The Gifts of the Spirit

The Gifts of the Spirit
Rodney Pamer

(in The Pentecostal Herald)

Rod Pamer pastors in Barberton, Ohio; and along with his wife, Nan, son, Paul, and father, Bishop Nelson Pamer, serves the Apostolic Church.

The great Sahara Desert in North Africa, with over three million square miles, is one of the largest areas in the world of uninhabited and fruitless land. However, scientific analysis reveals that the soil of the Sahara is among the most fertile in the world. Except for the lack of water, this desert could be one of earth’s most productive areas. Recently, the American space shuttle Columbia, while flying over this arid land, determined by echoes it received that there are miles and miles of underground rivers and no less than twenty-six lakes beneath the subterranean surface of the Sahara. In addition, the sand dunes of the Sahara store considerable quantities of rainwater.

The potential is there, but it lacks the necessary development of that potential to bring forth unprecedented life. Countless people do without necessary provisions because those hidden resources have not been tapped.

More important, there are spiritual reservoirs present in this world that could awaken, nurture, and develop a limitless potential of the church. Do we realize what spiritual resources lie untapped in our congregations?

God has provided gifts of the Spirit that sometimes remain dormant while many churches struggle. Some churches are arid and spiritually unproductive simply because they have not dug down deep enough to tap the unseen reserves of spiritual power and strength available to the church.

First, it is imperative that one scriptural distinction be understood concerning the gifts of the Spirit. The New Testament makes abundantly clear the difference between God’s gift (singular) of the Spirit and the gifts (plural) of the that God bestows on the church. Perhaps this is the most important matter to understand about the gifts of the Spirit. The gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38, 10:45) is not the same as any one of the gifts of the Spirit. (See I Corinthians 12.) Often people mistakenly equate the gift of the Holy Ghost, with the accompanying initial evidence of speaking in tongues, with the gift of tongues. There is an important difference between the two. The gift (doron) of the Holy Ghost refers to the gift of salvation. Doron means great sacrifice. Jesus Christ was the great sacrifice necessary for His Spirit to return beginning at the upper room. The gift of salvation comes to the individual through repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, evidenced by speaking in tongues.

The gifts (charismata) of the Spirit come not for the individual, but for the church as spiritual endowments meant to supplement apostolic ministry in the church. The word charisma refers to the free, undeserved blessing and work of God. These gifts are miraculous endowments from God.

The operation of the gifts of the Spirit is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the apostolic church. We must be as apostolic today as was the church in the Book of Acts. We must have the gifts of the Spirit. Without the operation of the Spirit, we would become just as any other church. The redeemed of the Lord are not only saved unto everlasting life, but we are the children of God. It is not merely a term of endearment to say that God is our Father and we are His children. We are begotten of God and have become partakers of His mighty, miraculous nature. This relationship is available to us through the gift of God’s Spirit and through the gifts of His Spirit.

In the history of Christian thought, two tendencies have prevailed in relation to the gifts of the Spirit. First, much of Christendom has neglected or ignored the operation of the gifts; second, a small segment of the church has disproportionately magnified the employment of the gifts. To avoid both of these extremes, the apostolic church must seek the operation of the gifts with a biblical understanding.

Whenever a movement deviates from Scripture, whether in doctrine, in conduct, or in the operation of spiritual gifts, it is destined to downfall. In the area of spiritual gifts, the tragic excesses of the so-called “Latter Rain” of the 1950s exposed the danger of placing the authority of the gifts above that of the Word of God and the ministry.

The gifts of the Spirit are not intended to replace or supplant the preaching and teaching of the Word through the ministry—the means God has ordained to lead and perfect His church. Gifts are to help and assist believers, and to affirm the Word. They are for edification, exhortation, and comfort, and to help in the ministry of preaching and teaching the Word.

The gifts are given by the Spirit of God for the church. They are not resident in the individual, but in the Holy Ghost. No one should claim any spiritual gift. Gifts of the Spirit are exactly that—they are gifts of the Spirit; they do not belong to those exercising them.

Paul wrote that when the gifts of the Spirit are operating in the proper way and order, unbelievers will know that God is present. (See I Corinthians 14.)

Many believe that there are nine gifts of the Spirit; others feel there are as many as twenty-five listed in the New Testament. The key passage concerning the gifts of the Spirit is I Corinthians 12:8-10, which lists the nine foundational or spiritual gifts. Other passages that list gifts of the Spirit are Romans 12:6-8 (service gifts) and Ephesians 4:11-12 (gifts of ministerial offices to the church).

The nine gifts of the Spirit found in I Corinthians 12 are

1. the word of wisdom;
2. the word of knowledge;
3. the gift of faith;
4. the gifts of healing;
5. the gift of working miracles;
6. the gift of prophecy;
7. the gift of discerning of spirits;
8. the gift of divers kinds of tongues;
9. the gift of interpretation of tongues.

At Corinth, there was a serious misunderstanding of the gifts of the Spirit. Paul wrote: “I do not want you to be ignorant” (I Corinthians 12:1, NKJV). He did not want them improperly informed. The church of Corinth overemphasized the gifts of the Spirit, but their use of the gifts did not make them spiritual.

David F. Gray wrote, “Peter plainly declared that the healing of the lame man was not owing to any super spirituality which he possessed … the exercise of a spiritual gift does not establish that individual as necessarily a spiritual person.”

In I Corinthians, Paul gave guidelines to help believers understand the administration of the gifts. First, all the gifts are through the Spirit and therefore depend upon the believer’s possession of the Spirit. Without the Spirit, there are no gifts from God for man. Second, no one possesses all the gifts. Third, all the Spirit’s gifts are for the benefit and edification of the entire body of believers, for the common good of the church of Jesus Christ. Finally, the gifts are never for personal advancement or promotion; nor are they to be used by an individual for his exclusive personal benefit. The gifts are not for display or entertainment or just to let us think that God’s presence is in the church.

Paul wrote to the church in Galatia that the Spirit ministers to the church. The word here is epichoregein, which suggests generosity, lavishness, and abundance of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are given to generously supply what the church needs. The word epichoregein was used by that culture in marriage contracts where the husband promised to supply his wife with all the necessities of life according to his ability. Epichoregein was used in relation to supplying soldiers in battle with all necessary equipment. It was used to reflect the loving generosity of a father who supplies all the necessary provisions of life for his children. Such is God’s gifts of the Spirit to His church.

The great violinist, Nicole Paganini, who lived 1782-1840, willed his priceless violin to Genoa, the city of his birth, on the condition that it not be played. Unknown to the citizens of Genoa, the violin was made of a peculiar wood that needed the oils from the musician’s hands to preserve it. As long as the violin was played and handled, it showed little wear. As soon as it was not in use, without the oil from the master’s hands, the wood began to decay. The exquisite, mellow-toned violin became worm-eaten in its beautiful case, valueless except as a relic. The decaying instrument is a reminder that life, withdrawn from service, loses its meaning.

The gifts of the Spirit serve to give and preserve spiritual life to the church. Without the operation of the gifts, the church is sure to decay—a powerless, lifeless religious relic. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10).