I’ve been part of the Charismatic/Pentecostal culture since my conversion at 14. I’ve seen a lot, heard a lot, and partook in a lot. I’ve seen a lot of God moments where people have been healed, blessed, encouraged, and built up. I’ve also seen times when people falsely mimicked true manifestations, expressed “ecstasia” in services and lived lives very dishonoring of the Lord’s heart. The reason I’m still part of the Charismatic/Pentecostal culture is because I see the legit side of things. God does really use supernatural (or so-called) “power gifts” as well as the more conventional gifts of teaching, administration, organization and service. Yesterday I continued our series on 1 Corinthians with chapter 12. You can hear the full sermon here (Mar 24). Today, I’d like to reflect on the heart and purpose of the Spiritual Gifts.
The clearest statement Paul gives for the purpose of the Spiritual Gifts in chapter 12 is verse 7 “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
The more I’ve looked at the content and context of 1 Corinthians, the more I see the apostle addressing terrible imbalances in the 1st century church [tweetquote]
What I’ve seen in many Charismatic & Pentecostal circles often never really lined up with what Paul was saying. The more I’ve looked at the content and context of 1 Corinthians, the more I see the apostle addressing terrible imbalances in the 1st century church. From factions and divisions to snubbing lower class members, Corinth was in a terrible place. Paul spends time chapter after chapter addressing various imbalances. Then we get to chapter 12 and see another imbalance. The Corinthian church were elevating certain power gifts to level of prominence. If that weren’t enough, they were the same types of power gifts elevated among the Greek and Roman Pagan cults. Ecstatic experiences and utterances hailed as divine prophetic mandates ruled the day along with unknown utterances called “tongues.” In the context of all their spiritually immature allowances: divisions, sexual immorality, drunken communions, etc. the way they practiced the gifts in their meetings further added to their dysfunction and Christ-less appearance. It was giving Jesus and the church a bad name among the pagans. And yet, I’ve seen the very same things reproduced in Charismatic and Pentecostal gatherings in my day. So what are we to learn from 1 Corinthians 12? Simply that there are supernatural gifts at play in the church as well as less “power” gifts. Both are valid. Both have a purpose. Both are designed to work in tandem. Neither is to be more prominent than the others. And at the root of it all, the gifts are absolute rubbish for the cause of Christ if character is not in place.
At the root of it all, the gifts are absolute rubbish for the cause of Christ if character is not in place [tweetquote]
Since delving into what Paul is addressing in Corinth, I have come to learn from the apostle in terms of considering the proper place for spiritual gifts. We find Pauline instruction about order and organization in chapter 14. So that helps give us a barometer for determining whether a meeting is Christ honoring. This is what I’ve concluded.
- The spiritual gifts are designed to build Jesus’ church and build up other believers. Therefore, whenever a spiritual gift manifests and fails to do so, it is not in line with God’s purposes. When a meeting is chaos, then most people will not benefit from it. When more than one person is talking at a time, it breeds confusion, even they are purporting prophecy. God is not the author of confusion.
- Uninterpreted tongues is designed to build up the individual in private, not in public. If tongues are spoken in a gathering, Paul is clear that there must be an interpreter. If there is no interpreter, then tongues should not be spoken, even the “private” kind. The reason behind this is because the gatherings are designed to be outwardly focused (benefitting the group as a whole). Since tongues is so inwardly focused, it is not appropriate to use them without an interpreter.
- The entire purpose of people being gifted from the spirit is for the building up and strengthening of the community. One of the nice benefits of having some gifts is that we get a secondary blessing just by being the conduit. However, when we emphasize the personal benefit over the communal, we begin to move the focus away from truly worshipping Jesus toward what we can get out of it, which is a form of idolatry. So yes, it is possible to be in a community of Jesus, be gifted by the Holy Spirit, and still commit the sin of idolatry with the very same gifts. The same goes for puffing oneself up because of certain gifts or receiving adoration and prestige from others because of the gift. All of which betray the Lord’s intent of the gifts in the first place.
It is possible to be in a community of Jesus, be gifted by the Holy Spirit, and still commit the sin of idolatry with the very same gifts [tweetquote]
So those are a few things I have come away with through my study of 1 Corinthians and my experiences in the Charismatic/Pentecostal culture. Character and a motive to build up the church (particularly one’s local community) serve as guidelines for what is and is not appropriate with the spiritual gifts. Anything that detracts from that is not a legitimate expression of the gifts.
I hope this week’s blog post has challenged and blessed you in good ways. I also hope it has helped foster in you a sense of our Lord’s