215 When you come together – Supernatural gifts

 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

As we’ve already seen from what he says in 1 Corinthians 14:26, Paul certainly expected manifestations of the supernatural in the meetings of the church. He refers to a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.  But these are by no means the only expressions of the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. In 12:8-10 Paul mentions nine gifts:

a message of wisdom, a message of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues.

In this chapter I will be seeking to answer three questions:

• Can we be sure that all these gifts are supernatural?
• Can we be sure that all these gifts are for today?
• Can we expect that all these gifts will happen in our church?

Can we be sure that all these gifts are supernatural?

To answer this question, we need to look at the immediate context in which these verses are set. In verse 1 Paul tells the Corinthians that he does not want them to be ignorant about spiritual gifts. His usual word for any gift that God may give us is charisma, something which comes from his grace (charis). But here he uses the word pneumatika. This may well indicate that the gifts he has in mind are a unique form of charisma.  All God’s gifts are charismata, but only the gifts in these verses are referred to as pneumatika. And verses 2-3 indicate that it’s supernatural gifts that Paul has in mind:

You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

Before their conversion the Corinthians were idol-worshippers. This meant that they had been involved in devil-worship. This is clear from 10:19-20 where Paul says: 

Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.

The confession that JESUS IS LORD is what marks a person as a Christian. In Romans 10:9 Paul says:

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

As Christians, the people in Corinth to whom Paul was writing acknowledged the Lordship of Jesus. So there is no suggestion that they would have manifested demonic gifts, for no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit (v3). But people who were not yet believers and were still worshipping idols could come into their meetings (cf. 14:23) and might well do so.

It was therefore vitally important that Paul’s readers should understand how to distinguish between divine and devilish manifestations. And it’s just as important today. Demons do not acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus, as I once experienced during an encounter with a witch in Chester[1].

Furthermore, unlike demonic manifestations, where different gifts come from different spirits, in Christian worship the different gifts all come from the same Spirit:

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men (vv.4-6)[2].

Paul draws attention to the many different gifts and ministries in the church and points out that they all have their origin in the same God. The reference to the Trinity in these verses is interesting. Paul seems to be suggesting that the unity and diversity in the Godhead is reflected by a similar unity in the midst of diversity in the church, a theme he is to develop later in the chapter. 

So, from the context which immediately precedes the list of gifts in verses 8-10, it seems likely that Paul intends each of these gifts as a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit, but he does not define them. This suggests that the Corinthians obviously knew what they were. In fact, in 1:7 we read that the Corinthians did not lack any spiritual gift. They knew what they were, but their ignorance lay in the fact that they did not use them correctly.

In the following four paragraphs I have given what I consider to be the most likely definition or description of each gift, but for a more sophisticated analysis please consult what I have said in Body Builders[3].

I have rejected Wayne Grudem’s view that, although most of the gifts in this list are miraculous, a message of wisdom and a message of knowledge are simply the ability to speak with wisdom and knowledge. It seems to me far more likely that, although we cannot be certain about exactly what Paul had in mind, he intends us to understand them as some form of supernatural revelation[4].

As far as the remaining gifts in the list are concerned, what Paul means is fairly clear.  Faith is the miracle working faith that can move mountains (cf.13:2). Gifts of healing are miraculous healings performed without medical aid. Miraculous powers are, by definition, miraculous, and probably include miracles that do not come under the category of gifts of healing.

Prophecy, which is to be distinguished from prediction on the one hand and preaching on the other, brings by inspiration of the Spirit words of edification, encouragement, and comfort to the church (14:3). Distinguishing between spirits probably refers to discerning whether a supernatural occurrence is motivated by the Holy Spirit or by an evil spirit, or detecting the presence of evil spirits where their activity might not otherwise be obvious.

Speaking in tongues is speaking a language one has never learned, as the disciples did on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), and interpretation of tongues is the ability imparted by the Spirit to interpret what has been spoken in tongues.

Assuming that these definitions are broadly correct, we see that both the contents of the list and the context in which it is set confirm the view that these gifts are all supernatural. This is further confirmed in verse 13 by Paul’s reference to the baptism in the Holy Spirit which we will consider in the next chapter. 

But whether these gifts are all supernatural or not, our contention that we should expect the supernatural in our meetings still holds good. Because, as we have seen, in 14:26 Paul mentions supernatural gifts like tongues and interpretation as part of what can be expected in our meetings. But that raises the next question. Are these gifts all for today?

Can we be sure that all these gifts are for today?

People who believe that the supernatural gifts of the Spirit are not for today are known as cessationists. Perhaps the most common version of cessationism is the view that these gifts were withdrawn once the writing of the New Testament was complete.

Obviously, if they are right about this, then my view that 1 Corinthians 14:26 gives us direction as to what should happen in church today is entirely wrong. But that would make much of what Paul says in chapters 12-14 irrelevant for the church, not only of today, but of the last nineteen centuries!

However, the cessationist view has no valid basis in scripture. The verses that are usually quoted to support their view are I Corinthians 13:8-10, where we read:  

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

Cessationists claim that gifts like prophecy and tongues have ceased because they believe that perfection (v10) came once the word of God was complete. But do they really believe that knowledge has also passed away?  And a look at the context quickly reveals that their view is misguided. This is clear from what he says in verse 12:

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Paul is looking far beyond the completion of the New Testament. Perfection will come when he sees Jesus face to face. What he sees now is only a poor reflection of what he will see then. Then he will know him completely – fully. This must surely refer to when he sees Jesus in heaven, where tongues and prophecy will not be needed, and ultimately to the return of the Lord at the end of the age. Indeed, Paul strongly implies this when he says in 1 Corinthians 1:7 that the Corinthians do not lack any spiritual gift as they eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He clearly expected the gifts to be in evidence until the second coming of Christ.

Finally, the cessationist position does not stand up in the light of present-day Christian experience. For example, there are numerous well documented cases of speaking in tongues being recognised as it was at Pentecost by hearers who recognised it as their own native language[5]. Such miracles can only spring from one of two sources – the divine or the demonic. But Christians who speak in tongues gladly acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus, and that, as we have seen, is the biblical test of that which is truly divine.

Can we expect that all these gifts will happen in our church?

So far we have argued that the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 are all supernatural, that they are for today, and that we should expect the supernatural in our meetings (14:26). But can we expect all these gifts? The answer to this question in any particular situation will depend on two main factors – divine sovereignty and human responsibility.

In 1 Corinthians 12:11 Paul tells us that

All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

This means that the Holy Spirit decides what gifts he will give to any individual Christian. He knows what’s best for us as individuals. But he also knows what’s best for the church. And no two churches are alike. It follows, therefore, that the gifts manifested in a local church at any particular time will be distributed by the Spirit in accordance with the needs of that church, because the purpose of every gift is the good of the church:

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good (12:7).

This theme is picked up in 14:1-5 where Paul says that prophecy is to be preferred to speaking in tongues, because uninterpreted tongues only edifies the speaker, but prophecy edifies the church. The gifts are given to individuals, but they’re for the benefit of the whole church[6].   

So the gifts are given at the discretion of the Holy Spirit. But that does not mean that we have no responsibility in this matter. It’s our responsibility to follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts (14:1).

In some churches there is little or no desire for these gifts simply because they know little about them because their leaders never teach about them or encourage them. I will be saying more about this in the final chapter of this book, but at this stage it’s enough to note that we can’t expect these gifts in our meetings if there’s no desire for them.

But in churches where there is a desire and where the members are encouraged to be filled with the Spirit, it’s safe to assume that at least some of these gifts will be manifested. If the word of God tells us to eagerly desire spiritual gifts then we can be sure that God wants us to have them. As we have already seen, 1 Corinthians 14:26 encourages the use of gifts like tongues and interpretation in our meetings, and 14:1 especially mentions prophecy as a gift to be eagerly desired. And although it would probably be wrong to suggest that these gifts should be in evidence in every meeting, we need to remember that Paul did recommend their use when you come together (14:26)[7].

But what about other gifts like healing, for example? We certainly cannot say that they cannot be used in the context of the gathered church, for all the gifts are given for the benefit of the church (12:7). But it is evident from Mark 16 and the book of Acts that gifts like healing and miracles were very much used in evangelism which usually took place outside and not in a meeting where the church had gathered for worship.

I have no wish to be dogmatic on this matter, but in my view, although miraculous gifts like healing may well be expected in evangelistic meetings held in churches, from a New Testament perspective they would be more effective when used out on the streets, as was most often the case in the book of Acts.

If this view is correct, it’s possible that in 14:26, when talking of supernatural gifts, Paul restricts himself to mentioning those that are usually to be expected in a church meeting. So we should not be surprised if gifts like prophecy, tongues, and interpretation are the gifts that are in greater evidence in our meetings today. But that by no means precludes the possibility of other gifts being manifested as the Holy Spirit determines.

Conclusion

In this chapter we have seen that:

1. God does not want us to be ignorant about spiritual gifts.
2. The gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 are supernatural.
3. Not all supernatural manifestations come from the Holy Spirit. The test that a gift has genuinely come from God is the confession that Jesus is Lord.
4. Although there is a rich variety of supernatural gifts, each gift is given by the same Spirit.
5. The gifts are given, as the Holy Spirit determines, to individual Christians for the benefit of the whole church.
6. The view that these gifts were withdrawn once the writing of the New Testament was complete is entirely mistaken.
7. These gifts are for today and we should expect them to be regularly in evidence in our meetings.
8. Where they are not in evidence, this may well be caused by lack of desire, possibly due to a lack of teaching or encouragement on the part of church leaders (especially those who hold a cessationist view).

Finally, two more things should be added:

9. Although in this chapter we have stressed the supernatural, our natural gifts and talents are also important. All God’s gracious gifts are needed, whether natural or supernatural. We should not be content with the natural, but neither should we minimize its importance.
10. However much of the supernatural we experience there will always be unanswered questions. We know in part, and we prophesy in part. Who knows why Peter was supernaturally delivered from prison while Stephen was stoned and James was beheaded? Questions like these may never be answered until that day when we know fully, even as we are fully known. Until then, we walk by faith and not by sight, and we must continue to expect the miraculous gifts of the Spirit to be manifest in our lives and in our meetings.