The Holy Spirit and the Spiritual Gifts

1. The Holy Spirit and the Spiritual Gifts São Paulo P. Richard Choi

2. Two Aspects of the Spiritual Gifts • Knowledge • Sanctification

3. Knowledge: the Basis of the Priorities • Each gift represents a knowledge of Christ. • “28And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?” (1 Cor. 12:28-29)

4. Paul’s Apostolic Gift: Apostolic Knowledge of Christ • “10According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 3:10-11)

5. Sanctification • The spiritual gifts are individualized particularizations of the Sanctification process. • “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-- what is good and acceptable and perfect.3For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”

6. Sanctification Cont’d • The spiritual gifts are individualized particularizations of the Sanctification process. • “4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.” (Rom. 12:1-8)

7. Seamless Progression • From Sanctification to the development of the spiritual gifts • “7To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.” (1 Cor. 12:7-11)

8. The Work of the Holy Spirit • Impartation and networking of the knowledge of Christ • The enabling of sanctification and networking of the spiritual gifts

9. Impartation of Knowledge • “13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (Jn. 16:13-14)

10. Enabling of the Sanctification Process • “16Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.” (Gal 5:16-18)

11. Networking of the Different Types of Sanctification and Gifts = The Work of the Spirit • “15But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is [net]working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.” (Eph. 4:15-16)

12. Takeaways • Sanctification is a highly individualized process. • The spiritual gifts represent the unique contexts in which we gain the knowledge of Christ. • We learn about Christ by through our unique gifts. • This kind of personal and experiential knowledge fuels our sanctification.

13. The Role of a Pastor • Recognize the individual members’ gifts • Assign them to the appropriate work contexts

14. The Example of the Apostles • “7On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised8 (for he who worked through Peter making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me in sending me to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.” (Gal. 2:7-9 NRS)

15. The Pastor’s Qualifications • Must receive the Spirit • Must have a genuine first-hand knowledge of Christ • Must experience sanctification • Must develop their own gifts dilegently

16. The Spirit Makes the “Two Ways” Possible. • Flesh • Spirit

17. The Two Ways Within Oneself • “19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness” (Gal. 5:16-22)

18. The Two Ways in Galatians • “28Now you, my friends, are children of the promise, like Isaac.29But just as at that time the child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the child who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.” (Gal. 4:28-29)

19. The Two Ways in Corinth • “And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? 4 For when one says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," are you not merely human?” (1 Cor. 3:1-4 NRS)

20. The flesh is the default if you don’t have the Holy Spirit.

21. Everything Boils Down to Conduct • Sanctification is holy conduct. • The spiritual gifts are a type of holy conduct

22. Paul’s Criteria for Leadership = It’s All About Conduct • 2 Now a bishop must be above reproach, married only once, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way-- 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil.” (1 Tim. 3:2-7)

23. The Holy Spirit Produces Holy Conduct • “ 5 because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 1:5-6)