THE GIFTS OF GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE GIFTS OF GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

"The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God and Father, and
the communion of the Holy Spirit be
with you all" (Divine Liturgy).

"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want
you to be ignorant… There are diversities of gifts, but the
same Spirit…for to one is given the word of wisdom through
the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the
same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another
gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working
of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of
spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the
interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit
works all these things, distributing to each one individually
as He has many members, but all the members of that one
body, being many, are one body, but also in Christ. For by
the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body –whether
Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and have all been
made to drink into one Spirit" [1 Corinthians 1-12].

Every true gift and ministry (diakonia) manifests the Holy Trinity: "the Spirit, the Son, "the Lord" Jesus Christ, and the Father, God. While working out of our Chrismation is primarily the grace of the Holy Spirit, it is the work of the whole of the Trinity as well. Note there are "diversities" or "differences" of "gifts" and "activities;" no two Christians are alike. The purpose of spiritual gifts is the growth of the whole Church. "A Charisma is a gift of God the Holy Spirit given for the benefit of others. But no person possesses all the gifts" as Saint Basil the Great writes.

The list of Nine Gifts is not exhaustive (see 14:15; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:7-12).

"For ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses untoMe both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and unto the uttermost of the earth" (cf.Acts 1:8). Saint Gregory Palamas writes: "When the fiftieth day after the Resurrection had come, the day we now commemorate, all the disciples were gathered with one accord in the Upper Room, each having also gathered His thoughts (for they were devoting themselves intently to prayer and hymns to God). "And suddenly," says Saint Luke the Evangelist, "there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting" (Acts 2:1-11). This is the sound which the Prophetess Hannah foretold when she received the promise concerning Samuel.

Saint Gregory Palamas states in his homily, "Those miracles accomplished by the Lord in the flesh, which bore witness that He was God’s Only-Begotten Son in His own person, united with us in the last days, came to an end. On the other hand, those Wonders began which proclaimed the Holy Spirit as a Divine Person in His own might come to know and contemplates the great and venerable mystery of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit had been active before: it was He Who spoke through the Prophets and proclaimed things to come. Later He worked through the Disciples to drive out demons and heal diseases. But now He was manifested in His Own Person through the tongues of fire, and by sitting enthroned as Lord upon each of Christ’s Disciples, He made them instruments of His power.

Why did He appear in the form of tongues? It was to demonstrate that He SHARED THE SAME NATURE AS THE LOGOS/WORD OF GOD, FOR THERE IS NO RELATIONSHIP CLOSER THAN BETWEEN word and tongue. It was also because of teaching, since teaching Christ’s gospel needs a tongue full of grace. But why fiery tongues? Not just because the Spirit is consubstantial with the Father and the Son – AND OUR GOD IS FIRE (cf. Hebrews 12:29), A FIRE CONSUMING WICKEDNESS — BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF THE TWOFOLD ENERGY OF THE APOSTLES’ TEACHING, WHICH CAN BERING BOTH BENEFIT AND PUNISHMENT. As it is the property of fire TO ILLUMINATE AND BURN, so Christ’s teaching ENLIGHTENS THOSE WHO OBEY BUT FINALLY HANDS OVER THE DISOBEDIENT TO ETERNAL FIRE AND PUNISHMENT. The text says, "tongues like fire" NOT "tongues of fire," that no one might imagine it was ordinary physical fire, but that we might understand THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT USING FIRE AS AN EXAMPLE. Why did the gongues appear to be divided among them? "Because," according to Saint Gregory Palamas, "the Spirit is given by measure by the Father to all except Christ (John 3:34), fullness of Divine power and energy, whereas the grace of the Holy Spirit was only partially, not fully, contained within anyone else. Each one obtained different gifts, lest anyone should suppose the grace given to the saints by the Holy Spirit was theirs by nature.

The fact that the Divine Spirit sat upon them is proof not just of His Lordly Dignity, but of His unity. He sat, it says, "upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:3-4). For though divided in His various powers and energies, in each of His works the Holy Spirit is wholly present and active, undividedly divided, partaken of while remaining complete, like the sun’s ray. They spoke with other tongues, other languages, to people from every nation, as the Spirit gave them utterance. They became instruments of the Divine Spirit, inspired and motivated according to His will and power…

"Anyone who has fallen into fornication, adultery or any other such bodily impurity, should desist from this revolting filth and cleanse himself through confession, tears, fasting and the like. For God judges unrepentant fornicators and adulterers. He condemns them, dismisses them and consigns them to hell, unquenchable fire and other never ending punishments, saying, "Let the impure and accursed be taken away, lest they see and enjoy the glory of the Lord" (cf. Isaiah 26:10). Let thieves and all who are openly grasping and greedy stop stealing, defrauding and seizing what belongs to others, but also share their own possessions with those in need…

"But let us, brethren" says Saint Gregory Palamas, "beseech you, abstain from deeds and words hateful to God, that we may boldly all God our Father. Let us truly return to Him, that He too may turn back to us, cleanse us from all sin and make us worthy of His Divine grace. Then shall we keep festival both now and forever, and celebrated ini a godly and spiritual way the accomplishments of God’s promise, the Coming of the All-Holy Spirit among men and His resting upon them; the fulfillment and perfection of the blessed hope in Christ Himself our Lord.

For to Him belongs glory, honor and worship, with His Father without beginning and the All-Holy, Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. [Resources: The Homilies).

_______
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!:
+ Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in God the Holy Spirit,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George