Last week we examined the first half of the list of Spiritual gifts. As a reminder here is the listing of the passages that contain references to spiritual gifts and the list of gifts; Romans 12:6ff, I Corinthians 12:4ff and Ephesians 4:11. The gifts are prophecy (in all three lists), ministry, teaching (in two lists), exhortation, giving, leading, compassion, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, discernment, tongues, apostles, evangelists and pastors. As we discovered, the first half of the list (ending with knowledge) contains the gifts with which most of us are familiar and are used in the everyday life of the church. Most of us would have no problem with acknowledging that those gifts are still operative. It is much of the second half of the list which troubles us. When we begin to talk about gifts such as miracles and healing we might feel a bit uncomfortable. If that is the case we are not alone.
The Reformed Tradition (Presbyterians, Reformed churches, and some Baptists) of which we are a part declared that many of the gifts on the second half of our list were no longer operative. While those gifts may have been active during the early days of the church (in the book of Acts) they ceased with the death of the last of the original disciples. My own personal opinion is that all the gifts are still operative, though perhaps not as common. So on to the gifts.
Faith – this gift does not refer simply to the faith that all individuals have in God and Jesus. This is the kind of faith that is unwavering in the face of every test and trial. This is the kind of faith upon which others can depend and draw strength from.
Healing – this is the first of what seem to us to be extraordinary gifts. Healing refers to the ability to be a channel for God's power in such a way that others are physically and emotionally healed. This does not refer to the work of physicians or therapists, but to supernatural healing.
Miracles – though we are familiar with the miracles of Jesus (feeding five-thousand, etc.) we are hesitant to believe those miracles can still happen today. In the church in Africa however, miracles and healing are an integral part of the Christian experience. In fact many African Christians wonder how the church can be the church without miracles being an active gift…so in some ways context matters.
Discernment – this gift refers to the ability to see through the "masks" with which individuals clothe their words and actions in order to sense if there is good or evil behind them. Discernment gives the church the ability to ascertain its true motives for what it does.
Tongues – this gift refers to the ability to be carried away in the Spirit and speak in unknown languages. For some denominations (Pentecostals) this gift is essential but for others it has proved divisive. The Apostle Paul while approving of this gift warns that unless the speaking can be translated into a meaningful message it is not to take place.
Apostles – when most of us read this word we are immediately drawn back to the early church and the original Apostles. What we discover in the scriptures however is that Apostle is one who is sent out with a message (the Good News) to establish and oversee churches as their primary teacher. The Roman church sees bishops as those who wear the mantle of Apostle.
Evangelists – what is interesting about this gift is that the modern church has tried to make everyone responsible for evangelism. Each person is supposed to be able to "bring others to Jesus." Yet Paul makes it clear that this is a special gift like all others. In other words there are some people (say Billy Graham) who have the ability to transmit the Good News in ways that engender faith.
Pastors – the root of this term is shepherd. A pastor is not necessarily a preacher but someone who cares for and guides a particular church.
In summary, while no one person has all of the gifts, each of us has at least one gift. The challenge for us is to discover and use the gift/s we have been given.
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