Looking at the Gifts

when the famous St. Paul’s Cathedral in England was just completed, the equally famous architect Sir Christopher Wren took the then King of England around for a tour

as the King walked through this edifice, he didn’t say anything

when he finally emerged on the other side, he turned to the waiting, expectant architect and said, "It’s awful, artificial, and amusing"

this would strike us as a pretty terrible blow if we were the architect, wouldn’t it?

actually, it wasn’t a problem at all

the architect was really delighted

because in those days, awful meant awesome, artificial meant a work of art, and amusing went amazing

so what the King really meant is that it is awesome, a work of art, and awe-inspiring

no wonder the architect was pleased

it just goes to show how much words can change their meaning after time

and that is within the English language in just a few hundred years

imagine, then, if we were to try to find the meaning of words as the author intended them, not three hundred years ago, but two thousand years ago

and not in the English language, but in Greek, and not the type of Greek spoken today

that’s the sort of problem we run into when we talk about the spiritual gifts

with some of them, we simply do not have enough linguistic information to be able to be dogmatic about what the gifts really are

so we’ve had to draw upon the experience of people who have seen these gifts operating

and it is probably wise to adopt a less than dogmatic stance on some of these gifts

I’ll explain this to you as we go along

this is the one of three challenges we face as we examine specific spiritual gifts

another problem is the classification of these spiritual gifts

depending on how you interpret the different passages, there are between 22 and 27 different gifts of the Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures

some people have tried to classify them to make them easier to remember

Gothard, for instance, classifies them as motivation, ministry, and manifestation gifts

Ray Stedman from California, who built a big church around the concept of body life ministries, talks about gifts, workings, and manifestations

the only problem is, the Scriptures themselves do not naturally lend themselves to any sort of classification

the three major lists of gifts, from Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Corinthians 12, are not complete

not one of them contains all the gifts that are mentioned in the Bible

secondly, they are partially overlapping

some of the gifts are mentioned in all three lists

some of them are mentioned in two, some only in one

and there are some not mentioned in any one of them that are mentioned in other passages of the Bible that are not primarily concerned with the subject of spiritual gifts

so it would seem that the New Testament is not as concerned with classifying the gifts as it is putting before us the incredible diversity of the giver of the gifts, the Holy Spirit

and along with that, the richness of the body of Christ, to whom these gifts have been given

God has given us an amazing variety of spiritual gifts, and they are all tokens of his varied grace, as 1 Peter 4:10 says

then you also have the question of cessation: have some of the gifts ceased?

some would argue that the gifts of apostleship, tongues, prophecy and so on no longer apply today

others argue that all gifts are available

for this morning, at least, I’m going to entirely sidestep this problem to focus on the big picture

in the light of these three challenges, we want take a broad approach, and to put the emphasis where the Scripture puts it: on action, not analysis

so I want to give you some working definitions this morning

a working definition is for someone who, after a while, tires of esoteric discussions, and says, "All I want is a handle on the phenomenon so I can get busy doing what I should be doing"

this morning, we won’t dot all the i's and cross all the t’s

we’ll just get to the point where we can get on with the job and put it to work

I want to give you sort of a starting block in which you can place your feet and begin running

you might disagree with me on some of my positions

that’s okay

I’m not here to win any arguments; I approach the subject with a great deal of humility, and I don’t have the final word

now, I'll cover 21 of the gifts this morning

I obviously won’t have time to cover all of them in depth

I’ll vary my emphasis based on the need

the ones that need explanation, I’ll explain

the more obvious ones I’ll touch only with passing comments

where possible and where appropriate, I’m going to mention individuals you may know who are demonstrating these gifts

as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words

in this case, a person is worth a thousand words

the purpose will not be to glorify these people, because they can’t really claim credit for their gifts anyway

it will simply be to flesh out real-life examples of this in our own congregation and beyond

I also want to avoid slipping into the lecture mode

I don’t want this to be a pedantic, intellectual discussion of the gifts, as much as a description of Richview Baptist Church

somewhere in here, everyone fits in

so see this as descriptions of people in this particular church

imagine ourselves as a diamond that sparkles in different ways

that’s the purpose this morning

THE FIRST GIFT I WANT TO MENTION IS THAT OF APOSTLE

it’s used in 1 Corinthians 12:8 and Ephesians 4:11

are there apostles today?

in the narrow sense, no

the two qualifications of an apostle appear to have been (1) having seen Jesus after his resurrection with one’s own eyes; and (2) having been specifically commissioned by Christ as an apostle

in that sense, Paul appears to have been the last person made apostle

but in a more general sense, the New Testament has three verses in which the word apostle is used in a broader sense

for instance:

(Philippians 2:25) But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger [apostle], whom you sent to take care of my needs.

so some today would use apostle to describe someone who is an effective church planter or a significant missionary pioneer

Network describes apostleship as "the divine ability to start and oversee the development of new churches or ministry structures"

these people are extremely rare, although they do exist

we only have to think of some of our missionaries who are gifted in pioneering and church planting

although I would be extremely cautious in attributing the gift of apostleship to anyone, because of the confusion between the narrow and general senses of the word

WHAT ABOUT PROPHETS?

prophets are mentioned again in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11

if you define a prophet as a person through which an authoritative word of God is to come with a "Thus says the Lord" approach which is binding on everyone, that gift doesn’t operate anymore

the canon is closed

but I believe the gift of prophecy in the New Testament is distinct from this

there are many indications in the New Testament that prophets did not speak with authority equal to the words of Scripture

for instance:

(Acts 21:4) Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

this was a prophecy that Paul ignored

it appears that the New Testament gift of prophecy is not inspired revelation, but rather process in which a person spontaneously discerns and communicates a message from God to the people

not canonical revelation, but for instance, when an unplanned but urgent request to pray for certain missionaries in Nigeria

then much later finding out that at that exact time, the missionaries involved had been in an auto accident or an intense spiritual conflict

at other times, when preaching, a preacher-teacher may experience a special unction to communicate things he hadn’t planned

some would say that this is the gift of prophecy

some argue that those who are outspoken in confronting evil and sin in a decisive and authoritative manner have this gift – people like Charles Colson or Ken Campbell

they might have this sort of gift

I HARDLY HAVE TO MENTION EVANGELIST, MENTIONED IN EPHESIANS 4:11

although we all have a responsibility to evangelize, some are especially gifted in communicating the Gospel to unbelievers so that they respond in faith

according to 2 Timothy 4:5, Timothy was an evangelist

for an evangelist, sharing their faith is almost as natural as breathing

whereas most of us share our faith from time to time, an evangelist can’t help but share their faith almost daily

HOW ABOUT A PASTOR-TEACHER?

the root word for pastor is shepherd, and a pastor is someone who cares for his flock, feeds the flock, and protects his flock

and usually the pastor commits himself to one flock, and cares, feeds, and protects them

you could define it as a long-term responsibility for the spiritual welfare for a group of believers

elders, by the way, would function as pastors – there is no scriptural difference

some of our deacons, who provide spiritual oversight, would qualify

a New Testament shepherd isn’t someone who gets itchy feet every year or two and moves on to a new congregation

they commit themselves, as pastors, elders, or small-group leaders, to a long time to serve the same group of people

you don’t have to be called a pastor to have this gift

some examples, I think, in our own congregation would be people like Steve Smith and Bob Fukumoto, men who continue to exhibit pastoral gifts even though they’re not serving as vocational pastors right now

CLOSELY RELATED TO THIS IS THE GIFT OF TEACHING, MENTIONED TOGETHER WITH PASTOR IN EPHESIANS 4, BUT SEPARATELY IN 1 CORINTHIANS 12:28 AND ROMANS 12:7

it is self-evident – a teacher is able to clearly explain and apply God’s Word, causing greater Christ-likeness in the lives of listeners

it is not only a knowledge of God’s Word, as many people have a knowledge who cannot teach

it is the ability to clearly communicate God’s Word, leading to life-change in the lives of students

people like Charlie Hynds and Dawna Haywood have exhibited this gift in abundance here

THEN THERE’S ENCOURAGEMENT, MENTIONED IN ROMANS 12:8

this is an interesting one, because the word for encouragement comes from the same word used to describe the Holy Spirit: paraclete – to come alongside, to encourage, to exhort

it was used in classical Greek of exhorting troops who were about to go into battle

it is the divine enablement to present truth to strengthen, comfort, or urge to action those who are wavering or discouraged

you know this sort of person – one who is sending notes and cards, phoning just when we need it

I’ve noticed that there are many of these people at Richview – people like Lori McMurray and Joan Marshall

they always seem to be encouraging others within the church

I’M GOING TO PUT TOGETHER TWO OF THE GIFTS: LEADERSHIP AND ADMINISTRATION

leadership is mentioned in Romans 12:8

administration is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:28

they are distinct but related ideas

to lead means to preside or have the first place

it means a person who stands before to speed up the process

in other words, the leader is someone who has a grasp of the big picture – where the people they are leading are going to be five or ten years from now

they have the ability to communicate those goals to the people they are leading, so that people spontaneously follow

you don’t have to hang around Joe Tullo for long to know that he has this sort of gift and is using it in the church

administration, however, is a nautical term

it is used of a helmsman, or someone who steers the ship

you can draw a distinction between the captain, who knows the big picture of where the boat has to be in five days, the conditions they will face, and so on

but the helmsman takes the wheel and maneuvers the boat through the details

the administrators are not necessarily the dreamers, but once they are told what to do, you can relax because they will take care of the details

they love to make lists and tick them off

you can depend on them to follow through

someone like Arlene Rawson or the office administrator here, Janis Percy

both are needed if the church has to accomplish its mission

if the church has an administrator but no leader, the church will function very smoothly but have little purpose or direction

on the other hand, if all you have are leaders but no administrators, you’ll know where we have to go, but we’ll never get there

both leaders and administrators are necessary

ANOTHER PAIR OF GIFTS THAT ARE RELATED BUT DISTINCT ARE SERVICE AND HELPS

helps is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:28; serving in Romans 12:7

these are doing gifts – they’re task related

helps means the performance of helpful deeds in aiding another

service probably means a personal ministry done to serve another – probably referring to meeting physical needs

they both achieve the same function in the body: the divine enablement to accomplish practical and necessary tasks, with a view of freeing up, supporting, and meeting the needs of others so they can use their gifts more effectively

by using their gifts, they free up others to use their gifts

the difference comes in the area of motivation

it would appear that people with the gift of service are task-oriented people

when they see something that needs doing, they jump in and do it

they can’t walk past a need without doing it

most children don’t appear to have this gift!

according to wives, most husbands don’t either

but if there’s snow and a shovel’s there, they’ll do it

if tables need to be carried, they’ll jump in and carry them

the person with the gift of helps may do all these things, but their focus is not on the task, but on the people they’re going to help out

their focus is to free the individual

these are no glory roles

nobody lines up the streets to thank these people

they are often ignored, but they are desperately needed in the congregation

I’ve noticed a number of people with the gifts of service and helps

if tables need to be packed away, or snow needs to be shoveled, they’re there

to give two examples, Jack Caldwell and Paul Payne

SO IS THIS NEXT GIFT, THE GIFT OF MERCY, LISTED IN ROMANS 12:8

it’s the enablement to cheerfully and practically help those who are suffering or in need without thought of repayment

these people always side with the underdog

they are spontaneously drawn to those that others reject or find undesirable

in the kind of broken world we live in today, this is a needed gifts in the church

all of us are exhorted to show mercy, but those with the gift of mercy do it spontaneously and cheerfully

they continually bring stories of how they’re helping those in need

for instance, the Beattys and Shields

GIVING IS THE NEXT GIFT, ACCORDING TO ROMANS 12:8

it’s also a duty

but people with the gift of giving approach it somewhat differently

those who do it out of a sense of duty have to work hard to learn how to give joyfully

they have a tendency to count what they give

but people with the gift of giving do not tend to focus on what they give

they usually also recognize opportunities to go ahead and make money, and go ahead to do it with a goal to give their money back to God

they go by the motto, "Make all you can, give all you can"

they don’t give a tithe, they may give 70% or more of their income to God

it’s not just the rich who have this gift; the poor widow who gave all did

it’s like what Paul wrote:

(2 Corinthians 8:3) For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,

(2 Corinthians 8:4) they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.

that’s a beautiful description of someone with the gift of giving

ANOTHER MISUNDERSTOOD GIFT IS THAT OF FAITH

faith is a gift, according to 1 Corinthians 12:9

George Mueller had this gift; he started and ran many orphanages

on many occasions, there was no food, but he would lead the orphans in a prayer of thanks for the food they were about to receive

and right in the middle of the prayer, trucks would drive up with bread and eggs and all sorts of food

it happened consistently in his ministry

some preachers try to shame us all into having the faith that George Mueller did, without realizing that Mueller probably had this as a spiritual gift

there are three types of faith in the Bible: saving faith, which every Christian has

then there’s the fruit of the Spirit, called faith: the growing ability to live in the light of invisible reality, as in Hebrews 11

and then there’s the gift of faith: the divine ability to discern with extraordinary confidence the will and the purpose of God in seemingly impossible situations and to trust God to accomplish this work

this is what Mueller had

we’re almost at the end

KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM ARE MENTIONED IN 1 CORINTHIANS 12:8

they are two related gifts

knowledge is the divine enablement to systematize and bring biblical truth to the body

theologians and scholars would have this gift

these are the intellectual pioneers and seminal thinkers

knowledge and teaching together become powerful gifts in the church

wisdom, while closely related, is probably more specific in its application

it is the Spirit-given ability to receive insight as to how any given knowledge can be best applied to the needs of the body

for instance, Peter Wagner has an incredible amount of knowledge on church growth

but he says that if you sit him in a pastor’s study and ask how to apply that knowledge to a particular church situation, he doesn’t have a clue

but he has a colleague named Carl George

within fifteen minutes of talking to Carl George, he can say, "Here are the four things that will go wrong with your church in the next year. Here’s what you need to fix it"

he can bring the knowledge to bear on a particular situation

NOW I WON’T SAY MUCH ABOUT THE WHOLE AREA OF MIRACLES, HEALINGS, DISCERNMENT, TONGUES, AND THE INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES

they’re mentioned primarily in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10

they’re all together and they all have to do with altering the normal course of nature, whether in healing, casting out of demons, or discerning whether something is human, divine, or demonic in its nature

the meanings of many of these gifts are self-evident

in many churches these gifts get the most attention out of any gifts, but it is helpful to remember not to focus on some gifts at the expense of others

some people believe they don’t exist anymore

others believe they do exist, but need to be exercised under the guidelines given in Scripture

but they all have to do with altering the normal course of natural events, whether in speaking prayer or praise in syllables not understood by the speaker, or in the whole area of healing

LET ME QUICKLY FINISH WITH PROBABLY THE LEAST POPULAR GIFT: CELIBACY

it’s given as a gift in 1 Corinthians 7:7

not too many people want this as a gift

but celibacy can be defined as the God-given ability to remain single and enjoy it

or, perhaps more in light of 1 Corinthians 7, to say that those who have this gift are not overly concerned with the disadvantages of being single, primarily in the area of sexual temptation

and have come to the point where the advantages of singleness exceed the disadvantages of singleness, as far as ministry is concerned

this gift is never a standalone gift

it’s for the purpose of taking some other gift of theirs and enlarging its effectiveness

John Stott, for instance, has a gift

because of his gift of celibacy, he’s been able to take his gifts of knowledge and teaching to benefit the church around the world in a way that, if he was married, he would probably not have been able to do

tell me something

isn’t the Holy Spirit rich to give us all this diversity at Richview?

hasn’t Christ lavished on us the riches of his grace?

on this Thanksgiving Sunday, when we thank God for giving us so many precious gifts, I think it’s only appropriate that we pause to think of the spiritual gifts that he has given us, and thank God for giving – for lavishing – these gifts upon this church

wouldn’t it be amazing if every individual at Richview fit themselves under one of these gifts and began to work together toward the common goal that the leadership is taking us in?

I want you to dream it, pray for it, and make it happen

and then we will see an impact for Christ’s kingdom that we’ve never seen before

DashHouse.com

Sermon Index

New! Sermon Audio

Subscribe to DashSermons

Looking at the Gifts

adapted from a message by Sunder Krishnan, Rexdale Alliance Church