August 22, 2019 by Keith Crosby

God rules and God’s rules. I know that seems like a strange opening sentence. But God rules the universe and God has rules. God doesn’t have rules in the humanly legalistic sense, but He has specifications for how the world operates. Think of it. The Sun rises and sets “on time.” We fall down but we never “fall up.” He’s got the law of gravity. He is a God of order, the God of order.

In Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 we find “10 rules for life.’ It is around these principles all relationships and societies are built and regulated. We know them as “The Ten Commandments.” God also provides us specifications for marriage. After all, God invented marriage. “Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church… wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” He gives specifications for healthy family relationships, “Children obey your parents… for this is right.” God’s reveals such things to us through His operating manual, the Bible: “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” Call these principles and practices “Designer Specifications.” God is the Designer. He knows why things are, how things work, and how to best maintain them. He understands our strengths, our weakness, and our tolerances. So, he wants what’s best for us.

God is very particular about how things are done. As the One who made everything, He knows best. He knows what His purposes were in the creation of all things. That’s why there is a right way and a wrong way to do all things (according to specifications). Violate His prescriptions at your own peril. That’s why He tells us in Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death…”

God has a purpose and prescription for every gift and everything He has given us. He’s the Great Physician who prescribes. We should be like obedient pharmacists who fill His prescription. As His patients, patients of the Great Physician,” we should take what He prescribes as directed. We do well to follow His directions. He is, after all, God. This applies to spiritual gifts, the gifts of the Spirit.

God has specified (in His Bible) how His gifts are to be used. You might say He has designer specifications for the use and display of spiritual gifts. These specifications for the use of spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit. He inspired the text. How we handle our gifts—how we live—is worship. Think about it. We worship God through all we say, think, and do (Romans 12:1-2). Worship, after all, is conforming our will, ways, and practices to His will.

Some people like to worship God according to their specifications rather than His. People often prefer to worship God according to the ‘dictates of their conscience.’ Two examples in the Bible that stand out are found in the Old Testament. Nadab and Abihu decided to worship God in a way that was outside of His Designer specifications. These days we’d say they “made a little mistake.” We might say, “Hey, everybody messes up now and then...” What was God’s response?

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD has said, 'Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" And Aaron held his peace. (Leviticus 10:1-3)

God burned them alive. Do specifications matter to God? When Moses tarried on the Mountain with the LORD, as he received the Ten Commands, the people panicked. They thought Moses was dead, or long gone. So, they approached Aaron about fashioning a statue of God so that they could worship God in a way that made them comfortable. Now they would worship God as if He were the gods of Egypt, or at least like them. Aaron, wanting to please the crowd, gave into their request. Thus, they worshipped God in their own way. What happened next is educational.

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, "Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." 2 So Aaron said to them, "Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" (Exodus 32:1-4 ESV)

God’s response is telling:

26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, "Who is on the LORD's side? Come to me." And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27 And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.'" 28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. (Exodus 32:26-28)

God hates sin. Sin is what we do outside of His revealed will—His designer specifications. That’s why Jesus said that His Father seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). He gave us His Word, so that we could worship Him the way He wants to be worshipped. That includes how we employ our gifts. In reality, they are His gifts on loan to us for His glory as well as the good of others.

Are there clear-cut specifications for the use of our spiritual gifts? There are: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good (1Corinthians 12:7).” Whatever gifts and abilities we are given are given for the common good. If we love God then we will keep His commands because they are not burdensome (John 14:15, 1 John 5:3).

But aren’t they are gifts to use as we feel led to use them? Our gifts are given as the Spirit of God wills and as He chooses (1 Corinthians 12:11; 18). While our feelings may deceive us, God’s word never does. It follows that we are to use these gifts as He wills—as specified in His Word. This was a problem for many in Paul’s day. It’s a problem today for many who profess to be Christians. We have to remember that Paul wrote to the unruly church at Corinth about their prideful and sinful conduct. They acted like they were special due to their intelligence, due to their wealth, and due to their God-given (not earned) spiritual gifts. Paul warns them: “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it (1Corinthians 4:7)?” The unruly Church of Corinth acted as if they had earned their salvation. They often acted as if they deserved the gifts He bestowed. They acted as if their gifts made them special—when the gifts weren’t deserved or earned but granted for the glory of God and the common good.

What are God’s designer specifications for spiritual gifts? Let’s start with the basics and build from there. All spiritual gifts, whether the sign gifts or the ministerial gifts, are to be used for the common good.

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good (1Corinthians 12:4-7 ESV).

This means that all believers with a spiritual gift receive them all from the same Source, namely God the Holy Spirit. They are not given for private consumption or exploitation. They are given for the common good. The common good means for the benefit of the whole church, not personal gain or notoriety. People get different gifts as He chooses according to His will for use in the Church, for a particular role or reason. That’s why the Church is described as one body with different parts fitted together and we see all the body part metaphors, or word pictures (eye, foot, hand; ear) as we see in 1 Corinthians 12:17-21. No part or person can go their own way. Our interdependence and obedience are part of God’s design.

Every gift and gifted person is interdependent. The Holy Spirit’s mission and ministry is to ‘operate in the background’ as part of the Godhead (i.e. Trinity). Similarly, those to whom He distributes gifts are to remain in the background, bringing glory to Christ. They are to put Christ in the foreground, so to speak, for the common good. In doing this the Spirit gives certain people a certain gift. No two people in a given church necessarily receive the same gifting of gift set. Not everyone gets the same gift or all gifts.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. (1Corinthians 12:27-31)

Some of the least important gifts, as we see, are the most unusual ones (v. 31). Their novelty attracts many. The greater gifts are the teaching gifts, or gifts of proclamation. That only makes sense because they are vital to the Spirit’s ministry of bringing to mind what Christ taught. Sometimes He does this through sermons. Sometimes He does this through Bible studies. He won’t bring to mind what we haven’t taken the time or bothered to listen to or learn for ourselves. That’s why we read and study His Word or listen to sermons along with other forms of teaching.

How does God command us to use His gifts? Rather than talk about all the gifts, let’s talk about Designer specifications for a greater (ministry) gift and a lesser (sign) gift as our examples.

27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints… (1 Corinthians 14:27-33)

How are gifts to be used? How are they to be manifested? God the Holy Spirit has very specific specifications. Just like there is an appropriate way to maintain your car (according to manufacturer’s specifications) and maintain your computer (according to specifications) and take medicine (according to prescription) there is a right way and a wrong way to manifest God’s gifts loaned to you. This ‘right way’ is spelled out for you in His commands. The Holy Spirit commanded:

If anyone at Corinth had the gift of tongues such speakers were to speak one at a time and the number of speakers was limited to no more than three per worship gathering. They were only to speak if they knew an interpreter to be present (vv. 27-28).
If anyone at Corinth was a prophet or had a prophecy (or teaching) then such individuals were to speak one at a time and not more than three were to speak at a worship gathering. Their prophecy or teaching was to be heavily scrutinized by equally gifted people. They were to speak with restraint (not uncontrollably) because the spirit of prophecy was under control by the prophet (vv. 29-32).
The rationale for such commandments was God’s character: “33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” (v 33).
These commands applied universally to all believing churches (v 33b).

These specifications seem pretty clear and straightforward. Nevertheless, one can only imagine how some at the unruly Church at Corinth, like many unruly churches today, responded to such prescriptions and specifications. We know from reading 1 & 2 Corinthians that there were people who disputed Paul’s Apostleship, implying that Paul’s writings were authoritative (i.e. Scripture). Also, people must have said similar things about Paul to the Apostle Peter, who answered them accordingly:

15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. (2 Peter 3:15-16)

As far as the use of the gifts, the Apostle Paul speaks for God. The Holy Spirit speaks to Corinth (and even to us) through the pen of Paul. Paul understood this. We, like Corinth, need to embrace this understanding as well. Paul made certain that his readers understood he was not merely giving his opinion:

37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order. (1 Corinthians 14:37-40)

Paul anticipated resistance. So-called gifted people and prophets would challenge these designer specifications or ignore them altogether as some do today. But Paul emphatically tells us that this is a command of the Lord. We know that God insisted upon such an order in His Church. He commands regarding gifts applied/applies to universally to all churches: “all the churches of the saints... (1Corinthians 14:33).”

These Designer specifications are universal. These commands weren’t timestamped or localized. God’s character is unchanging, and the Scriptures cannot be broken. The Holy Spirit says emphatically that if anyone refuses to recognize these limitations as legitimate such people are not to be considered legitimate in their use of so-called gifts: “the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment. 38 But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized (1 Corinthians 14:38).” What’s the big idea? It should be clear. There’s a right way and a wrong way to use one’s God-given gifts—God’s way. Those who ignore God’s prescriptions de-legitimize their ministry and are not to be taken seriously. This is a theme throughout the New Testament. Elsewhere, the Holy Spirit says through the Apostle Paul:

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:3-8)

Legitimate servants of Christ use spiritual gifts according to the Designer’s specifications. They obey the command of the Lord because they love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and they love their neighbor more than they love themselves. Their legitimacy is authenticated by their obedience: “37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized (1 Corinthians 14:37-38).” Christians in churches then as they do in churches now recognize such servants. Such servants obey, rather than disobey God. Disobedience is sin.

Summary

God’s gifts are to be used the way He commands. Just as a pharmacist follows the doctor’s prescription and the patient takes as directed, we are to obey God as directed in the use of our gifts. This is part of the practice of our worship. Disobedience to God’s commands is sin. We can tell those who are serving God rather than themselves by the way they display their gifts. Faithful believers in worship deploy them one at a time, nor more than three, and with coordination. It’s all well regulated so that the worship service, being done decently and in order for the glory of God rather than sinful self-promotion. These themes are repeated throughout the New Testament from Romans 12:3-8 to 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14. Anyone who does not recognize these biblical prescriptions is not to be recognized (1 Corinthians 14:38).

Suggestions for Application

Just as there was in Corinth in the past, there is much confusion at present regarding the use of spiritual gifts. God, being a God of order not confusion, has spoken clearly in the Scriptures about the use and abuse of spiritual gifts. Therefore, consider and embrace these four actions:

Realize that any use of gifts is for the common good of all, rather than calling attention to oneself. Therefore, we must use our gifts in accordance with the Lord’s commands in Scripture.

Recognize in a God-loving, God-honoring; God-fearing church when people spoke/speak in tongues or prophesied/prophesy, there are no more than three people who do this in a single service. Moreover, they coordinated/coordinate carefully to make certain any tongue-speaking will have an interpreter present in order to do all things decently and in order. Any act of prophesy or teaching will follow the same prescription or specification. Worship, as Nadab and Abihu show us is not to be taken lightly.

Remember that as the Holy Spirit spoke through the pen of Paul that no one does what they do in an out of control way. They can’t say, “well the Spirit got a hold of me and I am not responsible for my actions:” “the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets (v.32)

In light of these principles, prayerfully ask yourself these questions. Given what God the Holy Spirit has commanded in “the Lord’s commandment (v. 37):

What should we think the actions of a church or its people who stand up in groups and “speak in tongues” all at once or “prophecy” all at once?
What should we think of actions that are done in disobedience to the Word of God?
How should we pray for a pastor, or group of pastors, or a church leadership that allows this to happen?
If they are ignorant of God’s Word is this a church, we should attend?
If they are disobeying God’s Word willfully, is this a church we continue to visit, attend, or recommend?

The Holy Spirit, Revisited: Spiritual Gifts (Part One)

August 15, 2019 by Keith Crosby

Confusion about spiritual gifts reigns, why? As we discussed in Chapter 1, the human race is a race of extremes. When it comes to the Holy Spirit (and spiritual gifts for that matter) there are two groups at opposite ends of the spectrum. At one end of the spectrum is a group who does not like to mention the Holy Spirit. They rarely if ever discuss the mission of the Holy Spirit, His Deity, or personality because they seem almost afraid of the Holy Spirit. This extreme hesitance is in reaction against people of the other end of the spectrum. On this end of the extreme is a group who often acts as if the Holy Spirit has replaced the other members of the Trinity. Rather than seeing Him operating in the background, they see Him front and center bringing glory to Himself rather than the Son. They view Him as making Himself the center of all attention. Sometimes, these individuals seem to treat the Holy Spirit like a pagan deity. They invoke Him, they ‘call Him down,’ or the summon Him, forgetting He’s always with us (forever) and within us (John 14:16-17). “Calling Him down” is impossible since He’s here with us and in us, always. “Summoning Him” makes little sense because He is omnipresent. Confusion about spiritual gifts reigns because of their confusion about the Holy Spirit. This brings us to our next question.

What does the Bible say about the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts?” What the Bible says about the Spirit and the gifts is what matters. It matters because the Bible is the inspired word of God. Talk about a gift of the Spirit, that’s what the Bible is! All Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit. That’s why we often say or write something to the effect, “The Holy Spirit wrote through the Apostle’s pen.” Not that the Holy Spirit dictated the Bible (inspiration is more than that) but men were carried along by the Spirit and what they wrote were God’s words. Therefore, we look to the Bible to understand what the Holy Spirit says about Himself. For our part, we want to be Bible-centered in our approach to the Holy Spirit and in understanding His ministry, and His distribution of spiritual gifts.

Naturally, this brings us to a discussion of spiritual gifts. The spiritual gifts aspect of the mission and ministry of the Spirit is a place where we find much division in the Church. Some see all spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible as fully operative today. Other’s see kinds of spiritual gifts, or two classes: so-called ‘sign gifts’ and ‘ministry gifts.’ Some of those who see two kinds or types of gifts believe that the sign gifts are still for today, while others believe that the sign gifts no longer function with the maturity of the Church and the closing out of the Cannon, the completion of books of the Bible—the written and detailed (or special) self-revelation of God to humanity. Regrettably, this topic can be divisive. Friendships have ended over spirited and sometimes harsh discussions of the possible cessation and fade of the gifts. Sadly, churches split over this topic.

Have the Gifts Ceased? While many people would like to focus on the noncontinuationnon-continuation or continuation of the gifts today, we will do better. We will develop and foundational understanding of the gifts so that we can operate from the biblical center rather than find ourselves “in a ditch” on either extreme. Let’s start with the basics.

Who gives the gifts and to whom? Let’s get the fundamentals straight, laying the groundwork for further discussions and exploration. We return to the essential question for settling all such matters. What does the Bible say?

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols; however, you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says, "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. (1Corinthians 12:1-11)

And the Giver is? Obviously, we are discussing the Holy Spirit. If you guessed that the Holy Spirit gives ‘spiritual gifts’ you would guessed rightly. However, rather than guess work, we have a revelation made ‘more sure’: the Word of God. The Word of God tells us (here in our passage) that the Holy Spirit is the Giver of spiritual gifts. What does the Holy Spirit tell us through the pen of the Apostle Paul? “To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good (v. 7).” The Holy Spirit is the Giver of the “gifts of the Spirit.” Everyone who receives a spiritual (Holy Spirit given) gift receives that gift from the Holy Spirit. This raises another question.

To whom are the gifts given? The gifts, as the context of our passage and words of our passage indicates, are given to those within the Church. In other words, only believers are recipients of the so-called ‘spiritual gifts,’ or ‘gifts of the spirit.’

11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body (1 Corinthians 12:11-20).

Here we see that the body of Christ (i.e. those within the Church) are the recipients of the spiritual gifts. The flow of the passage clearly indicates that regardless of nationality or race, all Christians receive whatever spiritual gifts they have from the Holy Spirit. Only a born-again Christian can receive a spiritual gift. Others may display “counterfeit gifts;” however, if they are not in Christ, then their gift is counterfeit (1 Corinthians 12:3). For example, Hindus and Mormons “speak in tongues.” They are not Christians. Consequently, whatever they are doing, it is not from God the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 11:4). Consequently, whatever they are doing, it is not from God the Holy Spirit (see 2 Corinthians 11:4). As with the Mormons and the Hindus, Muslims speak in tongues, but they are not Christians. This leads us to the following question.

How is the distribution of gifts determined and by whom? Don’t be put off by seemingly basic questions. Such questions are fundamental to a proper understanding of the gifts of the Spirit. Let’s remember what we have learned already. The Holy Spirit’s ultimate goal is to bring glory not to Himself but to God the Son: “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me (John 15:26).” The Holy Spirit’s mission is to bring glory and attention and honor to Jesus, not Himself: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you (John 16:13-14). This reality challenges other, popular, related questions about spiritual gifts and the recipients of these gifts.

Let’s talk about “special,” “anointed” persons. There is a tendency these days for so-called ‘gifted’ men and women to designate themselves, or allow themselves to be designated as, “God’s anointed,” as if they are specially anointed theocratic kings in ancient Israel (like Saul or David). These individuals mistakenly invite or receive honor to themselves and are often put on a pedestal for their apparent giftedness. The assumption is that they must be special because God has bestowed great spiritual and supernatural gifts upon them. Nothing could be further than the truth. If you stop and think about it God does not save us because we are deserving or special. On the contrary, He blesses us with salvation not because of works but because of grace. And what is grace? Grace is God’s undeserved favor. Some, thinking the Holy Spirit’s method is to call attention to Himself, believe that they are somehow worthy of similar attention. No one deserves anything remotely resembling the attention and devotion servants of Christ show God. We are just servants.

Some engage in a confused line of reasoning. They mistakenly believe that the Holy Spirit distributes gifts to those who are deserving—or special. We are told something like, “Hey... these people are special, or spiritually superior people.” Those who accept such praise are misguided. This kind of thinking is the very thinking the Holy Spirit confronted in the unruly church at Corinth: “For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it (1 Corinthians 4:7)?” The gifted people at Corinth had mistakenly believed they were special. They became haughty and arrogant—divisive—and God the Holy Spirit rebuked them through His apostle. A better translation of 1 Corinthians 4:7 reads this way: “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it (1 Corinthians 4:7 NASB)?” We are reminded by careful and thoughtful Bible reading that God’s power is displayed in our weakness, not our superiority or worthiness. None of us are worthy of either the ultimate and greatest gift, our salvation, or any other spiritual gift. This truth leads us to consider a next question.

So, who determines who gets which gift and how? We’ve asked and answered this question to some extent, already. Let’s consider it from another angle. What does the Bible say about the giving of gifts by the Spirit? The answer is found in 1 Corinthians 12:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. (1Corinthians 12:1-18)

So, what’s going on here? What do we see? What can we learn? Even a casual or cursory reading of the text indicates that gifts are distributed not according to the worthiness or ‘special-ness’ of the individual but according to God’s will. God the Spirit distributes each gift in whatever quantity “as He wills (v. 12)” or “as He chose (v. 18). Just as God the Holy Spirit, in Acts 13, chose Saul (Paul) and Barnabas for the ministry He chose for them, He distributes gifts as He chooses. Just as Saul and Barnabas were content to surrender to His will, the wise believer does the same. God knows what He wants to do for us and through us and by us; therefore, He gifts us accordingly. It’s not that we are special, or especially deserving. Let’s compress the flow of this passage and I think you might see this more clearly, without damaging the context:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. (1Corinthians 12:1; 4; 7; 11; 18)

Why does the Holy Spirit give gifts to the Church? The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to men for one reason and one reason only: for the common good of the Church (v. 7). The purpose of the gifts is to bring glory to the Son. Too often, those on the fringe extreme enrich themselves and elevate themselves by prostituting counterfeit gifts. They do what they do to bring attention and glory to themselves, rather than for the common good. Their ministries bear their names prominently, rather than the name of a particular church. They only have what they have claimed to receive. They are not to regard themselves, or be regarded, as superior. But, ignoring the Holy Spirit they do just the opposite.

Gifted people should strive to appear humble. Unfortunately, they say things like “God told me...” “God appeared to me...” or “God gave me” and they (perhaps inadvertently) call attention to themselves rather than concern themselves with the common good. They work themselves into the center of a story. The Holy Spirit does not even call attention to Himself, according to Jesus:

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:13-15).”

As we have seen and as Jesus taught, the Holy Spirit calls attention to God the Son, Jesus Christ and God the Father. He does not call attention to Himself. Believers who are concerned about the glory of God and the good of others (i.e. the common good) do well to do likewise and follow suit. We will go into more detail about the meaning, scope, and definition of the phrase and concept, “the common good” later, as we consider 1 Corinthians 13.

God the Holy Spirit is sovereign. One would think we understand this as a given. However, there are those who seem to place demands on the Spirit or bind Him as they purport to bind Satan. But in reality, the Holy Spirit distributes the gifts to whom He chooses, on the basis of God’s will for that individual’s ministry life, rather than that individual’s choice. As we saw in God’s Word, it has nothing to do with the individual’s worthiness. The gifts are all about the glory of God and the common good of the Church so that the Church can function beyond the natural abilities of her people.

The gifts are not about singling people out as super-saints or superior. “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it (1 Corinthians 4:7 NASB)?” There are those who wish to act, believe, and pretend that they did not receive a gift but developed it, obtained it, or laid hold of it through their own merit. Avoid such people as these.

What about these gifts: how much, how many, and to whom? Invariably, we will hear of some larger than life Rock-Star-type personality who claims to be able to manifest all the gifts. Often, individuals will imply or outright declare that spiritual people have spiritual gifts and can use them whenever they wish if they have enough faith. As Jesus taught, it is not the size of your faith that matters but the Object of your faith, the Object of your worship. All that matters is that you have a measure of faith, saving faith that is, and you would be able to do amazing things—even if you have the faith the size of a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20; Matthew 20:21).

So, does everyone receive every gift? Not everyone in the New Testament era of the early church or apostolic era could speak in tongues. Some people had one gift, while others had another gift. Many today teach otherwise. They are in error. The distribution of gifts, particularly miraculous gifts were limited and restricted according to the will of God the Holy Spirit –as He chose. It is not unreasonable to assume the Holy Spirit did not lie about Himself:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. (1Corinthians 12:1; 4; 7; 11; 18)

Furthermore, the Spirit explicitly teaches through the inspired written words of the Apostle Paul that not everyone receives every gift:

27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way (1Corinthians 12:27-31 NASB).

What’s the point? The Holy Spirit (through Paul) is challenging the unruly Church at Corinth to wake up and quit playing games with factionalism and showmanship and the gifts. While there is nothing wrong for desiring supernatural empowerment by God to serve Him (v. 31), no one at Corinth (or anywhere else) had all the gifts. Spiritual empowerment was up to God not them and is not up to us. So, he’s telling them and us, in a manner of speaking, “stop pretending” and “stop showing off.” Notice the use of the word “appointed (v. 29),” and the phrase “as He chose (v. 18).” The giving of gifts is up to God, not men (as is the display)—as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:11). There are supernatural sign gifts and common every day ministry gifts and uncommon leadership and teaching gifts. People did not receive them based upon merit but based upon God’s purposes, choosing, will, timing, and grace. Moreover, whatever gift people received---no one was to be regarded as better than the other as a believer (vv. 11-27).

Remember that God’s grace is His unmerited favor. We are saved by grace. We receive gifts by His grace. We do not deserve or earn our salvation. We do not deserve or earn the gifts. There were and are His to give as He chooses and pleases, for the common good—not His own glory. The Holy Spirit seeks to glorify Christ, not Himself; not men and women.

Summary

There is much confusion about spiritual gifts and the working of the Holy Spirit in the giving of gifts. In 1 Corinthians 12-14 tells us the commandments and commands of God when it comes to the spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit decides who gets what gift and for how long and when they employ that gift and how they employ it, if at all. The gifts are distributed to call attention to Christ not to a man as the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to glorify Christ. People have no right to boast about their gifts because they only have what they received, and they do not deserve any gifts. The giving of gifts is an act of grace on God’s part and the gifts are not for self-benefit, or personal enrichment but for the common good of the Christian Church, according to the Holy Spirit of God.

Suggestions for Application

What do we do with this teaching? How do we apply it or put it to use? Consider and embrace these 5 actions/steps:

Simply seek to serve God with whatever talents and gifts that you have in a way that is humble and humbly benefits the Church of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:7; 1 Corinthians 4:7). Whatever your abilities and gifts, do not regard yourself as special. If your church needs greeters and we do, then apply to use your abilities there. If our church needs more prayer partners (and it does), then apply to use your gifts there. If the Children’s Ministry needs workers and volunteers, apply to use your gifts there.

Re-examine your use of your gifts and abilities in light of what the Holy Spirit is saying to us in crystal clear black and white. Are there changes you need to make? Make them (1 Corinthians 4:7).

Ask God to convict you of any prideful or sinful attitude you have manifested based upon the gifts He has loaned you. Realizing they are His, not yours, ask His forgiveness of any pride in your abilities or gifts (1 Corinthians 4:7).

Express your gratitude to God that He has only given you the gifts you have according to His will and not yours (1 Corinthians 12: 11; 18). Realizing God did not give you less than you need or more than you can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13) take time to thank Him for His perfect judgment.

Ask God to grant you wisdom to employ your gifts for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7) rather than for division in the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:24-25). Unnecessary division caused by pride over one’s gifts must be avoided. After all, just as none of us deserve salvation, none of us deserve spiritual gifts. We aren’t special.

The Holy Spirit, Revisted: Inspiration Chapter Four

August 10, 2019 by Keith Crosby

How did we get here? Let’s do a little review. We began our discussion of the Holy Spirit’s mission here on earth in the era in which we live: to convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment; to bring to mind the teachings of Jesus (which is where convicting the world comes from---the word of God); to guide us in all truth and to enable us to apply what we have learned. We also discussed how the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth—by bringing to mind, or illuminating, the Scriptures we have studied. For the original apostles, it was the face to face teachings of Jesus the Holy Spirit brought to mind. For us it’s the Scriptures we’ve read.

We also discussed that the Holy Spirit is God. When Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit Peter said Ananias lied to God and it cost Ananias and his wife their lives. We also saw, therefore, that the Holy Spirit is not an ‘it’ but a ‘He’ in that He displays attributes and characteristics of personality: saying things like “set apart for Me Saul and Barnabas... for the mission I will send them...” Things don’t say “Me” or “I.” Because the Holy Spirit can be grieved or insulted we know He’s not an ‘it.’ He gives commands “Set apart for Me...” and He expresses preferences, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit...”

A discussion of the Scriptures brings us to a discussion of its inspiration. The lynch-pin passage for this discussion, in the minds of some, is 1 Timothy 3:14-17:

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17)

The Holy Spirit inspires, breathes out, the Scriptures. In this passage, Paul, as he faces execution, seeks prepare, encourage, and challenge young Timothy in terms of the difficult ministry years ahead, without Paul as a resource. One can’t help but notice that Paul reminds Timothy of what Timothy already knows, the importance of looking to Scripture for wisdom (vv. 14-15). Paul comforts and reminds Timothy concerning the source of this wisdom—namely, God (v 16). The Scriptures are “breathed out,” or inspired, by God. The term is literally God-breathed (θεόπνευστος, theo-nuestos). It has been variously translated God-breathed, breathed out by God, and inspired. Paul also indicates the value and utility of this God-breathed wisdom in verses 16-17. It prepares us for life having equipped us doctrinally, challenged our behavior, corrected our imprecision, and trained us to live for God. Verse 17 focuses on the results of imbibing Scriptural wisdom—we are prepared to serve God capably and intelligently, “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17b).”

How do we know that it is the Holy Spirit’s ministry to ‘inspire’ (‘breath out’) Scripture? Jesus implies as much in Marks gospel:

And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ (Mark 12:35-36)

Is Jesus claiming He was present when David declared, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet?”’ Hardly. Jesus is quoting Psalm 110:1, “The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool (Psalm 110:1).” Jesus does not use the word ‘inspiration.’ However, that’s what He implies. He states that David wrote what David wrote under the influence or control of the Holy Spirit (“in the Spirit, declared…”). Peter teaches the same doctrine speaking directly to the inspiration of Scripture:

20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21)

What does the Apostle Peter say? He says, men say what men say but they are carried along, some translations say ‘moved,’ by the Holy Spirit to say it. It is not of their own, personal invention (“no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation”). Prophet, Apostles, and other writers of Scripture don’t interpret their own impressions and declare “Thus saith the Lord…” The Holy Spirit moves them to say it (write it) as they are carried along—like David. The Inspired writings, like all works of the Spirit, are not produced by human invention (“For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man”). They are God breathed, inspired by God. This brings us back to the teachings and implications of 2 Timothy 3:16.

All the books of the Bible are equally inspired by God. No book of the Bible is ‘more inspired’ than another. Notice what Paul says, perhaps ‘writes’ is a better description:

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

There are those who, either by ignorance or deceit, believe that only the red-letter portions of their New Testaments, namely the words of Jesus, are truly inspired and authoritative. In reality, Genesis to Revelation are inspired by the Triune God through the agency of the Holy Spirit. Stop and think. When Paul writes to Timothy, Paul’s Scriptures are those of the Old Testament. The Gospels had not been written down as of yet. That precludes any sort of ‘Red Letter’ Christianity. When Jesus cites the Scriptures, He refers to the Old Testament. What we are seeing here is the timeless utility of the word of God. Peter writes, quoting Isaiah, that the word of the LORD remains forever (1 Peter 1:24-25). Peter is quoting Isaiah 40:8:

24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:24-25)

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)

Thinking through 2 Timothy 3:16, all Scripture, being God-breathed, is timeless and eternal. Jesus affirmed this in the Sermon on the Mount saying the Law and the Prophets would remain until heaven and earth passed away (Matthew 5:17-18). Are the writings of Paul equivalent to the writings of Moses (Scripture)? What does the Bible say?

15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. (2 Peter 3:15-16)

Did you notice the last 6 words in the passage above, “as they do the other Scriptures?” Peter is teaching about both the end times and God’s patience with a fallen world. However, he makes an interesting statement pertaining to inspiration. He does so almost in passing. The Apostle Peter, carried along by the Holy Spirit, refers to the writings of Paul as Scripture. Hence, his reference to ‘the other Scriptures.’ Other translations render this “the rest of the Scriptures.” The Apostles and other Scripture writers of the New Testament era understood that they were writing Scripture. For example, Paul consider the writings of Luke in Luke’s Gospel (and Acts) as Scripture: “For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”” (1 Timothy 5:18) What’s going on here? Paul is referring to the writings of Luke and Moses as Scripture. Paul sees them as equally authoritative:

And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. (Luke 10:7)

You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain. (Deuteronomy 25:4)

Notice that Paul puts the writings of Luke on par with Moses in terms of equally being Scripture. Why is this important. We’ll see clearly the implications of this in the next paragraph.

Remember what we read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. All Scripture is inspired by God (the Holy Spirit) and all Scripture is equally inspired by God, from Old Testament to New Testament:

All Scripture is equally breathed out by God. All Scripture is useful for teaching, reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness to equip us for every task or good work calls us to. The Scriptures of the Old Testament, like the New Testament, are not the private inventions of would-be prophets but these men were carried along by the Holy Spirit to write what they wrote (like Jesus said of David in Mark 12:35-36).

Because the Holy Spirit inspired Scripture they are like God. Scriptures are like God in that they are timeless, eternal, inerrant, and infallible. As Jesus said they won’t pass away until heaven and earth pass away. As Jesus said, “The Scriptures cannot be broken.” Consequently, we understand that they are timeless, come with no expiration date, and they do not become obsolete. They are God’s Words. They are the revelation “made more sure.” There were inspired, given, recorded, transmitted, and preserved for us. We don’t need a seer or a prophet to tell us God’s Word because the Holy Spirit has given us the whole counsel of God’s word. He breathed out all Scripture. We have it in our hand in many forms so that we can read it, study it, practice it, memorize it, reflect upon it, meditate on it, and do, as Joshua 1:8 says, “All that is written therein” to make our lives spiritually prosperous and spiritually successful. All of this should bring us to a realization that we should take the Word of God very seriously because it is inspired by the Holy Spirit of God so that we can live in obedience to His Word. What is obedience? Obedience is giving in and submitting to the Spirit of God who brings to remembrance and leads us into the realm of understanding and doing the will of God. In other words: Worship.

God has not left us as orphans without resources. He gave us another Helper just like Christ. He has sent God the Holy Spirit in God the Son’s name. He has breathed out His word to give to us to hide in our hearts that we might not sin against Him. He’s given us a roadmap for living life according to His will. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is, in every real and eternal sense, a Helper like Jesus. His mission is to help us and help us He does.

Suggestions for Application

So, what do we do with all this? First, follow Paul’s advice to Timothy:

In other words: value the Scriptures. Treasure them. Read them. Meditate on them (Joshua 1:8). Apply them. Use them!

Take time to thank God that you have the revelation made more sure! You don’t need a middleman to know God’s will. You have no need for prophets, seers, etc. You have the written, God-breathed word of God, provided by the Spirit, at your disposal. Thank God!

Pray to the Holy Spirit for illumination and understanding. Do this as you prepare to read the God-breathed word of God He has given you: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law (Psalm 119:18).”

Trust the Scriptures rather than your intuition. Let God the Holy Spirit guide you through all the days of your life through His word, rather than through fuzzy perceptions and impressions—trust the revelation made more sure.