A STUDY OF THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

Transcription

1 A STUDY OF THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT BOB WILLIAMS 2009 THESIS The subject of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is an important topic for the modern Church; however, it is not a central focus of New Testament teaching and was not a foundational issue in the first century Church. Jesus Christ is the central figure in the New Testament, and every other person, every teaching, every doctrine, and every activity is in subjection to Him.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction II. The Sovereign Giver of the Gifts of the Spirit III. Defining IV. V. VI. VII. The Recipients of the Gifts of the Spirit.. Receiving the Gifts of the Spirit Discovering the Gifts of the Spirit The Purpose of the Gifts of the Spirit VIII. Conclusion IX. Bibliography 16 2

3 I. INTRODUCTION A cursory search for the word gifts in the books and periodical database at the Denver Seminary library yields 520 results. Those 520 results are only the books or articles that have the word gifts in the title. A search at Amazon.com for the topic spiritual gifts produces 25,167 results. 1 A visual survey in any Christian bookstore will quickly reveal that spiritual gifts sells. The somewhat humorous photograph in Figure 1 is an illustration of the marketplace mentality that appears to be so prevalent in today s world on this subject. A countless number of books Figure 1- Storefront in downtown Boulder, Colorado and articles instruct readers how to gain fulfillment in ministry and in life by discovering and using the spiritual gift or gifts that God has given them. While there are many differing views on the details of the gifts of the Spirit, the subject is important, and it would be unwise to ignore the subject entirely in order to avoid the conflict. Donald Gee writes, Ignorance of spiritual gifts can mean a repetition of our own mistakes. It can frustrate the full purposes of God. 2 The Apostle Paul was clear in his teachings in I Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 that one of the reasons for the gifts, is for the body to be unified 3 and inter-dependent. It is hard to conceive of another Biblical subject that has done so little to bring about unity in the Church. The views 1 Amazon.com, =spiritual%20gifts&rh=i%3aaps%2ck%3aspiritual%20gifts%2ci%3astripbooks. 2 Donald Gee, Spiritual Gifts in the Work of the Ministry Today (Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1963), 1. 3 Jim McNair, Love & Gifts (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1976), 31. 3

4 of writers on this subject are diverse, and many times, divisive. The Church has failed to heed Martyn Lloyd-Jones exhortation, the gifts must never be put in the centre we must never be constantly talking about the gifts what dominates the New Testament is the central position of the Lord Jesus Christ himself 4 II. THE SOVEREIGN GIVER OF THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT Before entering into a discussion regarding the recipients of the gifts of the Spirit or the purpose and definition of the gifts, it is important to first understand that the gifts come from the hand of a sovereign Giver. In human experience, a gift is normally given to honor the recipient and for the recipient to use the gift for his own benefit. However, gifts of the Spirit are given to bring honor and glory, not to the recipient, but to the Giver 5, and these gifts are to be used under the guiding hand and for the benefit of the Giver, not for the benefit of the recipient. Referring to the gifts of the Spirit, John Calvin said that they are a trust, and those receiving the gifts shall be held accountable for our stewardship of them. 6 Commenting on Paul s teaching in I Corinthians, Robert Thomas reinforces that everything we have, including gifts, comes from one God who is three in personality. 7 This is consistent with the teaching of the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 12:11, the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. Donald Bridge and David 4 Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Sovereign Spirit (Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1985), Ronald E. Baxter, Gifts of the Spirit (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1983), David W. Hall and Peter A. Lillback, Theological Guide to Calvin s Institutes (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2008), Robert L. Thomas, Understanding Spiritual Gifts: An exegetical study of I Corinthians (Chicago: Moody Press, 1978), 9. 4

5 Phypers agree with Thomas and remind the reader that the gifts come from the hand of a sovereign God who knows what we need 8 The gifts come from a sovereign and triune God, are distributed as He chooses, are to be used for His purposes, and are to bring honor and glory to Him as they are exercised. J.I Packer writes that the gifts should be defined in terms of Christ and that, gifts communicate His (Christ s) reality through word or action. 9 The central focus is Christ, not the recipient or the gift itself. Before moving on to discussing the more practical applications of the gifts, it is helpful to explore some various opinions on how to define of the gifts. III. DEFINING THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT There is very little disagreement among theologians that God is the giver of the gifts, which are distributed by and through the Holy Spirit. However, when it comes to defining, classifying, and describing the gifts, there is no broad consensus. Scott Moreau, a long-time missionary to Africa and professor at Wheaton College writes that although much has been written about the gifts of the Spirit in the past few decades, much confusion continues regarding this subject. 10 Dr. John MacQuarrie, a popular Scottish Presbyterian minister who later became an Episcopal priest, supported the Episcopal and Catholic teaching that the Scriptures teach that there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, although he acknowledged there are likely other gifts that the Apostle Paul does not mention. 11 Charles Swindoll, a pastor and seminary president, teaches that the four primary New Testament passages on gifts reveal that there are twenty-two specifically named gifts in six 8 Donald Bridge & David Phypers, Spiritual Gifts & The Church (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1973), J.I. Packer, Experiencing God s Presents. Christianity Today (August 2003), Scott A. Moreau, Ed., Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000), John MacQuarrie, Studies in Christian Existentialism (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1965),

6 different lists. 12 However, Millard Erickson, an equally respected Baptist minister, author, theologian, and seminary professor writes that there are four lists in the New Testament. Like Swindoll, he does identify twenty-two named gifts; and while their lists are similar, there are differences between their respective lists. 13 Scott Moreau writes that the most plausible analysis reveals that the gifts can be classified into three categories: service gifts, miraculous gifts, and utterance gifts. 14 Tokunboh Adeyemo, an African Church leader and theologian argues there are three different kinds of manifestations of the Spirit. Adeyemo links each of the three manifestations to one member of the trinity. He writes, there are different kinds of gifts, linked with the Spirit; different kinds of service, linked with the Lord; and different kinds of working, linked with God. 15 However, Arthur Glasser, a career Navigator missionary teaches there are six primary categories of gifts. He states there are three categories of gifts that are designed to be exercised inside the Church: worship, sharing, and teaching; and there are three categories of gifts that are designed to be exercised outside the Church: special needs ministry, reconciliation, and evangelism. 16 There are many more examples, but it is clear just from a comparison of the writings of these respected Church leaders that there is little consensus on how to define and catalogue the gifts of the Spirit. Many writers conclude that since the Scriptures do not specifically state that there are no additional gifts, therefore the named gifts in the New Testament do not represent the total number of gifts the Spirit has at His disposal to distribute to the Church. Perhaps Packer sums 12 Charles R. Swindoll, Spiritual Gifts (Fullerton, CA: Insight for Living, 1986), Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), Evangelical Dictionary of Missions, Tokunboh Adeyemo, Africa Bible Commentary (Nairobi: Word Alive Publishers, 2006),

7 the situation up best when he writes, the reality is that all our capacities for expressing Christ are spiritual gifts. 17 Regardless how many gifts there are or how they are defined or categorized, it is clear that God does choose to give gifts to men and women. With this in mind, it is helpful to understand a bit about the recipients of the gifts of the Spirit as well. IV. THE RECIPIENTS OF THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT Most Christian writers agree that only true believers in Christ are given gifts of the Spirit. There is some disagreement when the gifts are given, but that will be discussed in the next section. Neither Paul nor Peter directly states that only believers can receive the gifts. However, in the context of the gifts passages, it is clear both writers are speaking to those who are members of Christ s Body. Merrill Unger writes it is the clear teaching of Scripture that the Body of Christ only includes believers, that all believers are members of the Body of Christ, and that all possess one or more gifts of the Spirit as a result. 18 Rick Yohn agrees every believer is given at least one God-given ability, perhaps several. 19 The Scriptures are clear that all born again Christians 20, and only true Christians, have received at least one gift of the Spirit. Having settled that only true Christians can receive the gifts of the Spirit, the focus now turns to when these gifts are received. V. RECEIVING THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT There is widespread agreement that the gifts are likely received when the Christian is baptized with the Holy Spirit. It is at this point the conversation begins to get more heated. The 16 Arthur F. Glasser, Spiritual Gifts and the Ministry. Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1999), Experiencing God s Presents. Christianity Today, Merrill Unger, The Baptism and Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Chicago: Moody Press, 1976), Rick Yohn, Beyond Spiritual Gifts (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1976), 12. 7

8 modern Charismatic movement believes the Christian is most often baptized with the Spirit at some point after conversion and therefore, the gifts are not given at conversion but at this later date. 21 Unger argues that believers become members of the Body of Christ by virtue of Spirit baptism 22. Baxter agrees that since believers join the Body of Christ by the Spirit s baptism at the point of conversion, then the gifts are available to the believer from that point. Baxter writes, it would seem reasonable to hold that the Spirit equips us to function in that body at the moment of our baptism in the Spirit. 23 While Millard Erickson agrees that only true Christians can receive gifts of the Spirit, he takes a different approach to the question of when the gifts are received. Erickson writes, It is not clear whether these gifts are endowments from birth; special enablements [sic] received at some later point, or a combination of the two. 24 So, while there is general agreement that only true Christians can receive gifts of the Spirit, there is fairly widespread disagreement on when the gifts are distributed by the Spirit. However, the chasm of disagreement widens significantly when Christians begin discussing the topic of how to discover their gifts and what gifts they have been given. VI. DISCOVERING THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT Referring to the first paragraph of the introduction, a large percentage of the publications written since the mid-twentieth century on the subject of the gifts of the Spirit contain impassioned arguments on the importance of knowing one s gift and then give instructions, or sometimes tests, to help the individual discover his or her gift. Ronald Baxter acknowledges that the Scriptures do not directly teach that gifts can or should be discovered, nor do the Scriptures 20 Spiritual Gifts and the Ministry. Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, The Baptism and Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Ibid., Gifts of the Spirit, Christian Theology,

9 give guidance on how to discover the gifts. However, he has much company when he writes that you must and you can discover your gifts. 25 Baxter, like many others, goes on to teach that knowing one s gifts will make him or her more useful in service for God. He continues by outlining seven steps that will enable Christians to discover what gift or gifts they have. 26 There are two key questions related to this topic. The first is, What do the Scriptures teach on the necessity or importance of knowing what gift a person has? The second key question is, If the Scriptures teach that it is important to know the gift, do they teach how to discover what gift a person has? Gene Getz has ministered for more than five decades as a seminary professor, teacher, author, and pastor. He has written over three dozen books that have been translated into more than 30 languages. For many years, Dr. Getz taught that, in order to be able to function properly in the local church, every believer, must search for and try to discover their spiritual gifts. 27 However, he relates his experience about one day when he was studying the Scriptural passages on gifts, which he had studied many times before. Getz writes, it suddenly dawned on me one day that nowhere in these verses can we find any exhortation for individual Christians to look for or to try to discover his or her spiritual gift or gifts. 28 He writes that, although he had studied the same passages for over 30 years, this was a new revelation to him. He now teaches that, an emphasis on each believer searching for and trying to develop his spiritual gift is 25 Gifts of the Spirit, Ibid., Gene Getz, Building Up One Another (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), Ibid.,

10 not a biblical emphasis, 29 and, in fact nowhere in the Bible can we find any such exhortation. 30 Written a dozen years before Getz published revelation, Bridge and Phypers wrote that the Scriptures do not suggest Christians should seek the gifts. They argued that none of the gift passages provide any guidelines on how to discover the gifts and that there is no command to pursue a course of persistent or agonized searching 31 Martyn Lloyd-Jones seemed to agree with the above authors and with Getz. In a collection of his sermons published in 1985, he preached, Do not seek the gifts directly. Seek Him! Seek his love! Seek his glory! Seek the knowledge of him! And then you will get your gifts. 32 Gene Getz concludes by saying that the Church must not emphasize what the Bible does not emphasize. 33 Sherwood Bible Church of Kansas City has endeavored to take a Biblical stance on the subject of the gifts of the Spirit, not adding what the Scriptures do not include, and not avoiding what the Scriptures clearly teach. In Section 11 of its church constitution on this topic, it says, We believe that God is sovereign in bestowment of all His gifts. It is the Scriptural responsibility for every believer to be actively engaged in serving both believers and unbelievers, trusting the Lord to manifest His gifts in the life of the believer as he serves. The believer's goal in his service is to manifest the life of Jesus Christ which is present in his life. (Rom. 12:1-21, 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 2 Cor. 12:12, Eph. 4:7-12, Phil. 2:1-11, 1 Pet. 4:10) 34 VII. THE PURPOSE OF THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT 29 Gene Getz, Living for Others When You d Rather Live for Yourself (Ventura: Regal Books, 1985), Building Up One Another, Spiritual Gifts & The Church, The Sovereign Spirit, Living for Others When You d Rather Live for Yourself, Sherwood Bible Church of Kansas City, Constitution of Sherwood Bible Church (Kansas City: Sherwood Bible Church), 10

11 So far, this paper has discussed the sovereign Giver of the gifts of the Spirit, the defining of the gifts, the recipients of the gifts, the timing of when the gifts are given, and the teaching on discovering which gifts have been given. The final challenge is to gain an understanding of the purpose of the gifts of the Spirit, i.e. why does the Spirit of God distribute these gifts to believers? Before discussing the purpose of the gifts, it is important to describe what the purpose is not. First, the gifts are not given to draw attention to the gift. Martyn Lloyd-Jones stated it succinctly, the Apostle s teaching is surely quite plain, namely that they (gifts) must never be regarded as ends in themselves never! 35 Secondly, the gifts are not given to draw attention to the recipient who is responsible for exercising the gift. Craig Keener writes that the gifts are to be used for service and never to exalt the specific individuals who have been given the gifts. 36 Thirdly, the gifts are not given to create division within the Church. This is the point the Apostle Paul makes in his teachings on the interconnectedness of the body at the end of I Corinthians 12. Adeyemo teaches that since the Spirit distributes the gifts as He decides, then it is foolish to have jealousy and rivalry between believers. 37 Having settled what the purpose of the gifts is not, I now shift attention to what the purpose of the gifts is. In I Corinthians 12:7, Paul says that the gifts are for the common good. This is the most widely taught purpose of the gifts. Peter reinforces this in I Peter 4:10 when he writes that the gifts are to be used for the purpose of serving one another. Paul Tournier writes that the supreme gift is the giving of oneself. 38 The gifts are given so the recipient can bless others. 35 The Sovereign Spirit, Craig S. Keener, Gift & Giver (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001), Africa Bible Commentary, Paul Tournier, The Meaning of Gifts (Richmond, VA: John Knox Press, 1963),

12 Walter Elwell writes that the purpose of any spiritual gift is always the edification of believers. 39 Lewis Sperry Chafer confirmed this service aspect of the gifts. He taught that a Spirit-filled Christian will be energized to exercise his gift of the Spirit to true Christian service. 40 The Apostle Paul also teaches in Ephesians 4:12 that the gifts are given for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. A second purpose of the gifts is to equip the Church to reach outside its walls and minister to those for whom Christ died. Many authors and teachers support this application of the gifts of the Spirit. Kenneth Berding takes a more unconventional approach to the gifts and deemphasizes the gift itself and focuses on the ministry in which the gift should be exercised. Berding writes that instead of focusing on individual gifts, believers should focus on the ministry, trusting God to use the gifts to accomplish the works of the ministry. 41 Glasser agrees that as gifted believers grow in grace, they should use their gifts to participate in the evangelistic ministry of the Church. 42 A third purpose of the gifts is to bring about maturity both in the one exercising the gifts and in the one being served. Paul continues in Ephesians 4:13, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Rick Yohn writes of a very personal period in his life when, after many years of successful ministry in the pastorate, he recognized that while he had learned to exercise the gifts the Spirit had given to him, he had neglected to continue to mature. 39 Walter A. Elwell, Ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001), Lewis Sperry Chafer, He That is Spiritual (Lewis Sperry Chafer: 1918), Kenneth Berding, Spiritual Gifts? Rethinking the Conventional View. Bibliotheca Sacra (2008). 42 Spiritual Gifts and the Ministry,

13 In a vulnerable section of his book, he writes, The effectiveness of my gifts had increased, but not the maturity of my character. I was able to tell others to be more Christlike, but I failed to show them how. Without maturity of character, I was only going through the motions of spiritual growth. 43 Yohn had to go back and allow other gifted people and the Spirit of God to minister to him so he could grow in spiritual maturity, not just in ministry skills. Baxter sums up the purpose of the gifts of the Spirit, The gifts are given to edify others; the gifts are given to equip the church; and the gifts are given to arm soldiers. 44 VIII. CONCLUSION On the subject of the gifts of the Spirit, there are areas that garner broad agreement by theologians, but there are many important aspects of the subject where there is deep and intense disagreement. The key is to hold solid convictions where the Scriptures are clear, and not to be dogmatic when the Scriptures do not address a subject or are vague. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said it well when he wrote, We should believe only what is clearly taught in the Scripture. 45 Before addressing those points where the Scripture is clear, I will address those areas where Scripture is either silent or vague in its interpretation. The Scriptures do not encourage individual Christians to seek a gift or to focus on gifts. The gifts passages do not give any indication that it is necessary for Christians to know what gift or gifts they have been given. The Scriptures also do not give any guidance or hints on proper methods or techniques to discover what gifts a person has been given. Any guidelines or tests that men have devised for discovering one s gift are purely man-made and not supported by the Scriptures. However, neither do the Scriptures prevent these types of activities, so the best that 43 Beyond Spiritual Gifts, Gifts of the Spirit,

14 can be said is that such methods are extra-biblical, but not necessarily un-biblical. The Scriptures do not define or categorize the gifts that are listed, except in some general contextual implications. The Scriptures do not teach that the listed gifts are the only gifts that the Spirit has at His disposal to distribute to Christians. The Scriptures do not teach if the gifts given to an individual believer are permanent or perhaps only temporarily available for a specific ministry opportunity or season. A quote by Getz, referenced earlier in this paper, bears repeating, We must not emphasize what the Bible does not emphasize. 46 The Bible places Christ at the center, not the work or gifts of the Spirit. What do the Scriptures teach about gifts? The Scriptures teach that gifts of the Spirit do exist and that they exist for the good of the Body, not for the good of the individual. The Scriptures teach that all Christians have been given at least one gift. The gifts are meant to encourage unity in the Body, not division. The gifts are distributed to the Body by the Holy Spirit according to His will and for His purposes. The gifts are distributed, at the very latest, at the time of conversion. Summarizing Calvin s teachings, Hall & Lillback write, He (Calvin) reminds us that any talent we have received is from the Lord, a gift, not a meritorious accomplishment. When we realize that we have nothing that we have not received, then we may bestow to others the honor they are due, being properly reverent and lowly toward them. 47 This is the attitude that honors the Lord and is consistent with the intent of the gifts of the Spirit. ## 45 The Sovereign Spirit, Living for Others When You d Rather Live for Yourself,

15 BIBLIOGRAPHY Adeyemo, Tokunboh, Ed. Africa Bible Commentary. Nairobi: Word Alive Publishers, Amazon.com. Baxter, Ronald E. Gifts of the Spirit. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, Berding, Kenneth. Spiritual Gifts? Rethinking the Conventional View. Bibliotheca Sacra, April-June e-02a da4-3e36c45aad47%40sessionmgr9 Bridge, Donald & David Phypers. Spiritual Gifts & The Church. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, Chafer, Lewis Sperry. He that is Spiritual. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Elwell, Walter A. Ed. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, Gee, Donald. Spiritual Gifts in the Work of the Ministry Today. Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, Getz, Gene A. Building Up One Another. Wheaton: Victor Books, Nineteenth printing, Getz, Gene A. Living for Others When You d Rather Live for Yourself. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, Glasser, Arthur F. Spiritual Gifts and the Ministry. Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Pasadena: William Carey Library, Hall, David W. and Peter A. Lillback. Theological Guide to Calvin s Institutes. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, Keener, Craig S. Gift & Giver. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, Lloyd-Jones, Martyn. The Sovereign Spirit. Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, MacQuarrie, John. Studies in Christian Existentialism. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 47 Theological Guide to Calvin s Institutes,

16 1965. McNair, Jim. Love & Gifts. Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, Moreau, A. Scott, Ed. Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, Packer, J.I. Experiencing God s Presents. Christianity Today, August 2003, 55. Sherwood Bible Church of Kansas City, Constitution of Sherwood Bible Church of Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas City: Sherwood Bible Church, Swindoll, Charles R. Spiritual Gifts. Fullerton, CA: Insight for Living, Thomas, Robert L. Understanding Spiritual Gifts: An exegetical study of I Corinthians Chicago: Moody Press, Tournier, Paul. The Meaning of Gifts. Richmond, VA: John Knox Press, Unger, Merrill F. The Baptism and Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Chicago: Moody Press, Yohn, Rick. Beyond Spiritual Gifts. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers,