Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. (I Corinthians 9:26-27)
Before His return, the Lord is going to
bring the Body of Christ into the fullness of the five-fold ministry and the
fullness of the gifts of the Spirit. However, God does not only want the Body
of Christ to operate in the fullness of the nine gifts of the Spirit (from I
Cor. 12:8-10), but He also wants the body to operate in the nine fruits of the Spirit
(Gal. 5:22).
The nine fruits of the spirit are love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and
self-control. These are fruits in our character that come from abiding in the
spirit and becoming transformed into the image of God. These are not called “fruits
of our own will-power”—as though we can muster them up as a form of discipline.
These are “fruits of the Holy Spirit.” We can only develop this character of
godliness through relationship with the Holy Spirit and abiding in the Spirit.
The nine gifts of the Spirit are what
are sometimes referred to as the “power gifts.” These gifts listed in I
Corinthians 12 are as follows: words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith,
healings, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of
tongues, and interpretation of tongues. These gifts are the outflow of our life
of walking in the spirit.
The nine fruits of the Spirit are what
is evident in the character of someone who is living a life in the Spirit. They
are a result of our vertical relationship with God (love God with all your
heart). The nine gifts of the Spirit are the outflow of that relationship that
spills over to edify the people around us (love your neighbor as yourself).
Unfortunately, someone who moves in the gifts
does not mean that they have godly character. On the other hand, someone who
spends too much time focusing on their own walk with God and does not care
about others means that something is not right there as well.
It seems, however, that finding those who
value righteousness and godly character is more difficult than finding those
who value the gifts. We must be careful not to place more emphasis on the gifts
than on the character.
As ministers, we must seek to grow both
the gifts and the character in an equal fashion. Otherwise, we will find that
even though we preach the truth to others, we fail to live by it, and we become
disqualified ourselves.
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