What is a spiritual gift in the first place? In a nutshell, spiritual gifts are resident abilities granted by God to the born-again, which are different from person to person so that every need of service is covered and every believer is needed by every other believer in the body of Christ. These gifts can be looked at from different angles and thereby appear quite distinct even when referring to the same thing, which explains why Peter and Paul were able to present them so differently every time they mentioned them.
Peter saw them in their most fundamental nature. According to that angle, spiritual gifts (χάρισμα) either result in someone speaking or someone providing some non-verbal service. That's a helpful division because it means the preacher isn't the only one gifted or used by God in the church. He's not even the only one who speaks! Peter specifically states that each one (ἕκαστος) or everyone, in the church is gifted by God as either a server or a speaker.
Peter saw them in their most fundamental nature. According to that angle, spiritual gifts (χάρισμα) either result in someone speaking or someone providing some non-verbal service. That's a helpful division because it means the preacher isn't the only one gifted or used by God in the church. He's not even the only one who speaks! Peter specifically states that each one (ἕκαστος) or everyone, in the church is gifted by God as either a server or a speaker.
Paul saw things a bit more layered. According to that angle, the results of being "inspirited" (πνευματικῶν) by the Lord can be seen in three different facets of functional inspiration. On one hand, these are expressions of grace (χαρισμάτων); on another, they are utilities, or services rendered (διακονιῶν); and lastly, they are the spiritual influence, or energy, that produces the intended outcomes (ἐνεργημάτων). Regardless, they were all inspired by God in everyone (πᾶσιν), and each of them have been given the manifestation (φανέρωσις) the Holy Spirit.
In other writings, Paul gives lists of gifts three times. Some of the details in each occurrence are repeated, or are similar, some are different. In each instance, he approaches the subject from a slightly different perspective. I'd like to think those perspectives correlate to what he wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6. In other words, I see one of Paul's lists emphasizing the grace that is responsible for the gift's expression, in another the utilitarian result of their inspiration is emphasized, and in the third the motivating, or enervating, quality that compels them is what is in view.
Because this is so, there are two types of inspiration behind those qualities generally called spiritual gifts today.
One type of inspiration is the endowments of utilitarian grace, which could properly be called gifts. The other type is those spontaneous, momentary inspirations of spiritual power that is better, and more accurately, called manifestations of the Holy Spirit. A gift is something that is resident within the gifted person and correlates to the gift/service/working level mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6. A manifestation is a momentary effect or evidence that the Spirit of God is in action through a person and which correlate to the list in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11.
Gifts are taken to the self and possessed. They remain with the possessor over time, though they may go through a developmental process over that time. They are without repentance from God's perspective and so cannot be lost. Gifts are the body part a believer is. Every Christian is gifted by God with some resident ability or abilities that make that believer of indispensable utility to the body of Christ. Giftedness is just part of the nature of being born of the Spirit.
Manifestations flash on and then dissipate. Like a neon sign announcing the Spirit is open for business, they turn off when that business is done. They may or may not be indicative of that person's resident giftedness, they may or may not be something that recurs. They are the privilege, one or all of them, of any who are born of the Spirit and so are gifted in the body.
I would liken these spiritual skills and manifestations to the plying of a trade in the world at large. Though each trade has it's own skill and art, generally limited to that trade, each tradesman still has a toolbox. The individual tools in a tradesman's box may look a little different from similar tools in others' boxes, yet every tool box has a hammer, some kind of wrench, a screwdriver, a cutting implement, some kind of tape, a measuring device, etc.
I would liken these spiritual skills and manifestations to the plying of a trade in the world at large. Though each trade has it's own skill and art, generally limited to that trade, each tradesman still has a toolbox. The individual tools in a tradesman's box may look a little different from similar tools in others' boxes, yet every tool box has a hammer, some kind of wrench, a screwdriver, a cutting implement, some kind of tape, a measuring device, etc.
You get the picture-- all the tradesmen use the same basic tools despite the differences in what they do. I liken this tool "interchangeability" to the manifestations of the Spirit. It is the task at hand, as determined by the Holy Spirit, that decides which tools get used and how. No tradesman uses only a hammer, nor is one sentenced to use only a saw, just because he or she used one once, or even because he or she happens to be a carpenter.
The Apostle Paul, not wishing us to be ignorant about how the Spirit inspires what he does, laid out this basic concept: in God everyone is gifted, and all the gifted can manifest the Holy Spirit. Your gift doesn't determine what you manifest, the Holy Spirit does, in the moment according to his will. Your gift will be apparent to others over time, what you manifest is never apparent until the moment it flashes on. Some gifts, of course, will manifest some things more than others, but any of the gifted can produce any of the manifestations.
The Apostle Paul, not wishing us to be ignorant about how the Spirit inspires what he does, laid out this basic concept: in God everyone is gifted, and all the gifted can manifest the Holy Spirit. Your gift doesn't determine what you manifest, the Holy Spirit does, in the moment according to his will. Your gift will be apparent to others over time, what you manifest is never apparent until the moment it flashes on. Some gifts, of course, will manifest some things more than others, but any of the gifted can produce any of the manifestations.
I think we need to expand our horizons and whet the appetite of our expectations in regard to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God means more for us than we are generally satisfied to receive. The Holy Spirit isn't cheering us on from the sideline, he's in the game with us-- in fact, he's our uniform and padding. We're all meant to play, and he intends us to win! Regardless of what position we may play (how we are gifted), we are all meant to evidence the miraculous moving of the Holy Spirit (through manifestations).
In my next post, we'll look at those lists and see what they tell us about how many gifts there actually are, at least we'll sketch it out.
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