“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as
you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by
the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
The Holy Spirit as Counselor (used in the NIV 1984):
Jesus said, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in my name will teach you all things
and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
John 14:26
“When the Spirit of Truth comes He will guide you into
all truth. He will not speak on his own, he will speak only
what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and
making it known to you.” John 16:13
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of
God….no one knows the thoughts of God except the
Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world
but the spirit who is from God, that we may understand
what God has freely given us. This is what we speak,
not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words
taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual
words.” 1 Corinthians 2:10-16
The Holy Spirit as Advocate (used in the NIV, NLT, NRSV):
“Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not
worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever
is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking but the
Holy Spirit.” Mark 13:11
“We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit
himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot
express. And he who searches our hearts knows the
mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the
saints in accordance with God’s will.” Romans 8:26-27
The Holy Spirit as Helper (used in the NASB, ESV, NKJV):
“for it is God who works in you to will and to act according
for his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13
“But the fruit of the Holy Spirit [the work which His
presence within accomplishes] is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23
What are Gifts of the Spirit or Spiritual Gifts?
We are told in 1 Corinthians 12:4, “There are different
kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them all.”
A verse later, “Now to each one the manifestation of the
Spirit is given for the common good.” I love this! God gives
gifts to each one in His church to be an expression or
demonstration of His power. We are given gifts to exhibit
our Lord as we serve one another and as we serve together.
Because the gifts of the Spirit are amazing displays of His
power, God is quick to remind us of our humble service in
the Body of Christ. He wants us to remember these gifts
are from Him and for His glory. Romans 12:3-6 tells us,
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do
not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather
think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with
the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as
each of us has one body with many members, and these
members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we
though many form one body, and each member belongs
to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the
grace given to each of us.” Paul, who wrote these words,
goes on to say we are to use our gifts fully, generously,
diligently and cheerfully!
Let us rejoice in the promise of God’s Spirit at work in us
as Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Y