Acts 3:1-8 “Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. (2) And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; (3) who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. (4) And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." (5) So, he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. (6) Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." (7) And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. (8) So, he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and praising God.”
The above passage is an account of the Holy Spirit manifesting the gift of special faith. The apostles Peter and John, had walked past this lame man on many occasions before, and most probably had even given him alms before. But they had never prayed for him to be healed. On this occasion, the Holy Spirit specifically anointed Peter with the gift of special faith, for it wasn’t Peter’s faith that healed the lame man. If it was Peter’s faith, then he would have done it the first time he saw the man. It wasn’t the lame man’s faith, because he wasn’t even expecting to be healed. This is a clear example to us, as to how the gifts of the Holy Spirit operate. Peter had already received the gift of special faith, but he didn’t decide when that gift would be made manifest. As one who had received that gift from the Holy Spirit, Peter had to remain open to the working of the Holy Spirit, and be obedient to use that gift when the Holy Spirit prompted him to do so. This was just such an occasion, and Peter was obedient to the moving of the Holy Spirit. And so, from these examples in scripture, we can clearly see that it is the Holy Spirit who manifests Himself through His gifts, as He wills. It is not the one who has the gift that decides when the Holy Spirit must manifest His gift. If Jesus couldn’t operate the gifts Himself then neither can we, and for us to try do so is to step into dangerous territory. God the Holy Spirit does not work for us; we work for Him.
Michael E.B. Maher
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