Spiritual Gifts
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible [1]
1. The term . A special Gr. word, charismata , is used in NT for spiritual gifts. It usually stands alone, but in Romans 1:11 It is coupled with the adjective pneumatikon (‘spiritual’). It means concrete manifestations of the grace of God ( charis ), and is almost a technical term, though in Romans 6:23 etc. It is used generally of the gift of God, without reference to its visible result in the life of the believer. The principal passages which deal with spiritual gifts are Romans 12:6 ff., 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 , Ephesians 4:7 ff., 1 Peter 4:10 . The gifts may be divided into the apparently miraculous and the non-miraculous, ( a ) The miraculous include speaking with tongues (probably ecstatic utterances, usually unintelligible to the speaker; see Tongues [Gift of]), and their interpretation; gifts of healing, and the working of miracles or ‘powers’; of these we may instance the power of exorcism ([Mk] Mark 16:17 , Acts 16:18; Acts 19:12 ), and the punishment of offenders ( Acts 5:1-11; Act 13:9 , 1 Corinthians 4:21; 1 Corinthians 5:5 ). On the border-line come prophecy, discerning of spirits, and the receiving of revelations, where the miraculous element is less strongly marked. ( b ) From these we pass to the non-miraculous gifts, gifts of character, and mental and spiritual endowments of various kinds. We find mentioned the power of exhortation and of speech (closely akin to prophecy); wisdom, knowledge, and faith; helps and governments ( i.e. powers of administration); mercy and almsgiving; money, as affording opportunity for service and hospitality; 1 Corinthians 7:7 adds the gift of continence, and Galatians 5:22 gives a list of the fruits of the Spirit, as shown in the Christian character. Romans 12:6 and 1 Peter 4:10 mention only non-miraculous gifts, and in the Epp. the chief evidence for the miraculous is connected with Corinth.
2. Their nature . Most of these gifts may be regarded as the raising of natural endowments to a higher level. Without going at length into the question of miracles, we may note that the evidence of their reality in this connexion is very strong; they are referred to in the Epistles (contemporary documents) as matters of common knowledge; St. Paul speaks of his own powers in this respect as well known ( 1Co 2:4; 1 Corinthians 14:18 , 2 Corinthians 12:2 ); and Hebrews 2:4 mentions them as a recognized characteristic of the first age of Christianity. Further, these miraculous gifts of the Spirit belong to the class which may most easily be reduced to psychological law, and are to some extent paralleled in modern times, being mainly the well-attested manifestations which accompany times of revival, and are found in connexion with peculiarly gifted individuals.
‘What we read about miracles especially about the charismata in the Epistles of St. Paul is of the nature of things unusual, obedient to laws that are somewhat recondite, distinctly implying Divine impulse and Divine guidance and yet at most non contra naturam sed contra quam est nota natura ’ (Sanday, Life of Christ in Recent Research , p. 219).
A striking feature of these gifts is their apparently wide-spread and democratic nature. The new life, with its hopes and powers, had been offered to all classes of society, and the humblest Christian felt the thrill of being ‘filled with the Spirit.’ Hence
‘the first age of the Christian Church was characterized by a vivid enthusiasm which found expression in ways which recall the simplicity of childhood. It was a period of wonder and delight. The flood-gates of emotion were opened: a supernatural dread alternated with an unspeakable joy’ (Robinson, Ephesians , p. 121).
The results of this enthusiasm, as described in 1 Cor., were startling and visible to all; that it could not be without its dangers is obvious. Slaves or women, people of no account before, found themselves in possession of mysterious powers, which gave them a position of importance among their fellow-Christians. There arose the temptation to covet and strive by artificial and illegitimate methods for the more striking gifts, and to look on them as marks of superior sanctity, or the means of personal advancement. Others, on the contrary, felt themselves forgotten, and yielded to jealousy or despair. Rivalry led to disorder where the gifts were used in the public services of the Church.
3 . Hence the tone of St. Paul’s teaching as to their use
( a ) He insists on their regulation . The gifts may be sporadic and intermittent; none the less their use must be orderly ( 1 Corinthians 14:40 ); ecstasy is no excuse for loss of self-control (v. 32). Each Christian must recognize the limitations of his powers and not attempt to transcend them ( Romans 12:6 ).
There arises the question of the relation of the charismata to the ministry. Some have maintained that there was originally no fixed ministry, but only unorganized charismata ; others again have tried to assign a definite office to most of the charismata . The truer view would seem to be that the charismata and the official ministry existed side by side, but were by no means identical (see Sanday-Headlam, Romans , p. 358). All Christians had their share in the gifts of the Spirit, though there were special endowments which would he looked for in the case of officers of the Church; in 1 Timothy 4:14 , 2 Timothy 1:6 a charisma is connected with ‘the laying on of hands.
( b ) The purpose of the gifts is the edification and the service of the whole body . Chrysostom, in his remarkable homily on 1 Corinthians 12:1-31 , calls attention to the change of word in vv. 4, 5. The ‘gifts’ are also ‘ministrations’ ( diakoniai ), i.e. opportunities of service; hence the greater the gift the greater the responsibility, and the harder the work to he done. And so St. Paul passes on to the doctrine of the one body, served in different ways by all its members. Similarly in Ephesians 4:11 the possessors of the endowments are themselves gifts ‘given’ to the Church. The same truth is emphasized in Romans 12:1-21 , 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 , 1 Peter 4:1-19 , in fact in every place where the charismata are mentioned at any length; St. Paul’s own object is always to ‘impart’ to others ( Romans 1:11 , 1 Corinthians 14:19; cf. John 7:38 ). It is obvious that this way of looking at the gifts would check ambition, pride, and selfishness in their use.
( c ) Relative importance of the gifts . The more startling and apparently miraculous gifts are consistently treated as subordinate to gifts of character and edification. The former, indeed, are not decisive as to their origin; they are not peculiar to Christianity, and may be the accompaniment of evil and falsehood ( Matthew 7:22; Matthew 24:24 , 2Th 2:9 , 1 Corinthians 12:3 , Revelation 13:13-14 ). Indeed, in an age when exorcisms and miracles were associated with magic, and the heathen mantis , or frenzied prophet, was a familiar phenomenon, it was impossible to ascribe all ‘powers’ and ecstasy to the Holy Spirit. The test is on the one side doctrinal ( 1 Corinthians 12:2; 1 Corinthians 12:8 , 1 John 4:1-8 ); on the other the moral life ( Matthew 7:15 ff., Romans 8:9 , 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 ) and the practical tendency to edification ( 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 ). The ‘discerning of spirits’ is itself an important gift ( 1 Corinthians 12:10 , 1 Thessalonians 5:21 , 1 John 4:1 ). It is, indeed, remarkable how steadily the NT concentrates attention on the inner and less startling gifts of character, which the popular mind would ignore; and if it does not disparage, it certainly does not exaggerate, those which at first sight seemed to give more direct evidence of the presence of the Spirit. As a fact of history these tended to degenerate and finally to disappear. Justin and Irenæus mention them, and they played a large part in the Gnostic and Montanist movements, but after the 2nd cent. they practically died out as normal endowments of the believer, to be revived only sporadically in times of religious excitement.
C. W. Emmet.
Holman Bible Dictionary [2]
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of the Lord was given to selected leaders rather than to all of God's people. When the Spirit came to an individual, He brought with Him one or more gifts which equipped the individual to serve God by serving Israel. Examples of this are: Bezaleel, who was given the gift of craftsmanship ( Exodus 31:2-3 ); Othniel, who was equipped to be a judge ( Judges 3:9-10 ); Gideon, who was given military skills ( Judges 6:34 ); Samson, who was given physical strength ( Judges 14:6 ,Judges 14:6, 14:19 ); Saul, who was given political skills ( 1 Samuel 10:6 ); and Micah, who was given prophetic gifts ( Micah 3:8 ).
These Old Testament stories are the background for the Christian understanding of spiritual gifts. The Christian view of spiritual gifts begins with Jesus. He was the unique bearer of the Spirit ( Mark 1:10 ). The Spirit directed and empowered Him for His ministry ( Luke 4:14-18 ). Jesus promised His disciples that they, too, would receive the Spirit one day and that the Spirit would guide them (see Mark 13:11; Luke 11:13 ).
These promises were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost ( Acts 2:1-47 ). The Spirit was given to all Christians, not just to selected leaders ( Acts 2:3-4 ,Acts 2:3-4, 2:17-18 ). Peter made it quite clear that the Spirit would continue to be given to all who accepted the Christian gospel ( Acts 2:38 ).
Paul's letters reveal that this continued to be true in all the churches; every Christian was given the gift of the Spirit, so that Paul could write: “Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” ( Romans 8:9 TEV). When the Spirit came into a person's life, He brought with Him a gift, or gifts, which that person could use to serve God. “Each one, as a good manager of God's different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God” ( 1 Peter 4:10 TEV).
Like Peter, Paul believed that every Christian had a spiritual gift ( 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 ). Neither Paul nor any other New Testament writer suggested that some Christians might be without gifts; all Christians are given gifts. Paul always set his discussion of gifts in the context of the church. In our day many people tend to think individualistically; it is easy to do this with reference to spiritual gifts. This can lead us to become arrogant about our gifts (“I have the gift of evangelism”), or else to be ashamed of our gifts (“My gift is only working with children”). Paul spoke of gifts in terms of the whole church, not in terms of individuals only. The church, he said, is the body of Christ; each Christian is a member (eye, ear, leg); and each member has its appropriate ability (to see, or hear, or walk). This understanding leaves no room for arrogance or shame concerning our gifts.
In his writings Paul referred to about twenty different gifts, including such things as preaching, teaching, and leadership. Some interpreters have suggested that by putting Paul's lists of gifts together, we get a comprehensive list of spiritual gifts. This seems unlikely, as we today can recognize some gifts which Paul did not mention, such as the gifts of music, of working with youth, and of counseling.
Some Christians today tend to want to distinguish spiritual gifts from natural abilities, but this distinction seems not to have occurred to Paul, for he included both in his lists (see, for example, Romans 12:6-8 ). His assumption seems to have been that whatever skills a Christian has are given to him by God and are to be used in God's service. What matters, then, is that Christians discover what their gifts are and then develop them.
Which specific gift is the most valuable one? Paul's answer to this is clear and emphatic: the one gift all Christians should have, love ( 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:1 ). Love is the ultimate spiritual gift. If we have all other gifts and lack love, we have nothing; if we have love and nothing else, we have everything. Paul said that love fulfills the entire law ( Romans 13:10; compare Matthew 22:39-40 ). Love makes possible the fellowship of the church and guarantees that gifts will be used unselfishly. Love is the greatest gift given to us by the God who is love. See Holy Spirit; Tongues, Gift of.
Fisher Humphreys
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament [3]
See Gifts.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [4]
( χαρίσματα , charı́smata ):
1. Gifts Connected with the Ministry of the Word
(1) Apostleship
(2) Prophecy
(3) Discernings of spirits
(4) Teaching
(5) The Word of Knowledge
(6) The Word of Wisdom
(7) Kinds of Tongues
(8) Interpretation of Tongues
2. Gifts Connected with the Ministry of Practical Service
(1) Workings of Miracles
(2) Gifts of Healings
(3) Ruling, Governments
(4) Helps
The word chárisma , with a single exception ( 1 Peter 4:10 ), occurs in the New Testament only in the Pauline Epistles, and in the plural form is employed in a technical sense to denote extraordinary gifts of the Spirit bestowed upon Christians to equip them for the service of the church. Various lists of the charismata are given ( Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 , 1 Corinthians 12:28-30; compare Ephesians 4:7-12 ), none of which, it is evident, are exhaustive. Some of the gifts enumerated cannot be said to belong in any peculiar sense to the distinctive category. "Faith" ( 1 Corinthians 12:9 ), for example, is the essential condition of all Christian life; though there were, no doubt, those who were endowed with faith beyond their fellows. "Giving" and "mercy" ( Romans 12:8 ) are among the ordinary graces of the Christian character; though some would possess them more than others. "Ministry" ( Romans 12:7 ), again, i.e. service, was the function to which every Christian was called and the purpose to which every one of the special gifts was to be devoted ( Ephesians 4:12 ). The term is applied to any spiritual benefit, as the confirmation of Christians in the faith by Paul ( Romans 1:11 ). And as the general function of ministry appears from the first in two great forms as a ministry of word and deed ( Acts 6:1-4; 1 Corinthians 1:17 ), so the peculiar charismatic gifts which Paul mentions fall into two great classes - those which qualify their possessors for a ministry of the word, and those which prepare them to render services of a practical nature.
1. Gifts Connected with the Ministry of the Word:
(1) Apostleship
( 1 Corinthians 12:28 f; compare Ephesians 4:11 ) The name "apostle" is used in the New Testament in a narrower and a wider sense. It was the peculiar title and privilege of the Twelve ( Matthew 10:2; Luke 6:13; Acts 1:25 f), but was claimed by Paul on special grounds ( Romans 1:1; 1 Corinthians 9:1 , etc.); it was probably conceded to James the Lord's brother ( 1 Corinthians 15:7; Galatians 1:19 ), and in a freer use of the term is applied to Barnabas ( Acts 14:4 , Acts 14:14; compare 1 Corinthians 9:5 , 1 Corinthians 9:6 ), Andronicus and Junias ( Romans 16:7 ). From the Didache (xi. 4 ff) we learn that the ministry of apostles was continued in the church into the sub-apostolic age (see Literature , Sub-Apostolic ). The special gift and function of apostleship, taken in the widest sense, was to proclaim the word of the gospel ( Acts 6:2; 1 Corinthians 1:17 , etc.), and in particular to proclaim it to the world outside of the church, whether Jewish or Gentile ( Galatians 2:7 , Galatians 2:8 ). See Apostle .
(2) Prophecy
Prophecy ( Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:10 , 1 Corinthians 12:28 , 1 Corinthians 12:29 ), under which may be included exhortation ( Romans 12:8; compare 1 Corinthians 14:3 ). The gift of prophecy was bestowed at Pentecost upon the church as a whole ( Acts 2:16 ff), but in particular measure upon certain individuals who were distinctively known as prophets. Only a few of the Christian prophets are directly referred to - J udas and Silas ( Acts 15:32 ), the prophets at Antioch ( Acts 13:1 ), Agabus and the prophets from Jerusalem ( Acts 11:27 f), the four daughters of Philip the evangelist ( Acts 11:9 ). But 1 Corinthians shows that there were several of them in the Corinthian church; and probably they were to be found in every Christian community. Some of them moved about from church to church ( Acts 11:27 f; Acts 21:10 ); and in the Didache we find that even at the celebration of the Eucharist the itinerant prophet still takes precedence of the local ministry of bishops and deacons ( Didache x.7).
It is evident that the functions of the prophet must sometimes have crossed those of the apostle, and so we find Paul himself described as a prophet long after he had been called to the apostleship ( Acts 13:1 ). And yet there was a fundamental distinction. While the apostle, as we have seen, was one "sent forth" to the unbelieving world, the prophet was a minister to the believing church ( 1 Corinthians 14:4 , 1 Corinthians 14:22 ). Ordinarily his message was one of "edification, and exhortation, and consolation" ( 1 Corinthians 14:3 ). Occasionally he was empowered to make an authoritative announcement of the divine will in a particular case ( Acts 13:1 ff). In rare instances we find him uttering a prediction of a future event ( Acts 11:28; Acts 21:10 f).
(3) Discernings of Spirits
With prophecy must be associated the discernings of spirits ( 1 Corinthians 12:10; 1 Corinthians 14:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:20 f; compare 1 John 4:1 ). The one was a gift for the speaker, the other for those who listened to his words. The prophet claimed to be the medium of divine revelations ( 1 Corinthians 14:30 ); and by the spiritual discernment of his hearers the truth of his claim was to be judged ( 1 Corinthians 14:29 ). There were false prophets as well as genuine prophets, spirits of error as well as spirits of truth ( 1 John 4:1-6; compare 2 Thessalonians 2:2; Didache xi). And while prophesyings were never to be despised, the utterances of the prophets were to be "proved" ( 1 Thessalonians 5:20 f), and that in them which came from the Spirit of God spiritually judged ( 1 Corinthians 2:14 ), and so discriminated from anything that might be inspired by evil spirits. See Discernings Of Spirits .
(4) Teaching
( Romans 12:7; 1 Corinthians 12:28 f) As distinguished from the prophet, who had the gift of uttering fresh truths that came to him by way of vision and revelation, the teacher was one who explained and applied established Christian doctrine - the rudiments and first principles of the oracles of God ( Hebrews 5:12 ).
(5) (6) The Word of Knowledge; The Word of Wisdom
Possibly the word of knowledge ( gnṓsis ) and the word of wisdom ( sophı́a ) ( 1 Corinthians 12:8 ) are to be distinguished, the first as the utterance of a prophetic and ecstatic intuition, the second as the product of study and reflective thought; and so are to be related respectively to the functions of the prophet and the teacher. See Teacher , Teaching .
(7) Kinds of Tongues
( 1 Corinthians 12:10 , 1 Corinthians 12:28 , 1 Corinthians 12:30 ) What Paul means by this he explains fully in 1 Corinthians 14. The gift was not a faculty of speaking in unknown foreign languages, for the tongues ( glṓssai ) are differentiated from the "voices" or languages ( phōnaı́ ) by which men of one nation are distinguished from those of another ( 1 Corinthians 14:10 , 1 Corinthians 14:11 ). And when the apostle says that the speaker in an unknown tongue addressed himself to God and not to men ( 1 Corinthians 14:2 , 1 Corinthians 14:14 ) and was not understood by those who heard him ( 1 Corinthians 14:2 ), that he edified himself ( 1 Corinthians 14:4 ) and yet lost the power of conscious thought while praying with the spirit ( 1 Corinthians 14:14 f), it would appear that the "tongues" must have been of the nature of devout ejaculations and broken and disjointed words, uttered almost unconsciously under the stress of high ecstatic feeling.
(8) Interpretation of Tongues
Parallel to this gift was that of the interpretation of tongues ( 1 Corinthians 12:10 , 1 Corinthians 12:30 ). If the gift of tongues had been a power of speaking unknown foreign languages, the interpretation of tongues would necessarily have meant the faculty of interpreting a language unknown to the interpreter; for translation from a familiar language could hardly be described as a charisma . But the principle of economy makes it improbable that the edification of the church was accomplished in this round-about way by means of a double miracle - a miracle of foreign speech followed by a miracle of interpretation. If, on the other hand, the gift of tongues was such as has been described, the gift of interpretation would consist in turning what seemed a meaningless utterance into words easy to be understood ( 1 Corinthians 12:9 ). The interpretation might be given by the speaker in tongues himself ( 1 Corinthians 12:5 , 1 Corinthians 12:13 ) after his mood of ecstasy was over, as he translated his exalted experiences and broken cries into plain intelligible language. Or, if he lacked the power of self-interpretation, the task might be undertaken by another possessed of this special gift ( 1 Corinthians 12:27 , 1 Corinthians 12:28 ). The ability of a critic gifted with sympathy and insight to interpret the meaning of a picture or a piece of music, as the genius who produced it might be quite unable to do (e.g. Ruskin and Turner), will help us to understand how the ecstatic half-conscious utterances of one who had the gift of tongues might be put into clear and edifying form by another who had the gift of interpretation. See Tongues , Gift Of .
2. Gifts Connected with the Ministry of Practical Service:
(1) Workings of Miracles
( 1 Corinthians 12:10 , 1 Corinthians 12:28 , 1 Corinthians 12:29 ) The word used for miracles in this chapter ( dúnameis , literally, "powers") is employed in Acts ( Acts 8:7 , Acts 8:13; Acts 19:11 , Acts 19:12 ) so as to cover those cases of exorcism and the cure of disease which in Paul's list are placed under the separate category of "gifts of healing." As distinguished from the ordinary healing gift, which might be possessed by persons not otherwise remarkable, the "powers" point to a higher faculty more properly to be described as miraculous, and bestowed only upon certain leading men in the church. In 2 Corinthians 12:12 Paul speaks of the "powers" he wrought in Corinth as among "the signs of an apostle." In Hebrews 2:4 the writer mentions the "manifold powers" of the apostolic circle as part of the divine confirmation of their testimony. In Romans 15:18 ff Paul refers to his miraculous gifts as an instrument which Christ used for the furtherance of the gospel and the bringing of the Gentiles to obedience. The working of "powers," accordingly, was a gift which linked itself to the ministry of the word in respect of its bearing upon the truth of the gospel and the mission of the apostle to declare it. And yet, like the wider and lower gift of healing, it must be regarded primarily as a gift of practical beneficence, and only secondarily as a means of confirming the truth and authenticating its messenger by way of a sign. The Book of Acts gives several examples of "powers" that are different from ordinary healings. The raising of Dorcas ( Acts 9:36 ff) and of Eutychus ( Acts 20:9 ff) clearly belong to this higher class, and also, perhaps, such remarkable cures as those of the life-long cripple at the Temple gate ( Acts 3:1 ff) and Aeneas of Lydda ( Acts 9:32 ff).
(2) Gifts of Healings
( 1 Corinthians 12:9 , 1 Corinthians 12:28 , 1 Corinthians 12:30 ). See Healing , Gifts Of .
(3) Ruling, Governments
( Romans 12:8 , 1 Corinthians 12:28 ) These were gifts of wise counsel and direction in the practical affairs of the church, such as by and by came to be formally entrusted to presbyters or bishops. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, the ministry of office had not yet supplanted the ministry of inspiration, and Christian communities were guided and governed by those of their members whose wisdom in counsel proved that God through His Spirit had bestowed upon them the gift of ruling.
(4) Helps
( 1 Corinthians 12:28 ) This has sometimes been understood to denote the lowliest Christian function of all in Paul's list, the function of those who have no pronounced gifts of their own and can only employ themselves in services of a subordinate kind. But the usage of the Greek word ( antı́lēmpsis ) in the papyri as well as the Septuagint points to succor rendered to the weak by the strong; and this is confirmed for the New Testament when the same Greek word in its verbal form ( antilambánō ) is used in Acts 20:35 , when Paul exhorts the elders of the Ephesian church to follow his example in helping the weak. Thus, as the gift of government foreshadowed the official powers of the presbyter or bishop, the gift of helps appears to furnish the germ of the gracious office of the deacon - the "minister" par excellence , as the name diákonos denotes - which we find in existence at a later date in Philippi and Ephesus ( Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1-13 ), and which was probably created, on the analogy of the diakonı́a of the Seven in Jerusalem ( Acts 6:1 ff), as a ministry, in the first place, to the poor. See, further, Helps .
Literature.
Hort, Christian Ecclesia , Lect X; Neander, Hist of the Planting of the Christian Church , I, 131 ff; Weizsacker, Apostolic Age , II, 255-75; Lindsay, Church and Ministry , passim ; Eb , IV, article "Spiritual Gifts"; Ere , III, article "Charismata"; Pre , VI, article "Geistesgaben."
