Jesus is the greatest gift ever given. Through the gift of the Savior, every person on this planet has the freedom of choice to receive God’s gift of salvation. Salvation makes a person “complete” in Christ (Colossians 2:10). All that the Father is, Jesus is. "All the fullness of the Godhead bodily" dwells in Jesus, and He dwells within the Christian (Colossians 2:9-10 NKJV). Jesus is the physical presentation of all that the Father is.
Jesus claimed to live a sinless life (John 8:28-29, 46-47), and to be God (Matthew 12:6, 22:37, Mark 2:1-2), as well as having shared the glory of God in Heaven (John 1:1-5, 17:5). When Jesus was accused of claiming to be God, He did not deny it (John 10:30). Jesus did not correct the disciple Thomas when he said to Jesus: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28).
Jesus said that if a person believes in God, they should believe in Him. (John 14:1) He also claimed to be the ONLY way to God (Matthew 11:27; John 14:6) and that He was able to forgive sins (Luke 5:20-21, 7:48-49) as well as to give everlasting life (John 6:40, 47, 10:28-30, 11:25). He also claimed that He would die and come back to life (Luke 18:31-33; John 10:17,12;32-33,16:16) and that He would return again to judge the world (Matthew 24:27-30, 25:31-32; Mark 14:61-62).
Jesus willingly received worship (Matthew 2:11,14:33,21:15-16; Luke 24:52; John 9:38) and claimed the role and functions reserved only for the Creator God in the Old Testament, such as being the Shepherd (Luke 15), the Rock (Matthew 7:24-27), and the Sower (Matthew 13:24-30).
Jesus declared that He had the same level of authority as God (John 5:19), that He existed before Abraham and that He had the name of God (Exodus 3:13, 14; John 6:35, 8:24, 58-59, 10:11-14, 11:25). He also declared that He was the truth (John 14:6), the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:60), and those who have seen Him have seen God. (John 14:9) Jesus said to the apostle John "I am the Alpha and the Omega…who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8 NIV).
A person can’t be converted if they don’t acknowledge the claims of Jesus, nor can they become a Christian if The Holy Spirit is not living inside them completely because; “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (Romans 8:9-11 NIV - see also John 14:20)
Jesus prayed for the disciples the greatest prayer ever prayed on earth.
“that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:21-22 NIV)
Not only did Jesus pray for those around Him, but He was also praying for every individual Christian in the future. God gave the greatest gift ever imagined, and He keeps on giving gifts to His children because every Christian has the gift of the Holy Spirit living in them. They possess - and have access to - all of His promises, gifts, and supernatural power because God is the giver of all gifts. They are to stir up these gifts:
"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." (2 Timothy 1:6 KJV)
The word picture here is of one taking a poker and stirring some dying coals in a fireplace, causing them to burst into flames.
Becoming a Lightning Rod
When a person chooses to give their life to Jesus and receive Him as their personal Lord and Savior, they are re-born and become alive to another realm. They physically live in the natural world and yet are also alive in the spiritual or super-natural realm. This gives them the limitless ability to transcend natural talents and personal abilities.
Living a supernatural life is the most powerful yet practical way for a Christian to live. Christians can live in this natural world with supernatural power to affect change in every life they touch by learning to make use of what God has given them at the moment of salvation through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Becoming a lightning rod of God’s transforming power requires the Christian to move from being passive and intimidated by the gift of the Holy Spirit to becoming intimate and passionate with Him. They must learn to know that the Holy Spirit is God, yet He is also a friend - not a force.
Instruments of Grace
The word “Grace” comes from the Greek word 'charis.' The supernatural gifts are Charismatic grace-gifts. The word has various meanings in the Bible. One such use of the word is in reference to goodwill and loving-kindness shown to people.
The nine spiritual manifestation gifts are instruments of grace, as is the teaching of God's Word, the reading of the Scriptures, daily prayer, the ministry of the church, etc. The healthy growth of the Christian is stifled and hindered when the utilization of the supernatural gifts of grace are minimized, or their need and use today are diminished. When a church, or teacher, or leader devalues the use of the supernatural gifts, they run into the danger of becoming legalistic and receiving "the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1 KJV).
Jesus dwells all the fullness of grace and truth, which includes the supernatural manifestation gifts of God.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 NIV)
Jesus was both fully man and fully God. Every Christian has received the fullness of God through grace (John 1:9,16). They are “complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:10 NKJV).
Those who walk in humility before God are given a greater portion of grace so that they can stand in the gap for others and help to influence change in the human heart. Jesus called every Christian to serve the homeless, hungry, sick and imprisoned as if they were Jesus Himself (Matthew 25:34-40). The grace gifts of God are to be given to others just as they were freely given by Jesus to those He came in contact with.
“But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." (James 4:4 NIV, also 1 Peter 5)
The grace gifts will flow freely and naturally through those that walk humbly before God and humanity. They will be given greater opportunities by the Holy Spirit to share those gifts with others. Every Christian has been given the command to grow in grace (2 Peter 3:18). Because they have received gifts of grace, so they are to:
"minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." (1 Peter 4:10 NIV)
Many Christians are taught that they are given a spiritual gift at the moment of salvation. There even exists Spiritual Gift assessments that are available to be used to help a person figure out which of the multiple “gifts” listed in Scripture were given to them by God.
The negative effect of this kind of man-made teaching is the creation of a Christian caste system where those with the so-called ‘greater’ gifts, such as “prophecy”, “healing”, or “working of miracles”, hold higher positions of authority and ‘power’ than those who only have the gift of “helps”, or “mercy”, or “hospitality”.
This belief has created a ‘class’ composed of spiritual elitists who have a supposed greater spiritual authority and fullness of anointing given by God than the laity, or lower ‘class’ Christians. The reality is that there is no ‘five-fold’ ruling class in Christianity. Every Christian shares in the fullness of the Triune God because all of the Godhead bodily is in Jesus, and Jesus is in every Christian.
It is the Holy Spirit who mobilizes all Christians to do the work of the ministry. He disperses spiritual gifts as needed and qualifies people for leadership in the local church, not seminary training or advanced degrees. Sadly, most churches entrust spiritual leadership and ministry to professional ‘clergy,’ which can cause the Christian to neglect their own responsibility for ministry and diligent Bible Study.
The end result of the belief that each person has been given a specific gift is that the person assumes they are limited to the ‘gift’ they were assessed to possess and must rely on others who have “gifts” they don’t have when they come across a need or situation that requires a different gift, or even multiple gifts.
As an example, let’s say that someone comes to a Christian in the workplace or a social setting for counseling because they are struggling with multiple issues in their life that have reached a serious climax. It becomes evident that the person needs more than a word of encouragement. The issues are so severe that they need deliverance and healing using the gifts of Discernment, Knowledge, Wisdom, and Healings (or more!) so that they can be fully restored emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
If the Christian was taught that they were only given a certain gift, then they would have to get on the phone and call those that were assessed as having the gifts needed to help the person. To avoid such a scenario, it would be best to have a team of emergency spiritual gift paramedics ready at a moment’s notice! Of course, the church would have to organize a committee to study the need and then put their recommendations on a ballot to be eventually voted on by the congregation - providing the Pastor doesn’t get fired because he suggested it in the first place!
That would be like a medical professional yelling out in a restaurant “is there a Doctor here?”, or waiting for an ambulance to save a life, while someone was choking to death, rather than immediately ministering personally to them because they knew how to treat and save the person.
Gifts of Purpose
The purpose of the nine supernatural manifestation gifts is to provide what is necessary to bring a person to the place of forgiveness, repentance, healing, and restoration. These gifts are very powerful because they are working from God, who is working from within the Christian.
The ultimate and full purpose of the manifestation gifts is to bring humans face to face with the reality of the invisible God and to make the Church realize that the Holy Spirit is always present. He is the only source of life and power in ministry. These gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to every Christian:
“But one and the same Spirit works all things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (1 Corinthians 12:11 NIV)
The gifts are very powerful, and the anointing of The Holy Spirit is integral for the manifestation gifts to begin flowing freely as the Christian moves from the natural to the supernatural.
No Respecter of Persons
God uses people in different ways as they each move in the gifts. That does not make anyone more ‘anointed’ or powerful than the next Christian because Jesus sees everyone as co-equal as a result of the Cross.
Every Christian has been called and anointed by God to appropriate what He has given them. He will not take them back or change His mind because “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29 NIV).
God is no respecter of persons. He has blessed EVERY Christian with "every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3 NIV).
"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things.” (Romans 8:32 KJV)
The reason some Christians seem to truly flow more freely in the anointing and power of God is that they are more broken than others. Those who choose to walk in trusting-faith with Jesus when everything hits the fan will begin to manifest more of Jesus and less of themselves.
God is not the author of trials and tribulations. When they do come (and they ALWAYS do!), it is those who resist the wooing of God during those troubling times who will not experience the power of the resurrection. God makes use of both good and bad to mold and shape the Christian so that they can have an intimate relationship with Him.
The anointing is living water that flows in the river of life, which proceeds from the throne of God. It never stops flowing and is available by God’s grace to enable and empower every Christian to draw from it to heal, deliver, impart, teach, equip and accomplish God’s good pleasure.
All of the gifts of the Holy Spirit must be subject to His governance. Jesus said that apart from Him, Christians can do nothing (John 15:5). The manifestation gifts are ALWAYS to edify, exhort and comfort people (1 Corinthians 14:1-3). They must flow freely from the foundation of love because God is love. There is no eternal value in ministry if the anointing of the Holy Spirit is not present.
The Easy Way
In order to naturally flow in the gifts as needed, the Christian must be willing to obey the Holy Spirit when He prompts them - at any given moment in time - to minister to another. Using the supernatural manifestation gifts is a free act of the will and not something the Holy Spirit forces upon a person because He will never violate anyone’s will.
It is the Holy Spirit who provides the power and anointing to effectively change for the good those whom Christians come in contact with daily. The truth is that since ALL of God’s gifts are available to every Christian to give to others when the need arises, they don’t need to call on someone else who is more “qualified.”
To illustrate this truth again, let’s suppose someone receives a new car as a gift for their birthday. Who possesses the gift – the person who is giving the gift or the person receiving the gift? It is the person who received the gift. Likewise, when a person needs to be healed, they become the possessor of the gift when they are healed - not when they are sick. When God heals someone, they are the ones who received the Gift of Healing!
In every unique circumstance, a spiritual gift is necessary. The Holy Spirit will manifest it through the Christian who is in need for the “common good”:
“To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” (1 Corinthians 12:7-11 NIV)
The Christian possesses ALL the glorious riches of Jesus, who is the Hope of Glory! (Colossians 1:27 NIV). Since EVERY Christian possesses all of Jesus, they possess all of the gifts and are to make use of them actively. The gifts begin to manifest when the Christian empties themselves of SELF and allows the anointing of the Holy Spirit to flow from the inside out!
