Visibly His
1. Once you have been saved you are part of God's family. And believe me; there is a strong family resemblance! You will begin to look - and act - like Christ. That is why Christians are called Christians. The Spirit of Christ is in them. By His Holy Spirit, Jesus lives in them.
2. The Holy Spirit, is in every Christian. That is why all Christians exhibit the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
note: The practice of the early Church was to make sure every Christian was baptized in the Holy Spirit. So they made sure every Christian had the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit. They made sure every Christian had anointing, and boldness. This is also Christ-likeness.
3. The fruits of the Spirit are the nature (character) of Christ. We have His nature. We are a new creation in Christ.
...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5:22-23
4. The gifts of the Spirit are the characteristics of Christ. They are part of what Jesus is like. They are a part of His nature. We have His nature.
5. Every Christian has anointing. That's why Paul was able to say,
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us (all Christians) is God. II Corinthians 1:21*
*if you have questions about this see Lenski's commentary on the Greek.
6. The anointing is the power to bring God's love to people - to heal them and set them free to follow Christ. We need the anointing of the Holy Spirit to do this. Without this anointing we can do nothing. Jesus said, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing."
7. The anointing is seen upon our lives as the fruits and gifts of the Spirit so that it is God who gets all the glory. If there is a witness to the world, it is His witness, not ours.
8. The Bible contains two different lists of the gifts of the Spirit. The first list is in Romans 12:6-8 These gifts are often called the "servant gifts." (but all gifts of the Spirit are power gifts) The second list is in I Corinthians 12:4-10. These gifts are often called the "power gifts." (but all gifts of the Spirit are servant gifts)
note: Most scholars think these lists are incomplete, and I agree. Other gifts of the Spirit are mentioned in other Bible verses. For example see Ephesians 4:8-11 and I Corinthians 12:29
9. These gifts of the Spirit are called "charismata." What does "charismata" mean? Well... "Charis" is the Greek word for grace. "Mata" means "marks of." So "charismata" are "marks of grace." We should not be afraid of them. The gifts of the Spirit are God's outward marks of the inward work of grace upon our lives. The fruits of the Spirit are also outward marks of God's inward work of grace upon our lives - so that we are visibly His! We are for signs and wonders - that Jesus is the Messiah - the Son of the Living God! As the Bible says,
Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! We are for signs and wonders... Isaiah 8:18
"Here am I and the children whom God has given me." Hebrews 2:13b
10. In the next lesson we shall look at some of the gifts of the Spirit. All of these gifts work through love. For without love I am just a noisy gong, or a clanging cymbal. In other words without the fruits of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit don't work. We need both in order to minister to the people of this lost and dying world.