[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Michael The Disciple

Gifts of the spirit are manifestations of his favor. The Greek word for gift is a form of the same word for "grace". Im amazed we dont hear much about the gifts anymore. In the 70's gifts were in abundance especially prophetic gifts.

I have experienced prophetic gifts many times over the years and I know others who have. The gifts/manifestations of the Spirit are very important to our lives.

Amen. I'd like to see a revival of spiritual gifs.

While who Jesus is is essential I dont think Paul limits the definition of truth like this. Im sure when he speaks of "truth" he refers to his whole body of teaching not just who Jesus is.

That would make sense too.

Altho there is imputed righteousness why should we assume he was limiting righteousness to that? If one does not live a righteous lifestyle (empowered by the Spirit) he is not counted righteous by God.

Here's where I'm coming from on this... and it's not meant as a criticism...

In all honesty... I've yet to see a single person who was truly "righteous". They might live by a code of ethics that they have drawn from the Bible... but they often have nasty attidudes, pride, are hiding personal struggles with sin, etc. In short... we're all pretty much alike... we all have good days and bad days... we all have victories... and we all have days in which we hit our knees and confess our sins. It's just some are more open about their human weaknesses than others.

Now, let's tie all of this into spiritual warfare...

If we approach the enemy in spiritual warfare standing in our own righteousness... we'll be eaten alive. The enemy laughs. While those around us might see us as these highy moral and righteous people... the enemy has often spied on us when we were living below our calling. The enemy will snarl and say, "You have no moral authority to rebuke me or cast me out you snivelling hairless monkey. Who are you anyway???" However, if through FAITH we embrace the eternally sinless righeousness of Christ Jesus Himself that is imputed to us through the Holy Spirit's presence in our inner man... we have all the authority and power of Jesus Christ Himself... because we are living as extensions of Him and conduits of His power (living as branches of the Vine). Thus in the realm of spiritual warfare the imputed righteousness of Christ absolutely essential. We are not battling the enemy... He who is within us is battling the enemy through us. Therefore... we must stand in all that He is by faith.

Now, I'm not saying this to discourage personal sanctification. We all should be seeking greater degrees of sanctification in our spiritual walks. We all should be seeking greater ways to image Christ to a lost and dying world. What I'm saying is that this effort takes place under the unbrella of imputed righteousness and that it is imputed righteousness that the enemy cannot condemn.