ASSEMBLIES OF GODGreetings and welcome to the August 2024 edition of Creating Connections from the Office Hispanic and Ethnic Relations. My prayer is that you and your family are enjoying what remains of the summer season and that God’s blessing and favor continue to rest upon you. I also invite you to join us in prayer as many of our children and grandchildren return to school, college or university this month.
I want to continue to speak to you about the role and ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus told his disciples just before his crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension that He would ask the Father to give us another Helper, referring to the Holy Spirit. The word Helper in the Greek language is “Paraclete” which means “someone sent to come along side another to help them, to serve as an advocate for them.” But Jesus revealed that the Holy Spirit would do more than come along side and abide with us, “he will be in us”. Let’s read this portion of scripture. “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).
We know that the Holy Spirit was sent to the church after Jesus’ ascension. We use the phrase, “the Holy Spirit is poured out upon us”, because the Apostle Peter used the term in the NLT “pour out upon us” in Acts 2:33. “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.” Peter also quoted the prophet Joel who said, “‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams’” (Acts 2:17, NLT). The word “pour” is referencing the pouring of oil upon heads the Levitical priests when they were anointed and consecrated for service, or the pouring of oil upon the head of kings like Samuel anointing Saul in 1Samuel 10:1 where it says, “Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you a ruler over His inheritance?” Samuel did the same thing to David in 1 Samuel 17:12. The same Holy Spirit who anointed priests and kings is the same Holy Spirit sent to anoint all believers in Christ when they receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:4. Note that the Holy Spirit does not only come along side us, Jesus said He will be in us. Our God comes to live inside of us. I recently watched a video of Leonard Ravenhill who was commenting that Christianity is unique from the major religions of the world in that our God comes to live inside of us. We don’t worship idols or images of our God for He lives inside of us by His Spirit.
The Holy Spirit comes to anoint and empower us for the ministry of evangelism or sharing the good news of Jesus life, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, ascension, and soon return again. We become his prophetic voices and are called to proclaim, “repentance for the forgiveness of sins in His name to all the nations, beginning with Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). The Holy Spirit also comes to anoint and empower us for ministry to the church.
The ministry of the Spirit through spiritual gifts can be found in Romans 12, I Corinthians chapters 12-14 including the love chapter, and also in I Peter 4:10-11. The members of the body of Christ are anointed by the Holy Spirit to edify and serve others. The Apostle Paul wrote much about the function of the church as the body of Christ. God has formed the church in order to self-edify when each member contributes what God has given him or her to serve others. In one respect, we can say that the church does not lack the resource nor the ability to build a healthy ministry. When spiritual gifts are functioning, what one member lacks, another member provides. Paul uses the analogy of our human body being made of many parts or members that function in unity and harmony in I Corinthians chapter 12.
Let’s read I Corinthians 12:4-13: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
You will notice in the New Testament writings, the list of nine spiritual gifts Paul gives us in 1 Corinthians 12 is not complete. Through this list, Paul states gifts that may manifest through various persons when the church is gathered together in worship. Let's break this list down into categories. The revelation gifts include the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, and the discerning of spirits. The power gifts include gifts of healing (note the plurality – gifts), the effecting of miracles, and the gift of faith. The speaking gifts include various kinds of tongues, the interpretation of tongues, and the gift of prophecy. All these gifts are meant to serve the needs of the body of Christ. Notice that the Holy Spirit oversees the distributing of these particular gifts. You and I don’t get to choose these gifts, the Holy Spirit distributes as He wills.
We will talk more about these gifts in our next Creating Connections newsletter, but let me close by commenting on I Cor. 12:13. Notice that the Holy Spirit baptizes us into one body and unifies people from different ethnic backgrounds and social class and/or status. Jews would minister to Gentiles and Gentiles to Jews and slaves would minister to those who were free and those who were free would minister to slaves. No wonder Paul exhorted the Ephesians to “Be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). May God use each one of us to surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit and be used of God to edify others who have needs within our local churches. Amen!
Dennis Rivera
Director, Hispanic & Ethnic Relations
