1
Corinthians 1:7
Therefore
you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus
Christ to be revealed.
This verse is mostly interpreted as pertaining to the
whole body of Christ, collectively. But what if Paul also had the individual
believer in mind?
We receive Holy Spirit when we first come to confess that
Jesus Christ is the Lord of our lives (Gal 3:2 …… Did you receive the
Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit
because you believed the message you heard about Christ.). The question
I would like to ask is, how much of the Spirit did you receive? Because He
comes to live inside your spirit in His completeness, bringing all His gifts.
The next step after receiving Him, is the empowering
event of the work of Holy Spirit in you, which is described as baptism of the
Holy Spirit. We see this happening all through Acts, and a beautiful picture of
this action is seen through the experience of the disciples of Jesus
themselves. They first received Holy Spirit when Jesus blew on them (John
20:22 When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy
Spirit.) They then had to wait 10 days in the Upper Room to be
empowered by the Spirit (Acts 2:3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of
fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.) This receiving
of supernatural power (for Jesus-centred ministry) normally, but not
exclusively, happens at the time of your water baptism, and is repeated
throughout your life as Holy Spirit sees fit.
Paul himself is a good example of one person displaying many
gifts of the Spirit. He operated in the gifts of prophecy, healing, miracles,
teaching/knowledge, wisdom, leadership, faith, discerning of spirits and
speaking in tongues.
Then what about 1 Cor 12-14 where Paul
speaks about the gifts of the Spirit being given to believers according to Holy
Spirit’s discretion? When I read 1 Cor 12 in its entirety, I count the word
“body” at least 16 times. Overwhelming proof that the context of this chapter,
is using the gifts for the edification of the whole body of Christ. Thus, even
as I have all the available gifts potentially inside my spirit, Holy Spirit
will bring specific gifts through me to the forefront to be of service in the
Body of Christ. As I “practise” these gifts, (by being available to Him and
having faith that He will do as He promised and then just acting on His
prompting), I will eventually be known as the one who, for example, speaks in
an unknown tongue in church – please note, not the one who can speak in
tongues, but who actually does; or the one who prophecies; or has great wisdom;
etc.
Another reason why I believe as I do, is that Paul writes
in 1 Cor 12:31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show
you the most excellent way. How can we “eagerly desire” a gift if we
are of the opinion that we might not have received it?
Paul also says in 1 Cor 14:13 So anyone who speaks
in tongues should pray also for the ability to interpret what has been said.
He is showing here that you can ask for a specific gift to work through you -
you are not limited by what you think your gift is.
Pearls to ponder:
Let’s say you are the only person standing beside the bed
of a very ill person, and Holy Spirit wants to heal that person at that moment.
If you are willing, He is going to use you for His healing to flow through you,
whether you think that you have the gift of healings or not!
The only important thing to remember, is that the total Holy
Spirit is your Gift. Be available to be used by Him, believing that He has equipped
you to do all things!
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