Contributor: Leye Olayiwola

INTRODUCTION
Last week, we were able, by God's grace, to study the relationship and difference between the spirit and the soul. We also considered the importance of the need to know the difference between our spirit and our soul. It's interesting to know that when God made man, He made him a" living soul", i.e. the ability to take decisions and make choices was given to man right from creation. We learnt that the soul, which is the seat of our mind, will and emotions is where these decisions and choices are taken. This week, we shall be continuing in the study of the soul and our body.

1. The Saving of the Soul
"So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls." [James 1:21 AMP]

• We have been able to establish, in the past teachings, that at the new birth experience, it is the spirit of man that is born again. This is the part of man that receives eternal life, which is the nature of God.
• It is the spirit of man (not the soul) that becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus.
• The soul is not the innermost being at all. The saving of the soul is a process. Yes, it is a PROCESS.
• The Epistle of James was not written to sinners. James wrote this letter to the Church. Many verses in this book of James attest to this. Take James 5:14 for example;
"Is anyone among you sick? He should call in the church elders (the spiritual guides). And they should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord’s name."
This is talking about anyone sick among the Church calling on the Church Elders.
• In our text today (James 1:18-21), James started by attesting to the truth that we have been begotten or born again by the word of truth and yet encourages us (Spirit-filled people) to receive the engrafted Word, "....which is able to save your souls."
• Though the innermost man (the real man - the spirit) receives eternal life, his intellect and emotions - which is seated in the soul- still needs to be renewed by the Word.

"Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]."         
[Romans 12:2AMP]
He restores my soul; [Psalm 23:3a]

Both Hebrew word translated restore in the old testament, and the Greek word translated renew in the New testament mean the same thing. To dictionary definition of the word Renew means to restore to a former state; make new or as if new again.
There is no place in the bible where it was mentioned that God restores our spirit. Our spirits become brand-new creatures in Christ Jesus. Our souls however, must be renewed or restored.
•  James 1:21; Romans 12:2 tells us how to restore Man's soul - through the Word of God. It is the word of God that saves our soul, that renews our minds and restores our souls.
• Renewing our minds with the Word of God makes us think in line with what God's word says. We are able to prove and ascertain the permissive and the perfect will of God - because His Word is His Will.
• Certified Doctors, Engineers, Architects, Accountants e.t.c. are just normal people who have gone through the process of mind renewal in their respective fields through consitent and diligent routine of immersing themselves in their books for years. It is a PROCESS.
2. Presenting the Body
"I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship". [Romans 12:1 AMP]

• At the new birth, Just like the soul, we still have the same body we had before we became a new creature. We must learn (as part of the process) to let the new man (on the inside) dominate. By doing this, we are able to control the flesh and do something with our bodies.
• We must learn to Crucify (subdue as in passion, sin; to put to death by nailing) the flesh. God does not do this for us, it is what we have to learn to do ourselves.

Paul said (Romans 12:1) ......" I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,"

Who presents the Body? You. Who is you?  The man on the inside who is born again and has become a new creature!
Paul is not just a leader, he is a leader by example. We see how he subdued his body in 1 Corinthians 9:27;
"But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospeland things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit]."

What did Paul bring his body subject to? To the inward man! Instead of letting the body dominate the inward man, Paul saw to it that the inward man dominated the outward man.
As anointed as Paul was, a spiritual giant who wrote half the new testament, yet his body wanted to do things that were wrong, otherwise, why would he have had to bring it under?

• Lesson for us here is that just because our body wants to do wrong does not  negate the truth that we are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. But we will have to contend with the body, the flesh (mindset), as long as we are in the world.
• God has however, given us the means, the ability, and the authority through the Word of God to deal with the devil and the flesh. If Paul, the apostle of faith can do it, we can even do much more by the Spirit of the living God.
• You (and I) are the one who must do it! Paul never said God would do it for you. He said, "You be not conformed"....."You be transformed by renewing your mind."..."You present your body". You get your mind renewed with the Word of God. You, You, You and You!!!!

CONCLUSION -
The life and nature of God is inside your spirit. Let that man on the inside be the dominant one. Listen to him (the spirit). It is the spirit of man that is the candle of the Lord and it is through your spirit that God will guide you. He will, if YOU let Him.

*Teaching is culled from "How You Can Be Led By The Spirit of God" by Kenneth E Hagin.

Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

INTRODUCTION

In last week’s study, we considered the spirit of man. That man is an eternal spirit and that the spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord. When we are led, it is by our spirits not our minds (which reside in our souls). There are some who don't believe there is a difference between the spirit and the soul; but the spirit and the soul are not the same.

In today’s study we will consider by looking at the scriptures

1. The relationship between the spirit and the soul
2. The differences between the spirit and the soul
3. Why it is important to know the difference
 

THE RELATIONSHIP

First we will look at the inferred relationship based on two scriptures:

1Thess 5:23 says,

“And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete…”

This scripture implies that humans are made of a spirit a soul and a body. It has been said that we are spirit beings, we live in bodies and we possess souls.

•The real person inside of us is our spirit.
•Our soul consists of our mind, will and emotions; (our understanding and our natural human mentality).
•Our bodies are what we live in (earth suit) while we are here on earth.
Also Genesis 2:7 says:

“And the LORD God formed man (body) of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (spirit); and man became a living soul."

THE DIFFERENCE

Paul, by the Spirit of God, said that the spirit and soul can be divided by the Word of God in Heb. 4:12a.

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. . .”

So it follows that if you can divide them, they cannot be the same – they are separate (different) but the Bible tells us that only the Word of God can divide the spirit and the soul.

1. With our spirits we contact the spiritual realm
2. With our souls we contact the intellectual realm.
See also 1 CORINTHIANS 14:14

“For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.”

The Amplified translation reads, "For if I pray in an [unknown] tongue, my spirit [by the Holy Spirit within me] prays, but my mind is unproductive...."

Notice what Paul said.

"My spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful." He did not say, "When I pray in an unknown tongue my soul prays." He said in effect, "I am not praying out of my soul when I pray in tongues; I am praying out of my spirit, my heart, my innermost being."

3. When we pray in tongues it’s our spirit that prays
4. Our souls (minds) have nothing to do with words we say when we speak in tongues
Jesus said in John 7:37-39

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But He spake of the Holy Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"

As a result of receiving the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, "out of the belly shall flow rivers of living water." Another translation reads, "out of the innermost being will flow rivers of living water."

5. Our spirits are made right with God, and raised to new life the moment we accept Jesus. See 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) 
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

6. Our souls are transformed by the renewing of our minds and by the washing of the Word, see Romans 12:2,
"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

SO WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUR SPIRIT AND OUR SOUL?

Let’s consider Prov. 20:27 “The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD that sheds light on one's inmost being.” (NIV)

1. We can only contact God (who is Spirit) by our spirits and not our souls.
2. It is by the spirit of man that God provides guidance
CONCLUSION

God guides us mostly by interacting with our spirits. It is our spirits He uses as a lamp to shed light on our paths. So we need to emphasize on what is more important: keeping our spirits alive and active. When we pray in the spirit, we energize and make our spirits active

Jude 1:20 says: “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit”

Having said that, we also need to pay special attention to our souls (our minds) because the soul is a portal to the spirit; and the decisions we make with our souls determine what happens to our spirits. Phil.4:8 says:

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things”

Contributor: Leye Olayiwola

INTRODUCTION
What an awesome year it has been so far. Thank God for another anticipated awesome experience in His presence. We kicked off this year's bible study discussing in details, the great Shepherd. His word promises in Isaiah 58: 11a "The Lord will guide you continually". That's awesome, isn't it? Assured of the Great Shepherd's guidance all through the year and beyond. Today, we shall take our study further by looking at how the Lord has designed us to be guided. Do you know that both our body and spirit are very relevant and of great value to our God given assignment here on earth? This and many more will be covered in our topic, Man - An Eternal Spirit.

1. The Lamp of the Lord.
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."[Romans 8:14]

"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,"[Romans 8:16]

"The spirit of man [that factor in human personality which proceeds immediately from God] is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts."[Proverbs 20:27]

We will examine these three (3) scriptures collectively and make some spiritual deductions accordingly.

The NASB version of Proverbs 20:27 reads that "The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord....". This means God will enlighten (shed light upon; instruct; impart knowledge to) us. In order words, He will guide us. However, because we live in a sensual world, we are quick to seek guidance by other means, especially our physical senses. This, as you would agree with me, mostly get us into trouble. Nowhere does the Bible say God will guide us through our physical senses or mental senses. God will guide us through our spirits. In order to have a full grasp of this truth, we require a good understanding of our nature as spirit beings.
2. Man: An Eternal Spirit.
"God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness,.... So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them."[Genesis 1:26,27]
We have to understand that man is a spirit being, that he has a soul, and that he lives in the body [1 Thess. 5:23].
"God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worshipHim in spirit and in truth (reality)." [John 4:24]
If man is made in God's image, after His likeness, it therefore follow that man must of necessity be a spirit. That is why when the physical body of man is dead and in the grave, the spirit lives on. That part of man is eternal as Spirits can never die. That why saints don't die. They sleep. Stephen (one of the disciples) was recorded in Acts 7:60 as " And when he had said this, he fell asleep [in death]"Paul was talking in Phillipians 1:23,24, :
"For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you."
Who is going to depart? Paul was not talking about his body. His body was not going to depart. He was talking about the inward man, the spirit man, who lives inside the body. Some false cults teach that when a man dies, he does so like a dog. This is absolutely false. Man is more than a body, he is a spirit! He has a soul and abides in a body! Some also believe in reincarnation. This is unscriptural and unbiblical. Stay and believe on what the word of God teaches. Paul preached the same truths and taught the same facts to all the churches.
"but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." [2 Cor.4:16]
There is an inward man, and there is an inward man. The outward man is not the real you. This is only the house in which you live. The inward man is the real you and never grows older (i.e. corrupted). It is renewed day by day. This is the spirit man. It is this inward man that gets born again (See the account of Nicodemus in John 3: 1-6), the reason why the Bible encourages us to renew our minds. Man's spirit receives eternal life - the very life of God, and the nature of God. It is man's spirit that is made a new creature in Christ.
What Is Our spirit?
Keep in mind our text in Romans 8:14. Verse 16 gives insight into how the Spirit of God leads us - Through bearing witness with our spirit. In other words, the Spirit of God bears witness with the spirit of man.  Paul calls man's spirit "the inward man." while Peter calls man's spirit "the hidden man of the heart" [1 Peter 3:4]
In many places when the Bible speaks of the heart, it is speaking of the spirit, which is the real man. In the New Testament, wherever the word heart is used, substitute the word spirit and you will get a clearer picture of what the Bible is talking about.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." [2 Corinthians 5:17]
This is talking about the inward man and not the outward man. You do not get a new body or any bodily change after the new birth. God does not do anything with the outward man, you have to find out what God wants you to do with the outward man from the Bible and then do it. God makes the man on the inside a new man in Christ, a new creature - a new creation.
3. Be Spirit- Conscious
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." [1 Thess.5:23]
Paul begins with the inside, the innermost part of man, the heart of being, which is his spirit, and comes outside. Most people misquote this verse by reversing the order, why? Because, most of the time, they are body-conscious than spirit-conscious. i.e. the natural mean more to them than spiritual things. We can be sometimes more mental-conscious too because we live in the mental realm.
If we are going to be led by the Spirit of God, we must become more spirit-conscious or we'll miss out on the whole thing. Remember, God's Spirit leads us through our spirits.
Why Body?
As an aside, let's consider the importance of the body. Why did Jesus had to show Thomas His Body in John 20:26-27? Why did He ask him to touch him? What will you do if you hear a movement in you house without seeing anybody?
You see, our body is what makes us authentic dwellers here on the earth. That is why God puts us here, to have dominion. That is why He desires for us to pray so we can invoke mysterious changes here on earth. God is a Spirit and since He does not have a Body, He has entrusted the Power to make changes to us as authentic dwellers (thanks to our Body). You will make great progress with your prayer life if you walk in the consciousness of this.

CONCLUSION -
Realise and walk in the consciousness of the truth that you are a spirit being and that you became a new creature created by God in Christ Jesus. This will help you grow spiritually.

*Teaching is culled from "How You Can Be Led By The Spirit of God" by Kenneth E Hagin.

Contributor: Alex Alajiki

Introduction:
This Psalm was written by David about 3,000 years ago and it is still one of the most popular chapters in the Bible. Amazon, in Nov. 2014, released the most highlighted passages in their most popular books downloaded onto Kindle, their electronic book reader. It included the most highlighted passage in the Bible which turned out to be Psalm 23.
This Psalm is part two of what we could call a Messianic trilogy. Psalm’s 22, 23 and 24 give different glimpses of this wonderful Shepherd.
a) The Past in Ps.22; He is the good Shepherd that laid down His life for His sheeps. Jhn.10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
b) The Present in Ps.23; He presentely cares and provides for the His people. Hebrews 13:20-21  “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him…”
c) The Future in Ps.24; He is the Chief Shepherd that will care for His people eternally. 1 Peter 5:4 “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away”. Rev.7:17 “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water."

Ps. 23 can be divided into three parts;
1) The great Shepherd; our provider (vs.1-3)
2) The great Shepherd; our protector (vs.4-5)
3) The great Shepherd; Our preserver (vs.6)
1) The Great Shepherd; Our Provider:- Ps.23:1-3 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
The Lord – The source of David’s comfort, confidence and strength is The Lord. This name is “Yahweh’, the sovereign, almighty, delivering God. Jesus took this name for Himself when He said ‘Before Abraham was born, I AM!’(Jhn.8:58). We can’t call Him Lord until we come under His authority by giving up our own self-directed foolish ways. The Lord Jesus strongly rebuked those who held such a notion, saying, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).

Is – David was referring to a present relationship. Not was, like He helped us in the past. Not will be, like we look forward to something He will do… but IS – present tense. David had extreme confidence in who God IS right now! Do you?

My – This is personal. The terms ‘I, my, me, he, his, you’ etc are used about 30 times in just 6 verses. His care is not just for the entire flock, but He is interested in personal relationship with individual Sheep. The Psalm is only valid for those who truly have Jesus as their own Shepherd. It’s not for goats. Ps.91:2 “I will say of the Lord, He is my….”

Shepherd – This imagery of the shepherd and sheep spans the entire Bible but is most prominent in the New Testament where Jesus speaks about His relationship with His people, His sheep. How would you describe sheep? What are their characteristics? They are dumb, dirty, defenceless and dependant. They are the most stupid animal on the face of the earth. If there was such a thing as animal school, they would be dropouts. If there is a ditch, they will fall in and need to be rescued. If there is a wire fence, they’ll get caught in it. And then the same thing will happen tomorrow. They can’t run all that fast, don’t have the greatest eye sight apparently and, being basically defenceless, are timid and fearful. And let’s not forget they are prone to wander. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”( Isa.53:6).
That’s the animal God choose which best represents you and I! They are in need of a good shepherd who will provide, protect, and guide his sheep. We need to remind ourselves of this all the time. God is the one who looks after our lives. That is why we need the saviour and the comforter in our lives. John 10:1, 11-115.

I shall not want – David was not saying ‘the LORD is my Shepherd, I get everything I want’! Nor was he saying that all our selfish "wants" and cravings will be satisfied if the Lord is our Shepherd. He was talking about genuine needs, not greed’!  Obviously it means that with the Lord protecting and providing for us then we shall not lack that which He knows we need. This verse doesn’t mean that there will not be times of drought, valleys, difficulties and need--- far from it... God loves you too much to just make things always easy! That seldom accomplishes His purposes and the rest of the Psalm show that these things do occur. But the confidence David had is that the great shepherd will always know what we need and when to provide it. Everything will be ok. He is in control. Ps.34:10 “The young lion.”
Luk. 12:22-32 “ And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[a] 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,[b] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his[c] kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters – Let us take note of the phrases He makes me and He leads me. Jesus our Shepherd is in the business of leading and bringing us to a place of rest. We often try to work things out in our little minds and end up working ourselves into a place of nervous exhaustion! We have to learn to sit back and thank Him once again. He makes me... He leads me.
It is the responsibility of the great Shepherd to lead us to green pastures and still waters, but it is our responsibility to follow, eat and drink. Whenever He makes us to lie down, we must learn to lie down even if we feel like moving. We can never suffer burn out, break down and depression if we constantly follow Him.

The strange thing about sheep is that because of their very make-up it is almost impossible for them to be made to lie down unless four requirements are met. [1] Owing to their timidity they refuse to lie down unless they are free from all fear. [2] Because of the social behaviour within a flock, sheep will not lie down unless they are free from friction with others of their kind. [3] If tormented by flies or parasites, sheep will not lie down. Only when free of these pests can they relax. [4] Lastly, sheep will not lie down as long as they feel in need of finding food. They must be free from hunger." How does these relate to us?

He restores my soul – He renews and refreshes my spirit. Literally, He brings it back. Our restoration comes when we follow Him to green pastures, still waters and take our rest by casting all our cares upon Him. Ps. 55:22 “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he shall sustain you: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake - The paths that the Shepherd takes us on are the righteous or ‘right’ paths. They will lead us to places of rest and provision. Obviously,
this doesn’t mean that the track that the shepherd takes is always an easy one. Sometimes it goes through the dark valley as the next verse indicates. But it is still the path that leads to righteousness. As you survey your life, what path has God led and guided you through? Was it where you thought you would go? Rom.8:29. “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

Introduction
It is a fundamental revelation in the Christian circle that the Holy Spirit is a person, just in the same sense that God the Father is a Person and God the Son is a Person

His Personality
Personality of the Holy Spirit Affirmed By His Attributes.

*He possesses the essential of mind or intelligence. 1 Corinthians 12:11
*He possesses life which is an essential of personality. Romans 8:2
On the human level, the possession of life is taken as proof of possession of personality, one without the other is impossible.

Personality of the Holy Spirit Affirmed By His Works.
*His work in creation -Genesis 1:2
*His work in empowering -Zechariah 4:6
*His Teaching Ministry -John 16:13
*His Guidance -Romans 8:14
*His Comforting -Acts 9:31
*His work of convicting the world of sin, righteousness and judgement -John 16:8
*His Prayer -Romans 8:26
*His Restraint of Sin -Isaiah 59:19
*His Authoritative Commands -Acts 8:29; 13:2; 16:7

He is God
*Seen by comparison (Isaiah 6:8-9 and Acts 28:25-26) also see Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrew 10:15-17
*The term God as found in the translations of the Old and New Testaments is frequently identified with the Holy Spirit. 2 Samuel 23:2-3, 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19 & Matthew 12:31-32

His deity is found in His works
*The work of the Holy Spirit in creation (Gen.1:2) by its very nature could be accomplished only by one who is God.
*His work in regeneration (John 3:6; Rom.8:11) likewise is clearly in the realm of a work of God.
*The ministry of the Holy Spirit in effecting the sanctification of the believer (2Thess.2:13)

Salvation and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
There are schools of thoughts (within Christendom) that erroneously believe that at salvation, we are already filled or baptized in the Holy Spirit. But there’s a difference
 *Philip’s Encounter in Samaria; Acts 8:5-8, 12 & 14-17
 *Saul’s Encounter with Jesus ACTS 9:15-17
Clearly here even though Saul had received Jesus as his Lord, he was not yet baptized in the Holy Spirit until Ananias came and laid hands on him to receive the Holy Spirit; showing us that receiving salvation and receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit are two separate experiences.

The Holy Spirit Within: His Indwelling Presence
*At salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us –this is referred to as His Indwelling Presence
*John 14:17: " Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
*1 John 4:4 "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU, THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD."

The Holy Spirit Upon: His Infilling Power
1. The Promise of the Holy Spirit: "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper. . . [John 14:16-17]
2. The Gateway into the Supernatural: The bible teaches of the nine-fold manifestation of the fruit of the born-again human spirit that is listed in Galatians 5:22, 23.
3. God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit upon us through the baptism of the Holy Spirit so that believers might enter into all the fullness of God [Ephesians 3:19, 20].
4. Power To Put Us Over In Life: Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us," [Eph.3:20]

Seven Steps to Receiving the Holy Ghost
Step 1 –Help: Help the Believer see that God has already given the Holy Spirit and it is His/ Her responsibility to receive God's free gift.
Step 2 –Show: Show the person that anyone who is saved is ready to immediately receive the Holy Spirit. [Acts 2:37-38]
Step 3 –Tell: Tell them that when you lay hands on them, they are to receive the Holy Ghost.
Step 4 -Still Tell: Tell them what to expect as he receives the Holy Spirit.
Step 5 -Get over Fears: May be necessary to help some people get over their fears before they can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Step 6 -Open Your Mouth: Tell the candidate to open his mouth and be ready to use his own mouth and vocal chords
Step 7 -Avoid Distraction: Keep the candidate from distraction.

The Importance of Speaking in Tongues
*Speaking In Unknown Tongues
(a) Needed For Devotion & Prayers: (1 Cor.14:2, 4).
(b) Needed For Fulfilment of Scriptures: (Eph. 5:8, Rom 8:14, Gal. 5:16, 25, John 4:23
(c) Needed For Spiritual Edification & Spiritual Refreshing(1 Cor. 14:4).
(d) Needed To Best Give God Thanks:  1 Cor. 14:16-17
(e) Needed To Exercise, Activate and Stimulate our Faith: (Jude 1:20)
(f) Needed For Spiritual Warfare:  Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)
*Speaking With Diverse Kinds of Tongues
(a) Needed For Ministration: (1 Cor. 14:22a AMP):
(b) Needed by God when He Chooses To Use It for His Glory: Acts 2: 11 (KJV)
(c) Needed For Supernaturally Magnifying God: Acts 10:46

Understanding the Gifts of the Spirit
GIFTS, ADMINISTRATIONS, AND OPERATIONS (1 COR. 12:4-6)
*There are different spiritual gifts, but all of them stem from the one and only Holy Spirit.
*We may administer (serve with) these gifts differently, but we serve the same Lord.
*There are different types of operations (procedures), but it is the same God who does the work in all of us

THE NINE GIFTS CATEGORIZED
1. Revelation Gifts: Spiritual Gifts That Reveal Something:
The Word of Wisdom: Enables one to express the Holy Spirit's revelation/knowledge/answers to either an individual or to a group of people, church, etc.
The Word Of Knowledge: Supernatural insight or understanding of circumstances, situations, problems, or a body of facts by revelation
The Discerning Of Spirits: The ability to quickly perceive whether such things as people, events, or beliefs are from God or Satan

2. Power Gifts: Spiritual Gifts That Do Something
The Gift Of Faith: The special gift whereby the Spirit provides Christians with extraordinary confidence in God's promises, power, and presence so they can take heroic stands for the future of God's work in the church.
The Working Of Miracles: The ability given by the Holy Spirit to perform miracles
The Gifts Of Healings: The ability given by the Holy Spirit to perform miracles of healing

3. Utterance or Inspirational Gifts: Spiritual Gifts That Say Something
Prophecy: A supernatural ability to declare the divine will, to interpret the purposes of God, or to make known in any way the truth of God which is designed to influence people.
Divers Kinds Of Tongues: A supernatural utterance in an unknown Tongue (language).
Interpretation Of Tongues: A supernatural showing forth of that which has been said in an unknown Tongue (language).

Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

Introduction: In the last study we looked at the second of the Power gifts. The gift of the working of miracles and concluded that It takes purity and earnest desire to access the gifts and also if we are ready to pay the price. Today by the grace of God we shall be examining the gifts of healing. The gifts of healing are manifested for the supernatural healing of sickness and disease without any natural source or means. Most of us basically understand the subject of healing. Healings were, of course, in prominence, in Jesus' ministry as He walked on the earth. Jesus had a healing ministry, and He also gave authority to His disciples to heal the sick (Matt. 10:8). Healing the sick is also included in the Great Commission (Mark 16:18). It will help us to understand the operation and the purpose of these gifts of healings by looking at some of their uses in the Scriptures. We know, first of all, that the purpose of these gifts is to deliver the sick and to destroy the works of the devil in the human body.

1 Cor. 12: 9b:  “To another faith by the same spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit”

The “Gifts”
The spiritual “gifts of healing” is the supernatural manifestation of the Spirit of God that miraculously brings healing and deliverance from disease and/or infirmity. It is the power of God that destroys the work of sin and/or the devil in the human body, such as the healings that Jesus and the disciples performed (Matthew 4:24; 15:30; Acts 5:15-16; 28:8-9). The gifts of healing were given to the church as noted in 1 Corinthians 12, where the spiritual gifts are listed.
The gifts of healing have nothing to do with medical science or human learning. The gifts of healing and other methods of divine healing (miracles, faith) are supernatural.
Divine healing comes by the laying on of hands, anointing with oil, the use of items or sometimes just by speaking the Word, just to name a few Bible examples of how healing is ministered.

Ministering by the Gifts of Healings
Let us look again at 1 Corinthians 12:28: "And God hath set some in the church. ..."
Paul was not talking here about spiritual gifts, or the gifts of the Spirit when he said, "And God hath set some in the Church. . . ." He was talking about men and women who were equipped with spiritual gifts and ministries. He wasn’t referring to a healing that is given to a person to bless him; but a ministry of healing given to bless others.

The Holy Spirit: The Person behind the gift.
It is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that activates the gift. Even in the life of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Himself ministered not as the Son of God but as a man anointed by the Holy Ghost.
Jesus was just as much the Son of God when He was twenty-five as He was the Son of God when He was thirty years old. Yet at twenty-five years old, He had not healed a single person; not one miracle of healing had been wrought under His ministry prior to His receiving the anointing of the Holy Spirit at the age of thirty.
It was only after the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove in order to anoint Him to minister that the gifts of the Spirit began to be manifest in His ministry.
This should prove conclusively that Jesus didn't heal the sick by some power that was inherent in Him as the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity. Rather, He healed the sick just as anyone else called of God would minister to the sick today — by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, by the manifestation of these gifts of healings, and by the preaching of the Word of God.
Jesus stood up and read in His hometown synagogue,
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me . . ." (Luke 4:18).
Then Peter, preaching to Cornelius and his household, said, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him "(Acts 10:38).

Interesting Observation about the “Gifts of Healings”
First, let’s look at a few verses in First Corinthians chapter 12. In verses 9, 28, and 30 the gifts of healings are mentioned.
1 Corinthians 12:9, 28, 30
Verse 9: “To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit....”
Verse 28: “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues....”
Verse 30: “Have all the gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?”

Notice in verse 28, both the words "gifts" and "healings" are plural. According to Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, the word "healings" is plural in the Greek in verses 9, 28, and 30.
Notice also that this gift and that of tongues are the only two spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 that are in the plural. The gift of tongues (for obvious reasons)
Why are they "gifts of healings" and not the "gift of healing"?
The Bible doesn't specifically say, but Kenneth Haggin’s opinion; which he believes is well-founded as to why this is so is that there are gifts of healings because there are different kinds of diseases and one gift wouldn't heal every kind of disease. He came to this conclusion based on his experience and that of other ministers:
He noticed in his ministry, as well as in the ministry of others who have these gifts of healings in operation in their lives and ministries, that when it comes to healings, in some areas he has more success than in other areas. Other ministers have concurred that this is also true in their ministries as well. For instance, one fellow who was greatly used of God in praying for people who were deaf, said by his own admission that he very seldom got any other type of malady except deaf folks. However, in the ministry of Jesus, every manner of sickness and every manner of disease was healed (Matt. 9:35). That's because Jesus had the Spirit without measure (John 3:34) and all the gifts of healings were in manifestation in His life and ministry.

Gifts of Healings vs. Receiving by Faith
There is a difference between receiving healing through the manifestation of gifts of healings and just simply receiving healing by our own faith in God's Word.
Not all healing is not necessarily the gifts of healings in manifestation. For example, someone can be healed by believing the Word of God and acting on it in faith.
1 Corinthians 12 verse 30 says, "Have all the gifts of healing? . . ."
The simple answer is “No, all people do not have the gifts of healings.”
This scripture refutes the idea that if a person receives healing, he has also automatically received the impartation of the supernatural gifts of healings (which is the gift of the Spirit to minister healing to others).” It also refutes the idea that a person is necessarily always healed by gifts of healings; he could be healed on his own faith in God's Word.

Conclusion
We don't operate the gifts of the Spirit as we will; it is as the Spirit wills. However, if there is no gift of the Spirit in manifestation, people can always be healed and set free based on the Word of God. The Bible says it is the anointing, or the power of God, that breaks the yoke (Isa. 10:27). The anointing is on the Word of God. That's why it is so important for believers to be members of a local body — a local church — where the Word of God is preached and where God moves by His Spirit. It is also true that when the Spirit of God is moving, it is a whole lot easier to receive whatever it is you need from God than it is at other times, however, that still does not eliminate receiving healing on your own by simple faith in God's Word because the Bible says, ". . . by whose [Jesus'] stripes ye were healed" (1 Peter 2:24). Thank God for His Word and for the privilege of believing and acting upon His Word. Thank God, too, for supernatural manifestations and for gifts of healings.

This study was extracted from Kenneth E. Hagin’s book; The Spirit and His Gifts.

Contributor: Martins Olubiyi

Introduction:
We have established that the gifts of the Spirit can be categorised into three major divisions: The Utterance gifts, The Revelation gifts and the Power gifts. The Power gifts encompass the gift of faith, the working of miracles and the gift of healing. Today by the grace of God we shall be examining the gift of Working of Miracles. To access any of these gifts it is important we bear in mind the injunction of Apostle Paul when he said ‘but covet earnestly the best gifts…’ 11Cor 12:31a.
To covet is to desire as he stated in 1Cor 14:1. So we must earnestly desire these gifts before we can find full expression of it in our work with the Lord.

Text: 1 Cor 12: 7-11.
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
TO ANOTHER THE WORKING OF MIRACLES; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”

The Working of Miracles Defined
A miracle can be defined as a supernatural intervention by God in the ordinary course of nature. The word miracle is very encompassing. When we use the word "miracle" generally speaking, it means one thing; but used specifically, it means something else. For example, sometimes the word "miracle" is used generally as a figure of speech. We talk, for instance, about miracle drugs, miracle detergents, e.t.c. In nature we might see a beautiful sunrise and say, "That's a miracle." We might look at a beautiful rose garden ablaze with glorious color, the perfume of the flowers ascending into the heavens, and say that it is a "miracle" of nature.

None of these things are a miracle specifically speaking, but generally speaking they are. In the magnificent sunrise, the sun is doing exactly what it ought to do according to the laws of nature. The rose is doing exactly what it was meant to do according to the laws of nature.
Therefore, specifically, these are not miracles because a miracle is a supernatural intervention in the ordinary course of nature. The new birth is a supernatural act which takes place in the spiritual realm.

We do not call that a miracle according to our definition of the word "miracle": a supernatural intervention in the ordinary course of nature. What we call a miracle in the specific sense, is a supernatural act on a natural plane. Therefore, the new birth is not a supernatural act in the natural realm; it is a supernatural act in the spiritual realm. The natural birth is in the natural realm. One is spiritual and the other is natural, and neither are miracles in the specific sense. Every one of the gifts of the Spirit is miraculous; they are all supernatural. In the general use of the word "miracle," all gifts of the Spirit are miracles, not just the gift of the working of miracles. But specifically speaking, all of them are not. When the working of miracles is in manifestation, there is a divine intervention in the ordinary course of nature. For example, the dividing of a stream by the sweep of a mantle is an example of the working of miracles in operation (2 Kings 2:14). After Elijah ascended to heaven in a chariot in the whirlwind, Elisha received his mantle and smote the Jordan River. Dividing the waters by a sweep of his mantle was the working of miracles because that was a supernatural intervention in the ordinary course of nature.

Now let's look at examples from the Bible of this gift in operation.
Through the working of miracles, loaves were multiplied (Matt 14:17-21; Mark 6:38-44; Luke 9:13-17; John 6:9-14).
Through the working of miracles, a solid iron axe head was made to float in water as if it were a piece of wood (2 Kings 6:5-7).
Through the working of miracles, the raging force of a storm was quieted (Mark 4:37-41; Luke 8:23-25).
Through the working of miracles, a multitude of fish filled the disciples' net when they let it down at Jesus' instruction (John 21:6-8, 11).
Through the working of miracles, the widow's small pot of oil became a fountain of oil and provided sustenance for her and her son (2 Kings 4:1-7).

The Importance of the Working of Miracles
God certainly worked a miracle when He spoke the earth and the world into existence. When the Lord permits a person through the power of the Holy Spirit to speak a word, and the miraculous occurs, then the same God who created the world is allowing some of His omnipotence to be manifested through that person. But, remember, these gifts of the Spirit, including the gift of the working of miracles, operate as the Spirit wills. By the working of miracles, a nation was plagued to ensure the deliverance of God's people and to bring Him glory (Exod. 7:12). By the working of miracles, the shadow cast by the sun went back ten steps on a sun dial as a sign that King Hezekiah would live and not die (Isa.38:1-8).
Through the working of miracles, suddenly and astonishingly a rod that was thrown to the ground miraculously became a serpent (Exod. 7:10). Through the working of miracles, fire flashed from the sky and consumed a sacrifice as well as the altar upon which it had been sacrificed (1 Kings 18:38). One time through the working of miracles, a prophet even made it thunder and hail (Exod. 9:23).

Elijah and the Widow
The working of miracles was also used in the Old Testament to provide for those in want. For example, it was a working of miracles when the widow's cruse of oil didn't fail, but kept flowing out like a fountain of oil until it filled up every vessel she had, and still the cruse kept flowing with oil (1 Kings 17:8-16).

Working of Miracles in the New Testament.
Now let's look at a few examples of the working of miracles in operation in the New Testament. Jesus and the Feeding of the Five Thousand, when Jesus took the little boy's lunch and fed five thousand with it (John 6:5-14). 
In Acts 8: vs 5 -6 “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. 6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the MIRACLES which he did.”
ACTS 6: vs 8
“And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and MIRACLES among the people.”
ACTS 15: vs 12 “Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what MIRACLES and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.”
ACTS 19: vs 11-12
“And God wrought special MIRACLES by the hands of Paul so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and evil spirits went out of them.”
The passage goes on to tell us about some of the miraculous healings which took place.

Conclusion
It takes purity and earnest desire to access the magnetic field of God’s power. If we are ready to pay the price with the ultimate aim to see Jesus glorified in our calling, God will make all grace abound and orchestrate events that will allow us to be vessels unto honour ready for the Master’s use.

Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

Introduction
In our previous lessons, we dealt with two of the three “Revelation” gifts. Gifts that reveal something: the gifts of the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge. In this lesson we will cover the third revelation gift: the gift of DISCERNING OF SPIRITS.
“To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues.” (‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬ KJV)
Understanding Discerning Of Spirits Gift ‬‬‬‬‬‬
What It Is Not: Discerning of spirits is not a kind of spiritual mind reading, it’s not psychological insight, nor is it mental "penetration." It is not the power to discern the faults of others. It is not the spirit of “suspicion”. It is not a spiritual gift to uncover human failures (1 Peter 4:8). As a matter of fact, it’s not the discerning of PEOPLE but SPIRITS. Finally, it’s not the same as “testing all spirits” that 1John 4:1 talks about as we will see later in the study.
What It Is: To discern means to see or perceive, identify or distinguish. It is a supernatural ability enabled by God's Holy Spirit that allows a person to determine the source of a spiritual manifestation, whether it emanates from God, the Devil, or man. It is the ability to detect the presence of and the identity of spirits; giving supernatural insight into the realm of “spirits.” It’s not just a discerning of devils or evil spirits, but a discerning of both good and evil spirits. Discerning of spirits therefore, deals with three kinds of classes of spirits: divine, satanic, and human.
Why Is This Gift Important?
1. Because we live in a spiritual world: We are all spirit beings. We also know that things first exist in the spirit realm before they manifest in the physical. Without being spooky, we know that there's a spirit working behind "all" manifestations on earth. Ephesians 6:12 (KJV) says:
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
We will be walking blind into the wrestling bout without the gift of discerning of spirits. Many people held in different bondages today are actually possessed by evil spirits. (See Mark 5:1-10 (unclean spirit), 9:17-26 (deaf and dumb spirit)).
2. There are false prophets all over the world: 1John 4:1(NIV) says: "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." Emphasis mine.
The emphasis on this verse of scripture is that there are "false prophets all over the world" (not that discerning of spirits means testing it). My belief is that with the gift in manifestation we are able to distinguish and differentiate between true and false spirits. But if we do not have the gift, then we should test it based on the yardstick in verses 2 and 3 (Expanded Bible):
“This is how you can •know [recognize] God’s Spirit: Every spirit [ a teacher/prophet claiming inspiration from the Spirit] who •confesses [acknowledges] that Jesus Christ came •to earth as a human [in the flesh] is from God.  3 And every spirit who •refuses to say this about Jesus [does not confess/acknowledge Jesus] is not from God [2 John 7]. It is the spirit of the •enemy of Christ [ antichrist; 2:18, 22], which you have heard is coming, and now he is already in the world.”
 Also see Jeremiah 14:14, "And the Lord said to me, 'The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart." And Ezekiel 13:7 & Ezekiel 21:29
3. There are evil spirits in disguise all over the world: There are evil spirits that could take over people and use them against you. Remember the old prophet in 1 Kings 13? He was taken over by a lying spirit as we see in verse 18. Even well-meaning believers could be negatively influenced by evil spirits without their knowing if they are not careful. Matthew 16:23 (KJV):
“But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men"
Jesus discerned the spirit that was speaking through Peter and rebuked it
4. Supernatural manifestations can come from different sources: It is good to have a genuine manifestation of the Spirit of God, but we must realize that all supernatural manifestations are not necessarily a demonstration of the Spirit of God. If the discerning of spirits is in operation, we can know the spirit behind a given manifestation or operation. We will recall the story about the possessed girl in Acts 16.
“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.” (‭Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭16-18‬ KJV)
Paul discerned that it was a foul spirit of divination manifesting through the girl and dealt with the spirit. ‬‬‬‬‬‬
The fact is, there are people who receive supernatural revelation from the devil (though they don't usually understand that he is the source). They call it names like "second vision", "the gift", "the sight", etc. This is really a form of divination or witchcraft that unbelievers practice today. Many are fascinated by it but we should as Christians should be discerning. 
How Does The Gift Manifest?
Sometimes the person actually physically sees the evil spirit at work in the person or situation. There have been instances where during ministrations, ministers see demons manifesting from within the bound person. The Bible tells us of one in Acts 8 where Peter exercised discerning of spirits when he encountered Simon the Sorcerer. Simon had believed in the gospel but when he saw the Holy Spirit given through the laying on of hands he wanted to buy that power from the apostles. Peter saw his heart and said; "For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity." (Verse 23) In the natural we might have guessed that greed for power was the underlying motivation but Peter saw that the true root was bitterness and iniquity.
Conclusion
The greatest trick of the enemy is to make the world believe that he does not exist; so that he can ride on their ignorance, control and destroy them. He executes his plans by employing various demons who carry around all sorts of evil spirits. And although we cannot perceive the spirit world with our natural senses, the realm of the spirit (both positive and negative) is very real. Discerning of spirits is such a vital gift to the body of Christ. The enemy has gotten away with a lot of demonic manifestations in church services because the gift of discerning of spirits was not in operation. God has provided the gift of discerning of spirits to give the Church supernatural insight into this spiritual realm, as His Spirit wills. And when rightly used, is a great protection to the body of Christ; better equipping us to wage war against the wiles of the enemy. Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

Contributor: Martins Olubiyi

Introduction
Last week we were told that we ought not to run a flat service because ‘with great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all’. Act 4: 33 (NIV). Also we were told that to operate successfully in these gifts our faith must work by love. Gal 5:6. This truth is exemplified in the writings of Paul. He started his message on the gifts of the Spirit from chapter 12 and spoke about love (charity) in the whole of chapter 13 before he concluded it in chapter 14. It is important we bear this in mind as we continue in our studies. Today we shall be examining the gift of the word of wisdom.

Text: 1 Cor 12: 7-11.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
For to one is given by the Spirit THE WORD OF WISDOM; ……… But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, DIVIDING TO EVERY MAN SEVERALLY AS HE WILL.

The scripture made us to realise that all these gifts work by the same Holy Spirit and He gives to every man severally as He wills. Also He will not use everyone the same way. We must realise that the choice of which gift to operate in is at the prerogative of the Holy Spirit.
This is not the gift of wisdom or the gift of knowledge as some people call it. Also it is not talking about natural wisdom and knowledge. It is the word of wisdom, and it is word of knowledge. They are given supernaturally. They are not natural gifts. God is omniscience. He Has all knowledge. He knows everything. He never reveals everything He knows. He may choose to just give only a word, a part, or a fragment of what He knows. For instance, a word of knowledge as we are told is just a fragmentary part of God’s knowledge. This also applies to word of wisdom. It is not the gift of wisdom. It is the word of wisdom. God Has all wisdom. He can decide that at a given time He will reveal a part of it to any of His children.

The Word of Wisdom Is Not Wisdom in the Affairs of Life.
It is observed that the word of wisdom many times is confused with simple wisdom in the affairs of life, but simple wisdom in the affairs of life is not a spiritual gift. Case of Joshua in Joshua 1: 8. One translation read ‘‘…Thou shalt make thyself prosperous and thou shalt be able to deal wisely in the affairs of life.’’ (emphasis mine). Also in Exodus 36: 1-2, the wisdom given to Bezaleel and Aholiab can be classified as general wisdom. In James 1:5, the Lord promised to give this general wisdom in all affairs of life to anyone that asks for it. This is not the supernatural wisdom that we are considering today.

The Word of Knowledge vs. The Word of Wisdom.
The Word of Knowledge is a supernatural revelation by the Spirit of God concerning certain facts, plan and divine purpose in the mind and will of God. The facts could be about people, places, or things in the past or present. The difference between the two gifts is that, the revelation the Word of knowledge bring is always present tense or concerning something that has happened in the past. The Word of Wisdom speaks of the future. However, the two gifts can operate together. In the New Testament and in the Old Testament, we see instances where these two gifts were in operation together as the prophets prophesied.  The Old Testament Prophet operated in the two gifts along with the gift of prophecy. For example Prophet Isaiah prophesied about the New Covenant and the coming Messiah.
Prophecy can be a vehicle through which other gifts can flow. It should be noted that the Prophet of Old testament had to have the word of wisdom in manifestation in his ministry to be able to stand in the office of the prophet because he made predictions concerning the future, and the simple gift of prophecy does not include with it the element of predicting or foreseeing into the future. So the prediction is actually a word of wisdom in operation.
Revelation gifts can also come through those who are called to the fivefold ministries. But it is common for it to operate frequently in the office of the prophet. Prophecy is used to bring edification, exhortation, and comfort and not revelation. The word of wisdom can come through the vocal gift of an utterance i.e. through prophecy or through tongues and interpretation. Word of Wisdom can also come through vision or by dream or audible voice or messages through Angel. Dream- Case of Joseph in the Old Testament. Audible Voice- Moses and the Law. We have example in the New Testament whereby Word of Knowledge and Word of Wisdom operate together. Vision- Case of John on the Isle of Patmos. Case of Ananias in Acts 9: 10-16. Messages through Angel- Case of Philip in Acts 8: 26-29. Before we read that passage, we can familiarise ourselves with the progression in Philip’s ministerial calling; He was appointed to serve tables (Act 6: 2,3). Later God moved him into the office of the evangelist (Acts 21: 8).
“Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them’’ (Acts 8: 5).

Thereafter Philip received an instructional message from the Lord through an Angel as recorded in Acts 8: 26. The angel gave instructions regarding God’s plan for Philip’s immediate future. The angel said ‘’Go down to the desert’’. This was a word of wisdom about something that was to happen in the near future. Philip obeyed. Then a word of knowledge was given to Philip by the Voice of the Holy Spirit. ‘’…Go near, and join thyself to this chariot’’ (vs. 29). The instructions were more spectacular than the inward witness or inward voice of the Holy Spirit that every believer has.
Noah’s story in Gen 6: 13-18 was another Old Testament example of how the gift of word of wisdom can be manifested. Also Lot and his family (Gen 19: 29).
The New Testament example is about Prophet Agabus in (Acts 11: 28 and in 21: 10, 11). We also have in record the word of wisdom to Paul in (Acts 27: 10, 23, 24).

Conditional Word of Wisdom.
Some manifestations of the word of wisdom are conditional, depending upon the person’s obedience. For instance in the case of Prophet Isaiah and King Hezekiah in (2 Kg. 20: 1, 5, 6)

Conditional Word of Knowledge and Wisdom to help a dying man. (Illustrative purpose) (James 5: 14- 16; 1 Cor 11: 30, 31 & 2 Cor 5: 17).

Conclusion
Blessed be the name of the Lord who Has not left us in darkness, as we can hear from heaven through the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. How desperately we need supernatural manifestations of the gifts of the Holy Spirit today such as the word of wisdom. As we learn to yield to God, His plans and purposes will be revealed to us through the word of wisdom as His Spirit wills. But we need to take very seriously God’s message to us that come through these gifts and stand as a watchman to preserve those words from decadence.

This study was extracted from Kenneth E. Hagin’s book; The Spirit and His Gifts.

Contributor: Alex Alajiki

Introduction
Last week we focused on another gift of the Holy Spirit; divers kinds of tonques. The emphasis was being able to separate our prayer language from the operation of divers kinds of tongues. We can pray in our prayer language at will but we can’t operate the gift of divers kinds of tongue whenever we want. It was also noted that this is the only gift that was not in operation until the day of penticost according to Acts 2.

This week, we shall examine the gift of the Spirit that works with the gift of divers kinds of Tongues; Interpretation of Tongues

1) Prophecy, Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues ; 1 Cor. 14:5

". . . greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret. . ."
The three utterance gifts — prophecy, divers kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues —are very closely associated. The Bible plainly tells us that tongues with interpretation is equal to prophecy. By definition;
• Prophecy is supernatural utterance in a known tongue.
• Divers kinds of tongues is supernatural utterance in an unknown tongue
• Interpretation of tongues is the supernatural showing forth by the Spirit the meaning of an utterance in other tongues. It is not translation of tongues; it is the interpretation of tongues.

2) The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues; 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; TO ANOTHER THE INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”
The gift of interpretation of tongues is the only gifts of the Spirit that depends upon another gift — divers kinds of tongues — in order to operate. It does not operate unless divers kinds of tongues have been in operation.
The purpose of the gift of interpretation of tongues is to render the gift of tongues understandable to the hearers so that the whole church congregation, as well as the one who gave the utterance in an unknown tongue, may know what has been said and may be edified thereby. Paul said,". . . greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, THAT THE CHURCH MAY RECEIVE EDIFYING" (1 Cor. 14:5). Another way of delivering supernatural message is by the manifestation of the gift of prophecy. For example, psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are also given by the Holy Spirit through the gift of prophecy.

3) The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues In Our Private Prayer Life;            1Corinthians 14:13 "Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret."
In private prayer, it is not necessary that everything we utter in other tongues be clear to our understanding, because Paul said, "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful" (1 Cor. 14:14).
Therefore, it isn't necessary that everything we  pray in tongues be clear to our understanding or be interpreted because we are not talking to ourselves, we are talking to God. What we pray in tongues is clear to God and that is sufficient: "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, BUT UNTO GOD: for no man understandeth him; how-beit in the spirit HE SPEAKETH MYSTERIES" (1Cor. 14:2).

On some occasions God may desire that we interpret our prayers. Paul suggests this in 1 Corinthians 14:13 "Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret."
There may be times, if it is as the Spirit of God wills, that we know what we are praying about in tongues in our personal devotions, and God will give us the interpretation.

4) The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues In Public Ministry; 1CORINTHIANS 14:27 ” If anyone speaks in a tongue, two — or at the most three — should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret.” NIV
“If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.” KJV
Based on these scriptures, if three people have already spoken publicly in tongues, a fourth one should not join in and give out an utterance in tongues. If something else needs to be said, one of those who has already spoken should say it. That maintains good order and is consistent with this passage of Scripture where Paul was laying down principles of proper order for supernatural utterances in the local assembly. Notice that Paul said, " . . let one interpret" (1 Cor. 14:27). There is nothing in the Scriptures that would negate the thought that a person may speak with tongues and interpret the utterance himself. In fact, one of those who is giving the message in tongues may certainly interpret it himself. Or there may be more than one person who could interpret it. According to 1 Corinthians 14:13, those who speak in other tongues are instructed to pray for the gift of interpretation: "Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret."

What Paul was saying here was that the reason a person is to seek for the gift of interpretation is not necessarily so that he can interpret publicly, but so that he can interpret his own prayers privately if God so wills. That would mean a great deal to his spiritual edification. Then if God did will to use him publicly, he would be equipped to operate in that realm as well. Actually, in First Corinthians 14:27 when Paul said, ". . . let ONE interpret," he was admonishing us not to have competitive interpretations; that is, two or three people trying to
Outdo one another by interpreting an utterance.

When someone is speaking with tongues, a person who is used often in the gift of interpretation of tongues should immediately begin to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's moving, if he is not already in tune with what the Holy Ghost is doing in the service. He should make himself available and be ready for the Lord to use him in the operation of that gift.

Conclusion;
The interpretation of tongues is not a translation. Interpretation is simply showing forth supernaturally by the Spirit of God the meaning of what was said in tongues, and it may not take as many words to declare what was said.
A final point about tongues and interpretation of tongues is that Paul said, ". . . Let all things be done unto edifying" (1 Cor. 14:26). When the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues is manifested by the Spirit of God (and this is one way to judge if it is by the Holy Spirit or not), the utterance will be edifying, inspiring, and a blessing. Of course, if we ourselves are out of tune with the Spirit, we will not always be in a position to judge.
This study was extracted from Kenneth E. Hagin’s book; The Spirit and His Gifts.