THE SPIRIT GIFT WITH HIS ABILITIES IN THE BELIEVER

THE SUPERNATUTAL AND THE BELEIVER.PART 3. THE SPIRIT GIFT WITH HIS ABILITIES IN THE BELEIVER

There is nothing ordinary about the new creation in Christ. When a man receives the life of Jesus, he becomes another man. So far in this supernatural  series, we have seen that the man in Christ is possessed with God. This makes him to be beyond the ordinary.

2 Corinthians 5

17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

When any man is in Christ , the man becomes a new creature. Notice, it is ANYONE no matter who the person  is. So, your identity in Christ is not a product of your age, race, social status or anything you can think of. It is a product of who you are IN. You take up the ability of the person that you are in. The best part is, that same person is in you. You are forever one with Him. We saw this in part one and part two. Please click part one and part two to read them.

THE SPIRIT GIFT

Galatians 4

6  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Romans 8

9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

When a man gets save, he receives the spirit of Christ as his gift. It is that spirit that makes us sons. It marks us out as belonging to God in that God lives in us. The spirit  of God in us is what makes us to be in the spirit. 

Before Jesus left, He told His disciples that He will come again. 

John 14

12  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.

13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.  

19  Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

Jesus said believing in Him will cause greater works. What should come to your mind is what  is meant by greater works ?  The question is, what work will you do that will be greater than Jesus’ works. John testifies of his works saying “ there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written” (John 21:24). 

Don’t forget the phrase that follows greater works in 14:12,  because I go to my father. So our doing greater works will be as a consequence of His physical absence.  Jesus was not necessarily speaking of the works in terms of quality but in terms of quantity. This is because His going to the father will make it possible to have many of His kind in different places. He will not be limited to only Jews. 

In the same context, Jesus told them of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Please read verse 16 to 18 without pause.  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.  Jesus refers  to the coming of the Spirit as His coming to them and living in them. Notice the Holy Spirit is called the spirit of truth because of what He does. He is called holy to be set apart from other spirits. That spirit is Christ in you.  When Jesus told them the father will give another comforter in verse 16,  He was talking of another of Himself. The word another (allos) as used there is another of the same kind.  He is the gift of the father to man. Remember the dream of the father has always been to live in man and to be seen in him.  This is what the presence of the Spirit  of Christ in us achieves . In Luke 11,  Jesus spoke of the father giving us the gift of the spirit. 

Luke 11

9  And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

10  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

11  If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or ifhe ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

12  Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 

13  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?

Acts 2

38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

39  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

We can see that the gift that  God gives is His spirit. It is actually a singular gift we receive at salvation. That gift is the Spirit of Christ in us. It is that spirit that was promised from the foundation of the earth. What is popularly taught as gifts of the spirit are abilities of the spirit in us. They are the benefits of salvation because  we have the spirit of Christ. What of Hebrews 2:1-4 that speaks of God confirming His words with divers miracles and gifts of the spirit?  The gift used there has to do with distributions (merismos). It speaks of how the apostles demonstrated the spirit in signs and wonders. So, we can say that the believer is blessed with the SPIRIT OF CHRIST AS HIS GIFT. He has the Holy Ghost as gift. This Holy Ghost who is Christ in us has certain supernatural abilities. Let’s look at these abilities.

THE ABILITIES OF THE SPIRIT IN THE BELEIVER

1 Corinthians 12

1  Now concerning spiritual [gifts], brethren, I would not have you ignorant.

2  Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.

3  Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 

4  Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5  And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.  

6  And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

7  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

8  For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

9  To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

10  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:

11  But all these worketh that one and the self same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

Please read the scripture above  without reading your meaning into it. Read it as though you  have never heard anyone explain it before. From verse one, Paul informs the church of the need not to be ignorant about spirituals. The word spirituals means things pertaining to the spirit.  Gifts after spirituals is in italics (added by translators). The gift we have is the spirit. Now, that spirit have certain things that pertains to it. These are the gifts of the spirit. Paul let them know how that he will not have them ignorant. The ignorance can not be because they are not manifesting the gifts. In 1 Corinthians 1:7, he already told us that these church lag behind in no gifts. So, the ignorance is in how they were manifesting the gifts. Paul called their  attention to the fact that they were carried away to dumb (voiceless and signification ) idols. So, the writing was to let them know that the things of the spirit are not manifested like idols. Corinth is in Greece where they believe they have different gods for different things . As a result, a single God can not carry out all the miraculous acts. This calls for the emphasis that these abilities are by the same spirit. It is not different spirits and dimensions and portals. It is one spirit that has all the abilities.  Verse 3 first noted that it takes the spirit of God to get saved. Now, it is the same spirit we received at New birth that has these abilities.  Verse 4 to 6 explains how that different gifts are operated in diverse ways in ministries. For example, word of knowledge can be through dreams, inward witness, angelic appearance or even loud voice.  In verse 7, we see that the manifestation of the spirit is given to everyman for common good. The question is everyman where ? Every man in Christ because the writer already Pointed out in verse 3 that it takes the spirit to be in Christ. Notice what he begins to mention from verse 8 are all called singular  manifestation of the Spirit. The whole manifestation has to do with unveiling. The spirit is invisible. That invisible spirit in us is given to us to make visible through the gifts. It is given to everyman not some men. Let’s quickly explain these supernatural abilities of the believer. Verse 11 tells us that these abilities works by the spirit.  So, it is purely supernatural . The will of the spirit is in salvation. These abilities have been given to every individual in Christ. Severally there has to do with individually. It doesn’t mean it is the spirit that will determine the manifestation. The will of the spirit is in the giving which is at salvation. 

1.Word of wisdom :  This is an importation of divine wisdom that is by the Spirit. It is beyond normal wisdom and it produces desired  supernatural results. Wisdom has to do with application of knowledge. Please read some examples of the manifestation of this gift, 2 Kings 6:1-7, Matthew 17:24-27,  Genesis 41:33-36. This gift of word of wisdom is particular to situations. It is not what can be researched in books. It is supernatural just like other gifts. So as a believer, when you are confused about what to do, you look within and pull out this ability in you by the spirit of God. If you look at Genesis 41, you see how Joseph by the spirit got wisdom that saved Egypt and the whole world from famine. Notice the result was supernatural. That is word of  Wisdom.  How to get word of wisdom is to simply ask the Lord and follow whatever he tells you. The wisdom may be against what is applicable physically it may not be. Another example is when Jesus  told Peter to launch out into the deep in an odd time. Notice the result was supernatural. Normally, it doesn’t make sense to launch out in the day when even during the night they had no catch. That is word of wisdom. You cannot afford to be stranded of options when you  have the spirit with this ability. 

2.Word of knowledge. This is a supernatural unveiling  of certain facts by the Holy Spirit. It is supernatural revelation of facts about a person, place or individual. Some examples of word of knowledge are 1 Samuel 9: 19-20, 2kings 5:21-26, John 4: 16-18. Jesus telling the woman that she has five husbands in John  4 is word of knowledge. Notice, it is not research of knowledge but word of knowledge. It is by the spirit. God in you is all knowing. So, you can partake of His nature by this ability in the spirit. The man in Christ is a knower . To operate in this gift, you simply be inquisitive while you search your spirit. JUST WANTING TO KNOW. You can ask the Lord. Simple ask and receive. Elijah was in his house but by the spirit knew when his servant went to meet Naaman in 2Kings 5:21-26. Let’s  see another example in 2 Kings 6.  11  Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? 12  And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.  Elisha by the spirit could tell what the king of Syria does even in his house. This is one ability. It is actually what you can do in Christ. Ask the Lord for details and secrets of people’s life. You can get it by the spirit. Word of knowledge should be followed by word of wisdom or other gifts to apply the knowledge. 

3.Discernment of the spirit. This is a supernatural ability  to distinguish spirits. We have visible Spirit being Man or invisible spirits, God and devils. Discernment of the spirit helps to ascertain the spirit at work. They are angelic, demonic or human spirit.  Discernment of the spirit is not suspicion. In fact, it is the ability used to destroy suspicion. It doesn't follow physical attributes, it is strictly by the spirit. Let’s look at one example from Acts 16.

Acts 16: 16  And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:  

17  The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

18  And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Notice what the possessed girl said was correct but Paul by the spirit was able to know the force behind those words. On many occasions, Jesus was able to discern people from their words. Jesus know Nathaniel in John 1 before seeing him. 

4.Gifts of healings. This is a supernatural ability to effect cures in bodies. It has to do with supernatural powers released for the purpose of healing. Notice, it is by the spirit. We cannot call any physical aid like medicine gifts of healings.  Jesus told us in Mark 16 to lay hands on the sick and they recover. Medical science is effective  in bringing healing to the body but the power of God is always exceedingly effective. This is because It is the same power that created the bodies. Some examples of healings are;  Healing of Peter's Mother-in-law Matthew 8:14-15  Mark     1:29-31 Luke 4:38-39, Healing of A Man with Dropsy  Luke 14:1-6 , and other examples. Please click here to read part one that contains the miracles of Jesus.  Healings can be through laying on of hands, speaking words or giving instructions. 

5. Working of Miracles;  a miracle is the application of God’s power over natural laws.  Miracles can be in form of interventions or events that are beyond natural happenings. We have different kinds of Miracles like miracle of supply, healing miracles, miracles of protection, and unusual miracles. Examples of Miracles are John 11 :30-45, 2 Kings 1:10-12, Luke 7:11-16. The man in Christ has  the ability to work miracles. Miracles are worked by speaking without doubt. You stay on God’s word until you can’t see the issue as nothing . You have been blessed with exceeding greatness of God’s power in Christ( Ephesians 1:17-19). You put anything on God’s power. The trust in working miracles is on the power of God not your ability. For example, if you need to work on water or stop rain you have to boldly speak trusting the power of God not your ability. 

6.Gift of Prophecy; Prophecy is speaking by the inspiration of God. Prophecy is unto edification,  exhortation and comfort. The act of prophecy is talking by the Spirit. It is simply spirit conversation according to Rev’d. Eghosa Alvin Osunde. By prophecy we can get revelation ,  knowledge/facts and even explanations (2corinthians 14:26). For more on prophecy and the office of a prophet please read part one, part two and part three. 

7.Gifts of special Faith. The gift of special Faith is the supernatural ability to believe what is not naturally possible. We established in the previous part that the believer is naturally weird.  It is never normal that you believed a virgin conceived and gave birth to God. It will take the faith of God to believe that. We know that man is a believing being. He naturally believes and speaks. But, the natural man can not believe what doesn’t make sense normally. It is this faith of God that we can put out anytime. Some examples of this gifts are Mark 6:45-52, Joshua 10: 12-13. To manifest  this gift, it is based on revelation. You must see or know something that could make you believe the impossible. When it dawns on you your reality in Christ,  you can dare to believe anything.

8.Divers kinds of tongues. This has to do with supernatural speaking of unknown tongues. The tongue is unknown to the mind but known by your spirit. It is purely supernatural. In Mark 16, Jesus said it is a sign that will follow those that believe in the gospel. Speaking in tongues. 1 Corinthians 14: 4  He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. Speaking in tongues helps to edify and build up oneself. Just like every other gift, every believer has the ability to speak in tongues. Tongues can come as a message to someone else or to people then it will need to be interpreted. 

9.Interpretation of Tongues: This is supernatural speaking of what is said in tongues. This ability allows the believer to say that which is said in tongues. When tongues is interpreted it comes as a message just like prophecy.

We have established that the believer  has the Spirit as His gift hence he has the abilities above. Note that the explanations above are concise. More will be written on them. The work of the believer is to desire to express these abilities in love. Covet these gifts. Notice, they are called gifts not wages. Holy living helps your consecration in manifesting this gifts but it is never  a condition for it. Peter in Acts 3 said he healed the cripple not by his holiness but by the name of Jesus. Acts 3:12.  Prayer helps in the gifts but not a condition. You have to first know you have these gifts. Prayer helps you to be more skilful in the things of the spirit. You don’t also say because of the false manifestations you won’t desire it. Falsehood is overcomed by the truth. Don’t be concerned with the false, yield yourself to the Lord and take out of the Spirit and be a blessing to others.

There is increase in the manifestation of things of the spirit. For even the “least” among us is being skilful in it. For street miracles and supernatural manifestations are becoming normal.

BY EMEKE MODESTY OBIAZIKWOR