Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled,
for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."
When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit".
[ John 20:19-22 New King James Version ]
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This event occurred in the upper room where the disciples were hiding out. It was between the time when
Jesus rose from the dead and the time when He ascended bodily into heaven.
But the Spirit did not descend and fill them until after Jesus left earth.
He had told them before that unless he returned to the Father who sent Him,
the Holy Spirit ( also rendered Paraclete, Comforter, Holy Ghost ] could not come.
Jesus, despite His divinity, functioned on the earth plane much as a natural human but one endowed with extraordinary
powers and knowledge.
But the Holy Spirit functions entirely on the spiritual plane even though He may manifest in physically observable ways as
He did on Pentecost when the flames appeared above the disciples. The Spirit empowered and emboldened them to
be witnesses to Christ. The Spirit will empower you.
Fruit of the Spirit
But the fruit of the Spirit is
- love,
- joy,
- peace,
- patience,
- kindness,
- goodness,
- faithfulness,
- gentleness,
- and self-control
Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
[ Galatians 5:22-25 New International Version ]
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A tree bearing good fruit is evident to all who see it. If you have seen a citrus tree heavy with grapefruit, or an
apple tree decorated with lush red fruit, you know how obvious it is, to even a casual observer, that it is a
good tree yielding something desirable and worth having.
If you are living by the Spirit who comes with your acceptance of Jesus as your savior, you will put forth abundant
spiritual fruit in the forms Paul listed. Others around you will see this fruit in your behaviors, attitudes, and
interactions with people. They will desire what you have. They may have it at no cost the same way you got it.
The Holy Spirit will tell you when there is a person within your reach who desires this fruit. They will be drawn to you
and you will be able to share with them the source of the fruit. This probably will not happen in your first fifteen minutes of being a
believer. A tree requires time to mature and fulfill its potential. You will need to be nourished in your spirit by The Spirit
who will lead you to sources where you will be fed spiritual food.
You can trust the Holy Spirit. He is sent by God the Father for just the purposes of testifying to the truth of Christ and
convicting ( not condemning ) the world of this truth, and to build up and encourage the members of the Body of Christ on
earth ... you, me, and all our brethren who are saved by faith in Jesus Christ.
Gifts of the Spirit
Saint paul wrote the following in a letter to the church at Corinth:
Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, 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 12:1,4-11 New International Version ]
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So these, as Paul has written, are gifts from the Holy Spirit to the believers. His list may not be exhaustive. He wrote of the gifts
he knew. There may be more gifts. They all share in common this one trait ... they are for the benefit of the entire body of
believers and for effecting conversions of nonbelievers.
If the Spirit singles you out to receive a certain gift, He will also guide you in how to use it for the edification of
all the brethren in Christ.
You do not get to choose your gift ( or gifts, as some may be given more than one gift ), nevertheless ask God for any and
every gift He wishes to bestow upon you. Do not be in a hurry to discover what gift you receive. The gifts are tools to
be used to build and strengthen God's Kingdom, not toys to play with or to show others, "Look what God gave ME !"
Do not lust after gifts of special powers. He who can heal or drive out demons is higher in God's favor than he who has
only the one critically important gift of FAITH. I hold that the gift of faith is the single most important gift for the individual
to receive. Faith underlies all other things. Without faith no other gift will matter.
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