A Grace Deficit

Scriptures make it plain that the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. The Greek word for power is "dumanis." Properly understood dunamis means miracles. 1 Cor. 12: 10. Further Christ said, "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Again that word dunamis exactly translated means miracles. There is a very wide spread teaching today that permeates the body of Christ. That teaching is called "cessationism" meaning the gifts of the Spirit as found in 1 Corinthians 12 are no longer in operation. It is said they were only for the first generation of believers.

There is a question that may be appropriate here. If Christ being God in the flesh needed to operate in the gift-works of the Holy Spirit to accomplish his earthly ministry how much more then those believers who want to effectively minister the benefits of the grace covenant? If the gifts of the Spirit were to be removed from the life ministry of Christ the result would have been catastrophic. He would have failed, there would be no salvation! If the body of Christ is to be effective in the proclamation of grace in its fullness then the gift-works of the Spirit are imperative and should be functional in every believer. 1 Corinthians 12:6 we read, "He - the Holy Spirit - works ALL OF THEM - that is the gifts - IN ALL MEN.

These gift workings of the Holy Spirit are known as the 'charismata." That is the gifts are absolutely and definitively the express administration of grace. To operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit then is to powerfully administer the grace of Christ to a dying and unbelieving world.

The writer of A Grace Deficit has been witness to the Holy Spirit ministering all his gifts in his life and that over a period of decades. Remember: As the King James records it: ALL IN ALL." So for those believers, who hunger for the manifest Kingdom of God with its manifest miracles, take a chance, at least read this text with an open heart and mind. Listen to the Holy Spirit, think about what is said, go the God's Word, ask Him to empower you with his gifts. Remember the Apostle Paul when he went up to Corinth he did not go up with the wisdom of mans words but in demonstration of the Spirit's power. He goes on to say, "so that your faith might not rest on mans wisdom, but on God's power/miracles." This text endeavors to set an open door into the supernatural presence and power of the omniscient, all powerful God who has become our Father. Only the daring will venture to come and eat of the children's bread.