THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AS A CHURCH COLLECTIVELY

WITHIN OUR SPIRITUAL GIFT

part seven

Ephesians 2 "The church is the habitation of the Spirit." So He’s moving in His church. Doing what?

(1) Creating fellowship. The Spirit of God is a catalyst that stimulates interaction and fellowship. 2 Corinthians 13 talks about the fellowship of the Spirit. The Spirit of God generates fellowship.

(2) The Spirit of God assists us in worship. He enables us with all our differences and He pulls it all together in a collective expression of worship.

(3) The Spirit of God inspires Scriptures whenever the Bible is open and is taught to us. "These things did not come by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by ...what ? the Holy Spirit. So He teaches us from Scriptures.

(4) The Spirit of God generates unity in the church. Ephesians 4:3 "We are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit." He works for unity. There is unity already in the common life of the believer put there by the Holy Spirit.

We don’t have to create unity in the body. It’s already there. Now the question is how does the Holy Spirit get at this? Here is the answer:

• The Holy Spirit stimulates that unity by giving everybody a mutual ministry to everybody else, so that we begin to talk, so that we begin to think together, so that we begin to feel together, so that we begin to choose together, so that we go out and actually have recreation together, so that we begin to socialize together.

All of these forms of interaction, create a basic unity generated from our common eternal life.

Here is what is critical, it’s critical that we minister to each other because that is the guarding of unity.

NOW the way in which we minister to each other is via our SPIRITUAL GIFTS.

The way we minister is through our spiritual gift. You say,

‘WHAT IS A SPIRITUAL GIFT." Which is the purpose of this paper.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS.

• "A Spiritual gift is a God given capacity through which the Holy Spirit supernaturally ministers to the body." John MacArthur

• Your spiritual gift is a unique capacity to minister to the body of Christ through a vehicle or channel, by which the Spirit of God supernaturally touches the lives of other people.

The Spirit of God has created corporate unity. To keep that unity is to mutually minister. And there is the interchange of thoughts, and feelings, and choices, and in order for the church to manifest unity, the manifestation of whom? Christ. For this to happen, the ministry of spiritual gifts is going to have to happen in the body

Note what Paul says in I Corinthians 12:8

• "To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith, to another gifts of healing, to another working of miracles; to another prophecy; another discerning of spirits; another various kinds of languages; to another interpreting languages." Then in verse 28 "And he set some apostles, and prophets, third teachers.. etc. Romans 12 is another list.