spiritual gifts - why are they necessary?

Do you hire someone who is already qualified for the job or do you hire someone that you can train to do the job which needs to be done?  That is a quandary that often confronts companies and organizations.  On the one hand it is good to hire someone who already has the knowledge and the skills to accomplish the task at hand.  In this way all it takes is getting someone up to speed on the particular environment in which they will be working.  This saves time and hopefully, money.  On the other hand it may be good to hire someone who may not have the appropriate skill set, yet has the ability to develop the skills necessary for the task.  In this way a company can insure that the new employee is doing things “the company way” and will not bring with them bad habits learned at a previous job.  In addition this method allows for individuals to move from one part of a company to another and advance their careers and knowledge base along the way. 

God, it would appear, has selected option two, when it comes to choosing those who are to be about serving God.  We can see this throughout the scriptures.  Let’s begin with the great task with which God entrusts humanity; working toward the restoration of creation.  Rather than God simply snapping God’s fingers (so to speak) and instantly transforming the world, God has chosen to work through people in order to accomplish this task.  We might suppose that God could have written a job description, asked for applicants and waited for qualified people to apply.  God does not follow this course of action.  Instead God chooses people whom God believes have the attributes necessary for the task and then gives them the spiritual gifts that that they will need in order to accomplish their mission.
We can see this in all of the great figures of the Old Testament.  Abram is just this rather well- to-do guy living in the Fertile Crescent.  He has a wife, servants, livestock and all of the trappings of success (except offspring).  God calls to Abram and invites him on a journey with only a promise that God will give him some land, some children and will use him to bless all the families of the earth.  There is no job description about what exactly Abram is to do, other than allow God to direct him across the great expanse of land to a not yet specified destination.  Next we have Moses.  Moses is a Hebrew shepherd raised by Egyptians who is also a murderer and a fugitive from justice..  Nonetheless God calls him to a singular task…go back to Egypt and set God’s people free.  Needless to say there is nothing in Moses resume that would qualify him for such a task.  In fact Moses spends a couple of chapters telling God why he is not qualified for the job…the major one being that he, Moses, is a very poor speaker.  None of this matters to God and so God equips Moses with a spokesperson (Aaron), a magical staff and a mission.  Moses will learn along the way.

This lack of preparation continues with individuals such as the judges (Sampson, etc.), the Kings and the prophets.  None of these individuals went to school and obtained degrees in being Godly people.  They were however all trained by God along the way.   God insured that they had the necessary life experiences and spiritual interventions to accomplish the tasks that God set before them.  This concept that God equips those whom God chooses sets the stage for understanding the Spiritual gifts of the New Testament.  As we will discover, the gifts of the Spirit are God’s way of training and equipping those of us in the present to play our part in the recreation of God’s world.

spiritual gifts - basics

Our previous discussion on Spiritual gifts focused on the fact that the people God chose to accomplish God’s mission in this world were never pre-qualified or pre-trained for the task.  God chose individuals (who often seemed unsuited to the work) gifted them and then gave them on-the-job training in order to accomplish the tasks to which they were set.  We see this especially in the lives of individuals such as Amos and David (shepherds who became a prophet and a king) in the Old Testament and the Apostles (fishermen, tax-collectors, etc. who became church leaders and evangelists) in the New Testament. 

The task to which all of these people were set was not only to be faithful to God but to help build a community and Kingdom in which individuals could love God and neighbor.  This task is also the task that has been given to the church; past, present and future.  As surely as Amos and the Apostle Paul were called to serve God, each and every one of us is called to serve as well.  Every person who professes faith in Jesus Christ is called to be part of the great mission of loving God and neighbor and working for the reconciliation of the world.  None of us is exempt.

We are made capable of accomplishing this task because God gifts us with the abilities necessary to the mission set before us.  This is the point that the Apostle Paul makes in several of this letters.  In his letters to Rome, Corinth and Ephesus he lays out the spiritual gifts with which Christ followers are equipped.  In Romans 12:6-8 he writes, “6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching;8the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.” .”  In Ephesians 4:11 Paul keeps it brief by telling his readers that “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers...”

               




In I Corinthians 12:4-11 the Apostle puts it this way.  “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.”


There are several things that I hope we will notice about these passages.  First Paul reminds his readers that everyone receives at least one spiritual gift.  “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit…” (I Corinthians 12:7)  What this means is that all of us are gifted.  There is no follower of Jesus Christ who does not have some spiritual specialty that they can offer to the collective body of believers.  Second, the purpose of these gifts is the building up of the church so it can accomplish its mission.  So often in life, both inside and outside of the church, we see our giftedness only as it applies to our success.  Spiritual gifts are intended for the body of Christ and for the world.  “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (I Corinthians 12:7)   Third, these gifts are given by the Holy Spirit.  In other words we cannot go shopping for them at the Spiritual Gifts Hut. “All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.” (I Corinthians 12:11)  Finally no gifts are better than other gifts because all are needed to make the church complete.  Paul writes, “On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable…” (I Corinthians 12:22) While we may envy the spiritual gifts of others we are to trust that the Spirit has given us just the right gifts, for the time and place in which we live in order that we might be Kingdom of God builders.

spiritual gifts - listing the gifts 1

The focus of spiritual gifts in the New Testament is that they make it possible for the church to truly be the body of Christ in the world.  In this section we will take a closer look at the individual spiritual gifts in order to see more clearly how God empowers us for mission and ministry.

The following list is compiled from the three main passages referring to spiritual gifts: Romans 12:6ff, I Corinthians 12:4ff and Ephesians 4:11.  The gifts are prophecy (in all three lists), ministry, teaching (in two lists), exhortation, giving, leading, compassion, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, discernment, tongues, apostles, evangelists and pastors.

Prophecy – this is the only gift listed in all three passages.  While many of us immediately think of prophecy as the ability to predict the future, this is not the case here.  A prophet is one who can speak forth God’s will for a community.  Martin Luther King was a prophet in this sense.  He could measure the times and clearly see God’s will for that moment.

Ministry – this gift has also been defined as serving.  Rather than seeing ministry as a professional task this gifts focuses on ministering to others.  Anyone who works with SOS, deacons or helps people in any other way is exercising this gift.

Teaching – this gift has been at the center of modern Judaism and Christianity.  We believe that faith seeks understanding and that our lives are to be conducted according to a particular set of Christ-like principles…thus teaching is needed.  This gift is demonstrated by anyone who teaches in small groups, Bible studies or Sunday school…or at home in parent-child relationships.
Exhortation – have you ever known someone who can enter a room and encourage everyone?  If you have then you have known someone with the gift of exhortation.  This is also known as the gift of encouragement.

Giving – while all believers are called to share what they possess (time, talent and treasure) there are some who give over and above what is expected; and they do so not out of obligation but out of love for God.  If you give each time a special appeal is made to the church then you too have this gift.

Leading – every church needs leaders.  These are the men and women who can sense where God desires the congregation to go and then can guide the congregation in that direction.  This is one of the gifts required for eldership.

Compassion – the church is not called to be a center of dispassionate study.  It is intended to be a community of caring.  Those with the gift of compassion can listen and then share the pain, hurt and joy of those with whom they interact.

Wisdom – there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom.  Wisdom is that gift which allows someone to see through heated discussion and unlimited facts and sense what God would have a community to do.  

Knowledge – this is the gift which allows someone to see deeply into the truths of Christian faith and doctrine; and then transmit those truths to others with in written or oral form.  It is a critical gift for those who are seminary teachers.

Pastors – the root of this term is shepherd.  A pastor is not necessarily a preacher but someone who cares for and guides a particular church.

spiritual gifts - listing the gifts 2

In this article we examine what some people consider the more spectacular gifts; those what people in the modern world often have a difficult time accepting.  such skepticism is nothing new. The Reformed Tradition (Presbyterians, Reformed churches, and some Baptists) of which we are a part declared that many of these spectacular gifts were no longer operative.  While those gifts may have been active during the early days of the church (in the book of Acts) they ceased with the death of the last of the original disciples.  My own personal opinion is that all the gifts are still operative, though perhaps not as common.  So on to the gifts.

Faith – this gift does not refer simply to the faith that all individuals have in God and Jesus.  This is the kind of faith that is unwavering in the face of every test and trial.  This is the kind of faith upon which others can depend and draw strength from.

Healing – this is the first of what seem to us to be extraordinary gifts.  Healing refers to the ability to be a channel for God’s power in such a way that others are physically and emotionally healed.  This does not refer to the work of physicians or therapists, but to supernatural healing.

Miracles – though we are familiar with the miracles of Jesus (feeding five-thousand, etc.) we are hesitant to believe those miracles can still happen today.  In the church in Africa however, miracles and healing are an integral part of the Christian experience.  In fact many African Christians wonder how the church can be the church without miracles being an active gift…so in some ways context matters.
Discernment – this gift refers to the ability to see through the “masks” with which individuals clothe their words and actions in order to sense if there is good or evil behind them.  Discernment gives the church the ability to ascertain its true motives for what it does.

Tongues – this gift refers to the ability to be carried away in the Spirit and speak in unknown languages.  For some denominations (Pentecostals) this gift is essential but for others it has proved divisive.  The Apostle Paul while approving of this gift warns that unless the speaking can be translated into a meaningful message it is not to take place.

Apostles – when most of us read this word we are immediately drawn back to the early church and the original Apostles.  What we discover in the scriptures however is that Apostle is one who is sent out with a message (the Good News) to establish and oversee churches as their primary teacher.  The Roman church sees bishops as those who wear the mantle of Apostle.

Evangelists – what is interesting about this gift is that the modern church has tried to make everyone responsible for evangelism.  Each person is supposed to be able to “bring others to Jesus.”  Yet Paul makes it clear that this is a special gift like all others.  In other words there are some people (say Billy Graham) who have the ability to transmit the Good News in ways that engender faith.

In summary, while no one person has all of the gifts, each of us has at least one gift.  The challenge for us is to discover and use the gift/s we have been given.

Spiritual gifts - speaking in tongues

One of the most visible and also divisive aspects of the Spirit, speaking in tongues. For those of you not familiar with this gift of the Spirit it is manifested in two basic forms. One is private which occurs when a believer in personal prayer is overcome with the Holy Spirit and begins to utter unintelligible words and phrases. The second form is public in which a believer is overcome with the Spirit and begins to speak unintelligible words or phrases in the midst of worship. While speaking in tongues is not an issue at First Presbyterian of Birmingham I believe it is important that we spend a few minutes looking at speaking in tongues before we leave the topic of the Holy Spirit. 

The origins of speaking in tongues can be found in the books of First and Second Samuel where we read of Saul and the prophets having ecstatic experiences. While speaking in tongues is not specifically mentioned it is hard to imagine that their ecstatic experiences did not contain some sort of unintelligible speech. The additional ending of the Gospel of Mark (16:17) includes a mention of Jesus' followers speaking in other tongues as well. The Book of Acts records a couple of events (10:46, 19:6) in addition to the day of Pentecost in which people appear to be filled with the Spirit and speak in tongues. The core of this teaching though can be found in Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth. In this letter he reminds the believers that there are spiritual gifts of which speaking in tongues is of particular value. He even reminds them that he speaks in tongues more than any of them. However Paul is clear about several aspects of this gift. First speaking in tongues is in worship only allowed where there is someone to interpret (meaning the gift of tongues is intended to bring a message from God). Second speaking in tongues cannot interrupt the decency and order of worship. Finally, and most importantly, speaking in tongues is not mandatory for all believers and it is not the greatest gift (that would be love).
The modern revival of this spiritual gift (it is only briefly alluded to by the early church fathers and then vanishes) came through the Azusa Street revival. The Azusa street revival began in 1906 in Los Angeles through the preaching of William J. Seymour who claimed that speaking in tongues was the proof that one had actually received the Holy Spirit (and thus salvation). His preaching attracted persons of all races (unheard of for that time) and from all denominations, including Presbyterians. Though the revival ultimately died out by 1913, hundreds of missionaries carried his message and theology across the nation and the world. In this way the modern Pentecostal movement was begun. Denominations such as the Assemblies of God, the Church of God in Christ, the Pentecostal Holiness Church and the United Pentecostal Church all have their roots in Azusa. Worldwide these denominations taken as a whole are second in membership only to the Roman Catholic Church.

So where do we as Presbyterians stand on all of this? Unlike many of the Reformers who claimed that the gift of tongues was no longer operative, we believe it is still around as a legitimate gift (surprised?). In the Presbyterian publication, The Work of the Holy Spirit (182ndGeneral Assembly, 1970) it is written that, "By way of conclusion, the practice of speaking in tongues, when inspired by the Holy Spirit, should neither be despised nor forbidden. At the same time, tongues should not be over emphasized; normally they belong to private worship." In other words we Presbyterians take a nuanced Biblical view. First speaking in tongues is still around. Second it is not a necessary part of worship or our spiritual lives. Third, and perhaps most importantly, it is not required as a proof of our salvation (a tenant of many but not all Pentecostal denominations). 

spiritual gifts - Love is the greatest gift

For those of you who have read the previous articles about the gifts of the Spirit it would seem that we have come to the end of the discussion.  We looked at the reasons for gifts of the Spirit; equipping Jesus’ followers with the abilities necessary to insuring that the church can indeed become the living expression of Christ.  We looked at the fact that equipping by the Spirit was not new to the New Testament but that God had equipped individuals (prophets, priests and other leaders) throughout the Old Testament.  We looked at the three major listings of Spiritual gifts in the letters of Paul and examined each gift individually.  So what else is there to do?  The answer is that there is one gift which is often overlooked because it is listed separately from the rest; the Spiritual gift of love.

In his first letter to the church at Corinth Paul offers a list of Spiritual gifts.  .  “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.” (I Corinthians 12:4-11)  Most people believe that the Apostle’s discussion of gifts ends here, but it does not.   

Paul, as any good writer would do, saves the best gift for last.  At issue within the church at Corinth was whose gifts were best and which gifts mattered the most.  For some speaking in tongues was the most important gift while others argued that being an apostle was the most important gift and…well you get the point.  Paul attempts to address this at the end of the spiritual gifts discussion when he states that not only are people differently gifted but that there is in fact only one gift that is greater than all the others; the gift of love.  
He writes, “But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.  If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal….” (I Corinthians 12:31-13:1)   The Apostle continues with an entire chapter about the importance of love.  

This discussion lets the Corinthians know that even the most amazing gifts including speaking in tongues, prophecy, discernment and even martyrdom are meaningless if love is not evident.  He continues by telling them that all of the amazing gifts which people want to claim as the greatest will eventually vanish.  In the return of Jesus and the establishment of the Kingdom of God they will not even be necessary.  The only ones that will remain are faith, hope and love…with the greatest being love.

This discussion also informs the Corinthians about the nature of the Spiritual gift of love. “ 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (I Corinthians 13:4-7)  In other words the greatest Spiritual Gift is the one which the Corinthians need the most but seek the least.  In a congregation divided by class, wealth, partisanship and gift pride Paul reminds them that unless they possess and use the gift of love all of their other gifts will be useless; those gifts will not help the Corinthians become the Jesus’ centered community God is calling them to be. 

While this chapter (I Corinthians 13) is often read at weddings because of its focus on love, it is really meant for the church.  It is meant for the church as a powerful reminder that the church is a living spiritual organism in which all parts/gifts are necessary and of equal importance and that it is ultimately and only bound together by one gift: love.