Father, forgive us if we have ever made anyone feel guilty about not having enough faith. And help us forgive others who may have caused us to feel this way. At the same time, increase our faith. Help us trust in you and to pray for healing for ourselves or for others. Help us “understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:19–20). Give us the compassion of Christ. And for those who are not healed, provide the strength to endure as we await the redemption of our bodies at the resurrection.
Questions for Reflection or Discussion
1.What does it mean to have faith?
2.Can you identify any ways your understanding of healing might have been shaped by prosperity teaching?
3.Have you ever heard someone tell another person they don’t have enough faith for God to do something in their life?
4.Why do you suppose God sometimes responds to a person’s faith by granting their prayer request, whereas other times God doesn’t give that same person what they desire?
5.How likely are you to pray for someone to be healed?
CHAPTER 6
MEASURING UP?
Spiritual Gifts
When I was studying in seminary, I sometimes got overwhelmed and discouraged. I can still hear myself: I can’t do it. I’m never going to finish this. I can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. This is too much for me. Instead of remaining in the depths of despair, I occasionally went out for lunch with a particular friend of mine. This fellowship always gave me the pick-me-up I needed. Aside from the fact that I enjoy good food, my friend was great at encouraging me. I never had to tell him how I was feeling—it just seemed to come naturally to him. I can still hear him now: “You can do it, Andrew! Boy, I wish I was as smart as you. You’re making great progress.” I would walk away from the restaurant with a spring in my step and a smile on my face, feeling like I could conquer the world. If it wasn’t for friends like him, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. My friend has the spiritual gift of encouragement.
So Many Gifts!
Encouragement? Yes, that is a spiritual gift (Romans 12:8). Sometimes people think of spiritual gifts only as things that are dramatic and spectacular, but there is more to spiritual gifts than miracles. Certainly things like healing can be gifts of the Spirit, but the New Testament describes many different spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6–8; 1 Corinthians 12:8–10, 27–28; 1 Peter 4:8–11; and perhaps Ephesians 4:7–11). Giving is also a spiritual gift—anyone can give (and all the pastors said, “Amen”), but the Spirit enables some people to thrive when they are giving. I see the gift of serving present in people who regularly and cheerfully stay behind after a church event to stack chairs and mop the floor. I see people using the gifts of helping, mercy, administration, leadership, and hospitality at the community center my church has started. None of these gifts sound all that supernatural. In fact, they sound quite normal. But these spiritual gifts are all supernatural in the sense that the Spirit is involved. The Bible affirms, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:11).
Sometimes people aren’t aware of the gifts the Spirit has given them. After all, when people have the gift of administration, or any other less dramatic gift, they don’t start shaking, talking funny, and speaking like the King James Version of the Bible—“thus saith the Lord.” Instead, they just serve with excellence as enabled by the Spirit. I hope this will be encouraging to some of you who thought you had no spiritual gift just because you don’t have a more noticeable gift, like prophecy or speaking in tongues. Perhaps you thought you didn’t measure up to those whose gifts were more dramatic. We don’t all have the same gifts, and that is the way it is supposed to be. The Scripture says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us” (Romans 12:6).
You can find a lot of spiritual gifts in the New Testament (see the following table). There could be even more. Some people from church history have claimed to have the gift of prayer, tears, and visions.1 It is evident from looking at the lists in the Bible that none of the biblical authors intended to provide a list outlining what all the spiritual gifts are. For example, teaching and prophecy appear in three of the passages, whereas encouragement only shows up in Romans 12, and healing only in 1 Corinthians 12. Instead of providing an exhaustive list of spiritual gifts, the biblical authors simply explained some of the many ways the Holy Spirit works through people.
There’s No Such Thing as Spiritual Gifts (Kind of)
Actually, for all that I’ve said about spiritual gifts, there really is no such thing as “spiritual gifts” . . . kind of. Go ahead. Search your Bible. You won’t find the phrase “spiritual gift” anywhere. You found it in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14? Well, it isn’t actually in the original Greek language in which the New Testament was first written. Let me explain.2
Spiritual Gifts Listed in the New Testament
ROMANS 12:6–8 1 CORINTHIANS 12:8–10, 27–28 EPHESIANS 4:7–11 1 PETER 4:8–11
Prophesying
Serving
Teaching
Encouraging
Giving
Leadership
Showing mercy
Message of wisdom
Message of knowledge
Faith
Healings
Miracles
Prophecy
Distinguishing between spirits Tongues
Interpretation of tongues
Apostles
Prophets
Teachers
Helping others
Administration
Apostles
Prophets
Evangelists
Pastors
Teachers
Hospitality
Serving
Speaking
Most English translations of the Bible present Paul writing about “spiritual gifts” in 1 Corinthians 12:1 and 14:1. In English, these verses read:
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. (1 Corinthians 12:1 ESV)
Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. (1 Corinthians 14:1)
The word gifts, however, doesn’t actually occur in these verses in Greek. The Greek word Paul did use in these verses is pneumatika, literally meaning “spirituals” or things having to do with the Spirit. Spirituals is not a technical term Paul used in reference to a limited number of ways the Spirit works, that is, “spiritual gifts.” Rather, in the Bible the word spiritual is used in a number of contexts to describe the general presence and work of the Holy Spirit. So, for example, the church is a “spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5).
Another key Greek word Paul used when he talked about things like the gifts of teaching, healing, tongues, and so forth, is charismata, for example, in 1 Corinthians 12:4 and 31. This word literally means “gifts.” Again, this is not a technical term Paul used only to refer to a special way the Spirit works, that is, “spiritual gifts”; Paul used this word in multiple ways. For example, he described salvation as a “gift” (Romans 6:23).
Paul did not create a special category limiting the number of spiritual gifts. Rather, when Paul talked about “spirituals” or “gifts,” he was simply describing some of the ways the Spirit uses people and enables people to minister. The Spirit can use believers in many other ways. Many Christians, however, reserve the term “spiritual gifts” to refer to the list of gifts I have included in the table above. That is, they imagine a special kind of box filled with spiritual gifts and say that only those gifts that appear in these New Testament lists belong in this special box. The result is that even though the Spirit empowers my friend’s talent in artistic designs, as in Exodus 35:31–32, and even though this is a tremendous blessing to her church community, this artistic ability doesn’t get counted as a spiritual gift because it isn’t in the spiritual gifts box. Paul, however, didn’t have a special category that limits the spiritual gifts. As I said, he never used the phrase “spiritual gifts.”
&
nbsp; But does the Spirit give us gifts? Yes, by all means—the gifts Paul described in his letters are, again, “the work of one and the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:11). But we should not limit what we consider to be a spiritual gift to those listed in the table I’ve included above. These are some of the ways the Spirit can be at work among us, but not all. So, rather than only asking, “What are your spiritual gifts?” you might also ask, “What are the ways the Spirit uses you?”
Problem Gifts?
Among the gifts of the Spirit listed in the New Testament, tongues and the interpretation of tongues are probably the strangest of the bunch (1 Corinthians 14:27–28). Even though you can find many instances of Christians speaking in tongues throughout the long history of the church and demonstrating many other “strange” gifts of the Spirit, too, speaking in tongues grew in practice with the development of the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement in the twentieth century.3 And with growth in practice, came growth in confusion and abuse.
I remember one Sunday things didn’t go so well at church. That morning two people decided to start giving a message in tongues—at the same time. This clearly went against Paul’s teaching that believers should share a message “one at a time” (1 Corinthians 14:27), so it left everyone in the service feeling awkward. The pastor tried to be gentle in his response. From behind the pulpit he said, “Amen” and “Praise the Lord” loudly a number of times into the microphone. His attempt to drown them out and hopefully get at least one person to stop didn’t work. I guess both people felt the Spirit needed them each to speak at that moment. As a result, the pastor ended up asking them both to stop.
That’s not a particularly encouraging story. And if you already felt uneasy about the gift of tongues, the story likely doesn’t make you feel any better about it. Nevertheless, just because people might use this gift, or any gift, inappropriately, doesn’t mean we should neglect it. Just because a gift is misused doesn’t mean it is bad. It can still have great potential if used properly. We are the problem, not the gift. We must heed the Scripture’s warning: “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire. . . . Hold on to the good” (1 Thessalonians 5:19–21). Therefore, we should “not forbid speaking in tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:39). Although I have the opportunity to worship in different churches on occasion, I haven’t heard a message in tongues for quite some time. This saddens me because I think many churches are missing out on one of the ways the Spirit wants to speak in the church.
In the Bible, the word tongue most often simply means “language.” When people engage in the gift of “speaking in different kinds of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:10), they might speak in human or angelic tongues (1 Corinthians 13:1). The gift of tongues by itself isn’t helpful for those listening, though, since “no one understands” those speaking in tongues as “they utter mysteries by the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 14:2). Therefore, in contrast to tongues as a language of prayer (see chapter 4 in this book), when a message in tongues is offered to the church, Paul instructed that “someone must interpret” (1 Corinthians 14:27). The result isn’t a translation as such, but the interpretation does communicate the overall message for the benefit of the congregation in a language they can understand.
I used to think if someone interpreted their own message in tongues, they must have been faking it or they were too scared to wait to see if someone else would interpret. I eventually learned, however, that although the interpretation often comes from someone else (1 Corinthians 14:28), the interpretation might also come from the person who gave the message in tongues, for Paul said, “The one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say” (v. 13).
Unclear Gifts
While many of the gifts of the Spirit are easy to identify, like healing or serving, it isn’t completely clear how some other gifts listed in the New Testament function. This is particularly true of the gifts of distinguishing between spirits and the messages of wisdom and knowledge. To be sure, many pastors have preached sermons and many people have written books that explain with great certainty what these gifts are. The apostle Paul, however, never actually explained what he meant by these gifts. When people teach about these gifts of the Spirit, therefore, they usually describe—probably legitimate—experiences of the Spirit they have witnessed and then label those experiences with the terms that Paul used in the Bible. But the experiences they describe and the experiences Paul described in the Bible aren’t necessarily one and the same.
What is the gift of discerning or “distinguishing between spirits” (1 Corinthians 12:10)? Again, Scripture doesn’t explicitly tell us. Some people think it is the Spirit-given ability to tell if someone is acting from their own human spirit, or as influenced by the Holy Spirit or, alternatively, by a demonic spirit. Others suppose that this gift refers to the ability to interpret the source and significance of prophecy, given that Paul mentioned the gift of discernment immediately after the gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:10).
The precise meaning of a word or “message of wisdom” and a word or “message of knowledge” (1 Corinthians 12:8) is also unclear. Although some teachers try to make clear distinctions between these two gifts, in my experience most Christians understandably don’t try to distinguish between these gifts. Of course, it’s quite possible there is no hard and fast distinction between these gifts, much like the gifts of healing and miracles are not mutually exclusive. Professor Anthony Thiselton observed that among New Testament scholars “there is no consensus whatever about any clear distinction between” the two.4 Likewise, in one church where I pastored, if someone presented a spontaneous message in English to the church, we would just say that someone “gave a word in church today.”
Many people think of the messages of wisdom and knowledge as spontaneous—even miraculous—messages revealed from God. That is, some people suppose that it must involve knowledge that the person could not have known without revelatory insight from the Spirit. I can understand how someone would make this conclusion; in my own life, at times someone has prayed for me in a way that was exactly what I needed even though I hadn’t shared my struggles with the person praying for me.
I’m not convinced, though, that messages of wisdom and knowledge are always spontaneous and dramatic. And in contrast to those with a dramatic conception of messages of wisdom and knowledge, some people think these gifts refer to any time that the Spirit helps us clarify Scripture for others or apply truth to a particular situation in a nonspectacular way. Others think the gift of wisdom, specifically, could simply be preaching about Christ, who is “the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). You might say, “This can’t be what these gifts refer to. They have to be dramatic revelations from God—they are spiritual gifts.” But as I have already emphasized, spiritual gifts aren’t always dramatic. They can be natural abilities enhanced by the Spirit.
Which Gift?
Sometimes it won’t be clear which spiritual gift is at play. Peter, seemingly without prior knowledge, asked Ananias, “How is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?” (Acts 5:3). This could be an example of a word of knowledge. But it could also be an example of distinguishing between spirits, or even prophecy. While I affirm that the Spirit inspired Peter at this moment, the book of Acts doesn’t tell us which gift of the Spirit was at work. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t just throw up our hands and say, “I have no idea how the Spirit works or what spiritual gifts are!” Even if we don’t have clarity in how to label the gift being used, we do know the Spirit is at work. When we study the variety of ways the Spirit gifts people (see the table on page), we see that the Spirit brings about different kinds of miracles and enables people to speak and serve in a variety of ways.
What About Prophecy?
As with other gifts, Christians have different views regarding what constitutes prophecy. But unlike the gifts I’ve already discussed, the Bible actually says quite a lot to help us unders
tand what prophecy really is. Many people in Pentecostal-Charismatic circles define prophecy too narrowly. When they say someone “prophesied over” them (I’m not sure why it is always “over” and not “to,” or “under”), they usually mean that someone told them something about their future.
While prophecy might refer to the future (Acts 21:10– 11), it can refer to much more. In fact, when prophecy is mentioned in Romans and 1 Corinthians, Paul doesn’t mention any predictive element. Furthermore, when we look at the content of prophecy in the Old Testament, we find that prophecies were generally more concerned with contemporary events than with the future. Their message was usually something like, “Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices” (Zechariah 1:4). Prophecy, then, can also occur when someone speaks up when they see a problem of sin. Moreover, Paul added that prophecy takes place when “the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3).
I once had a student sitting in my office, slouched over on a chair. He was feeling worthless and insecure about his abilities as a student, though I could see he was doing good work. I could tell by the marks on his arms that his depression had plagued him previously in life. As I spoke with him I encouraged him and reminded him of his identity as a child of God and as someone who is made in the image of God. I did not shake or speak in a strange voice, which many people seem to think is a necessary marker of prophecy. And I never told the student I was prophesying. Yet when the student left, I was certain God had used me to prophesy to him. I had a sense of the Spirit’s presence, and I knew the words I shared were not something I had come up with on my own.
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