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Key Verse
"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all." (1 Corinthians 12:7, NKJV)
Learning Objectives
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
1. Explain what the Greek word charisma means and why Paul uses it for spiritual gifts.
2. Name the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 and group them in the traditional Pentecostal way.
3. Compare the lists in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4, and say why the lists differ.
4. Answer the claim that some gifts are "natural" and others "supernatural," and the claim that the lists are complete.
5. Explain how love (1 Corinthians 13) and order (1 Corinthians 14) govern the use of gifts in the church.
The Voice of This Course
This course is written from inside the classical Pentecostal tradition, for students who belong to it. It is conservative and Trinitarian. We believe the gifts of the Spirit are given to the church today. Other faithful Christians disagree, and we state their views fairly before we answer. For the history of the movement see Course 1, and for Spirit baptism see Course 2, Units 4 and 5. In Unit 1 we studied the Spirit in the Old Testament and in Jesus. Now we turn to the main New Testament teaching about the gifts.
What Is a Spiritual Gift?
Paul's word for a gift is charisma, which comes from charis, "grace." A charisma is a grace-gift: something given freely by God, not earned. When Paul begins his teaching on the subject, he uses a related word, pneumatika, "spiritual things" or "spiritual matters" (1 Corinthians 12:1), and then speaks of charismata, "gifts" (12:4). The word "charismatic" comes from this root.
Three points follow from the word itself.
First, the gifts are gifts. No one earns a gift of the Spirit by being holy enough, and no one owns one. Paul says the Spirit distributes "to each one individually as He wills" (1 Corinthians 12:11).
Second, the gifts are for others. Our key verse says the manifestation of the Spirit is given "for the profit of all." A gift is not a personal prize. It is a way for the Spirit to serve the church through one member.
Third, the gifts belong to every believer. Paul says the manifestation is given "to each one." Not every person has every gift, but every believer has a place in the body.
The Trinitarian Frame
Paul begins his teaching with the Trinity: "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all" (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). Gifts come from the Spirit, ministries serve the Lord Jesus, and the activities are the work of the Father. The one God gives variety within unity. This protects us from two errors. One is to think that the Spirit's gifts stand apart from Christ. The other is to forget that the Spirit exists to glorify Jesus (John 16:14).
The Gift Lists in the New Testament
Paul gives four main lists, each in a different setting, and Peter gives a short summary. They are not copies of one another.
Romans 12:6-8
Paul writes to a church he had not yet visited. After urging the Romans to give themselves to God and not to think of themselves more highly than they ought, he names these gifts: prophecy, service (or ministry), teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and showing mercy. This list has a practical, everyday feel. It begins with prophecy, but most of the gifts concern the daily life and care of a congregation. Paul adds how they are to be done: giving "with liberality," leading "with diligence," and mercy "with cheerfulness."
1 Corinthians 12:8-10
To the Corinthians Paul lists nine manifestations: a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, the working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. This list is the one Pentecostals study most, because it names the gifts of power and utterance that the Corinthians were discussing. Paul writes "gifts of healings" in the plural, which suggests that healing comes in many forms and for many needs.
1 Corinthians 12:28
Paul gives a second list in the same chapter, this time with persons and works together: apostles, prophets, teachers, then miracles, gifts of healings, helps, administrations, and varieties of tongues. Two gifts appear here that are not in the first list: "helps" and "administrations." These are the gifts of the person who serves in the background and the person who guides and organizes. Paul gives them a place in the same list as miracles. In God's eyes, no gift is small.
Ephesians 4:11-12
In Ephesians Paul describes something different. He does not list gifts of the Spirit but gifts of Christ to the church: "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." These are people who hold a recognized role. The purpose is not for these leaders to do all the work. It is for them to equip the saints, so that all the members do the work of ministry. This verse is important for every pastor.
1 Peter 4:10-11
Peter gives a short summary: each should use the gift received to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace. He divides gifts into speaking and serving. Whoever speaks should speak as the oracles of God, and whoever serves should serve with the strength God supplies.
Why do the lists differ?
No two lists are the same. Romans names gifts that do not appear in 1 Corinthians, and Ephesians names offices. We conclude that none of the lists is a complete catalog. Each gives examples suited to the church or the question Paul addresses. In Corinth, where the gifts of utterance were causing trouble, he names those. In Rome, where he wished to build up the community, he emphasizes service and mercy. The Spirit may give gifts that are not named at all, such as skill in music, which the Old Testament connects to the Spirit's work (1 Chronicles 25:1-7 speaks of prophesying with harps). Pastors should be slow to say that a gift does not exist because it is not on a list, and equally slow to invent new lists as though they were Scripture.
The Traditional Pentecostal Grouping
Pentecostal teachers have long grouped the nine gifts of 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 into three kinds. This is a teaching aid and not a statement of Scripture, but many find it useful.
Gifts of revelation: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, and discerning of spirits. These reveal something that the person did not learn by ordinary means.
Gifts of power: faith, gifts of healings, and the working of miracles. These do something beyond ordinary human ability.
Gifts of utterance: prophecy, different kinds of tongues, and interpretation of tongues. These are spoken by the Spirit's inspiration.
We should not divide the nine too sharply, because they often work together. A word of knowledge may lead to healing, and prophecy may bring a word of wisdom to a hard decision. Paul calls the whole list a "manifestation of the Spirit," in the singular, and the unity matters more than the grouping. Later units study the most debated gifts in depth: tongues and interpretation in Unit 3, prophecy in Unit 4, healing in Units 5 and 6, and discernment in Unit 8.
Two Objections and Our Answers
"Some gifts are natural talents, and the miraculous gifts ended"
Some believers say that the gifts in Romans 12, such as teaching, giving and leading, are natural abilities that God uses, while the gifts of 1 Corinthians 12 were temporary signs. Cessationists, including B. B. Warfield, teach that the signs ended with the apostolic age. Others hold that the lists mix the two kinds and that only some are truly miraculous.
Our answer. Paul himself does not make that division. He places prophecy in both Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. He places "helps" and "administrations" beside miracles. He says that all are the work of "the same Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:11). We agree that God may build on natural ability and that a gifted teacher may have talent as well. But the New Testament does not teach that the Spirit's work is more real in the dramatic gifts than in the quiet ones. All are the Spirit's, and all are to be received with thanks. As to the claim that the miraculous gifts have ceased, nothing in the passage says so. Paul tells the Corinthians that they "come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:7). The gifts are linked to the time of waiting for Christ's return, and that time has not ended. Unit 10 takes up cessationism in full.
"Ephesians 4 shows that apostles and prophets ended"
Many cessationist teachers argue that Paul calls apostles and prophets the "foundation" of the church (Ephesians 2:20), so they belonged to the beginning only. Some other Christians hold that all five offices continue.
Our answer. Pentecostals do not all agree here, and a pastor should know the range. Our conservative mainstream teaches that the Twelve and Paul were apostles in a unique and unrepeatable sense. They were eyewitnesses of the risen Christ and gave the foundation of the faith, and the church adds nothing to Scripture. But the New Testament also uses "apostle" in a wider sense for those sent out by a church, such as Barnabas along with Paul (Acts 14:14). In that sense we honor missionaries and church planters, though many of our bodies prefer to use other titles to avoid confusion. As for prophets, we hold that the Spirit still speaks through prophetic gifts, but all such words are weighed and none stands beside Scripture (1 Corinthians 14:29). Unit 4 develops this.
Love and Order: Chapters 13 and 14
Paul's teaching on gifts is bound up in a frame of love and order. Chapter 12 describes the body, with many members and one Spirit. Chapter 13 stands in the middle, and Paul says that without love, even tongues of men and of angels, prophecy, knowledge, and faith that can move mountains, mean nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Love does not replace the gifts. It is the way in which they are to be used. Chapter 14 begins, "Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy" (14:1), so Paul commands both.
Chapter 14 then teaches that gifts in the assembly must build up others. Paul sets the rule: "Let all things be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40). He also says that the church should seek to excel in gifts for the edifying of the church (14:12). The test for any gift in public is whether it strengthens the whole body.
The body picture in chapter 12 also corrects pride and envy. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you" (12:21). A gift that seems more public is not more honorable. Paul says that God has composed the body, "giving greater honor to that part which lacks it" (12:24). Pastors should note that this passage is a rebuke to every church culture in which only the loud and visible gifts are praised.
Pastoral Application
Pastor Marcos leads a church of about sixty people in a growing town. The church depends on him to pray for the sick, teach every class, count the offerings, and open the building. He is tired. At the same time, several members say they have no gift and sit silent. One young man, Daniel, says he feels the Lord has given him prophecy, and he asks for time in the Sunday service.
Marcos reads Ephesians 4:11-12 and sees his own mistake. His task is to equip the saints, not to do all the work.
First, he plans a series of teaching sessions on 1 Corinthians 12 to 14 and Romans 12, so that the people see that every believer has a place.
Second, he invites members to serve in small ways, such as visiting the sick, welcoming guests, and caring for children, and he watches where the Spirit seems to bless.
Third, in Daniel's case, he does not refuse and does not simply give him the platform. He meets with Daniel and two mature leaders, prays, and explains that prophecy in the assembly is weighed by others (1 Corinthians 14:29). He asks Daniel to share first in a small group.
Fourth, he reminds the whole church that love governs gifts and that service in the background is as much a gift as any word from the pulpit.
Summary
The Greek word charisma means a grace-gift. Gifts are freely given by the Spirit, are for the profit of all, and are given to every believer. Paul introduces them within the Trinity: one Spirit, one Lord, one God. The New Testament contains several lists, in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4 and 1 Peter 4. They differ because none is complete. Pentecostal teachers often group the nine manifestations of 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 as gifts of revelation, power and utterance. We answer the claims that some gifts are only natural, and that the miraculous gifts or offices have ended, from the text itself. The gifts must be used in love and in order, for the good of the whole body, and leaders exist to equip all the saints for ministry.
Further Reading
• Gordon D. Fee, God's Empowering Presence (1994).
• Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts (1996).
• Wayne Grudem, ed., Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? Four Views (1996).
• Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (1993).
• Richard B. Gaffin Jr., Perspectives on Pentecost (1979), a cessationist argument.
• B. B. Warfield, Counterfeit Miracles (1918), a cessationist argument.
Unit 2 Exam
Certificate track: the 20 multiple-choice questions. Associate track: add the 10 fill-in-the-blank questions. Master’s tracks: add the 10 short-answer questions.