Holy Spirit
The Bible tells us that there are 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are the manifestations of the power and authority given to you by the Holy Spirit in order to accomplish His will on earth.
The Holy Spirit’s work in your life is greater than you might think. This person of the Godhead is the Spirit whose ministry is to empower, equip, and encourage you in your God-given purpose. The Holy Spirit desires to walk with you, live in you, and rest upon you.
- “Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy…”—1 Corinthians 14:39
- “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.”—1 Corinthians 14:1
- “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies.”—1 Thessalonians 5:19-20
- “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things, give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.”—1 Timothy 4:14-15
- “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”—2 Timothy 1:6
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12
- The Word of Knowledge—This gift of the Holy Spirit is having knowledge about something that you have no ability or means of knowing based on your human intelligence.
- The Word of Wisdom—This gift of the Holy Spirit works with the word of knowledge. It gives you the ability and understanding of how to apply the word of knowledge.
- The Gift of Prophecy—This gift of the Holy Spirit is one that the scripture says, “to especially desire.” This gift is a direct Word from the Lord that is to be given to someone else to edify and build them up.
- The Gift of Faith—This gift of the Holy Spirit grows as we walk with the Lord. You are saved by faith. The gift of faith is knowing full well that you cannot accomplish something on your own, but that Lord has empowered you to move into new levels to do miracles and wonders in His name.
- The Gifts of Healings—There are actually different kinds of healings that the Spirit will do. Notice that the scripture says “gifts,” plural. These gifts equip you in various ways to access healing for yourself or be an anointed vessel that will heal others.
- The Working of Miracles—This gift of the Holy Spirit is depicted throughout the Bible, from Moses parting the Red Sea to Jesus feeding 5000 people. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Therefore, He is still in the business of working miracles. Similar to the word of knowledge, this spiritual gift is manifested not by human efforts, but by the Holy Spirit. The work is unexplainable by nature. It edifies and delivers others.
- The Discerning of Spirits—This gift of the Holy Spirit equips the discerner to see evil spirits that are operating in someone’s life. The Holy Spirit pulls back the curtains, exposing the evil spirits so that the person can experience a breakthrough from their bondage.
- Different Kinds of Tongues—This gift of the Holy Spirit is simply a supernatural ability to speak and pray in a tongue that you do not naturally know. This can be spoken forth in prayer direct to God, or in an assembly where God anoints another Believer, with the gift of interpretation, to interpret the word spoken in the native tongue of the congregation (1 Corinthians 14:2, 13-14).
- The Interpretation of Tongues—This gift of the Holy Spirit is to interpret the tongue that was spoken. This can either be for yourself (see 1 Corinthians 14:13-14) or for the Church (see 1 Corinthians 14:27-28).
7 Ways the Holy Spirit Works to Align You with Your Purpose
1) The Holy Spirit speaks, teaches, and reminds you…
His voice speaks to you. He wants to release His power and authority through you.
“Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go near and overtake this chariot.’”—Acts 8:29 (emphasis added)
The Holy Spirit work teaches you the ways of God. His ways are higher than yours. The good news is you can know His ways and walk in them because of the Holy Spirit! He understands you forget; therefore, He will remind you of God’s promises.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”—John 14:26 (emphasis added)
2) The Holy Spirit helps, comforts, and guides you…
Jesus came and experienced the weaknesses of humanity. In your Adamic nature, you are mortal. But as a new creation, alive in Christ, you have an eternal hope. The Holy Spirit helps you in our humanness, which is weak, to become strong and courageous.
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”—John 14:16-17 (emphasis added)
When you do not know the ways you should go, He guides you.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”—Romans 8:14 (emphasis added)
3) The Holy Spirit empowers you.
It is the Holy Spirit’s work that empowers you to do your purpose. It is only by His power, which rests upon you, that can fulfill your calling and produce the fruit that God will use to feed others.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”—Acts 1:8 (emphasis added)
Jesus sought to have the Spirit upon Him before He went to accomplish the Father’s will. Once the Spirit rested upon Him, He was able to withstand and overcome the temptations of the enemy (see Luke 4) and move into His ministry and calling.
“And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him…”—Luke 3:22
4) The Holy Spirit baptizes you…
Baptism means to be immersed, submerged, saturated, and covered. When the Holy Spirit baptizes you, He completely consumed you. This encounter will supernaturally equip you to enter into a new season with authority and blessing.
“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’”—Acts 1:4-5
5) The Holy Spirit groans, prays, and intercedes for you…
There are times you do have words to express your gratitude, need, yearning, or surrender. The Spirit intercedes for you. The Holy Spirit’s work in your life allows you to align with God’s will apart from your understanding.
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”—Romans 8:26-27
6) The Holy Spirit bears witness…
The Holy Spirit bears witness to your spirit that you are God’s child. The Holy Spirit also bears witness to God of your identity and inheritance in Christ.
“TheSpirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”—Romans 8:16-17
“And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”—Acts 5:32
7) The Holy Spirit seals you and distributes spiritual gifts to you…
A seal is a legal signature of ownership. The Holy Spirit legally seals your adoption papers as a child of God. The Holy Spirit’s work is a manifestation of the legal adoption.
“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”—Ephesians 1:13-14
We all have a unique purpose for God’s Kingdom. The Holy Spirit distributes gifts to you according to God’s purpose for your life.
“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”—1 Corinthians 12:11