Old Jerry

Yes it is legitimate to use Jesus as our example in the use of the spiritual gifts. I can’t think of a better example. Jesus was fully man and fully God so since he was fully man we should be trying to pattern our ministry after his example. Samuel was a perfect example of the gift of knowledge in the Old Testament and in the New Testament it was Jesus.

The spiritual gift of pastor or teacher is gift that given by God and not by the church. Therefore you can have the gift without an official position in the church. But then the church would not be using your spiritual gift the way that God wanted it to be used. We had a church that the wife of the pastor was really the pastor (or the one that watched after the flock) and the pastor was just the man that would give us the message from God.

The way I define prophecy is if what the person is telling me about something to happen and it comes true, that is a prophet. I think that churches sometimes despise or prohibit prophecy is because it is hard to differentiate from what is true and not and they don’t want the congregation to be led astray. The guidelines of prophecy is that only two or three should prophecy and the others are to weigh carefully what was said.

I think that we have apostles today. One of the most recent one might be Mr. Billy Graham. He brought a multitude of people to know Jesus Christ with his simple messages on his crusades. Another might be Mother Teresa who was able to take care of poor.

The purpose of the spiritual gifts is to build up the body of God. When people don’t employ spiritual gifts for the intended purpose it tears down the church and causes strife.

The Holy Spirit, if we listen to Him, will keep us on the straight and narrow road to heaven. If we listen to the spirit He will tell us when we aren’t doing the things that we should be doing. The theological term I would use to identify this process is sanctification. A person who has been called a “Christian” for years can display few or none of these fruits because they haven’t been listening to the Spirit and has not been following it. I don’t know if that person is saved because that isn’t my call but they are immature. James says that if we have faith we will have deeds but if we don’t then we don’t have faith.

The meaning to “set the mind on the things of the flesh” is to try to conform to this world. We would have to want all the fancy clothes, houses, and try to be above our neighbor. To “set our minds on this things of the Spirit” is to not be selfish and to be content with what we have. We will have the fruits of the spirit. To have our minds stayed on Jesus is to think what Jesus would do in the situation that you are in. This requires all the will power can put into it and then only with help of Spirit can this be accomplished. The more we keep our minds on Jesus the easier the habit will be.

The sinful nature is that nature that is always wanting to do the evil things in the world. We see things and it looks good or it might feel good but that it is evil. This cannot be eradicated but with the help of God we can control it. There can be victory over temptation with the help of God.

No, the people don’t always speak in tongues and prophecy when they are baptized in the Holy Spirit. We are all filled with the Holy Spirit when we are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. We are all given spiritual gifts but are not all given the gift of tongues or prophecy. But the gifts that we are given are just as important and necessary for body of believers.

I think the meaning of Peter and the believers were “filled with the Holy Spirit” in these passages was to say that they were given a little extra faith to get them through the situation. I don’t think that they were refilled but given more for the situation. I don’t think is possible as a believer to have many “fillings” of the Holy Spirit because when we receive the Holy Spirit we are filled it is just at times we can get closer to God when in a greater need.

The thing that happened at Pentecost that was different than anything that had happened in the previous history is that the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit. The word analogies that were used to describe this phenomenon was they were filled with the Holy Spirit after the wind filled the house where they were setting and then a divided tongues, as of fire and one sat upon them. These words were synonymously used with others in Acts 2. The Jews from foreign lands heard the speaker talking in their language. Peter interpreted what they heard and saw by quoting the prophet Joel.

I think that John’s reminding us that we have “overcome” the world because sometimes it seems like we have been swallowed up by the world. This is the same power that was in the Apostle Paul. The only factors that seems to limit our sense of power is us.

The Holy Spirit’s “seal of ownership” teaches us that He owns us and wants to be with us. I think that the Spirit as a “down payment” teaches us that this isn’t all that there is and it will only get better. I think that the full payment is made when we get eternal life. The Spirit’s “anointing” teaches me that I have been sent into the world to do His work.

The implications of having access through the Spirit to the “mind of Christ” is just overwhelming. We can do anything that God has set our minds to do. We have the power of the universe in our hands. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us the spiritual gifts such as prophecy, teaching, and healing. If it wasn’t for the Spirit we wouldn’t have such gifts.

People who aren’t Christians do not have Christ living within them. The person that Christ and the Father make their homes in us is through the Spirit. In order to make them feel at home within us we should recognize that the Spirit is living within us and welcome him in to our body. We should live the way that we are guided by the Spirit. The home analogy is the Spirit is living in us and the Temple Analogy the Spirit is living in temple. The Spirit living within me affect me in a way that I want to live a life for Christ.

Jesus’s is teaching us that we have no control of “the wind” that was God that has given us the Spirit as a gift.

I think that to be “born of water and the Spirit” means that we have to repent our sins and be baptized. I think “water” refers to the water that we are baptized in because we can only receive the Spirit through the gift of God. We are baptized when we have accepted Jesus Christ as our savior. After that we are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

No, I don’t think that Nicodemus was already born of the Spirit otherwise he would not have been asking about it. People who experience the second birth are spiritually saved and those that have experience the first birth and doomed to hell unless that are saved by the Spirit.

Jesus invites everybody to drink from the steams of living water from within us. He promised that the believers would receive the Holy Spirit. I think that the spring of living water has been fulfilled in my life because God has made it possible for me to enjoy going on mission trips and give in many different ways.

If we will go to the Holy Spirit he will guide us in what we should be doing for the Kingdom of God. He will put it on our hearts when we are doing good and when we are messing up. This applies to us today if we will only go to Him. This sense of the Spirit applies to us today. I know when I am not following his lead because he puts it on my heart.

The benefit for the disciples when Jesus goes away is that they will receive the Councilor. The promise that we have concerning the Spirit’s power in believers is that we will be able to do the things that Jesus did and even greater things because he is with the Father.

I believe that the Holy Spirit is a person because it makes it easier to relate to him. The Spirit reminds us when we are about to go off course, or reminds us when we are off course and tells us when we are on course. It is easy to refer to the Spirit as “it” rather than “Him” because we have never seen the Holy Spirit. In our society today we are not to pin a gender everything but everything is supposed to be of neutral gender.

To testify is to tell someone about what you have done or have witnessed. The Spirit testifies about Jesus when he keeps reminding us what Jesus had done and we are to follow him. I can testify from a personal knowledge about Jesus and how he has saved me and will give me eternal life. The apostles were the first-hand witnesses about being with Jesus and have a personal knowledge about what he has done but I am also a first-hand witness as to what he has done in my life.

The sense that the Holy Spirit “another” Paraclete is that Jesus was the Paraclete while he was here on earth. The way that the Holy Spirit can replace him is that he is going to be in us and will be able to direct us when we need it. The Paraclete was with the disciples when Jesus was here on earth. He will be “in” them at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit is given out.

The Father sends the Holy Spirit because Jesus received the Holy Spirit when he was baptized and only the Father could do that. I don’t know if it matters as long as I got the Holy Spirit.