The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity

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THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE BODY
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS CENTRAL
Paul begins his teaching on spiritual gifts by pointing out the centrality of the Holy Spirit.
“No one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one
can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but the same God who works
all of them in all men.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common
good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to
another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another
gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another
prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another
the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the
interpretation of tongues. All these are the work on one and the same Spirit,
and He gives to each man, just as He determines” (I Cor. 12:3-11).
The “new power” that is spoken of in the operation of the gifts is the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 12:4-
11). Modern methods of communication, imaginative strategies for evangelism, “dynamic”
speakers, well-planned programs, effective organization, are no substitute for the vital breath of
the Spirit of God. A. W. Tozer perceptively pointed out:
“The only power God recognizes in His Church is the power of His Spirit; whereas
the only power actually recognized today by the majority of evangelicals is the
power of man. God does His work by the operation of the Spirit, while Christian
leaders attempt to do theirs by the power of the trained and devoted intellect.
Bright personality has taken the place of the divine afflatus. Everything that men
do in their own strength and by means of their own abilities is done for time alone;
the quality of eternity is not in it. Only what is done through the Eternal Spirit will
abide eternally; all else is wood, hay, stubble. It is a solemn thought that some of
us who fancy ourselves to be important evangelical leaders may find at last we
have been busy harvesters of stubble.” 1