Three Aspects of Spiritual Gifts

In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul writes,

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:4-7).

Some folks want to separate these things — gifts, services, workings — but I believe Paul is talking about the same thing, describing the various manifestations of the Spirit among us. So he calls them gifts because they’re given by God through the Holy Spirit. And he calls them service to underline the heart motive with which we ought to receive the gifts. We ought to come to God with a heart that says, “I just want to serve you better. I want to serve others better.” Heart attitude is really important. Some people don’t walk in spiritual gifts because they aren’t interested in them, they don’t desire them, and they don’t ask for them. Honestly, I don’t think God is going to waste his gifts on people with that kind of attitude. As Dallas Willard wrote, “The Holy Spirit tends to go where he’s most wanted.”

Several years ago, I was invited to attend a pastor’s conference. I was riding in a van with a handful of my peers when the subject of spiritual gifts came up. What followed was a lively but short-lived discussion of the gift of tongues. It was short-lived because one pastor in the van got really agitated and told us to stop. “I don’t want to hear this,” he said. “You guys are playing with fire. I’ve already settled this issue for myself, and I’m telling you, tongues are not for today. We’re in the same denomination. You guys need to stop talking about this.” Surprised by his reaction, I turned to him and said, “What’s the harm in talking about it? I mean, you have to admit, the jury is still out, right? The Apostle Paul told the Corinthian church he was glad he spoke in tongues. If Paul was glad he spoke in tongues, don’t you think this is something we ought to consider?” At that, he put his fingers in his ears and said, “I will not listen to this.” And he started making repetitive noises, trying to drown us out ! I’ll never forget it. Here was a grown man, an educated man, the leader of a congregation, with his fingers in his ears like a child! If that’s your attitude towards the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I don’t think God is going to waste his gifts on you. As James 4 says,

You do not have, because you do not ask God (James 4:2b).

Then James flips it and says,

When you ask, you don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures (James 4:3)

Just as there are Christians who don’t bother to ask, there are Christians who ask with wrong motives. Some of our desire is really self-centered, isn’t it? We need to ask God to purify our motives. The lack of true humility, the desire to use God’s gifts for our own glory, our own advancement and the praise of others has a way of short-circuiting not only the full expression of spiritual gifts but the effectiveness of those gifts on the body of Christ and the world in general. Andrew Murray, in his book simply entitled Humility, wrote:

“I have spoken of some who have blessed experiences, or are the means of bringing blessing to others, and yet are lacking in humility. You ask whether these do not prove that they have true, even strong faith, though they show too clearly that they still seek too much the honor that cometh from men. There is more than one answer that can be given, but the principal answer is this: They indeed have a measure of faith, in proportion to which, with the special gifts bestowed upon them, is the blessing they bring to others. But in that very blessing the work of their faith is hindered, through the lack of humility. The blessing is often superficial or transitory, just because they are not the nothing that opens the way for God to be all. A deeper humility would without doubt bring a deeper and fuller blessing.” ~ Andrew Murray

But the truth is we will never get this completely right. We will never be completely free of our own flesh and our own egocentric way of living, but we can ask God to purify our motives. We can ask God to help us become the nothing that opens the way for God to be all!

And then Paul calls the gifts workings. The Greek word here in verse 6 is the word from which we get the English word energy. Spiritual gifts, then, are divine energizers! The power of God is released through spiritual gifts. Do you want a simple way to understand spiritual gifts and their place in the church? Spiritual gifts are the power tools the church uses to do the work of God on the earth. They’re the power tools of the Kingdom. There are probably times when you could accomplish the same thing without using a power tool, but the question is, why would you? Why would anyone use a regular screwdriver when they could use a power driver? Why would anyone use a handsaw when they could use a power saw? Regular hammer or nail gun? It’s a no-brainer.

That’s the way it is in the life of the church. You can bang your head against a wall over and over again trying to counsel someone, or you can ask God for a power tool, and he just might give you the gift of prophecy, helping you identify the root of the problem. Wouldn’t you rather use a power tool than a hand tool?

And then, in verse 7, the gifts are referred to as manifestations of the Spirit. By manifestation, the Bible is referring to something that makes the invisible God visible, something that takes God out of the realm of the invisible, the ethereal, the abstract, and makes him real, tangible and, sometimes, visible. That’s what spiritual gifts do. They make the invisible God visible.

So many people today say, “Where is God? We can’t find him. He’s so aloof, hidden, distant and apparently uninterested in our lives.” Why do you think that is? Why do so many people feel that way? Part of the problem is that much of the church has turned away from spiritual gifts. And the more we teach against them and reject them, the fewer manifestations of God’s presence we will see! Is it any wonder, then, that the world turns away in disbelief? What is the best argument you can offer for the existence of God? A clever explanation? A rational defense of your faith? That’s good, but what do you think would happen if you added to your argument a manifestation of God’s power through the use of spiritual gifts? And it’s not just the gift of evangelism or healing. Mercy makes the invisible God visible. Leadership makes the invisible God visible. Hospitality makes the invisible God visible. Helps, coming alongside others and lending a hand, makes the invisible God visible.