The Holy Spirit (Part 1)

There is a spiritual experience called the baptism of the Holy Spirit which involves the sign of speaking in other tongues as profiled in Acts 2 and the evidence of power to become an effective witness of the Gospel according to Jesus in Acts 1:8.

To overcome and defeat spiritual warfare, it is important for you to experience this baptism of the Spirit. This is your source of power for spiritual battles.

The Holy Spirit gives special spiritual gifts to believers. The main scriptural references listing the gifts of the Holy Spirit are found in:

-Romans 12:1-8

-1 Corinthians 12:1-31

-Ephesians 4:1-16

-1 Peter 4:7-11

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are necessary to equip the believer for combat against the forces of evil. The gifts of the Holy Spirit include the following:

1. Special gifts to equip God's people:
Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers.

2. Speaking gifts to explain God's truth:
Prophecy, teaching, exhortation, word of wisdom, word of knowledge.

3. Serving gifts to enable God's work:
Serving, helps, leadership, administration, giving, showing mercy, discerning of spirits, faith,
hospitality.

4. Sign gifts to establish God's authority:
Tongues, interpretation, miracles, healings.

The Holy Spirit also develops spiritual fruit in the life of the believer. The "fruit of the Holy Spirit" refers to the nature of the Spirit revealed in the life of the believer, spiritual qualities which should be evident in the lives of all Christians.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are for power. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is for character in the life of a believer. If you do not develop Christlike character traits then you will become a victim of the forces of evil. Spiritual fruit is evidence of spiritual maturity. Like fruit in the natural world, it is a product which is the result of the process of life.

There are two types of spiritual fruit.

-There is the spiritual fruit of reproduction:

John 15:16 "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain."

-There is also the inner fruit of Christlike qualities. These qualities are completely opposite of the fleshly nature of man:

Galatians 5:19-23 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,
heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such
things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

Although the power of the flesh was defeated at the cross, as a believer you experience this only
to the degree that you practice faith in the finished work of Jesus. Therefore, to be effective in denying the power of the sinful nature of the flesh, it is necessary that you develop or "put on" the fruit of the Holy Spirit.