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Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 2
By Mark D. Roberts | Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Part 9 of series: Spiritual Gifts in the Body of Christ
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So far we have seen that if we want to receive spiritual gifts, we should focus, not on the gifts or on our experiences, but on loving others and building up the body of Christ. Spiritual gifts come in the context of ministry done for the sake of love and edification.
Do Your Part
In the middle portion of 1 Corinthians 14, Paul attends to the problem of tongue-speaking in greater detail. He does not prohibit the practice. In fact, he claims to speak in tongues more than any of the Corinthians (1 Cor 14:18). “But,” he says, “in a church meeting I would much rather speak five understandable words that will help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language” (1 Cor 14:19). Why? Because Paul recognizes that the gifts are given for the good of the body, not the one who exercises the gifts. Understandable words will help the church grow. Unintelligible words won’t.
From verse 26 to the end of the chapter, Paul provides final instructions for how the Corinthians should use spiritual gifts in their gatherings. He does not want to squelch their enthusiasm for the Spirit, but rather to transform that enthusiasm for the benefit of the church. Verse 26 lays out his fundamental advice:
So then, what is it all about, my brothers and sisters? Whenever you gather together, each one of you has a psalm, each one has a teaching, each one has a revelation, each one has a tongue, each one has an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up (1 Cor 14:26, my translation).
If you compare my literal translation with most English versions, you’ll notice what seems to be a missing word. The NIV, for example, reads:
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church (1 Cor 14:26, NIV, emphasis added)
The NIV adds the word “or” when it doesn’t appear in the original Greek of 1 Cor 14:26. The NRSV and the ESV agree with the NIV. Only the King James Version maintains a literal rendering:
How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, everyone of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying (1 Cor 14:26, KJV).
The addition of “or” to this verse quite dramatically changes its meaning, and thereby limits the work of the Spirit through spiritual gifts. This verse reveals, not that each person has one and only one gift to share with the body. Rather, the point is that each person can, in principle, minister in each and every gift. Given what Paul has said previously, this does not mean that every person should minister in every gift at every church gathering. But the potential is there for each person to function in each gift, as the Spirit wills.
It’s hard for us to apply Paul’s advice, given our presuppositions about and experiences of church gatherings. Most of our worship services include more than a hundred people, and many include thousands. If every person were to participate, even offering only one gift in a given worship service, that service would take hours, or perhaps days. We must remember that Paul envisions a different church setting, a house church that might have comprised as few as a dozen people and probably didn’t get much larger than fifty. It was actually possible for each person to contribute as gifted by the Spirit. (Photo: A worship service at Saddleback Church in Orange County, California)
For most of us, following Paul’s advice won’t lead to much public ministry in worship services. The sizes and traditions of contemporary churches won’t facilitate this option in most cases. Therefore, if you are to contribute the gifts the Spirit intends to give through you, you must be a part of a smaller fellowship group. Bible studies, prayer groups, ministry teams, growth groups, Sunday school classes – all of these can provide a place for you to contribute as the Spirit empowers you.
Topics: Spiritual Gifts |
8 Responses to “Practical Instruction on the Use of Spiritual Gifts, Part 2”
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November 19th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Rev. Roberts, Thanks for the excellent Spirit & gifts series & the perfect photos. There are a lot of readers like me- that are learning, receiving instruction & benefiting. Thanks Again. Most everyone would love to post lengthy responses & praises but sometimes work & bills ( the real world-realtiy intrudes) Keep up the great work. Blessings to You All Love & Prayers J & Family
November 19th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Of course, Frank Viola (”Pagan Christianity”, “Reimagining Church”) would argue that we should just ditch our current churches and return to the houses, where everyone could indeed exhibit a gift every time. Your thoughts on his work?
November 19th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Kozak: I’ve only skimmed Viola’s work, so I can’t comment too intelligently. In general, though, people who make his kind of arguments show very little understanding of how God might work in history to do something new in different cultural situations. It just might be that our current church structures aren’t quite worth ditching. Having said that, I do think that there is a huge need for the reformation of the church that might recapture some of what was present in the first-century house churches.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
As a member of Saddleback Church, from my observation and participation, one of the main strengths of the church is its thousands of small groups which meet in homes. Pastor Rick Warren and others are constantly urging people to join small groups.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Bill: Absolutely. Saddleback has more small groups than most churches have members. It’s one of the real strengths of the church, and one of the main reasons the people at Saddleback are being the real church (rather than just observers).
November 22nd, 2008 at 12:31 am
Excellent content and style…keep up the good work!
December 1st, 2008 at 10:16 am
Frank Viola wrote a great article regarding the gifts of the Spirit-you might want to check it out: http://frankviola.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/stripping-down-to-christ-alone-rethinking-the-gifts-of-the-spirit/.
Also, one of the posters mentioned the sequel to “Pagan Christianity?”-“Reimagining Church”. It picks up where “Pagan Christianity” left off and continues the conversation. (“Pagan Christianity” was never meant to be a stand alone book; it’s part one of the conversation.) “Reimagining Church” is endorsed by Leonard Sweet, Shane Claiborne, Alan Hirsch, and many others. You can read a sample chapter at http://www.ReimaginingChurch.org. It’s also available on Amazon.com. Frank is also blogging now at http://frankviola.wordpress.com/.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I WAS BORN IN CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN FAMILY.I AWS PUT IN CATHOLIC SCHOOL.IN SCHOOL MY TASTE WAS DEVELOPED TO BECOME A CATHOLIC PRIEST.WHEN I FINISHED MY SCHOOL STUDIES,I WENT IN A SEMINERY TO BECOME A PRIEST.I LEARNT MANY SUJECTS LIKE HISTORY.PHELOSPHY.CHURCH HISTORY,PSYCHOLOGY,AND MANY OTHER SUBJECTS,AFTER COMPLETING MY FOUR YEARS IN SEMINERY I CAME HOME AT VOCATIONS.MANY PASTORS BECAME MY FRIENDS.SLOWLY MY FRIENDSHIP WAS DEVELOPED WITH THEM.THEY GUIDED ME ABOUT THE PENTICOSTLE CHURCH.IN BEGINING I MADE FUN OF THEM BUT THEY TOLERATED ME.ONE DAY THEY INVITED ME FOR A SEMINAR.IT WAS TEN DAYS’SEMINAR.I WENT THERE AND SPEND TIME IN PRAYERS I LEARNT MANY THINGS FROM SERMONS.LAST DAY MY HEART WAS BROKEN I WEPT FOR ONE HOUR OR MORE.I PRAYED FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT.GOD DECENDED HIS HOLY SPIRIT UPON ME.MY TONGUE WAS CHANGED AND I SPOKE THE WORDS WHICH I DID NOT HEAR BEFORE.THEN I CAME TO KNOW THAT THE TONGUE WHOM I MADE ALWAYS FUN NOW IT WAS IN MY MOUTH.I ASKED SORRY FROM GOD.AND I CHANGED MY LIFE.I DID NOT GO TO SEMINERY AFTERWORDS.I DISCOVERD THAT I AM BOLD NOW.AND I CAN PEARCH.I STARED PREACHING AND AT MY FIRST SERMON MANY PEOPL WERE INSPIRED.THE PEOPLE ENCOURAGED ME AND DECALARE ME ASSISTENT PASTOR.WITH THE PERMISSION OF MY PASTOR I STARTED PREACHING IN OUT REACHES.i have my own chuch at outreaches.I WON MANY SOULS FOR CHRIST.I HAVE ABOUT 230 FAMILIES.165 PEOPLE ARE BAPTIZED WITH WATER.I WANT TO ESTABLISH MINISTRIES TO BROADER MY VISION.MY PEOPLE ARE POOR.PHYSICAL THEY ARE NEEDY OF FOOD AND CLOTHES.THEY ARE LIVING VERY SICK LIFE.I WANT THAT MY PEOPLE MAY BE FEED AND CLOTHED.PLZ HELP ME TO FULFILL MY VISION.I WILLBE GRATEFULL TO YOU MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU SAFE AND SOUND.MY ADRESS IS
EMMANUEL BASHIR
SHARAY WALA KHON SALAMAT PURA KASUR PUNJAB PAKISTAN
CELL IS ;923237502728
EMAIL ADRESS IS emmanuel4jesus2001@yahoo,com