S) TRUE SPIRITUALITY of believers is another mystery and an important issue which is clouded in a thick deception and causes serious misunderstandings among true believers. What is the main basis of this deception and what is the true spirituality of a believer?
When we see some one casting out devils from some one else, we stand in awe and are persuaded that this is a truly spiritual man and a great servant of God. The same may happen when we see some one healing the sick or prophesying or speaking in tongues or interpreting tongues or doing some miracles in the Name of the Lord. This is our natural reaction and many years ago I was doing the same seeing such acts in my former churches or during various crusades or missionary activities or on television.
Even greater deception may be present when we witness some one displaying great spiritual knowledge or wisdom or faith or the ability to discern spirits. We have no doubt that such men are gifted from above and thus highly spiritual. The truth is that they are gifted from above, but not necessarily spiritual! How is this possible?
The Lord desires that we would see and understand the following spiritual facts:
1 – Some of the nine gifts of the Spirit described in 1Cor. 12:8-10 are given to all true born-again believers that they may profit withal. They are given to the obedient ones and also to the rebellious ones! (Ps. 68:18) There are many believers that don’t know what gifts they had received and they may not even care to know and to use them for their own benefit and also for the benefit of others.
2 – All nine gifts are spiritual gifts; they are the manifestation of the Spirit. (1Cor. 12:7) We may possess and use the gift of spiritual knowledge or spiritual wisdom and they are not human, intellectual knowledge or wisdom, but spiritual. We may discern various kinds of spirits which no man with his natural abilities is able to do. It is therefore very easy and natural to consider such believers spiritual.
3 – Apostle Paul exhorts us to even covet earnestly the best gifts. But then he attaches to this sentence a small almost insignificant note stating “and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.” (1Cor. 12:31) What is that more excellent way? It is the way of a TRUE SPIRITUALITY and it is the way of the FRUITS and not of the gifts!
4 – What follows that small, insignificant note in the last verse of chapter 12 is, of course, chapter 13, which describes this more excellent way and gives important details why it is so! All gifts are like tools to benefit us and they all are temporary and will cease or fail “when that which is perfect is come…” (1Cor. 13:10) Should we have nothing more than gifts and no fruits, we would appear before the Lord empty-handed. Our spiritual knowledge and wisdom which we have cherished and maybe even worshipped and which others admired in us shall vanish away! Our prophecies which we prophesied, perhaps, to large congregations or TV audiences shall fail! Our tongues and their interpretations will cease! (1Cor. 13:8b)
THOUGH WE WOULD HAVE ALL THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT AND MINISTER THEM TO MANY OTHERS AND HAVE NO LOVE, WE WOULD STILL BE NOTHING! (1Cor. 13:2)
5 – The only thing that will never fail is LOVE (1Cor. 13:8a) and the other fruit of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22,23) This fruit is eternal and will never cease or vanish. Therefore…
THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT DO NOT MAKE US SPIRITUAL EVEN IF WE USE THEM TO PROFIT OTHERS. GIFTS ALONE CAN NOT TRANSFORM US INTO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST!
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT MAKES US SPIRITUAL. THE FRUIT ALONE CAN TRANSFORM US INTO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST.
Our Lord never needed any gifts of the Spirit to use during His ministry on the earth. He ministered by the Spirit Himself, Who is the Giver of all these gifts. HE WAS, AND IS, THE SOURCE, THE SPRING of all knowledge and wisdom and faith and healing (and life itself) and miracles and prophecies and discernment of spirits and tongues and their interpretation! He did not heal the man, who was born blind, He recreated his vision; (Jn. 9:1-7) He did not heal the 12 year old damsel, He gave her a new life (Mk. 5:39-42), so He did with Lazarus (Jn. 11:43,44). HE was spiritual not because He did miracles, but because He lived by the Spirit of God.
A believer may be a “great servant of the Lord” that may preach His Word in the gift of knowledge and wisdom, he may prophesy in His Name, he may heal people or cast out devils in His Name, he may use other gifts of the Spirit and do many wonderful works in His Name and at the same time… he may NOT KNOW THE LORD! And if he does not know the Lord, the Lord does not know him and he is declared by the Lord a “worker of iniquity” and will have to depart from the Lord! (Mt. 7:22,23) Furthermore, if we do not know the Lord, we cannot love Him and, if we do not love Him, we will be cursed (this was discussed earlier). Clearly no such believer can be considered spiritual.
Even the gift of faith (1Cor. 12:9a) will be replaced by the fruit of faith (Gal. 5:22b) as all gifts are given to us at our spiritual birthday and are limited in their scope for our spiritual childhood. As we mature in our spirit and grow the fruit of the Spirit, the use of our gifts is diminishing. Our ministry must be done through the FRUIT of the Spirit, chiefly love, not only by using gifts, including faith. (Gal. 5:6b// Eph. 4:15)
* * *
To be continued next week in chapter 5 – part 15
brother Hanola
…