OF FRUITS, GIFTS AND THE TOTALITY OF BEING

OF FRUITS, GIFTS AND THE TOTALITY OF BEING

Hello again, my dear friend. How have you been? I hope you have been doing great. I know I have. Testimonies, good things arriving, even better coming. Exciting times, I say.

  But, not necessarily the reason I am here. No.

  I am here because of something that was made clear to me by the Holy Spirit, which I can only but share. A revelation that stems from the beginning of creation, and reaches into the present. Feel free to share your thoughts on this at the end.

So, here goes everything…

  Genesis 1:26 shows us the blueprint with which God used to create mankind. God made man so we could function with 2 different sets of attributes. His Image, and His Likeness. Only by functioning totally in these sets of attributes can a God-man hope to have Dominion on Earth. Now, I used to take this just literally, and I know a lot of Christians did too. I was made to look like God, physically. The likeness was still a vague concept for me for a long time, until it was explained to mean functioning like God. Okay. There.

  But…

  I still had not understood this. I was still looking at the top of the river, oblivious to the things that swam in the depths…

  Now, with respect to the Image of God, I later learned that this meant more than a physical resemblance to God. Yes, I have hands, like He does. Feet. Eyes. Etc, etc but… BUT.

  Do we think physical attributes mean everything to a Spiritual God?

  The Image of God in the Bible refers to His Character. Being like God. Of course, some of us already know this to varying degrees. The Bible clearly lets us know what having the image of God entails. The Character of God. The Bible clearly outlines this in Gal 5:22-23. The Fruits of the Spirit. Love, Joy, Peace, Forbearance/Long-suffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control. These things clearly sum up what God IS; His BEING. God is Love. God is Joy. God is Peace, etc. To know God intimately is to know more about His character and to experience these aspects of Him, first-hand. The plan is this; when we rightfully cultivate the Spirit of God within us, we produce these fruits in our lives as well. These are the things the world sees and experiences that makes them identify us as Christians. Wait, how else did you think the Apostles and Disciples got the moniker, Christian?

  While I studied more on it, I was led to study the Beatitudes. The Be-Attitudes. The attitudes to Be, as my Pastor would say. And, I drew a startling comparison between them and the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians.

  First of all, there are 9 Fruits, outlined. There are 9 Beatitudes. Gal 5:22-23 vs Matt 5:3-12. Here, I have attempted to match each Gift with its corresponding attitude.

Love= Pure in Heart

Joy=  Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

Peace= Peacemakers

Forbearance= Mourn

Kindness= Merciful

Goodness= Poor in Spirit

Faithfulness= Persecuted for the sake of Righteousness

Gentleness= Meek

Self-control= Persecuted for the sake of the Kingdom

  This blew my mind. Literally. Physically I might look okay, but spiritually I guess I look like a top-down Mercedes right now. And just when I thought that was it…

  The likeness of God mentioned in the Bible refers to the Gifts of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12 clearly outlines them. These gifts, which are distributed by the Holy Spirit depict how God functions. God is All-Wise. God is All-Knowing. God is the Miracle Worker. God is the Master Healer etc. On closer examination of the Gifts, it can be seen that they perfectly combine and encompass the Total functionality of God.

  The awesome thing is, at the VERY BEGNNING, this is what God had in mind for us as His children. God made us to be gods of this world, but to be everything He wanted us to be, we had to be and function like Him. Unfortunately, Adam failed. God, in His infinite mercy, planned for a replacement. Jesus Christ was the prototype, the Second Adam. He came to show us how it was to be done, how we were to live and function in this world. The awesome thing about Jesus Christ is that He came not as God, but as a Man EXHIBITING the FRUITS of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) and FUNCTIONING in the Gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12). We are to follow His example. As His Children and Ambassadors, we are to have these 2 attributes at work in our lives.

  Do you think you have the Fruits of the Spirit? Time to start functioning in the Gifts of the Spirit. They are available to every Christian who asks for it. To have Dominion on Earth, you must not only have the Fruits, but you must also function in the Gifts of the Sprit. “…image AND likeness” not ‘OR’. It is not optional.

  God bless you

P.S. Before I go to the music, I will like to direct everyone to an awesome book on the Gifts of the Spirit. It is titled ‘The Gifts and Ministries of the Holy Spirit’, by Lester Sumrall. It is this book that set me upon this knowledge-filled journey. And trust me, I am getting gifts already…

And now, for the music, I will go with some Dance/Electronica. Capital Kings just want to let you know that no matter what, you’ll never be alone…Capital Kings: You'll Never Be Alone