THE GIFTS OF THE
WORD OF WISDOM, THE WORD OF KNOWLEDGE AND DISCERNING OF SPIRITS
Over and over in
these lessons it has been pointed out that the GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST ARE
SUPERNATURAL. None of them have to do with man’s wisdom, knowledge, or natural
talents. They are given to us for POWER to WITNESS FOR CHRIST, whether in the
pulpit, pew, or just in everyday life. THEY ARE FOR ALL. ALL THE GIFTS ARE FOR
ALL THE SAINTS. Just as the Holy Ghost himself is for all the saints:
“Then Peter said
unto them, Repent, and he 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. 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.” Acts 2:38, 39.
Furthermore, these are the days that God is restoring the baptism and the gifts of the Spirit to the Church, even the Episcopalians and Presbyterians are receiving Him by the hundreds. If you ever intend to do anything for God NOW IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. This is the last Revival -- RESTORATION REVIVAL WORLDWIDE. Because you are reading this lesson NOW, today, YOU are in on the ground floor of RESTORATION REVIVAL. Tell the Lord YOU WILL SERVE HIM! ASK HIM TO ENDUE YOU WITH POWER, NOW!
THE GIFTS OF THE
HOLY GHOST ARE NOT FOR THE PULPIT ONLY. THEY ARE FOR THE PEW AS WELL. THEY
SHOULD BE IN EVERY LOCAL CHURCH, IN EVERY KITCHEN AND ON EVERY STREET CORNER.
EVERY BELIEVER SHOULD BE GLORIFYING GOD BY USE OF THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST
ADMINISTERED IN LOVE. NIGHT IS FALLING, THE SAVIOUR S CALLING. ARISE AND AWAKE!
BESTIR YOURSELF AND STIR UP THE GIFT THAT IS IN YOU.
MY CO-WORKERS
AND I ARE DOING ALL THAT WE CAN AND ARE PUSHING TO WIDEN OUR HORIZONS ALL THE
TIME. BUT ALL THE OTHER EVANGELISTS AND I ON THE FIELD, ARE MAKING ONLY A VERY
SMALL DENT IN THE PROBLEM. WHOLE NATIONS DO NOT EVEN HAVE ONE COPY OF THE GOSPEL
OF JOHN.
What about you?
Don’t tell me, “Now Brother Allen, I am just an office worker, or a carpenter,
or a housewife, or a farmer.” No matter what you are or where you live, there
are people all around you who are starving for the Bread of Life. There are
lonely, misunderstood, weary, sick and dying persons in every hamlet and town in
this country today.
Don’t tell me,
“Well, Brother Allen you have a big tent and a fine car, and lots of money, and
many doors open where you can minister, hut nobody wants to hear me.” That
excuse will never stand in the judgment. Brother, Sister, there are people
everywhere who are desperate for God and they don’t care whether you are young
or old, black or white, ignorant or educated. Do you have God? That is the
burning question in their minds! Can you pray the prayer of FAITH? Can you cast
out the devil? Can you bring comfort, exhortation or even rebuke, through the
gifts of the Word of Knowledge or the Word of Wisdom or prophecy? These are the
burning questions. The desperate, hungry soul does not care who you are. Can you
minister the love of God to a lost and dying world?
Get prepared,
for without HIM you can do nothing, but through Him you can do all things for HE
WILL STRENGTHEN YOU FOR THE TASK. The grain is falling, the master’s calling!
WILL YOU ANSWER TODAY? The place to start is at Jerusalem! Jerusalem for this
purpose is wherever you are! First, pray and consecrate yourself, and if that
doesn’t bring the anointing you need, fast and pray and seek the face of the
Lord! YOU CALL! HE WILL ANSWER!
DISCERNING OF
SPIRITS
The gift of the discerning of spirits is to give supernatural understanding of the nature and activity of spirits. It is to enable us to know when God is working and when Satan is trying to deceive us, as he constantly tries to appear as an angel of light.
More
particularly, it is to reveal the nature of the spirits themselves.
In Mark 7:32-35
we read:
“And they bring
unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they
beseech him to put his hand upon him. And he took him aside from the multitude,
and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; and
looking up into heaven, he sighed, and saith . . . Be opened. And straightway
his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake
plain.”
Here was plainly
a case of healing. There is no mention that any “Spirit” was binding the deaf
man.
Yet in another
case, Mark 9:25, 26a, the Lord moved in a different manner.
“ . . . He
rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge
thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and
rent him sore, and came out of him.”
This illustrates
how the gift of discerning of spirits assists in delivering sick and suffering
people. It enables the person ministering to know how to deal with the sufferer,
and when to cast out a devil or when to pray for a healing.
“The gift of
discernment” is a common expression among Pentecostals. There is no such gift,
and the thing that they are talking about would come through the gift of the
word of wisdom or the gift of the word of knowledge. As in the spiritual realm,
so in the natural realm. Most middle-aged people have had experiences from which
they gained knowledge, and in some cases wisdom. If they trade on the stock
market and take money, can you watch them and tell where their knowledge leaves
off and their wisdom takes over? No, certainly not. So it is with the gifts of
the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge. It is difficult to tell where
God’s knowledge leaves off and His wisdom takes over, since He is both all --
knowing and all wise!
I saw a saint
praying with a little woman in the deep South. The seeker was praying in her
heart and seemed to be deeply repentant. Suddenly the Spirit moved on the saint,
who spoke forth what the Spirit said to her: “I fusses and I fights” said the
saint. Afterward, the seeker testified that this increased her faith in God. She
had just asked God to forgive her for her bad attitude toward her husband. Those
very words were what she had said in her heart to God. “I fusses and I fights.”
She knew that the saint didn’t hear her, but instantly God repeated through the
voice of the saint what she had just said to Him. Was this knowledge or wisdom?
Perhaps it was both as it enabled the seeker to have a burst of FAITH for her
salvation.
We are living in
the midst of a world of spirits. Perhaps the gift of discerning of spirits is as
important as anything else can be when it comes to serving God. For, how can we
deliver any person until we are sure of their condition? This comes through the
gift of discerning of spirits, plus the gift of the word of knowledge, plus the
gift of the word of wisdom, plus the POWER gifts of FAITH, MIRACLES and the
gifts of HEALING. Is it any wonder that Paul said, “I press toward the mark of
the HIGH CALLING” - there is no place to relax, much less to stop PRESSING.
THE GIFT OF THE
WORD OF KNOWLEDGE
God is
“all-knowing.” His knowledge is complete. The word of knowledge is the
revelation by the Spirit of God of a small portion of that knowledge. Perhaps
that is why Paul called it a ‘Word of Knowledge.” Had he called it a “Gift of
Knowledge” the assumption would have been that it was ALL knowledge, because God
knows all things, past, present and future. But the gift under consideration is
only a scrap of information from a vast storehouse of God’s knowledge.
Again, I stress
this gift, as we are all the balance SUPERNATURAL. It is not an increase of
carnal, human knowledge. But everything that comes through the Holy Ghost is
something that could not have been found out any other way. Everything that
comes through the Spirit is just as supernatural as speaking in tongues. And the
knowledge itself is a supernatural something, that could not have been known
through study or education, but is distinctly supernatural.
There are many
instances in the Bible where the word of knowledge came unto different people
(mostly through prophets), as in I Samuel 3:10-18 when Samuel received a Word of
Knowledge regarding Eli’s house. He did not speak it forth, but told it to Eli
sometime later.
Revelation 2 and
3 tell about John being on the Isle of Patmos and receiving a Word of Knowledge
regarding the seven churches of Asia at this time (the time of the end).
In 1 Kings
6:8-12 Elisha was told the location of the Syrian camp by the Word of Knowledge.
The King of Syria thought that he had a traitor in his staff and asked them
which one was for the King of Israel. Yet, another spoke up and said as recorded
in the 12th verse: “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.
Naaman, a
Captain in the Syrian Army had leprosy. A little servant girl had talked to
Naaman’s wife and convinced her that there was a prophet in Israel who could
pray the prayer of faith for her husband. When Naaman decided to come to Elisha
to seek his healing, he became angry because of Elisha’s method. Eventually,
however, Namaan obeyed Elisha, and he was cleansed of his leprosy. He returned
and
tried to give Elisha an offering, which Elisha refused.
However,
Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, decided he would accept the offering. God revealed his
conduct to Elisha. This story is told in II Kings 5:20-26.
In I Kings
19:14-18 you will find a very interesting story about Elijah, how he was
complaining to God that everybody had forsaken God but Elijah, and God told
Elijah through the Word of Knowledge that indeed he still had 7, 000 who had not
bowed unto Baal.
St. John 1:47-50
tells how Jesus received the revelation of Nathanael under the fig tree and the
condition of his heart.
Through the Word
of Knowledge God said to Ananias, “Arise, and go into the street which is called
Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for,
behold, he prayeth.” Acts 9:11.
You will recall
that Ananias offered his objections, as he did not wish to come into contact
with Saul. Yet, the Lord continued: “Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto
me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” Acts
9:15, 16.
In the first 11
verses of Acts 5 you will find the often told story of Ananias and his wife,
Sapphira, who sold a possession and kept back a part of the price. Through the
Word of Knowledge the entire transaction was revealed to Peter. May God keep our
hearts, souls and spirits spotless before Him in Love!
Through the
knowledge of God Cornelius was told: “Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for
a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose
surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the
seaside: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.” Acts 10:4b-6.
The next day
Peter had a vision and while he was pondering the meaning thereof, the men whom
Cornelius sent arrived at the same house. Peter was told by the Spirit: “Behold,
three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them,
doubting nothing: for I have sent them.” Acts 10:19b, 20.
You know the
balance of the story, how Peter went with the men and expounded the way of life
unto the house of Cornelius and how, as a result, the precious Holy Ghost fell
on all who heard him. These were the first Gentiles whom we have a record of
receiving the Spirit.
In Acts 23:11 we
are told “ . . . the Lord stood by him (Paul), and said, Be of good cheer, Paul:
for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at
Rome.”
As regards the same journey to Rome in Acts 27:24 Paul was told: “ . . . Paul thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all
Read I Samuel
9:15-17 for the story of how Samuel was enabled to find the man whom God wanted
to be King by the Word of Knowledge and it was done. God is all-knowing and all
wise.
The woman at the well, whose story is told in St. John 4:7-30, was convinced of her need of a Saviour when the Lord told her all things that ever she did. By her efforts many were brought to see Jesus as she went about saying to the town’s people
Nearly everyone
who attends the great healing campaigns of the past twenty years have heard any
number of such words spoken forth by the present day prophets of God. God is
just the same today. He is still revealing the secrets of men’s hearts for the
purpose of bringing them unto himself. Of course, this gift should not be used
unscripturally (for gossip) and bring reproach upon the person whose secrets
were revealed. However, no real true prophet would do such a thing.
The gift of the
word of knowledge will be much more in evidence when the sons of God come into
manifestation in greater numbers, as the prophecies say: “that which ye have
spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.” Luke
12:3b. Also, every secret thing shall come to light. “The thing that is hid
bringeth he forth to light.” Job 28:11b.
Like the other
gifts, this one operates in an atmosphere of worship, awe, respect and where
God’s word is obeyed. The gifts of the Holy Ghost are for the perfecting of the
saints and not to amuse or even inform lightly in a carnal atmosphere. When the
saints are perfected they naturally will glorify God.
THE GIFT OF THE
WORD OF WISDOM
We have
discussed the gift of the word of knowledge first because, usually, it precedes
the gift of the word of wisdom for the very simple reason that wisdom is the
correct application of knowledge. When God makes you to know that a certain
thing is true that is knowledge but when he tells you when and how to apply this
knowledge, that is wisdom.
This is the same
manner in which men use natural knowledge and wisdom. Bankers and other
businessmen often know that some firm has been awarded a big contract. They know
when corporations are formed and what the plans are for the future. Often, by
buying their stock, or real estate near their plant, or by opening a business
that can serve them, the person who knew about the new contract gets in on the
ground floor, so to speak and makes a fortune for himself. No doubt, many times
people have had such knowledge and did nothing. They were either slothful,
indifferent, or lacked the wisdom to see the significance of the knowledge they
had. Therefore, it did not benefit them financially. They did not make a
fortune.
As in the
natural, so in the spiritual. God often says in these last days: “I am coming
SOON.” “Flee the approaching STORM.” And many other such admonitions, but the
Church seemingly is asleep, tired, indifferent, and she is not applying herself
toward seeking the face of the Lord for the “word of wisdom.”
Let us not be in
that category, but let us ARISE, AWAKE and SEEK God! Let us also work while it
is yet DAY for the Night Cometh when no man can work.
FRUIT OF THE
SPIRIT -- LOVE -- I Corinthians 13:1-13
“Though I speak
with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as
sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. “And though I have the gift of prophecy,
and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so
that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
“And though I
bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,
and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. “Charity suffereth long, and is
kind: charity envieth not: charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.
“Doth not behave
itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
“Rejoiceth not in iniquity; but rejoiceth in the truth;
“Beareth all
things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. “Charity
never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail: whether there
be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
“For we know in
part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that
which is in part shall be done away. “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I
understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away
childish things.
“For now we see
through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then
shall I know even as also I am known. “And now abideth faith, hope, charity,
these three; but the greatest of these is
THE AMPLIFIED
NEW TESTAMENT -- I Corinthians 13:1-13
“If I (can)
speak in the tongues of men and (even) of angels, but have not love (that
reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God’s love for
and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
“And if I have
prophetic powers - that is, the gift of interpreting the divine will and
purpose; and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all
knowledge, and if I have (sufficient) faith so that I can remove mountains, but
have not love (God’s love in me) I am nothing - a useless nobody.
“Even if I dole
out all that I have (to the poor in providing) food, and if I surrender my body
to be burned (or in order that I may glory), but have not love (God’s love in
me), I gain nothing.
“Love endures
long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with
jealousy; is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
“It is not
conceited - arrogant and inflated with pride; it is not rude (unmannerly), and
does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own
rights or its own way, for it is not self—seeking; it is not touchy or fretful
or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it — pays no attention to
a suffered wrong.
“It does not
rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth
prevail.
“Love bears up
under anything and everything that comes, its ever ready to believe the best of
every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances and it endures
everything (without weakening).
“Love never
fails - never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end. As for prophecy,
(that is, the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be
fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as
for knowledge, it will pass away (that is, it will lose its value and be
superseded by the truth).
“For our knowledge is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect).
“But when the
complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish
away - become antiquated, void and superseded. “When I was a child, I talked
like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have
become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside.
“For now we are
looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection (of reality as in
a riddle or enigma), but then (when perfection comes) we shall see in reality
and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly); but then I shall know and
understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and
clearly known and understood (by God).
“And so faith,
hope, love abide; (faith, conviction and belief respecting man’s relation to God
and divine things; hope, joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation;
love, true affection for God and man, growing out of God’s love for and in us);
these three, but the greatest of these is love.”
“But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no LAW. ~‘ Gal. 5:22, 23.
Inasmuch as you
have seen what Paul said in I Cor. 12, about the proper operation of the gifts
of the Holy Ghost and their importance in the Church. Yet he ends that same
chapter with a flat statement which would seem to depreciate everything he has
said in the preceding chapter; “And yet shew I unto you a more Then he goes into
Chapter 13 which you have just read in two different translations. This is
Paul’s famous discourse on charity, DIVINE LOVE.
At this point, I
suggest that you read Galatians 5 - the entire chapter. Here Paul is contrasting
the bondage of living under the Law as opposed to the freedom of living under
Grace. In the 6th verse he says, “but faith which worketh by love.”
Next, follows
his admonition in verses 13 and 14; “but by love serve one another. For all the
law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself.” I am reminded once that someone asked Jesus which was the first and
great commandment and he replied: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, . . . And the second is
like,
. . . Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself,”. In these are briefly comprehended the LAW and
the PROPHETS.
In short, the
KEYNOTE OF THE ENTIRE BIBLE IS LOVE; “LOVE IS OUR BANNER,” as someone else has
said. Please understand that I am speaking of DIVINE LOVE - not human love. Not
the love a parent has for a child, or husbands and wives have for each other,
which is sweet and precious when it is sincere, pure and good as well as
selfless — but in no sense can compare with the great, great, incomprehensible
LOVE of GOD toward his creation.
Most Christians
can repeat John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, hut have
everlasting life.” Many feel that embodies what they should know about LOVE. Far
from it! Especially in view of the fact that we are living in the time described
by Matthew 24:11-13. “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive
many. And because INIQUITY SHALL ABOUND, THE LOVE OF MANY SHALL WAX COLD. But he
that shall endure unto the end, THE SAME SHALL BE SAVED.
It is easy to
see that John 3:16 is only the beginning of what the Bible has to say about
love. I do not believe that Paul was offering Love as a substitute for the gifts
of the Spirit which we are told in another place are for the perfecting of the
Saints; but, I believe he is stressing that the gifts must he operated through
“faith that worketh by Love is so all-sufficient in regulating our actions that
if we are filled with it, we do not particularly need “rules and regulations.”
No one, whose life is continually governed by divine love, would ever need to be
“set down” for incorrect conduct in church.
Love is the
first and most important of the “fruit of the Spirit.” It actually embodies them
all. Therefore, we find that the fruit of the Spirit is very important in the
operation of the gifts.
Following are
some verses containing references to LOVE as it is mentioned over and over again
in the pages of the New Testament.
“In this the
children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not
righteousness, is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” I John
3:10.
“For this is the
message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” I
John 3:11.
“We know that we
have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth
not his brother abideth in death.” I John 3:14.
“Hereby perceive
we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay
down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his
brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how
dwelleth the love of God in him?” I John 3:16, 17.
“Beloved, let us
love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God,
and knoweth God.
“He that loveth
not knoweth not God; for God is love.
“In this was
manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten
Son into the world, that we might live through him.
“Herein is love,
not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins.
“Beloved, if God
so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
“ . . . If we
love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in
“And we have
known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that
dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
“Herein is our
love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as
he is, so are we in this world.
“There is no
fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He
that feareth is not made perfect in love.
“We love him,
because he first loved us.
“If a man say, I
love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his
brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
“And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his
“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
“By this we know
that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
“For this is the
love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not
grievous.
“For whatsoever
is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the
world, even our faith.” I John 5:1-4.
The fruit of the
Spirit is listed in Galatians 5:22, 23. It is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
The fruit of the
Spirit, like natural fruit, is grown, cultivated, and developed in our lives.
It is a natural
development by the process of steady growth of the life of Christ within us.
“That they might
he called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might he
glorified.” Isa. 61:3b.
Hence, the Bible
teaches that we are trees of the Lord’s planting. Like any tree, we take time to
produce fruit. It does not develop without a great deal of assistance. It takes
sunshine, rain, good soil, pruning, etc., to raise good fruit.
This is equally
true of spiritual fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is not bestowed upon the
Christian. It does not automatically appear in his life at conversion.
It is
painstakingly developed and grown in his life as he submits to the leading of
the Spirit, and the will of God for his life.
The growth and
development of this fruit of the Spirit form his Christian character.
The “fruit”
therefore, comes gradually from within, while the “gifts” come immediately from
without.
Sometimes gifts
are received at conversion. For instance, the household of Cornelius, as soon as
they accepted Peter’s teaching about Jesus, was saved AND filled with the
Spirit.
“While Peter yet
spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on them which heard the word.
“And they of the
circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because
that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
“For they heard
them speak with tongues, and magnify God.” Acts 10:44-46a.
(Of course,
tongues is an evidence, and not necessarily a gift, but the gift of tongues is
so general among Spirit-filled people that there is some display of it wherever
tongues are in evidence to any extent.)
If you are a
Spirit - baptized person you know that the first time the Holy Spirit operated
through you for a gift, it was sudden and unexpected by you. It was given to
you. It was not a result of a particular effort on your part.
That is the
reason they are called “gifts.” They are bestowed by the Spirit upon
individuals. Timothy apparently received a “gift” of the Spirit at some
particular time, probably when he was set apart for the ministry.
“Neglect not the
gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of
hands of the presbytery.” I Timothy 4:14.
Contrast this
with the manner in which the fruit of the Spirit grows and develops in a
person’s life.
Sometimes,
unfortunately, the fruit is little in evidence. Longsuffering is hidden by
impatience. A critical spirit displaces love. Disobedience is the opposite of
meekness; hatred and malice choke out goodness. Fear robs you of peace, and
unbelief destroys faith and joy. Over-indulging self, either physically or
spiritually, is intemperate.
All these
faults, and many more, hinder the growth of the fruit of the Spirit in our
lives. They destroy the fruit just as surely as worms, blight, and drought will
destroy a crop of natural fruit!
To grow
spiritual fruit we must learn to overcome. This is usually a gradual process,
and it may take many lessons from our loving and patient Father. Only by
yielding to His teaching and obeying His Word can we ever grow much of this
precious fruit in our lives.
The fruit of the
Spirit is necessary for our own spiritual welfare. It is evidence that we are
going on with God. If we have been saved for any length of time and have not at
least started to grow some of these fruits, we may be backsliding!
The fruit of the
Spirit is necessary in order that we may attract others to the One who helps us
to develop this beautiful Christian character.
THE HOLY GHOST
BAPTISM AND THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT
THE FRUIT OF THE
SPIRIT - joy, peace, patience, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance.
We felt that the
lesson on LOVE would send any sincere student to their knees in fasting and
prayer, begging God to pour out His wonderful LOVE through them. I want you to
consider with me a scripture.
“But the fruit
of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance:’ Galatians 5:22, 23a.
Webster’s
Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary says that “joy” is the emotion of love, evoked
by well-being, success, or good fortune of success, or good fortune of
possessing what one desires, delight or bliss.
In the spiritual
realm, joy could be said to be the delight, or gladness over blessings received
or expected. There are many examples in the Bible where joy is shown to be
abounding. Both Mary and Elizabeth exhibited great joy when they were found to
be with child, which is understandable when it is understood that the sons they
bore were Jesus and John the Baptist - great benefactors of mankind. Read St.
Luke 1:39-56 covering the events that transpired when Mary visited her cousin
Elizabeth.
One of the best
loved verses about joy is found in Nehemiah 8:10: “For the joy Another beautiful
verse is Psalms 16:11: “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is
fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.”
And in
connection with the second coming of the Lord there is one very lovely
description found in Isaiah 61:3. “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to
give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of
praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of
righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”
Because the word
for fruit in Galatians 5:22,23 is singular, “fruit” and not “fruits”, we can
only assume that these attributes are each a facet of the total one “fruit”,
LOVE, rather than a dish of “fruits”, that is, several species such as lemons,
apples, grapes and bananas would describe. This view is corroborated by the
description in Psalms 1:3 of a godly man: “And he shall be like a tree planted
by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf
also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
Since Jesus said
that “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: . . ..” Mark 12:30, is
the first and greatest, commandment, it is certain that every true Christian
desires to please God in this matter. One would think that since He is the
“altogether lovely ONE” it would be easy to measure up to this commandment.
However, it is very difficult to love anyone until we KNOW that person well and
intimately.
Be diligent to
seek his face in prayer, praise and meditation, and be faithful to pray much
everyday. Spend wonderful hours at His feet, searching the Scriptures
prayerfully for the descriptions of Himself that He has planted there to
encourage us to want to KNOW HIM!
Peace, according
to Webster, is a state of tranquility or quiet, freedom from civil disturbances,
and harmony in personal relations. According to the Dake notes, Peace, in the
Bible means: the state of quietness, rest, repose, harmony, order, and security
in the midst of turmoil, strife, and temptations.
The Bible is
full of scripture substantiating this. Not the least of these is “Peace I leave
with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” St. John 14:27.
More than half a
century ago the doctors said that the average American woman had 117 fears that
could be carefully catalogued. Babies are born with two fears - the fear of a
loud noise and the fear of falling. A baby feels insecure and afraid if it
cannot see that it is fenced in. Placed on an ironing board facing the wall a
baby will sleep for hours in perfect peace and a sense of security. However when
the baby is turned over and faces out into the room, it loses all sense of
security and is afraid because it is looking out into an open space. In spite of
this beginning, by the time the female baby is grown she has developed 117 fears
that can be identified and catalogued by the psychiatrist. Among these is the
fear of losing her husband, the fear that she won’t be able to send her children
to college, even though they are not yet born. Other fears include the fear of
being an inadequate wife and mother, the fear of - you name it, and the American
women have it. How precious is the peace of God which passeth all understanding
to a converted young woman who has long suffered from such a spirit of fear.
(Phil. 4:7).
“Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” Psalms 122:6.
Longsuffering: patient endurance, to bear long with the frailties, offences, injuries, and provocations of others, without murmuring, repining, or resentment.
Always the flesh
recoils from any unpleasantness, especially suffering in the body and mental
anguish. We should immediately look behind the scenes when we begin to suffer to
see that lesson or virtue the Lord is working out in our life. For He surely
intends us “to be conformed to the image of his dear Son, that He might be the
first born among many brethren.” Romans 8:29.
One very precious verse says, “Tribulation worketh patience;” Romans 5:3.
Another says,
“let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing.” James 1:4.
Perhaps one of
the best passages on maturing sufficiently for the fruit of the Spirit to be
born in abundance is found in II Peter 1:3-8.
“According as
his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and
godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
“Whereby are
given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be
partakers of the divine nature., having escaped the corruption that is in the
world through lust.
“And beside
this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
“And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience
godliness; “And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness
charity.
“For if these
things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Gentleness:
(rendered KINDNESS in some versions) Webster defines as mildness of manners or
disposition. The Dake notes say it is a disposition to be gentle, soft-spoken,
kind, even-tempered, cultured, and refined in character and conduct.
The following
well-known scripture verses will help you to see how the quality of gentleness
fit Into the Christian concept:
“The servant of
the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all, apt to teach,
“To speak evil
of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness
“But the wisdom
which is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be
entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without
hypocrisy.” James 3:17
“Be ye kind, one
to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake
hath forgiven you.” Eph. 4:32.
There are many
verses in the Bible, which teach us that God expects this of us. We also all
know that the world is looking for this fruit in us, and must see it if they are
ever to be made hungry for Him, and for the life which is His will for
Christians.
We are trying to
convey the idea that what God demands of us, He stands ready to supply. Our
self-efforts will surety breakdown somewhere along the line and fail, but “JESUS
NEVER FAILS.” Again we must treat every failure to do the known will of God as
SIN, and ask His forgiveness for it, just as we would for any other sin. When we
do we have his promise that, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.” I John 1:9.
We must humbly
surrender to Him that area of our lives wherein we have failed. In the process
of doing that, we turn the humanly hopeless job over to Him of helping us to
LIVE His wonderful, loving, patient, gentleness and kindness through us. He is
eager to take on this task, and you can count on His faithfulness.
Goodness: the
state of being good, kind, virtuous, benevolent, generous and God - like in life
and conduct. It is a collective term that embraces all the other attributes in
the “fruit of the Spirit.” It is the summing up of all the godly traits of
character our Lord is patiently working out in us. How could there be true
“goodness” without love? Or how could there be the joy of the Lord, or the peace
that passeth all understanding? Goodness being the sum total of them all, how
could we expect to have it, except it be divinely imparted?
Faith: the
living, divinely implanted, acquired, and created principle of inward and
wholehearted confidence, assurance, trust, and reliance in God and all that He
says.
Faith has many
facets. It means to be persuaded of or to place confidence in. It is the
substance or conviction of things hoped for and the assurance of things not
seen. It also means absolute dependence upon and reliance in the Word of God and
obedience to all known truth. Faith in Christ means full surrender, the total
yielding of yourself to Him.
It also means to
trust wholly and unreservedly in the faithfulness of God and to give one’s self
over to a new way of life. It is the attribute of God and restored faculty of
man whereby both can bring into evidence things that are unseen. It is the whole
body of revealed truth.
God is operative
by FAITH and without it is impossible to obtain anything from Him or to please
Him in anyway. As you learned in the study of FAITH, faith is both a gift and a
fruit of the Spirit. It is the only attribute that is on both lists.
Meekness: This
attribute is the quality of or the disposition to be gentle, kind, indulgent,
even balanced in tempers and passions, and patient in suffering injuries without
feeling a spirit of revenge.
“The meek will
he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.” Psa. 25:9.
Temperance:
self-control, moderation in the indulgence of the appetites and passions.
“Let us walk
honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and
wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” Romans 13:13, 14.
“Let your
moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing;
but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Phil.
4:5-7.
“That the aged
men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The
aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false
accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things.” Titus 2:2, 3.
The gifts of the
Spirit cannot do this. They are an attraction and they have their place. But
only the fruit of the Spirit can make an unbeliever wish to have what the
fruit-bearing Christian has.
The Baptism of
the Holy Spirit is very helpful in the development of a Christian character. But
no “experience” or “blessing” can take the place of a continual walking day by
day in the Spirit.
Holiness is
developed in our lives by three means:
1. The Blood
(Heb. 13:12)
2. The Word
(John 17:17)
3. The Spirit (I
Peter 1:2)
The Baptism of the Spirit does not in itself make a believer holy, and the Bible does not teach that the gifts of the Spirit are a sign of holiness. They can be a sign that the One who sanctifies has come into your life; but the sanctifying process may be proceeding very slowly, especially if the Word is not being obeyed.
Another mistaken
idea that some have is that the Holy Spirit will not operate except through a
perfect channel.
In the
Corinthian church there were divisions, disorders, selfishness, even immorality
and heresies, yet all the gifts were present in the church. (I Cor. 1:7) And
some of these imperfect believers were manifesting them. If they had been
perfect, Paul would not have found it necessary to write chapters 12-14 of I
Corinthians to straighten them out!
The plain fact
is that the gifts are supernaturally inspired, but inspiration does not
sanctify. That does not make it any less precious and real, however.
One thing the
scriptures make very plain — the Christian who has most of the fruits of the
Spirit will be the Christian who will most profitably exercise the gifts of the
Spirit.
Your Christian character may be complete with only one gift, but it cannot be
complete with only one fruit. It cannot be complete without all the fruit.