Five Operations of the Holy Spirit Part 2
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. (I Corinthians 12:4- 6)
It is the will of the Holy Spirit that there be variety in the Divine revelation that proceeds through the members of the Body of Christ. However, we always must keep in mind that although there is diversity in the gifts, in the services, and in the workings, these all come from the same Lord and it is the same Lord Jesus who is served by them. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. (I Corinthians 12:7)
Every believer, upon being baptized into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit, is given a gift, a service, a working of God, a ministry. There is no member of the Body of Christ who has not been assigned a ministry, a talent. If he or she were given no impartation of the Spirit's abilities, that person would be useless in the Body of Christ. The gifts are the "talents" of which Jesus spoke (Matthew, Chapter 25).
The word talent, as used in the English language, has come to mean an endowment in music, art or some other line of creativity. These are of the body and soul and cannot build up the Body of Christ. Music and art are not given at the time of baptism into the Body of Christ but at physical birth. The talents that build up the Body of Christ are the varied impartations of the Holy Spirit that the members of the Body of Christ receive at the time of their baptism with the Holy Spirit.
We would not be too strict with our definition of "talent," however. Any type of ability God has given us, whether natural or spiritual, is to be used in the Lord’s service as God directs. It is not the Lord’s way to waste anything. To each of us is given one or more of the "talents" of the Holy Spirit. They are given us for "profit."
Do you remember the story of the master of the household who, upon his return from a journey, required an accounting of the success with which his servants had invested the money he had entrusted to them? It is expected of us that we be diligent in the application of the gifts and ministries the Holy Spirit has assigned to us.
There are severe penalties for being lazy and careless with the talents of the Kingdom of God.
One of the greatest needs of the Body of Christ is for the members to be guided and helped in their personal ministries. The day is quickly passing when a Christian is to do nothing but sit in a pew and receive teaching. It is time now for the Body of Christ to be mobilized into a state of activity such that each Christian is using the spiritual endowments he received when he was baptized into the Body of Christ.
For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; . . . . (I Corinthians 12:8)
The Holy Spirit possesses the wisdom of God that resolves all problems and dilemmas. Often we Christians are hindered because we cannot figure out the best thing to do, the wisest course to take. The Holy Spirit has opened a channel in many believers through which the Divine wisdom can flow. The Christian gifted in wisdom is supposed to keep himself ready and available so that when the need arises the Holy Spirit can provide solutions through him. His fellow members of the Body will need his gift from time to time.
. . . to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; (I Corinthians 12:8)
The Body of Christ is not to be limited to the ordinary means of transmitting knowledge such as by the newspaper and television. Each local assembly has members whom the Holy Spirit will use to inform us of events that have taken place, are taking place, or will take place at some point in the future. There are examples in the Scripture of instances in which God's servants were informed of some fact by the Spirit of God (II Kings 2:3; Acts 27:34; etc.).
The Body of Christ is given supernaturally-derived knowledge by the Holy Spirit. It is time now for the gifted disciples to begin to wait on their ministries.
To another faith by the same Spirit; . . . . (I Corinthians 12:9)
This is not referring to the saving faith that is given to each Christian at the time of receiving Christ (Ephesians 2:8,9). Neither is it indicating the fruit of faithfulness that is the creation in us of rock-like confidence and trust in the Person of God and in His Word. Rather, the gift of faith is an extraordinary impartation of Divine Nature and virtue that comes to gifted Christians when an unusual need arises.
We find that special faith was given to Paul when a storm arose: "Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it will be even as it was told me" (Acts 27:25). The gift of faith brings "good cheer" and may be based, as in this case, on a special revelation of the will of God.
Perhaps the reader may recall an instance in his own life in which God imparted unusual faith in order to help him through some particular difficulty or to give assurance that his prayer had been answered, even though he had not as yet seen the answer materialize.
We do not mean to give the impression here that the disciple can exercise only one or two gifts or that the Holy Spirit assigns these without regard to the prayers and desires of the individual or that this is some kind of rigid design that we must discover and then act out inflexibly. Rather Paul instructs us to desire fervently the endowments of the Spirit.