Gifts from the Father
Our God is a giver; He gives gifts lavishly. He demonstrated His love for this fallen world by giving His only begotten Son for its redemption (John 3:16). “God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). His gift has a purpose: to redeem us and eventually all creation. God’s love is expressed throughout Scripture in the various ways that He gives and in His specific gifts to us. Not only does He do good to those who choose Him, He gives sunshine and rain to even the unrighteous (Matt. 5:45).He keeps the seasons turning and the earth producing food. Such gifts offer sinners time, space, and opportunity to repent and choose Him. Faith itself is a gift of God; given that we might believe Him and be saved. God’s gifts are not based on merit; they wouldn’t be gifts if they were, they would be wages. It is nonsense to believe that the same God who gave so lavishly that you might become His child, now that you are His child, would no longer be interested in giving to you. Nothing could be further from the truth!
Indeed, “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).
Gifts from the Son
God the Son, true to His divine nature, has also given gifts to His Bride here on earth. “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers” (Eph. 4:11). Paul explicitly says these gifts are for a purpose: to equip all believers to do the work of the kingdom, to cause the whole Body to grow and mature together. These gifts are to bring us all “to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). In this case, the role (and the person Jesus appoints to it), are the gift. They serve the Body that the Body might serve Jesus.
Gifts from the Holy Spirit
Now, just as the Father has given to all the world and the Son has given to the Church, the Spirit gives to the individual believer. The gifts the Holy Spirit distributes are in some places called graces. “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them” (Romans 12:6). The focus of these grace-endowments is their end result, the purpose they are meant to accomplish. Some of these graces are prophesying (asserting the mind of God), ministering (serving, working to meet needs), teaching (causing to learn, imparting knowledge), exhorting (personally making a call, encouraging, being an advocate), giving with simplicity (sharing, imparting), leading (positively impacting by example, directing others by modeling with a solid track record), and extending mercy (showing pity as God defines it, showing His covenant loyalty) [Strong’s Concordance].
There is great variety in the gifts given by the Holy Spirit, yet none of them compete with one another nor oppose one another. The Holy Spirit is not in conflict with Himself. Spiritual gifts are all various manifestations of the same Holy Spirit, distributed individually as He wills (1 Cor. 12:11).
The outcome of the gifts functioning as they should is always greater unity and growth of the Body of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit is always working to build up and add to the Body. Just like the human body is only one body, but made up of many different members, so is the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12, 27).
One outcome of Spirit-maintained unity is a certain degree of interdependence among the members. A respect and reliance upon the Holy Spirit, as He manifests Himself in others, is always fostered. No man is an island. Neither is anyone’s role only decorative. All are essential and each must be functioning members for the Body to be whole. The hand has no meaning in just existing, in only hanging as an appendage off the arm. The hand was created for its function. It is a servant to the body. The hand washes the body, it dresses the body, it feeds the body, it cares for the body in a thousand ways every day. How difficult would life be without your hands? Yet, for all its amazing functionality, the hand really does nothing for itself – it can’t. Although responsible for washing the entire body, the hand can’t even do that very well for itself – it relies on the other hand! It can’t lotion itself when it’s dry, dress itself with a glove when it’s cold, or trim its own nails. The hand is immensely valuable to the body and the body depends heavily on it; yet the hand is still completely dependent on that same body for its own care. No member of the body can just go off on its own. Neither is any member more valuable than another just because it is more visible or its role is more public. The intestines may not be nearly as glamorous as the hand wearing expensive jewelry, but which could the body actually better survive without if it had to?
Remembering the purpose of the gifts of the Spirit, that “the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all,” goes a long way in helping us to discern when they are functioning correctly (1 Cor. 12:7).
Each member is equipped specifically to serve and function in a certain manner on behalf of the entire body.
This is why Jesus told us, “The greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matt. 23:11). The eye sees on behalf of the body, the mouth speaks for it, the feet take it where it needs to go. They do nothing for themselves. And they do this not because of mutual agreement or democratic decision-making but because they are directed by the head. There is no hierarchy among the members. There is no committee that determines what each member should do. Each one does what they were created for under the leadership of the head. Unity does not come from agreement among the members but in each member’s complete submission to the head. If any member is not in submission to the head, or their direct line of communication is somehow cut off (i.e. a paraplegic’s legs), that member can longer function properly in their role. This is to the detriment of the whole body.
We are instructed to desire spiritual gifts. In fact, we are told to “earnestly desire the best gifts” (1 Cor. 12:30 and 14:1). Usually when you earnestly desire something from someone, you ask them for it! The idea that asking for spiritual gifts is somehow proud and should be avoided isn’t Scriptural. If we understand the servanthood that is inherent in every gift’s operation, there is truly no room for pride. For this reason, Paul tells the Corinthians that although we are to desire the gifts, we are to pursue love. The gifts we can only request; their distribution is ultimately outside our control. But living and walking in love is a commandment of Jesus; obedience to it is our responsibility.
And it is this love which powers the correct functioning of all the gifts. Without it, the gift is actually worthless to us.
Someone may gift you the most beautiful and powerful car, one capable of driving at Nascar speeds. But without the gas it requires, it will only look impressive sitting in the driveway. It will never actually do anything impressive. Paul said that even if he were given the most desirable of spiritual gifts and could operate in the most spectacular of spiritual powers, if not motivated by love, “I am nothing.” And even if he behaved in the most generous and self-sacrificing of ways, if not coming from a place of real love, “it profits me nothing” (1 Cor. 13: 1-3). Love is so important, not because it is separate from the gifts, but because it is essential to them. Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:25-28).
Although Satan may not be able to steal a spiritual gift given to a believer by God, he sometimes prevents it from ever being very fruitful by enticing them to walk outside of love.
We are to respect the gifts. To disrespect them is to disrespect the Giver. We are to honor one another, give preference to one another, and respect the gifts and function of one another, for “God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased” (1 Cor. 12:18). Since the gifts are ultimately distributed at the discretion of the Holy Spirit, how we feel about a certain person having a certain gift is irrelevant. If we refuse to accept a particular manifestation of the Holy Spirit through a certain person because of our own prejudices or traditions, it is the Spirit we are rejecting. We raise ourselves up, saying we know better than God. No, we are to honor the gifts in each one because of their source. If we don’t love our brother in Christ, who is right in front of us and who we can see, how can we claim to love the God who is in him, who we can’t see? (1 John 4:20).
Although the special grace itself is a gift from the Holy Spirit, we are responsible for participating in the function of it. We are instructed to minister in whatever gifts we are given to the very best of our ability and to be intentional and diligent in doing so. “As each one has a received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). You can gain skill in the operation of your gift with practice and you should. The hand of a 20-year-old should be far better at handling a pen than the hand of a 2-year-old. But since the gift is really a manifestation of the Holy Spirit and His work, the operation of it is not something you can ever be independent in. Although you steward the gift, you are never the one in charge. As Derek Prince often said, “The Holy Spirit is God. And no one uses God.”
Gaining skill in the gifts you are entrusted with is a function of time, study, prayer, and practice.
Operating in spiritual gifts is somewhat like running a three-legged race. One in which you are tied to the Holy Spirit. While He is very good at three-legged races, you will likely do some stumbling at first. The Holy Spirit is exceptionally patient though and is prepared for this. He is a very good teacher Who has a lot of experience with students. If you keep getting back up, looking to Him, and allowing Him to take the lead, you will eventually run with Him. Just remember that you can’t possibly ever run without Him. You are tied to Him by virtue of your human insufficiency. He is tied to you by virtue of His own divine will. You can grow in skill and sensitivity, but the power always comes entirely from Him.
Some of the ministries the Holy Spirit distributes include:
- the word of wisdom,
- the word of knowledge,
- faith,
- various gifts of healings,
- working of miracles,
- prophecy,
- discerning of spirits,
- varieties of tongues,
- and interpretations of tongues (1 Cor. 12:8-10).
Some of the appointments God makes are:
- apostles,
- prophets,
- teachers,
- miracles,
- healings,
- helps,
- administrations,
- and tongues (1 Cor. 12: 28).
These lists are not necessarily exhaustive, and in the case of at least tongues, healings, helps, and administrations we know for certain there are more than one since the language used is plural. Even if two people’s ministries fall into the same category, (i.e. the word of knowledge), it is reasonable to expect the expression of the gift will vary somewhat according to the person.
God does not use a cookie-cutter approach in anything.
If a father buys new dresses for each of his three daughters, the fact that each daughter’s gift is an item of clothing or even that each gift is specifically a dress, does not automatically mean they receive identical dresses. The style, the size, the color – all are determined according to what suites each individual. God’s gifts are the same way. He customizes everything about us in the natural, right down to our fingerprints. Why not in the supernatural?
Spiritual gifts, servanthood, and love are inseparable. A gift is a responsibility entrusted to us, a manifestation of the Holy Spirit to operate in service of those around us. It is an investment of God in us, an investment for which we will someday give account. Let us work while it is yet day, that we may someday hear “Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your Master” (Matt. 25:23).
