This paper will examine Spiritual Gifts and the role that Spiritual Gifts partake in the life of Christians. Questions of why we have Spiritual Gifts and who are Spiritual Gifts for will be answered. How did biblical authors speak of Spiritual Gifts and how did the early church utilize Spiritual Gifts? The history of the Doctrine of Spiritual Gifts will also be explored. Why was a doctrine needed and who developed this doctrine?
This paper will also examine how modern Christians utilize Spiritual Gifts and how modern churches are to utilize Spiritual Gifts. Is it to be any different than the early church and how may the future of Christianity deal with Spiritual Gifts differently than we do today?
The main Biblical texts that this paper will
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The argument is that our Spiritual Gifts are Spirit-given ministries that believers are assigned to by the Holy Spirit. Those who have the Spirit-given gift of ministries are gift themselves to the …show more content…
Spiritual Gifts also benefits the individual Christian by working within themselves while being utilized by the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual Gifts in the Early Church
The first evidence of the Holy Spirit giving gifts can be seen in Acts. “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.” [Act 2:4 NASB]. The power and presence of the Holy Spirit can be seen here in a new way that has not been presented before in history. The Holy Spirit has descended upon humans and given them abilities that they were capable of on their own but empowered to do so.
In the time immediately after Pentecost Spiritual Gifts was one of the ways that a true Apostle could be identified. This was a way for the common man to determine if God approved of the person claiming to be an Apostle.
In the early Church the Holy Spirit was known to work in the lives of believers, but hardly anything was written about it. In the late second century early Church fathers began working out a Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Their initial focus was mainly on the relationship to the Father and the
As we look at the writings of both St. Gregory and Gordon Fee, we see both similarities and differences. While Fee places more emphasis on the Holy Spirit in connection with Paul’s ministry, St. Gregory uses his eloquence to specifically defend the concept of the Holy Spirit
Charismatic Spiritual Gifts; I believe while God still does some amazing miracles, signs, and wonders and sometimes performs those wonders through a Christian. I believe these things are not necessarily the miraculous gifts of the Spirit as we see in the New Testament. While the Bible does not say outright that the miraculous gifts have ceased, I believe it does lay the foundation for why they might no longer occur to the same extent as they did as recorded in the New Testament.
Charles Ryrie holds a Th.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary and a PH.D from the University of Edinburgh. Hence, he is quite knowledgeable about theology and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Ryrie’s book is comprised of twenty-two chapters. He includes a section in the book that provides other helpful books the reader might find invaluable to read on the subject of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the book there are two indexes – an index of subjects and an index of select scripture passages.
Over the centuries, Christianity has organised its beliefs into a systematic theology that draws from its sacred writing and tradition. While the main beliefs of Christianity are shared by all Christian variants, there are degrees of different in the interpretation of these beliefs and how they are lived out in everyday life. This can be seen in the important of sacred text, principle belief of the concept of salvation in John 3:16, principle belief of divine and humanity in ‘John 1:14’, principle belief of resurrection in ‘Mark 16:1-8’, principle belief of revelation in ‘1 corinthians14:6’, and beliefs through the Trinity in ‘2 Corinthians 13:14’. This essay will explain the important of the sacred text and the principal beliefs of Christianity.
Acts of the Apostles chronicles the rapid advancement of the Gospel by way of the gift of the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles: The Charismatic Community in Mission” takes into account the narratives succeeding Pentecost including Spirit Baptisms from Samaria to Ephesus (Acts
Spiritual Gifts are special divine empowerments given to us through the Holy Spirit. These Gifts however are not for our own personal benefit, instead the main purpose is to equip us to be able to serve and glorify the Lord while Jesus continues His ministry though us. When we use our Spiritual Gifts to glorify the Lord we are contributing to the overall heath and growth of the church. 1 Peter 4:10-11 shows us that we have each been given a Gift by the Holy Spirit and when we use that Gift we find the strength we need to build up the Church. The Gifts of the Spirit are messages of wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy,
Dr. McClister’s essay discusses the verse from Ephesians 1;13 and reasons about what the “sealing of the Holy Spirit” means by first refuting denominational interpretation of the Holy Spirit. During the 1950s and 60s arose an idea of the Holy Spirit’s involvement in human lives (71). The denominational view of the Holy Spirit had more than one interpretation concerning what the Holy Spirit does on an individual. Among these views was the “Spirit-aided” belief and the transferring of miraculous gifts from the Spirit (71). McClister argues that these ideas are a perversion to the text and points out that because of this perversion, the Lord’s church has feared to explore what the correct interpretation of the Spirit really means (71). The statement “you were sealed”, according to McClister , was expressed to mean authenticity (73). In Greek and Roman times documents were
Something important I found when I read a little more about the novel, is that it was banned and censored in various parts of the world, but especially in the southern United States. The south was offended not only by the crudity, but realistic way Twain portrayed the pre-Civil War American society. Racism, slavery, superstition and morality are some of the most important topics of the novel. Here, Huckleberry Finn is portrayed as an outlaw, some kind of outsider who has grown in complete freedom and therefore a person who neither knows nor applies the rules of society. Huck is a person who does not distinguish what is right or wrong, but who is carried away by his particular way of understanding the world.
When an individual comes to faith in Christ he or she is not left alone to battle the struggles of sin, lead people to Jesus, experience heartache and sorrow, find God’s will, or live a life that is pleasing and honoring to the Lord. No, Christians are given an awesome gift that cannot be purchased or earned. Believers are blessed with the gift of a relationship with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 14:16, “ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”(ESV) Sadly, many believers do not have a correct understanding of who the Holy Spirit is, or what He does. The purpose of this paper is define the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, and is equal in essence and in power in the Trinity to the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit was originally sent by Jesus after his ascension into heaven, Jesus himself saying that he would send a “helper” after he departed from the earth. This spirit is worshipped just as the Father and the Son are, and also participated in the creation of the world, sustaining and giving life continually to all things, and exhibits the uniqueness and characteristics of the third person in the Trinity. This is the same Holy Spirit that divinely inspired the infallible word of God, and although the canon is now closed, the Holy Spirit still works powerfully and constantly in the life of the church and in believers. The Holy Spirit is the giver of spiritual gifts, which are given at conversion and help the believer become more like their creator. The presence of the Holy Spirit is evident in the life of all true believers, and this Spirit turns cowardly men into mighty warriors for Christ who accomplish actions way beyond their natural ability.
The various gifts of the Holy Spirit as listed in Scripture are conveyed according to the will of the Holy Spirit to every man for the eventual purpose of the edification and building up the church body.
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is the source of life and creation. The Holy Spirit worked in the lives of men that God placed His Spirit upon such as prophets and kings to perform His service. Therefore, the Holy Spirit was not given universally in the Old Testament but selectively and temporarily for service. However, in the New Testament, the Spirit grants life to God’s people and believers are brought to faith, in Jesus, through the sovereign work of the Spirit.
Being Spirit filled is not just available to preachers and deacons, all Christians are to be Spirit filled.
The Holy Spirit plays a very vital role in the lives of each and every believer; He can strengthen us with a strength that we cannot even begin to muster up in ourselves. He can bring us joy that we cannot even begin to find in the things of this world. He can bring peace to our lives more than anything that we can ever find on this earth. “The Holy Spirit which is primarily an energizing process, is also a revealing, refining, consuming, illuminating process, and one by which we are made to glow with love to God, and love to man, and love to souls.”
Their is much debate surrounding the use of the charismatic gifts in Acts. Many questions arise about how to use such gifts, and whether or not they can be used today in the first place. The debate regarding the continuation and the cessation of the spiritual gifts, the meaning of which we will clarify in a moment, is a relatively modern one. Although we read about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Acts, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the early church of the New Testament, history is more or less silent on this issue. It was not until the early