Gifts of the Spirit


Acts 2:1-21, I Corinthians 12:3-13

 Our Acts scripture is commonly read on Pentecost Sunday. It tells how the Holy Spirit descended on the believers. One act of the Spirit was to make people filled with it speak languages so all in the diverse crowd were able to hear in their own language. When they are sneered at for being drunk, Peter speaks out and tells how the prophet Joel predicted this, that all people men and women, young and old, slaves and free will have the Spirit poured out on them.

Peter quoting Joel mentions one of the spiritual gifts we spoke of a few weeks ago that being prophecy. We saw a list of spiritual gifts when we studied Romans 12. Well, Paul expands them in I Corinthians. Our passage starts by stating that no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. This is the power of the Holy Spirit in us to recognize Christ as Lord.

Another aspect of the Spirit is its handout of a varieties of gifts. This magnification of the Spirit is for the common good. Listed here are wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, of discernment of spirits, tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.

Though we have these many gifts we are still one in the one Spirit. We are all whether Jew or Greek (Gentile), slaves or free made to drink – be empowered to do our gift chosen for us by the Holy Spirit.

Though we don’t have a great spectacle as on the day of Pentecost we still have the Holy Spirit. May we pray that the Holy Spirit will activate the gifts it has given us to promote the good in the body of Christ. Amen.

 

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