Before launching into this study, I want to put it into context. Sadly, the spiritual gifts can be a controversial topic within the Church. There are two extremes we can take which, if we hold too tightly to, can cause us to miss the ultimate purpose of the spiritual gifts, which is to build up the Body of Christ and to draw unbelievers. (See 1 Corinthians 14)
On one hand, we can de-spiritualize the gifts of the Spirit to the point that they are simply natural human traits and capabilities maximized. In this view we take something that is manifestly a supernatural empowerment of the Holy Spirit and turn it into an ability that we train and build up purely through regular exercise.
On the other hand, we can over-spiritualize the gifts of the Spirit to the extent that every manifestation of the gifts must be connected to an ecstatic event. We work ourselves up into such a spiritually-heightened state that we are finally ready for the Holy Spirit to fall on us and the mighty works of God can begin.
These extremes are not so much false as they are simply much too narrow to capture God’s purpose in giving the Gifts of the Spirit. Additionally, these extremes fail to adequately capture the experience within the breadth of the Body today. The Church and it’s 2 billion adherents experience God’s grace sufficient for life in a broad range of environments and circumstances. God is continuing His work around the world drawing people to Himself out of every nation, tribe, and people group. And He does this through His people being obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and responding to the Holy Spirit. The work is a collaborative effort between the Spirit of God and the people of God yielded to the Holy Spirit. Our yielded-ness leads to the Holy Spirit moving in us to accomplish great and mighty things. Many times that manifests itself in the spiritual gifts. That is what this study is about.
This blog is from the notes I pulled together for our home group study. I used a few on-line resources (which I will note at different points in the paper) and copious hours reading and praying over the scriptures. I have been overjoyed to find new insights in the Word as the Lord expanded my understanding of spiritual gifts, particularly with respect to the source and foundation of why He gives them.
For the study, I usually began with general questions to draw us into topic, followed by more directed questions related to the text we were studying. It is my intent to leave this to aid others who might want to expand upon this for their own study.
A final disclaimer. Many years ago I entered a bit of a longer fast seeking God’s direction in my life. I was ready and willing to go into ministry if that’s what the Lord wanted. At the end of those three days, the Lord spoke very clearly to me. He said, “Son, I’ve not called you to be a preacher. I’ve not called you to be a teacher. I’ve called you to be a man of prayer. You will preach and you will teach, but first and foremost, you are to be a man of prayer.”
That was around 25 years ago. I have seen those words played out perfectly in the meantime. As I share this with you, I do so with a sincere sense that the Lord has made this one of the times when I have been called upon to teach. Recognizing that teaching is one of the gifts I scored a middle-of-the-pack score on (Spiritual Gifts survey which I will identify later in the study), I can rightly assume that whatever good comes from this is due to the Holy Spirit enlivening it in me and in the reader. Fortunately, these are spiritual gifts and as such God is able to do abundantly, amazingly, above all we can ask or imagine. I sit here confident and overflowing with thankfulness that this is true.
Key Chapters Discussing Spiritual Gifts
Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4
List of Spiritual Gift Possibilities in Key Bible Passages (italics indicates a gift repeated in other places in scripture)
Romans 12
exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy, prophecy, service, teaching
1 Corinthians 12
administration, apostle, discernment, faith, healings, helps – service, knowledge, miracles, prophecy, teaching, tongues, interpretation of tongues. wisdom
Ephesians 4
apostle, evangelism, pastor, prophecy, teaching
Misc. Passages (the following are implied as gifts in other scriptures)
celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, missionary, voluntary poverty
OTHER GIFTS FROM THE LORD
Salvation, Church, Family, The conveniences He provides.
Lesson One
(Select two or three of these questions for ice-breakers to lead into today’s discussion)
What is your favorite gift-giving event? What makes it your favorite?
What is one gift you have received that you value above all others?
What is a particularly memorable gift you have received? What made it so memorable?
Any stories of gift-giving gone wrong?
What is the purpose behind giving and receiving gifts?
How about with spiritual gifts?
Have you given a gift and had it received poorly? How did you feel?
Have you ever received a gift poorly?
What are gifts?
Transfer of an item from one who has or possesses the means to have something to one who does not currently have.
Transfer of ownership of something.
Freely released into the ownership of the other.
To be a true gift, there needs to be a recognition that the thing received is desirous and good.
For a gift to be good it must be “unwrapped”, appreciated, and used.
Gifts most often come from ones who care for us and want us to experience good things and to be happy.
Some gifts are given to us to help us be more functional and to accomplish specific tasks.
Is there timing associated with gifts?
Times of gift giving – Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Anniversaries, Graduations, Baby Showers, Weddings
Some gifts have an “expiration”, i.e. like a bouquet of cut flowers, a new car. Some gifts have a lifetime legacy – a deed of land, a wedding ring, a poem written in honor of another.
Some gift-givers are extremely generous and continue to give and give and give.
Some gift receivers are very appreciative. Some gift receivers are never satisfied.
Receiving with thankfulness and true appreciation engenders greater goodwill between the giver and receiver.
Receiving gifts with dissatisfaction or grumbling or without thankfulness damages the relationship between the giver and the receiver.
Romans 12
To be read in context of the whole chapter.
What is the first gift offered in chapter 12? Verse 1 – our bodies as living sacrifices.
How is this sacrifice received? We don’t determine this, but Paul tells us when we set ourselves apart unto God it is “holy and pleasing to God”. He also affirms that this giving of ourselves is our true and proper worship.
What are the “personal” reciprocal gifts that we receive if we continue to give ourselves to the Lord? (verse 2)
Transformation, a renewed mind, clarity in knowing God’s will.
What are the “communal” gifts that we receive if we continue to give ourselves to the Lord? (verses 6-8)
Part of the body of Christ, prophesy, serving, teaching, encouragement, generosity, leadership, mercy / care-giving.
Are there any pre-requisites to receiving these communal gifts? (verse 3)
Humility (do not think more highly of yourself than you ought), sober judgment, faith
Take time to make the distinction of the supernatural element of these gifts if they flow from sacrificial living leading to transformed people with renewed minds, living together in humble faith while exercising sober judgment about themselves.
What is the outcome of this gift giving, particularly when it entails all members of the body of Christ exercising their communal gifts? (verses 9-21)
Sincere love one to another.
A true rejection of what is evil with an active passion to fight against it.
A passionate embrace of what is good.
Devotion one to another… hugs and warm affection manifested, expressing genuine love. Lives intertwined and supportive.
Honoring one another – accomplishments celebrated, faithfulness recognized, high-fives all around.
The zeal of the Lord present and richly manifested in lives devoted to Him, to one another, and to whatever work He has called us to at that time.
Joy even when circumstances are not exactly what we would want because hope is so rich and tangible.
Patience even when we are in the midst of affliction. (I picture the body, particularly those with the gift of care-giving, rallying around the one suffering the greatest.)
Faithful intercession and prayer that moves mountains, breaks chains, heals wounds, and accomplishes God’s purpose, in God’s way, in God’s perfect timing.
Greed is gone as the body supports and shares with one another freely, especially those with the gift of generosity. A point here – those with this gift also often have the uncanny ability to make money. I think this may be either an aspect of the gift of generosity or simply a manifestation of the law of reciprocity where Jesus said, “Give and it will be given to you.”
Kindness, a supernatural love for and active reaching out to those who do not share our belief or faith. In fact, it is a love for those who actively work against us.
Empathy manifested in every life situation.
Unity and harmony that is genuine and from the heart. This absolutely transcends social status, education, age, race – and any other potential source of division.
The rejection of evil to the point that we do not respond in kind, but rather we are motivated by love and our response is what life within the body of Christ would approve of and support.
Peaceful living, with the full recognition that those not in the body might not live in peace nor want to allow us to do so. Yet we seek peace.
Our response to evil’s attack is to seek to do good while trusting in God to be our shield, our shelter, and our defender.
Prior to this study I have always tended to read the bible with a strong awareness of the textual divisions that editors have inserted. Romans 12 includes three different divisions… verses 1-2 are under the heading “A Living Sacrifice”, verses 3-8 are “Humble Service in the Body of Christ”, and verses 9-21 are “Love in Action”. While these textual divisions are often helpful, they can also cause us to overlook some important connections the author may have had in mind. Reading this chapter without those divisions leads us to see a flow that I believe Paul meant for the reader to grasp.
Before we focus on chapter 12, let’s take one step back and place this chapter into context of the entire letter to the Romans. Romans is written to a part of the church Paul has not yet personally visited. In this letter Paul provides a succinct explanation of the love and grace of God manifested through the sacrificial life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Through these early chapters we can trace God’s plan of salvation as Paul describes the ultimate gift of God giving His Son… of Jesus giving His life for us. Paul paints with words God giving over and above anything we could deserve or even imagine comes through.
When we hit chapter 8 we see this new “life in the Spirit” which is available to all who are followers of Jesus. This too is a magnanimous gift from a gracious and loving Father. By the time we reach chapter 12 we have had the point driven home again and again – God has given us such a stunning abundance of grace and goodness. This is the first “giving”.
In chapter 12 we then see giving taking place in three rapid bursts. The first is in verses 1-2 where we give ourselves to God. This is a call to total abandonment. Paul has used old testament imagery throughout the previous chapters so when he speaks of a living sacrifice here, he is tying it to the old testament understanding of sacrifice being a complete giving over. The only difference is as “living” sacrifices we get the honor of repeatedly deciding to completely give ourselves over to God.
The second giving is God giving spiritual gifts for the edification and building up of the Body. I will speak about it more later, but I want to clearly state it here – the primary purpose of the spiritual gifts is the building up of the Body of Christ, but building up of the individual believer happens at the same time. God is the ultimate multi-tasker. In dispersing His gifts, He accomplishes many things as the Body, and the individual, receives and responds.
Then comes the third giving which is the one I had always missed. That is the Body of Christ becoming a radiant, shining example of God’s goodness, grace, and love to the world that does not yet know Him. We become God’s gift to the lost and unbelieving. Through this, people are drawn to look to Him, to consider the claims of the Church, and to come to faith.
In conclusion to this week’s lesson, we see that God initiates the giving through giving Jesus as our savior. We respond by giving ourselves to Him as our Lord. He then continues giving by working transformation in us and by giving spiritual gifts to the Church. The final giving is the Church being given to the world as a manifestly beautiful and attractive “Bride of Christ”. This final giving includes an invitation to all who have not yet accepted Christ to join the fellowship of believers by receiving God’s initial gift of His Son – Jesus.
In our next lesson, we will investigate the ultimate source of God’s gift giving – His amazing love.
Until next time, may the God of all good gifts pour His Spirit out upon you, filling you with His wisdom, His truth, and His love. In Jesus Name. Amen.
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