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I. Introduction.
The Third Person of the Trinity
(I recommend "The Holy Spirit" by Billy Graham, Word Books, 1978 as an excellent book for the believer to gain important insight into the Third Person of the Trinity.)
The Holy Spirit is almost totally neglected in the modern church, yet He is the Third Person of The Trinity and is God. If we say that God can be represented by infinity, then we are neglecting infinity/3, which is also infinity! Also note that the very kingdom of God depends upon the Holy Spirit:
Rom 14:17 "for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit".
The giving of the Holy Spirit to individual believers is the pinnacle of God's individual work through Jesus Christ:
John 16:7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you."
Perhaps the reason for the neglect is fear on the part of church leaders that there will be misuse in the congregation as there was in the early church and as we see in some churches today. However such fear is demonstrating a distrust of God. God makes it very clear in the Scripture that the Holy Spirit has a very important mission in God's purpose for the individual believer and the congregations of believers. The Holy Spirit even has to pray for us (Rom 8:26,27)! We must then approach the topic of the Holy Spirit with awe, respect, and diligence. Without the Holy Spirit's guidance and counsel we cannot proceed successfully toward sanctification, which is an integral part of God's purpose for us here. It is impossible to truly worship God without including the Holy Spirit. Thus I am afraid that I must conclude that most churches in America today are severely crippled.
One of the important purposes of the Holy Spirit is the giving of Spiritual Gifts, so that is what we will now study. However first we need to differentiate between talents, fruit, and gifts.
A. Talents
It is important to distinguish between talents and gifts. Talents are given to Christians and to non-Christians (James 1:17 "Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow."). Spiritual gifts have been defined by Ray C. Stedman of the Peninsula Bible Church of Palo Alto, California as "a capacity for service which is given to every true Christian without exception and which was something each did not possess before he became a Christian" ("Body Life", Regal Books, Glendale, Cal, 1972, p. 39).
Sometimes the gifts work through the talents: Ex 31:3-5 "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all {kinds of} craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all {kinds of} craftsmanship." The "craftsmanship" is the talent and the "understanding" and "knowledge" are the spiritual gifts.
The ability to play a musical instrument or to sing is a talent given to Christians and non-Christians. Sometimes God will give such talented people the gift of exhortation to work with the talent.
B. Fruit of the Spirit
Before proceeding with the Gifts, let's now briefly mention the Fruit of the Spirit:
Gal 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Every Christian should exhibit all of these fruits of the Spirit. Let's repeat them and savor them slowly in our mind:
Eph 4:30 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
II. Spiritual Gifts
A. What is the relationship between the spiritual gifts and the church?
Since the purpose of the spiritual gifts is to edify the church (as seen below), we must first look at a few vital points about the church. The church is
The church members are fellow citizens:
Eph 2:19 "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,"
Seemingly paradoxically, the church has unity and diversity, all controlled by the Holy Spirit:
B. Why are there gifts?
Eph 4:12 "for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;"
C. Who receives the gifts?
D. Who gives the gifts?
1 Cor 12:11 "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills."
The word for spiritual gift is "charisma" or "charismata" based upon the Greek word "charis" meaning, "grace". So the spiritual gifts that God gives to each of His children is part of the action of the grace of God to His children.
It is crucial for each Christian to understand that we are commanded to serve the church using the gift(s) from the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 4:10 10 "As each one has received a {special} gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."). "Employ it" is a command and not an option. Let that sink into our minds as we seek to walk a life pleasing to God. We are each to exercise our gifts for the edification of the church. If each of us will exercise the gifts that God has given us then the body of Christ will be edified. If one member does not exercise his/her gifts then there is a lack of edification. Each person must know what his/her gifts are, know the area of service of those gifts, and then be empowered by God to exercise those gifts. What a different place the church would be if each true Christian were serving the church by employing his/her spiritual gift(s)!
It is extremely important to understand that the gifts are part of a sequence of events administered by the Holy Spirit in the life of the church. This process is told us in 1Cor 12:4 - 6 "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all {persons.}" From this scripture we see that there are:
And all of the above are coordinated by the same Spirit, Lord, and God (here we have the Trinity at work). To illustrate this concept let us use a particular gift and look at all three actions.
Get the point? First we determine our gift, then we look for ministries in which to use the gift, then God empowers us (provides the opportunity, provides resources, gives energy and health, etc.) to use the gift in the ministry to produce His desired effects. Isn't this truly exciting? Here is how each of us works with God to edify the church. We will look at further examples of this threefold function as we look closer at the gifts.
E. So what are the spiritual gifts?
It is not possible to be exhaustive in listing the gifts because some other words in Scripture could also be interpreted as gifts in addition to those listed below. However these are the main spiritual gifts as understood by most theologians.
| Romans 12:3-8 | 1 Cor 12:8-10, 28-30 | Ephesians 4:11 | 1 Peter 4:9-11 |
| Prophecy | Word of Wisdom | *Apostleship | Hospitality |
| Ministering (helps) | Word of Knowledge | Prophecy | Speaking |
| Teaching | Faith | Evangelism | |
| Exhorting | Healing | Pastoring | |
| Giving | Miracles | Teaching | |
| Government ruling | Prophecy | ||
| Showing mercy | Discernment | ||
| Service | Tongues | ||
| Interpretation | |||
| *Apostleship | |||
| Teaching | |||
| Ministration (helps), Government (ruling) |
From this point on in this text we will assume that the reader has determined his/her spiritual gift(s) and we will elaborate on most of the gifts.
F. Some Details of Spiritual Gifts
We will save the "sign gifts" (tongues, healing, miracles) for the end of the discussion.
Every child of God has at least one spiritual gift:
1Cor 12:4-7: "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all {persons.} But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."
a. Apostle
The word "apostle" appears 19 times in the New Testament:
b. Prophet
This word appears 64 times in the New Testament and 156 times in the Old Testament. There are two possible interpretations of this word. One would be the person who revealed truth of God to the people of God and foretelling or predictive revelations from God. However God no longer reveals "new truth" about Him to His people. The Bible is closed with the book of Revelation and we have a very strong warning for people claiming to further add to the Bible
Rev 22:18-19 "I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book."
Therefore we declare that this first meaning or application of the prophesy gift as ceased.
There is another possible interpretation of the word prophesy and that is a gift that is the ability to understand and to engage in the exposition of the Word of God. Paul speaks of this use of the gift extensively in 1 Cor 14 and especially we read
1Cor 14:3 "But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation."
Theologians that I respect very much such as Dr. James Montgomery Boice say that the gift of prophesy must be understood in its technical sense (the first meaning above) and thus this gift has ceased. Other people believe that the gift is still active in its second sense as stated above. It seems to me that we should accept the verdict of Dr. James M. Boice and others and say that there are no Prophets today for people who portray themselves as prophets use the first meaning, which is definitely not correct. People claiming that they have new revelations from God or who say that they know when Jesus will come again are certainly speaking contrary to Biblical truth. The Bible's requirement for such a prophet or forthteller is that the person must be 100% accurate. Because of the misuse of the term, I prefer to say that the gift of teaching involves the second possible interpretation of prophesy and that the gift of prophesy has ceased. Certainly a gifted teacher has the gift to understand and to engage in the exposition of the Word of God.
c. Evangelist
This gift most certainly is still active in the world today. The word only appears three times in the New Testament:
This word is used only once in the New Testament with the root idea of "shepherd":
Eph 4:11 "And He gave some {as} apostles, and some {as} prophets, and some {as} evangelists, and some {as} pastors and teachers,"
When the average person thinks of the term "pastor" he/she thinks usually of the ordained minister who is spiritually over a local congregation. Jesus Christ is called the "Great Shepherd of the sheep (Heb 13:20), "the good shepherd" (John 10:11), and the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). The word "shepherd" appears 56 times in the Bible. The shepherd nurtures the sheep, protects them for the wolves and other animals, feeds them, heals them, and is responsible for their overall care. Similarly the pastor is responsible for taking care of the believers in the local congregation, spiritually feeding them, protecting them from people who distort the Word of God, helps them recover from spiritual war, and is overly responsible for them.
The person with the gift of pasturing may not be an ordained minister, but could be a Sunday School teacher with this gift, a neighborhood spiritual group leader, and should be a gift of elders and of deacons if they have spiritual oversight duties.
Certainly the gift of teaching is badly needed in churches and throughout Christendom. It is important to reiterate that a gift is not a talent. There are many talented teachers in school systems who are not Christians. The gift of teaching is given to a Child of God and enables the person to clearly teach the Word of God in ways that help people to gain more insight into Jesus Christ and His overall ministry in the world. The person may or man not be specially educated theologically. That is the whole point of a gift; the person can suddenly have supernatural insights into the Word of God and be able to then teach it to others clearly. The word "teacher appears 56 times in the Bible (note this is exactly the same number of times that the word "shepherd" appears in the Bible). A number of times Jesus is referred to as "the Teacher" such as in the following verses:
John 13:13 "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for {so} I am."
Paul said that he was a teacher, among other things:
2Tim 1:11 "for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher."
Everyone who accepts the gift of teaching and proceeds to teach must do so with great prayer and seriousness about the task for the gift carries a great responsibility as noted below:
James 3:1 "Let not many {of you} become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment."
Every person gifted with the teaching gift must use it. Remember we are commanded to use our gifts, so not using them is a sin. Also remember the three-fold method that God has for gifts:
1Cor 12:4 - 6 "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all {persons.}"
Again, from this scripture we see that there are:
f. Knowledge
1Cor 12:8 "For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;"
The "Heritage Illustrated Dictionary" defines knowledge as "The state or fact of knowing". Now don't we love it to have a definition that requires us to look up something else? So we look up "know" and we find "to perceive directly with the senses or mind; apprehend with clarity or certainty".
Putting the gifts of knowledge and wisdom together is done purposefully, for one can easily misuse knowledge if the gift of wisdom is missing. Most of us have had to accumulate knowledge about various topics during our life. I have had to accumulate a lot of knowledge about physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer languages. But accumulating knowledge of Scripture is a very different ballgame. I clearly remember the second that my mind was opened and I was able to really learn Scripture. Prior to that time I had read the Bible a lot and could quote a number of verses, but after that instant in time I was truly able to develop a knowledge base about God. It was only after that instant in time that I was able to "perceive directly with the senses or mind; apprehend with clarity or certainty". I would argue that every Christian has this gift to some extent or none of us could develop the knowledge of God, and He certainly wants all of His children to have a certain knowledge base of Him (2 Peter 3:18). However some people have the gift of knowledge and are able to know the Scripture at a much deeper level than others. Certainly teachers will have this gift at least to a certain extent so that they will really know what they are teaching.
People with the gift of knowledge have to be especially wary of letting a prideful arrogance develop within them. God has ways of humbling people to help keep a spiritual focus with this gift.
Wisdom is defined as "Understanding of what is true, right, or lasting." Certainly spiritually the application of this definition seems "wise". We can have a lot of knowledge about various philosophies and religions, but if we don't have the gift of wisdom to perceive what is true, right, and lasting then this knowledge will be useless to us. Without wisdom, one would just be searching throughout the libraries of the world for the truth and never find it. Certainly to some extent, every Christian does possess wisdom to some extent. This is a gift that God gladly gives to those who ask:
James 1:5,6 "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind."
Probably most of us have known some Christians with a special gift of wisdom, and we have marveled at how they are able to take the Scriptural knowledge and wisely apply it to situations. God's children with this gift are able to deal better with temptations, lust, and anger as James discusses. Christians with this gift also have a gift to control the tongue, which is probably why James talks about the problems with dealing with the tongue also in chapter 1. Certainly we should all pray for more wisdom.
Certainly every Christian has received "saving faith" (Eph 2:8). However the "gift" of faith is different:
1Cor 12:9 "to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,"
This gift of faith "probably refers to the ability to look ahead to something God has promised and act as if it were already present" (Foundations of the Christian Faith, J. M. Boice). We see in Hebrew chapter 11 the listing of many of God's children who possessed this faith (sometimes called God's Hall of Fame). Hebrews 11:1 is often used as the definition of faith ("Now faith is the assurance of {things} hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."). However Hebrews 11:2 tells us that this faith was the means ("For by it the men of old gained approval.") of salvation for these people and so this faith was their saving faith. I wrote an article on Faith that is published on Living Theology (Faith) and I refer the reader to that article for a more elaborate treatise on this subject.
This is an extraordinary gift for those who receive it. They are able to march toward a goal with certainty in their footsteps that people without the gift are unable to do. Their Biblically based vision for something is so clear to them that they are able to act as though it has already occurred. Praise God for the gift of faith that He has given to the great leaders of Christianity throughout church history.
I believe that this is related to the fruit of kindness, in that every Christian should exhibit all of the fruits of the Spirit and kindness is one of those fruits. Having mercy is similar to having kindness toward someone, but there is a difference. Mercy is defined as "kind and compassionate treatment of an offender, enemy, prisoner, or other person under one's power" and as "a disposition to be kind and forgiving". The dictionary also says that mercy emphasizes compassion in a general way; it suggests "reprieve from a fate of considerable severity, without further implication". Certainly this last statement is what God showed us when He forgave us of our affronts toward Him and removed us from His wrath (John 3:36) as Jesus took God's full wrath for us. So the gift of mercy is having a characteristic of God Himself, although to a much lesser degree. People with this gift are to show compassion toward people that would be impossible for non-Christians to demonstrate. I have seen examples of this gift in Christians who have been able to completely forgive someone who has done something horrible to a family member. Christians are certainly supposed to be kind to people (a fruit of the Spirit), but only specially chosen children of God can demonstrate true mercy to people as defined above.
The word "mercy" appears 91 times in the entire Bible and 54 times in the New Testament. Here is a tough example of the use of "mercy":
Matt 18:23 "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a
certain king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
Matt 18:24 "And when he had begun to settle {them,} there was brought to
him one who owed him ten thousand talents.
Matt 18:25 "But since he did not have {the means} to repay, his lord commanded
him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and
repayment to be made.
Matt 18:26 "The slave therefore falling down, prostrated himself before
him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will repay you everything.'
Matt 18:27 "And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him
and forgave him the debt.
Matt 18:28 "But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who
owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and {began} to choke {him,}
saying, 'Pay back what you owe.'
Matt 18:29 "So his fellow slave fell down and {began} to entreat him, saying,
'Have patience with me and I will repay you.'
Matt 18:30 "He was unwilling however, but went and threw him in prison until
he should pay back what was owed.
Matt 18:31 "So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply
grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.
Matt 18:32 "Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, 'You wicked slave,
I forgave you all that debt because you entreated me.
Matt 18:33 'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, even
as I had mercy on you?'
Matt 18:34 "And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers
until he should repay all that was owed him.
Matt 18:35 "So shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does
not forgive his brother from your heart."
Because of this last statement of Jesus, it seems certain that this example is a level of mercy that should be demonstrated by all Christians. This application is very similar to that stated by Jesus as the end of His teaching His disciples to pray:
Matt 6:14 "For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you.
Matt 6:15 "But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive
your transgressions."
The Gift of Mercy however, is taking this application to a new level, and results in a Christian being able to quickly forgive someone whatever the person does. This does not mean that the offender is not given justice for his acts against the Christian, either in this world or the world to come. The action of this mercy just means that a phenomenal level of forgiveness has quickly occurred in the heart of the Christian. It could be that this immediately apparent show of mercy might be used by God to bring the offender to Himself, we cannot know the reason that God would allow the offense to occur against the child of God.
As stated in Matt 18:35 and Matt 6:15, all Christians are to show a certain level of mercy or they are not Christians. However, it is remarkable to watch a Christian with the gift of mercy show this gift in the presence of much evil. Praise God that He has given some of His children this gift so that we can witness a bit of a characteristic of our Father.
This is also a gift that all Christians should have to a certain extent as noted below.
1John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
We can all "test the spirits" by knowing the Word of God and judging the speech and actions of the person against the Bible. We can also all have a sense, given by the Holy Spirit, that something about this person/situation is just not quite correct. But the person with the Gift of Discernment can immediately sense that the person is not what he/she claims to be. When the person with this gift first senses that something is not correct, he/she may not know exactly what is wrong. However now that the "red flag" has been raised, he/she will carefully listen/read what the person is saying and carefully judge what is said/written by the Bible.
The word "discernment" only occurs once in the Bible and it occurs in this passage:
Phil 1:9 "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more
in real knowledge and all discernment,
Phil 1:10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order
to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
Phil 1:11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which {comes}
through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."
Here we can get a sense of the use of the Gift. The people are to approve the things that are excellent so that His people will be sincere and blameless until Christ comes again. The church is to have people with this gift so that the other people will not be deceived by false prophets, but instead are filled with the correct truth.
The gift is also mentioned in 1 Cor 12:10 although the word "discernment" is not used:
1Cor 12:10 "and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another {various} kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues."
Peter evidently used this gift as told in the following account:
Acts 5:3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to
lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back {some} of the price of the land?
Acts 5:4 "While it remained {unsold,} did it not remain your own? And after
it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived
this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God."
Acts 5:5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his
last; and great fear came upon all who heard of it.
Acts 5:6 And the young men arose and covered him up, and after carrying
him out, they buried him.
Acts 5:7 Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife
came in, not knowing what had happened.
Acts 5:8 And Peter responded to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land
for such and such a price?" And she said, "Yes, that was the price."
Acts 5:9 Then Peter {said} to her, "Why is it that you have agreed together
to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who
have buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out {as
well}."
In the following we are told to "test the spirits", which is also using the gift of discernment.
1John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to
see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out
into the world.
1John 4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
1John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God;
and this is the {spirit} of the antichrist, of which you have heard that
it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
1John 4:4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because
greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
1John 4:5 They are from the world; therefore they speak {as} from the world,
and the world listens to them.
1John 4:6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not
from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and
the spirit of error.
People who have the gift of discernment need to be known by the local church administration, and they should be involved in decisions made by local congregations.
The word "exhort" appears 8 times in the Bible as does the word "exhortation". The dictionary defines exhort as "to urge or incite by strong argument, advise, or appeal; admonish earnestly". It also can mean to encourage. To illustrate the usage of this gift, I am going to exhort each reader of this material by using the Word of God:
Rom 12:4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members
do not have the same function,
Rom 12:5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members
one of another.
Rom 12:6 And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given
to us, {let each exercise them accordingly}: if prophecy, according to the
proportion of his faith;
Rom 12:7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
Rom 12:8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality;
he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
This Scripture exhorts each of us to use our Gifts in the body of Christ.
The gift of exhortation can be used through some talents, such as exhortation through music. Thus singing is a talent, but the gift of exhortation is often used through singing. The gift of exhortation can also be used through another gift like teaching. So, just as in all gifts, we follow the three steps:
Certainly every Christian is to give, but some children of God have been given a special gift of giving. As seen in the part of Rom 12:8 "�. he who gives, with liberality;�." The word "gives" appears 31 times in the New Testament, but not many times in reference to the gift. However note:
2Cor 9:7 Let each one {do} just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.
The person with the gift of giving gives liberally and cheerfully. This person just can't wait to find another opportunity that God gives him/her for utilizing this gift. Such a great desire to use the gift is common in all of the gifts. Those who are teachers, must teach. Those who are givers, must give. The person with the gift of giving is never concerned about what percent of his/her income is going to the Lord. The person will just liberally give. The founder of Chik-Fil-A comes to mind as a dedicated Christian with the gift of giving. The giving does not have to be of money, for some people are called to give of their time or of their talents or of other gifts and these people also readily respond. Using the three steps again:
This gift is related to the gift of giving, for often the "helper" uses his/her time, talents, and/or money in the helping of other members of God's family. This gift is exercised by rendering service in the name of Jesus Christ and for the glory of God. The person could be taking meals to people in need for various reasons, cutting the lawn for people unable to do so, fixing a leaky roof of an elder member's home, taking care of elderly and/or sick Christians in other ways, taking care of the church grounds, etc. What we have just done is illustrate some of the missions that can be covered using this gift. There is always a need in local communities for "helpers" to aid other members of the Family of God. Just as in the other gifts, this person must exercise his/her gift.
This gift is mentioned in 1 Cor 12:28:
"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."
The Greek word from which this word comes carries the meaning of steering, piloting, or directing. Quoting from Billy Graham' book "The Holy Spirit": "(The Leader) must not be dictatorial, egotistical, or dogmatic; he is to be anything but that. Rather he is to be humble, gracious, courteous, kind, and filled with love; yet at times he must be very firm." The person with the gift of administration first recognizes a problem/job that needs to be solved/accomplished within the church. He/she then recognizes people in the church that have gifts that can be used in the task and he/she has the gift to organize the people to accomplish the task. This gift is necessary within the church for otherwise chaos results and God is not the author of confusion. I believe the quote from Billy Graham's book is very appropriate for it differentiates the talent of administration in the world and the gift of administration that God wants used within the church. Proceeding as before:
This gift is mentioned in
1Peter 4:9-10 "Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a {special} gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
There is some debate about whether is a gift or just a charge to all Christians. However many teachers recognize it as a gift from the context of the Scripture, and I will accept it as a gift. People with this gift are eager to share of their home to visiting evangelists or visiting missionaries. They are the first people to offer their home for the use of Bible studies or neighborhood ministries. They also are among the first to volunteer as church greeters. Hospitable is defined as "welcoming guests with warmth and generosity, fond of entertaining, well-disposed toward strangers". The person with this gift is easy to recognize in the family of God.
This gift is mentioned in the Scripture verse below:
1Peter 4:11 Whoever speaks, {let him speak,} as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, {let him do so} as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Someone with the gift of speaking is at ease speaking before all types of audiences. But to differentiate the gift of speaking from the talent of speaking, we must add that the person with the gift of speaking is at ease in speaking the Word of God to all audiences. This gift surely must be joined with the gift of knowledge for the person is speaking the Word of God and he/she must know the Word to speak it. People with this gift could still be very nervous before speaking before groups for it is awesome to speaking for God, which is what anyone does who speaks the utterances of God (the Bible in our time). However this person knows that he/she MUST speak the Word and so the charge from God overcomes any nervousness. What I am saying here is that you should not try to use Moses' excuse for not exercising this gift!
We see this gift in
Rom 12:6-7 "And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, {let each exercise them accordingly}: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
As in any gift, they should be performed as unto the Lord as seen in Eph 6:7: "With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men," Service is certainly linked to helps, giving, and other gifts. We should all be in service to each other at some level as stated in Gal 5:13 "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only {do} not {turn} your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."
But the person with the gift of serving dedicates his/her life to the service of God and the Family of God. Serving God becomes this person's driving motive for living and nothing will deter him/her from this service.
r. Tongues
The Holy Spirit also gives the gift of interpretation so these must be discussed together:
1Cor 12:10 "and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another {various} kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues."
First we have to decide what is the gift of tongues. In Acts 2:1-11 it is certainly the speaking in languages that are real and known by people listening:
Acts 2:6 "And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because they were each one hearing them speak in his own language."
Some people claim that the gift of tongues includes speaking in an angelic language unknown by men as indicated by Paul in the following scripture:
1Cor 13:1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
However the language does not have to mean that two different kinds of tongues are involved: one of men and another of angels. The meaning can be that Paul is talking about a common type of language that is used by both men and angels. So this verse is not a proof positive that tongues can be some esoteric angelic language.
All of 1 Cor 14 talks of the use of tongues and other gifts. It is obvious from these discussions that Paul considers speaking in tongues among the lowest order of the gifts.
Some say that since in the following verses about the use of tongues Paul says that they are not to be used unless an interpreter is present then the implied language is not some known tongue for the people present would not understand without an interpreter. However, I cannot consider that interpretation to be final. Paul could have had in mind the speaking of someone in a "real" language, but just not one known by everyone present.
1Cor 14:26-20 "What is {the outcome} then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. If anyone speaks in a tongue, {it should be} by two or at the most three, and {each} in turn, and let one interpret; but if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment."
Certainly in the following sequence of verses in the same chapter Paul is talking about "real" languages.
1Cor 14:10-13 "There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and no {kind} is without meaning. If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be to the one who speaks a barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a barbarian to me. So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual {gifts,} seek to abound for the edification of the church. Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret."
From my reading of the occurrences of tongues as a gift, I do conclude that the gift of tongues is the use of a "real" language and certainly one much needed by missionaries going into countries where their native language is not spoken. Anyone who has studied foreign languages can also understand the need for a gift of interpretation for translating the true meaning of words in one language into the same meaning in another language can be very difficult.
Certainly the use of "tongues" has been a source of confusion and disruption in modern churches and we know that such a result is not God's purpose. Some churches allow everyone to be "speaking in an unknown tongue" at once and certainly that is in violation of 1 Cor 14:26-29. Paul wrote of problems caused by the misuse of the gift and his warning is certainly valid today. There is also one other thing that we can know for sure: we should never discourage the use of the gift of tongues as seen below. 1Cor 14:39 "Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues."
We must always remember: 1Cor 14:40 "But let all things be done properly and in an orderly manner."
In my opinion Paul states the order of worship in the church at his time very well in 1Cor 14:26-29. It also seems perfectly applicable for a church today if the congregation is composed of people who speak in various languages. Paul said: "So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air." (1 Cor 14:9) So if we have people in our congregation who do not understand English, how will they be edified by a great sermon in English? Sign language is used in many churches today as a person signs while the preacher preaches so that those who are deaf may also be edified. Sign language is recognized as a valid language so many churches are using the gift of tongues in a worship service. From the perspective of the deaf, the preacher is preaching in tongues and the person signing is the interpreter.
Thus my understanding of the gift of tongues is that it is the ability to speak in a known language and therefore very much needed in the modern church. I have used verses of Scripture out of order but, in my opinion, not out of context. You certainly should carefully read 1 Cor 12-14 yourself.
All healing comes from God, but the healings that we normally witness occur through physicians and nurses working with medicines and surgeries to effect a "normal" healing. Most of us have witnessed such "normal" healings either in others or ourselves. However the gifts of healing and miracles are outside of our normal experiences. These last two gifts are often discussed together. Both gifts involve God working through the child of God to cause an effect that violates the laws of the universe as we understand them. The gift of healing would be a miracle in the sense that the known laws of the universe were violated as the person was miraculously healed.
**Scripture describe both gifts as follows:
1Cor 12:9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing
by the one Spirit,
1Cor 12:10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy,
and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another {various} kinds
of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.
1Cor 12:28 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.
1Cor 12:30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak
with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?
**Jesus gave His apostles the power to heal in a miraculous sense:
Luke 9:1 "And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to heal diseases."
**The gifts of healing and miracles also occurred through the disciples
such as described in the following:
Acts 4:29-30 "And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that
Thy bondservants may speak Thy word with all confidence, while Thou dost
extend Thy hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name
of Thy holy servant Jesus. "
**Peter was rescued from prison by an angel in a miraculous fashion as described in Acts 12:1-11.
**God also performed miracles and healings through Paul:
Acts 19:11-12 "And God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands
of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body
to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out."
So there continued to be the actions of the gifts of healing and miracles after the ascension of Jesus Christ. So the question is "did the gifts of healing and miracles cease after the apostolic age or do they continue today?" Dr. C. Everett Koop is a Christian physician with much experience and he has said that he has seen a lot of "normal" healing occur, but he has never witnessed a miraculous healing. He says that he would love to see such and would certainly praise God for such, but that he has never seen a miraculous healing.
The best book that I know of on this subject is "Miraculous Healing" by Henry W. Frost, published by Zondervan Publishing House first in 1979. I strongly recommend that you read this book if you can find a copy.
Frost states in his book that in the Old Testament there are recorded only 50 miracles over a period of about four thousand years. Jesus, in three and one half years, performed 35 miracles and a dozen apostles over about 30 years performed about 10 recorded miracles. The miracles of Jesus were to prove to the world that He indeed was/is God. The miracles through the apostles were to prove that God had indeed chosen them as Christ's special representatives and messengers. Certainly the few miracles over the recorded history of mankind indicate that miracles are not an everyday experience to be expected.
However, one of Frost's concluding paragraphs is "The Christian, for these reasons, while not going back to Old Testament positions and not attempting to appropriate Jewish or even apostolic promises may understand that God, at times will be pleased to respond to faith and prayer, to put forth His miraculous power, and to heal disease, especially such as is otherwise incurable."
One final comment that should be made involves the source of the healing. Certainly it is only God who can work outside of the rules of the universe as we understand them, so the miraculous healing can only come from God. The question remains "Does the sick person have a role in the miraculous healing process?" This question is raised because sometimes we hear people say "If you only had enough faith God would heal you." This is an awful statement and shows extreme ignorance about faith. If such people have a Biblical reference for their statement, the reference could come from some Biblical verses like the following:
Matt 9:22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage;
your faith has made you well." And at once the woman was made well." This
episode is also reported in Mark 5:34 and Luke 8:48.
Mark 10:52 And Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you
well." And immediately he regained his sight and {began} following Him on
the road.
Luke 17:19 And He said to him, "Rise, and go your way; your faith has made
you well."
Luke 18:42 And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made
you well."
Acts 14:9-10 This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had
fixed his gaze upon him, and had seen that he had faith to be made well,
said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." And he leaped up and
{began} to walk.
Without understanding faith, these look like proof-positive verses for a person to use his/her faith to become healed. Of course, if this premise is true, why did Jesus and Paul have to be there? The problem with people using these verses in such an inappropriate way is a misunderstanding of faith. The reader to referred to the article Faith for a more complete discussion on Faith. The following is a quote from that article:
Rom 5:1 says, " ... justified by faith" and Rom 4:5 says, " ... his faith is counted as righteousness". We clearly see from these verses that faith is not of our doing for that would be a works-based salvation and we know from Eph 2:8,9 that salvation is surely not from works. However Eph 2:8 says something else that I never hear proclaimed and that is "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." In Eph 2:8 the "it" refers back to faith, which is consistent with Rom 12:3 and the other scriptures above and speakers very seldom talk about that. Faith is a gift from God. Rom 3:28 also says, " ... a man is justified by faith." We read in Rom 9:32 that Israel did not arrive at righteousness because they did not pursue righteous by faith but as though it were by works. If we must muster up our own faith then justification is by works and again we know that is not correct. We also see in Heb 12:2 that " ...Jesus is the author and perfecter of faith." which fits in nicely with what we have already seen. Jesus is not only the author -- the originator of faith --; He is also the one who perfects it in us.
So surely the question about the origin of faith is Biblically answered. Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. God gives us faith; we don't develop it ourselves. So we can't save ourselves by working hard to develop a man-based faith. What about applying this concept to healing? Can we develop enough faith so that we will become healed? The answer obviously is "no", since faith is a gift from God. Now let's go back to those verses above that seem to say that our faith is the cause of the miraculous healing that occurred.
In all of those verses look at the sequence of events. Jesus, and Paul in one instance, first recognized that the person had faith. Remembering what we just discussed, they recognized that God had given these people the gift of faith. Thus both Jesus and Paul recognized that God had given these people the faith needed for healing. God choose these people for healing for the special purposes that we noted before in quoting from Frost (The miracles of Jesus were to prove to the world that He indeed was/is God. The miracles through the apostles were to prove that God had indeed chosen them as Christ's special representatives and messengers.) The second step was that Jesus and Paul then, having the spiritual ability to see what God had done, just declared what had happened to the glory of God.
A "healer" then is not a person with some sort of special gift to affect a miraculous healing, but a person to whom is given the spiritual ability to see that God has already worked in a person's life to supply the faith needed for healing. Only God can give that gift of faith. All the glory then goes to God and the "healer" just announces to the world what has happened, to the glory of God.
Our conclusion? Certainly God can still work miracles including healing through His children if He so chooses. However we would expect such works to be exceedingly rare and only as needed to specifically prove that God is Who He says that He is. I would urge extreme caution in accepting any modern claims of a "miracle man". However, since all "normal" healings also occur through the Great Physician, we should give God the glory for every healing that occurs.
There is one miracle that God does Himself and that is the rebirth of a person from a child of Satan to a child of God! Praise God that He continues to exercise this miracle in our time frame.
One final comment should be made. It seems that it takes a greater faith for someone to endure the pain, hardship, illness, or whatever is happening in someone's life that is not a source of worldly happiness. It takes more faith to give glory to God while remaining in a wheelchair for the majority of one's life than to be healed. Remember that God gives faith and we should praise God greatly for His saints throughout the ages who have endured through the hardship and brought glory to Him. Joni Erickson immediately comes to my mind. Think of other Christians who have remained in the "unhealed" state to the glory of God and praise Him.
For the reasons just stated, I am not going to go through the usual three steps concerning a gift (i.e. the gift, the ministry, the empowerment). If God should choose to work through you to affect a miracle or healing, then shout praise to the Holy God Who is sovereign and controls the universe.
Amen!
References
Web Author: Dr. Leon L. Combs
Copyright �2002 by Dr. Leon L. Combs - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED