Week in Review

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:

A CALL TO UNITY, A CALL TO PURPOSE (PART 4)

Written by Minister Jewel D. Williams

2/09

MISUSE OF THE GIFTS/IMMATURITY

Ballenger makes the point that the called have not reached perfection. It is a community is process. Bryant states outside of the Christian community individuals seek to elevate one’s self over others. “People strive to impress with their wealth, power, knowledge, reputation, and popularity. But as Paul sees it, the driving force of Christian fellowship cannot be proud self-assertiveness, jealousy, envy, anger or competitiveness.”[1] Ackerman presents Paul as stating gifts of the Spirit can be wonderful tools for the church only if they are filtered through the cross, but if used for self-service they can become the fuel for problems. Ackerman asserts that Paul wanted to set up a protective boundary of love and holiness around the Corinthian church (when addressing the issue of tongues). In order for this to happen, the believer has to have the mind of Christ, which imitates him by living a life of love as the Holy Spirit moves.


Boa warns of the dangers of abuse. He presents that spiritual gifts are not merely for personal use. They can be abused, however when the gifts are exercised in the power of the flesh. The discovery and use of spiritual gifts is not an option. It is the gifts that shapes one’s ministry. Spiritual gifts should not be a cause of discouragement. Development of the gifts requires time. Spiritual gifts should not be cause for pride. God gives the gifts as he chooses and they are not status symbols or trophies of ones achievements. Spiritual gifts should not be exalted. One should not exalt the gift above the gift Giver, God.


Hays warns that no one should boast about being “spiritual” no matter what gifts one may possess. All the manifestations of the Spirit are to serve God’s purpose for the benefit of the community. Kraus states, “instead what counts is evidence that those spiritual gifts are enabling the church to worship and witness in whatever culture it finds itself.”[2] The believer must be careful to present authentic gifts. These authentic gifts are in harmony with the character of Jesus Christ. They invigorate, they build up and they consol the body of believers. The beauty is the body is continually being changed, formed and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. As the believer continues to present himself or herself as living sacrifices to God, the Holy Spirit can help the individual to remove selfish motives in the usage of the gifts. This is what maturity does in the body to unity them in purpose.

CONCLUSION

Mission was absolutely fundamental to the early church, as it rose from God’s own mission of drawing the lost into a right relationship. The church today must be rooted in God’s love to be energized and empowered to draw others. This is the mission of the church. This purpose is why God equipped each believer with spiritual gifts. The spiritual gifts were given to men by the Holy Spirit to prepare them to work in unity for the purpose of building each other, adding to the kingdom and glorifying God in the process. This writing has shown that love has been the driving force behind the mission of God. It is essential motivation for the believer to be enabled to use ones gift. If the motivation is done without love it becomes selfish and self-seeking. Waldrop states regarding the mission as fulfilled through Christ “ . . . finding its course in a mandate given by him to his followers who would form the Church empowered for mission by the Holy Spirit. In this way, the Church participates in the mission dei as sign, agent and sacrament unto the consummation of the reign of God as the eschanton.”[3]


The Holy Spirit distributes the gifts to the body to facilitate maturity in the body as she fulfills the purpose of why Christ left her here in this world. Therefore, it is love that is vital to the believer fulfilling the mission and being the sign to a dying world as the gifts are exhibited.



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[1] Robert A. Bryant, 2004. "Romans 12:1-8." Interpretation: A Journal of Bible & Theology 58, no. 3: 287-290. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed January 22, 2009).

[2] Norman C. Kraus, God Our Savior, 168.


[3] Richard E. Waldrop, "PENTECOSTAL PERSPECTIVES ON HOLISTIC CHURCH MISSION TODAY." Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies 10, no. 2: 178-191. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed January 23, 2009).

The Week in Review

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:

A CALL TO UNITY, A CALL TO PURPOSE

Written by Minister Jewel D. Williams

2/09

THESIS STATEMENT

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are distributed to every believer to facilitate the maturation process of the body as well as to fulfill the purpose of God in the world. Therefore, without the gift of the Holy Spirit to equip the believers to express these gifts through love there will be misuse of the gifts. It is imperative that love be the motivation behind the usage of gifts to promote unity in the fulfillment of the mission God.


INTRODUCTION

When one determines to examine the meaning of spiritual gifts, it is best to start with its origin. Author Bryan Knell in his article, Who owns Mission? states God’s rescue plan was put in place when he first called Abraham to establish a special family and Moses to form a nation to bless all people.[1] The way God’s plan was to be fulfilled was made clear through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Knell confirms that God showed his love to mankind by sending his Son. The gift promised by the Son was the gift of the Holy Spirit, which enables the believer to receive and give the love of God. It is through this love that the gifts of the Holy Spirit must operate to fulfill the purpose as ordained by God. The gifts of the Holy Spirit, also known as spiritual gifts are given to every believer to mature them, equip them for service and to build up the kingdom of God. Without love as the motivation for the usage of gifts, one is surely to misuse the gift and fall short of God’s purpose. Therefore, the overarching purpose of the gifts is to express the love of God to his children and then outward to the world.


SPIRITUAL GIFTS

What does it mean to have spiritual gifts? Is this the same as gift of the Spirit? These two questions are an excellent starting point to this study. The gift of the Spirit is the Spirit himself (Acts 2:38; 10:45; 11:17; Rom 5:5). Alister E. McGrath in his book, Christian Theology – An Introduction presents the teaching of Augustine of Hippo on this matter. What he states is, “Augustine concedes that Scripture does not explicitly state that the Holy Spirit is love; however, in that God is love, and the Spirit is God, it seems to follow naturally that the Holy Spirit is love.”[2] McGrath further states Augustine’s defense of the Holy Spirit as love is based on a complex argument, which finds it basis in scripture (1 John 4:7, 19). To affirm the Holy Spirit as love directs the believer in the understanding that what flows from the Holy Spirit is the love of God.

McGrath continues his explanation regarding love and the Holy Spirit and the benefit on the life of the believer. “The Spirit is a gift, given by God, which unites believers both to God and to other believers. The Holy Spirit forges bonds of unity between believers, upon which the unity of the church ultimately depends.”[3] Gailyn Van Rheenen expounds on McGrath’s presentation regarding the Holy Spirit and his purpose. In his book, Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies - Missions he presents a graph that shows the mission of God. God originated the mission. Jesus Christ enacted the mission. The Holy Spirit gives power to the mission. The church carries the mission and the world hears the mission.[4] With his graph, Van Rheenen presents love as the motivating factor for all that God does.

God’s love explains further the need for the gifts of the spirit to be distributed to the people of God. Kenneth Boa in his book, Conformed to His Image explains the position of each into the body of Christ. He states, “every Christian is a minister with a unique contribution to make to the body of Christ. The central thrust of our ministries depends on the spiritual gifts we have received.”[5] He affirms that on the day that the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost, a new organism was created. This organism was the people of God being lead and empowered by the love of God through his Spirit. This leads to the next question regarding the gifts and who is the giver of the gifts? (Come back next week for the next installment of this lesson)

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[1] Bryan Knell, “Who owns Mission?.” Evangel 24, no. 3 (September 2006): i-iv. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed January 23, 2009).

[2] Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology – An Introduction, (Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2001), 312.

[3] Ibid, 313.

[4] Gailyn Van Rheenen, Biblical Foundations & Contemporary Strategies, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 18.

[5] Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 301.