The Wonderful Diversity of the Holy Spirit!

The Wonderful Diversity of the Holy Spirit...
By Pastor Mary Ann Wray


"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work."
1 Corinthians 12: 4-6

The Lord has been opening up this passage to me more and giving me additional insight as I've been gleaning from a variety of different types of ministries over the years and even more so recently.

What I see is that within each type of spiritual gift/ gifting, an individual operates in that gift in a variety of ways i.e., government gifts: Apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher, evangelist along with the 9 spiritual gifts (prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues, words of wisdom, words of knowledge, discerning of spirits, healings, miracles and faith) and the 7 motivational gifts (prophesying, serving, , teaching, exhortation/ encouragement; giving, leading/ administration, and mercy. It's as individualized as the person themselves. How they operate in their giftings is their spiritual 'fingerprint' from God so to speak

Using a natural metaphor to illustrate this better, we have the automobile industry. Within that industry there are different manufacturers and makes of vehicles within each manufacturer. Within each Name Brand of vehicles (such as Ford, Chevrolet etc.) there are different models. Their sole purpose is for transportation but the amenities vary from model to model.

Applying this principle spiritually to the prophetic ministry, there are different 'types' of prophets. Some are seers, others are intercessors, some are dreamers, others House prophets for the local church, some are regional/ national, some are foretelling prophets, others are gifted in dream interpretation, some are forth telling, some have a mixture of some or all of these aspects... so on and so forth. However, their purpose remains the same: to build up, edify and comfort the Body of Christ. It’s their expression that varies from vessel to vessel.

At the same time, we can grow in the measure and stature of our gifting. Unlike a vehicle that can't change in and of itself, we are a living breathing spirit made in the image and likeness of the Father and have the ability to change from glory to glory. As we give ourselves to studying our gifts, exercising them, praying, being coached by other mentors, growing in our intimacy and knowledge of the Father's Heart and love, and receiving impartation of Divine Grace through other ministries, our measure within our gifting expands. Most people have a gift 'mix' of several things from the three different gift categories listed above.

Ephesians 4 bears out the fact that we are increasing and growing in our individual measures..."Until we all come to the full measure of the stature of Christ." I haven't arrived at that yet...have you? You see, Jesus had the Spirit without measure but we are ever learning, ever increasing and ever growing in our faith and knowledge of the Father. None of us have arrived yet! When we see Him we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is! But that won't happen until we are united with Him as the Bride of Christ at His return. When that which is perfect is come, then that which is imperfect (incomplete) will pass away into a state of perfect completion (1 Cor. 13: 10).

Since we have this treasure in jars of clay an individual's temperament, personality, life experience, revelation and understanding play into how they operate in different spiritual gifts as well...

Some prophets major on building local churches and assisting pastors in this endeavor. Some are more teaching prophets, some are more anointed in counseling and dream interpretation and the list goes on and on.

We tend to 'pigeon hole' the different gifts, but God is so diverse and all powerful in how He uses each vessel, they differ and are varied as the stars of the Heavens. We only know in part and prophesy in part. That's why it is so important to have diversity within the local church to bring a more holistic and balance in ministry. This topic is nearly inexhaustible but these are just a few thoughts about Spiritual Gifts.
                                                                             




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Whipping Post

Image
The Whipping Post An Early Morning Revelation 1/17/19 By Mary Ann Wray “So then Pilate took Jesus and had Him scourged (flogged, whipped). And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe around Him; and they kept coming up to Him, saying [mockingly], “Hail, King of the Jews [Good health! Peace! Long life to you, King of the Jews]!” And they slapped Him  in the face .” John 19: 1-3 AMP   As I awoke this morning I had a quick vision. I saw Jesus’ back being torn to shreds by the cat of nine tails while he stood silently tied to a Roman Scourging Column. There He stood; totally innocent of any wrong doing and being punished for being righteous. He told me today “Write about the whipping post.” I asked, “Lord, why do you want me to write about the whipping post?” He said, “I want my people to see that it’s one thing to suffer for wrong doing but it’s another to suffer for love and righteousness. Many of my...
Read more

What if?

Image
  November 14, 2020 Mary Ann Wray   What if?  These "What if" thoughts came to me while finishing dinner tonight...  Maybe God was trying to show me something. I don't know, but I believe we will certainly find out in His time. While some declare certain victory of their political candidate and others are still theorizing and prognosticating over what will take place, bitter words and divisiveness is being sown around daily like wild seeds. Meanwhile, I think the Father sits back on His throne shaking His head and even chuckling at our human efforts to make things right and/ or figure out the way things ought to be.... Scripture says that "God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways our higher than our ways!"  Here are some thoughts that came to me this evening.... I don't claim they were necessarily from God-maybe so, maybe not. On the other hand, these ideas are definitely not comfortable to my way of life! Here goes....
Read more

Paper Lies and the Law of Love

Image
Paper Lies and The Law of Love… Mary Ann Wray I had a dream a while back where I was ministering the word of God to a congregation of people, when all of a sudden, little yellow pieces of paper (similar to post it notes) with legs began running out of the church towards the foyer door then out of the building. As the little papers with feet ran out of the building, people were being set free from bondages and the place was emptied out as the Holy Spirit washed over God’s flock with the word of the Lord. I asked the Lord what these pieces of paper were and He said, “Lies”.  You see, when God’s word is declared, that is free of ad-mixture, people can get liberated. The lies of the enemy, are like post-it notes.   They stick to our thinking and declare and decree things over us and to us that are untrue. They are half truths about God, ourselves and others. These “paper lies” seek to rule and dominate our thinking frustrating the flow of God’s grace and power...
Read more