Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in 2 Timothy, chapter 1:
6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of (Agape) Love and of a sound mind.
A sound mind results in sound judgment and personal discipline, abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control. Paul also wrote by THE SAME SPIRIT in 1 Corinthians chapter 15:
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
I am fully persuaded that as our revelation of Agape Love increases, we will be victorious in all that FATHER appointed us to do in HIS NAME. Rather than constantly focusing on the future, we will be fully focused on being victorious in our daily walk of ministering life to others.
James wrote by THE SPIRIT in chapter 1:
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Trials in our life produce pressure to test us by showing us our level of faith. Wisdom is how to properly apply knowledge in every situation thus we are to seek FATHER’S Wisdom in every challenge we face. The Beloved Disciple wrote by THE SPIRIT in John chapter 16:
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13 However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”
Is there a better source of the exact Truth than The Holy Spirit and The Word? THE SPIRIT moved upon the prophets of old and they spoke FATHER’S Word as they were given It by THE SPIRIT. How much more should we know the Truth with The Holy Spirit residing on the inside of us? Why do many seek an intermediary to hear the Truth when they should be focused on developing their spiritual ears to hear?
Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in Ephesians chapter 6:
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist (loins) with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness
The word for waist or loins comes from the Hebrew word for gifts. My friend Alan provides us with a better understanding of this word:
A little research and discussion of this word’s origins and primary reference will go a long way. This word, and a confusing plethora of other compounded words, all come from the root word most commonly recognized as ‘gift’, and translated into English numerous ways that are difficult to grasp until you realize the Hebrew words being used are all from the same idea of ‘a gift’, or having been ‘gifted’ with a substance or circumstance or ability, etc. The Strong’s number for this root is H5414, and this root is used many, many times throughout the O.T. Hebrew, but translated ways that tend to hide the original meanings. For instance, in Genesis 1:17, the word is translated into English as ‘set’, as if God had intentionally placed and positioned the ‘two great lights’ of verse 16 into the firmament; which, of course, is exactly what happened. But the Hebrew word translated as ‘set’ in verse 17 is the word ‘nah-than’, Strong’s H5414, which we readily understand is the basis for the name ‘Nathan’, and ‘Nathaniel’. And in this context the word ‘gift’, translated as ‘set’, is an action verb that describes that God intentionally ‘gifted’ the firmament with two great lights.
Another descriptive reference is Gen. 9:12, which reads “…the token (oath) of the covenant which I make (nah-than; gift) between me and you…” These examples are representative of hundreds of ways this concept of ‘gift’, something extended from God to creation, is illustrated throughout the scriptures. And that sets up the ultimate conclusion that “…God is all, and in all”. At least to me.
The word ‘mah-than’, sometimes pronounced as ‘mo-then’, ‘mu-then’, etc. is a variation of the verb ‘nah-than’, and is formed by dropping the first letter of ‘nun’, and replacing it with the prefix of ‘mem’. When prefixing a word with ‘mem’, the word takes on the prepositional characteristic of ‘from being’, or ‘from having been’, or ‘as coming from’. For example, the word ‘nathan’ is used to communicate a ‘gift’, or as ‘giving a gift’, or as ‘having received a gift’; hence, ‘gifted’. When the first letter ‘nun’ in this word is replaced by the prefix of ‘mem’, the word ‘gift’ (nah-than) now takes on the understanding of “…from having been gifted”, ‘mah-than’, and the personal possessive identity of having been gifted is ‘mah-thani’, Strong’s # H4981, which is used mainly as a personal pronoun name. When a final ‘mem’ is added to ‘mah-thani’, making ‘mah-thanim’, it becomes masculine plural personal possession identity. And ‘mathanim’ is translated primarily as ‘loins’. In that context, ‘mathanim’, and translated as ‘loins’, makes our ‘loins’ our personal giftings from God that make us uniquely who we are, individually. Webster’s Dictionary, 1828 Edition, describes ‘loin’ as the lower abdomen, or bowels area, and sometimes referred to as the ‘reins’, which we recognize also as ‘kidneys’. The ‘loins’, or ‘mah-thanim’, are those unique characteristics that each of us are gifted with, and they are recognized as ‘giftings’ from God.
Proverbs 18:16, where the word ‘mah-than’ is translated specifically as ‘gift’, is a good description of how/why this word ‘mah-than’ is recognized as a ‘gift’.
Amos 8: 9-10 is a fitting description of how negative retaliations from Lord GOD effect our confidence in our ‘giftings’, or ‘loins’. And in Gen. 37:34 we read that Jacob “…put sackcloth upon his loins (mah-than)” in mourning for Joseph. Some have relegated ‘the loins’ to referring simply to the bowels, but this word is obviously more inclusive than just our bowels. Incidentally, there are other Hebrew words translated as ‘loins’ that do not communicate this idea of our unique personal giftings from God.
We are to protect our gifts and callings by encircling, securing, and protecting them with the exact Truth from FATHER.