It is one thing to receive the Holy Spirit of God into your life and another thing to manifest the Spirit (make Him noticeable). The life of God is a supernatural one. Anyone who receives this kind of life must live a supernatural life. In other words, there must be noticeable evidence of the supernatural accompanying the new life in Christ Jesus. As believers who have the life of God at work in us, there must be noticeable evidence of the supernatural in our lives. Furthermore, God wants to advance the kingdom of God on earth and His love for mankind through the manifestation of supernatural gifts. Thus, believers are equipped with the gifts of the Spirit so they can transform the earth into a heaven.

The Holy Scripture makes it clear that the Holy Spirit of God gives and operates supernatural gifts in the lives of believers who have received Him (1 Corinthians 12:7). These gifts are:

• The Word of Wisdom (1 Corinthians 12:8): The word of wisdom is a manifestation of the Spirit of God in a believer's life wherein in times of difficulty or problem-solving situations, he receives the right word, or the exact solution needed to turn around the situation. It is a gift that enables a believer to receive God’s solutions (wisdom) to human and spiritual challenges. You will agree with me that if anyone has a medical challenge, he will not talk to a college professor. Rather, he will talk to a medical doctor who is a specialist, for counsel as to how to proceed. Similarly, human problems and challenges require God (who is the creator of all things) to supply the required wisdom or solution.
• The Word of Knowledge (1 Corinthians 12:8): Knowledge has to do with acquiring the right information. This gift is a manifestation of the Spirit in the area of acquiring the necessary information to function effectively in our area of calling. God knows everything and everyone. If God begins to share with me some information (either about a person or a thing) that cannot be acquired by experience or any human art, it is a word of knowledge. For instance, Peter got to know that Ananias and his wife Sapphira were lying about their donation (Acts 5:3-4) by the word of knowledge. Jesus got to know that Lazarus was now dead and it was time to go and raise him (John 11:11-14).

 

• Faith (1 Corinthians 12:9): Every believer has a measure of faith. However, this gift of faith goes beyond the measure of faith given to believers. This gift is a deep or strong assurance from the Spirit, such that there is no iota of fear in the believer. This kind of faith is often referred to as ”the mountain-moving faith". It can change situations that seem impossible or it is humanly evident that ‘it is over’.

For instance, Jesus was in the same boat as the disciples, and yet he was peacefully asleep in the midst of a storm. How can one sleep in such a boat without realizing that the storm is terrible? The presence of the Spirit’s deep assurance produces a confidence that beats the human mind. Jesus arose when His disciples approached Him with this statement – Master, don’t you care that we are perishing (Mark 4:38). He rebuked the wind and immediately the wind cease and there was a great calm (Mark 4:39). Jesus then turned and asked the disciples – why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith (at least to attempt to calm the wind)?

Where there is the gift of faith, Fear is dead. This faith is a gift. It can only be given by the Spirit.

 

• The Gifts of Healing (1 Corinthians 12:9): this gift is a gift of supernatural cure for sicknesses and diseases without the help of science or medicine or any other means. The gifts of healing can vary from one person to another and the healing does not only include the body but also the soul (or mind).

Depending on the will of the Spirit, some healing gifts may focus primarily on the deaf and dumb. Others may primarily focus on tumours, etc. Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law with this gift (Mark 1:30-31). Let us not forget that a prayer of faith can also save the sick (James 5:14-15). The difference between the prayer of faith and the gift of healing is this – the gifts of healing majorly do not rely on prayer. Jesus entered Peter’s mother-in-law’s house and He held her hand and lifted her and she was well. A woman with an issue of blood for 12 years touched the hem of Jesus' garment and she was well. The man with the withered hand healed on the Sabbath by Jesus only received an instruction to stretch forth that hand. The withered hand was restored immediately (Matthew 12:13).

• Working of Miracles (1 Corinthians 12:10): this gift focuses on the ability to do or make happen what the human mind cannot conceive. Even though healing is a miracle, this gift also focuses on producing results that the human mind or science cannot explain. For instance, Jesus multiplying five loaves of bread and two fishes to feed five thousand people is a miracle (Matthew 14:17-18; Matthew 14:20-21). Jesus' first miracle in Cana of Galilee is also a miracle. He turned water into wine. (John 2:9-11).
• Prophesy (1 Corinthians 12:10): The gift of prophecy involves knowing and foretelling future events. Naturally, man makes predictions based on historical data. Prophecy is not a prediction but an accurate foretelling of the future and what it holds for a person, people or a nation. Agabus prophesied by the Spirit the coming of a famine  (Acts 11:27-28) and it did. In Acts 21:11, this same Agabus prophesied by the Spirit what shall befall Paul as he journeys to Jerusalem.

• Discerning of Spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10): this gift discerns and the discernment is about spirits behind an argument, action, activity, etc. This gift reveals the intent and motives behind the many activities around us. Paul by the Spirit discerned that the little girl who was continually announcing that Paul and his team were of God had an evil spirit (Acts 16:!6-18). Paul immediately cast the devil out of her.

• Diverse Kinds of Tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10): This manifestation of the spirit is the ability to speak different languages as and when the need arises yet the one with the gift hasn’t learnt those languages. Diverse kinds of tongues (γένος – genos - ghen'-os) enable the believer to live above all communication barriers. Thus, the one who has this gift can speak different kinds of the tongues of men, communicating with others in their language, especially those who do not believe the gospel as a sign of God’s power. 
• Interpretation of Tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10): The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 14:6, talks about the interpretation of tongues being important if we are going to speak in tongues publicly. Tongues interpreted can be a revelation, prophecy, word of instruction, or knowledge.

From what Apostle Paul said, we can see that the goal of the gift of interpretation of tongues is to interpret for the people tongues that are spoken publicly so that people will understand the mind of God. In a public setting, they are used to bring revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or a word of instruction. In the days of Daniel the prophet, Belshazzar the king of Babylon received tongues in a written form. A hand appeared to him and wrote on the wall the symbols of a language. No one could understand this language and interpret it. It took Daniel, in whom was the spirit of God. The writing on the wall was MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. When Daniel interpreted it, it was a prophecy for the king of Babylon, and it came to pass.

 

Now, let us ask the critical question – How can a Christian walk in the gifts of the Holy Spirit?

To appreciate the answer to this question, we must first understand two important facts:

• The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every one to profit with all (1 Corinthians 12:7). This suggests that the Christian in whom dwells the Holy Spirit has at least one spiritual gift in Him. That is, walking in the gift begins with acknowledging that you have a spiritual gift rather than how you can receive any of the gifts.

• The Holy Spirit distributes the gifts according to His will, not ours. It is the prerogative of the Spirit to determine what gift comes to you or me. Therefore, it is important not to be obsessed with what you can get but to be faithful with what the Spirit has deposited in you. Then, when you have been found faithful, more of the gifts will be added to you (Matthew 25:28-29).

To walk in the manifestation of the Spirit requires that the Christian yield himself to the Spirit of God, to discover the particular gift deposited in him and to be coached to walk in it. Yielding to the Spirit is relinquishing control, your will, or yourself to a demand. Yielding to the Spirit is giving the leadership of your life to the Holy Spirit. Even though the Holy Spirit is in you and with you, only one person can lead – either you or Him. Yielding to the Spirit is

• A Decision: Even though you have been running your life for a long time before receiving the Holy Spirit, you will need to hand over the steering wheel of your life to Him. Jesus said that when the Spirit of Truth comes He will guide (lead) us into all truth. Every one of us has a freewill; God gave it to us. Until we freely give the leadership of our lives to Him, the gentle Holy Spirit will not force us to take the leadership role of our life.

Do you want to decide to yield the leadership of your life to the Holy Spirit? Click Here

• A Way of Life: After entrusting your life to the Holy Spirit, the next thing is to learn to follow His leading. If we are sincere in our decision to yield from now on, He will begin to direct and guide us. We must learn to follow those leadings. He will tell you where not to go; who to be with and who not to be with; things to do now and things to do later. Your obedience during these times will prove whether we have truly yielded or not. As we yield, the relationship and collaboration between us and the Holy Spirit grow. The frequency of His activities in our lives will soon grow. This is how He will begin to show you what belongs to you [including spiritual gifts] and how to walk in them.