Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 1 Corinthians 14:1.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
I tell you to pursue love but to earnestly desire the gifts of the Spirit, I am speaking of grace endowments that are distributed for the benefit of all by the Holy Spirit as they are needed and desired. They are available to all but they are given to those who seek them with an intense desire to have them and this intense desire comes from being zealous for My Kingdom because of your love for Me and for all people to experience My goodness and to live My plans for them of shalom, which Christ died to give them. Isaiah 53:5. These gifts are a manifestation of My love working through you to bring about the good, pleasing and perfect things that are My Will into the earth through you as the Body of Christ.
You will notice also that immediately following the teaching on the nine gifts of the Spirit, i.e., the grace endowments, 1 Corinthians 12:1-13, comes the revelation of you who believe as making up the members of the Body of Christ upon the earth, that is, the Church. 1 Corinthians 12:14-27. Understand from this that for the Body of Christ to be working in the completeness of the perfection and fullness of the godhead bodily, the gifts must be in operation and flowing throughout the Body. Not just sporadically but constantly and consistently. And all must be built up and exercised in, through, and with love.
We are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Ephesians 4:15-16.
Though all of you who believe should be actively participating in contributing to the growth and health of the entire body for the good of all, including yourself for the honor and good works of any member of the Body increases the glory and goodness of each member, and each of you, with the help of My grace, should be busy about your part in the Body and not dumping it on another member, there are many that go through life totally unaware and uninterested in the spiritual gifts in which they should be flowing.
Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39.
Jesus has now been glorified at My right hand and I have raised you who have received Him as Lord in the spirit to be seated with Him. And when you believed and were baptized in Him you received the gift of the Holy Spirit, it is time you stopped grieving and quenching Him, and let Him bestow the gifts on you as needed to manifest My love though healings, miracles, signs and wonders in the lives of those around you, particularly those who are your fellow members in the Body of Christ.
But how can you know unless you hear of them? And how can you hear and understand unless someone is sent to explain them to you and how you take them? And I know what you need to function at your maximum and perfect level for which you were made so I have given you gifts in the Body of Christ, I have seen the hearts of those who desire to know Me better and have hearts of love to serve, and I have raised them up and anointed them as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, for the equipping of the believers, the Body, for the work of service, to the building up of the Body of Christ; until you all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of Jesus as Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13.
I tell you that I do not want you to be unaware of the spiritual gifts, these amazing grace endowments that let you operate in the fullness of My divine nature, flowing into and out of you like rivers of life to a thirsty world and rivers of light in a dark and confused world that does not know Me or the power of the resurrection. But if you will not seek or cooperate with them the gifts that could be working in and through you will lie dormant and the light quenched. My Spirit will have to seek and hover over another to get the work of love that I desire done.
Do you even know what these amazing grace endowments are? Do you know and recognize that My Spirit is dwelling within your innermost being, that is, in your born-again spirit?
It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus and found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” Acts 19:1-2.
These are invaluable gifts that I bestow on you freely so I would think you should be interested to operate in them since they are readily available to those who desire and seek them earnestly for these gifts are a very serious and honorable assignment of the anointing of the Body from its head. So let us look at what these gifts are but first we need to backtrack a little more and discuss the Holy Spirit.
Just as I was in Jesus reconciling the world to Myself, so I am in the Holy Spirit speaking precious Words to you. He is your life breath and your connection to My throne, but above all He is your anointer and the anointing all your own and your One to be within you and with you just like Jesus. He testifies to Jesus and witnesses to you with your spirit. He is your counselor and comforter ever at your side and deep within you to be your constant guide and companion. He is the way I am with you at every moment of your day and He will be with you forever helping you to pray as you ought. He intercedes for you and with you as you pray and helps you pull the helm of your life, which is your tongue, so that you do not go astray or shipwreck your life. No man can tame his own tongue but the Holy Spirit, if you will yield to him and not kick against the goad, will teach you how to speak and what to say.
“When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Luke 12:11-12.
But do not get mixed up with whom you speak and direct your prayers. He is My Spirit and Jesus is My Son and we are all One. Jesus told you to address your prayers to Me, the Father, “Our Father . . .” and the Holy Spirit prays and cries out within you “Abba!” which is “Father” but more like Papa or Daddy.
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. Romans 8:15-16.
So take comfort and know that at every moment you have access to Me through the Spirit and He is within you, so I am as close as your heart.
And Jesus came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:17-22.
And the Spirit within you quickens your mortal bodies and keeps them in good health. It is by the Spirit I raised Jesus from the dead and He will raise you up as well. You have resurrection power within you and that is power beyond any other power of all the wonders I have created. He hovered over the dark void of chaos in the beginning and when I spoke and released My Word the Spirit gave it breath, life, and being, birthing it into the earth. The same as He hovered over Mary and I released the Word and the Word became flesh and dwelt among you.
You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth. Psalm 104:30.
On the night He was betrayed, at that Passover Seder, Jesus revealed to His disciples, and thus to you through their words, the amazing and wondrous Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, that He was about to return to Me to give them, and indeed to all down the ages who would believe. And such was not unknown to them because I promised to put My Spirit in your heart by revelation to My prophet Ezekiel and My prophet Joel, besides others, but they gave you much insight into this. My Spirit in you would give you the power to walk in My ways and not strive with Me but be one with Me in fellowship and power, but there is so much more.
And what do I tell you that this wondrous gift of the Paraclete, the one ever at your side as your helper, comforter, director, teacher and guide, that I give you through Jesus will do? What is the Holy Spirit’s ministry to you? To empower you to witness and bring all into salvation, John 15:26; Acts 1:8, to reveal to you My deepest thoughts, 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, to reveal to you My Will for your life, John 16:13-15, to guide you to all truth, John 16:13, to enlighten and reveal to you the meanings of My Word, 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, tell you of the things to come, John 16:13, teach you all things, John 14:26, bring to your remembrance all I have said, John 14:26, give you words and a wisdom no one can take exception to or contradict, Luke 21:15, build you up, encourage you, exhort you, comfort you, inspire you, John 14:16; 1 Corinthians 14, testify to and witness with your spirit that you are My child, My heir and a joint heir with Christ and that your sins and offenses I remember NO MORE, Romans 8:16; Hebrews 10:15-17, testify to Jesus, John 15: 26-27, give you grace gifts that manifest My presence for the benefit of all, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, produce fruit in you with your spirit, Galatians 5:22-23, and lead you, Romans 8:14.
And that is not the half of what He does. He is the anointing and He is the power in you that gives life to your mortal body and raises you to a glorified body on the Last Day. Romans 8:11. He is the anointing. He makes you One with Me and makes your body His temple and My house. “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7.
“And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:5.
Living waters, liquid love, pure and refreshing, the fountain of life welling up within you so that you will never thirst again. On Pentecost, the crowd thought the believers were drunk with new wine. There is JOY in the Holy Spirit. If you want joy in your life, desire earnestly the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 14:1.
And we will begin to talk about these awesome gifts that are for the benefit of all in our next Life Lesson. It is time you began to know and utilize the great things I have done for you in Jesus and that He opens for you by baptizing you in the Holy Spirit—POWER from on High in and on you.
I love you. Are you getting to know Me? A good way is the Holy Spirit for in Him you have access to Me and to My deepest thoughts, to the depths of who I am and who you are in Me.