Lesson 11: The Church’s Questions—Gifts
The church, like society, is given
to trends. Some issue will hold the attention of large numbers of Christians
for a while. They will write books about it, hold seminars on it, split
congregations over it. Then the issue will fade into the background, and
another will come to the fore and replace it. In the late 60s and early to mid
70s, spiritual gifts were in vogue, and the charismatic movement took off,
penetrating even mainline denominations. It was a frenzy at times as people
tried either to discover their gift or to obtain a particular one. As with most
fads, though, people got tired of it after a while. They had read enough, heard
enough, agonized enough over the issue and wanted something else to occupy their
attention. So, in the late 70s, discipleship because the new fad, with more
books, more seminars, and so on until just about everybody, it seemed, was
either discipling someone or being discipled by someone. All this to say that
it seems the church has beaten to death the topic of spiritual gifts, to the
point where we could almost skip it and move on to chapter 15, where Paul
addresses next subject (resurrection).
Apart from the fact that some in the
congregation may not have been exposed to the issue, why is skipping it not a
good idea?
•
First, we need to review.
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We do not even remember some of what we studied last
year let alone ten (or twenty) years ago.
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Second, we need to revise.
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A lot has happened to us in the interim. Our study and
our experiences since then have filled in and broadened our view of God and the
world, and it is important to adjust our understanding of “old” issues in the
light of new information.
So we had better not jump ahead to chapter 15 just yet.
Paul begins chapter 12 with a
discussion of the Holy Spirit—his message, ministry, and manifestations.
E. Gifts 12:1-14:40
1 Cor 12:1 Now
about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know
that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray
to mute idols. 3 Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit
of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is
Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. 4
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different
kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working,
but the same God works all of them in all men.
7 Now to
each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one
there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message
of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same
Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another
miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between
spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, [a] and to still
another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the
same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
1. There is one Spirit (12:1-11).
a. His message
promotes the messiah.148
b. His
ministry dispenses the gifts.149
c. His method
advances the common good.
Comment: About “…led astray to mute idols” (12:2)
In v. 2, Paul reminds
gentiles in the congregation about their past involvement with idolatry.
1 Cor 12:2 You know
that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray
to mute idols.
In some cults, the idols, though dumb, were thought to speak
through certain worshippers by using an inspired and unintelligible speech.
(Remember, idols are not gods, but they still may represent supernatural
powers.150) In other words, speaking in tongues—which seems to be
the specific problem in these chapters— was not limited to the Christian
community. By reviewing their pagan past, Paul wants them to realize that
people cannot appeal to such utterances as evidence of their spirituality.
Being able to speak in tongues is not proof that a person possesses the Holy
Spirit; it may indicate that a demon possesses him. Tongues that are the
product of the Holy Spirit have specific content (Fee 1987:578).151
Query: How is a spiritual gift different from a natural
talent or a practiced skill?152
•
When does a believer acquire a gift? (Presumably upon
conversion)
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Can a believer have more than one gift?153
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How long does a person retain a gift…for life?
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Does this suggest another answer to when a believer
may acquire a gift?
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Should we be trying to identify our (current)
spiritual gift(s)?
Query: Does a medical doctor have the gift of healing?
…Probably not, because his success depends on natural means (e.g., drugs,
surgery) rather than supernatural means.
In some cases,
spiritual gifts, such as (the working of) miracles, are easily distinguishable
as such, because there is no natural cause or counterpart. In other cases, such
as teaching, what distinguishes a spiritual gift may not be its designation but
its implementation—its being enhanced by the Holy Spirit. This is the
difference between a secular teacher and a sacred teacher. It is not his title
or his technique but his augmented ability to comprehend and communicate
spiritual information.
While a spiritual gift
may be an acquired skill, it is not necessarily fully developed when the
believer receives it. He is responsible to develop whatever gift(s) the Holy
Spirit has given him.154 It is also important for others to
recognize, acknowledge, and encourage the spiritual gifts within the
congregation.
Summary: Paul contrasts the former circumstances of the
Corinthians who were once pagan with their present circumstances. There were
many idols, and these idols represented different and often competing spirits
and their interests. The situation with God is not the same.
•
The Holy Spirit is God’s only representative, and his
primary interest is to promote Jesus. Consequently, the Spirit will not send
mixed signals, one time saying “Jesus is cursed” and another time saying “Jesus
is Lord.”
•
The Holy Spirit has a specific function within the
Godhead. (Did you notice an allusion to the trinity in vv. 4-6?) The Spirit
gives gifts. No other member of the Godhead has that assignment, nor is the
distribution of gifts delegated to other (lesser) spirits (e.g., angels). It is
the responsibility of the “same Spirit” whose interest is to promote Jesus
(which should give us a clue as to the ultimate purpose of spiritual gifts).
•
The Holy Spirit fulfills his assignment by giving to
each believer a gift that contributes to the common good. It is at the Spirit’s
discretion which gift(s) a believer receives.155 One person’s gift
will probably be different from another’s, but the reason the gift is given is
the same in all circumstances:
for the benefit of others.
From the Spirit, Paul turns to the
church, describing it by analogy with the physical body.
1 Cor 12:12 The
body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts
are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized
by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were
all given the one Spirit to drink.
14 Now the
body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say,
"Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not
for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say,
"Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not
for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye,
where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would
the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body,
every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part,
where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye
cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say
to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22 On the contrary, those parts of
the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we
think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are
unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts
need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has
given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no
division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each
other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is
honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are
the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church
God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then
workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help
others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different
kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do
all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do
all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts.
And
now I will show you the most excellent way.
2. There is one body (12:12-31).156
a. It is
self-sufficient, because all parts are different.
b. It is
interdependent, because all parts are necessary.
Query:
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How is the list in vv. 8-10 different from the list in
vv. 28-30? (Random vs. priority order)
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Are the lists complete? (No, cf. singleness in 7:7;
exhorting, giving, and mercy in Rom 12:3-8; evangelism and pastoring in Eph
4:11)
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Is it necessary for a congregation to have all the
gifts?
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How do we know what we have? (Observation, experience,
confirmation)
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Are we missing any spiritual gifts in our church that
we should have? In some cases, spiritual gifts (e.g., miracles) are easily
distinguishable, because there is no natural counterpart as such. In other
cases (e.g., teaching, what distinguishes a spiritual gift may not be its
designation but its implementation— enhanced by the Holy Spirit.
Query: Does a medical doctor have the gift of healing?
In most cases, no,
because his success depends on natural means (e.g., drugs, surgery) not
supernatural means.
Summary: Paul makes an analogy with the physical body to
illustrate the composition of the spiritual body, the church.
•
The physical body is a self-sufficient conglomerate of different organs, each of which
makes its own contribution. If all were the same, you would have a specialized
donor bank but no body, because the collection would not be diverse enough to
be self-sufficient.
•
The physical body is also an interdependent conglomerate of different organs, because the
contribution of each is necessary to the viability of the whole. If a certain
organ, no matter how minor its contribution, stops functioning, the loss in
that area will eventually affect other areas. Likewise, when a certain organ
performs its function well, it can relieve the strain on other organs.
So it is with the spiritual body. Each member has a different
but necessary role to play in order for the church to function well. The church
does not exist so that everyone can exercise the same gift but different gifts.
Paul is arguing for diversity, not uniformity…and uniformity is not the same as
unity. In fact, in the church “there is no such thing as true unity without
diversity” (Fee 1987:602). Furthermore, diversity makes the church an extension
of its Lord, for as Paul noted in that allusion to the trinity (vv. 4-6),
“diversity within unity belongs to the character of God himself” (Fee
1987:583), because each member of the Godhead has a different role.
In chapter 12, Paul sets up a
direct link for the distribution of gifts between one giver (Spirit) and one
recipient (body). Yet the exercise of gifts is in the believers’ relations with
others. In chapter 13, Paul continues the oneness theme (one Spirit, one body)
by saying that there is one way to control the exercise of gifts in a proper
fashion (love).
This is a familiar
section, almost too familiar. For many Christians it has become an abstraction,
a beautiful sentiment suitable for weddings and other occasions equally
unrelated to its place in 1 Cor. Yes, everything Paul says here about love is
true, but he did not write it for a wedding. We must bear in mind that the
catalyst for this composition is negative not positive, the absence of love in
the Corinthians’ exercise of gifts.
1 Cor 13:1 If I
speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can
fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move
mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the
poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is
patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never
fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are
tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the
imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought
like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways
behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall
see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am
fully known.
13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
love.
3. There is one way (13:1-13).
a. Love is
more desirable than any gift (greater priority).157
b. Love is
more durable than any gift (greater permanence).
Comment: About “…the tongues…of angels” (13:1)
Some in the
Charismatic movement think the gift of tongues is a celestial dialect angels
speak, but that view does not do justice to the context.158
Paul was making a hypothetical case, just as in the
subsequent verse, where he speaks about knowing all mysteries and
knowledge…giving all his possessions to the poor, and giving his body to be
burned. Paul was speaking theoretically, suggesting that even if those things
were true, without love they would be meaningless…. Besides, there is no
evidence in Scripture that angels use a heavenly language. Whenever angels appear
in Scripture, they communicate in normal human language…. (MacArthur 1992:226)
Comment: About “…when perfection comes” (13:10)
Paul makes a cryptic
statement in v. 10, referring to a time when perfection will replace
imperfection.
NIV: …when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
NAS: …when the perfect comes, the partial will be done
away.
KJV: …when that which is perfect is come,
then that which is in part shall be done away. Commentators interpret this verse
in two basic ways, depending on whether or not they think the Spirit still
gives sign gifts (e.g., tongues, prophecy).159
•
Those who believe sign gifts were temporary phenomena
to help the Church get started, say that was the “imperfect” situation Paul had
in mind. By the end of the Apostolic Age, the Church was well-established
(i.e., the “perfect” had come) and no longer needed sign gifts. In other words,
we are in that perfect era and only need non-sign gifts.160
•
Those who believe sign gifts are inseparable from
other gifts the Spirit gives to the Church say that the “imperfect” situation
Paul has in mind is what will prevail until the Messianic Age (the “perfect”),
when Jesus returns or, more likely, until the New Heaven and New Earth. In
other words, we are still in that imperfect era and need all the gifts.161
The issue for the church today is that either all gifts are
available now or only nonsign gifts are available now. What do you think?
Query: Is love a spiritual gift?162 What is the
difference between gifts and fruit?
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They differ in their design.
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Fruit are primarily for our own good, for development
of godly character.
•
Gifts are primarily for another’s good, for service in
the body of believers.
•
They differ in their distribution.
•
Fruit are standard equipment; every believer is to
produce every fruit.
•
Gifts are specialized equipment; every believer has
(at least) one (but not every) gift.
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They differ in their duration.
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Fruit are permanent (forever).
•
Gifts are temporary (for now).
Summary: As some physical organs are more prominent than
others in the body, so some spiritual gifts are more prominent than others in
the church. For those in positions of prominence, there is the danger of pride,
of thinking or assuming that what you do is more important than what someone
else does, more important than his or her gift. Speaking to those in Corinth
who hold such an opinion, Paul informs them that love exceeds all spiritual
gifts, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
The most prominent gifts
(see list in 12:28) are useless if love does not accompany them. Love is more
valuable than any spiritual gift. Furthermore, all gifts, even the most
prominent ones, will eventually because obsolete. Their usefulness is for a
limited time only. Love, on the other hand, will never become obsolete. Love
will be around longer than any spiritual gift.
Notice also that love
is the great equalizer among believers. It evens things out now, because the
Holy Spirit produces fruit in all believers, so every believer has the same
potential to excel in love. It will also even things out later, because the
gifts of all believers will one day expire. In other words, in the end, every
believer will end up with the same basket of fruit.
Corinth is a gifted church. In
fact, Paul states at the beginning of this letter that they “do not lack any
spiritual gift” (1:7), but they are not using their gifts properly. They are
forgetting:
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That there is one Holy Spirit at work, promoting Jesus
by dispensing gifts to advance the common good;
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That the church is like one body, which is
self-sufficient because it has different parts yet interdependent because all
its parts are necessary to the proper working of the whole;
•
That there is one way to govern the exercise of spiritual
gifts, a way more desirable and more durable than any gift—love.
The Corinthians were viewing the gifts in isolation, as
distinct and unrelated spiritual manifestations. Paul argues not only that
gifts are related to each other but that they form part of a larger picture.
With this corrective in place, Paul proceeds to a more specific treatment of
certain gifts, prophecy and tongues, and to the way these gifts are affecting
the most important church function: worship.
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Relevant and civil comments are welcome. Whether there will be any response depends on whether Dr. Manuel notices them and has the time and inclination to respond or, if not, whether I feel competent to do so.
Jim Skaggs