Week 11 - What are Spiritual Manifestations?
1 Corinthians 12:7 - “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.”
First, let us deal with the basics. What does it mean to have a manifestation of the Holy Spirit? A “manifestation” is something made visible, apparent, or evident in the natural. Therefore, a manifestation of the spirit is something that is brought into our natural view via the gift of Holy Spirit.
The only way to have a “manifestation” of Holy Spirit is to have the Holy Spirit itself, and one receives God’s gift of Holy Spirit the moment he is born again. This means that today the manifestations of Holy Spirit are available only to Christians, not to unsaved people. We must understand this because sometimes manifestations such as a message of knowledge or a message of wisdom are treated as if they mean that someone has great knowledge or vast wisdom. Knowledge and wisdom learned via one’s five senses are not manifestations of Holy Spirit. Many unbelievers have much knowledge or wisdom, but that is not a “manifestation” of Holy Spirit because they do not have the Holy Spirit within them.
Many Christians falsely refer to the manifestations of Holy Spirit as “gifts of the spirit.” A “manifestation” is when something appears in the natural world or is readily perceived by the senses. A “gift” is something that is given from one person to another. A good way to understand the difference between a gift and a manifestation is to think of a light bulb. If someone gives you a light bulb, it is the gift. When it is turned on, the light and heat are its manifestations. If you have the light bulb, you automatically have its manifestations of light and heat when you turn it on.
Likewise, God gives us His gift of Holy Spirit. The manifestations come from the gift; they are not gifts in and of themselves. So, for example, the reason God can say, “I would like every one of you to speak in tongues…” (1 Cor. 14:5a) is that speaking in tongues is a manifestation, not a gift. Every Christian has the gift of Holy Spirit born and sealed inside him, so each has the ability to speak in tongues, as well as evidence the other manifestations.
So, now that we know what a manifestation is, we need to discover what purpose God intended for the Holy Spirit and manifestations in the Body of Christ.
1. Motivating us towards Salvation
When a person begins to realize the truth of God they begin to feel convicted of their sins. They come to a realization that they need the forgiveness of God and the salvation of His Son. The process of spiritual rebirth sets in and the person becomes a new creature. When an individual accepts Christ and God’s forgiveness and willingly yields his or her life to Christ they are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. The spirit enables the believer to participate in God’s purpose and he or she begins to develop Godly character and is sealed for eternal life. This process is initiated and completed by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is why no man can come to God except through the power of the Holy Sprit.
2. Sanctifying the Body of Christ
The Holy Spirit sets us apart for God’s possession and purpose and makes us ready for every good work. The Holy Spirit then constantly reminds us of who we are which enables us to worship God in spirit and in truth. The Holy Spirit helps us to develop Godly characters and constantly remind us of what God has revealed in His Word. This reminder is very important because it is God’s own mechanism to ensure that we are constantly being filled by His Word.
3. Enabling us to be Witnesses for Christ
The act of witnessing is very important in the scheme of God’s purpose. The great commission in Matt. 28 is imperative in the life of every Christian. However, it is the Holy Spirit that enables a believer to undertake this great assignment with ease. We can see from the beginning of the spread of the gospel, particularly from Pentecost, that it was the Holy Spirit that motivated and gave the disciples the utterances to speak with boldness. The Holy Spirit is given to those who seek His power to function in God’s divine purpose.
4. Empowering the Body of Christ for Service
The Holy Spirit helps Christians to fulfill their God’s given mission on Earth. Through the Holy Spirit, God gives us ability to claim the anointing and talents that He has placed within us. The Holy Spirit then releases those gifts to serve THE BODY of Christ.
5. Unifying the Body of Christ
The Holy Spirit helps to unify the Church as the body of Christ. When unity is lacking among people that claimed to be Christians, it means that the Holy Spirit is not present amongst them. We are aware of the power of the Holy Sprit in uniting the believers from the moment of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit helps to build the Church, inspires Godly worship in the Church, directs the Church’s mission, helps in the appointments of Church workers, give gifts and ability to the Church, empowers the preachers, guards and preserves the gospel, promotes and preserves right relationship with God and other men and helps us carry out the purpose of Christ.
In summary, in the modern day body of Christ, believers have mistakenly started chasing the manifestations of the Spirit rather than chasing the Holy Spirit. We are doing it wrong folks. We need to stop chasing the fireworks and start digging in the dirt to pull people out. In book 2 of TRU Steps, we discussed service and declared that the only purpose of serving is to glorify God and to edify the body. What we MUST realize is that the only purpose of manifestations is to glorify God, and to edify the body of Christ. As an example - if a tongue is spoken in the body but not interpreted, how is God glorified or the body edified? If someone is slain in the Spirit but rises unchanged in character, what purpose did it serve?
If we change our focus to the RESULTS of a manifestation instead of the manifestation itself, we can literally allow the Holy Spirit to explode within the hearts of the Body of Christ. Seek the source. Seek the Spirit and allow the manifestations to occur AS THE SPIRIT desires. We must do all we can to align our motives with the five purposes listed above and let God be glorified and the body be edified beyond anything we can dream of.
First, let us deal with the basics. What does it mean to have a manifestation of the Holy Spirit? A “manifestation” is something made visible, apparent, or evident in the natural. Therefore, a manifestation of the spirit is something that is brought into our natural view via the gift of Holy Spirit.
The only way to have a “manifestation” of Holy Spirit is to have the Holy Spirit itself, and one receives God’s gift of Holy Spirit the moment he is born again. This means that today the manifestations of Holy Spirit are available only to Christians, not to unsaved people. We must understand this because sometimes manifestations such as a message of knowledge or a message of wisdom are treated as if they mean that someone has great knowledge or vast wisdom. Knowledge and wisdom learned via one’s five senses are not manifestations of Holy Spirit. Many unbelievers have much knowledge or wisdom, but that is not a “manifestation” of Holy Spirit because they do not have the Holy Spirit within them.
Many Christians falsely refer to the manifestations of Holy Spirit as “gifts of the spirit.” A “manifestation” is when something appears in the natural world or is readily perceived by the senses. A “gift” is something that is given from one person to another. A good way to understand the difference between a gift and a manifestation is to think of a light bulb. If someone gives you a light bulb, it is the gift. When it is turned on, the light and heat are its manifestations. If you have the light bulb, you automatically have its manifestations of light and heat when you turn it on.
Likewise, God gives us His gift of Holy Spirit. The manifestations come from the gift; they are not gifts in and of themselves. So, for example, the reason God can say, “I would like every one of you to speak in tongues…” (1 Cor. 14:5a) is that speaking in tongues is a manifestation, not a gift. Every Christian has the gift of Holy Spirit born and sealed inside him, so each has the ability to speak in tongues, as well as evidence the other manifestations.
So, now that we know what a manifestation is, we need to discover what purpose God intended for the Holy Spirit and manifestations in the Body of Christ.
1. Motivating us towards Salvation
When a person begins to realize the truth of God they begin to feel convicted of their sins. They come to a realization that they need the forgiveness of God and the salvation of His Son. The process of spiritual rebirth sets in and the person becomes a new creature. When an individual accepts Christ and God’s forgiveness and willingly yields his or her life to Christ they are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. The spirit enables the believer to participate in God’s purpose and he or she begins to develop Godly character and is sealed for eternal life. This process is initiated and completed by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is why no man can come to God except through the power of the Holy Sprit.
2. Sanctifying the Body of Christ
The Holy Spirit sets us apart for God’s possession and purpose and makes us ready for every good work. The Holy Spirit then constantly reminds us of who we are which enables us to worship God in spirit and in truth. The Holy Spirit helps us to develop Godly characters and constantly remind us of what God has revealed in His Word. This reminder is very important because it is God’s own mechanism to ensure that we are constantly being filled by His Word.
3. Enabling us to be Witnesses for Christ
The act of witnessing is very important in the scheme of God’s purpose. The great commission in Matt. 28 is imperative in the life of every Christian. However, it is the Holy Spirit that enables a believer to undertake this great assignment with ease. We can see from the beginning of the spread of the gospel, particularly from Pentecost, that it was the Holy Spirit that motivated and gave the disciples the utterances to speak with boldness. The Holy Spirit is given to those who seek His power to function in God’s divine purpose.
4. Empowering the Body of Christ for Service
The Holy Spirit helps Christians to fulfill their God’s given mission on Earth. Through the Holy Spirit, God gives us ability to claim the anointing and talents that He has placed within us. The Holy Spirit then releases those gifts to serve THE BODY of Christ.
5. Unifying the Body of Christ
The Holy Spirit helps to unify the Church as the body of Christ. When unity is lacking among people that claimed to be Christians, it means that the Holy Spirit is not present amongst them. We are aware of the power of the Holy Sprit in uniting the believers from the moment of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit helps to build the Church, inspires Godly worship in the Church, directs the Church’s mission, helps in the appointments of Church workers, give gifts and ability to the Church, empowers the preachers, guards and preserves the gospel, promotes and preserves right relationship with God and other men and helps us carry out the purpose of Christ.
In summary, in the modern day body of Christ, believers have mistakenly started chasing the manifestations of the Spirit rather than chasing the Holy Spirit. We are doing it wrong folks. We need to stop chasing the fireworks and start digging in the dirt to pull people out. In book 2 of TRU Steps, we discussed service and declared that the only purpose of serving is to glorify God and to edify the body. What we MUST realize is that the only purpose of manifestations is to glorify God, and to edify the body of Christ. As an example - if a tongue is spoken in the body but not interpreted, how is God glorified or the body edified? If someone is slain in the Spirit but rises unchanged in character, what purpose did it serve?
If we change our focus to the RESULTS of a manifestation instead of the manifestation itself, we can literally allow the Holy Spirit to explode within the hearts of the Body of Christ. Seek the source. Seek the Spirit and allow the manifestations to occur AS THE SPIRIT desires. We must do all we can to align our motives with the five purposes listed above and let God be glorified and the body be edified beyond anything we can dream of.