Spiritual Gifts and Their Use

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Charismatics believe that some sort of physical display of the presence of the Holy Spirit will be manifested through the demonstration of visible spiritual gifts in every truly saved person. Conventional, conservative Protestantism teaches that the use of those spiritual gifts that were used as “signs” in the early Church began to rapidly dissipate, and vanished altogether, shortly after the end of the Apostolic Age, around the end of the first century of the Church Age.

There are two important passages which should be read before getting any deeper into this paper. They are: Eph 4:8, 11-14; and 1 Cor 12-14 (all three chapters). These are the two passages that we will discuss most heavily in this paper. The Corinthian passage shows us that we all receive spiritual gifts, and tells us of those gifts and regulates their use. The Ephesians passage shows us that many of those who receive the spiritual gifts are themselves gifts to the church, given so that others in the local assembly might become fully equipped for their own ministries. Let us start at the top, in the Corinthian letter. One might want to have his Bible on hand as he goes through this paper.

Paul begins by informing the church that he does not wish us to be ignorant of the doctrine of spiritual gifts (12:1). We should be aware that spiritual gifts exist, and we should understand what they are and how they are and were used. There is much difference between the exercise of spiritual gifts today and the way they were employed in the first century or so of the Church Age. Paul was careful to point this out, as we shall see.

It should be noted at the beginning that the confusion of interpretation of this passage springs from a failure to consider who was being spoken to, and in what context. We will see this brought out clearly, very shortly. When one considers the historical context, and the present context, it is a simple thing to arrive at a rightly-divided interpretation of this doctrine.

The problem arises when one studies the Bible with the mindset that proclaims every word of Scripture to have been written directly to its present reader. That is rarely the case. Usually, one person is speaking to another, or to a group of others, about things from which we may draw understanding, but which do not necessarily apply to us. For example, we may study the Law of Moses for instruction in righteousness, but it was never applied to either Gentiles or to the Church. The Law of Moses was a distinctly Jewish Law, and never was enforced outside the community of Jews. Those who seek to apply its tenets to the Church do not realize that we are not under Law, but grace, and they do not understand at all what it means to be freed from the law of sin and death. And this goes back to the eternal security issue as well. Again, rightly dividing the Scriptures is the only pathway to understanding, and one of the first principles in rightly-dividing any written material is to determine who is being spoken to, by whom, for what reason.

In the second verse, Paul reminds the Corinthian believers how fickle they were in their understanding of worldly concerns. They followed after first one idol and then another, depending upon which seemed to satisfy their fleshly lusts at the moment, however they were led. They were not led by the Spirit of God.

In verse three, Paul addresses the principle that fuels the charismatic movement today, the over-reliance upon the outward sign as proof of faith. He is referring to the Corinthian practice that is so common today – if one speaks in tongues, then it is certain that he is saved, or so they believe. If a person’s salvation is dependent upon speaking in tongues, then Jesus’ death meant nothing. He is accursed, dying deservedly. It is no outward show that proves a person’s salvation, but an inner faith in the sufficiency of the sacrifice the Son of God made at Calvary. That is the profession of our faith. To judge a person’s salvation by an outward show is to judge a person to be saved based upon his works rather than his faith. That makes Jesus’ death less than the gift of tongues and grossly diminishes the glory of God’s grace. Paul here gives the lie to the notion that every Christian must exhibit the “sign” gifts in order to prove his salvation.

We are told in verses four through eleven that it is the same Spirit who both gives and energizes the spiritual gifts. Though the gifts differ in type, there must be a complete harmony in their use, since it is the same Spirit who provides them. He makes a point here that he reemphasizes at the close of this passage, to wit, that it is the Lord who administers and orders the use of the spiritual gifts, so that we are not at liberty to practice them or order them in any way that we choose. While the gifts differ in their function (we will see more of that shortly), it is the same God who works all of the gifts in all who have them. Therefore, we may reasonably expect that everything shall be done in order, both in the first century and now.

The early Church used the sign gifts to authenticate their testimony, because they had no New Testament. They could not jump over to John’s Gospel or to the Epistle to the Romans to prove the sufficiency of the cross, so they testified to the gospel, and then spoke in tongues so that the unsaved could know that their words came from God. Or they performed healings, or miracles, or they prophesied. There were outward signs that were used until the completion of the Scriptures. After the compilation of the canon, one could very well go to John’s Gospel and say, “Here, read it for yourself” when witnessing to a lost person.

Paul says that there are diversities of gifts. In fact, in these verses, he delineates nine different spiritual gifts: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, the working of miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, divers kinds of tongues, the interpretation of tongues. Paul makes it clear that the Holy Spirit gives no man every gift, but that He does apportion them out, severally to each Christian. Not everyone spoke in tongues. Not everyone performed healings. Not everyone could perform miracles. But everyone could and did possess several spiritual gifts (cp 1 Cor 7:7). That remains true today.

In verses twelve through thirty-one, Paul discusses the relative value of the gifts. What we find is that no single gift is more valuable than another. No servant of God is greater than any other servant of God. Every gift is equal and alike in God’s eye. It is the person’s stewardship of his gifts that matters to God. Diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. Differences of administrations, but the same Lord. Diversities of operations, but the same God. We are all baptized by one Spirit into the same body, and each Christian has his function in the body. It has pleased God to set each person in the body of Christ as it pleases Him, and we are not to think highly of the “important” person, nor lowly of the “lowly.” God is no respecter of persons, and gives gifts to all of us. In fact, verses twenty-three and twenty-four tell us that the least honorable in the world are the more honored with gifts.

Verses twenty-seven through thirty-one establish the order of rank, if you will, of the gifts: Apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healings, helps, governments, tongues. He goes on to show that not everyone has every gift. One who does not have the gift of teaching ought not be trying to teach. One who lacks administrative skills ought not be given to the task of organizing and administering a local church. We will see that some of these gifts go naturally together, that if a person has a particular gift, he will also have one or more of the other related gifts. There are gifts that are to be used in the local assembly and gifts that are meant to be used outside the local assembly.

Turning to chapter thirteen, we find the direction shifting somewhat. This is often called the “love” chapter in the Bible. And so it is. But the context is important. The gist of chapter thirteen is that the Christian has three resources in the application of his spiritual gifts, faith, hope and love. Taken out of the context of chapters twelve and fourteen, chapter thirteen would stand alone as a great homily on love. Even independently of the context, however, this passage is also where the cessation of the sign gifts is found. In chapter fourteen, we come to understand how they were used and why they would cease. Placed back in its proper context, however, we find that chapter thirteen speaks to the issue of spiritual gifts more than to the issue of the three great virtues.

One would not exercise spiritual gifts without both faith and hope. There would be no reason to do so. If we did not believe, why would we practice such things when the world would count us senseless for doing so? But, believing the Scriptures, and hoping for our reward, we count our spiritual gifts as great blessings, for it is through the exercise of them that we expect to receive a reward. In fact, the only verse in this chapter that even mentions faith or hope is the last verse, wherein it is stated that love is greater than either of them. The point of the love chapter is that, without love, the spiritual gifts have no value at all. It is not only possible, but is often the case that spiritual gifts are exercised without love. In fact, charismatics often are the most mean-spirited among Christians, roundly criticizing and even condemning those who do not see eye to eye with them on the nature or use of spiritual gifts.

Let us coin a term: Emotionalizers. These are those who reduce the gospel to what they feel, seeking the physical thrill, the euphoria of emotions in which they suddenly “break out’ in tongues or engage in other types of “spiritual” ecstasies. These are those who whip their congregations up into an emotional frenzy that has little to do with either spirituality or love. They ask that you join them in their “love-fests” while hating those who do not join them. They employ the rhythmic cadences of mass-hypnosis, the visceral appeal to raw emotion, but it is an unscriptural practice.

Love is not about what you say. It is not even about what you feel. It is about what you do. Love is an attitude, in which one does those things for the object of his love that love demands. Love is not what we say or feel, it is what we do. Many charismatic churches exhibit a veiled xenophobia in which they outwardly profess to love and accept visitors, but their eyes and hearts reveal a clannishness that stands aloof from strangers unless and until they have given some visible proof of their own devotion to charismatic “gifts.” Every time a non-charismatic enters into conversation with charismatics about doctrinal issues, the response is usually almost militant, angry, defensive, no matter how gently the differences are introduced. Many times the responses are almost spat out venomously. It is a testimony to the emotionalism of the charismatic movement that such should be so, but it clearly is so. Sobriety gives way to euphoria. And much is lost in the giving. Spiritual maturity is lost in the giving.

These are controversial verses, to be sure. The charismatics want to make “that which is perfect” to be the Second Coming of Christ, so that tongues would not cease until then. Thus, tongues would continue throughout the Church Age. Taken out of context, the words can be made to say that. In context, as we shall see, that is not the case.

Many non-charismatics today use these verses to show that, when the Bible has come, that partial witness in the sign gifts would be done away with. The answer is not to be found in the verses themselves, but in the succeeding chapter, where we gain some understanding of the nature and use of the gifts. Then the issue becomes clearer, more certain. But let us not get ahead of ourselves.

These four verses show that virtue does not end, though the use of the sign gifts will end. What they do not tell us, except indirectly, is when or why they end. It says they will end when “that which is perfect” has come.

Clearly, however, these four verses show that the sensational gifts would cease. If they are not to end at some point during the Church Age, why does Paul even mention it? He is saying that these are childish things, used until such time as the Church reaches some level of maturity. When we see what the sign gifts were used for, then we will more readily see that their end came as predicted. During the era when the sign gifts were practiced, the Church saw “through a glass, darkly” Paul said, “For now…” That is, in that day and time. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

What is said in the last two verses of chapter thirteen is also revealing. The glass darkly. “Now,” Paul said. “For now we see through a glass darkly; but then, face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” In Paul’s day, during the Apostolic Age, there was no body of Scripture. There were cherished letters, correspondence that had been copied carefully and shared among the churches. There were the rare appearances of the apostles to teach them. They had nothing to show to the peoples in the lands where they lived. Word of mouth alone. They were attempting to sow the seed of Christianity in a pagan world, and they had no Holy Writ and only twelve apostles to spread thinly over the entire realm of Christianity. Among the twelve, only Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, so they had it doubly thin in measure. And yet, the Word grew and multiplied. Operating in pagan lands, God empowered these early Christians with gifts which would authenticate their ministries as being from God. Of the sign gifts, we have already seen that tongues is the least, the lowest, and the last.

The word of knowledge. It shall vanish away. Long since has it gone. It went with the apostles, who alone had the power to impart spiritual gifts through the laying on of their hands. Today we would call them gifted teachers who have knowledge, and so they are, but they have not this word of knowledge that was imparted to the first century Church. These men and women were used in the churches for instruction in doctrine. When the teacher spoke, he knew whereof he spoke, and he spoke truly. Then one might be called upon by the Holy Spirit to speak in another tongue, to authenticate the teacher’s knowledge. Where that happened, another man would interpret the language spoken. The interpretation would validate the teacher’s lesson in some way. Today, we do not need the word of knowledge. We hold the entire Word of God in our sinful hands every day, taking it for granted. All of the fullness of the Godhead dwells in every Christian, in the Seed of God by which we are born again (1 Jn 3:9). We are not left without clear and positive proof of the verity of our words, because we can authenticate them with the Scriptures.

Jesus is the Word of God. The Bible is that written Word. Until the Bible was completed, no one could look into the face of God in the Person of Jesus Christ, at least, not after the ascension. Now, we can look into both the face and the heart of God in His Word. It is the greatest folly to set God’s Word aside in favor of reason. It is the height of arrogance to suggest that the Word of God does not mean exactly what it says, regardless of how it inconveniences our theology. Neither the word of knowledge nor the word of wisdom reside in any Christian today in the manner in which it was necessary in the early Church, for they had no Scriptures to back up their testimony, but we have the Bible.

Does this mean that there is no wisdom today? No, it does not mean that. God has gifted the church with many wise men during this Age, and many more of them in this century alone, due to the wide availability of publishing resources. We are not without wisdom, but in the early Church those who had the word of wisdom or the word of knowledge would not be shy about telling you that they had it. These were men who spoke with great authority, whose doctrine never contradicted itself, whose facts always bore out truly. They recognized (because they were both informed and wise) that the glory was of God and not of themselves, so that they would not boast of their powers. Neither would they deny them, however, for that would be deceitful. If someone claimed to have the word of wisdom today, he would be laughed out of the room. We prove our folly in almost everything we do. But our wisdom comes today from that which is perfect, the Word of God. It is not imparted through the laying on of the hands of the apostles, for the apostles are all long dead.

The gift of prophecy would fail. Nothing struck the Gentile mind like the fulfillment of prophecy. That continues to be the case today. What religious book besides the Bible itself has mass appeal in Gentile markets more than books on prophecy? Hal Lindsey’s “Late Great Planet Earth” swept the globe in the late seventies. Something like 34,000,000 copies sold in the space of a year or two at the most. Now it is the Tim LaHaye series, “Left Behind.” Prophecy has always been a big seller.

In the first century, select men were gifted with the ability to predict future events. This was not on the scale of, say, Daniel, but in testifying to the gospel among the Gentiles, they had the ability to tell what was about to happen in the near future. They would present the gospel, and then they would tell their listeners what to expect. Shortly, their prophecies would come to pass. It might be in some local matter, or in some natural phenomenon, but they would use those prophecies as signs to authenticate their testimony. This is simple history. The same thing is true of healings. All of the “miraculous” signs, including the working of miracles, were used in the early Church as methods of validating the testimony of those to whom the Scriptures had not yet come. We will see this detailed more clearly in the next chapter, but it is germane to this discussion. What we have today is so much more valuable as a witnessing tool than all of those sign gifts put together. We have the Word of God Himself. In the first century, the church knew “in part.” They knew what they were to speak in that moment. Today, we have it all right in front of us. Then, it was through a mirror darkly. Now, the very Word that we study is Itself studying our minds and hearts as we cast our eyes upon its pages (Heb 4:12). It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our hearts. While we are reading it, it is reading us. Those who insist upon the use of the sign gifts today, demean the Word of God. What they are saying, in effect, is that the Word of God is not sufficient, but we must now add our works to it so that you can know that it is real. Yet, what do the Scriptures say? The Word of God is powerful. The early Church used persuasion to convert men (2 Cor 5:11). The Word of God needs no persuasion. It is living and powerful, as seen in the Hebrews quote referred to above.

What Paul was most trying to get across to these Christians at Corinth in chapter thirteen is the simple fact that love is so very much more important than any of the spiritual gifts. It is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance (Rom 2:4). The sacrifice at Calvary was the supreme exhibition of the love of God for mankind. Paul is telling those Christians that if he had every spiritual gift in its fullest measure, so that he could even move mountains, but did not have love, none of it would be worth anything. It would all go up in smoke at the judgment seat of Christ. There would be no reward, because it would not be of God, who is love. Making a circus sideshow of it was not what God had in mind, but that is what it has been reduced to in this part of the Age. The celebration is not of the Savior, but of the gift, which has become an idol.

It is interesting that, in describing love in this context, Paul says that there are seven things that love does:

Other than what it does do, Paul also lists eight things that love does not do, or that are contrary to love:

3.) seeks not her own (notice that not only is wisdom a woman in the Scriptures, but love is also),

In the very context where the cessation of tongues is prophesied, the modern usage of the charismatic “gifts” are described, in the first place, by the things it is not, and in the second place, by the way it actually is. Perhaps the key word is “unseemly.”

Now let us move to chapter fourteen, to see how the sign gifts were used in the Apostolic Age. Here we shall see that Paul reduces the value of the sign gifts to only two, tongues and prophecy. Chapter fourteen is not a polemic against tongues, but it raises the value of the gift of prophecy so far above the gift of tongues as to almost seem to be such a polemic. And in this chapter, Paul gives us a clearer understanding of how the gift of prophecy was used in the early Church, as well as how that same gift is used today. He did not say in chapter thirteen that prophecy would cease, but that prophecies would fail. But he did say that tongues would cease altogether. To suggest that tongues will only cease after the Church Age is complete is to stretch reason almost to the breaking point, and especially considering the context, and considering that his other letters deal no more with the eternal state this one does. Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles, but in many ways, he is also the apostle of theology. The other writers of the NT deal more with the eternal estate, to wit, John’s Revelation, Peter’s epistles, etc. No, the context both of the passage, and of the entire epistle in the context of the rest of Paul’s writings, indicates clearly that tongues are to cease at some point during the Church Age itself. As with every bit of Bible interpretation, the first rule here is: Context, context, context! In chapter fourteen, more than anywhere else, Paul rigidly sets forth the regulations for the use of the sign gifts in the early church.

Paul begins by saying that we should follow after love. No matter what spiritual gifts we are given, without love they are useless. There is no ambiguity in Paul’s words regarding this. If we exercise our spiritual gifts without a right heart, it is not the gift that is being exercised, but our own vanities. For such, there is no reward. This is the hay, wood and stubble that Paul spoke of (1 Cor 3:12). The right use of spiritual gifts, however, produces much fruit, which results in much reward at the judgment seat of Christ. Love is the key that unlocks the mysteries of fruitfulness. Love is the fuel that makes the spiritual gift effective.

But notice where we go from that initial exhortation. Paul says that we are to desire spiritual gifts, but rather that we may prophesy. He immediately diminishes the importance of the tongue gifts by showing how much superior the gift of prophecy is.

Paul is here speaking about the way these gifts are used in the local church. He says, “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.” The gift of tongues will convert no unsaved person. Tongues are used to speak to God, but not to men. Rather, one prophesies, and then one speaks in tongues to validate his witness, and then one interprets in order to validate the one who speaks in tongues. The tongues themselves are not a form of witness, but are a validation of witness. The one who prophesies does not speak to God, but to men (v.3). In the early Church, God spoke directly through those who had the gift of prophecy, so that their words carried the same weight as the word of those who penned the Scriptures. The New Testament prophet builds up his listeners’ store of knowledge, exhorting them to study and devotion and service, all the while comforting their fears and their hearts. Those were perilous days, when Christians were being killed in the most inhumane ways on account of their faith. The one who speaks in tongues is building up himself; the one who prophesies builds up the whole church, making it more able to function fruitfully in a dark world. Paul says that, without interpretation that proceeds directly from the Holy Spirit, the gift of tongues is useless. Tongues were not given to be used in the worship services of the Church, but in the world, ministering the word of reconciliation to the lost, not as if the tongues would convert the sinner, but that they were used to validate the testimony of him who preached the gospel. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues insofar as he is edifying those members of the body of Christ to whom he ministers, so that they are increasingly able to go out into the world and preach the gospel. The one who speaks in tongues, and in church at that, bears no fruit. Paul said he wished that all spoke in tongues. That would mean fruit from his labors, for if they were speaking properly in tongues, that would mean that the gospel was being preached in the world and authenticated by those tongues. It would mean that souls were being saved. They did not have the Bible, and Paul was saying to them, “By all means, everyone of you find occasion to speak in tongues. Witness to the lost!” Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we what? We persuade men.

If there is not one in the Church to interpret, tongues are not to be used at all in the local assembly. That was not their purpose. But if an interpreter were present, then one or two could speak, in order, and the interpretation given to edify the church. Consider: How did the speaker know whether or not one was present who could interpret? Was he not forbidden to speak first and then wait to see if anyone could interpret? The Holy spirit would not move one to speak in tongues without an interpreter. Why not? Because, without the edification that comes from the interpretation, the Church gets nothing out of the speaking in tongues at all.

Paul said that he would not be of any profit to the local church at all – none – if he spoke in tongues. He said that only by speaking from spirit-inspired revelation, or by the word of knowledge, or by teaching sound doctrine, or with the gift of prophesy, could he edify the Church or do anything at all of any profit. He had earlier said, in chapter thirteen, that the use of the sign gifts equates with spiritual immaturity. Now, he says that tongues are not of profit to the church; that only those gifts by which the Word of God is expounded in the development of sound doctrine are valuable to the Church. To further illustrate the futility of using tongues in the worship services, Paul likens the unknown tongue to a musical instrument that plays a discordant note, one with which nothing can be harmonized. For sound doctrine must always harmonize with every other doctrine. For if there is contradiction, then the whole must be discarded as unreliable. If the one who plays the trumpet sounds the retreat when he ought to sound the charge, how will the army win a battle?

In verse ten of this chapter, Paul says, “There are… so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification…” Here, more than anywhere else, are those “sensational” gifts called “sign” gifts. He implies that they are a crude form of testimony, but they serve till that which is perfect has come. Who will say that Christians cannot use the Bible as their authority in witness? Who among the saved was saved by man’s words and not the Word of God? It is the Word of God that quickens.

Paul goes on to say that those who speak in an unknown tongue should pray that they be given and interpretation, even when praying alone. Otherwise, it has no effect, but their understanding is unfruitful.

He says that he will pray with the Spirit, and with understanding also, that he will sing with the Spirit and with the understanding also. Be careful. Charismatics will say that praying with the Spirit and praying with the understanding are two separate things that are done together. What Paul is saying here is that they are one and the same thing. When you pray with the Spirit, you are praying with the understanding. The very next verse (16) clarifies that. No one is edified by tongues, but by sound doctrine and knowledge.

Paul says (18) that he speaks with tongues more than them all. Every day, to be sure, Paul authenticated someone’s testimony with the use of tongues. Probably several times every day. But what does he say next? In the church, he would rather speak five words that could be understood than ten thousand that could not. And then a word of rebuke.

“Be not children in understanding… in understanding be men” Get over your child-like fascination with tricks! Raise your understanding out of the realm of the flesh and into the realm of the Spirit of God!

And then he states plainly: “Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.”

What Paul is saying is that tongues are not for use in the church services, but as a tool for validating the testimony of those who bear witness to the gospel, whereas prophecy is not for use in witnessing to the lost, but for teaching the church. It really could not be more clear.

Now, let us speak of the gift of prophecy. We have already shown that, while tongues are to cease altogether, prophecy will continue, but will fail. Both occur when that which is perfect has come. The gift of prophecy in the Church Age never really was like that which the Old Testament prophets received. Because the nature of the Jew and the nature of the Christian are entirely different (the Jew is a temporal creature and the Christian is an eternal creature, born again of the Seed of God Himself. The Old Testament prophets did not have the Spirit of God dwelling in them Rather, He would come upon them as God had some utterance to make before men, and the prophet would speak the words he was given by the Holy Spirit. Then the Holy Spirit would again depart from him. It was God Himself who spoke through the OT prophets, but the NT prophet spoke the words that were his own until the Bible was completed, though he was guided into all truth by the Spirit of God. We know that this is so “because the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets” (v. 32).

The gift of prophecy today is different in character than it was in the first century or so of the Church Age. Then, the prophets could foretell; today, they forthtell. That is, the Holy Spirit no longer guides the words of the prophets today. That is why they fail. But those who have the gift of prophecy today are those who are gifted with the ability to expound the Scriptures eloquently and clearly so that both the seasoned, mature Christian learns much, while the neophyte also learns much. When the gift of prophecy is exercised in the church today, the Holy Spirit has something for everyone, so that the Spirit-filled preacher need not worry that the old Christians will be bored or that the younger Christians will not understand.

Let us now go back to verses 23 – 40 and look at some of the ways in which the use of tongues and prophecy were regulated in the early Church.

Paul starts this passage by saying that if an unbeliever were to come into your worship services, and people were speaking in tongues, he would think you were crazy. But if he comes in and someone is prophesying, he will know that he is hearing the truth, will be convicted and be saved, and will report to all that God is in you.

Paul goes on to rebuke them again. He speaks harshly against the great babbling of a thousand voices in their worship services, with each one having a psalm, a doctrine, a tongue, a revelation, and interpretation. One gets the picture here of a large church where everyone is trying to outdo the others in a show of the sensational. Disorganized rabble. He says, “Calm down!” “Chill out!” “Let us have a measure of decorum in God’s house!” No more than three can speak in tongues at any given service of the church, and there must be an interpreter or everyone is to remain silent. Period. Nothing should be done in the church that does not edify the entire body.

The same is true of the prophets. Two or three could speak at a meeting, and the other prophets in the church were to judge what they said. For even then, the spirit of the prophet was subject to the prophet, and one might speak without the authority of the Holy Spirit.

Whereas not everyone spoke in tongues because not all had the gift (I wish that ye all spoke in tongues…), everyone in the early church, and presumably today as well, could prophesy. It was a function of preparation, of study, of exercising the ability to rightly divide the word of truth. But when a prophet spoke, others were to judge his words, lest he allow some error to creep in.

Paul is very clear in his next statement as well. He says, “Let your women keep silent in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law” (34). Apparently, this was a problem in the early Church. It is certainly a problem today. In those churches that are charismatic, it is often the women who are the main practitioners of the sign gifts. Where that is the case, the clear and stern warning of the Scriptures is violated arrogantly.

Paul closes this out by saying, “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant” (37-38). It is in light of this statement that he also says, “…covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak in tongues” (39). You cannot allow one to be ignorant if you forbid him to speak in tongues. If a man is going to exercise those gifts that no longer obtain, then let him, but do not be caught up in the vain practices with him. Let all things be done decently and in order.

There, then is the major passage on the spiritual gifts; at least, those gifts that continue to be controversial today. No one argues over whether one might be gifted in, say, teaching, but there remain the fires of controversy surrounding the sign gifts. This latter-day resurgence of the signs is not inspired by God, but is the fruit of the reasonings of men. It is resisted in conservative churches, and bears the stigma of Arminianism almost everywhere it is found.

This passage does not regulate the use of the sign gifts, but establishes that there are other spiritual gifts that God gives to the churches. These are not those gifts which the congregation exercises, but these are men who exercise the spiritual gifts in the congregation. That is, there are certain men and women who are themselves gifts to the church. Oh, how many people have thought they were gifts to the church when they were truly usurping positions that God has given to other men. And how often men and women who are God’s gifts to the Church fail to recognize their true estate, being humble to the point of becoming ineffective. For that is not true humility, but falls into timidity, which is not a virtue at all, though the two are often confused. The servant of God must not presume to grab more power or authority than he is given, but it is equally important that he recognize and practice the authority that he is given.

C.I. Scofield begins this passage of the Scriptures with two footnotes. They are here quoted in entirety:

1.) In 1 Cor. 12:8-28 the Holy Spirit is seen as equipping the members of the body of Christ with spiritual gifts, or enablements for a varied service; here certain Spirit-enabled men, i.e. apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are themselves the gifts whom the glorified Christ bestows upon His body, the Church. In 1 Corinthians, the gifts are spiritual enablements for specific service; in Ephesians, the gifts are men who have such enablements.

2.) The Lord, in bestowing the gifted men, determines providentially (e.g. Acts 11:22-26), or directly through the Holy Spirit (e.g. Acts 13:1-2; 16:6-7), the places of their service. “Some” (churches or places) need one gift, as, e.g. an evangelist; “some” (churches or places) need rather a pastor or teacher. Absolutely nothing in Christ’s service is left to mere human judgment or self-choosing. Even an apostle was not permitted to choose his place of service (Acts 16:7-8).

(Holy Bible, New Scofield Study System, Oxford Univ. Press, 1998, Pgs 1489-90)

What we find then is that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to men, and that He then gives those men to the church, placing them where He needs them when He needs them there. Not only does God not give every spiritual gift to every Christian, He does not always place those gifted men in every church except as each church has need for a particular gift.

Note also that the Holy Spirit is responsible to place an appropriate pastor in a given church. The modern processes of pastoral selection often work against the Holy Spirit, and is largely responsible for the apostasy that characterizes the professing church today. There is a rigidity in many churches, where the process becomes more important than the needs of the church, as if the determinations of the search committees ought to supersede the determinations of the Holy Spirit; as if the process has become more important than the result. Where the Holy Spirit has placed a pastor in a church, it is generally found that the pastor enjoys great longevity in his church. The converse is also true: where men have made their selection based upon some sort of formula, the pastor usually finds himself in disfavor sooner rather than later, and is soon looking for a new church. The spirituality of a congregation may sometimes be determined by the rate at which the church goes through pastors

Let us review in brief what offices these men hold who constitute God’s gifts to the churches. They are, in order:

There are no Apostles today. To be an apostle, one had to have come into personal contact with the Lord. All of the apostles knew Christ in His first advent, excepting only Paul, to whom Christ was revealed in a miraculous appearance as Saul (later to be named Paul) was on his way to Damascus in Syria to pick up a band of Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem for persecution, prosecution and, likely, execution. Paul was the last of the apostles. These men had powers that Christians today do not have. The predicted future events, had the power to perform many types of miracles, could impart spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit to other men through the laying on of their hands. There were only twelve, as there are twelve tribes in Israel, and twelve “minor” prophets. Twelve is a very significant number in the Bible, often implying some sort of governmental perfection. Twelve months in a year, twelve signs of the Zodiac (ew-w-w-w!), twelve hours in the morning, twelve in the evening, twelve weeks in a quarter (Jewish calendar – God doesn’t recognize Gentile calendars!), and so on. The twelve apostles had specific duties that no other Christian is saddled with, and those responsibilities differed from apostle to apostle.

Prophets have always held an important place in God’s government. In the Old testament, they were God’s mouthpieces. On occasion, they delivered “prophecies” of things to come, but more often than that, they simply delivered God’s words to His people. God’s judgments were often announced by the prophets, as were His blessings. God used the prophets to exhort the kings of Israel and to warn them.

In the New Testament, as we have already seen, in the Apostolic Age, the first century or so of the Church Age, the prophets had limited powers of prediction, which were used as signs to validate the testimony of those who bore witness to the Gospel. Equally important, then and now, New Testament prophets had and have the ability to expound the Scriptures in such a manner as to make them abundantly clear to their listeners. The NT prophet is able to reduce complex or arcane doctrines to very understandable formats. He is able to compare Scripture with Scripture, proving sound doctrine, not by sign gifts, but by the Bible itself. However, unlike the OT prophets, the NT prophets’ words are not given directly by God, and he is subject to error or omission, and is completely fallible, whereas his OT counterpart was wholly inspired and unable to err in his pronouncements. The rule today is, “the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets” (1 Cor 14:32).

Evangelists are unique. These are men and women who are especially gifted with the ability to present the Gospel clearly and effectively. Modern evangelism has not digressed far from what it has always been in this Age. And evangelist often does not preach or teach at a single church, but travels a circuit, speaking in churches and meeting with individuals and groups. His message is not usually an exposition of the Scriptures as it is a presentation of the Gospel. There are churches that are evangelistic churches, but they are not technically correct in their understanding of the purpose or function of a local church, and, while they tend to produce fruit within their four walls, their members tend to depend upon the pastor to do whatever witnessing is done. This defeats the purpose of the local church, as we shall see in the summary of this section. An evangelist might not be utterly familiar with every doctrine of the Christian faith (though) he certainly should be, but he will be able to present the Gospel from many different perspectives and directions, focusing everything upon the cross and that precious Blood that was shed thereon.

Pastors are the workhorses of Christianity. A pastor who serves well will often be the busiest person in a community. His responsibilities are the most far-reaching, dealing with a broad array of human ills, turning fleshly Christians back to spirituality, comforting the aggrieved, exhorting the spiritual, teaching every area of doctrine, welcoming new Christians into the faith and ushering the dying saints into the arms of a loving Savior, healing troubled marriages, guiding the young, settling disputes, visiting in homes and hospitals and jails, engaging in daily intercessory prayers on behalf of his own congregation as well as on behalf of the entire Church, keeping abreast of God’s people in Israel, praying for the lost souls in his community, and meeting the prayer requests of all who come to him for that purpose. The pastor is not a jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none. He is a jack-of-all-trades, and master-of-all. The church that has a pastor who serves well has a great treasure indeed. He should be held in the highest esteem, and cared for by every member of the church. Yet, it is often the pastor, who carries the emotional and spiritual burdens of many, who is never asked how he is doing. Like the packhorse or the pickup truck, he is called upon daily to carry every load, but the only time any attention is given to his needs is when he stumbles. There is no work that man can do that is more difficult than the job of pastoring a church, and there is none that offers both the gratification and the frustration of the pastorate.

A teacher is one, usually given the gift of prophecy, who is able to impart sound doctrine. Many churches today do not utilize their teachers wisely, insisting that they adhere rigidly to corporate study materials rather than depending upon the Holy Spirit to guide them. A Spirit-led teacher will have something for everyone who hears him. His lessons may seem fragmented and disorganized, but at the end of the day, everyone in the room will take something new with him. This business of preparing every lesson, word for word, from some man-written text rather than from the Bible, has led to as much apostasy in the Church as any other factor. When the great denominational bureaucracies became involved in the teachings of the churches, what they did was effectively remove the Holy Spirit from the process, presenting a homogenous lesson built upon irrelevancies, denying that the Holy Spirit is able to lead His teachers into all truth. The glory returned to man from God and man is very proud of it. It is the teachers who, more than any other of the officers of a church, who cause the local assembly to fulfill the primary function of a church.

After Paul delineates the various sorts of gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to the local churches in the men He assigns to them, he goes on to explain the purpose of both the gifts and the church. It is not, as so many suppose, that the local church ought to be a place where the saved can bring the unsaved in order that they might hear the gospel. Not at all. The purpose of the local church is to prepare those who are already saved to go out into the world with the Gospel. The purpose of the local church is not to save the lost, but to educate the saved so that they may become fruitful witnesses themselves.

Does this mean that the lost should not be brought into church? Not at all. Every sermon, every lesson ought to have a message in it of God’s grace. One should be able to bring the lost into church with the certain confidence that he will hear the gospel presented clearly. But that is not the true function of the church. the purpose of the local assembly is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ. The proper function of the local church is to bring the entire membership into a unity of knowledge and faith, so that no member of the church can be dissuaded from the truth by unsound doctrine. The devil is very cunning, very crafty, and is able to deceive and confuse. The responsibility is so to prepare its congregation, using all of the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives it, that the membership is able to stand against the wiles of the devil, knowing the truth and being able to defend it with the Bible. That is the function of the local church, and none other. Sound doctrine will bring love into the congregation like nothing else can, and those outside the assembly will see the love of the members for one another and understand that the love of God is in them. Every member of every congregation is furnished some spiritual gifts in some measure. Any of the gifts will be enhanced by use, and if all members are aware of the gifts that have been bestowed upon them and if they study diligently to exercise their gifts lovingly, the whole body will be edified and become very fruitful.

While this has been by no means an exhaustive treatise on spiritual gifts, it ought to be sufficient insight to permit non-charismatics to defend the ground upon which you stand. The Word of God is not unclear on the matter, though it is often misconstrued or misinterpreted in order to make the modern practitioners of the sign gifts seem more spiritual than those who do not engage in those misguided practices. At least, they seem more spiritual to themselves, not realizing that it is their emotionalism that drives them and not any genuine spirituality. The spiritually mature do not seek the fleshly gratification that comes from the use of sign gifts, but look to the Word of God soberly to guide them into all righteousness and fruitfulness.

The modern charismatics tend to be Arminian in their theology, taking from God the glory of man’s salvation and vesting that glory in man himself. Most conservatives tend to be somewhat more Calvinistic, albeit a much modified Calvinism, in their theology, giving to God the glory that is rightfully His. While Calvin drifted to far to the right in his interpretation, eliminating man’s responsibility altogether in the salvation process, Arminius swung so far to the left that he literally “fell off the edge” into Semi-Pelagianism with his liberal approach to interpretation. That is the error of the modern charismatic. It is all man and no God, though they claim it to be the other way around. Their understanding is sensual, not spiritual, experience-based and not Scripturally based. Their practices do not edify anyone, but they engage in such orgies of emotionalism as to render any true spirituality impossible. God becomes a “Spectator” to their services, pushed out and away from them by their desire to “feel,” all the while as they tell themselves that they are the only truly spiritual among the elect. As stated in the opening paragraphs of this paper, the outward show becomes more important than the inward faith, the visible supplants the invisible, what is seen replaces what is taken on faith alone.