Welcome! Today’s message is on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is a part of our continuing series on the Holy Spirit. I have a lot I want to cover, so I will get right down to business.I think a good starting point is to first look at the Greek word for “gift” in the Bible. This word is charisma. The reason I think this is so helpful is because this shows that the word is very closely related to another word, charis, which means “grace,” that is, unmerited favor.
Now, this is so important, I want to go deeper. Herschel Martindale, one of the leaders in our association of churches, the Great Commission Churches, has a wonderful way of talking about grace. He says, and I agree, that although grace is unmerited favor, the definition tends to not connect emotionally with most people. Herschel loves to define grace this way: Grace is God’s love at work in my life. Grace is God meeting our needs. I love grace explained this way because it so clearly communicates the idea that God loves us, not just at the moment when He allowed Jesus to die for our sins on the cross, and not just at the moment of our salvation, when we turned to Christ in faith to save us, but every moment. He is interested in us right now, eager to help us to grow spiritually, eager to help us in all things.
Now, in my job as professor, I have a rule this semester that I will drop the lowest test grade for each student. This is unmerited favor; every student’s average will go up not because they deserve it because I am choosing to do unmerited act. But that doesn’t mean I love my students. I can have this rule and be completely cold and unfeeling about it. I can even do it for selfish reasons; for example, because if I fail too many people it might stir up undesired attention from certain members of the higher administration. But I could also do it because I understand that people have off days, and they sometimes just blow a test. I could do it because I care, and I want my class to succeed. To be honest, my reasons are a little of both. But God – God desires to bless us; to grow us, to mature us, and to use us, because He is so in love with us. This is grace; this is charis.
And because of this, He bestows us with gifts, charisma – grace things. The gifts are grace things. They, like grace itself, are unmerited. But more than that, they are gifts of love.
Understanding the relationship between grace and gifts, between charis and charisma, how much more does the following verse come alive:
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. – I Peter 4:10
Gifts, charisma, are administrations of grace, charis.
Now, Peter talks about grace administrations in “various forms.” What are those forms? Here is more of this passage:
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. – I Peter 4:10-11
Let’s look at this closely – speaking and serving can be gifts of the Holy Spirit. Note that the key word here is “can.” Speaking and serving can also be done apart from God’s gifts; that is, one can just speak his own words, and one can just serve in his own strength.
You must permit me to dig into the Greek here as well – it is just so interesting! In the Greek, it says to speak as logia Theon. Literally, it means to speak like an oracle of God (Theon, or Theos); logia is the same root as logos, the Word, one of the names of Christ. And as for serving, or ministering, which is what the word means, the Greek says to do it of the ability, force, strength, and might that God provides – and that word for provides is choregeo, from which we get the word choreograph. We use the word today to describe arrangements in acting out plays and especially dancing, but in New Testament times, the word very specifically referred to singing; this is where we get the word chorus from. And, whereas a modern-day choreographer plans out steps far in advance of the actual performance, the choregeo not only did the planning, but was also the chorus leader during the actual performance. The choregeo was more like a conductor. But it also went far beyond this; the choregeo was typically expected to furnish the choir at his own expense, and to personally supply and procure all things necessary to fit out the choir. This word only appears one other place in the New Testament, in II Cor. 9:10, and I am not going to talk about that verse now because we will be doing a series on II Corinthians this spring.
But do you appreciate this wonderful word picture? We should minister, we should serve, not with our own provisions, not with our own supply, but with all that our choregeo has provided us.
Now, I want to look at one of two passages that go into some detail about spiritual gifts. Here is the first part of the passage:
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. – Romans 12:3b-5
I want to highlight here the importance placed on humility. Talking about the gifts of the Spirit and talking about humility go hand in hand, for two reasons. The first is that if you are proud of your own abilities and talents, you will not seek for God to fill you; you will not desire spiritual gifts because (in your own mind) you are fine without them. To put it another way, if you are proud, you would rather be the choregeo yourself! Humility is an essential starting point if you desire God to empower you with spiritual gifts.
And the second reason humility is so important is that, if God does empower you, you need to guard against becoming proud of yourself for what you have done. It is easy, after the fact, to start to take credit for the good things God does through you. It is so easy to say, “well, I must have done something right.” Well, maybe you have, but if this is where your thoughts find a resting place, it won’t be only your thoughts that rest; it will be all of you.
Have you heard the phrase, “rest on one’s laurels”? A wreath of laurels was the prize for winning the Pythian games held in Delphi in Greece, second in importance only to the Olympic games in Athens. To rest on one’s laurels was to live off one’s reputation as a victor or to refrain from future competition because of satisfaction over what had already been achieved.
Then Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, goes on to say, now that we are thinking humbly, that we as a body of believers are really like a body; that is, our parts are different. He says this in preparation for talking about spiritual gifts; just like the parts of our body are different, so should we expect the people in our body to be different, and should we expect the gifts God gives different ones in our body to be different. We will see this spelled out in a second.
But don’t miss one little part of this: each member belongs to all the others. If you think about this, it is really a shocking statement. What do you mean we belong to all the others? You could do a wonderful word study just on “belonging” in the New Testament. You would see that we belong to Christ and to God (many verses), to the truth (I John 3:19), and to the day (I Thess. 5:8). And you would see that in the marriage relationship, your body belongs not just to yourself, but to your spouse (I Cor. 7:4). But we belong to the others in our body of believers? Yes, that is what it says.
This is important in understanding the purposes of the gifts of the Spirit. This is hard for us, totally immersed in our individualistic culture, to understand. But just as God dealt with the nation of Israel as a unit, as a single entity, God also deals with the body of believers in this way. Now, don’t get me wrong – I don’t mean He only deals with us in this way, but I mean that He doesn’t only deal with us individually. He sees us as a body, just like the human body, interconnected, a single organism with different parts. And His gifts to us are given to help the body as a whole. This is so important – if we are not willing to view ourselves as God views us, if in our pride we refuse to even begin to entertain this radical idea that each member “belongs” to all the others, then we will be opposing God’s desires to empower us with spiritual gifts so that the body will be built up. Spiritual gifts are not for lone rangers.
Here is the passage again, with what follows:
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. – Romans 12:3b-8
Do you see how these go together? Humility, a desire to serve the body, and the outpouring of spiritual gifts: these are inseparable! And you can see this in what these gifts are. Prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, showing mercy – all of these build up a local body of believers. That is what these gifts are for.
And note that there is an emphasis here on letting people use their gifts. Don’t make it hard for people to use their gifts! Fred and I take this so seriously! This is why we rejoice when others step out and lead, whether it is leading a home fellowship, or teaching a Bible study, or leading MOPS, or serving with the worship team or soundboard, or teaching Sunday school – we want to fan the flames! We know that this is God’s plan for our, and every, church. We know that if people step out in faith, if they are humbly dependent on God, God will empower them with spiritual gifts, thereby building up the church so that God gets the glory.
This is also why we have our sharing times once a month – God doesn’t just desire to speak through a small subset of the church, but through all of us. You don’t need the gift of teaching to share in a sharing time. Encouraging, showing mercy, and even the other gifts all can be expressed through words, when the body is sharing together. Now relying on the Spirit of God, relying on His gifting, does not mean that you can’t prepare; it is not an either/or type of thing. There is a place and time for coming unprepared – for example, in persecution, God tells us not to worry about what to say, because the Holy Spirit will take care of it for us. But with regards to our times of meeting together, sharing together, and this applies just as much with home fellowship as it does with our sharing Sundays, preparation is not unspiritual, but encouraged, just as it says:
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. – I Cor. 14:26
For the strengthening of the church – that is the purpose. It is for the same purpose that the spiritual gifts are given.
Now the second passage that goes into some depths on Spiritual gifts is I Cor. 12. As I read it, notice how the analogy of the body again is directly tied in to the topic of spiritual gifts.
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. – I Cor. 12:14-31
Do you see how this parallels what we have seen in Romans 12? Spiritual gifts are given for the body, of which we each are a part. We belong to one another. Here we see a different list than that in Romans 12: apostles, prophets, teachers, workers of miracles, healers, helpers, administrators, and those who speak in different kinds of tongues.
Now, in my remaining time I want to try to answer some common questions about spiritual gifts.
1. Does everyone have a spiritual gift?
I think, in light of the passages we have already looked at, we can say that this question needs a little adjusting. Does God desire to equip every believer with spiritual gifting so as to build up a local body of believers? Absolutely! But if a person has no desire to be used in this way, if a person is opposed to joining in a local body, or if a person’s pride is keeping him from having an attitude of serving and desiring God’s power, then that person should not to see the manifestation of spiritual gifts in his life. So if you adjust the question as I suggested, the answer is yes, but if you don’t, I would say the answer is no.
2. Do people have a single gift?
Here is what I think you cannot say. You cannot say that everyone has exactly one spiritual gift. You cannot say that one’s spiritual gift never changes. You cannot say that everyone’s spiritual gifts must come from the lists in Romans 12 or I Cor. 12. The reason I say this is that you see counterexamples to every one of these things in Acts. There are many examples of people exhibiting multiple gifts. There are examples of people exhibiting a gift one time but never exhibiting that particular gift again. And there are examples of things happening that do not neatly fit into the categories of Romans 12 and I Cor. 12. I do not think either of these lists was ever meant to be comprehensive. Just the fact that these two lists are different speaks powerfully to this issue. I believe the lists are illustrative, not comprehensive. And who are we to say that God can only work in such-and-such a way? This is a dangerous position to take – in effect, when we do this, we put God into a box.
Now, all that being said, there is at least one example where someone seems to have a particular gift, and that example is Timothy. Paul wrote this to Timothy in I Tim. 4:
Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. – I Tim. 4:11-14
But I don’t think you can any more conclude from this passage that people always have one gift than you can conclude that people only obtain their gifts through a prophetic message that takes place while a body of elders is laying hands on you. It can happen, and it happened here, but this does not mean that it is the only way things can happen.
3. How can we learn our gifts?
I am assuming this question is being asked in the context of someone who does desire to be used by God to build up the body, who does desire to serve, and who is humble. If this really describes you, then you won’t be frustrated by my answer, which is actually John Piper’s answer from one of his teachings on spiritual gifts:
Don’t worry about whether you can point to prophecy, or teaching, or wisdom, or knowledge, or healing, or miracles, or mercy, or administration, etc., and say, “That’s mine.” The way to think is this: The reason we have spiritual gifts is so that we can strengthen other people’s faith; here is someone who’s faith is in jeopardy; how can I help him? Then do or say what seems most helpful, and if the person is helped, then you may have discovered one of your gifts. If you warned him of the folly of his way and he repented, then perhaps you have the gift of “warning.” If you took a walk with her and said you know what she was going through and lifted her hope, then perhaps you have the gift of “empathy.” If you had them over to your home when they were new and lonely, then perhaps you have the gift of “hospitality.” We must not get hung up on naming our gifts. The thing to get hung up on is, “Are we doing what we can do to strengthen the faith of the people around us?”
If I can be blunt for a moment, most of the time, the lack of knowing what our spiritual gifts are is not the reason we don’t serve. It might possibly be an excuse we use, but the real reason is that we are just not in a place where our heart’s desire is to build up the body, to serve. The reason isn’t necessarily that we are bent on doing evil; it’s just that we don’t have the radical mindset that we see in Scripture about the importance of a local body of believers. We are Christ’s body! Every good plan Christ has for us – sharing the gospel, multiplying our lives, building the kingdom, even growing in personal spiritual maturity and holiness – is based on the healthy, spirit-empowered working of a local body.
So have I answered the question? I’m not sure. One answer is to serve and see what happens. Another is to ask those close to you – especially spouses and parents and siblings. They may be able to see things you cannot see in yourself. But again, don’t get hung up on the question. Not knowing is no reason not to dive in and serve one another.
4. Aren’t so-called spiritual gifts really just natural abilities?
This is an interesting question for me, since I do believe that God has gifted me, both “naturally” and “spiritually” in teaching. But I can see how they are completely different. With regards to teaching as a spiritual gift, it is so clear to me how it is God that does it and not me. When I begin to prepare for a teaching in my own strength, it always goes terribly – I won’t understand passages, I will be confused, I will not know what to say – and this will go on and on until I finally cry out to God for His help and re-confess my inability to have insights into Scripture and to teach meaningfully from Scripture apart from Him.
My “natural” teaching ability – of course, what is natural? All abilities come from God! – but if you know what I mean, my “natural” teaching ability boils down to only one skill – the ability to find simple ways to explain complicated things that I happen to understand. There are many things I have tried to understand and don’t understand – and so I honestly think that for those few things I do understand well, my teaching ability stems from the fact that I think like a person who doesn’t understand them, and so I “get” how to explain it to them – if I can explain it to me, it will probably also work for them.
My point here is not to go on about myself but to say that the spiritual gift of teaching, for me, is as different from my natural ability as night is from day. So no, I don’t think spiritual gifts are just natural abilities – at least, they aren’t in my case. And if there were some overlap between someone’s natural abilities and spiritual gifts, so what? What does it matter? All that matters is that the person is doing his part in being used to help build up the body.
5. Where are the really spectacular gifts?
What do we mean by the “really spectacular” gifts? We mean the stuff that isn’t subtle, the stuff that even unbelievers cannot explain away. Healings. Miraculous understanding of language. Prophecy. Other miracles. The question behind the question is, I want to see this stuff! Encouraging and teaching and things like that are fine, as far as they go, but I want to see more impressive stuff.
Now I could answer this a number of ways – one being that there is a misunderstanding of what is impressive here – nothing is more impressive than seeing people come to Christ and seeing their eternities changed. I could talk about how this desire to see “fireworks” is much like how Jesus spoke against the Jews who always wanted to see a sign. But instead I want to touch on the question of whether these types of miracles have really ceased.
For two reasons I want to say the answer to this is “no.” The first reason I say no is based on experience, mostly second-hand, but reliable testimony from those who I have no reason to question and who have nothing to prove or gain by their testimony; indeed, in some cases it is almost an “embarrassing” reality. The answer to this is no because these things really do still happen today.
The second reason I want to say the answer is no is because one of the primary arguments for this answer is based on an interpretation of a passage of Scripture that I don’t think is correct. The passage is in I Cor. 13.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. – I Cor. 13:8-10
The argument is that the “when perfection comes” refers to the time when Scripture is complete, when the New Testament canon is closed. The alternative understanding is that “when perfection comes” refers to the return of Christ. Which is right?
Well, let’s continue on with the passage:
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. – I Cor. 13:11-12
Clearly, this is part of the same train of thought; the seeing face to face and the knowing fully, even as Paul is fully known, is something that will also happen when perfection comes. It is hard to believe that for the last 1900 or so years, we are seeing face to face, that we know fully. Does anyone claim to know the meaning of Revelations fully? Some may claim it, but how can anyone believe it? But Revelations 22:4 says that we will actually see God’s face and I John 3:2 says that we shall see Christ as He is, both when Jesus appears.
So where are the really spectacular gifts? Or to be more specific, why don’t we see more of that kind of thing here? Apart from my statements about not understating the miraculous nature of each and every salvation and how the desire to see a sign is very different from the desire we have spoken about today to simply be used to build up the body, however God desires to use it – apart from these statements, I have two answers.
One, as it says in I Cor. 12:31, "eagerly desire the greater gifts". Pray that God would use you in Acts types of ways. But do this in conjunction with all that we have talked about – humility, seeking to serve the body now, taking steps of faith now.
And two, as it says in Romans 12, we are to use our gifts in proportion to our faith. Work to grow your faith so that the expression of the gifts will increase. What do you believe God can do? What do you believe God can do – through you?
