{"id":590,"date":"2008-11-11T00:01:47","date_gmt":"2008-11-11T00:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/11\/defining-spiritual-gifts.html"},"modified":"2008-11-11T00:01:47","modified_gmt":"2008-11-11T00:01:47","slug":"defining-spiritual-gifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/11\/defining-spiritual-gifts.html","title":{"rendered":"Defining \u201cSpiritual Gifts\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 4 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nIn my last post I asked the question: What are spiritual gifts? I explained that Paul does not define the phrase \u201cspiritual gifts\u201d in his writings. In fact, the phrase \u201cspiritual gift\u201d (charisma pneumatikon<\/em>) does not actually appear in the Greek text of 1 Corinthians 12-14. Instead of providing a definition, Paul offers a list of representative gifts from the Spirit. From this list and the surrounding discussion we can formulate a reasonable definition of \u201cspiritual gift.\u201d
\nPaul\u2019s list of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 is representative only, since it doesn’t include all possible gifts. Paul mentions those gifts that fit his particular argument right here; elsewhere he mentions others (see Rom 12:6-11 or 1 Cor 12:28, for example). The list doesn’t give us a definition of “spiritual gift,” but merely some illustrations. Nevertheless, this list helps us to discover Paul’s notion of spiritual gifts:<\/p>\n

To one person a word of wisdom is given through the Spirit; to another a word of knowledge is given according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another workings of powers; to another a prophecy; to another discernments of spirits; to another kinds of tongues; to another an interpretation of tongues (1 Cor 12:8-10, my translation).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This translation is awkward because I have tried to represent Paul’s own words very literally. Many common misunderstandings of his teaching depend up inaccurate English translations of the Greek which mislead the reader.
\nSpiritual gifts include: a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, faith, workings of power, a prophecy, discernments of spirits, kinds of tongues, an interpretation of tongues. Notice the variation in Paul’s language. “A word of wisdom,” singular, can be a gift. Or gifts can be spoken of in the plural, “workings of powers.” If we put aside our preconceptions about spiritual gifts, what is Paul describing here? He seems to be talking about spiritual empowerments provided by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives extra bits of grace, some of which are spoken (messages of knowledge and wisdom, prophecy, kinds of tongues, an interpretation of tongues), others of which are experienced without words (faith, workings of powers). All are given for the common good (1 Cor 12:7).
\nThere is plenty of debate among commentators over the precise nature of these gifts. I don’t think we’ll ever know for sure this side of heaven exactly what Paul means. But I do think examples from elsewhere in Scripture can help us figure out his basic sense. In Acts 14, for example, we encounter the following incident from Paul’s life:
\nWhile they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was listening as Paul preached, and Paul noticed him and realized he had faith to be healed. So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking (Acts 14:8-10).
\nTwo spiritual gifts function here. First, Paul realized that the crippled man had the faith to be healed, apparently without discovering this by ordinary means (asking questions of the man, for example). Paul knew it because the Spirit revealed it to him directly, giving him what might be called a “word of knowledge.” Second, the lame man was enabled to walk as the Spirit gave him a gift of healing through Paul. (Photo: The so-called Spring of St. Paul at Lystra, in modern Turkey. Photo from http:\/\/www.holylandphotos.org\/<\/a>.)
\nAs the story of Acts continues, Paul was journeying back to Jerusalem. Along the way he stopped in the city of Tyre where he stayed with some Christians for a week. Some of these “told Paul through the Spirit not to go on to Jerusalem” (Acts 21:4, my translation). Here we have another example of a spiritual gift. The Spirit gave a particular piece of information and counsel to Paul through some other believers. He would have called this a “word of wisdom” (or perhaps a “prophecy”).
\nIn both of these stories, spiritual gifts are momentary empowerments provided by the Spirit to promote the work of God<\/em>. This seems to me to be the best way to talk about spiritual gifts. When the Spirit reveals information, or heals one who is sick, or provides counsel, the revelation, healing, and advice are bits of grace or spiritual gifts.
\nI didn’t always think of spiritual gifts from this perspective. As a youth I was taught that the gifts are not situational bursts of power for ministry but indwelling abilities given by the Spirit at the moment of conversion. “When you accepted Christ,” I was told, “the Spirit gave you a spiritual gift. Your job is to discover it and to use it.” But this way of thinking always confused me. I wondered why Paul never actually told us to discover our gift and use it, if this was the key to ministering in spiritual gifts. I couldn’t see how the “one gift for one person” view was consistent with Paul’s teaching that “there are varieties of energizing, but the same God, who energizes everything in everyone<\/em>” (1 Cor 12:6, MDR). This verse doesn’t assign one gift for one person, but seems to imply that one person can experience all of the gifts (so also 1 Cor 14:26).
\nMoreover, it seemed very difficult to distinguish spiritual gifts from natural talents and abilities. I was told by my youth leaders that I “had the gift of teaching,” but I knew that my ability to teach also reflected my natural endowments, education, and family culture. (There are many teachers in my family.) When I raised this point of confusion with my leaders, I was told that a spiritual gift is “a talent offered to God for ministry.” But I couldn’t find that description anywhere in Scripture. It seemed to turn spiritual gifts upside down, as something we offer to God, rather than as something the Spirit gives us.
\nIn my next post I\u2019ll say more about what I believe spiritual gifts are, and what they are not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 4 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series In my last post I asked the question: What are spiritual gifts? I explained that Paul does not define the phrase \u201cspiritual gifts\u201d in his writings. In fact, the phrase \u201cspiritual gift\u201d (charisma pneumatikon) does…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spiritual-gifts"],"yoast_head":"\nDefining \u201cSpiritual Gifts\u201d - Mark D. 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}