Many Manifestations, But Only One And The Same Spirit

[Mr. M]

Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

I find many strange doctrines originate by trying to manipulate Christ via Old and New Testament/Covenant, artificial sectioning of the scriptures into dispensations, and "before Christ", and "after Christ". This is the Word of Truth...

Malachi 3:6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Throughout the scriptures, regardless of changes and refinements resulting from the faithless acts of man, there is One Voice, One Lord, One Spirit of Christ speaking Truth to mankind.

1 Peter 1:

10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 

11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

Revelation 19:

9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” 

10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life;

and these are they which testify of Me.

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Mr. M

[Mr. M]

1 minute ago, Mr. M said:

Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 

8 Therefore He says:

“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”

9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 

10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 

13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:

4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 

5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 

6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 

8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another 

the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 

10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits,

to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 

11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, 

distributing to each one individually as He wills.

[Starise]

What do you feel your gifts are Mr M?

[Mr. M]

22 minutes ago, Starise said:

What do you feel your gifts are Mr M?

Unlike many, I do not believe that gifts are personal possessions. They are manifestations of the Anointing when brethren gather in true fellowship. The Spirit manifests gifts as He Wills for the present need or circumstances. For example, if you and three other close brothers are ministering to one another in the word and prayer, and one of you needs a word of knowledge, you don't have to go looking for someone with that gift. The gift will manifest, often from whom you would least expect, lest we become vain in our own conceits. This is how I read 1 Co 12.

That being said, to answer your question, most of the gifts have manifested through me on one occasion or another, including the gift of giving. One time a brother shared that he had just found out that he was going to need $800.00 for a repair on his truck. His livelihood depended on it. We had just gotten an unexpected windfall, so I without thinking told him I had it covered. I knew I had acted in obedience, especially when that voice popped into my head saying, "what were you thinking, your wife is going to freak out!" So I prayed on the way home, and immediately let her know what I had done. She said, "okay". I replied, "really?" ha ha. God is g00d.

[Starise]

20 minutes ago, Mr. M said:

Unlike many, I do not believe that gifts are personal possessions. They are manifestations of the Anointing when brethren gather in true fellowship. The Spirit manifests gifts as He Wills for the present need or circumstances. For example, if you and three other close brothers are ministering to one another in the word and prayer, and one of you needs a word of knowledge, you don't have to go looking for someone with that gift. The gift will manifest, often from whom you would least expect, lest we become vain in our own conceits. This is how I read 1 Co 12.

That being said, to answer your question, most of the gifts have manifested through me on one occasion or another, including the gift of giving. One time a brother shared that he had just found out that he was going to need $800.00 for a repair on his truck. His livelihood depended on it. We had just gotten an unexpected windfall, so I without thinking told him I had it covered. I knew I had acted in obedience, especially when that voice popped into my head saying, "what were you thinking, your wife is going to freak out!" So I prayed on the way home, and immediately let her know what I had done. She said, "okay". I replied, "really?" ha ha. God is g00d.

I would tend to agree that the "gifts" are not necessarily the things we are good at or maybe stronger at than other lesser things. Since we can possess those before we were saved and plenty of unbelievers have the same sorts of strengths.

I believe these strengths can be directed to the Lord's purposes. If we belong to Him, then whatever we have is His, and by extension that means whatever we do well of like to do is a thing we must have some inclination toward.

The Spiritual gifts as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 are given for the body primarily as I see it, yet wouldn't they also at times be extended? There is biblical support for the Spirit coming on someone to do a thing they themselves are incapable of doing. Samson comes to mind. The Spirit of the Lord came on him to do what he did. This is specifically mentioned. How did David, a man of average stature and a sheep herder manage to kill thousands of Philistines? Who directed the rock he slung?

David was seen as a warrior having won many battles and he gave all the credit to the Lord.Rahab, though in an evil profession, shared her house and hid God's men. The gift of hospitaility may have been one of her gifts, although she took that a little bit too far.

We are to go out to the world and minister in our various capacities. We are each equipped for those callings and since God gives us all things, whatever we have to use was given to us to advance love towards others and the kingdom here on earth. Equipped in the church to do our callings for Him. 

Like Samson's strength, I think we can be known for a thing such as giving, and I think that's a great heart to have. My wife and I go back and forth on some of that and she is generally the most conservative, most hesitant to help. I don't think she trusted the guy with the bell taking money for the Salvation Army. She didn't say that, but her actions in not wanting to give tell me that, yet there are things she does for others that show a warm heart to those she knows. I wish I had more money to give sometimes. Maybe this is where the gift of wisdom comes into play, in knowing who or where to give and when.

On 12/3/2023 at 10:14 AM, Mr. M said:

2 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 

For the work of the "ministry". What is the ministry? Equipped to minister in various ways. I think that could go outside the church.

[Michael37]

On 12/4/2023 at 4:08 AM, Mr. M said:

Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

I find many strange doctrines originate by trying to manipulate Christ via Old and New Testament/Covenant, artificial sectioning of the scriptures into dispensations, and "before Christ", and "after Christ". This is the Word of Truth...

Malachi 3:6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Throughout the scriptures, regardless of changes and refinements resulting from the faithless acts of man, there is One Voice, One Lord, One Spirit of Christ speaking Truth to mankind.

1 Peter 1:

10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 

11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

Revelation 19:

9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” 

10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life;

and these are they which testify of Me.

 

Many Manifestations, But Only One And The Same Spirit

I'm holding that thought, and refreshing the topic which was a hot one during the so-called Charismatic Revival of the '70s and '80s.

Quote from BingChat Search:

The Old and New Testaments of the Bible both mention spiritual gifts. The Old Testament has many things to say about the work of the Holy Spirit on the cosmos, the individual, and the theocratic level ¹. The New Testament also describes spiritual gifts, which are given to believers by the Holy Spirit to serve others and glorify God ².

If you are interested in learning more about spiritual gifts in the Old and New Testaments, you may find the following resources helpful:

• Gifts of the Spirit in the Old Testament: This article by Dr. Art Lindsley provides an overview of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and how it relates to spiritual gifts.
• Is there a biblical spiritual gifts list?: This article by GotQuestions.org provides a list of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament and their descriptions.

[Mr. M]

Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, 

He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies

through His Spirit who dwells in you.

2 Corinthians 4:

13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, 

“I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, 

14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus,

and will present us with you.