The Holy Spirit, Spiritual Gifts, and Discernment — Unit 9: Gifts, Fruit, and Love: Character and Accountability

Key Verse

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal." (1 Corinthians 13:1, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Explain the difference between the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit.

2. Show from Romans 11:29 and the church at Corinth that spiritual gifts can operate in people whose character is not yet Christlike.

3. Explain why Paul places 1 Corinthians 13 in the middle of his teaching on gifts.

4. Name four areas in which gifted leaders need accountability, and give a biblical basis for each.

5. Answer the objection that failures among gifted ministers prove the gifts are false, and describe a path of correction and restoration.

The Voice of This Unit

This unit is written from inside the classical Pentecostal tradition, for students who belong to it. It is conservative and Trinitarian. We believe that all the gifts of the Spirit are for the church today. We also believe, and say plainly, that our movement has sometimes admired power more than character. Critics have said so, and in some seasons they were right. We state their concerns fairly and then give our answer from Scripture.

Two Lists, One Spirit

The New Testament gives two lists that Pentecostals must keep together.

The first list is the gifts. Paul calls them "manifestations of the Spirit" and says they are given "to each one for the profit of all" (1 Corinthians 12:7). The Greek word behind "gifts" speaks of grace. A gift is given freely, and the Spirit distributes "to each one individually as He wills" (1 Corinthians 12:11). Gifts are for serving other people. They come as a gift, not as a wage.

The second list is the fruit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23). Fruit describes the character of the believer. Fruit grows slowly, as a tree grows. Jesus taught that fruit comes from abiding in Him (John 15:4-5). Paul adds, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25).

Put simply, gifts are about what the Spirit does through us for others, and fruit is about what the Spirit is making of us. Both come from the same Spirit, and a healthy church needs both.

Two mistakes follow when we separate the lists. The first is to think that a gift shows holiness: "God used me, so I must be right with God." The second is to think that having no outward gift shows a failure of faith. Neither is true. Gifts are given by grace, and fruit is grown by walking with God.

Gifts Without Character: The Lesson of Corinth

Corinth is the clearest case in Scripture. Paul thanks God that the Corinthians "come short in no gift" (1 Corinthians 1:7). Yet the same letter shows a church of jealousy and quarrels (3:1-4), of tolerated immorality (chapter 5), of lawsuits between believers (chapter 6), of abuse of the Lord's Supper in which the rich shamed the poor (11:20-22), and of disorder in worship (chapter 14). They were rich in gifts and poor in love.

Paul's answer is important. He did not say that the gifts were false. He did not tell them to stop. He taught them love and order. He called them to grow up.

Romans 11:29 helps us understand why gifts can continue where character lags: "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." In its place in Romans, Paul is speaking of God's faithfulness to Israel. But the principle shows how God gives. His gifts come from grace and not from merit, and He does not take them back each time we fail. That is a comfort. It is also a warning, because it means a person may keep operating in a gift for a time while his heart drifts. King Saul prophesied among the prophets in the time when he was rebelling against God (1 Samuel 19:18-24).

Jesus gave a solemn teaching on this. Some will say to Him on the last day, "Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and do many wonders in Your name?" and He will say that He never knew them (Matthew 7:21-23). Interpreters explain this in different ways. Some say Jesus speaks of false professors who never had real power. Others say He speaks of people who had real works and no real relationship with Him. In either case, works of power are not proof that a person is right with God.

The practical lesson is clear. A healing, a true prophecy or a conversion shows that God is gracious to the people who need Him. It does not prove that the instrument is a model to follow.

The More Excellent Way

Paul places his great chapter on love between his chapters on gifts. First Corinthians 12 describes the gifts and the body. Chapter 14 gives rules for prophecy and tongues. In the middle stands chapter 13. He says that tongues without love are only noise. Prophecy, knowledge, faith that moves mountains and even generous giving, without love, amount to nothing (13:1-3). Then he describes what love is: patient, kind, not envious, not proud, not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, rejoicing in truth, bearing and enduring (13:4-7). And he says, "Love never fails" (13:8).

Some people read chapter 13 as if Paul were saying, "Forget the gifts and choose love." That is a mistake. The very next verse says, "Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy" (1 Corinthians 14:1). Paul wants both. Love is the road on which the gifts travel.

Critics of our movement say that Pentecostals often reverse this order. Historians point out that the early movement came from the Holiness tradition, which stressed purity of life, and that the lasting strength of many Pentecostal churches has been their ordinary, faithful members. But critics also point to seasons when the excitement of gifts, healing meetings and large platforms overshadowed teaching on character. We should hear this honestly. Our answer is not to have fewer gifts but more fruit. The remedy for a church with gifts and little love is the one Paul gave Corinth.

Fruit as a Test of Ministry

Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16). When Paul writes the qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9, he spends most of the space on character: faithful in marriage, self-controlled, hospitable, not violent, not greedy, not a new believer, well thought of by outsiders. He mentions the ability to teach. He does not make a spectacular gift the requirement. This tells us what the church should look for in its leaders.

The story of Simon in Samaria shows the danger. He saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, and he offered money for the same power. Peter rebuked him sharply (Acts 8:18-23). The love of power and the love of money are old companions, and they are especially dangerous around spiritual gifts. Paul wrote, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (1 Timothy 6:10).

Four Areas of Accountability

Every leader needs people who have the right to ask questions. Sociologists such as Max Weber have noted that authority which rests on one person's remarkable gift is fragile until it is shared with others and supported by structures. We do not need sociology to tell us this. Scripture already does. We look at four areas.

Teaching. The elders of Ephesus were told to guard the flock against wolves who would speak twisted things (Acts 20:28-31). Paul told Timothy to watch his life and his teaching closely (1 Timothy 4:16). A preacher's teaching is open to checking by Scripture and by other leaders.

Morals. Scripture takes the sin of leaders seriously. Paul told Timothy how to receive an accusation against an elder, requiring two or three witnesses, and how to rebuke those who persist in sin (1 Timothy 5:19-20). Those who are spiritual are to restore a person who has fallen "in a spirit of gentleness" (Galatians 6:1).

Money. Ananias and Sapphira lied about their gift to the church (Acts 5:1-11). Paul arranged for brothers chosen by the churches to travel with the offering for Jerusalem, so that no one could find fault with how it was handled (2 Corinthians 8:18-21). Money held in secret by one person is a temptation to that person.

Authority and relationships. Peter wrote to elders that they should not be "lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:3). Paul and Barnabas reported back to the church that sent them (Acts 14:26-28), and Paul laid his message before the leaders in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:1-2). Leaders in the New Testament work in teams (Acts 14:23; 20:17). Prophets are "subject to the prophets" (1 Corinthians 14:32). Even the most gifted person stands within the body.

Some practical safeguards follow. Have a group of elders or a board that is not made up only of the pastor's family. Have two unrelated people count and record the offering, and give the church a yearly report. Do not let the pastor set his own pay alone. Agree on how counseling is done, so that no one is alone with a person in private. Ask each pastor to have a mature friend or overseer outside the congregation, such as in a fellowship or district of churches. Invite visiting ministers only with references. Write down how a complaint will be received and handled. Teach leaders to rest, because exhaustion opens the door to sin.

When a Leader Falls

Sooner or later a church may face the failure of a leader. Churches disagree about what should follow. Some teach that a minister who falls into serious sin, especially sexual sin or abuse, should never return to pastoral office, since an overseer is to be "above reproach" (1 Timothy 3:2). Others teach that full forgiveness is available and restoration to ministry is possible after repentance, change and a long time of testing.

Our answer is that forgiveness is full, because Christ's blood is sufficient, but a return to office is not automatic. It rests on fruit that is seen over time, and it is decided by overseers and not by the fallen person himself. Galatians 6:1 sets the spirit: restore with gentleness, and watch yourself. Two errors must be avoided. One is to hide the matter and pretend nothing happened. The other is to throw the person away. Care for those who were hurt comes first. Where a crime has been committed, the church must not shelter the offender from the civil authorities (Romans 13:1-4). Romans 11:29 tells us that a gift can remain after failure, but a gift is not a reason to restore a person quickly.

Objections and Our Answers

Objection 1: Failures among gifted ministers prove that the gifts are not from God. Cessationists and others have pointed to well-known scandals. We do not excuse them. Our answer is that Scripture itself shows gifts and failure side by side in Corinth, and Paul did not conclude that the gifts were false. If sin in a minister disproved his church's teaching, then every tradition would be disproved, because every tradition has had its failures. The right response is repentance and better safeguards.

Objection 2: Accountability structures quench the Spirit and show a lack of trust. Our answer is that the Spirit gave us the pattern. Prophets are subject to prophets, elders work in teams, and offerings are handled openly. Order is not the enemy of the Spirit. It protects both the leader and the flock.

Pastoral Application

A man in the church has a remarkable ministry of prayer for the sick, and many testify that they were helped. But volunteers say that he speaks harshly to them. He also takes "love offerings" for himself on the side, and he has not told the elders. When asked about it, he says, "Who are you to question the anointing?"

The pastor first prays and goes to an experienced elder. They meet the man together and not alone. They thank him honestly for the good that has been done, since they do not deny that God has used him. They then open 1 Corinthians 13:1 and 14:32 and speak plainly about his temper and the offerings. They ask that all gifts go through the church's normal account with a record. They set a time to meet again. If he refuses, they step him back from public ministry for a season and keep praying for him. Throughout, the aim is his restoration and the protection of the flock.

Summary

Gifts and fruit both come from the Spirit but do different work. Gifts serve others and are given by grace. Fruit shows the character the Spirit is forming. Corinth shows that gifts can be present without love, and Romans 11:29 shows that God does not withdraw His gifts at every failure. Paul places love in the middle of his teaching on gifts, and then tells us to pursue love and desire gifts. Fruit is the test of a minister, and the qualifications for elders are mostly about character. Leaders need accountability in teaching, morals, money and authority, as the New Testament shows. When a leader falls, forgiveness is full, but restoration to office rests on fruit seen over time. Failures do not disprove the gifts. They call us to love and order.

Further Reading

• Gordon D. Fee, God's Empowering Presence (1994).

• Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts (1996).

• Jonathan Edwards, The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God (1741), a primary source.

• Wayne Grudem, ed., Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? Four Views (1996).

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