Sunday, April 17, 2016

Weapons for the Christian: 5 – The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Weapons for the Christian: 5 – The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

According to Paul, there are weapons of warfare.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (ESV)
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

We are considering ten weapons that the Believer has at their disposal. We looked at the first four in previous posts. If you haven’t read them I encourage you to do so.

The next weapon on the list is another list. These are referred to as The Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (ESV)
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

5. Be a conduit for the gifts of the Spirit: Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Gifts of Healing, Working of Miracles, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits,
Different Kinds of Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues. Nine gifts. All are given by the Spirit. This is part of what Jesus promised before ascending to heaven. He said He would send another comforter; One that would remain with us forever.

The Holy Spirit works these gifts in the life of the Believer as He wills. Their purpose is to empower the Believer to be a witness to his world. Not to trivialize them in any fashion, they resemble the “tools” on Batman’s belt. It seems that regardless of how bizarre the situation, of how highly improbable the situation, Batman always had the exact tool needed for the moment.

This is exactly the way the Gifts of the Spirit operate. It makes sense, because the name God chose for Himself is “I AM,” which is interpreted, “I will be what I will be.” God is always what is needed in the moment. His gifts given through the Holy Spirit operate the same way. You can readily see how these make amazing weapons of warfare for the Believer. Because we wage war in the spirit, spiritual gifts are the most appropriate way in which to fight.

When our faith intersects with the Spirit’s power, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished in those moments.

There is not time in this forum to look into each gift in detail. Perhaps later. But, here is a brief look at the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in case you have never seen them. There are nine gifts list by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12. Traditionally these have been divided into three groups: The Power Gifts, The Revelation Gifts, and The Speaking Gifts.

            The Power Gifts:                  Faith (or special faith, as some have described it)
                                                            Gifts of Healing (the only plural gift)
                                                            Working of Miracles

            The Revelation Gifts:          Word of Wisdom
                                                            Word of Knowledge
                                                            Discerning of Spirits

            The Speaking Gifts:                        Prophecy
                                                            Tongues
                                                            Interpretation of Tongues

The Power Gifts do something, The Revelation Gifts reveal something, and the Speaking Gifts say something.

Faith – every Believer has faith. This is faith given by the Holy Spirit to believe for things beyond normal Christian life.
Romans 12:3 (ESV)
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Gifts of Healing – it is plural, implying that different gifts manifest different healings, perhaps for a specific ailment or disease.

Working of Miracles – a miracle is anything that happens contrary to the natural laws given by God at creation.

Word of Wisdom – a direct word from the Holy Spirit with information that is not naturally obtainable. Jesus told Peter to go catch a fish that would have a silver coin in its mouth to pay their taxes. That was a Word of Wisdom.

Word of Knowledge – a direct word from the Holy Spirit with information that is naturally obtainable, but unknown to the speaker. Jesus told the woman at the well all of her past. This was natural information supernaturally revealed to Him.

Discerning of Spirits – a direct word from the Holy Spirit revealing the spirit behind a person’s behavior. Jesus knew which spirit was motivating men: God or the devil.

Prophecy – a direct word from the Holy Spirit that brings edification, exhortation, or comfort to one(s) being addressed.

Tongues – a direct word from the Holy Spirit delivered by the speaker in a language other than their own, or one previously learned.

Interpretation of Tongues – a direct word from the Holy Spirit of the meaning of the tongues spoken, delivered by someone that did not know the language spoken. The message given by the interpretation brings edification, exhortation, or comfort to the one(s) being addressed.


You can see that having these “tools” available during day-to-day life, the Believer would be well-equipped to handle any situation that might arise. This is not “Fantasy Island” stuff. This is the real work of the Holy Spirit. Read the text again. Allow the Jesus to show you what He has provided when He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell you. It will greatly assist any spiritual battle you encounter.

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