Gifts from the Holy Spirit (Part 1 of 2)

According to Wikipedia:  The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is an enumeration of seven spiritual gifts originating with patristic authors, later elaborated by five intellectual virtues and four other groups of ethical characteristics. They are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord (wonder and awe).  **Take note that wikipedia did not mention Speaking in tongues, nor Interpretation of tongues.  Many of the sites I found did not mention tongues at all.  Speaking and interpreting tongues is believed by some to no longer be a gift of the Holy Spirit to mankind currently.  I find no reason to believe that this gift is no longer available to us, when the others clearly are still given.  I have not experienced it in person, but know people that say that they have.    


1 Corinthians 12 (CJB)
4 Now there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. 5 Also there are different ways of serving, but it is the same Lord being served. 6 And there are different modes of working, but it is the same God working them all in everyone. 7 Moreover, to each person is given the particular manifestation of the Spirit that will be for the common good. 8 To one, through the Spirit, is given a word of wisdom; to another, a word of knowledge, in accordance with the same Spirit; 9 to another, faith, by the same Spirit; and to another, gifts of healing, by the one Spirit; 10 to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the ability to judge between spirits; to another, the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues; and to yet another, the ability to interpret tongues. 11 One and the same Spirit is at work in all these things, distributing to each person as he chooses. 

So if we break those out:

1.  Word of wisdom
The spiritual gift of wisdom, like the gift of knowledge, is also referred to as the “word of wisdom” or “utterance of wisdom.”  The Greek word for wisdom is sophia and it refers to the intimate understanding of God’s Word and His commandments which results in holy and upright living.  In the context of 1 Corinthians 12:8, it means to speak to the life of an individual or to a specific situation with great understanding and a righteous perspective, with the goal of guiding others toward a life of holiness and worship. *

2.  Word of knowledge
The spiritual gift of knowledge is also known as the “word of knowledge” or “utterance of knowledge.”  The Greek word for this gift is Gnosis and it simply means knowledge and understanding.  The Scriptural emphasis in 1 Corinthians 12:8 is on the ability to speak this knowledge to others in a given situation.  In the opening passages of 1 Corinthians, Paul spoke of knowledge and recognized that the highest form of knowledge among men is the Gospel of Jesus Christ (i.e. the testimony about Christ, cf. 1 Corinthians 1:4-7).  What we can conclude then is the gift of knowledge is an understanding of the things in this world and in our lives that is founded in the Gospel and rooted in the Scriptures.  This gift is closely related to the gift of wisdom which is alluded to by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.*

3.  Gift of Faith
The spiritual gift of faith is not to be confused with saving faith.  All Christians have been given saving faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), but not all receive this special gift of faith.  The word for faith in the New Testament is Pistis.  It carries the notion of confidence, certainty, trust, and assurance in the object of faith.  The gift of faith is rooted in one’s saving faith in Christ and the trust that comes through a close relationship with the Savior.  Those with this gift have a trust and confidence in God that allows them to live boldly for Him and manifest that faith in mighty ways.*

4.  Gift of Healing
The spiritual gift of healing found in 1 Corinthians 12:9 is actually plural in the Greek.  Charismata iamaton is literally translated “gifts of healings.”  This spiritual gift is closely related to the gifts of faith and miracles.  All spiritual gifts are to be exercised in faith, but gifts of healings involve a special measure of it.  This gift is interesting in that there is no guarantee that a person will always be able to heal anyone he or she desires.  It is subject to the sovereign will of God, as all spiritual gifts are.*

5.  Working Miracles
The spiritual gift of miracles is described in Scripture much like the gift of healing.  It is found in 1 Corinthians 12:10 and the Greek phrase energemata dynameon literally translates “workings of powers.”  The double plural most likely means that these gifts were diverse and were not permanently available at the will of the gifted believer, but instead were bestowed at various times and circumstances.  Thus, the gifts are subject to the divine will of God and His purposes and are not decided by the one who performs the miraculous works.*

6.  Prophecy
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit empowers certain Christians to receive revelation and speak powerful messages from God to people.  See Romans 12:6, I Corinthians 12:10, 14:1-5, 30-33,Ephesians 4:11, I Peter 1:20-21.*

7.  Discerning spirits 
The spiritual gift of discernment is also known as the gift of "discernment of spirits" or "distinguishing between spirits."  The Greek word for the gift of discernment is Diakrisis.  The word describes being able to distinguish, discern, judge or appraise a person, statement, situation, or environment.  In the New Testament it describes the ability to distinguish between spirits as in 1 Corinthians 12:10, and to discern good and evil as in Hebrews 5:14.*

8.  Speak in tongues
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit enables a Christian to supernaturally speak a previously unknown language.  See I Corinthians 12:10, 30, 14:4, 39, Acts 2:4, Acts 19:6.*

9.  Interpret tongues
This is the spiritual gift where the Spirit gives certain Christians the ability to clarify and interpret messages uttered in an unknown language. See I Corinthians 12:10.*

(Definitions provided by:  http://www.spiritualgiftstest.com/spiritual-gifts they had all the work done already, and they are spot on, so yes I'm sharing with you their information)

Spiritual Gifts Test also listed a few other "gifts" and where they can be found in scripture.  I copied them so that you would have a complete picture and listed them next.  I recommend this site if your curious about the gifts.    

The spiritual gifts listed below are found in three passages: Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10;28-30, and Ephesians 4:11

Administration

Knowledge

Apostleship

Leadership

Discernment

Mercy
Evangelism

Miracles

Exhortation

Pastor/Shepherd

Faith

Prophecy
Giving

Serving/Ministering

Healing

Teaching

Interpretation of Tongues
Speaking in Tongues
Wisdom


This site has a test that you can take to see which gifts are yours.  I took it a few days ago, and think it was spot on.  Be honest when you take the test and it might just enlighten you in ways you hadn't thought of.  

Spiritual Gifts Test: Adults  

Spiritual Gifts Test: Youth

Please feel free to share your results in the comments section.  I'd be interested in seeing if your results were as accurate as mine.  

In part two, I will look at the gifts of Tongues in closer detail, hope to see you then. 

Shalom...  Peace be with you.

"Who are you?" said the Holy Spirit

"Who are you?" said the Holy Spirit

First of all let me back track just a moment.  I have this friend.  I will talk of him a lot I am sure.  I've mentioned him a few times already.  He and I disagree on almost everything there is to do with Christianity, the Word, Jesus, Peter, confession, confirmation, baptism, the list is truly ENDLESS.   I do a lot of reading, a lot of research, but above all I do a lot a praying (which he and I disagree on as well).  I am inspired quite often on my courses of action.  This inspiration can come from one of two places.  If I am true of heart, believe with all my soul that Jesus is my savior, and believe his Word, then this inspiration comes from the Holy Spirit.  If I am not these things then it comes from somewhere else.  Can two people totally disagree on all aspects of Christianity, and both still be right?  I think not.  

My friend occasionally goads me into debate with him, against my better judgment.  I stand firm on what the bible says.  Granted, I admit, I don't know much of what's in there.  I'm just now reading it for the first time.  But thus far everything that we have discussed has boiled down to "read Acts Janice", "it's all laid out in Acts", "Acts is Paul's account of the history of the church".  Well I wanted to start with the Old Testament and move through.  It's taking time but that is what I'm doing.  Well in church we started Acts as a Wednesday night bible study.  So my friend seems to be eager for me to finish, which I'm not a rusher, I like to absorb, digest, and understand something completely before I spout it back out.  And this Wed night thing is supposed to last all year, so it's going to take time.  Anyway, I let him goad me on Wed, this discussion frustrated me so very much.  Everything I said, he said no, but countered with nothing, just no.  When pressed he said that I had to account for something in the book of John.   NO... you said it was all in Acts, and now that Acts is not proving your side, you send me on to something else.  Don't think so.  I left this discussion frustrated, went and got my kids, (still frustrated) and went to church (still frustrated).  

We were studying about Stephen (also my sons name) and how he was chosen to be a Deacon for the church, and made a lot of people frustrated.  And Pastor said:

"Don’t be discouraged when the Lord calls you to share with people who are not open so they may be blinded.  Often religious people are the most hardened in their opposition to the gospel. 

There are two kinds of hard.  Street hard – cause of a hard life, and sin in their life.

And church hard – once a person has made up their mind about something they are often not open to greater things God is wanting to do."

THAT message was straight out of Pastor for ME, it all made sense.  So I come home with my course of action, and the following day, I did share this message with my friend.  Dropping head.  

His response:  "I recently wrote this in the comments section of ROK, in regards to an article...

"Keeping an open mind" is spewed forth so rabidly and apoplectically from the leftist fruit bats, that it has unfortunately lost it's true meaning. The open mind is hungry for facts and has no tolerance for bullshit.

I won't subject you to any more of it...

He didn't even have the respect to respond to me directly, he copied and pasted something he told someone else.  So, this fueled me, I must prove to him that he's wrong, so that he can get on the right path.  I let this push me to read all of Acts.  (Which by the way, does not prove him right, but totally wrong on more than one account).  

About halfway through Acts and all the obvious specific passages from Paul that prove every single point that I've been saying, I send him a short message, to please reread this book because I just know that he's not reading it, he can't be, how can he think what he does after he reads what Paul wrote.  I checked many versions, including his Douay-Rheims version, and they all prove my points.  He continues to discuss with me and I ask him, did you reread it that fast (no way he did) and he says "No, I'm familiar with the text".  Well obviously not...  

So I am laying there last night, wondering how to approach this with my friend.  

AND...

I was prompted by the Holy Spirit last night to answer this question "Who are you?".  I'm thinking to myself when I got this question, and I just sat dumbfounded,  "whatever do you mean?".  And it comes to me.  I am God's Gardner.  Not a name I picked, but a name that was planted in me.  I plant the seeds of truth.  I attempt to pull the weeds.  I fertilize.  And I provide the food.  But the ground itself is what determines what the seed will do.  I am reminded of Jesus parable of Sowing.  

Matthew 13:3-9
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he sowed, some seed fell alongside the path; and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky patches where there was not much soil. It sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow; 6 but when the sun had risen, the young plants were scorched; and since their roots were not deep, they dried up.7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 But others fell into rich soil and produced grain, a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as had been sown. 9 Those who have ears, let them hear!”

I went to sleep last night with the realization that I can not make people believe the truth, I am not able to save everyone, I can't even make the ones I love believe the truth.  No matter how much I might want to.  That's not my place.  God gave us free will, to choose him, and to choose the truth.  I can only plant the seed, and nourish it when the seed requests it.  I can't un-harden a heart, until it's ready to be.  So for me this was a growing session.  I am not a pushy person, I don't typically thump people over the head with my bible.  I tell my daughter all the time that she can't make her brother or sister feel bad for not believing yet, they have to come to it on there own.  The approach that I have always had is to set the example, I try to live the example, and let others come to me. 

I have sown this seed.  I will nurture it when the time is right.  That's what this Gardner does.  Thank you Jesus for the peace and calm that you have given me today!

I will post my findings on Acts in a week or so.  Some great stuff in Acts!!

Apostle's Creed

Apostles' Creed

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What you believe matters!! The Apostle’s creed is not scripture but it is backed up by scripture.  The Apostle’s creed was written in the 1^st century. It came before the Eastern Orthodox Church.  It came before the Roman Catholic Church.  The Apostle John died in 110 A.D.  It was felt by the early Church with all of the Apostle’s having departed this world, that it was necessary to maintain the integrity of the Christian faith as it filtered and disseminated across the land, nations, and people.  So the Apostle’s Creed was formulated around 150 A.D.  The Apostle’s Creed is the fundamentals of which Christian faith is founded.  Every true branch of the Christian Church believes the creed. 

1.  I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

Isaiah 6:3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.

Genesis 1: 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Isaiah 44: 24 "This is what the LORD says-- your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself

2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

Luke 1:35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 

3.  Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary:

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel

John 1:34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:

John 19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.

1 Corinthians 15:3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures

1 Peter 4:6  For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit

Ephesians 4:8 This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." 9 (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions ? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,

5. The third day he rose again from the dead:

 Acts 10:40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear,

Matthew 28:5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.Come and see the place where he lay.

Mark 16:6 "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "

6.  He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:

 Acts 1:7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

Mark 16:19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.

7.  From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:.

1 Peter 4:5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 

8.  I believe in the Holy Spirit:

John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

9.  I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:

Ephesians 4:4-5 There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 

Hebrew 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 

10.  The forgiveness of sins;

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 

11.  The resurrection of the body:

2 Corinthians 4:14  because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 

12.  And the life everlasting. Amen.

John 6:47 I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.

I am still working on the “descended into Hell” portion.  I have been given a lot of scripture that “supports” this journey into Hell.  Some of the sources I come across do not list this part at all, some of my sources say that it was added much later than the original version.  I first heard the Apostle’s Creed in 2012, when I accompanied my, at the time fiance, to a Lutheran service.  I’m finding it really confusing now that I know how important this item is, that I haven’t heard of it in my 44 years prior to 2012.  This is one of those ongoing questions that I haven’t given enough time to in order to glean God’s secrets.  I know it exists, as I have firm belief and faith.  I just haven’t wrapped my head around this one yet and continue to search for more information.