Spiritual Gifts, Their Real Purpose
I Corinthians
13:1-3 (NIV) - If I speak in the tongues
of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging
cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I
am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the
flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
The genuine function [purpose] of any of the gifts
of the Spirit must be accompanied by the love of Christ. If the fullness of
God’s love (the key ingredient), is missing in any of the gifts we have
grounds to suspect satanic activity. It takes God’s love to fill the gift with
genuine purpose.
Several years ago, a Christian friend wrote with the
following concern. She had become involved with a group who were firm believers
in speaking in tongues. Though my friend did not speak in tongues, the group
was constantly putting pressure on her to speak in tongues. As a result, each
time she met with them she became increasingly resentful, because she was
feeling judged by them. In fact, the pressure became so intense it became a
stumbling block for her.
In seeking my counsel, she shared her belief that
according to scripture, tongues is one
of the gifts given as the spirit wills.
Therefore, it is not our place to determine what our gift is to be, because it
is as the spirit wills. My Christian friend was right on target in her
interpretation. Scripture confirms that tongues is one in a long list of
gifts, given by the Holy Spirit, for the purpose of edifying or building up the
body of Christ.
I Corinthians
12:4-11 (KJV) - Now there are diversities
of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations,
but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same
God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to
every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of
wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith
by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To
another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of
spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of
tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to
every man severally as he will.
My friend’s concern was well-founded, “If it is indeed
the Holy Spirit who divides the gifts severally as he will, why all the
emphasis by this group on tongues?” Why indeed? After praying about my friend’s
concern of how the members of the group were treating her, I was able to
identify the workings of the false spirit behind their demands. The
adversary, to stir up contention within the body, was using a beautiful gift
that God had placed in the church, as a pawn.
Through craftiness, the gift
of tongues was not being used for the genuine purpose God intended, that
of edifying or building up the body of Christ. On the contrary, the gift of
tongues itself was being lifted up as something to be prized and sought after,
something to be worshipped. The Lord revealed the gross error of worshipping
the gift, rather than God - who is the Giver of the gift. Which begs the
question, is it the gift that transforms us, or the Holy Spirit working through the gift that transforms us? The
truth, firmly embedded within the question, is our Christian safeguard from
deception.
The members in this group had literally taken one
gift, the gift of speaking in tongues, and made a religious doctrine out of it.
Through intimidation [pressure], they in so many words were saying, if you want to be a part of our [elite]
group, if you want to gain the power of the spirit, you too must seek this
gift. Make no mistake, the devil tried similar power tactics on Jesus, but to no avail.
Luke 4:6-8
(KJV) - And the devil said unto
him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them...If thou therefore
wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get
thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and him only shalt thou serve.
My friend was being tempted with the supposed
instant power this “gift” could bring
her. What was to be gained, but a heightened sense of security and status
among her peers? She could succumb to their pressure to seek after and serve
the gift; or she could follow her heart to freely seek after and serve God.
The Holy Spirit, who leads and guides his children
into all truth, manifested His light, truth, and wisdom in no uncertain terms.
My friend knew in her spirit that it was time to move on - to walk away from
that group. How could she do it? The answer is simple. When our focus is on
the Giver (God), rather than on the gift itself, then we have the freedom to
walk in faith with our Lord, totally depending upon the Spirit that empowers
the use of all the gifts.
The controversy over spiritual gifts is not something
new. Satan is always up to his old tricks. In fact, Paul speaks about it in the
Bible. He dealt with this very issue in his first letter to the Corinthians.
Since he was dealing with their carnal (fleshly) nature, he had to spell it out
for them. In effect, Paul was saying to them, “brothers and sisters listen
up! The Spirit doesn’t make errors in judgment. You don’t have to run after the
gifts. The Spirit knows what gift you need to function properly in the body of
Christ.”
I Corinthians
12:27-30 (NIV) - Now you are the body of
Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has
appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers
of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others,
those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of
tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work
miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all
interpret?
Thank God, we do not need to have the same gifts, to
enjoy the same Spirit. Paul says the
Spirit has placed us in the body, as He wills, based on the gift He has given
us. Praise God, “the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to
profit withal.” (I Corinthians 12:7)
All we have to do is to claim by faith and enjoy functioning in the gift God
has given each of us. This is building each other up, in love, in the body of
Christ!
The bottom
line: The real purpose of spiritual gifts is for
edification of the body of Christ. If
our focus is on our gift, then this is a sign that we are walking in the
flesh, not in the spirit. Why? If we are truly walking in the spirit, our whole
focus, mission and purpose will be centered on Father God who is the Giver of
all gifts.
Questions For Personal or Group Study:
1. What “key” ingredient must every spiritual gift
have, if it is to carry out its genuine function in the body of Christ? (I Corinthians 13:1-3)
2. Who determines what spiritual gift each member
of the body of Christ will be assigned?
(I Corinthians 12:11)
3. How does Satan use spiritual gifts as pawns to
tempt believers to worship him? How did Jesus deal with similar temptations? (Luke 4:8)
4. Controversy over spiritual gifts is not something
new. Paul dealt with the Corinthians on this very issue. What was the root
cause of their contention? See: I
Corinthians 3:1-9
5. What is the real purpose of spiritual gifts?
I Corinthians 12:4-11, Ephesians 4:12-13