yes, the Word of
God says to “covet earnestly the best gifts” and “desire
spiritual gifts” (I Corinthians 12”31; 14:1)
18. How can we know when we have received gifts and which
ones we have received? You will be able to discern what gift you have as it
manifests. You will clearly know by the operation of that gift in you. The
miracles themselves will prove what gift you have.
19. Can we have gifts and not know how to use them? Yes,
Paul had to give instructions on using gifts in Romans 12:3-12; I Corinthians
12:1-31; 13:1-12; 14:1-40.
20. Are gifts to continue throughout this age? Yes,
gifts and all the works of the Spirit will continue till this age ends (I
Corinthians 13:8-13).
II.
Classification and definition of the Gifts
The gifts fall into three natural categories. They are not in
this order in
I Corinthians 12. This grouping is for easier understanding of
the gifts and their operation.
1. The Gifts of Revelation, or the Mind Gifts
(A) The Word of Wisdom. This is supernatural revelation, or
insight into the divine action. It is the application of divine knowledge
according to the will of God.
(B) The Word of Knowledge. This is supernatural revelation of
divine knowledge, or insight into the divine mind and will of God.
(C) Discerning of Spirits. This is supernatural revelation, or
insight into the realm of spirits to detect them and even read the thoughts of
the mind.
2. The Gifts of Inspiration, or the Vocal Gifts
(A) Prophecy. This is supernatural utterance in the known
tongue.
(B) Divers Kinds of Tongues. This is supernatural utterance in
unknown tongues.
(C) The Interpretation of Tongues. This is supernatural
utterance in the known tongues of what was uttered in the unknown tongues.
3. The Gifts of Power, or the Working Gifts
(A) Faith. This is supernatural confidence and trust in God
for the miraculous manifestation of the divine power according to the Word of
God.
(B) The Gifts of Healing. This is supernatural power to heal
diseases, to cast out devils, and to cure, repair, and make the body whole and
healthy.
(C) The Working of Miracles. This is supernatural power to
intervene in the ordinary course of nature and the common natural laws that
govern the material universe.
The gifts together as a whole work to accomplish God’s will
on Earth through born-again believers.
III.
The Importance and Necessity of the Gifts
Just as stated above, God uses born-again men and women to
work together, though diverse, in the gifts they may operate in to accomplish
His will. All the gifts are needed in the body of Christ. In I Corinthians 12:
12-26 it is made clear that one of the gifts not operating in the church is like
a limb or body part being severed from the human anatomy. You will be
handicapped!
We must allow the fruit of the Spirit to grow and mature so
that God can use us for His Glory. Once the fruit matures then we are ready to
be used by
Him to accomplish His will. And His will is to see captives
set free (Luke 4:16-21)!
As Christians we should desire the gifts of the Spirit so that
we can allow ourselves to walk with the feet of Jesus, talk with the mouth of
Jesus, see with the eyes of Jesus, hear with the ears of Jesus, and touch with
the hands of Jesus! Only then will we walk in the fullness of His power. Unity
in unselfish love is the key.
IV.
Why all Saved Men do not have the Gifts
(1) Because of ignorance of them. (2) Because of unbelief in
them.
(3) Because they are ashamed of them. (4) Because they do not
seek for them. (5) Because they do not realize their importance. (6) Because
they do not want them. (7) Because they are not yielded to God. (8) Because they
have grieved the Spirit. (9) Because they think they already have them.
V.
How To Exercise the Gifts —– The Fruit of the Spirit
This is in my opinion is the most crucial point in this study.
We as fellow believers must recognize that before we can enjoy the power of the
gifts we must put on the garment of humility and allow the fruit of the Spirit
to mature in us so that God can trust us with what we have asked for. You just
don’t go out and give a brand new automobile to someone and drop the keys in
their lap and say have fun without knowing first that they have proven
themselves capable of such a task. God works the same way. He will prove you
before He allows you to receive your new gift (Deuteronomy 8:2).
Here is a list of the “fruit” of the Spirit (Galatians
5:22-23):
(1) LOVE.
(2) JOY.
(3) PEACE.
(4) LONGSUFFERING.
(5) GENTLENESS.
(6) GOODNESS.
(7) FAITH.
(8) MEEKNESS.
(9) TEMPERANCE.
The nine-fold fruit of the Spirit is for character , not for
power! The nine gifts are for power. Love is the crowning grace of all this
fruit and is the impelling force of God in the true exercise of the gifts. You
should desire to have all of the fruit of the Spirit ripe and mature before you
even consider asking God for any of the nine gifts of the Spirit. Patience is
what you need, faith is simple. Anybody can believe, but not just anyone can be
patient. Wait upon the Lord as in Isaiah 40:31 and you will receive your
gift!
The nine-fold fruit of the Spirit is summed up in one word,
“charity” or divine love (I Corinthians 13). You cannot truly be
classified a Christian if love does not dominate your lifestyle.
Also take note that the Word of God calls it fruit of the
Spirit and not fruits of the Spirit. It is singular because the fruit should be
the life story of a Christian. All the fruit together is what will give you
character. You cannot let any of the nine fruit of the Spirit pass you by. It is
not possible to walk in the fullness of Christ without the fruit of the Spirit.
I had rather have all of the fruit of the Spirit ripe and mature and no gifts of
the Spirit operating in my life than to have any of the gifts at all and fall
short in allowing the fruit of the Spirit to dominate my walk with God.
Gifts exercised with the fruit of the Spirit will always be
edifying.
There is no gift that is of lesser importance. Some people
will say that tongues is less important than the rest. If so why did Paul say
that he spoke in tongues more than anyone and why did he dedicate a whole
chapter to tongues if it is of lesser importance (I Corinthians 14)? No gift is
greater than the other. We should desire all the gifts of the Spirit (I
Corinthians 14:1).
VI.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
1. The Gifts of Revelation, or the Mind Gifts
These gifts are referred to as mind gifts because they deal
with the mental capabilities of man.
(1) The Word of Wisdom. This is insight into the divine acts
as to how God would do things Himself. It is the divine revelation of how to
apply best God’s will in Governments and churches. The word of wisdom conveys
divine instructions to men, and it may be manifested by dreams, vision, audible
voices, angels, or by divine utterance in prophecy and tongues and
interpretation.
The word of wisdom concerns the revelation of things present
and future, whereas the word of knowledge concerns the revelation of things
past, present, and future.
Examples of use in the Bible: Matthew 2:20; Acts 26:16.
(2) The Word of Knowledge. This is supernatural revelation by
the Spirit of certain facts in the mind of God.
This is knowledge that comes supernatural and not by natural
ability, observation, study, education, or experience. It is a knowledge
revealed by God and not by any other means.
Examples of use in the Bible: I Samuel 3:7-15; II Kings
6:8-12; Daniel 2:1-19.
(3) Discerning of Spirits. The gift of discernment deals with
one thing in particular, spirits. It’s purpose is to give an insight into the
spirit realm and reveal the kind of spirit working in and through a person, and
to make known thoughts and motives.
This gift must not be confused with magic, occultism,
witchcraft, sorcery, fortune telling, hypnotism, etc. These are of the devil and
are demonic if operational at all in the supernatural realm.
The use of the gift of discerning of spirits is to help
deliver from demons (Mark 5:5; Luke 9:39; Acts 5:16; 8:1-8; Matthew 12:22), to
reveal the servants of Satan (Acts 13:9-10), to defeat the work of demons (Acts
16:16), to expose error (I Timothy 4; I John 4:1-6), and to unmask
demon-inspired miracle-workers (Acts 8:9-22; II Thessalonians 2:8-12; Revelation
16:13-16). This gift discerns and does not cast out, so the other gifts become
necessary.
2. The Gifts of Inspiration, or the Vocal Gifts
These are referred to as inspirational or vocal because they
are manifested by direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit through the vocal cords.
These gifts operate mainly in public worship to instruct, edify, correct,
direct, rebuke, exhort, and teach the direct will of God and make known His
direct will to His people.
(1) Prophecy. This is supernatural utterance in the known
tongue. The word prophecy means to flow forth or to forth-tell and foretell.
The Gift of prophecy is direct utterance of things that are
not premeditated and which are not the fruit of the intellect of the speaker.
Preaching is not the same as prophesying. Preaching is the result of study and
the anointing of God upon a man or woman to exhort the Word of God. Prophecy is
inspired words given by God to the speaker not previously revealed in any form
for the hearer.
It is clear that this gift can be exercised by men or women (I
Corinthians 11:5; 14:31; Acts 2:16-21), and should be used in turn (I
Corinthians 14:1-3, 24, 31). Prophecy is greater than tongues without
interpretation, but both are equal when tongues are interpreted (I Corinthians
14:5). It may accompany tongues (Acts 19:1-7). It is not equal to the written
Word of God for it will cease (I Corinthians 13:8), but the written Word will
abide forever (I Peter 1:25; Psalms 119:89). The responsibility of what is
uttered rests with the prophet (I Corinthians 14:32; Deuteronomy 18:20-22;
Ezekiel 13).
One should never misuse or suppress true utterances, and false
ones should never be tolerated. The spirits of the prophet are subject to the
prophets (I Corinthians 14:32).
(2) The Gift of Divers Kinds of Tongues. This is a
supernatural tongue that is unknown to the speaker. This is simply a miracle of
utterance in unknown languages , the fact of God directly speaking through man
spiritual mysteries unknown to the individual, the we cannot understand (Romans
8:26-27; I Corinthians 14:2-5). Tongues is the provision of God to communicate
and edify man’s spirit and strengthen the inner man (I Corinthians 14:2-4).
God desire’s for all to speak in tongues but many cannot
because of unbelief, lack of understanding, faith, consecration, and not
yielding to the Spirit (I Corinthians 14:5, 39; Mark 16:15-20; Isaiah 28:9-11;
John 15:26; 16:13-16). We must control this gift like all others (I Corinthians
14:32). We are not to forbid the use of it (I Corinthians 14:39). It should be
used for public edification in public meetings (I Corinthians 14:4-5, 12-40). It
is not for personal leading, but for edification (I Corinthians 14:2). If used
in private it is for speaking to God alone, but in public it is for public
edification (I Corinthians 14:2-5, 12, 26-28).
(3) The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues. This gift is the
only one that is dependant upon another. It is useless unless there are tongues
to interpret. It is the same principle and operation as the tongues, only it is
the interpretation of tongues that is spoken. The interpreter looks to God for
the interpretation. It is the Spirit supernaturally making known and clear what
was spoken in tongues. It’s purpose is to make tongues clear to the church (I
Corinthians 14:5, 27-28), or to make the speaker in tongues know what he said (I
Corinthians 14:13-16, 27-28). The length of the message and the interpretation
will not necessarily be equal, for it is not a translation it is the
interpretation. Only one interpretation per message is allowed (I Corinthians
14:27). No more than three messages are permitted per public meeting (I
Corinthians 14:26-30).
3. The Gifts of Power, or the Working Gifts
We will now conclude with the final three gifts. These are
referred to as power or working gifts because they are the ones that manifest
the omnipotence of God and deliver men from all the works of the devil and
intervene in nature when it is necessary to accomplish the will of God.
(1) Faith. The gift of faith is a supernatural endowment of
the Spirit whereby that which God has said is recognized as a settled fact to be
done regardless of what it is. It is the backbone of the spiritual gifts into
which everything is plugged in. It is the spinal-cord of the body of Christ and
the life of the church. Faith works in conjunction with the gifts of healing and
miracles. Without faith none of the gifts could operate.
(2) The Gifts of Healing. The gift is the imparting of power
to heal, cure, repair, and make whole the physical body and deliver it from
demons and diseases. It heals without aid from anything natural or medical. The
purpose of the gifts of healing is to completely get rid of all human ills. God
desires for us to trust in Him and not mankind or medicines for a cure. To say
that Jesus heals through medicines and doctors is simply not scriptural.
The purpose of the gifts of healing are to deliver the sick
and to destroy the very works of the devil in the body (Matthew 8:16-17; Acts
10:38; I Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:3-5; Psalms 103:1-3; James 5:14-16), to confirm
the Word of God (Mark 16:15-20; Hebrews 2:3-4), to establish the claims of Jesus
(Matthew 9:1-8; John 10:10, 36-38; 14:11), to establish and prove the doctrine
of resurrection (Acts 3:15-16; Romans 8:11), to attract people to the gospel
(Acts 4:4; 20:11-20), to turn people to God (Acts 4:4; 5:12-16; 9:35), and to
carry on the work that Jesus started (Acts 1:1-2; John 14:11-15).
(3) The Working of Miracles. This is the supernatural power to
intervene in the course of nature when the works of God can be furthered
thereby. It is worked by faith. When God sets aside His laws or suspends the
laws of nature, this is a miracle. Nothing can limit God! Nothing!
The purpose of miracles is to confirm the Word Of God (Hebrews
2:3-4) and display the power of God over all powers of the universe (Psalms 107;
Exodus 7:10-14:31; II Kings 4:1-44; 6:1-7).
A major thought to keep in mind is that Satan’s goal is to
destroy you, as is clearly noted in John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but
for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” Therefore we must realize that
Satan and his host of devils will try their best to discredit all the miracles
of the Bible. Satan will try to tell you that it’s no use in believing God for
a miracle because He doesn’t work the same way now as then. Remember Satan is
a liar and the father of it (John 8:44). Science will even try to discredit the
miracles of the Bible by trying to explain them away by some so called
phenomenon.
Peace to the mind is that Jesus came that we might have life
and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).
Every child of God is promised power to do miracles and get
what he or she wants (Matthew 21:21-22; Mark 9:23; 11:22-24; 16:15-20; John
14:12-15; 15:7, 16; I Corinthians 12:4-11, 27-31).
I personally believe that the true church is fixing to
experience a visitation from the Spirit of God that we cannot even comprehend! I
pray along with others that we see a full restoration of the church as spoken of
in Jude 3 “…and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for
the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” The time for the
glorious church without spot, wrinkle or blemish is on the horizon!
End of Lesson
2
