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 believer is needed by every other believer in the body of Christ. They can be looked at from different angles, 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 (charisma) 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 used by God in the church. He's not even the only one who speaks! Peter specifically states that each one, so 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" (pneumatikōn) by the Lord can be seen in three different facets of functional inspiration. On one hand, these are expressions of grace (charismaton); on another, they are utilities, or services rendered (diakonon); and lastly, they are the spiritual influence, or energy, that produces them (energematon). Regardless, they were all inspired by God in EVERYONE (just as Peter asserted), and each of them have the privilege of manifesting the Holy Spirit (vs. 7-11).
In his 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 their expression, in another the utilitarian result of their inspiration, and in the third the motivating, or enervating, quality that compels them.
Peter saw them in their most fundamental nature. According to that angle, spiritual gifts (charisma) 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 used by God in the church. He's not even the only one who speaks! Peter specifically states that each one, so 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" (pneumatikōn) by the Lord can be seen in three different facets of functional inspiration. On one hand, these are expressions of grace (charismaton); on another, they are utilities, or services rendered (diakonon); and lastly, they are the spiritual influence, or energy, that produces them (energematon). Regardless, they were all inspired by God in EVERYONE (just as Peter asserted), and each of them have the privilege of manifesting the Holy Spirit (vs. 7-11).
In his 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 their expression, in another the utilitarian result of their inspiration, and in the third the motivating, or enervating, quality that compels them.
If this is so, and it is, there are two types of inspiration behind those qualities which are commonly called spiritual gifts today: one is endowments of utilitarian grace which could properly be called gifts, and the other is spontaneous, momentary inspirations of spiritual power that is better, and more accurately, called manifestations. As such 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 of the Holy Spirit is a momentary effect or evidence that the Spirit of God is in action though a person and which correlate to the list in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11.
A gift is taken to oneself and possessed. It may develop over time, hopefully anyhow, but it is without repentance as far as God goes. It is the body part a believer is.
When I refer to They may or may not be indicative of that person's resident giftedness, they may or may not be something that recurs.
Every Christian is gifted by God with some resident ability or abilities that make that believer of indispensable utility to the body of Christ. I would liken these skills 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. They may look different from one another, but every tool box has a hammer, some kind of wrench, a screwdriver, a cutting implement.
Every Christian is gifted by God with some resident ability or abilities that make that believer of indispensable utility to the body of Christ. I would liken these skills 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. They may look different from one another, but every tool box has a hammer, some kind of wrench, a screwdriver, a cutting implement.
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 that determines which tools get used and how and it is the same for the manifestations. No tradesman uses only a hammer, nor is one sentenced to use only a saw, just because he or she used one once, or 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 for us: 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 comes out. 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 for us: 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 comes out. 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.
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. We'll also continue turning the gem under the lights, so its various colors and sparkle can be recognized and appreciated.
