Our Heavenly Father doesn’t do things half-way. He is perfect beyond perfection, brilliant beyond brilliance, and magnificent beyond magnificence. He never needs to do a do-over, take-back, or back-track. It’s impossible for Him to make a mistake; He cannot fail. Faith in Him is a sure thing because He will never let us down. Through the sacrifice and resurrection of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, God completed the work of our salvation perfectly. Romans 3:24-25 (NLT) tells us, “Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.” Because of this, we can trust wholeheartedly in God’s finished work through Christ and live with the assurance that our salvation is secure in Him.
What saved people have received through Christ is beyond calculation and immeasurable by human understanding. Even if we lived for 10 billion lifetimes, we would still fall short of repaying God for the incredible gift of eternal life through Christ. The Good News is that God doesn’t expect repayment from us; that’s the unlimited goodness of His grace. However, He does expect our gratitude, which we express through obedience and by fulfilling our purpose in His plan. 2 Timothy 1:9 (NLT) tells us, “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.” The salvation we have received through Christ and our calling to live a holy life are integral parts of God’s eternal purpose.
Philippians 2:12-13 (NLT) tells us, “Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Salvation connects us to God’s purpose, and because we have been saved by God’s grace, the Holy Spirit abides within us, providing both the desire and power to do what pleases Him.
This is extraordinarily Good News! On our own, we can’t please God by fulfilling our purpose in His Will and Plan, but through His infinite grace and mercy, we can! What’s amazing is that He does all the heavy lifting through His precious Spirit. The Spirit works within us to will and to act according to God’s good pleasure, and it is both our greatest privilege and responsibility to yield to the Holy Spirit who indwells us—surrendering to him and allowing him to accomplish what only He can.
Not only does the Holy Spirit produce His fruit through us, but He also offers us access to manifold manifestations of His great power. These manifestations do not belong to us personally; rather, they are expressions of the Holy Spirit’s power through us. Often referred to as the “gifts of the Spirit” or “spiritual gifts,” they are distinct from the “fruit of the Spirit” mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23, which pertains to character qualities the Spirit produces in believers. There are nine manifestations of the Holy Spirit, and they serve as evidence of his abiding presence within us. Accessible only to those who are born again, these manifestations are a remarkable way to demonstrate God’s power, blessing and edifying us individually while more importantly benefiting and building up the body of Christ.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“The Nine Manifestations of the Holy Spirit, PART 1 – Introduction”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2024. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.