2. THE ATTRIBUTES OF LOVE. 1Cor.13v4-7.

Here we see the qualities of character that will be manifested from a heart of love. These qualities are essential constituents of a real revival, they are the only means of keeping a revival going on smoothly forward in the will of God, they alone will give value to our work for God. Paul tells us the attributes of character that we must manifest if we are to receive the full profit from the manifestations of the Holy Spirit's gifts. Let us consider the 15 qualities of character that Paul states makes up the character of the loving Christian.

1. LOVE SUFFERS LONG, LOVE IS PATIENT.

This is a word that is used in the New Testament to describe relations between people as well as a persons attitude to their circumstances, e.g. 1Thes.5v14. Heb.6v12,13. It signifies the very opposite of retaliation, irritability, spite and vengeance. There may be some real cause for a Christian to lose patience with a brother or sister in Christ, but the loving Christian suffers long and is patient with those who like themselves, are so much in need of the patience, mercy and grace of God. In regard to the use of spiritual gifts, and this is the particular sphere of 1Cor.13., we may have reason to exercise considerable patience. "The powers of the age to come," Heb.6v5., can be overwhelming even to the most reserved Christian, as well as to those Christians who have ebullient and expressive personalities. Besides these there are Christians who are positively egotistical and they can make themselves a real nuisance if we do not patiently correct them and regulate the meetings properly. This patience with people is an essential part of Christian love, and Paul showed this patience in speaking as he did to the unruly Corinthian church. One may also need to have great patience with those who oppose and object to the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as with those Christians who are too timid to manifest the gifts, or to slothful to seek them. In the Corinthian church this longsuffering was definitely lacking, there were cliques and divisions in the church, but Paul counted them as God's children and was longsuffering with them.

This patience is very opposite to the spirit of the world. Longsuffering was the very opposite to what the Greeks thought was a virtue, patience was to them a weakness of character, they looked upon short patience as a virtue.

They said that the refusal to tolerate or accept any injury or insult, and the desire for vengeance, was the thing that made a person great. This attitude is very prevalent in the world today, however, in the Christian Church a person cannot be great unless they are longsuffering. To be like their heavenly Father the Christian has got to be longsuffering, and Christian leaders are in particular need of this virtue. Mt.5v44,45. Rom.2v4. 9v22. 2Cor.6v6. Gal.5v22. Eph.4v2,3. Col.3v12. 1Tim.1v16. 2Tim.3v10. Titus.2v2. Heb.6v15. James.5v7-10. 1Pet.3v20. 2Pet.3v9. We do not receive revelations about another person's character, or their intents, so that we can attack them, it is to warn us of possible danger, so thar we may pray for both them and ourselves. This lovely virtue of long suffering, like all the other virtues, is not one that we can produce by the energy of the flesh, it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, it is produced by the grace of God by the obedience to the Word of God.

There does come a time when even the divine patience comes to an end. This is illustrated by the flood in the time of Noah, the destruction of the inhabitants of Canaan, and the judgements at the second coming of Christ. Gen.6v1-7. 15v13,16,18. 2Pet.3v1-18. In each case amazing longsuffering is followed by judgement. During His time on earth, the Lord Jesus gave the most tremendous rebukes to religious hypocrites. Mt.23v1-39. In the Church we are not to be longsuffering with wilful and deliberate sin, the Lord disciplines the wilful Christian, and the churches have to discipline Christians whose lives are a danger and disgrace to the Church. Mt.18v15-19. 1Cor.11v27-34. 5v1-13. However, the aim of this discipline is not only the preservation of the purity of the churches, but also the restoration of the sinning person as well. 2Cor.2v4-8. On occasions the Lord may have to take severe steps to preserve the witness and purity of His Church. 1Cor.11v30. Acts.5v1-11. These are the last steps and last resort of a very patient and loving Saviour, He does not take these kind of steps in anger, but odd necessity, we are His dear little flock. One can only marvel at the divine patience as we see the Lord Jesus passionately sobbing over those who had determinedly opposed His efforts to bring them salvation, safety and blessing. Lk.12v32. 13v34,35. 19v41-48. Hosea.11v1-12. N.B. v8. Let us rejoice in the great grace and patience og God, but let us take care never to trade on that great grace and patience. Let us also be sure to treat one another with the same grace and patience that our heavenly Father treats us, remembering the tremendous warning that He gives in Mt.18v21-35. to those who are impatient and unforgiving.

2. LOVE IS KIND. "chresteuetai"

Origen said that this Greek word meant "sweet to all." The patience that we have talked about is not a grim endurance but a sweet endurance of awkward, undo-trained, inexperienced and immature Christians. Even when it is necessary to correct someone, such correction will be in a spirit of meekness and spiritual sweetness. Gal.6v1. Love does not correct people with cruelty, nor does it look upon God's children with a spirit of criticism and anger. The essence of love is kindness and has been shown to them by God, and they can strive to show it to others. Love not only suffers those people who are a trial to its patience, it is kind to them and it does good to them in a positive manner, James.3v17. When people use their gift in the wrong way, they are shown the right way in a kind and inoffensive manner. Those who are critical of the gifts of God the Holy Spirit and the recipients of those gifts, and treat them with suspicion and ostracism, need to remember that they have failed to mount the first two steps on the ladder of love.

As we have said before, there is a time for anger, even as the Lord Jesus was angry with the Pharisees and the other determined enemies of God who plundered poor widows and persecuted God's prophets. Paul was angry with Elymas the sorcerer and brought the judgement of God upon him when he was obstructing people from finding God. Acts.13v6-13. So we can see that on occasions it is necessary to be angry, but it is certainly not right to be angry with the redeemed people of God who are using the gifts of God and doing their best to serve God. The Lord Jesus was never angry with the apostles, even though he was on occasions very disappointed with them and had to rebuke and correct them. The rest of the apostles were angry at James and John when they sought the best positions in the kingdom, but there was no anger from Christ, He showed them that His kingdom was not like the kingdoms of the world, the rule of His kingdom is based on loving service, Church history has revealed to us a continual striving for pre-eminence and a tragic lack of kindness, there has been, and still is, the most vicious persecution carried on under the guise of a zeal for God. However, Christian love is not like that, it not only suffers long, it suffers long kindly; it is not only passive, it is active and constructive as well. Love delights to give and bless, it is kind even when people have failed, it seeks not only to forgive but to please as well.

3. LOVE IS NOT ENVIOUS. "ov zelsi."

Love knows no jealousy, it does not begrudge another a greater manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. If we are not careful we can begrudge people having what we ourselves have not got. When another Christian is well blessed with natural talents, earthly blessings, or spiritual gifts, we should never say, "If I have not got those blessings, why should they have them?" We should rejoice in their gifts and their blessedness. envy really springs out of a spirit of covetousness, and this cost Satan his place in heaven, and brought the most soul-destroying sin into his life. We do not gain by being covetous and envious, we lose every time. Paul exhorts us to desire and even covert spiritual gifts, but he does not mean that we should manifest the envious begrudging spirit that is part and parcel of worldly covetousness. Paul is really saying, "Your desire and effort for spiritual things should be as strong as the worldlings desire and effort for worldly things, but they must be controlled by, and remain within, the confines of pure Christian love." Lk.16v1-15. N.B. v8. 1Cor.12v31. 14v1. Envy springs from ill-will, but the Christian will rejoice with others who are blessed and will try to lead them into greater blessedness. Love recognises that there are "diversities of gifts and differences of operation" in the manifestation of the gifts, and that "we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office." 1Cor.12v4-6. Rom.12v4. The gifts of the Spirit and the ministry gifts of Christ are not in opposition to one another, they are complimentary and independent. Don't be jealous of what God the Holy Spirit gives to another, we all have our part to play, let us rejoice in what God gives to others, as well as over what He gives to ourselves. Envy is one of the evil "works of the flesh," and it should not be found in the Christian Church among the lovely fruits of the Holy Spirit. Gal.5v19-21.

4. LOVE DOES NOT VAULT ITSELF, IT DOES NOT BRAG OR DISPLAY ITSELF. "iou perpereuetai."

Love does not brag, love is not boastful, love is humble and of a contrite spirit. If a person manifests all nine gifts of the Holy Spirit they are humble and not arrogant if they are controlled by love. If there has been a real manifestation of spiritual power, or some really gracious and kind act, there should be a genuine humility. To make an arrogant claim for love, means that we have little love and no humility. The loving Christian will not parade his achievements, spiritual blessings or conquests in an egotistical way, Spiritual arrogance and pride, and their companion, self-importance, are very undesirable qualities of character that should have no part in the Christian's life. They are seen in their true light by the following considerations.

1. Spiritual gifts are indeed GIFTS, they are unearned and unmerited. They are not because of our righteousness, they are "charismata," i.e. "gifts of grace." Rom.11v6,20. Deut.9v4. 1Cor.12v4,9,31. These gifts are not our manifestations, they are the manifestations of the Holy Spirit graciously channelled through us. In 1Cor.4v4,7. we read, "What hast thou that thou hast not received?" Every natural ability is given to us, they are only left for us to develop. However, with spiritual gifts we cannot even claim credit for development, these heavenly gifts come to us through the grace of God, and very often without us expecting them. The thing that will ensure a profitable working of these heavenly gifts is love and humility, not pride and arrogance.

2. We should realise that it was our sins that crucified our Saviour. These gifts are only available to us because the Lord Jesus died for us, they are the outflow of Calvary. So when we think of our spiritual blessings and gifts we should have tears of gratitude over the wonderful grace and love of God, not spiritual arrogance. The gifts of the Spirit are precious gifts from a crucified and risen Saviour. Let us remember our great spiritual need, past, present, and future, and how it took the death of our Saviour to meet it, and we shall never be boastful. We can never repay our dear Lord Jesus for the gifts of His grace, past, present and future, and this tremendous fact of our continual and eternal indebtedness to Christ and our heavenly Father, should keep us humble and contrite.

3. The tremendous need around us should cause us to take our eyes off ourselves, and drive us to seek for those needs. We need so much more than we have, if we are to meet the great needs of the world, and there can be no sense of arrival, self-satisfaction, self-importance, or pride, in the light of the worlds needs. The aim of love is the blessing of others, not its own importance or advantage.

4.Pride is the arch-flow of the Christian. Pride dies the hardest of all the works of the flesh, but it is by far the most dangerous. It is something that can attack all of us, and we need to take care and remember that it was this sin that destroyed Lucifer, and it will destroy us if we allow it to reign in our lives. To be proud over our gifts is quite wrong and it is really very foolish, for it is the Holy Spirit and His gifts that meet the need of the hour, not the human personality it is our privilege to be a channel of blessing.

The fact that spiritual arrogance, pride and boastfulness are mentioned, shows that it is possible for these to be in us. Indeed, this is the continual butt of the Devil. Pride is the last thing to go in the Christian, and so we need to take care. A Christian may have great struggles with their heart, but to allow pride and egoism is very dangerous, we must humble ourselves before God. Satan came to the Lord Jesus and said, "Cast yourself down from the Temple before the people and the religious leaders." Satan was saying, among other things, "You show them that you are the Messiah and have a great and powerful miraculous ministry, if you claim to be God's Son." If the Devil had the impertinence to tempt his Creator to spiritual pride, we can expect similar appeals to our pride. Great power and great spiritual revelation can result in a constant appeal to our pride, and pride can hammer incessantly at one's heart, if one is greatly used of God. This is particularly true when people, in their ignorance, start to give one the praise that is only due to God, one has to definitely warn them against this and to direct them to give all the glory to the Lord. Paul said that he was getting over-exalted with the great amount of spiritual revelation that he enjoyed, "a thorn in the flesh" was the cure for this condition. 2Cor.12v7,8. This was certainly something very nasty; I feel that it was the tremendous persecution that Paul received, for in the Old Testament "thorns in the flesh" were people who troubled Israel. Numb.33v55. Judges.2v3. 2Cor.12v10. 11v23-28. Ex.28v24. The Lord can deflate us if we are proud or boastful. The thing to do is what Paul learned to do, we should "serve the Lord with all humility of mind and many tears." Acts.20v19.

This vaunting spirit is the spirit of the powers of darkness, "Simon made out that he was a great one," Acts.8v9., and he wanted to obtain the power of God so that he could vaunt even more, and so Peter gave him the most tremendous warning and rebuke for it. Our message is not that we are great, but that we have a great and wonderful Saviour and a great, gracious and lovely heavenly Father. God exalts the humble and puts down the proud, so we should be very careful, or we can lose all that we have, or have some severe discipline from the Lord that will bring us to our senses. We boast when we feel superior to other people, but we do not possess any superiority over other Christians, any blessing that we may have is entirely the result of the grace of God. Let us rejoice in the peacocks feathers that God gives to us, but let us humbly thank God for them. Love does not try to parade its beauty, or what it has done, or show people what it can do, love is meek and lowly in heart, let us keep little in our own eyes, and when God gives us some peacocks feathers, let us be humble peacocks and give God all the glory.

5. LOVE IS NOT PUFFED UP. "ou phusioutai" to puff oneself out like a pair of bellows.

Love is not inflated or blown up with a sense of its own importance, it is not conceited. This is the inner cause of the previous outward manifestation, and Paul preaches against this undesirable trait of character in several places in the first epistle to the Corinthians, many of them must have been suffering from this spiritual disease for Paul to have mentioned it so often. 1Cor.4v16,18.19. 5v2. 8v1. 13v4. Paul tells them that "knowledge puffeth up," but "love buildeth up," so we can see that if we are puffed up in ourselves, we will find that we are not able to build up either ourselves, or others, in the faith. The result of an imagined importance and puffing up of ourselves will be a spiritual shrinkage, and the bigger the "puff," the greater will be the shrinkage. If we do not humble ourselves, the Lord Jesus will burst our inflation for us in no uncertain way and will humble us in a way that we will not forget. The Lord knows how to bring down the proud. We need a contrite and loving heart to walk with the Lord, He knoweth the proud afar off. Is.66v2. 1Cor.4v7. Ps.138v6. Loving Christians are not puffed up with pride by their achievements, they humbly confess that it is grace alone that saved and blessed them. When we get puffed up, we take the glory from the Lord Jesus and give it to ourselves. However, see the lovely humility of Paul and Barnabus, "they preceded to report in detail ALL THAT GOD, working with them, had done, and how HE had opened for the Gentiles the door of faith." Acts.14v27. It is sometimes necessary to report what God has done, for it can enlighten and encourage Christians, and can produce faith in the sick or unconverted, and so be a real means of blessing. However it is never right to parade God's workings through us, with a puffed up and arrogant air, this attitude will certainly result in discipline from the Lord. Pride goes before a fall, and those who steal the glory from the Lord are certainly heading for one. If anyone could have been puffed up, conceited, or boastful at the end of his life it was Paul, but he realised that all he had accomplished was because of the great grace of God. See his lovely spirit of humility in 1Tim.1v11-16. A humble person is one who realises the truth about themselves. They realise that all blessings and talents, natural and spiritual, spring out of the grace, mercy and provision of God.

6. LOVE DOES NOT BEHAVE ITSELF UNSEEMLY, UNBECOMINGLY OR DISGRACEFULLY. "ouk aschemonei"

The Christian who is controlled by love considers the reactions of others and does allow a genuine inspiration to result in excessive behaviour that is jarring to the jarring of others, and likely to bring reproach upon the work of God.

Let us first consider:-

Order and disorder.

The apostle Paul is obviously against a disorderly and unbecoming manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. However, we need to remember that the order of a Pentecostal meeting does not mean a dead order. Christians can pray "with strong cryings and tears" like the Lord Jesus did in Gethsemane. Heb.5v7., or praise the Lord in quite a loud way. Ps.98v4. 47v1. Lk.19v37-40. Rev.19v6., or even on some rare occasions dance in praise to God. Ps.149v3. 150v4., and sometimes, luke the apostle John and Daniel, spiritual revelation can cause one to lose their strength and fall to the floor, or to lie on their face in worship. Rev.1v7. 4v10. Dan.10v8,11,15,17. Ats.2v13. On the day of Pentecost the 120 in the upper room were so blessed by the Lord and so effusive in their worship that some of those who saw them thought that they were intoxicated. Here is a passage from a tract by W.F.P. Burton, he is telling his reaction to these types of manifestations in Pentecostal meetings when he was first examining the Pentecostal experience and doctrine. Acts.2v13-16. Eph.5v18.

"The Question of Manifestations.

Before I gave myself to waiting on God for the blessing with unrestricted faith, however, one or two matters had to be made clearer to me. These were chiefly concerned with peculiarities which I had seen in the meetings, such as falling to the ground, laughing, groaning, trembling, seeing visions. At times the weight of glory, the transports of praise seemed to make the participants appear drunk.

A little study of the Scriptures removed my misgivings about such manifestations. I found that on the day of Pentecost, tongues were not used for preaching. They started before the crowd gathered, and it was the noise of the tongues which gathered the Jewish listeners, who recognised the languages used. When the preaching started it was by Peter, and not in tongues, but in the one language that every Jew present understood. Acts.2v4-6. I saw, moreover, that even on that occasion, the manifestations were mistaken for drunkenness. Acts.2v13-16. Eph.5v18. Such passages as Dan,8v18-26. Neh.12v43. 8v6,12. Job.8v21. Ps.126v2., reassured me, showing that these things were perfectly natural during times of special religious enthusiasm. One of the elder brethren put the matter nicely when he said: "We do not encourage such manifestations, but we are not at all surprised when they do occasionally occur. We have learned the lesson which Michael learned so dearly, that it does not do to belittle those who are carried away with the joy of the Lord. 2Sam.6v18-23."

John Wesley was concerned about people in his meetings who were under a deep conviction of sin; they fell as if they had been pole-axed to the floor. The advice that he received and took from a spiritual and godly lady, was that he should leave God to do His work in His own way. Whenever a manifestation that is very definitely of the Holy Spirit takes place, we should be careful not to criticise. However, it is quite plain from 1Cor.12 to 14. that it is possible ti use the gifts of the Spirit, or respond to the blessing of the Lord in an unseemly and unbecoming way. Disorderly conduct occurs when we act in a selfish way and show no consideration for others. It will also cause friction and distress if we try to carry on in the flesh a work that was begun in the Spirit, or if we try to make the exceptional the normal.

Public and Private use of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

We are plainly instructed in the New Testament to consider the presence of unconverted and unlearned people in a meeting when we are manifesting spiritual gifts and act accordingly. Paul makes it quite clear that it can be unseemly to use our gifts in public in the same way that we would use them in private. What is quite right in private can be quite wrong in public. For example, Paul says that the continual loud noise of the gift of tongues in the church meeting is wrong, our emphasis should be public, not private edification, when in a church meeting. Paul states that in public meetings we must exercise restraint in the use of the gift of tongues, or we shall bring reproach on the work of God. If there are people in a meeting who are unconverted or unlearned or ignorant about spiritual gifts, the person who is in charge of the meeting must not allow anything to proceed that is unseemly and would harm or disgrace the Christian cause. There are times when in meetings consisting of Pentecostal believers and instructed Christian friends, the whole gathering may praise and worship the Lord in tongues, but this should not happen when the unconverted are in the meeting, nor should it continue for a long period or in a loud and noisy way in any meeting. The same thing applies to what is known as "dancing in the spirit." this should not take place in the presence of unbelievers, and it should not be a common occurrence in Christian gatherings. Without doubt Christians can be moved to "dance before the Lord" on rare occasions, but let us not make the exception the rule, or we shall make an exhibition of ourselves, and fail to glorify the Lord. We can see that what can be quite alright in a private meeting in a church, has to be carefully disciplined when there are unbelievers or outsiders in a meeting, for what is not "unseemly conduct" in the secret place, or in a meeting where only Pentecostal Christians are present, becomes "unseemly conduct" when the unconverted are present.

Young People and Young Converts.

Young people will nearly always react in a more lively way to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit than their stayed elders, we should not desire them to act like people twenty to fifty years older than themselves. The young contribute their energy, the older, their experience and wisdom. In a maternity hospital there is a lot of noise, but there is life. In a Pentecostal meeting with young converts you can't always expect an apple-pie order, or a mature Christian reaction from young converts. Young converts will grow in grace and learn as they walk with the Lord. If you are too severe and stop all the reactions and chaff experiences of young people or converts, you will stop the wheat growing. Every church ought to have Christian babies growing in them, and where this is happening there cannot help but be some imperfection and immaturity, but we should not get over concerned if everything is not perfect pattern, the young converts will grow in grace and experience as they follow the Lord. One has to make some allowances for immaturity, we know the young converts will learn about such things as modesty and dress watching pornographic T.V., bad company and worldly attitudes etc., and they will also learn how to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit alright, if they are taught properly and set a good example. Though any serious disorder should be dealt with, and any meeting which has outsiders in should be carefully controlled, in gatherings of believers only, we can on occasions overlook and allow certain chaff reactions of inexperienced Christians that are not quite according to the perfect pattern of the Scriptures.

We does not expect a person to master arithmetic in one lesson, or learn to drive a car or pilot an aeroplane as soon as they are placed at the controls, and in spiritual things let us not to expect perfection all at once. We must not go too legal about things, or we can turn the blessed order of the Holy Spirit into legal bondage. We are not under a severe Law, we are under the grace of God. It is far better to have a little disorder than death of spiritual bondage, "Death is the dirtiest dirt." However, a Christian of longstanding should manifest the gifts of the Holy Spirit in a graceful and gracious way, and there should be no hint of disorderly or unseemly conduct.

Fanaticism and Experience.

There is a great difference between jarring incidents that occur because Christians are inexperienced in the use of the gifts, and jarring incidents that are the result of "unruly" young converts and Christians manifesting the gifts in a wilful, undisciplined and disorderly manner. There are Christians who are spoken of as "unruly," and we are told to warn Christians who are unruly. 1Thes.5v14. Christian leaders have to "reprove and rebuke and exert with all longsuffering and doctrine." i.e. they have to give sound teaching, good example, and sometimes stern warnings, 2Tim.4v2. Titus. 2v15., but there must be longsuffering. There is a definite need sometimes for correction in Christian meetings when there is unseemly conduct, fanaticism or excess. However, the leader must exercise great grace and tact, and if possible speak quietly and privately to the persons concerned, for any harsh or graceless "unseemly discipline" may permanently injure a dear Christian, and can bring something infinitely worse than excess in the use of the gifts, it can bring spiritual bondage and death. It needs real wisdom, to control unruly Christians who need a loving but firm discipline, and guide ignorant and inexperienced Christians, who need loving advice. A wise, loving and spiritual leadership will discern between unseemly, spurious and profitable manifestations of the Holy Spirit, and will keep a revival going forward in the will of God.

It is not necessary to roll on the floor, even if Billy Bray did it, indeed, if the Holy Spirit comes in real power, we will not be able to move a muscle, we shall be physically overcome. When we manifest a gift of the Holy Spirit, we do not lose our self-control, the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. The Holy Spirit is a perfect gentleman, He will not cause us to get into a frenzy, or act in a way that will produce concern, fear, friction, stress and distraction in the saints, and disgust in the outsider. The inspiration may be perfectly genuine, but.our reaction to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit may be improper or unseemly. It is our response to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that decides the benefit to the Church. In the Corinthian church there was an imperfect use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. there was an over emphasis on the gift of tongues and a monopolisation of Christian meetings with tongues, they were only thinking of personal, not public edification, but the inspiration of those gifts is not in question with Paul. Paul makes it quite clear that it was the way that the Corinthians were using their gifts and their response to inspiration that was wrong, not the lovely gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are wonderful, it is the manifestation of them through imperfect channels that produces difficulty at times. The manifestation of the gifts at Corinth were not counterfeit,, they were genuine manifestations of the Spirit used wrongly. It is a sad thing that every revival always brings its quota of excess or fanaticism, but let us not fear seeking a full Pentecostal revival because of the dangers of excess and fanaticism, the dangers of spiritual death and powerless, subnormal, formal Christianity are far, far worse.

The cure for abuse of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

1. Consideration of others.

2, Correct teaching and spiritual example from the more mature Christians.

3. The crucifixion of the self-assertive spirit. The manifestations of the gifts should exalt Christ and draw attention to the person manifesting them.

4.We should remember that excesses in the use of the gifts and doubtful physical manifestations arise from a resistance to the Holy Spirit, we will find a cure for these ills, when we submit and yield to the leadings and authority of the Spirit.

5. We need a manifestation of the fruits of the Spirit as well as the gifts of the Spirit. A growth in grace will cure all disgraceful behaviour. This will only be accomplished by a diligent seeking of God and spiritual determination. 2Pet.1v5-12. Self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit that will cure any unseemly, disgraceful, or unbecoming conduct. This self control, self-discipline and consideration of others will bring a fullness of the Spirit; excess and unseemly conduct will never bring the blessing that we desire, nor will it exalt the Lord Jesus.

A Final Word.

It is behaving most unseemly to suppress or unfold the Holy Spirit's spiritual gifts that Christ has given to His Church. Indeed, this goes beyond excess and fanaticism to real rebellion and wickedness, for by despising the gifts of God, we despise God. The abuses of the gifts are far less than anti-Pentecostal people would think. Wise leadership and mature example, can lead a Pentecostal revival away from any unseemly behaviour, fanaticism, or spiritual danger, into the lovely green pastures of a fruitful manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

7. LOVE SEEKETH NOT HER OWN, "ouzeteitaheaotes" DOES NOT SEEK ITS OWN INTERESTS.

This follows on from the last quality of love, it is the cure for disorderly conduct and other misuses of the gifts. Love does not think of its own profit, it considers how others may best profit, from the exercise of spiritual gifts. Love does not monopolise a meeting, it is not egotistical and self-centred, it seeks the welfare and blessing of others first, it does not persue selfish aims. The loving Christian does not say, "How much can I get from my gift, or from the meeting?" The loving Christian says, "How much can I give?" The aim of love is not self-glory or ostentation. Love does not seek position, privilege, self-advancement, or benefit, it considers how it can minister, and what its responsibilities are. Love's eyes look upon the needs of others as well as their own needs. The surest antidote to spiritual pride and selfishness is to get taken up with the needs of others. The apostles were seeking their own when they were arguing as to who was going to be the greatest among them, they were loving the pre-eminence; but the Lord taught them in a most striking way, He washed their feet, in the kingdom of God the rule is service, not self-seeking. Jn.13. all. Mt.20v20-28.

In a world that is always thinking of its own rights and seeking its own welfare, and is generally quite unconcerned over its responsibilities, we should set a shining example inside and outside the church fellowship. We should take care that we are not swept away by the errors of the wicked. Christian love sees its duties and does not insist upon its rights. We should always do the things that will build up the people of God, we should not love the pre-eminence, we should think of others and humble ourselves before God. We have a responsibility to seek God for manifestations of spiritual gifts that will be a blessing to others as well as ourselves. In these materialistic days we need to remember that excessive seeking of material1istic things can cause us to be so spiritually run-down, that we shall be a burden to Christ's Church instead of a blessing.

8. LOVE IS NOT EASILY PROVOKED OR IRRITABLE, IT DOES NOT FLY INTO A TEMPER.

The Greek word translated "provoked," only occurs in one place in the New Testament, it says in Acts.17v16., that Paul's spirit was stirred within him when he saw that the city of Athens was wholly given to idolatry. Paul was provoked and moved to action in a good way by the idolatry of Athens but here in 1Cor.13., Paul states that the loving Christian does not allow himself to be stirred to anger through a misuse of the gifts, he is rather moved to sympathy and compassion. Mt.9v35,36. The response of love to a misuse of the gifts is irritability, temper and bitterness of spirit; but rather compassion, sympathy, tenderness and forgiveness. Love sorrows over immaturity and excess, but its attitude is curative and edifying not censorious, critical and bad-tempered. When the Corinthian Christians were misusing the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Paul gave them sound teaching and advice, not an exhibition of bad temper.

Is it always wrong for a Christian to be angry? No! Though there are times when it is a sin not to be angry. Even the divine love of Christ was angered by a deliberate and unwarranted suppression of the gifts of the Holy Spirit by most of the religious leaders of His day. These hypocrites devoured widows houses and prayed in a most pious way, and they were full of all kinds of iniquity. Mt.23v1-39. Lk.16v14,15. However, we should be very careful lest we call our bad temper by the false name of righteous indignation. A person that cannot control their temper is of no use in the service of God, and can be a downright nuisance and menace, and can injure many people. 1Tim.3v3. The only thing that the Christian has the right to be angry over is downright wickedness, and even then we have to control our spirit. Paul suffered a great deal of opposition and persecution like his Lord, and he tells us what our reaction to it must be, "the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God pre-adventure will give them repentance to the acknowledgement of the truth. 2Tim.2v24,25. So we can see that anger is a thing that should be seldom seen in a Christian. The Christian may speak the truth firmly and sincerely, but it should be spoken in love, not in a bad spirit. Eph.4v15. Gal.5v13-26. In the proud correction will cause anger, and we need to have the grace to humbly receive any advice, correction, or abuse that we may receive, whether it be right or wrong. See how our dear Lord Jesus endured the contradiction of sinners, and like a lamb went to the slaughter, let us follow His example. Love does not get angry and forbids spiritual gifts, nor does it call this bad temper and unbelief by the name of righteous indignation.

9. LOVE THINKETH NO EVIL, IS NOT MINDFUL OF WRONGS.

Love does not store up in the memory a catalogue of wrongs received, injuries done, or manifestations of the Spirit that were misused. Love does not meditate upon evil inflicted by others, or compile records or statistics of failures and sins in fellow Christians. Love does not harbour grievances, or brood over injuries. Love is not critical over genuine manifestations of the Holy Spirit, it holds fast to that which is good. 1Thes.5v19-21. The Greek word that is used is an accountants word, it is the word that is used to describe the keeping of an account in a ledger of every item that the person wants to remember. In God's business there is no place for keeping an account of injuries received or imagined, or of the errors, mistakes and excesses of others. Love finds no sense of superiority or satisfaction in the faults of others, and does not keep a record of a person's failings with this end in view. Christian love learns to forgive, forget and pass over the faults of others. In Polynesia the natives keep articles suspended from the roofs of their dwellings to remind themselves of the wrongs done to them by their enemies, and so they keep the hatred of their enemies alive. Love does not do this kind of thing, love prays for its enemies, and for those who make mistakes and fall into sin and error, the Lord Jesus told us to pray for those that despitefully use us. This aspect of love follows on from the last quality of love that Paul mentioned, i.e. anger. Love does not have outbursts of anger, or keep that anger burning by cherishing the real or imaginary wrongs committed. The only purpose of this kind of malice of heart is to deprecate another's character, and it shows as an unforgiving spirit. The Lord Jesus warned us in Mt.18v21-35. that people who harbour an unforgiving spirit can expect the most severe discipline from God. Mt.6v15. In saying these things, I do not mean to say that we should ignore wrongs that are done in the church, or neglect church discipline. If you have offended someone, it is your duty to ask for their forgiveness. Mt.5v23,24. If we have been offended it is our duty to approach the person concerned personally, then with witnesses if there is no repentance, and finally the matter must come before the church which has the responsibility to discipline rebellious members.

Wilful sin must not be allowed in the church, the church must use the authority that Christ has given to its discipline members. Mt.18v15-22. Mt.16v18,19. Jn.20v21-23. 1Cor.5v1-5,11-15. Eph.5v11. However, where there is repentance there must always be forgiveness. Lk.17v3,4. 2Cor.2v4-11. If the church fails to carry out the procedure of discipline that Christ laid down in Mt.18v15-22., Christ can, and may, discipline the offender Himself, this can even result in the death of a Christian. 1Cor.5v5. 11v27-32. If we do not put matters right here on earth, we shall have to answer for it at the judgement seat of Christ. Rom.14v10-13. The injured party should be humble and perform positive acts of kindness to the person who has injured them, so that repentance is made much easier. Gal.6v1. Rom.12v14-21. 1Cor.1v10. Christians should not settle disputes between one another by means of unbelievers in courts of law. 1Cor.6v1-8. So we can see that sin and discord must be dealt with, but once there has been reconciliation and forgiveness, all should be forgiven and forgotten and the church should be knit together in perfect love. What God has forgiven and forgotten we dare not make a record of for the future reference and criticism. Compiling the thoughts for the purpose of criticism and self-aggrandise , can only arise when we fail to consider ourselves and our needs. Mt.5v22-26. 7v1-5. We should consider others better than ourselves, not worse, and if there is an obvious need for correction, it should be done in a proper spirit. Phil.2v3. Gal.6v1. When Paul corrected people it was from the attitude that he was "less than the least of the saints." Eph.3v8. 1Tim.1v15. Love does not meditate upon people's faults, or their injuries with a critical attitude. In the diatribes against the Pentecostal experience, people have done the very thing that 1Cor.13v5. condemns. To justify their unbelief in the Pentecostal experience, even Christian men have gone to amazing lengths to compile cases of fanaticism and failure, and they have criticised genuine moves of the Holy Spirit by maligned and perverted reporting. To strengthen their weak arguments some have felt it necessary to magnify out of all proportion the excesses of a small minority of "Pentecostal failures" or "fringe fanatics" of the Pentecostal movement. But what Christian group has no spiritual failures? Even the apostolic band could be looked upon as "not of God" by this method of examination. Christ was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter and forsaken by all, and the Bible tells us of many good men who have failed God. The Bible tells us to sorrow over the fall of a brother and help to restore him, not to compile a record of his failures for the purpose of exciting public contempt. Gal.6v1. Mt.5v44-48. 7v1-5. What a fearful judgement awaits those who attack the gifts that Christ has given to His Church, by unchristian means! The Lord Jesus warned that it was the very worst form of blasphemy to ascribe the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan. Mk.3v22-30. One is very thankful that many Christians in all denominations are seeking and receiving the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit, and that in many circles the old prejudices are becoming a thing of the past. Love does not impute evil motives to another Christian's actions, nor is it suspicious of their character or actions. Love puts the best construction and interpretation on actions that look doubtful in a Christian bother or sister.

10. LOVE REJOICES NOT IN INIQUITY, IT IS NOT GLAD WHEN OTHERS GO WRONG.

Some people find real pleasure in finding out the faults of others and making them known. Some would rejoice if they could find something that would discredit a good Christian person. If there was some excess in a Pentecostal meeting, some critics would exclaim a triumphant, "I told you so!"There is no triumph in knowing that we were right about another's failings; A heart of love has no pleasure or satisfaction over the fall or faults of another. It is a great sin to gloat over the fall of another and those who gloat over another's fall are themselves in need of forgiveness and mercy, and are liable to experience real temptation themselves. A spirit of meekness and godly fear is the only safe attitude for the Christian, we should consider how much we have needed, and still will need, the grace and mercy of God. Gal.6v1. Love is not full of envy or resentment at the blessing of others, nor does it rejoice when they fail or fall. Indeed, we should hold one another up in prayer, particularly those whose ministry makes them a target for the Devil. Love does not gloss over evil, or say that evil is good, it does not close its eyes to evil, it disciplines it whenever it is necessary, however, love is terribly grieved when people go wrong, or do wrong, love wishes no one to fail. It is even possible to use a revelation of the Holy Spirit in a wrong way, we can use a revelation to expose and condemn, when the Holy Spirit wants us to use it to convert, help and strengthen a person, and as a directive to pray earnestly for them.

This verse can also teach us that a Christian does not and cannot enjoy the evil things of the world when they are walking with Christ the king of love. The apostle John tells us to "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world, and the world passeth away and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." 1Jn.2v15-17.

The systems of the world are under the sway of the Evil One, and should not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds, and then we shall prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God. Rom.12v1-3.

11. LOVE REJOICES IN THE TRUTH, AND JOYFULLY SIDES WITH THE TRUTH.

Love is pleased when it sees others blessed and going on in the Christian way, it is delighted when others do well, and rejoices over the victory of truth in them. We should rejoice when others are more blessed than ourselves, and are using greater gifts than ourselves, or having a more prominent part in Christian work than we are. Human nature tends to resent the blessing of others, but as Christians we have to crucify any envy or jealousy and rejoice with a loving heart over the blessing of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should never say, "Why have they got this or that gift when I have not got it?" or, "Why should they have such a prominent place in the church?" We should seek God for ourselves, for He has promised to always meet with the sincere seeker and bless them and make them a blessing. We should never let envy stop us from rejoicing with others over their victories, gifts and blessings. Instead of finding pleasure in compiling and gloating over a person's faults, the loving Christian rejoices in their spiritual victories and attainments, and will do all they can to promote further spiritual well-being.

Sometimes it may be difficult to rejoice in the truth, particularly if it shows you your deficiencies. Many people do not accept many clearly revealed Biblical truths. Some Christians cannot rejoice in the truth of spiritual gifts, having a fear, dislike, distrust, or even an hatred of this truth. However, it is the truth that makes us free and builds us up in faith. Jn.8v32. Spiritual gifts were given to the Church to build it up, "the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal," so if we neglect this truth we will be much poorer. 1Cor.12v7. Obedience to Christ's commands, springing out of love for Christ, decides how much we experience of God's truth, provision, power and revelation, he who does the will of God shall know the truth that is from God. Jn.7v17. The Christian who deeply loves Christ, will obey Him and love others, and perform His will in all things, and will as a result experience a great revelation of God's love, power and truth. Jn.14v21. When the Lord Jesus told the religious leaders of His day the truth, the vast majority of them wanted to kill the Lord Jesus, they did not want the truth, because it conflicted with their cherished but incorrect traditions. Jn.8v44,45. Man-made tradition dies hard even when it openly denies the Word of God. It took a vision of Christ to deliver Paul from the bondage of tradition to the truth of the Gospel. Spiritual gifts are a part of Gospel truth, and the Christian "should earnestly contend for the faith which was delivered once for all to the saints." Jude.v3. Gal.1v6-10. Some people will always resist the truth, but the Christian should love truth, whoever it manifests itself through. 2Tim.3v8. Phil.1v14-20. Jn.18v37. 2Cor.3v8. The loving Christian does not condemn or forbid spiritual gifts, he rejoices in the manifestation of them, and sides with the truth concerning them. Do you? 1Thes.5v19-21. 1Cor.14v1,39.

12. LOVE BEARETH ALL THINGS.

Love knows no limit to what it can endure, there is nothing that it cannot face, it bears up under anything, it is always slow to expose faults and does its very best to uplift and sustain. Vine says that the Greek word "stege," means primarily top protect, or preserve by covering, hence it means to keep off something which threatens, to bear up against, to hold out against, and so endure, bear, forbear." So we can see that the Greek word carries with it the thought of enduring, sustaining, uplifting and protecting. Love can bear and endure the faults and hatred of others, it delights to sustain and uplift others, and where it is consistent with Church purity and discipline it covers the faults of Christians. Love does not bring the faults of others into public light so that it can point the finger of scorn.

The loving Christian will also bear with those who persecute and revile the followers of Christ, in order to win them to the Lord Jesus. See how the Lord Jesus tried to win lost men and women, He bore all things to fulfil the Father's will and to seek and save that which was lost. The apostle Paul was constrained by the love of Christ to seek the lost and point them to the Saviour, and was willing to suffer the most dreadful persecution because of his love for his Saviour and needy mankind. 2Cor.11v23-12v15. We need to remember that 1Cor.13. was spoken to Christians who were under persecution, some were even dying for their faith. Paul tells them that the Christian who truly loves the Lord Jesus will bear all that the world and the Devil brings against them to destroy their love for Jesus, their faith in Jesus, and the spiritual experiences given by the Lord Jesus. Sometimes, like Peter, a Christian may find that their love for Christ it not as great as they thought, circumstances may try their faith and find them wanting. However, like Peter, they can be restored by the wonderful grace and love of God, and as a result be a humbler, wiser person, conscious of their limitations and dependent on their Lord instead of themselves.

Love will bear with Christians who are immature or inexperienced in the use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament Church there is not such an emphasis on order that there is a suppression of the gifts of the Holy Spirit by a lack of forbearance. We may try to cover up our lack of love by appealing to the Scripture, "Let all things be done decently and in order," 1Cor.14v40., when we have permanently injured someone's spiritual life and use of spiritual gifts by a cruel rebuke and lack of forbearance. We can only reduce the effectiveness of the gifts by excess and disorder, we can also stop the movings of the Holy Spirit by excessive and unreasonable demands for order. Instruction and spiritual example will guide seeking and willing souls into the green pastures of a God-appointed order. It is much easier to destroy the gifts by a lack of forbearance, than it is to kindle a deep desire for them. However, love bears with the Christian who is to timid quite, or contemplative to manifest the gifts, as they do with those Christians who are too noisy or free in their worship and use of spiritual gifts.

The loving Christian will not only bear with immaturity in young believers, they will also bear with, and try to help, Christians who refuse to seek or manifest the "good gifts" that God gives to His children. Love will bear up under rebukes and persecution from those Christians who will not accept their genuine manifestations of the Holy Spirit, and will continue to manifest God's wonderful gifts. Those Christians who oppose the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are suffering from disorder and excess of the very worst kind, i.e. coldness, formal worship and rebellion against God's Word. These are by far the most difficult and dangerous disorders to deal with, however, the loving Pentecostal Christian will make a real effort to help and uplift Christians who are in all these circumstances, if it is within their power to do so. Forbearance is a difficult attribute of character to manifest, but the loving Christian prays for those that despitefully use them and will bless and curse not. Mt.5v44. Rom.12v4. James.3v9-18.

What a lovely quality of character this is! No disappointment, abuse, injury or ridicule can stop the ministrations of the loving heart. Love secretly mends and prays over the faults of others, this is a burden bearer, even though it may at times stagger under the burden and need that is laid upon it. 1Pet.4v8. Christians should protect their brother or sister in Christ, they should act as a family of God. What good mother fails to protect her child from a bad name, or the consequences of their wrong doing. The loving Christian will always try to bear up, sustain, and protect his brothers and sisters in Christ, indeed, love try's to sustain and uplift all.

13. LOVE BELIEVETH ALL THINGS, HAS NO LIMIT TO ITS FAITH AND TRUST.

Love has an unquenchable faith, it is completely trusting, it exercises faith in every situation, it is eager to believe the best. Love views difficult people and difficult circumstances with the exception and faith that things will improve. Even continual disappointment will fail to crush the love-controlled Christian, they will look upon every circumstance with a conquering and triumphant faith. The basis of this faith is the faithfulness of God and the presence of God, "The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge." The Lord is our keeper, the Lord is our shade, He will preserve, heal and deliver. Ps.46 and 121. Love has the faith that, "He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." Phil.1v6., or, as the Amplified Version translates this verse, "I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ, developing that good work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you." The loving Christian faces obstacles in the Church and hindrances in ourselves with the confidence that God can and will undertake for us as we yield to Him. This complete trust takes the strain and stress out of difficult circumstances.

This faith and trust is an attitude of heart that looks at imperfect brothers and sisters and says, "I know that you are capable of and made for better things." Love sees the best in people and sees them as they will be, not as they are, it sees Christians as they will be, perfect and complete before the throne of God in heaven. Rev.7v9-17. Love does not give people up as hopeless when the evidence is heavily against them. It has faith that they will be moulded and disciplined by the Lord, and that the peaceable fruits of righteousness will prevail. If we have a suspicious and wary attitude to people, we can expect them to improve but slowly, however, if you show people trust, it gives them a tremendous spur on the Christian way. We are told in Heb.3v13. to encourage one another daily, it is a great encouragement to know that we are loved, trusted and honoured by our brothers and sisters in Christ. However, this does not mean that we do not exercise a spiritual discernment or judgement, either in relation to spiritual gifts or a person's character, but it does mean that any judgement must be loving and just and not critical, censorious and unkind. We have to "Prove all things and hold fast to that which is good." 1Thes.5v21. We are told to be on the watch for ravenous wolves which disguise themselves as sheep, and we have to protect the flock of God from them. Mt.7v1-5. 15-17. Acts.20v28-31. The Christian should be wise as well as loving. Mt.10v16. However, there is a great difference between worldly wisdom and godly wisdom, the worldly philosopher, sage, logician and clever debater, will know little or nothing of the wisdom and truth of God. Christianity is an expression of God's living truth, not an argument or theory, God's babes and sucklings can enjoy an experience of God's truth and wisdom, that the wisest worldling knows nothing about. 1Cor.1v19-21. Mt.11v25v30. The Christian does not believe everything, we must exercise judgement. Prov.14v15. Love will not believe the obviously proved lie, but it will trust that even when a person shows positive evidence of backsliding and sin, that they will improve and get right with God. Suspicion can destroy a move of the Holy Spirit and hinder a manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is a great tragedy when Christian people are suspicious and wary about the promise concerning the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit. The loving Christian will be full of faith and trust in the promises that their heavenly Father has given to them, they will have complete faith in the reality and benefit of the gifts of the Spirit, and will obey the command to "desire spiritual gifts."

14. LOVE HOPETH ALL THINGS, IT IS FULL OF HOPE AND NEVER CEASES TO HOPE.

Love hopes under all circumstances, and is always hopeful. The victory of hope can be as great as the victory of faith. Rom.4v18. Christian hope is a very close relation to faith, indeed, it springs out of faith. Christian hope springs out of confidence and faith in the character and truth of God. There is a dead hope as there is a dead faith, and there is a living hope as well as a living faith. James.2v14-26. with 1Pet.1v3. Prov.10v28. 11v7,23. Rom.5v4,5. 8v24,25. 15v4,13. Phil.1v19,20. Col.1v5,23,27. Titus.1v2. 2v13. Heb.3v6. 6v11,18,19. 1Pet.1v21. 3v15.,16. 1Jn.3v2,3. 1Thes.5v8. No opposition, temptation, or distress can destroy the hope that is ours in Christ Jesus.

This "hopeth all things" is a progression from the previous "believeth all things." When love can have very little grounds for faith in a person, they never cease to hope that things will turn out alright. When there are real dark appearances of sin in a person's life, there is hope that the person will get back on the right way, and that truth and goodness will triumph. Love longs and hopes that any bitter and unloving spirit will be purified and that love may prevail. Love never ceases to hope that the gifts of the Holy Spirit will be manifest through all Christians and in all Christian churches and denominations. The baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit are the blood-bought heritage of every Christian.

15. LOVE ENDURETH ALL THINGS AND BEARS EVERYTHING WITH TRIUMPHANT FORTITUDE.

Love is full of endurance, it endures without limit for the sake of others, love gives us the power to endure everything. The word that is used here is the same word that is used in Heb.12v2. to describe how the Lord Jesus endured the cross. It is a triumphant endurance. The loving Christian does not allow things that are wrong to break or mar their spirit. Love goes through trial with a perfect confidence in God. This is one of the things that shows Christian maturity, for it is only mature Christians that can face the overwhelming difficulties and persecutions that our Saviour faced in His ministry and death, with a triumphant fortitude. The loving Christian will endure all things so that the God of love may manifest His power and love through the lovely gifts that He has given. Christs risen life, power, and ministry are communicated to the Church and world by the spiritual gifts that He has given to His Church. Those who manifest gifts of the Spirit will surely find that, like their Lord, they will have some opposition of one sort or another to endure. Indeed, one may have to suffer the most determined vicious persecution from unbelieving worldly and religious people for the sake of Christ's spiritual gifts. Acts.14v19-22. 13v50-62. 1Cor.4v11-13. 2Tim.2v10-13. James.1v12.

Some Christians mature more slowly than others and so do not manifest spiritual gifts or manifest them aright, but love will endure such difficulties with triumphant fortitude, not with just grim resignation, but with a conquering endurance. We should prefer to endure some misuse of the gifts rather than have them absent from the Church. Some Christians will only progress a short way in the things of God, and there is little hope of of altering them, we have to leave such people in the hands of their heavenly Father and love them patiently and understandingly. However, if a person is living in open and deliberate sin they must be disciplined and dealt with by the Church. Mt.18v15-20. 2Thes.3v11-15. 1Cor.5v1-5. 1Tim.1v18-20. Young believers may sometimes misuse the gifts, but we should be willing to endure a measure of this rather than quench their experience by criticism, harshness, or unreasonable demands for order. Loving instruction and spiritual example will work wonders with young converts. The Corinthians had been saved for about five years when Paul wrote to them, they were still ignorant as to how to use their spiritual gifts properly, and this was sad; but how sad it would have been if they had had no gifts of the Spirit in operation. We must recognise that our Lord Jesus states that Christians take time to grow in grace and spiritual maturity, and some take longer than others. However, I have been impressed how some Christians who have enjoyed correct teaching and wise oversight, have leaned to master the use of the gifts of the Spirit quickly. However, if some don't progress as we feel they should, we should bear them up in prayer. As we have said before, in meetings where there are the unconverted or unlearned, there must be a much stricter supervision than in meetings where only Pentecostal Christians are present. The early Christian meetings were mostly in homes and so the problem of unbelievers being present did not arise so much, as only those invited would be present.

If we use the gifts of the Holy Spirit with these fifteen lovely Christian qualities in mind, we shall experience revival in our churches, and we shall see the Lord Jesus abundantly glorified. These qualities of character make the use of spiritual power safe and profitable, and will result in a dynamic manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit must accompany one another if the Church of Christ is to fulfil its great commission and be a blessing to mankind. Let us now consider the last main division of 1Cor.13.


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