As one looks to understand the purpose, use and presence of spiritual gifts in the New Testament Church, one does well to start in 1 Corinthians 12. When you combine the list of spiritual gifts found in verses 8-10 and verses 28-30 you have a nearly complete list of spiritual gifts as discussed in the New Testament. The only gifts missing in this list are the gift of evangelists, which we find in Ephesians 4:11, and the gifts of doing acts of mercy and giving as discussed in Romans 12:6-8. The presence of these three gifts in the New Testament church are not in dispute and therefore, we will concentrate on the 1 Corinthians 12 list.
As Paul prepares to provide his list in 8-10 he makes a striking series of statements in vs. 4-7 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” I want to draw our attention to a few points in these verses.
First, we should note that spiritual gifts, as we call them, are not the particular domain of the Holy Spirit. They are the domain of God. When Paul wrote about gifts in conjunction with the Spirit, service in conjunction with the Lord and activities in conjunction with God, we was not talking about different things but placing on spiritual gifts a unique quality in each statement and demonstrating that they have their origin in the Trinity. This is important because there are times when we seem to associate spiritual gifts with the Spirit, and when certain spiritual gifts make us uncomfortable, i.e. Tongues and Healing, we begin to shy away from talk about the Holy Spirit. We unconsciously associate the Holy Spirit with things that we think are out of place in the church today and therefore treat the Holy Spirit as if he were out of place. We find ourselves holding him at arms length. However, when we understand that spiritual gifts are from the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as God, we protect ourselves from this error concerning the Holy Spirit, thus freeing ourselves to embrace his ministry to us and allowing ourselves to focus on a healthy discussion about those gifts that make us uncomfortable.
Second, as we look at the three adjectives used to describe these things we see a very important picture of spiritual gifts. Paul first calls them gifts. This word is built on the word grace. In other words these things given to the church are a form of divine grace. We can see how this is the case as we further explore this passage. Paul calls these gifts services and activities. In other words these gifts are given to the church so that the church can actively provide service to others. What we learn from this is that spiritual gifts are not given to an individual for that individual’s sole enjoyment or benefit. Rather they are given to energize and empower the individual to serve others in such a way that they experience God’s grace. Paul summarizes this idea when he says that each member of the church, the body of Christ, is given a manifestation of the Spirit (a spiritual gift) for the common good. It is therefore vitally important that we understand what these gifts are and which gifts we have given so that we can exercise our spiritual gift(s) and thus bless others with the grace of God.
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (1 Co 12:4–7). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
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That God has given spiritual gifts to the Church is not a question for any thinking theologian. Whether some gifts were given for a time and then ceased to be given is altogether another question, and the question can be difficult to answer for many. As we seek an answer to this question we begin in 1 Corinthians 12:1-3. In this chapter Paul begins to address the abuse of spiritual gifts by the Corinthian believers, and his first words are sobering as they allude to the dangers of abusing the gifts that God has given to us. He writes: “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.”
Paul’s desire for the Corinthians matches my desire for you today. Indeed, no believer should be satisfied if he or she is uninformed. But the stakes are greater than just our satisfaction. You see, we are all lead by one thing or another. Paul’s contention is that unbelievers are as a rule led astray and that to which they are led astray is evil and powerless. He does not want us, as believers, to be led astray by misinformed or uninformed ideas about spiritual gifts. The danger of being misinformed or uninformed seems to be the difference between blasphemy or holy obedience in the exercise of spiritual gifts. Now, it might seem odd to think that in the exercise of one’s spiritual gifts one may actually blaspheme God, but we see just such a strange event in Matthew 7:22 where Jesus says, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
It is important that we become informed about the proper purpose, use and presence of spiritual gifts in the Church, for a lack of these things is a danger to the Church. Paul elsewhere seems to indicate that the Corinthians were proud of their gifts, both financial and spiritual, to the point of sinfulness (1 Corinthians 4:8). So as we think about spiritual gifts and seek to understand how they are to be exercised we must be on the look-out and aiming toward their ultimate purpose, namely giving testimony to the fact that Jesus is Lord. The true test of any activity in the Church seems to be, not the activity itself, but the outcome. Is Jesus understood to be Lord by the motions of the church, then the motions of the church are motions inspired by the Holy Spirit. We all are led by something. We all are best led when led by the Holy Spirit. We all are in danger of evil and defeat when we are led by anything other than the Holy Spirit.
Scripture references from: The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Mt 7:22–23). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
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I just finished reading "John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God" by John Piper. I wanted to share some thoughts from the book.
