There whole area of spiritual gifts, miracles and signs and wonders is a weird and wonderful minefield in Church circles. There is a broad spectrum of stances from a full on focus on the supernatural – Praying for Revival, Healing Ministries, Speaking in Tongues, Moving in the Prophetic, a lot of the stuff on God TV – right through to focus on the natural – Incarnational Church, Missional, Relational – and there are Churches that genuinely believe that Spiritual Gifts don’t happen anymore; that God simply doesn’t do that these days.
It’s a huge subject that theologians and churches have wrestled with for years. (HTB recently hosted a brilliant conference about the Holy Spirit in the World Today) We could never do justice to it in a short talk and a panel discussion so what I’ll do tonight is a very brief overview of what, I believe, our focus should be as the church today, and then we can get into some discussions afterwards.
Spiritual Gifts are obviously a work of the Holy Spirit.
Firstly, the Holy Spirit is alive and well and working in the Church today. Now, the Spirit doesn’t seem to get as much attention as the other two in our teaching. We don’t seem to know as much about him as we do the Father and the Son; he (or she) is a bit more difficult to get our heads around. While it seems that we don’t see many supernatural miracles in the same way as they’re recorded in the New Testament, we do see His work in the church. He is the same Spirit, He is God, He never changes, He is always faithful and He is always engaged with His church.
We often treat the Holy Spirit like the Genie in the Lamp. A quick rub of the prayer lamp and He’ll get on and do whatever it is we ask because it says in the bible ‘ask and it will be given.’ The Spirit prefers to work with people and through people. He mediates the will of God. He inspires and guides and uses people to bring about God’s kingdom in the life of the Church. Which is why there are gifts of the Spirit. the message of wisdom... the message of knowledge... faith... gifts of healing... miraculous powers... prophecy... distinguishing between spirits... speaking in different kinds of tongues and... the interpretation of tongues. We see them displayed in Acts, at Pentecost, the Spirit using people to spread good news by speaking in different languages, in the early church the Spirit used the apostles to demonstrate God’s love to people by healing them.
Do we see the same gifts now? Yes we do.
Are they manifested in exactly the same way? No, not necessarily.
Ultimately, Spiritual Gifts are given out for the building up of the church, for the common good. (1 Cor 12:7) I personally don’t speak in tongues. And I’ve been in Churches were they seriously doubt you’re a Christian if you don’t speak in tongues. This attitude doesn’t build up the church. I’ve been prayed for for healing and nothing seems to happen and I’ve been accused of not having enough faith or having unconfessed sin. This doesn’t build up the church.
At the end of 1 Corinthians 12 Paul, who was probably ranting by this point, says: Are all apostles? No. (I’m filling in the answers here) Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Do all work miracles? No. Do all have gifts of healing? No. Do all speak in tongues? No. Do all interpret? No. But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way...
Now, whoever divided up the chapters missed a trick here, because Chapter 12 is meant to flow seamlessly from into 1 Corinthians 13 (the 'wedding' passage).
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.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
Even stopping there makes no sense because it carries on: 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. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put childish ways behind me. 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. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
It’s not about weddings at all it’s about being church and it’s about spiritual gifts. It clearly states that prophecies will cease, tongues will be stilled, knowledge will pass away when perfection comes, when Christ comes again and heaven comes to earth. We’re not supposed to focus on the gifts we’re supposed to desire the greater gifts of Faith and Hope and above all Love.
When we focus on these three, it’s amazing how many miracles start happening. Everyday Miracles. We focus of Faith, Hope and Love and opportunities miraculously appear.In the Hebrew language there is no word for 'spiritual' because there was never a seperation between spirit and secular. There was never meant to be. When we focus on Faith, Hope and Love in our everyday life we reunite spiritual and secular; we begin living again in the power of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts start flowing more naturally. Faith, Hope and Love, and the greatest of these is Love.
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