Thus, fruit production is the fulfillment of God's promise to conform Christians to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). The life He lived on earth can be described precisely with these nine elements. To be sure, love and peace and goodness are desirable traits for just about any person, but the distinctive quality about this cluster of Spirit-produced fruit is that it is the character of Jesus Christ. While much can be said about each of the nine elements, some fruitful ideas can be gleaned from considering the list in its entirety.įirst, this single bunch of fruit is more than a random cluster of ethical goals. Galatians 5:22-23 provides the definitive list: l ove, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. One of the great, engaging ideas of New Testament Christianity is that of the fruit of the Spirit. Personal Equipping: The Fruit of the Spirit Another theologian wrote, "Though we speak of the Spirit as the third Person, from the standpoint of experience Spirit is first, because it is the Spirit that enables us to experience God's … drawing near." 2 Think about all these ideas regarding God the Holy Spirit: personal, active, alive, experiential, and "drawing near." As the very presence of God within us, the Holy Spirit does all sorts of things, among them producing fruit, giving gifts, and making holy. How does Almighty God pull off being personal? According to theologian Millard Erickson, "The Holy Spirit is the point at which the Trinity becomes personal to the believer." 1 The Spirit is the actual presence of God, active and alive, within Christians. More than just a modifier of "relationship," "personal" points to the fact that God Himself must be personal in order to relate to us. However, another word from the above statement also deserves our attention: personal. This fact is at the wondrous heart of biblical, evangelical Christianity. Give us the wisdom to know what that job is and the strength to perform it with grace and excellence."You can have a personal relationship with God." We like to pull this amazing declaration out of our evangelism toolboxes, to focus on the fact that a relationship with God is actually possible for human beings. PRAY – Father God, thanks for the reminder that each one of us has a job to do in the church. Are you carrying your load and fulfilling your calling? Take this Spiritual Gift Inventory and see how God has wired you for ministry. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ has made every believer part of the royal priesthood (I Peter 2:9) so that all of us can share in the work of ministry. A leadership shortage still exists in the Church. Oh, how I’ve come to realize in these thirty-two (32) years of pastoring that the work of the Church is still too much for the pastor to handle alone. The LORD accepted the tribe of Levi as a substitute for the firstborns (Numbers 3:40-51).ĪPPLY – Too much work to handle alone! The LORD recognized that the responsibilities associated with sacrifices, worship and the Tabernacle were too much for Aaron and his sons therefore, He appointed the entire tribe of Levi to be their assistants. Since God had spared the firstborn of Israel in the tenth plague, the firstborn belonged to the LORD. The LORD gave specific instructions as to their position around the Tabernacle and their duties to the Tabernacle (Numbers 3:14-39). As a result of this leadership shortage, the LORD appointed the entire tribe of Levi to serve as assistants to the priests in performing the sacred duties and maintaining the Tabernacle (Numbers 3:5-10). READ – “Call forward the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to serve as his assistants.” - Numbers 3:6 NLTĮXAMINE – The LORD had appointed Aaron and his sons to serve as priests to the nation of Israel (Numbers 3:3) but the sins and death of two of his sons left only Aaron and his sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, to serve as priests (Numbers 3:4). 2 Nov, 2021 Many Gifts, One Spirit! Numbers 3
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