I.
Introduction
The world today is waiting to see Jesus, but not as you would expect. They are not looking to the sky to see Him. They are waiting to see Him in the lives of those who claim to be His children.
The people of the world have
excuse before the Lord, they have seen denominations,
groups, splits, fragments, controversies and a lot of fleshly believers
fighting amongst themselves. But they have not seen Jesus! Only as mature
Christians allow Jesus to show though us collectively and individually will the
people of this world desire Him. In these lessons it is our desire to show what
the Church will need to show the “Whole Christ” to the world.
II. Ministry Gifts – Ephesians 4:11-13
Ephesians 4:11 And He gave some [to] [be] apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Ephesians 4:12 for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:
Ephesians 4:13 till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ
a.
The
Five-Fold Leadership Ministries
Here we see that Paul is telling us a Jesus gave fight gets the Ministry to the church. They are the apostle, the Prophet, the Evangelist, the Pastor and Teacher. These are gifts to equip the Church for Ministry. These five gifts combined are the ability of Jesus to build and edify his body.
b.
Change in
Thinking
These gifts are not for the work of the Ministry. They are to train the body of Christ to do the work of Ministry. The real Ministry of Jesus cannot be released into the world until we have allowed the fivefold Ministry to prepare all of us to go forth and do the works of God.
c.
How Long
Will These Ministry Gifts Remain?
If you will notice in verse 13 Paul says the gifts will remain until we reach full maturity. If you take a look at the church today we are nowhere near full maturity!
d.
What Will Be
the Result of Their Ministry
The body will mature to a place where we all stand in the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ. The amplified Bible reads "that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood-the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's own perfection-the measure of fullness of the Christ, in the completeness found in Him."
e. When the fivefold Ministry is established again in the New Testament Church and allowed to do their jobs, the world will see the Ministry of Jesus alive in the Church.
III. The Effectiveness of Jesus
1 Corinthians 12:7-11
1 Corinthians 12:7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal.
1 Corinthians 12:8 For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit:
1 Corinthians 12:9 to another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit;
1 Corinthians 12:10 and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues: 1 Corinthians 12:11 but all these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally even as he will.
These gifts, we call the
"Gifts of the Spirit" demonstrate the effectiveness or power of Jesus
to come into our lives with His dominion.
Jesus told His disciples in Luke 10:9 "and heal the sick there, and
say to them, the
IV.
The Nature
of Jesus
Galatians 5:22-23
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Galatians 5:23 meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.
The fruit of the Spirit represents the nature of Jesus. These do not come as do the "Gifts of the Spirit" for they are gifts … you do nothing but receive them and learn how to move in them. I believe the apostle Paul knew what he was talking about when he called them "fruit."
F must be cultivated, matured and nurtured. For fruit to grow, there must be pruning, gentle rains in drawing from the roots. Let's take a closer look at this.
Pruning: Is a process of removing that which is no longer needed. We can call it a process of satisfaction.
Watering: The process of feeding upon the Word in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Drawing from the Roots: Jesus told us that He was the vine and we are the branches. We can only draw from Him in intimate fellowship through prayer and worship. We need time alone with Jesus.
Thoughts about the Fruits in Gifts of the Spirit
1. Anyone at any level of Christian growth can receive and use a "gift of the Spirit."
2. Only someone who has matured in Christ can demonstrate the Fruit of the Spirit.
3. The fruit (nature of Christ) balances out the gifts (the power of Christ). Power must be controlled by matured Christians. It is also a tragic thing to love and care for someone and be a loss change things for the better!
V. In Conclusion
For the world to see a true picture of Jesus through his church, we must have His present-day Ministry through the Ministry gifts, His power and dominion through the Gifts of the Spirit and His character through the Fruit of the Spirit.
By Rev. Paul Little
Gleaned from The fruit of the Spirit: Rev. Lake Chancellor Biblical Life Collage and Seminary