The Holy Spirit gifts
A pillar in the spiritual building of God
The gifts of the Spirit are very important in the church of God. God has instituted them so that He can strengthen, exhort, encourage, and equip His children, as well as the congregation, through them. God’s children are ignorant of the gifts of the Spirit, so this topic needs a whole chapter. The gifts of the Spirit are also of cardinal importance in the house church congregation.
We have already said that the two pillars on which the house church experience stands are, first, the gifts of the Holy Spirit when we gather together and in our daily dealings and walks. This experience is the physical realization of the all-participating and functioning kings and priests of God. The second pillar is the congregation’s shared community life.
This is absolutely the complete core of house church congregation life as God has instituted it. He did not intend it otherwise, and there is a wealth of Scriptural evidence for it. It is not just another method; it is the core method that God uses to build his kingdom and his people. 1 Corinthians 14:26 states, “How is it then, brethren? When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.”
This passage deals with the liturgy for church gatherings and congregation interaction. It does not matter where we gather. It does not matter when we gather. It does not matter if we are just one or six or thirty. This passage remains the liturgy of church gatherings for the congregation of God.
With the first spiritual pillar, when we gather together (the working of the gifts of the Spirit), God is personally in control and actively at work. With great reverence I would like to express it this way: He sits in the middle of the room, and everyone gathers around Him. He is the central point of interest. No eye is directed at a person. There is no program or human sequence of activities. It is just a gathering around Jesus Christ, and through the working of the Holy Spirit He shares with us. We do not see Him, but we experience Him. There is a sacred atmosphere of reverence, love, admiration, surrender, and worship. It began with singing and worship and overflowed into the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit:
When you come together, each of you has a psalm or a teaching or a tongue or a revelation or an interpretation—let everything be for edification. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the benefit of the whole. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these work through the same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will. (Own words according to 1 Corinthians 14:26, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Even teaching works like this. The Holy Spirit works through whomever He wants to bring, for example, a teaching word or a word of encouragement. The message is short and powerful but in the Spirit.
Paul even says at one point that the prophets can prophesy one by one. Everyone can have a chance:
1 Corinthians 14:29-32
Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. But if a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first one keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one so that all may learn and all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. Paul is just asking for some order here; not everyone has to prophesy at the same time, and everyone gets a chance.
Some of the tongues should also be interpreted before there is the next prophecy. I mention this specifically to emphasize that the meetings were Spirit-filled occasions that were characterized by much Spirit activity in New Testament times. Scripture is clear about the fact that everyone would be actively involved through the working of the Holy Spirit. The house churches were small for this very purpose. Everyone had to be involved. It was never God’s purpose or plan that some people should be passive. Everyone had to have a chance to participate.
These were open meetings where everyone had gifts and talents to serve one another. When you gather, do you let the singers lead you in worship, let the pastor pray, let the pastor preach, let the pastor minister, let the pastor make announcements, and let the pastor close with prayer? No, this passage is not in the Bible. It is not Scriptural. These are human institutions and traditions.
God was in control, but the congregation still had the responsibility to be orderly when they gathered. God is a God of order, and He is a true gentleman. He does not possess people as the devil does. God wants us to allow Jesus Christ to live in us and through us. The Holy Spirit acts and works in an orderly manner through everyone who allows Him to.
Like a well-rehearsed and trained symphony orchestra, we all then play “in time” the music of the “revelation of Jesus Christ,” and He is the conductor. When we come together, we are actively living out the presence of the indwelling Jesus within us, through the workings of the Holy Spirit.
We allow Him to live in us and through us in the gathering. He ministers to the congregation in us and through us. He is in control. He flows out of us and, in the process, He is glorified in the congregation.
He is truly going around, and he is interfering with everyone through everyone. These actions are revelations from Jesus Christ, made through His presence. He is actively revealing Himself to each member of the congregation in a unique way. The Holy Spirit speaks; He reveals, He tells, He communicates, He makes known, He shares, He encourages, and He teaches. He opens the doors of His heart, and He reveals the mysteries, the desires, and the existence of God almighty. God is in control, and He does all of this through the Holy Spirit.
Man is not in control, and man should not be carnally or intellectually “active” or “involved”. Everyone is spiritually “active” by being an instrument in the hands of the Spirit of God. The reality of Jesus Christ speaking and acting in us and through us is manifested in the gifts of the Spirit, which He provides through the Holy Spirit. The manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is in fact the presence of God in our midst. This is Spirit-ministry.
To us who are present, it all sounds like the most beautiful symphony. It is breathtakingly beautiful across the entire spectrum of “Spirit sound” and “Spirit color.” The intellect is not involved. It is one spiritual experience after another. And most important of all, everyone is involved because that is how God works. He works through everyone. There is no special person in the meeting, only a special God who makes all the people present special. He is all in. He is not a respecter of persons. We are all the same in his eyes, and he loves us all equally.
The Holy Spirit is doing here what He was sent for; He is glorifying the Son. When the Holy Spirit manifests in our midst, He transforms and strengthens us. He builds our faith, and we grow spiritually. There should be reverent sensitivity and surrender to Him and His guidance.
Even if the Holy Spirit brings a teaching or a word through someone, it is a Spirit revelation. I have listened to sermons for hours and am well schooled in intellectual knowledge of Jesus, but I have also listened to a 5-minute Spirit-led teaching. I would not trade it for the most beautiful sermon by the most gifted preacher in the world. That 5-minute teaching was stamped with the official “stamp of authentication” of the Holy Spirit: The anointing of the Holy Spirit. That anointed, 5-minute message went straight to the heart (From Spirit to spirit) and was burned into the hearts of God’s children by the Spirit. The intellect played no role here at all. Rather, the intellect must align with the truth in the human spirit that was instilled when the words were spoken.
It does not work the other way around. Intellectual truths do not benefit the spirit because God communicates with man through his spirit. The intellect is bypassed.
When a man speaks, he speaks through his physical senses; his mind, and his soul. Any action from us is always soul ministry and has little value in comparison to Spirit-ministry.
And so the congregation grows from glory to glory. Everyone is built up in their faith and spiritual walk, and everyone grows spiritually phenomenally fast. They grow quickly because they have Spirit-filled encounters with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Individuals experience a personal confrontation with Jesus Christ, or a personal fertilization with the spiritual seed of Christ Jesus, which leads to phenomenal consequences.
The gifts of the Spirit are practiced in the house church, and in the process, the gifts of the Spirit develop to more glorious dimensions and new divine heights. This practice brings another dimension of gifts of the Spirit into the congregation that we are not used to, because it is unlimited.
Nothing prevents it; no one controls it; no one stands against it. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, has free rein. Can you see why the Jesus of the house church and the Jesus of the institutional church look different? It is the same Jesus, but his revelation differs because of the favorable circumstances in the house church. Yes, Jesus allows Himself to be limited by man. He allows this because He is a “gentleman”. This is a spiritual principle that will always exist and remain steadfast.
The institutional church lacks a clear understanding of what the gifts of the Spirit really are and how they are supposed to function. They have never been truly developed in the history of the institutional church because the structure does not allow it.
Why can’t the institutional church structure allow it? The institutional church structure does not allow the functioning of gifts of the Spirit because of the size of the congregations. Preaching has replaced the gifts of the Spirit. Preaching leaves no room for the gifts of the Spirit.
The church as you and I know it has never considered the awakening and development of the gifts of the Spirit to be truly important. The emphasis is on the Shepherd’s “word,” which is an intellectually based activity. The gifts of the Spirit were never a priority because the gifts of the Spirit were replaced with a human “service” – the service that the shepherd of the congregation provides to the congregation. For these reasons, we do not really know today what the true, developed gifts of the Spirit are. We are ignorant about it.
This while Paul says the following in 2 Timothy 1:6-7:
For this reason I remind you to stir up the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Whatever Timothy’s gift of grace was, Paul laid his hands on him, and he says it again in his letter to him to rekindle it and use it so that he could be an instrument in God’s hands. So must you and I. And just like Timothy, you and I do not have to fear the gifts of grace. Yes, it is a little challenging to move out in obedience, especially with the gift of healing, for example, but Paul’s words stand firm: God has not given us a spirit of fear but one of power, love, and self-control.
We can do God’s will in obedience. If we take the step of faith, He will be there to bring it to pass. Nothing can stop the gifts of grace. It is God’s gift to us, and He gives it to us without any reproach and without merit. He also provides it to everyone without exception.
That is why 1 Corinthians 14:26 is so clear that each of you has a gift to serve the others when you come together. God is not a respecter of persons.
Paul also says the following in 1 Corinthians 14:1:
…desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
He also says the following in verse 12:
So also, as you strive for spiritual gifts, strive to excel for the edification of the church.
He also says the following in verse 39:
Therefore, brothers, strive to prophesy and do not forbid speaking in tongues.
He also says the following in Romans 15:2
For each of us should please his neighbor for what is good for his edification.
The Scriptures are very clear about the purpose, the value, and the seriousness of the spiritual gifts. It cannot be otherwise. It is one of the two pillars on which the life of the church stands.
Very important: What Paul actually tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 is the following: And concerning spiritual gifts, do not be ignorant; be assured about it, for in the meetings, through the gifts, God speaks to you. Do not be afraid, for when you come together, it is not fallible people who share with you; it is God himself through the Holy Spirit.
It is God himself through the Holy Spirit. You are in safe hands. You do not have to rely on people in this regard. It is not just a number of people who come together and try to teach and encourage each other. The living God himself is there in your midst (Where Allah, Mohammed, and Buddha’s followers gather, it is just people who come together because their gods lie somewhere in a grave; they are dead. These individuals learn through intellectual means because the spirit of their gods is not present. We serve a living God who intervenes with us and speaks to us.
Paul also goes on to say, “I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus a curse.” Rest assured. Anyone speaking by the Spirit of God is not an enemy. God even gives you the gift of discerning spirits as a safety net. Then he goes on to tell them that it is actually the Holy Spirit who works all things in everyone, even though there are various gifts, ministries, and operations.
Paul is actually telling the New Testament church that people cannot walk, live, and speak in the name of Jesus and then curse Him or call Him a curse. Rest assured, God is in control.
God is actually telling us in His word here not to have a spirit of fear regarding the gifts of the Spirit. He is in control. No one will do us any harm. God protects us from false teachings and false prophets. We really don’t need to be so small-minded. The passage of Scripture regarding “not having a spirit of fear” can be applied to all situations, but it is actually used in Scripture in the context of the gifts of the Spirit. It is a direct reference to the gifts of the Spirit.
God is a “complex” being, and He needs all these gifts, ministries, and workings to reveal to us the depths and multiple dimensions within the Godhead as well as all the dimensions concerning His kingdom and all the dimensions concerning our complex humanity. We are not even talking about His redemptive work through the gifts of the Spirit. Without the gift of healing, no one could be healed of a disease. He does this work through everyone; he does not do it through one person.
And the institutional church has rejected the spiritual gifts of God in exchange for the words, actions, and insights of men. Let the pastor speak and preach and pray for us instead. Isn’t that exactly what the Israelite people did at Mount Sinai? (Let Moses speak to us instead).
I want to make a crucial statement regarding the gifts of the Spirit: the gifts of the Spirit are equal to a living God who speaks and acts.
Why do the gifts of the Holy Spirit still exist today?
You have probably also heard the lies about the spiritual gifts: “The gifts of the Holy Spirit are no longer for today. These gifts were intended solely for the Apostles and the New Testament church. God finished writing the Bible, and He does not speak to us anymore except through His word. He has already conveyed everything He wanted to tell us in His word.
That is why there are no more tongues, interpretation of tongues, or prophecy. Only certain gifts remained; most no longer exist. God also no longer heals. It was only done by Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament to establish the gospel. Thereafter, healing was no longer necessary (people can stay sick?!).
It was only a sign from God to confirm that Jesus and the apostles were sent by Him. The Bible was written, and the people believed; therefore, the days of miracles are over. The baptism of the Spirit is over; it was only for Jesus and the apostles, as it was needed for the Spiritual gifts.
Because there are no more gifts of the Spirit, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is no longer necessary.
We have all heard some or all of these lies at one time or another.
Where do they come from, and why do the children of the Lord believe these lies?
It was born in hell, and the purpose of it has always been to question the authenticity of Jesus Christ and also to “silence” the living God of Christianity. If He cannot “speak” and “do,” then He is just like other dead gods. If He cannot speak and act, then only the written word remains, which can be easily distorted because many people, including Christians, do not understand it and tend to believe what they are told.
With these lies, the devil has succeeded in wrapping the gifts of the Spirit in a “haze” of distrust and suspicion. Many children of God are afraid of and skeptical about the gifts of the Spirit.
God knew that there would be a massive attack on the authenticity of the gifts of the Spirit. Therefore, He led Paul to write a few chapters to address questions about the gifts of the Spirit, clarify their purpose, and confirm to His children that these gifts originate from Him, that He bestowed them for specific reasons, and that they will not cease until His return.
The Scripture confirms these statements clearly and without doubt. The reason the children of the Lord believe the lies is that they are ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God.
Matthew 22:29
Then Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.”
There were already problems in the New Testament church with people who did not want to accept the gifts of the Spirit. On the contrary, Jesus Christ Himself had problems with people regarding the gifts of the Spirit.
I want to discuss this very thing, but I just want to share a little background regarding Jesus’ ministry through the gifts of the Spirit. We know that He left His Divine qualities and attributes in Heaven when He was born as a human.
Philippians 2:6-7
He, who was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant and being born in the likeness of men.
Here we see very clearly that He left behind what makes Him God (emptied Himself) and became like a man. How did Jesus become like a man? He left behind His divine attributes in heaven. He laid them down. This evidence supports the statement that Jesus was only a man when He walked the earth (The Word became flesh—100% man).
Jesus, out of love for us, did not consider it robbery to give up his divinity for our sake. He did not cling to his divinity greedily. No, he laid it down for our sake of his own free will in obedience to God the Father. He emptied himself. He left behind the qualities that make him God in Heaven and was born as an ordinary man, lacking any divine attributes.
We also read in Scripture that Jesus did no miracles in his life on earth until after he was baptized by John in the Jordan River. He did not perform any miracles until he was baptized in the Spirit by God the Father. He had to have these two baptisms before he could do miracles. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the impartation of the power of God (power from on high) that is needed to testify for him and to manifest the gifts of the Spirit. Because Jesus was only a man while he walked the earth, there was no way that he could have done miracles even if he wanted to.
Jesus came to exhort something very important: the rebirth of a new species from water and the Spirit. We absolutely need the same baptism that Jesus had before we can function in the same anointing of Jesus. The gifts of the Spirit are called that because we can’t do anything without Him. He is the one who performs the work, and it is not something that we can create or produce out of ourselves.
Matthew 3:16-17
And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him.
Here we see that Jesus received both baptisms on one day. First, Jesus was baptized in water, and then He was baptized in the Holy Spirit. This still happens to many people today. For example, I know of people who received it at the same time. They spoke in tongues immediately as they came out of the water. However, it often happens that people receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit only later.
It is because of this baptism in the Holy Spirit that Jesus was able to perform miracles.
Read Luke 4:18-19 where Jesus confirms this:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
God cannot send someone to do these things unless He has first anointed him and endowed him with power from on high.
Jesus was 100% human, and there was only one way He was able to do these miracles: Through the gifts of the Spirit. Remember, He left all his divine characteristics and abilities in heaven and became flesh. He became equal to man. In Him, when He was on earth, and in every human being who has ever or will ever walk this earth, there is no capability for miracles. Without the Spirit of God, we cannot do anything. Jesus himself acknowledged that He did the miracles through the Spirit of God.
Let’s see how Jesus responded when He was challenged about the gifts of the Spirit:
Luke 11:15, 17, 18, 20
But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against itself falls. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub. But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
In the same incident in Matthew 12:28, Jesus says:
But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Here we see that Jesus did not cast out the demons in his own power but by the Spirit of God. And here we also see why today there is such a fierce attack on all children of God who operate powerfully in the Spirit. It has already happened to Jesus! And we also see today that such manifestations are linked to demonic activities just as the Pharisees did. Why? The Pharisees were unable to refute the truth. Before their eyes, everyone could see how the sick were healed and how demons were cast out.
They could not deny it. The obvious alternative is to attribute those actions and manifestations to demons. How else can you win the argument? If you say it’s the Spirit of God, you must also say Jesus is the Son of God. And this is exactly what the Pharisees would rather not do. They wanted to reject Jesus because He came to undo their positions of power and faith, but also because He did not come to exhort a physical kingdom on earth. They wanted to throw off the yoke of Roman rule, but Jesus was not for it. He came to do the works of his father. He did not come to satisfy people’s personal aspirations and personal needs.
Jesus also says two very important things regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit: He says in (verse 30) of the same Scripture: He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. Therefore, everyone who is against the gifts of the Holy Spirit is against Jesus and what he scatters. The attack on the gifts of the Holy Spirit (verse 31) is considered a sin against the Spirit of God. How could it be otherwise, because such a person calls the Spirit of God “Satan” and “devil” and his works “demonic,” and I think that is why such a person is not forgiven. It is a terrible insult! However, Jesus says that because He does this with the Spirit of God, the kingdom of God has come to you.
When we then come together, and each one is led by the Spirit of God in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, then this is the revelation and realization of God’s kingdom there in our midst! His kingdom is established on earth by His Spirit! The kingdom of God has come to you. The words “kingdom of God” and “the gifts of the Spirit” can never be separated, because the kingdom of God is established by the Spirit.
This is what Jesus came for, to exhort the kingdom of God. And this is precisely what He kept Himself busy with all day long when He walked the earth. He continues to focus on this mission through His followers. Every saved person is another building block in the kingdom of God. Every person who is healed and redeemed from the curse of the fall becomes a king and priest in the kingdom of God, experiencing the taste of salvation.
Every person who grows in faith to the full stature of Christ Jesus is another conquering king and priest in the kingdom of God.
2 Timothy 4:18
And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me to enter his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever! Amen.
These are Jesus’ followers who have overcome the world through the redemptive act of Christ, as clearly stated in 1 Peter 2:9:
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for his own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Luke 7:20-23
And when the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect another?’ And in that same hour He cured many of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits, and to many who were blind He gave sight. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John what you see and hear: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is anyone who is not offended in Me.
Jesus came for exactly this. His statement to man is the following:
“I work miracles through the Spirit of God. Without His Spirit, I can do nothing. It is the Spirit of God that enabled Me, as 100% human, to perform the miracles for which the Father sent Me. This is why I came. This is still what I do in you and through you. Therefore, you humans can also perform the miracles that I performed. On the contrary, as the Father sent Me, I also send you. I am the baptizer in the Spirit, and I will equip you to perform that for which I send you. I send you out to build My kingdom”.
It is precisely the fact that Jesus, as 100% human, through the power of the Holy Spirit, was able to perform the miracles that gives us humans the boldness and faith to do the same:
John 14:12-13
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me – the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I am going to my Father.
“Yes, but what works is Jesus actually referring to here?” some people ask. Isn’t it just the preaching of the gospel? The salvation of a soul is the greatest miracle there is.
Yes, that too, but read what Jesus says in Mark 16:17-18
And these signs will follow those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
Jesus also says the following in Matthew 10:7-8:
And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons. You have received freely; give freely.
Jesus told the disciples a crucial thing before they went out to preach the gospel.
He said to wait in Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high.
Luke 24:46-49
And he said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it behooved the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high.
It is the baptism in the Holy Spirit that puts us on the same level of ministry as Jesus. We are not Jesus, but we are like Him; we function like Him, and we complete what He started. In fact, we allow Him to function in us and through us. In Acts 1:8 we also read that Jesus said to them:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Jesus knew that as humans they would not be able to carry out the “great commission” without the power of the Spirit of God. The “great commission” actually means “the preaching of the gospel in word and in power”. The gospel means: Jesus paid your debt. He took away the sin of the world. He paid the price. He brings you salvation, and He saves your soul. He also brings you healing. He also delivered you from the consequences of sin—namely, sickness, the curse of sin, hell, poverty, etc. In other words, he paid the full price to provide you with full salvation.
The gospel in its fullness cannot be preached without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, because it takes power to accomplish the complete work of salvation. We cannot heal anyone without the Spirit of God, and we cannot cast out demons without the Spirit of God. Not even Jesus could do it without the Spirit of God. There is no way anyone can get past this requirement. Your beliefs, regardless of their nature, are irrelevant. The baptism in the Spirit of God is absolutely necessary. All who believe and all who want must partake of it before they can become effective instruments in God’s hands.
Acts 2:1-4
And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, divided, and they sat on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
This was the very first full-fledged, official church gathering in the Bible. Notice that it was in a house and that it was characterized by the work of the Holy Spirit. This was Jesus’ promise of power to enable divine miracles and manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit. This was not simply a receiving of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, the disciples had already received the Holy Spirit on another occasion (several weeks before this Pentecostal outpouring, when Jesus first appeared to his disciples after his resurrection).
Let’s take a look at it in John 20:19-22.
And when it was evening on that first day of the week, and the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and his side. And the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus unto them again, Peace be unto you; as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
When Jesus said to them here, “receive the Holy Spirit” and breathed on them, they became partakers of the Holy Spirit. Why then did they have to become partakers of the Holy Spirit again on the Day of Pentecost? If someone accepts Jesus and is born again, he receives the Holy Spirit. Why then does he have to ask the Father again for the Holy Spirit? The answer to both questions is to receive power to preach the gospel. One makes you a child of God; the other provides you with power to preach the gospel. One seals your childhood; the other makes it possible for Jesus to minister in you and through you.
Very clearly we see here that in a child of the Lord’s life there are two occasions when he “receives” the Holy Spirit: The first time when he repents and the second time when he is baptized in the Holy Spirit. The first time is the seal of his salvation or rebirth. The Father and the Son then come to live in him, and the Spirit in him testifies that he is a child of God. Jesus answers Nicodemus in John 3:5 as follows:
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
The above statement (two Holy Spirit experiences) is true for all people. It started with Jesus, the first brother of many brothers; it happened with the 12 disciples; it happened with other lesser-known apostles, and finally, it happened with strangers and total strangers. This event was prophesied by the prophet Joel in the Old Testament.
Joel 2:28-29
And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions: and also upon the menservants and upon the maidservants will I pour out my Spirit in those days.
The Scriptures make it very clear here that there will no longer be any distinction, as it was in the Old Testament.
His Spirit will be poured out on all flesh. The gifts of the Spirit will function through everyone. The Spirit will no longer be limited to priests and prophets, but will be poured out on all people, including servants. The gifts of the Spirit will be given not only to men but also to women. This is evident in the lives of all New Testament converts, including Jesus, his disciples, and all his followers from the New Testament period to the present day.
Acts 19:1-6
And it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul had passed through the upper regions and came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, he asked them, “Did ye receive the Holy Ghost when ye believed?” And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into the baptism of John. And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him who should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And Paul laid his hands on them, and the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied.
Notice the following: These disciples were followers of John. They accepted Jesus and automatically became partakers of the Holy Spirit. Paul asks them if they received the Holy Spirit when they became believers. That is why we know that they were believers. But they did not know that there was a baptism of the Holy Spirit. They were still very ignorant regarding the gift of the Holy Spirit. They were not with the disciples of Jesus in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and had not yet heard of what happened there (referring to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit). Paul baptized them in water and then laid his hands on them so that they could also receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They immediately began to speak in tongues and prophesy. You cannot speak in tongues or prophesy if you have not been baptized in the Holy Spirit, although you became a partaker of the Holy Spirit when you were saved.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit usually comes with the laying on of hands. It is something you must desire and ask for. You do not ask for the Spirit of God with repentance. Everyone receives the Holy Spirit automatically upon conversion. However, you must ask God to give you the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Why? He does not just give the baptism in the Holy Spirit automatically. It is for everyone who desires it. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is therefore available to everyone, but not everyone asks for it. For many people it is not relevant or important. So if you do not desire it, you do not need the baptism in the Spirit, and you will not receive it. You are still a child of God even if you have not been baptized in the Spirit. If you want the Spirit baptism, you can have it if you ask.
Everyone qualifies for it. You simply need to be a child of God and request it. You cannot deserve it. You do not have to become holier to deserve it. Everyone qualifies for it automatically through the miraculous saving power and grace of Christ, and it is an undeserved gift, just as our salvation is an undeserved gift.
Luke 11:10-13
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Or what father is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent instead of a fish? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? Here we see, firstly, that the Holy Spirit is a gift, a good gift; secondly, that the Father gives the Holy Spirit to everyone who prays for it and asks for it; and thirdly, that we need not fear when we pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit. We will receive exactly what we ask for (not a stone or a snake but bread or fish – not an evil spirit but the good Spirit of God).
The baptism in the Spirit can take place through prayer, but we see in the Bible that the elders or the fivefold ministers laid hands on people for it.
1 Timothy 4:14
Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the elders.
Acts 8:17-18
Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given…
1 Corinthians 13:1-13 is the “love” chapter of the Bible. It obviously teaches us that everything we do must be done in love. Without love, everything is useless, even if we do good and the right thing. Someone who acts without love or recklessly finds that the works or gifts of the Spirit manifesting through him mean nothing.
Even if he does good, his motive is always questioned because we know his attitude and his fleshly nature. Even if the gifts of the Spirit manifest through him, we judge them with suspicion. He does good and has gifts, but we don’t trust him because we know his fruits. As children of God and his ambassadors, we are expected to consistently manifest the fruit of the Spirit so that the gifts of the Spirit can be recognized as authentic actions of God.
What are the gifts? It is Jesus in us who manifests in this fleshly world in us and through us. What a privilege and what a message of grace. Immanuel, God with us, or even better, God in us.
Ephesians 5:9
For the fruit of the Spirit consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth.
Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Result of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence that every person becomes a part of when they accept Jesus as their savior – not a result of the baptism in the Spirit).
Without these fruits of the Spirit, the gifts will be useless because such a person will sound like brass or a clanging cymbal. Although Jesus lives in us, our sinful actions can diminish his presence within us.
Interestingly, there are also nine gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-11): Word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, various kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues (result of the baptism in the Holy Spirit that a person becomes a part of when Jesus baptizes him in the Holy Spirit – not the result of receiving the Spirit during regeneration). The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the door to the gifts of God. Regular speaking in tongues is the door to the other gifts of the Spirit. The more a person speaks in tongues, the more other gifts function through him.
It is probably not a coincidence that the gifts of the Spirit match its fruits. God wants us to see that the Spirit’s work in our lives and in the congregation must be balanced. One works through the other. The gifts function in love.
Love – I surround you with love. I protect you from those who hate you. You will experience love. You will love and be loved. Jesus Christ in you is love. When He is allowed to love through you, then love has become perfect in you.
Joy – I will spoil you with many blessings and promises, and they are all yes and amen in Jesus. No one can take these blessings away from you. Ask of Me that your joy may be complete. When Christ is in your life, then joy and gladness spring up in you. Joy arises in you when you take pleasure in Him.
Peace – I will give you favor in the eyes of men, and you will have peace with everyone around you. People will call you a child of God. Christ in you is the peace that surpasses all understanding.
Longsuffering – I grant you the ability to live without frustration, treat others with grace, and receive grace in return. Christ in you manifests longsuffering if you allow Him to.
Kindness – I grant you kindness so that you can treat others kindly and be treated the same. Christ in you is recognized when He manifests in you as the divine fruit of kindness.
Goodness – My goodness I bestow upon you because it is a seed that opens the heavens of blessings for you. You will receive mercy because you demonstrate mercy to others. When Christ in you is allowed to show mercy to people, then his goodness manifests in you.
Faithfulness – I make you faithful so that you can demonstrate My faithfulness to others. Christ is faithfulness in you.
Meekness – Because you are meek, you will inherit the earth. I will protect you from those who try to oppress you, and I will reward you. Christ is meekness in you.
Self-control – Because you are self-controlled, you will never be ashamed or become into trouble.
Through My grace, power, and Spirit, you will always be in control in any situation of trial or temptation. Christ “in you” experiences every situation with you, and He is always in control of all circumstances in your life. Be at ease; do not fear.
Word of Wisdom – You will know what to do in all kinds of difficult situations because I will guide you. I will make known to you the path of life. You will make known My wisdom to others. You possess the mind of Christ because He lives out His plans in you and through you.
Word of knowledge: I will reveal the truth to you in every situation. You will not be left uninformed. You will enlighten many people with the knowledge I provide them through you. Christ imparts knowledge to all who need it through you.
Faith – When there is a need for “faith in action” in your life, I will give it to you. It comes through my word, but I also present it as a gift to powerfully support you. You will use that same gift of faith to serve others and perform miracles in their lives. Christ Jesus in you is faith. Faith springs up in you when you allow Jesus Christ to rise in you in faith.
Gifts of Healing – If you are sick, I will heal you. You will heal the sick and free them from the enemy’s bonds. Christ “in you” is healing, manifesting through you.
Workings of Power – When you need great miracles in your life, you need not fear. I will be there to bring them about. I will also use you to accomplish mighty deeds in people’s lives and situations. Christ in you is all that is needed to change any situation in any person’s life.
Prophecy – I will speak to you and confirm in you the words that I have spoken to you. If you are not familiar with my will, I will speak to you to teach and guide you. I will also use you to minister to others prophetically. When Christ speaks in us, people hear prophetic words.
Discernment of spirits – I will warn you against false people and spirits, and you will know who and what you are dealing with. Christ Jesus in you warns you against dangerous people and evil spirits.
All kinds of tongues—I offer you my gifts of different types of tongues to speak to you and make my will and knowledge known to you. I will also use these same gifts of tongues through you to speak into the lives of other people. Christ in you speaks to you and other people through the Spirit.
Interpretation of tongues – I will interpret My Spirit language to you so that you can make it known to others. Christ in you gives the true meaning of God’s tongues.
Jesus Christ in you is the source of all the workings of the Spirit.
These 18 Spirit operations in our lives are our “social” equipment. They are our divine “communication” tools. With them, we can communicate lovingly and kindly with other people, and at the same time, we can be a help and a blessing to them. It is all in one bowl and cannot be separated. For every fruit, there is a gift. But we must remember that God wants everyone in the congregation to serve each other with these gifts of the Spirit. He is in control. However, we must strive for the edification of the congregation to promote the growth of the whole body through the support of each member for its edification in love.
Look again at what Paul says regarding the spiritual gifts: “strive for spiritual gifts,” “try to excel for the edification of the congregation,” “strive to prophesy,” “do not forbid speaking in tongues,” “please your neighbor with a view to what is good for edification.” What does this actually mean? Allow Christ Jesus to use you to work His will in you to the glory of God by living the godly life in you. His indwelling life becomes ministry. He represents the gifts of the Spirit, which manifest in you and through you. It is not you who ministers. You become only a vehicle or an instrument for the God-life in you.
With the gifts of the Spirit, we need our brothers and sisters in the church. We rely on each other (they bless me with God’s gifts, and I bless them). We must serve each other with them. We must build each other up with them. Through the fruits and gifts of the Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ reveals Himself to humanity.
It says in effect: This loving, kind, self-controlled, gentle, good, long-suffering, peaceable, faithful, joyful God saves you, heals you, speaks to you, teaches you, guides you, and helps you because He loves you very much and wants to be involved with you. He desires a relationship of mutual love and respect with you because He wants you to do well (The fruits of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit tell who God is and confirm that He is a living God – He speaks and He does).
If you have seen Jesus, then you have seen the Father. The Father and the Son will come to live in you and have fellowship with you. What does the word “fellowship” mean? It means God desires an interactive relationship with you. It means mutual communication and involvement. This means that you speak, He listens, He speaks, and you listen in return. In this way, you become acquainted with each other better. In this way, we minister to each other with the gifts of the Spirit, revealing Jesus to each other and getting to know each other better.
2 Peter 1:3-9 confirms what happens to those who make the gifts and fruits of the Spirit part of themselves. Verse 9 also shows very clearly what happens to those children of the Lord who do not make the gifts and the fruits of the Spirit part of themselves:
For his divine power has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue. By which he has given us exceedingly great and precious promises so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And for this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge and to knowledge self-control and to self-control patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things are in you and abound, they make you neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ; for whoever does not have these things is blind and short-sighted, having forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.
It is therefore very beneficial for a person to have the fruits and gifts of the Spirit in his life. It is precisely these two precious elements from the character and nature of God that He gives us to enjoy and uses to reveal Himself to us. We cannot truly come to know Christ Jesus without the gifts of the Spirit. We learn about word knowledge and preaching knowledge solely from Him.
The fruits and gifts of the Spirit are Christ Himself in action and in Person.
The Spirit of God always focuses attention on Jesus. The Spirit of God always glorifies the Son. He exalts the Son. He takes all attention away from Himself and shines His divine light of glorification on the Son. Therefore, the gifts of the Spirit are always a glorification and a revelation of Jesus Christ.
The gifts and the fruits come from one bowl. It is the same Spirit who works all these gifts in us. He works love in us, and He works faith in us. He works longsuffering in us, and He works prophecy in us. These are the precious characteristics of God that He has given to His children. It is the living God who “speaks and does”. He provides something of Himself here again. He gives Himself in the same way that a good earthly father dedicates time to his children.
He is there in our midst every time we gather to engage with us, to talk to us, and to support and help us. We serve a living God, and this “bowl with 9 fruits and 9 drinks of Divine Spirit activity” is the difference between Him and dead idols. We serve a living God.
When God speaks to us in the ordinary everyday way and shares with us in all sorts of ways; speaking softly to us in our spirit, a nice WhatsApp message sent to us by someone, a word that He brings to life for us in Scripture, a phone call of encouragement or confirmation from a friend, helpful advice from a family member, a sudden inner reassurance and assurance about something that is bothering us, a passage from a book, the interaction we experience with Him during our quiet time, there is no pressure on us regarding the fruit of the Spirit that manifests in our lives. It is God moving, and the only thing that we must do is to surrender to Him. However, we must always want God to live in us and through us. The fruits of the Spirit are most beautiful, ripe, and attractive when He lives in us. Here too, when we share with people, we must do so with the greatest love, respect, and attitude.
However, when God shares with us through the gifts, it is a higher dimension than the ordinary. It is on an entirely different level. There is now a universal realization that God himself is present among us, personally speaking and acting through his instruments— the people through whom he works. The living God is now actively engaged with us. He is here in our midst. We hear Him, and we see Him. When the congregation comes together, we see Jesus. When I look at my spiritual brother, I see Jesus. Why? Because Jesus lives in him and through him. When he looks at me, he sees Jesus. Why? Jesus resides within me and manifests through me. This is why the Bible-based liturgy of a Christian gathering is so divine. The Scriptural liturgy means the living God manifests in and through his followers when they come together.
1 Corinthians 14:26 gives us the Bible-based liturgy for the meetings of the church in one single verse. Verses 27-40 expand slightly on the way the meeting should be conducted (orderly and according to the leading of the Spirit). There is no need for a comprehensive study on church liturgy. For all practical purposes, true church liturgy consists of only one verse 1 Cor 14:26). Man reverently submits himself with love, respect, and sincerity to the living God, and he allows the living God to work through him by manifesting in him and through him. We see the result of this happening before our eyes, or we experience the anointing of the Spirit in our spirit, and we know “instinctively” that it is truly He who spoke or He who was in action. The “stamp of authenticity” is imprinted by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all present. There is no doubt that the revelation comes from God, and all are established. How could the church ever have allowed a human program-driven “worship service” to replace the actions of the living God in the congregation?
It is, of course, a great honor and a great privilege to be used by God in this way. I would also like to emphasize that it is essential for us to always act sincerely and lovingly when we are used by God in this way. We are ambassadors of God in another “country,” and we must be blameless in our dealings and walk towards the family of God and strangers and unsaved people for the glory of His Holy Name.
I mention again that 1 Corinthians 13 is the “love” chapter of the Bible directly relating to the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the congregation and in the church. Love applies to all aspects of our lives, but this chapter in the Bible is primarily written in relation to the gifts of the Spirit. It says that the gifts of the Holy Spirit mean nothing without love, according to 1 Corinthians 13:1-2
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:13 also mentions 3 very important elements in the congregation and also in the life of each individual:
And now abide faith, hope, and love – these three; but the greatest of these is love.
We now live with hope in our hearts that God will deliver us from all trials and that He will keep all his promises to us. We also live with faith in our hearts that God exists. That He rewards those who seek him. We believe that God is faithful and has the ability to fulfill his promises. These are essential elements in our Christian walk, but even greater than that is love. We must strive even more than that to love God and our neighbor. Otherwise, the gifts have become empty. They are then just empty words without any meaning.
Then, very importantly, verses 8-9 say the following:
Love never fails, but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall pass 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 pass away.
It is therefore ultimately only love that will remain. Therefore, it is inevitable that the gifts of the Spirit will eventually cease. However, it is clear when the gifts of the Spirit will cease: The cessation of the gifts of the Spirit will occur when the perfect has arrived.
Knowledge will cease, but now we still need knowledge. Prophecies will cease, but now we still need prophecies; tongues will cease, but now we still need tongues – because the perfect has not yet come. Read the above verse again (1 Corinthians 13:8-9).
When the perfect has come (when Jesus comes again at the end of time), then the imperfect will cease. Why will it cease? 1 Corinthians 13:12 has the answer:
For now we see through a mirror, darkly, but then face-to-face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I am completely known.
Prophecy is the mirror through which we look into a mystery. Knowledge is the mirror through which we look into a mystery. Tongues, wisdom, hope, and faith are all mirrors through which we look into a mystery. A word of knowledge or wisdom is imperfect, so it is a mirror into a mystery. But all these will cease, except love, when the perfect has come. When we know all things, then the gifts will cease. John had a revelation about this “moment” in the future that excites me very much (1 John 3:2):
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it does not yet appear what we will be; but we know that when He appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.
On that day we will see Him as He really is, and we will be like Him (The first of many brothers). On that day we will see each other face to face. Then we will know everything, and we will no longer need prophecies, tongues, words of knowledge, or words of wisdom. Then we will no longer need healing or miracles and powers, because there will be no more diseases. There will be no more undesirable conditions and situations. Praise the Lord! What we will experience very intensely that day when we behold Him in all His glory and splendor is a fiery love that will set our hearts on fire like never before. There will be many other emotions, and the rest of the fruits of the Spirit will not be lacking, but we will be most aware of this fiery love that He has for us, and we have for Him! Yes, the gifts of the Spirit will then cease because it was God’s method of practically carrying out His work of salvation. On that day, no more work for salvation will be needed.
But the fruit of the Spirit is inherent in who God is. It will never cease. I think that all the other fruits of the Spirit will come to perfection in love anyway. That is why the Scripture says that only love will remain, even if it is just a comparison between love, faith, and hope. I believe that love absorbs the other fruits of the Spirit.
Have the gifts of the Spirit ceased? No, for the perfect has not yet come. What is perfect? The perfect state encompasses complete wisdom and knowledge, as well as ideal circumstances devoid of illness, suffering, or distress. There is no doubt that the gifts have not yet ceased, as the perfect has not yet arrived.
Love never fails, but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall pass 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 pass away.
The four languages of the Spirit
“I have heard that tongues are only for foreigners who have never heard the gospel. I have also heard that tongues are not for the meetings but for the inner room. I don’t quite understand this. What is the truth about tongues?”
There are mainly 4 different Spirit languages that have different functions and are intended for different occasions:
The first language primarily functions during evangelistic outreaches when the evangelists are unfamiliar with the language of the tribe or community hosting the outreach.
In such a case, the Holy Spirit can make the evangelist speak in this foreign language (a language completely unknown to him), and it is absolutely a work of the Spirit – a miracle. However, it is not unknown to the listeners because it is their native language.
Acts 2:7-8
And they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear them, each in our own language in which we were born?”
Here we see that this is a known human language and that there is no need for interpretation. The person speaking this language simply does not know it. The purpose of this language is to preach the gospel to people by overcoming the language problem, but it is also to confirm that the gospel comes from God and that He is alive. This language can manifest anywhere where unsaved people are present.
The second Holy Spirit language is the powerful Divine message that God speaks to people through someone.
It functions mainly during meetings and is intended for the exhortation of a congregation or a specific person.
This language is followed by an interpretation by another person because no one understands it. If no one provides the interpretation, the person through whom the message was given must pray for the interpretation on the spot so that they can then offer it themselves. The message is something that God wants to make known to specific people or a specific person.
It can be anything: a revelation, teaching, admonition, encouragement, calling, confirmation, etc. It can confirm what a person has already heard from God, or it can be new to him or the congregation. It is not true that prophecies are always a confirmation of something you already know.
1 Corinthians 14:27:
And if anyone speaks in a tongue, let it be by two or at the most three and in turns, and let him interpret.
1 Corinthians 14:13:
Therefore, he who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret.
The congregations in Corinth did not remain orderly concerning the gifts of tongues in particular. Some of them spoke in tongues at once. Some of them brought this language to the congregation but did not wait for its interpretation. These actions caused the divine word to be lost.
Some simply prayed the individual prayer language there in the congregation, which, of course, serves no purpose there because it is intended privately for the inner room. Paul had to call them to order, and from there we got 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14. However, Paul clearly states in 1 Corinthians 14:39 that one should not hinder speaking in tongues. This is very important:
Therefore, brothers, strive to prophesy and do not forbid speaking in tongues.
The third language I want to mention is the Holy Spirit worship language. It works in the congregation when they worship God through music or singing, but it can also work when you worship God on your own.
This is the highest form of divine worship and should never be hindered. We read about it in 1 Corinthians 14:15:
What then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, but I will also sing with the understanding.
Paul is actually saying here that he will not only pray in tongues but also sing in tongues. This form of worship is a spiritual practice that transcends ordinary worship because it is a gift from the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are always higher than the ordinary human counterpart of the action being performed. Because spirit “psalm singing” is part of our heavenly prayer language, we have no control over it. We can pray in tongues whenever we want, and therefore we can also sing in tongues whenever we want. Other gifts of the Spirit, including the other two tongue gifts, are different. We have no control over them except to be available to the Holy Spirit when He wants to work through us.
The fourth Holy Spirit gift language is the child of God’s prayer language.
This language is unknown to everyone, and there is generally no interpretation. No one except God understands this language. Not even evil spirits or the devil understand it. It is a prayer that does not need to be interpreted.
1 Corinthians 14:2
For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him, but through the Spirit he speaks mysteries.
Only God understands this language because it is a prayer addressed to Him. Therefore, there is no interpretation. It is not intended for any other ears. This language is intended for the person concerned’s own edification and renewed filling of the Holy Spirit and belongs more to the individual in his inner room or when he is alone. It can indeed be used in the congregation but gently and in privacy. It is not intended for the edification of the congregation.
However, it is a powerful divine prayer and of inestimable great value to the individual’s personal Christian life. It is a supplement to the baptism in the Holy Spirit and provides the individual power from on high. The more you pray in tongues, the more power and foundation there is for you. Christianity has not yet properly received the revelation of the invaluable value that this prayer language has in our lives; otherwise, the children of God would have spoken in tongues much more. Hear what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:18:
I thank my God that I speak in tongues more than you all.
Speaking in tongues is so important to Paul that he expresses special thanks to God for it. With this, Paul tells the church not to neglect their heavenly prayer language. This emphasizes its importance. Regular speaking in tongues is also the door to the other gifts of the Spirit. The more you pray in tongues, the more you are ready for the other gifts of the Spirit. This practice is a powerful prayer because these prayers are always in the perfect will of God and are always prayed in perfect faith.
I cannot emphasize the use of this language enough. By praying a lot in tongues, many things happen in the spirit world: You pray the correct will of God, you pray in perfect faith, you pray exactly what is needed in your personal life right now, you exhort yourself, you open the door for the other gifts to work through you as well, you thank God well because these are prayers of thanks from your spirit, you become more God-conscious and less world-conscious, inner healing takes place, you receive Divine revelations in your spirit while praying in tongues, you make spiritual breakthroughs in your spirit, soul, and body and much more.
This language is also the initial sign that a person has been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Why is the prayer language the sign that someone has been baptized in the Spirit? Why are the other gifts not also a sign of that? Why are the fruits of the Spirit not also a sign of that? Answer: (1) The fruits of the Spirit are simply a sign that you are a child of God and that you became a partaker of the Holy Spirit when you converted. (2) Although the other gifts are also a sign that someone has been baptized in the Holy Spirit, they are not considered the “initial” sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit because it does not operate in everyone’s lives. Do all heal the sick? Do all prophesy? Do all speak in tongues? (referring to the other two gifts of tongues), do all have a word of knowledge? (3) The prayer language operates in all the lives of the Lord’s children. A Christian who does not pray in tongues does so at his own loss. The prayer tongue is available to absolutely every child of God. They must just ask God to baptize them in the Spirit, and then they will receive this gift.
Every time the apostles laid hands on people to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they spoke in tongues. The prayer language and all the other gifts of tongues were likely spoken on Pentecost, which was a special day in the history of the church. This was the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the first time, as prophesied by the prophet Joel. However, speaking in tongues (also known as a heavenly prayer language) is considered the initial sign of receiving the Holy Spirit because it is the only gift that consistently operates through every individual whenever they choose to use it. Unlike the other gifts of tongues, we control the prayer gift, referring to the “when” it functions. We can pray in tongues at any time we want.
Everyone must use his heavenly prayer language in his privacy because it establishes and strengthens him. Without it, he may struggle to maintain a steadfast faith. It is a gift from God and belongs to everyone and always works in a person whenever they want to use it. Speaking in tongues is from the Spirit because God is Spirit. We are also spirit, and God speaks to us in our spirit language. When we speak in a tongue, we are expressing what God the Holy Spirit communicates to us in our spirit or through prayer.
The other Spirit gifts do not manifest through us at will. We have no control over them. God works them through all people when He wants as He wants. The fruits of the Spirit are not proof of baptism in the Holy Spirit, but proof that the person is saved.
We will be known by the fruit we bear. A good tree bears good fruit (saved). A bad tree bears bad fruit (unsaved).
Do the powerful gifts of the Spirit still exist?
Are miracles and powerful works still for today?
Isaiah 53 is the most famous passage of Scripture that describes the redemptive act of Jesus in detail. It lists all the facets of our redemption. He took our griefs upon Himself; He carried our sorrows; He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him; by His wounds we are healed. He bore our guilt; he bore our sins.
The key word in this passage of Scripture is the word “us”. “He bore our sins and carried our sicknesses”. Who is the “us”? This includes all people who have ever been born, who have died, who are currently alive, and who will be born in any country or nation, across the world, from Adam and Eve to the last child to be born in the history of mankind.
Not a single person is excluded. The promise is for everyone, and the promise is the same for everyone. There is no distinction between any nation, language, or gender. Jesus’ work of salvation is the same for everyone, and through the bank it has the same promises and the same consequences for everyone. This promise applies to everyone, regardless of being a Jew or Greek, freeman or slave, old or young, beautiful or ugly, male or female.
Every person and nation is included in this work of salvation. God is not a respecter of persons, and for Him all people are on the same level. No one deserves His grace. No one qualifies for something special and different. God has absolutely leveled the playing field of life for all people.
The most beautiful and clear passage in the Bible that confirms without a doubt that Jesus came to heal our diseases is found in Matthew 8:14-17.
And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick of a fever. And he touched her hands, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered unto them. And when even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all that were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “He himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses.”
The Scriptures refer, among other things, to the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and all the people that Jesus healed. Notice that He healed everyone without exception. This confirms that the entire redemptive work of Jesus includes everything for everyone.
These promises and the redemptive work of Jesus are also the same for all people until the last day of the world’s existence as we know it now. That last person born on the final day of Jesus’ return will have the same promises at his disposal as you, me, Paul, and David. There is indeed no difference whatsoever.
Therefore, Jesus, who is returning to the Father, had to bestow the gifts of the Spirit and the baptism in the Spirit on his followers so that they could complete his work of salvation (Matthew 10:8—Heal the sick, cleanse lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons). Freely you have received (gifts are a gift); freely give.
Psalm 103:3 already says the following in the Old Testament:
Who forgives all your iniquities and who heals all your diseases.
Here David is saying unequivocally that God forgives all our iniquities and heals all our diseases. There is absolutely no doubt about God’s will regarding sins and diseases. Sin and disease cannot be separated. They are two “elements” in one container. This is precisely why Jesus said many times, “Go and sin no more” immediately after He healed someone. This supports the Scriptures in the New Testament that in various places say that Jesus healed all who were sick or possessed by demons. Sin causes disease. Complete deliverance from sin also includes the healing of diseases. We are delivered from the cause and the effect.
1 Peter 2:24 says the same thing:
Who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sins and live for righteousness, by whose wounds you were healed.
Jesus had to restore what we had before the fall. He did this work for us on the cross. Deuteronomy 28 is very clear about all the miseries, diseases, plagues, poverty, and curses that came upon man as a result of the fall. The consequences of sin were devastating. As a result, man was in a very dangerous state. He was lost, abandoned, in a very deplorable position, with no hope, no way out, no prospect of peace or salvation, hell as a destination, and death, disease, misery, and eternal punishment as the only consequences and prospects that man faced and which he thoroughly deserved. Sin only increased, and man only fell deeper into misery. He could do nothing at all to change his circumstances. Man was absolutely cursed.
We have already seen in Isaiah 53 what Jesus bore for us on the cross. However, there is more Scripture that explains what this redemptive work of Jesus entailed.
Galatians 3:13-14
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus.
Therefore, there is no longer a curse for the Jews who are in Christ Jesus. He bore the curse on the cross for them. The Gentiles were never under the law or curse; only the blessing of Abraham came to us. The curse was never on us! The “curse” doctrine of some teachers in the institutional church therefore does not hold water. Jesus took everything negative and destructive upon Himself. He took all the curses of the law upon Himself in totality. Even if there was a curse on the gentile nations due to universal God consciousness, the inherent human conscience, and the recognition of right and wrong, Jesus also nailed that curse to the cross. There is no longer a curse for all people.
God already predicted in Isaiah that when the church is born through his Son, Jesus Christ, not even the unsaved man will be cursed. This is the grace era, when man can accept Jesus Christ as his Savior and escape sin’s consequences. God the Father has therefore reconciled all people to Himself by punishing Jesus Christ in their place. Therefore, there is no more punishment. Jesus Christ bore the punishment for all people.
John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
When will the people who did not accept Jesus be punished? Their punishment will occur at the end of their lives.
They (the unrighteous) will not be punished before their time. They will normally live a fairly good life until their death, when the curse, when their grace period has run out, will suddenly come upon them, and God will judge them.
We see this in Isaiah 65:20
There will no longer come from there an infant of a few days, nor an old man who has not lived out his days, for a child will die a hundred years old, and he who sins will be cursed at a hundred years old.
Isaiah 65 predicts the Messiah’s coming and kingdom. During this period, the righteous and the unrighteous will both live to be a hundred years old regardless of their standing in God. However, the curse will suddenly strike the unrighteous after the grace period, as they rejected Jesus and brought the curse upon themselves. God doesn’t punish the world because Jesus reconciled us with the Father.
He punished Jesus in our place. His act of reconciliation was for the whole world, righteous and unrighteous. The punishment begins with the death of the unrighteous because then he has finally rejected the gift of grace from Jesus. Now there is no more grace for him because he can no longer accept Jesus. That is why we see how unrighteous people often grow old, healthy, and wealthy.
It is the consequences of Jesus’ atoning act that removed the curse. The Old Testament’s curse of the law applied only to Jews who hated God. To emphasize His immense hatred for sin, God clearly emphasized in Exodus 20:5 that He is a jealous God who visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him.
The Jews who loved Him, on the contrary, only received blessings (just like the church today), as verse 6 clearly states: “and showing mercy to thousands (generations) of those who love Me and keep My commandments.”
This was before the grace period of the church! How can children of God (righteous ones) still be subject to “generational curses” if not even the righteous Jews, who were only “servants”, were not even subject to them?
Moreover, God even changed the Exodus 20:5 statement about accountability for the unjust in the Old Testament. He promised Jeremiah that He would stop this practise, and a few years later He confirmed to Ezekiel that He already stopped it. From then on, even the man who hates God would only be punished for his own sins. He would not be punished for the sins of his ancestors or forefathers. Out of his immense mercy, God changed this law during the exile of Israel.
Read Jeremiah 31:29-30
In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.
But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
Read the entire Ezekiel 18:1-32 (However, I would like to quote only verse 20: “The soul who sins shall die; the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Make a point of reading the entire chapter because it will deal the death blow to the entire “curses” doctrine and “generational curses” doctrine forever. There is no such thing anymore.
However, man can speak negatively about himself with his own tongue and thus experience negative things exactly as he spoke about himself. Proverbs 18:21
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and everyone who loves it will eat its fruit.
Someone else cannot bring you death or life. Not even your own ancestors! As long as you do not agree with your ancestors or anybody else regarding family matters, you are speaking death over yourself with your own tongue.
You always speak what you believe. It has nothing to do with curses or ancestors. Faith is the key, and what you speak over yourself is important. Death and life are in the tongue. If you believe a lie, it will come true for you. By using your own words, you either bring death or life upon yourself, as you express what you truly believe.
Family curses, even if they don’t exist, if you believe in them, will come upon you because you believe a lie and speak the lie about yourself. It is like prophecies spoken about people. I know of a man who received a prophecy about his life but did not fulfill its conditions. He even later began to doubt the prophecy, and the prophecy never came true. This story is an example of a true prophecy that never came true. Similarly, I know of another person who received a false prophecy, believed it, and experienced events that unfolded exactly as the false prophet had predicted. It was later confirmed to be false by the person’s husband, but it still came true because the person in question believed it and spoke it about himself.
Believe that only the blessings of Abraham have come to the Gentiles and that no one can curse what God has blessed. This is not only the truth, but it will also be so because you believe it.
Jesus therefore bore the full curse of the law for the unrighteous Jews, and He also made the blessing of Abraham possible for us (the Gentiles).
Jesus also says that He became poor so that we might be rich in 2 Corinthians 8:9.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Who can tell me what the one thing Jesus lacked was? What was it that He was poor in? Was He spiritually poor? Did He lack some spiritual quality or blessing? No, Jesus was perfect in everything. The only thing He was not perfect in; on the contrary, the only thing He was poor in was material prosperity. Jesus was poor! He possessed nothing. He himself says in Luke 9:58:
…Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.
Jesus had to become poor so that you and I could be rich. Just like sin and sickness, poverty also had to be placed on Him. Poverty is part of the curse. Go read it in the Old Testament. I believe that Jesus slept a lot in the open air under trees. Look again at 2 Corinthians 8:9 – “for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich.” He also had to bear this law’s curse on Himself so that we could be rich. This is where the words of the famous song are such a great truth: “Let the poor say I am rich”.
Someone once said that the redemptive work of Jesus Christ can be summed up in one sentence: “He took upon Himself the entire curse of sin,” thereby making the blessings of Abraham, which included material wealth, possible for us. On the contrary, the blessings of Abraham were material in nature. The material side of our blessings came through the Abrahamic promise. Spiritual blessings came through Jesus. This is the spiritual side of our blessings.
Let’s make a list of what the Bible says Jesus bore for us and delivered us from:
Sin
Violations
Injustices
Punishment (Death, Hell)
Illnesses
Sorrows
Disease
Wounds
Pest
Poverty
Curses (Unrighteous Jews)
The curse of the law can basically be grouped into three main groups, and it shares with the complete man (Spirit, soul, and body):
Spiritual death (Spirit of man – Man’s spirit is reborn)
Disease (Human Body – Human body is healed)
Poverty (Soul of man – The man who enjoys financial prosperity is happy and full of joy, and therefore his soul is well)
Therefore, the blessings of Abraham that Jesus made possible for us are the following:
Spiritual life and spiritual blessings because we have been reconciled to God and He has quickened our spirits.
Physical healing
Material/Financial blessings
This redemptive work of Jesus is absolutely a gift. We cannot earn it or receive it in any other way. Our efforts are worthless because we cannot do any good. Only He was qualified to pay the price, break the seals of the book of life, and open it. He paid the full price, and He grants that redemption to all who believe. God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to pay the price for us. God is a God of compassion, and therefore we are also redeemed from the consequences of sin. He not only redeemed us from sin but also from its consequences. His act of redemption was complete.
Throughout the ages, His work of salvation is precisely what He is still busy making a reality to every human being, and He will not stop until He comes again.
Through His church, his body, He saves people every day. He heals people every day. He provides for people every day. He works miracles in people’s lives every day. This salvation is what He paid for on the cross. For this reason, the gifts of the Spirit will not cease until Christ Jesus comes again. It is precisely for this reason that Jesus gave the “great commission”: Go, preach the gospel to all people; teach them about me, heal them, and cast out demons; raise the dead. You have received it freely; give it freely. Jesus says here in His own words that He paid for everything to bring about a complete salvation: Give them the gospel of salvation, teach them about me, heal them, cast out demons from them, and raise the dead; you must do it freely. It is a gift. No one deserves it. Therefore, it is for everyone.
To do this, He had to give us the Spirit of God, which is why we are baptized in the Holy Spirit. He had to give us the gifts of the Spirit too, because we can’t follow His orders without them. That is why He also said, “As the Father has sent Me, I send you.” You must continue where I left off. You must not do anything else. I have done the perfect work and shown you how. Do only what I have taught you to do. He said unequivocally that the works that He does, we will also do, and greater works than these. In reality, it is still Jesus who lives in us and does the work through us by the Holy Spirit.
We are therefore the instruments through which He does His complete work of salvation. He has never stopped doing precisely what He came to do. However, He does it through us. We are His instruments. We bring the word to an unsaved person. He hears the word, he believes, and he is saved. The first part of the saving work of Jesus is completed. Now we share with the person about the saving work of healing; he hears the word, he believes, we speak healing over his body, and he is healed. We teach him the word and promises of God; he believes it, and all the blessings and all the promises of God become his share. The saving work of Jesus in its totality functions in this way. In reality, we can say about ourselves the same thing that Jesus said about himself in Luke 4:18-19:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me (in the name of Jesus) to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
These are the gifts of the Spirit, and we do it by the Holy Spirit just as Jesus did. He is the Son of God. We are the sons of God.
If we say that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are no longer for today, then we are taking away from the redemptive work that Jesus did. We cannot take anything away from the word of God. It remains the truth no matter how we believe or feel. We could just as well say that Jesus no longer forgives sins. It was only meant for the New Testament people. Not for us. However, claiming that Jesus no longer heals is just as much a lie as the previous statement.
The word of God will endure eternally. We cannot change or undo it. The gifts of the Spirit cannot cease because they are God’s instruments to bring the complete redemptive work of Jesus to fruition in every person’s life.
The Practical House Church Manual was written by ASR Martins
