“Gifts Of The
Spirit, Part 1: Background And
Framework”
By
Jim Bomkamp
1.
The Purpose For Why We Are
Here
1.1.
To start off this series on Spiritual Gifts,
I believe that it is important that we first of all come to grips with what the
scripture teaches about why God has created us as people in the first
place. We were created by God ‘for His good pleasure’, or in other words so
that we might please Him.
1.1.1. There
are many verses in scripture which teach and allude to this, for instance:
1.1.1.1. In
Phil 2:12-13, the apostle Paul wrote
that we are to work out own salvation with fear and trembling for God is
working with in us to ‘will and to work for His good pleasure’, “12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in
my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with
fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to
work for His good pleasure.”
1.1.1.2. In
1 Cor. 8:6, Paul wrote that we exist
‘for Him’, “6 yet for us there is
but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and
one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.”
1.1.1.3. In
Col. 1:16, Paul wrote that ‘all
things’ were created for Him, “16 For by Him all things
were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and
for Him.”
1.1.1.4. In
2 Cor. 5:15, Paul wrote that we are
to live our lives ‘for Him’, “15 and He died for all,
that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died
and rose again on their behalf.”
1.1.2. This
may seem obvious to you, but in the church at large today it appears that
people have forgotten this. The ‘Faith
Movement’ teachers (which are permeating the main stream church of today) are
teaching a faith that is really ‘faith in faith itself’, and in doing so they
are placing themselves in God’s place and God in their’s. God is then just to be there to be at their
‘beck and call’.
1.1.2.1. Marilyn
Hickey who is in the ‘Faith Movement’ and teaches the doctrines of ‘positive
confession’ has said, “Say to your body,
“You’re whole, body! Why, you just
function so beautifully and so well.
Why, body, you never have any problems.
You’re a strong, healthy body.”
Or speak to your leg, or speak at your foot, or speak to your neck, or
speak to your back; and once you have
spoken and believe that you have received, don’t go back on it. Speak to your wife, speak to your husband,
speak to your circumstances; and speak
faith to them to create in them and God will create what you are speaking.
1.1.2.2. The
‘Faith Movement’ teaches ‘faith formulas’ for manipulating God instead of
teaching people that they were created for Him and His will for their lives.
1.1.2.2.1.
True prayer then is really to be seeking God
so that we can be brought in line with His will and purpose for our life, not
for ordering God around.
1.1.2.2.2.
Remember, in the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught
us to pray for the Father’s will in heaven to be worked out on earth, not for
our will to be worked out in heaven.
2.
God is sovereign
2.1.
We in the church need to be seeking what
God’s will is in any matter, and we must also realize that God is the One who
is leading and working, for it is His plan that is being unfolded in our lives
and within the church.
2.1.1. Jesus
told Peter that upon this rock (the truth of His confession of Jesus as the Son
of the Living God), ‘I will build My church’
(Matt. 16:18).
2.1.1.1. The
church belongs not to man, not to it’s human leaders, not to the community
within which it has formed, but to Christ.
2.1.1.2. Jesus
is the One who says that He will build His church.
2.1.2. In
1 Cor. 12:18, Paul writes about the
fact that it is God who calls each person into a particular body of Christ just
‘as He wills’, “18 But now God has
placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.”
2.1.2.1. Each
of you who are in this body of Christ here tonight have been called by God to
be a part.
2.1.3. In
1 Cor. 12:11, Paul wrote that the Holy
Spirit is the One who distributes the gifts of the Spirit sovereignly, ‘just as
He wills’, “11 But one and the same Spirit
works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”
2.1.4. In
1 John 3:24, the apostle John wrote
that the one who is a true child of God is the one who ‘keeps His
commandments’, “24 And the one who keeps
His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He
abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
2.1.4.1. The
scriptural exhortations to us are ‘not suggestions’, nor are there ‘Ten
Suggestions’, rather they are ‘commandments’, and for us who call ourselves Christians,
when God commands we who are His grateful slaves are to obey.
2.1.5. It
is Jesus who is described by Paul as the ‘head of the
body’ (Eph. 4:15),
and thus it is Jesus who is to direct all of the activities of the church.
2.1.5.1. In
Col. 2:10 Paul writes that Christ
is the ‘head over all rule and authority’.
3.
The Most Important Thing We
Do Is Worship God
3.1.
Let me preface this section by saying that
everything we do as Christians should be an act of worship. I say this just in case you aren’t thinking
that when I refer to worship that I am speaking just about that time on Sunday
morning or Wednesday night when everyone gets together for a worship service.
3.2.
In Acts 13:2,
we see that the early church did not have any big evangelistic planning session
in which they brought in the marketing experts of their day and studied
demographics so that they could see how to best propagate the gospel across the
world, instead they were constantly spending their time before the Lord,
‘ministering to the Lord’ and fasting, and then it was the Holy Spirit who
spoke to them and led them upon the first missionary journey to the Gentile
world to preach the gospel.
3.2.1. We
normally think of ministering to people, and God has called us to do this,
however it is important that we also learn to minister to the Lord in worship.
3.2.2. The
word for ‘minister’ used here is the word for serving, and it is the word that
is also used for a deacon. Here this
word is used in relation to us being before God as worshippers, ministering to
Him.
3.2.3. We
see from the scriptures that before the throne of God there is constant worship
of Him, and in fact we see from Isaiah 6:1-4
that there are angels called ‘Seraphim’ who have been created just to be
worship leaders in God’s presence, “6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s
death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of
His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings;
with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he
flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord
of hosts,The whole earth is full of His glory.” 4 And the foundations of the
thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was
filling with smoke.””
3.2.3.1. Those
of us who plan on going to heaven better like to worship because before the
throne of God there shall continually be a worship of God by all who are
present.
3.2.4. God
always directs those who are true worshippers of His and uses them in a great
way, just as He directed the first missionary journey in the book of Acts.
3.2.5. The
worship time at church where we sing songs to the Lord is not a ‘warm up’ for
the teaching of the Word, rather it ‘IS’
the very purpose for which we come together.
Likewise, the teaching of the Word is not a time where we have left
worship, but rather it is to be a continuation of our worship.
3.3.
There are many verses in scripture which
speak of the worship that we should give to the Lord, for instance:
3.3.1. Deut. 6:13, “13 “You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you
shall worship Him, and swear by His name.””
3.3.2. Psalm 84:4, “4 How blessed are those
who dwell in Thy house! They are ever
praising Thee.”
3.3.3. What
I believe often hinders God from giving us spiritual gifts or perhaps growing
us in the use of our gifts is that we are not good worshippers, and if He were
to give us gifts or increased our gifts we would not use them to worship Him
and give Him glory.
3.3.3.1.In
Acts chapter 2 when the Holy Spirit first fell upon the church it was as they
were together worshipping and waiting upon Him (see Acts 1), and when the Holy
Spirit fell upon them they began to speak in other tongues. They were speaking to God in worship in
those tongues which were unknown to them, for they were speaking of the great
things of God (Acts 2:11).
3.3.3.1.1. It
wasn’t that they were speaking to the people, preaching to the people, and then
began to speak in an unknown tongue, or that the people suddenly began to hear
their preaching to them in their own language.
3.3.3.1.2. In
1 Cor. 14:2, we read that Paul wrote
that the one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, and
therefore tongues is really a spiritual gift which a believer is given in which
he prays and with which he worships God, “2 For one
who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God; for no one
understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.”
3.3.3.1.3. All
of the spiritual gifts are to be used as an act of worship to God who is the
giver of the giver of the gifts.
3.3.3.1.3.1.The
Greek word for spiritual gift in the New Testament is ‘charis’ which is a
derivative of the word for ‘grace’, and thus all of the spiritual gifts are to
be recognized as blessings given us from God.
Thus, the gifts are to cause us to worship Him.
4.
Judge Everything By the Word
Of God
4.1.
We are not to check our minds at the door
when we come together to worship with other believers. We aren’t to just let our minds go and not
critically evaluate every supposed movement of God or manifestation of a gift.
4.2.
The Word is the only measuring stick that we
can use to evaluate whether or not something is from God, and God expects us to
look to His Word to judge any supposed work of God.
4.3.
In the world there tend to be two different
types of churches.
4.3.1. There
are those in whom anything goes spiritually, and thus if people swing from the
chandalears then everyone accepts this as a work of God.
4.3.2. Then
there are those who do not allow any movement of God’s Spirit because they are
afraid to let Him out of the box for fear that something weird or unkosher
might occur. They disallow the use of
the gifts and/or teach that the gifts are not for the church today, only for
the days of lesser enlightenment.
4.4.
Calvary chapel goes right in between the two
different church groups, for though we believe that the gifts of the Spirit are
for today, we also believe that we as Christians are responsible to follow the
scriptural injunctions commanded us concerning how we are to allow those gifts
to be used. God’s Word teaches us a very
delicate balance that we are to have, as can be seen in 1 Thess. 5:19-21, “Do not quench the
Spirit; do not despise prophetic
utterances. But examine everything
carefully; hold fast to that which is
good.”
4.4.1. We
are to allow people to prophesy within the church, and we must be careful not
to quench the Spirit (which we will discuss more later), however we are also to
‘examine everything carefully’.
4.4.2. Whenever
a spiritual gift is supposedly being manifested in the church we ‘all’ need to
seek the Lord as to whether or not this gift is really a work of God or
not. To do this we should ask three
basic questions:
4.4.2.1.Does
it line up with the scripture?
4.4.2.2.Does
it line up with what we know of the nature of God?
4.4.2.2.1. James 3:17 is a good place to go for this, “17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.”
4.4.2.3.Does
the person’s life through whom this is occurring bear fruit for Christ?
4.4.2.3.1. Don’t
listen to someone who is not in submission to God because God does not work
through the lives of those who are disobedient.
4.4.3. If
some supposed manifestation of the Spirit is found not to be so, then it is to
be silenced before it is allowed to cause harm to God’s sheep.
5.
The Scriptures Teach That
There Is A Baptism Of The Holy Spirit For Believers
5.1.
The apostles received the Holy Spirit before
the day of Pentecost:
5.1.1. In
John 20:22, we see that after Jesus
had been raised from the dead that He appeared to the apostles as the were
gathered together. When He came to them
He breathed on them and told them to ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’.
5.1.1.1.I
have to believe that when Jesus tells you to ‘receive the Holy Spirit’ that you
receive the Holy Spirit! So, they had
the Holy Spirit in their lives that day.
5.1.1.1.1. It
is very possible that their conversion and regeneration really occurred at that
moment.
5.1.2. Even
though the apostles had received the Holy Spirit they had not been ‘baptized in
the Holy Spirit’.
5.1.2.1.In
Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist told his
disciples that Jesus would baptize them with the Holy Spirit, “11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who
is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals;
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.””
5.1.2.2.In
Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples
to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit for He would come upon them in power,
and it would be at that time that they would be able to be powerfully used by
God as His instruments to preach the gospel to all creation, “8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon
you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
5.1.2.2.1. There
are three prepositions used in the New Testament to describe the various works
of the Holy Spirit in the apostles lives.
The Holy Spirit had been ‘with’
them, as we saw in John 20:22 He had also come ‘into’
them, but in these words Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would also come ‘upon’ them. This
is the work of the ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’.
5.1.3. What
is the difference between the ‘filling of the Holy Spirit’ and the ‘baptism of
the Holy Spirit?’
5.1.3.1.We
are commanded to be ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ in Eph. 5:18, “18 And do not get drunk
with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.”
5.1.3.1.1. To
be filled with the Holy Spirit means ‘to be controlled and empowered’ with the
Holy Spirit. Therefore, when Jesus is
on the throne of our life, and when we are walking in obedience and faith in
Him we are ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’.
5.1.3.1.2. In
Galatians chapter 5:16-23 we read about the fact that within the Christian
there is a continual battle going on between the flesh (old sinful nature that
still lurks) and the Spirit, and in those verses Paul has given us a very
concise description of life lived in both realms. When we are allowing the Spirit to have the control and thus are
dying to the old sinful nature, then we are ‘filled’ with the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16-23
reads, “16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you
will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in
opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the
deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20
idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes,
dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like
these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who
practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
5.1.3.2.In
the book of Acts, the ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’ always occurred according
the sovereign work of God when He just fell upon the people, or it is recorded
that ‘they were filled with the Holy Spirit’, indicating that it was a sudden
work that just seemed to come upon them.
5.1.3.2.1. I
like the definition that Martyn Lloyd-Jones gives for the difference between
the filing and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
He says that it is like the difference in rainy days. Some rainy days there is just a light
drizzle, other days it is a steady light rain, and then some days there is just
a downpour or deluge of rain. The
‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’ is like the deluge of rain, for when the Holy
Spirit baptizes a person He comes upon them in power and they are used in a
mighty way by God.
5.1.3.2.1.1.In
every case in the book of Acts where the Holy Spirit fell upon them, the people
were immediately used in a great way in service for the Lord, and it also
seemed to involve powerful evangelism of some sort.
5.1.3.3.Since
the ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’ is a sovereign work of God we cannot cause it
to happen (as is the case with the filing of the Holy Spirit which we are
commanded to have moment by moment in our life each day), however there are
things that we can do to both hinder that work from happening as well as to
encourage it to happen.
5.1.3.3.1. Hinder that work
5.1.3.3.1.1.We can walk in disobedience to God.
5.1.3.3.1.1.1. In
Acts 5:32 we see that God gives the
Holy Spirit to those who obey Him, “32 “And we are witnesses
of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who
obey Him.””
5.1.3.3.1.1.2. We
can’t be people who pick and choose which of God’s commands we decide to obey
in our life.
5.1.3.3.1.2.We can ‘quench’ the Holy Spirit.
5.1.3.3.1.2.1. Paul
exhorted against this in 1 Thess. 5:19, “19 Do not quench the Spirit.”
5.1.3.3.1.2.2. Paul
wrote about the spirit of the prophet being subject to the prophet, and
therefore the Holy Spirit does not come upon a person and overwhelm him. So, even when the Holy Spirit comes upon a
person he is really not ‘out of control’.
A person can then also not allow the Holy Spirit to work through him as
perhaps He is wanting to do.
5.1.3.3.1.2.2.1.I
used to hinder the Holy Spirit’s working through my life by being afraid to
allow Him to work out of fear of the unknown and of what He might want to
do.
5.1.3.3.1.2.2.2.I
also used to hinder the Holy Spirit’s working through my life by just not
praying for His empowering and anointing so that I could be used mightily by
Him.
5.1.3.3.1.2.3. We
can be guilty of interpreting scripture in the light of what we know and what
we personally have experienced, instead of interpreting our experiences in the
light of God’s Word.
5.1.3.3.1.2.3.1.Some
people don’t believe there is a baptism of the Holy Spirit that can occur
subsequent to salvation simply because they haven’t felt that they have
experienced something such as this.
5.1.3.3.1.2.4. We
can be guilty of being satisfied with something that is far less than what
scriptures show and teach was true in all of the churches in the New Testament
era.
5.1.3.3.1.2.4.1.We
can be satisfied with something that is far less than all God has for us, and I
think that this is a sad thing when it occurs.
5.1.3.3.1.3.We can ‘grieve’ the Holy Spirit through allowing things in our life
that are detestable to Him
5.1.3.3.1.3.1. Paul
exhorted against this in Eph. 4:30, “30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were
sealed for the day of redemption.”
5.1.3.3.1.3.1.1.Note
that the specific context for this verse in Eph. 4:28-29 is the using of fowl
language, which Paul calls ‘unwholesome words’.
5.1.3.3.1.3.1.2.Conduct
in our life that does not match up with the holy standards of a holy God
grieves Him and keeps Him from desiring to work through our lives in the way
that He wants to work.
5.1.3.3.1.4.Unbelief in God and His promises of scripture.
5.1.3.3.1.4.1. James
exhorted us about this in James 1:7-8, “7 For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from
the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
5.1.3.3.2. Encourage that work
5.1.3.3.2.1.Obedience
5.1.3.3.2.1.1. 1 John 3:22 gives the exhortation that whatever we
receive in prayer from God we receive because we walk in obedience, “22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His
commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.”
5.1.3.3.2.2.Walking in faith in God and the promises of His Word.
5.1.3.3.2.2.1. In
Matt. 21:22 Jesus taught us the importance
of asking in faith when we pray, “22 “And all things you
ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.””
5.1.3.3.2.2.2. Seeking God and asking for the Holy Spirit
5.1.3.3.2.2.2.1.In
Matt. 7:8, Jesus taught how that
persevering in prayer is important, “8 “For everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.””
5.1.3.3.2.2.2.1.1. The
present tense is used here for asking, seeking, and knocking, and the
implication is that if we keep on doing those things we shall get what we ask
for eventually.
5.1.3.3.2.2.2.1.2. Jesus
taught us in Luke 11:13
that our heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to His children who ask Him
for the Holy Spirit, “13If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? ”
5.1.3.4.In
our next study we will look at what are the fruits of the baptism of the Holy
Spirit, but one last thing that I want to mention is that Jesus was the first
one to be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
At His baptism in water by John the Baptist the Holy Spirit came down
upon Him in the form of a dove, and it is written that after that point He went
out ‘in the power of the Spirit’.