Christ's Gifts of the Spirit

Anyone who reads the New Testament’wishing to interpret it accurately in its historical context’must first acknowledge that these were no ordinary times. The time of transition from the old to the new covenant era was a time full of wonders and signs to signify that the promised Messiah had come and that he was establishing his kingdom on earth.

In order for this to occur, the Holy Spirit caused several special and supernatural acts and gifts to appear in the world. One of them was the supernatural act that occurred in the days of the apostles; the other was the supernatural gifts given to the members of the church until the establishment of the new covenant church at the end of the apostolic age. In one very real sense, the day of Pentecost was a once-for-all non-repeatable act that was every bit as much a part of the once-for-all work of Christ as his incarnation, life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. It was, in the truest and fullest sense, an extension of the Messianic work in the history of redemption as the gospel moved from the theocratic old covenant nation of Israel to the nations. This period was unique in that something new was being established, while that which was "becoming obsolete and growing old was ready to vanish away" (Heb. 8:13).

While we must first acknowledge that the acts and gifts of the apostolic age were temporal in nature, anyone who wishes to apply the Scriptures to the people of God must equally acknowledge that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness." This includes the acts and the gifts of the Spirit operative during the transitional period between the old and new covenant eras. In light of this principle, even the non-repeatable, redemptive-historical aspects of the New Testament have value for the church today. Such is the case with the list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. In order for us to understand the nature of these gifts, we must first consider their larger context within the letter and then within their immediate context.

Gifts for the Profit of All

The Apostle Paul addressed a church divided by preferences over preaching methods, as well as over braggadocio and envy, regarding the use of supernatural spiritual gifts in the church. Additionally, there was just about every kind of sinful practice occurring within the church. Whether it was sexual immorality, believers suing each other in court, or members of the church participating in idolatrous worship services, the man who had planted this church systematically dealt with each of the problems in a pastoral manner.

In one sense, Paul constantly returned to his initial message of Christ crucified as he handled each problem of the Corinthian church in turn. Just as the apostle dealt with the division fueled by preferences over preaching methods by reminding the church that "Christ is not divided" and that there was only one "who was crucified" for believers (1:13), so he reminded them that believers were united in "the same Spirit" (12:4), "the same Lord" (v. 5), and "the same God" (v. 6)’the same Spirit distributed to each one individually "as He willed" (1 Cor. 12:11; Heb. 2:4), "for the profit of all" (1 Cor. 12:7). In the distribution of these gifts, the church had a glorious unity in diversity. In their pride and disorderly use of the gifts of the Spirit, they were seeking after things that would set them apart from others in the body. In light of this problem, Paul emphasized that within the church there must be unity and diversity, but that God-ordained diversity doesn't come from the preferences of the members of the church, or even in their particular exercise of the gifts; rather, God-ordained diversity appears when the spiritual gifts are being exercised for the building up of the members of the one body (12:12-14). Paul's subsequent body-parts illustration strengthens this conclusion (1 Cor. 12:21).

The Gifts and the Gift-Giver

When we come to consider the catalogue of the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, we are faced with the difficulty of trying to classify them. There have been too many attempts to make sense of the categorization to list here. Suffice it to say that there are nine gifts listed in verses 8-10: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. In order to understand them, we must back up and consider the One from whom they come.

In 1 Corinthians 12:4, 8, 9, and 11 Paul reminded his readers that the diversity of gifts was from "the same Spirit." In 12:5-6 he referred to the Giver of the gifts as "the same Lord" and "the same God." Then, in 12:12, he told them that "as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ." The same "Spirit," "Lord," and "God" are used synonymously with "Christ." He first possessed the diversity of gifts within the unity of his person, as manifested in his miracles and teaching recorded in the Gospels. He then poured these gifts out on his apostles and people by his Spirit for the foundation of the new covenant church’which instead of being located in one ethnic, geopolitical body was to be spread throughout the world.

In his sermon "Deacons Appointed to Care for the Bodies of Men," Jonathan Edwards made the profound observation that the gifts of the Spirit (which were temporary in the apostolic age) and the offices of the church (which continue to the end of time) could be classified according to those that relate to the soul and those that relate to the body. Since Christ is the Savior of soul and body’and he alone possesses all that is necessary to care for the souls and bodies of men’so he has distributed these in the members and offices of his church. Edwards wrote:

When there were extraordinary offices in the church of Christ, such as apostles and gifts of tongues and gifts of healing and the like…some of these extraordinary gifts related immediately to the good of men's souls; such was the gift of prophecy and the gift of tongues and others. Other of these gifts related more immediately to the good of men's bodies; such were gifts of healing. …So it is in the ordinary offices that Christ has appointed in his church, namely, these two of bishops [elders] and deacons. The former respects the souls of men, and the latter their bodies. …These two are the offices that we are especially concerned to understand the nature [of], being the standing ordinary offices of Christ's church that continue to this day and must continue to the end of the world. (1)

Vern Poythress carries this idea further when he sets out this fascinating observation about the gifts being classified according to Christ's threefold office of prophet, priest, and king. He suggests:

All the gifts mentioned in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4 can be roughly classified as prophetic, kingly, or priestly. For example, gifts of wisdom and knowledge are prophetic, while gifts of administration, miraculous powers, and healing are kingly. But some gifts could easily be classified in more than one way. For example, healing could be seen as priestly, since it is an exercise of mercy toward the person healed…. This classification is nevertheless useful in reminding us of our relation to the work of Christ and in reminding us that no one of the lists of gifts in the New Testament is intended to be exhaustive. (2)

Recognizing that the gifts of the Spirit held a unique place in redemptive history, Poythress nevertheless insists: "Cessationists must allow for a place for intuitive gifts in their ecclesiology." Poythress then goes on to unpack, in quite a thought-provoking way, what he understands to be "discursive" and "non-discursive" intuitive gifts that are analogous to the supernatural, revelatory gifts of the apostolic age. In this way, he intimates that the Spirit continues to give members of the church gifts analogous to the supernatural gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12. While some of the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 may have ceased completely due to their unique role in redemptive history (i.e., miracles, tongues, and so on), others have ceased only in the specific way in which they were manifest during the apostolic age (i.e., a word of wisdom, knowledge, administrations, and so on).

While "today there is no need for a sign to show that God is moving from the single nation of Israel to all the nations," (3) there remains a need for a diversity of gifts analogous to those outlined in this particular section (i.e., healing, miracles, and tongues) for the building up of the members of Christ's body. Whatever one may conclude about the nature and the purpose of these spiritual gifts, this much we can be certain of: Our God is seeking to build up those who are united to Christ by means of the diversity of gifts he supplies to the members of Christ's body. No one person, except Christ himself, has all the resources to minister to the needs of the body of Christ. We should be zealous to use the gifts he has given us for the edification of the members of his body.