Attributes of the Perceiver

Each day we will explore different attributes of the Perceiver. This is a personal Bible study and there are no right or wrong answers. This is to help you understand each gift. Even if these attributes do not come close to describing you, you will be able to understand a sister or brother who does have these attributes. You will see why you act and say things... or your sibling in Christ... or your spouse. This will absolutely change the way you see your siblings in Christ.

Week Two Bible Study
___________________Attributes of the Perceiver

Because of the definition today’s society has dedicated to the word “Prophet”, we will use the word Perceiver for our purposes although John the Baptist was absolutely the last Old Testament Prophet. He called himself “Friend of the Bridegroom” not fit to tie His sandal. I wish we had time to explore that further!

Greek word transliterated: Propheteia (prof-ay-ti'-ah) -- prophecy
a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; esp. by foretelling future events
Used in the NT of the utterance of OT prophets
1. of the prediction of events relating to Christ's kingdom and its speedy triumph, together with the consolations and admonitions pertaining to it, the spirit of prophecy, the divine mind, to which the prophetic faculty is due
2. of the endowment and speech of the Christian teachers called prophets
3. the gifts and utterances of these prophets, esp. of the predictions of the works of which, set apart to teach the gospel, will accomplish for the kingdom of Christ

PERSPECTIVE…
In an ancient monastery in a far away place, a new monk arrived to join his brothers in copying books and scrolls in the monastery’s scriptorium. He was assigned a book that had already been copied by hand. One day he asked Father Florian (the Armarius of the Scriptorium), “Does not the copying by hand of other copies allow for chances of error? How do we know we are not copying the mistakes of someone else? Are they ever checked against the original?” Father Florian was set back a bit by the obvious, logical observation of this youthful monk. “A very good point, my son. I will take one of the latest books down to the vault and compare it to the original.” Father Florian went down to the secured vault and began his verification. After a day and passed, the monks began to worry and went down looking for the old priest. They were sure something must have happened. As they approached the vault, they heard sobbing and crying. When they opened the door, they found Father Florian sobbing over the new copy and the original ancient book, both of which opened before him on the table. It was obvious to all that the poor man had been crying his old heart out for a long time. “What is the problem, Reverend Father?” asked one of the monks. “Oh, my Lord,” sobbed the priest, “the word is ‘celebrate’.”

Obviously, this isn’t a true story, however it is exactly how a Perceiver would react to obvious abuse of God’s Word in a misinterpretation.


Before we go any further, I want to make it clear that Jesus being fully human and being fully God personifies all the positive attributes of each Spiritual Gift. Having each of these gifts in full measure, Jesus also had the negative temptations that go along with each motivational spiritual gift. Since He was fully God and perfect, He did not succumb to the temptations.
Therefore, when I cannot find a Biblical reference for the Biblical example used, we will look at the attribute exemplified by Jesus.

Day 1___________________________________

Look up Matthew 3:1-10 put something in that spot and look up Matthew 11:1-6.

Put the chapter and verse beside the different characteristics (in bold) of John the Baptist.

Then score yourself on how true the statement is about you. ( Total the points on the score sheet at the end of this week. You will note there are twenty statements and there is a possibility of a 100% score for each gift.

Accurately identifies good and evil and hates evil ____________________________________
Never = 0
Seldom = 1
Sometimes = 2
Usually = 3
Mostly = 4
Always = 5
Total = __________


Sees everything as black or white, no gray. _________________________________________

Never = 0
Seldom = 1
Sometimes = 2
Usually = 3
Mostly = 4
Always = 5
Total = __________


Easily perceives the character of individuals and groups. ______________________________
Never = 0
Seldom = 1
Sometimes = 2
Usually = 3
Mostly = 4
Always = 5
Total ___________


Encourages repentance that produces good fruit _____________________________________
Never = 0
Seldom = 1
Sometimes = 2
Usually = 3
Mostly = 4
Always = 5
Total ______________

Continue the Study... But you really need to let what you've learned soak in. I recommend you click on each day and copy/paste and then do each day each day rather than in one huge dose.

Who can you think of that has these qualities? Comment here about your thoughts, others will learn, too.