~ The Spiritual Gift of Witness ~
Opening Comment ~ “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:16-18).
Source Gifts ~ The first of the Construction Sector gifts is Love! Love is the foundation of all our building. The second is faith which provides the framework for our relationship with Christ and the building together with other believers. The third is Hope! The “blessed hope” is from the Architect of our faith as He guarantees the final result. Finally, we come to the responsibility to Witness to others about our Savior. Witness can be likened to the exterior of our building.
Overview ~ In the Old Testament Israel was God’s witness on earth (in a very significant way a singular witness as a nation). In the New Testament all believers are His witnesses (plural).
The terms witness and evangelism are often confused in Christian circles. All believers are His witnesses (for good or bad). Being an evangelist is one of the Spiritual Gifts which we will look at in more detail in a later post in this series.
Scripture (Old Testament) ~ “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).
There are at least three ways that Israel was God’s witness on earth. First, as a proclaimer and witness to the fact that God was real. Second, a witness to the Law and the truth of God’s Word. Finally, a witness to the fact that God Himself would come to earth.
Scripture (New Testament) ~ Just prior to The Messiah’s ascension back to His Father in heaven He gave the following proclamation to His followers, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Closing Comments ~ “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:12-16).
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).
“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
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