This is a teaser of sorts to a larger and longer discussion of Spiritual Gifts. That’s quite a terminology these days: “Spiritual Gifts.” This terminology can confuse some, interest others, and divide many. Spiritual gifts are a complex subject to discuss in brief, but it is worthwhile.
Probably the seminal passage on spiritual gifts, or chapters, is/are 1 Corinthians 12-14. Here is a lesson for today. Paul does an intervention in the Church at Corinth. We have this unruly and raucous church that is like the Wild West.
There are opposing factions, like opposing football teams or political parties. Christians are treating each other terribly, taking each other to court when they could settle matters within the church family. There is sexual immorality that would make a pagan non-believer blush. At least one man would end up excommunicated (later restored after repenting). Women are silenced in some contexts. People are getting drunk at communion and eating up the elements like brunch.
Many think themselves special because they have received, real and imagined, what seems to be some supernatural power from above. And they add to the chaos and disorder by displaying these gifts in indecent and chaotic ways, some anyway.
Things are so out of control that Paul has to step in and stage an intervention. Through Paul, God the Holy Spirit steps in and lays down the law through the Apostle.
By the time we reach 2 Corinthians, an entire church is being corrected and is repenting, at least partially. While restoring order, Paul makes a policy statement that applies to all churches everywhere, and its first installation and application is in Corinth.
As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. 36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order. (1 Cor. 14:33B-40)
Don’t miss what God is doing. Paul is not going to go through and certify or decertify that this person’s supernatural gift is real or not. Paul is not going to disqualify individuals in this large, unruly church. There are too many people and a larger issue needs to be resolved holistically.
Just as he does in Philemon with slavery, he’s going to regulate bad behavior out of existence in the church. It’s like the Holy Spirit says through Paul, “Here are my commands, disobey them at your own peril. If anyone does disobey them, they are not legitimate.”
In fact, Paul makes just such a statement in 1 Cor. 14:35. To be clear... he’s regulating not abolishing the exercise of an individual’s gift in the local church. How do we know? He says so in the near context of the passage just a few verses later:
So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order. (1 Cor. 14:39-40)
So... about spiritual gifts. Every saved person has had at least one spiritual gift. Some have more than one. No one has all of them, except maybe Jesus during his earthly public ministry as the Son of God, God the Son: the God-Man. He would have been a perfect sinless human and as God in Christ, Jesus would have possessed them all, one way or another.
How can we say that no one possesses every spiritual gift? The Bible says so. The Holy Spirit telling us this:
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. (1Cor. 12:27)
Here, in the ESV translation Paul asks a series of rhetorical questions whose answer Paul presumes will be no. He’s trying to challenge the pride present in the Church at Corinth. He’s calling for unity not division. Some, as people are still inclined to do today, are taking pride in their gifts as if their gifts are deserved or they are special. And in correcting their sinful error he addresses gifts in terms of importance, most important to least important, and then asks a series of rhetorical questions. The New American Standard translates it this way with greater clarity:
Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way. (1 Cor. 12:27-31 NASB)
He reminds them (and us by extension) that not everyone will do miracles, not everyone will speak in tongues.
He tells us not everyone will heal. There’s this idea in some quarters that if you have saving faith, or enough faith, that you should be able to replicate every miracle done in the New or Old Testament. That’s just not true:
All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way. (1 Cor. 12:27-31 NASB)
So many people debate this issue because some, regrettably, being human, take pride in their giftedness. And so Paul, in chapter 13, with a brief introduction in 1 Corinthians 12:31, tells us and them this: “But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way” (1 Cor. 12:27-31 NASB).
This should have prompted reflection. What, then, are the Greater Gifts? Obviously, the Greatest Gift is love. It’s the only one that lasts forever. We don't need the rest in heaven.
In chapter 13, we are told some will fade and cease before heaven. But from this passage arises another question. What are the Spiritual Gifts? How many do we have? Is there a limited number or is there a list? The short answer is this. There is no comprehensive real list.
What do I mean by this? Well, there are lists of spiritual gifts and offices but while some seem to overlap other parallel lists in parallel passages do not. There is no definitive list. We find no exhaustive list only lists where gifts very in number and identity.
In Romans 12:6- 8, we find a list of seven gifts.
Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:6-8)
These gifts do not appear miraculous. Many people label them as “ministry gifts.”
However, in other contexts, the prophecy speaks to a prophetic word given by the Holy Spirit through a prophet or prophets, but prophecy also pertains to written Scripture (2 Peter 1:19-21), complicating classification.
Back to 1 Corinthians and its list of spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 lists nine spiritual gifts that appear to be miraculous or decidedly supernatural.
For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Cor. 12:8-10)
Given the context of gifts listed, “prophecy,” here, is more than preaching. While one cannot and we will not seek to define the gifts found in this list, it is not unreasonable to say they likely fall into the miraculous category.
Later in chapter 12, there is another list of eight gifts (1 Corinthians 12:28-30).
And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? (1 Corinthians 12:28-30)
This listing confuses some because it appears to blend offices, miraculous (sign gifts), and ministry gifts (non-miraculous). We will not attempt to define them here. Note, however, that there is a class of miraculous miracles (not to seem redundant) that is somehow different from what would also seem miraculous: gifts of healing and miraculous gifts of various tongues.
It is possible that “prophets” speak to both preaching and prophetic utterances. No one can know for sure. Apostles and prophets could overlap as gifts or offices. One thing is clear from the flow of thought in the passage. And what’s that? There is a ranking of gifts from most important to lesser importance.
One cannot help but notice that the greater gifts are more associated with teaching and preaching than the miraculous ones. According to some, this provides a lesson in itself.
Of course, we’re not done yet. Next comes a list in the book of Ephesians.
Ephesians 4:11-14 provides us with a list of five spiritual gifts. All appear to be associated with teaching and preaching. One cannot help but notice the emphasis of the gifts in this passage (building up believers to maturity).
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (Eph. 4:11-14)
Why did I make the comment that one cannot help but notice the emphasis on the gifts building up believers to maturity?
None of these gifts appear to be miraculous sign gifts. Their aim is clearly “equipping the saints” to do the business of the kingdom of God (“the work of ministry”). These teaching or preaching gifts provide a clear, unifying understanding of the Christian faith to the flock and mature the believer for maximum usefulness to his or her Savior.
Lastly, we come to a final list of spiritual gifts in 1 Peter 4:11. It is less clear cut but included here.
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:10-11)
This listing confirms that all gifts serve the common good in 1 Cor. 12: 4-7:
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Cor. 12:4-7)
We live in an age where we have rock-star pastors. When I was at Benny Hinn’s church, the Orlando Christian Center in 1988, he called himself and was called by some, “God’s Anointed.” Even today there is this tendency to elevate men to near god-hood. We are told often in sincerity other times cynically and for profit that this person or that person is somehow special because of the gifts they display when nothing could be further from the truth.
You’ll see this more clearly as we study 1 Cor. 12-14. But for now think with me. What does the term spiritual gift imply? The word gift speaks to grace, or Charis. Reflect on Ephesians 2:8-10 and its implications:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
One’s spiritual gift is like the gift of one’s salvation. You received it as a gift from God. You didn’t earn it. You don’t deserve it, so, don’t act like you do.
Scolding the unruly yet seemingly gifted people of Corinth the Holy Spirit comments through Paul (to them there and us here): “For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7 ESV).
To that extent, you can pray for a gift and not receive it. Know that every prayer receives an answer, be it a yes, a no, or a "wait.” Not every answer is yes. So, who determines how and who gets what gift? It’s simple: the Gift Giver. How can you be sure and certain that I am correct? Look into Scripture. What does the Bible say? What do the words say, what do they mean, and what shall we do? Well, we calibrate or recalibrate our thinking to line up with God’s word:
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. (1 Cor. 12:4-11)
I’d like to land the plane on this thought. God, not men, decides who gets what gift, when. The Holy Spirit tells us that he apportions, some translations say distributes, the spiritual gifts as he chooses. There is something far more important here that I’d like to point out and that we must not miss. You’ll find it in your Bibles in 1 Cor. 12:7: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Everyone receives at least one spiritual gift at conversion with the indwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit. What gifts you have received have been received for just one purpose: the common good. The Holy Spirit puts it this way through the pen of the Apostle Peter:
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:10-11)
We do what we do for the glory of God and the good of others. And in the process we grow, resisting the temptation to elevate ourselves as some did in Corinth.
I’d like to leave you, therefore, with one question. What are you doing with whatever gift you have to serve others in the body of Christ, right here and right now, as good stewards of God’s varied grace—that is, for the common good? Put your gifts to work. They were given you for this purpose.
Do not let them go to seed.