My Personal Experience With the New Testament Gifts of the Spirit

 

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⁴ There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. ⁶ And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. ⁷ But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: ⁸ for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, ¹⁰ to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (1 Corinthians 12:4-11, New King James Version, from biblegateway.com)

Let’s take these verses a bit at a time:

⁴ There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. ⁶ And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. ⁷ But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

I chose the NKJV deliberately because different translations emphasize subtle nuances. The NKJV translators picked words that carry theological weight rather than fluff.

Diversities of gifts suggests specialization in how certain people function in the Body of Christ. Of course, all followers of Christ have the Holy Spirit. We all have human brains, but some are gifted in this way or that, meaning they can do things that not all of us can. It’s the same with spiritual gifts described above. Some specialize in prophecy, and we needn’t feel left out or passed by if we don’t ever have that gift. The gift isn’t for us—it’s for the Body of Christ, the Church. The giftee is a channel and can never say, “I have this special power.” The power comes from God Who can remove it in a heartbeat.

A ministry on the other hand is a more generalized means of service. It doesn’t just refer to the call of being a pastor, missionary, or denominational leader. Making coffee for the after-service gathering in the community hall is a ministry. Hospice care, counseling—anything consistent and specialized that aids another person or crisis situation is a ministry.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (4:11, 12), he wrote, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…” These are leadership ministries to spiritually build up the Body in knowledge and discipleship. Walking beside those leaders are bishops/presbyters and elders/deacons. These offices are all in the New Testament. I call them offices and avoid the word titles because Jesus warned against accepting titles. He knew that the lure of status-seeking could corrupt a good ministry.

In the first century AD, the definition of these offices was being debated and formulated. Spiritual gifts are not for the purpose of making us rich, revealing who Taylor Swift will marry, warning when the earth’s poles will switch, or advising which diet program works best. Today, theologians and denominations rigidly pontificate in their seminaries and dogmas about titles and ministries, but I believe that in God’s eyes, they are fluid because they are adiaphora (side issues). Ultimately the Holy Spirit anoints a ministry or it grinds away on its own human accord.

In the 1970’s I attended a church where the pastor was considered a real prophet...a “thus saith the Lord” kind of prophet. He laid hands on me one day in a service and began to prophesy about my future ministry. It predicted that I would teach theology—like what I’m doing in this post. At the time, it was a highly improbable future. To say I was a diamond in the rough is an understatement. The prophecy came with a word and a vision, and it was very encouraging to a penniless woman who had no idea who she was or where she was going in life.

⁷ But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: ⁸ for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,

It’s clear that these gifts of the Spirit are not meant for everyone, and no one, or perhaps very few today, have all of them. Some translations say “a message of wisdom.” Well, every counselor, or perhaps your mom, very often delivers a message of wisdom, so I chose to favor “a word of wisdom” to remind us that this word comes quickly and directly from the Holy Spirit. It is usually downloaded in the form of ideas, and it might be something that the giver of this word wouldn’t have thought of by himself/herself. The line between that special inspiration and normal common sense can be blurry. Think of Joseph in the Bible advising Pharaoh to save up grain for seven years so that Egypt would survive the coming seven years of famine.

A word of knowledge is more specific. One day in fall of 1980, I was attending a Wednesday afternoon Bible study at a small Assembly of God church in Lexington, KY. The topic was tithing. When the pastor asked for testimonies about tithing and being blessed, I gave my story. I did manage to give 10% of my gross paycheck to whatever church I was attending. I lived in grinding poverty, but my bills were always paid and I never lacked for the necessities of life. I worked fulltime for the Kentucky Geological Survey at the time as a geological draftsperson, but I was officially titled a teacher’s aid and made barely enough salary to survive. The pastor put his arm around my shoulder and said nice things about my testimony. Then he said, “When you get that big new job, I want you to come back and tell us about it.” I countered, “Oh, I’m not looking for a job. I like my job. I just wish it paid more.” “Nevertheless,” said he, “I think God has a big new job for you and I want to hear about it when you get it.” I shrugged and thought, no way.

Not very long after that a flyer came from the California Division of Mines and Geology recruiting for the same position but for a LOT more money. The office was in the famous Ferry Building of San Francisco, not too far from Mountain View where my mother lived. I applied, flew to California to interview, got the job, and left Kentucky like a bat out of a belfry. There I met my husband to be, a geologist. One year, after we were married and had our first son, he represented the CDMG at the American Association of State Geologists, which happened to be meeting in Lexington. Of course, I went with him. When I approached the registration desk, Meg, the Survey editor, said, “Well, talk about returning in triumph.”

⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,

We all, as Christians, have a certain amount of faith. It’s the way we come into the Kingdom. The gift of faith is over and beyond what most of us have. I knew a young man in the 1970’s who was evangelizing on the streets of San Jose. He was trying to tell another young person about Jesus and salvation, but the man’s attention wasn’t on the conversation. He kept looking around with a worried expression. Finally Dan asked him what was wrong. The fellow told him that he lost a check and he really needed it. Dan said, “If I pray that you will find that check and you find it, will you let me tell you about Jesus.” “Sure.” Dan prayed out loud right there on the street. The young stranger felt something hit his leg. It was a windy day, and a breeze had blown his check against his leg. Dan finished his spiel and led the stranger to Christ. That’s the kind of faith I don’t have.

The gift of healing has nothing to do with being a nurse or collecting herbs for tea. But neither is it a secret power endemic to the healer. The giftee channels the Holy Spirit, impelled by faith and confidence in God’s power, knowing that he has called them to this ministry. I’ve heard a bazillion stories of spontaneous healings, sometimes with laying on of hands. The difference from the New Age approach is that the healer walks with Jesus, proclaims Jesus, gives God the credit for the healing. I know of one case personally where a New Age healer could read the body of a non-Christian but could not see anything having to do with her Christian friend who was beside her. In another case, a fortune teller could tell a woman’s fortune up to the age of 28. After that, nothing. At age 28, she gave her life to Jesus. So the gifts may seem to be the same, but they come from different sources.

¹⁰ to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

The working of miracles—there really are people whose call is to stand on a stage and call people forward for prayer. Spontaneous healings occur that are hard to believe because they are so beyond normal physics or medical ability. John Lake, Katherine Kuhlman, Maria Woodworth-Etter, Smith Wigglesworth, even Oral Roberts had this kind of ministry.

Prophecy—This is a repetition of God’s very words transmitted telepathically or in a dream or vision. The message or prediction is very specific. There are many examples of all three methods of revelation in the Bible. I actually have seen a vision in church that led to a prophecy. I have also had prophetic dreams that came to pass. Having prophetic experiences does not make one a prophet. Notice that a lot of these visionary gifts overlap. A prophet of God does not use tarot cards, palms, crystals, or Ouijas.

Discerning of spirits—this does not indicate you should have majored in psychology in college. Nor does it give those of us with suspicious imaginations leave to think ill of others. This revelatory gift is a ministry gift to aid in exorcisms or intercessory prayer. I only experienced it once in my life. I was staying the night with a new friend at church who had led a troubled life. We were sleeping in her bedroom with twin beds. I had trouble dropping off to sleep, so I got up and prayed for her in the living room. Suddenly I sensed a spirit of suicide. I could almost see it in my mind’s eye, but no, there was no vision or words. I rebuked it in the name of Jesus and tried to tell myself I was imagining things. Twice that night she tried to commit suicide and twice I intervened. I spent the night in prayer and worship and flew out of there the next morning. Should I have done more? Made phone calls and gotten her help? Probably, and that may be why I don’t have that particular gift.

The gifts of tongues and interpretation—There are two manifestations of tongues. One is a prayer language for the closet and the other is a gift similar to prophecy where a tongue message is given in church. In the public arena, such a message is intended to be interpreted. God works separately with the message giver and the interpreter. The only difference between a public prophecy and an interpretation of tongues is that the interpreter is responding to the message in tongues. Both need a lot of discipline and care to keep this gift a blessing rather than a train wreck in the service.

The “tongue” is not a real language. This has been tested decades ago, and the interpretation comes from God, not from the person suddenly understanding the language. Yet now and then, someone reports that they heard a person giving a tongue or praying in tongues and they understood a perfect rendition of their own native language. If this were a book and not a blog post I would share two personal stories suggesting that the miracle is in the ear of the hearer. They actually hear their language being spoken, not what the speaker is saying. But they hear it in the speaker’s voice as if the speaker was saying it.

The January 2003 edition of Guideposts magazine had a fascinating story by charismatic leader Elizabeth Sherrill. She and her husband John were in Vienna in the iron curtain days. A man who had to leave Prague to save his life gave a packet of photos and family mementos to the Sherrills to pass on to his wife and daughters. Taking all due precautions, the Sherrills found the family and passed on the packet. Elizabeth writes,

As the woman served us a coffee-colored drink, she pressed us for every detail about her husband’s health and spirits. She and I talked excitedly for almost an hour. It was a wonderful conversation. When we left, she gave us messages to pass along and a hastily written letter with the girls’ school reports and photos of a nephew’s new baby to bring back to her husband.

Outside, John asked, “What happened in there? What did she tell you? What did you say?”

I looked at him in surprise. “You were there. You heard everything.”

“Sure, but I couldn’t understand,” he said. “You were speaking German.”

But how could I have been? I don’t understand German, let along speak it.

Of all the spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12, the gift of tongues scares the beejeebers out of the average Baptist. Since the first charismatic outpouring in 1901, Evangelicals have been telling Pentecostals that they are manifesting the devil and that all gifts stopped when the last apostle died. It’s easy to be a skeptic when you haven’t experienced something. From the perspective of non-experiential evidence, one can claim to be an expert, but, for better or worse, Pentecostals live these gifts. When they are manifested correctly with all due respect, the results can be breathtaking. If the gifts go awry in the hands of backsliders or fools, the results can be cringeworthy. Often I’ve seen a Pentecostal pastor bring correction when a gift is not working right. 

It has been a while since I’ve been in a Pentecostal church. Republican politics have driven me away for good. But I thank God for every moment I spent in those holy roller churches in the past.