TEACHING

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Ladies and gentlemen, I have talked to you about the wonderful Holy Spirit. There is a Father, there is a Son, and there is a Holy Spirit. And many people are hungry to know more of God.

You see, the Holy Spirit is the power of God. God the Father is the creative thought. The Son of God is called the Word of God. And the Holy Spirit is the manifest power of the Father and the Son in the Trinity of God. So it is perfect unity and perfect harmony, three in one -- very God of very God.

The Holy Spirit is God; the Son of God is God; and the Father is God. They are all three God. We have one God, and He's manifest in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Now, we mentioned before that there is such a thing as an indwelling Holy Spirit, but there is also the outpoured Holy Spirit or the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And He comes and manifests Himself in what have been called gifts.

People use the term gifts of the Holy Spirit, founded on 1 Corinthians 12. The apostle Paul was writing, and He said I don't want you to be ignorant of spirituals, of these things. The word in Greek is charismata. And from that we get the term charismatic. The charis are grace gifts. It is the grace of God. And through the grace of God, certain things take place in people's lives.

Now, when the Holy Spirit comes in power and a person is baptized in the Holy Spirit, there are three types of manifestations. The first has to do with what we are most familiar with -- utterance. The second, and actually listed first, is revelation. And the third is power.

The Bible talks of when the Holy Spirit came upon the people on the day of Pentecost. The Bible says they spoke with tongues as the Spirit gave utterance. And they were praising the Lord and declaring the manifold works of God. And people from all over the then Roman Empire heard them speaking in their own languages. And they were so amazed. They were Galileeans. And we have all kinds of people from various places asking, "Why are these people speaking our languages?"

Well, this was a gift of utterance. And you have speaking in tongues. In this case, you have languages, and you also have an interpretation that would be able to express in the vernacular language what is being said.

The other gift of utterance is prophecy. And Paul said I would rather speak a few words in prophecy than 10,000 words in a tongue that the church might be edified. He said prophecy is for exhortation, edification, and comfort.

In the revelatory gifts, you find a word of wisdom. This has to do with the future.

And you have a word of knowledge that is what we have so often manifested on this program, where something that is not available to our senses is made known through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Then, of course, we have discerning spirits. This has to do with seeing the spirits of people good and bad and having visions of Jesus and angels and so forth and entering into a whole other world.

The last has to do with gifts of healing, miracles, and faith.

These are three groupings, three types of manifestation of the charismata, and the Bible said He divides severally, as He will.

This is not an optional extra. Jesus said, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul said, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, you will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses.

There is no way the Church can go forth and witness to the unconverted world without the power of God. And that's why those churches that have embraced the power of God are the fastest growing in the world and have between 500 and 600 million adherents. And that includes people in the Catholic Church and other communions that are baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Part 1