The Doctrine of Spiritual Gifts – Part 2

Temporary Spiritual Gifts

The gift of apostleship is found in I Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11. This gift established authority over a number of churches. At the beginning of the Church Age, God deemed it necessary to appoint certain men as apostles with the authority to organize, establish local churches, appoint pastors and oversee local churches until the Canon of Scripture was completed. When John, the last person with the spiritual gift of apostle died, the gift ceased to exist because it was no longer necessary. This responsibility was transferred to pastor-teachers.

The gift of prophecyincluded a message of divine guidance or a warning of judgment, or a prediction about the immediate future. In Acts 11, Agabus the prophet predicted the famine and depression to come to Israel. In Acts 21:10-11, he warned Paul not to go back to Jerusalem. Prophets had a limited teaching ministry related to contemporary events; that’s why they are called “prophets and teachers” in Acts 13:1. Men with the gift of prophecy recorded in Scripture: 1) Agabus, Acts 11:27-28, 21:10-11 2) Others included Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Manaen, and even Paul, according to Acts 13:1. Judas and Silas had the gift, Acts 15:32. Acts 21:9 presents a seeming problem, because the four daughters of Philip the evangelist are said to “be prophesying.” However, they did not have a spiritual gift. So, we must distinguish between people permitted by God to prophesy, and those who had the spiritual gift of prophecy. No record of their prophecies was ever given, and obviously they did not have the spiritual gift of prophecy.

In exercising the temporary spiritual gift of prophecy, the prophet must receive his message from God, and he must declare God’s will to someone in terms of prophecy. The prophecy must be doctrinally accurate. The writers who were apostles also had the gift of prophecy. The gift of prophecy warned about judgment on sin, indicated the will of God regarding current events, and predicted future events during the apostolic age. With the completion of the Canon of Scripture in A.D. 96 and its gradual circulation, temporary gifts of communication ceased to exist; they were replaced by the permanent communication gifts of pastor-teacher, evangelism and teacher.

The gift of miraclesis found in I Corinthians 12:28 and II Corinthians 12:12. This temporary spiritual gift was designed to authenticate and certify communication gifts during the apostolic age. This gift was used by an apostle, a prophet, a pastor-teacher, or an evangelist to certify that he had that the spiritual gift of communication. The person who had a communication gift could perform a miracle at will. This was the sign that his authority was from God. Today, no one has the gift of miracles, since the completion of the Canon of Scripture.

People tended to rely on miracles during the apostolic age, resulting in terrible apostasy. Whenever someone had a problem, instead of using and applying Bible doctrine, they just waited around for a miracle. So that miracles became the basis for leading many into apostasy, even though it was legitimate at that time. While no believer today has the gift of miracles, God still performs miracles if He chooses to do so. But they are not performed by any human through a spiritual gift.

Of course, Satan has a clever system for duplicating miracles. But there is no such thing as an intermediary between you and God for the performance of miracles. There is no ceremony; there is no system of prayer for miracles. Believers who practice this today insult God, regarding Him as a “genie or fairy god mother.” The easiest thing God can do for a human being is to perform a miracle. This is because it does not require any cooperation or positive volition from a person; it only requires a decision from the sovereignty of God and the use of His omnipotence.

The greatest demonstration of God’s power toward mankind today is the fulfillment of the Protocol Plan of God through a believer’s consistent residence inside the Divine Dynasphere, under the filling of the Spirit, and Bible doctrine, utilizing his very own Portfolio of Invisible Assets. God never designed miracles to alleviate suffering. Otherwise, Jesus would have been remiss in not healing everyone when He was on earth. Miracles were designed to focus attention on the power of God and the Word of God, the message of the Gospel or the teaching of Bible doctrine. The greatest thing in life is not a miracle, but Bible doctrine resident in your soul.

Paul performed miracles, indicating that he had the gift of apostleship and he was given a hearing as a result. Whenever Jesus performed a miracle, it was always in relationship to His message. The message of doctrine is infinitely more important than any miracle that has ever occurred.

All the hocus-pocus in the false function of miracles today is designed to call attention to self. It’s an ego trip. It is an arrogant person trying to control and influence a lot of “dumb, duped sheep.” Miracles are not the issue today. The very fact that people want, ask, and pray for miracles means they do not begin to understand the true greatness of God’s power, the greatness of His plan and the Portfolio of Invisible Assets. No one in the Church Age has the power to heal you by performing a miracle.

The gift of healingis mentioned in I Corinthians 12:9, 28, 30. Just as miracles were designed to authenticate the person, so healing was designed to focus attention on the message of apostles, prophets, pastors, and evangelists before the New Testament was completed and circulated. Miracles authenticated the person; healing certified the message. So, they were different, though they both had the same connotation in that they dealt with supernatural phenomena. A man with the gift of miracles could perform a miracle at will, anytime he chose to do so, and he could heal as well. In fact, people could just touch Paul and they were instantly healed.

Healing as a spiritual gift does not exist today; it ceased with the completion of the Canon of Scripture. Any healing today must come directly from God, and not through any delegated human authority or intermediary. Normally, healing is performed through medicine or even a tranquil mental attitude so that the body can heal itself. Healing is not a question of God’s power. Healing is not even a matter of someone’s faith. It is the wisdom of God’s sovereign will in individual situations.         God heals today only in special cases in which He has a special purpose, such as extending your life so that you can learn doctrine. But no person has the right to take any credit, should such healing occur. The credit lies with the wisdom and sovereignty of God.

Paul had the gift of healing. It was used to establish his apostleship. Acts 19:11-12 tells of the spectacular nature of his healing gift, for a person only had to touch Paul to be healed instantly. But once Paul’s apostleship and message was established and generally accepted, God withdrew the gift of healing from him since it was no longer needed. We know this because Paul could not heal two of his closest friends. He solicited prayer on their behalf, but he could not heal them. One was Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:27, the other was Trophemus in II Timothy 4:20; Paul had to leave Trophemus behind because he could not heal him.

The gift of tongueswas designed to warn the Jews of the coming of the fifth cycle of discipline by evangelizing them in Gentile languages. Tongues was the first of the temporary gifts to be removed – 70 A.D. The interpretation of tongues is found in I Corinthians 12:10, 30, 14:26-28. When anyone in a church spoke in “tongues,” they were speaking a Gentile language that the rest of the congregation could not understand.

So, the one with the gift of interpretation of tonguesexplained what had been said by the one who had just spoken in a foreign language. This gift was designed for the rest of the congregation so they would know the one with the gift of tongues was not crazy. The gift of tongues never functioned without the gift of interpretation of tongues also functioning. The gift of interpretation of tongues was the ability to translate the message of the one speaking in tongues. Today any alleged speaking in tongues or interpretation of tongues is either emotional fakery or demon activity.

The gift of interpretation of tongues is found in I Corinthians 12:10. This was the ability to translate an unknown language, not previously learned called “tongues,” into the common language spoken in the church. At the time this gift was valid and necessary, there were many believers who spoke different languages and not the Koine Greek of the common man. Therefore, when a person attended a local church, they couldn’t understand what was being communicated without the help of an interpreter.

The gift of knowledgeis found in I Corinthians 12:8, 13:8. With this gift, you had instant understanding of the mystery doctrine. This was a spiritual gift whereby you knew a Church Age doctrine without studying it, for there was as yet no New Testament Canon in writing to study. This knowledge was provided directly by God the Holy Spirit who inserted previously unknown doctrinal information into a person’s mind as spiritual knowledge (epignosis). In other words, the gift of knowledge functioned totally apart from having to study doctrine.

The gift of wisdom is found in I Corinthians 12:8. This gift accompanied the gift of knowledge, as the ability to explain and apply the mystery doctrine taught by the gift of knowledge. (I Corinthians 12:8)

 The gift of discerning spiritsis found in I Corinthians 12:10. This was the spiritual gift for the detection of false doctrine within the local church. With the completion of the Canon of Scripture, this gift was no longer necessary, since the New Testament contains true doctrine and thereby exposes false doctrine.

The gift of faithis found in I Corinthians 12:9. This was a companion gift to healing and miracles involving the faith of the person with the gift, not the one receiving the miracle or healing.

Temporary spiritual gifts would cease to exist according to I Corinthians 13:8-10. “Virtue-love is never phased out; but the gift of prophecies, it will be cancelled out; the gift of tongues, it will be discontinued; the gift of knowledge, it will be cancelled. For we know in part [gift of knowledge], and we prophesy in part [gift of prophecy], but when the completed has come [New Testament Canon], what is temporary [the temporary spiritual gifts] will be cancelled [abolished, phased out, withdrawn].”

Permanent Spiritual Gifts

Permanent spiritual gifts function in the body of Christ throughout the entire Church Age.All believers in the Church Age have a permanent spiritual gift. God the Holy Spirit sovereignly distributes spiritual gifts according to His perfect, eternal, and infinite wisdom. One of the forty things you received at salvation, and one of the seven ministries of the Holy Spirit at salvation was His sovereign act in giving you at least one spiritual gift. This is taught in I Corinthians 12:7, 11, 18, 28. The category of spiritual gift which you possess is not a sign of spiritual superiority, growth, or inferiority. Spiritual gifts are a matter of the sovereign wisdom of God the Holy Spirit. You are not better or worse than anyone else by virtue of your spiritual gift. The effectiveness of your spiritual gift depends upon two categories of experiential sanctification: 1) the filling of the Spirit 2) spiritual growth. Spiritual gifts are necessarily natural abilities related to your physical birth and genetics; spiritual gifts are related to the sovereign will of God the Holy Spirit.

There are two categories of permanent spiritual gifts: 1) Communication gifts2) Service gifts.

Communication Gifts

The gift of pastor-teacheris found in Romans 12:7; I Corinthians 12:8; Ephesians 3:7-13, 4:11-16. This is the highest communication gift in the Church Age today. It is given to male believers only and is designed to function primarily inside the local church. The pastor is not an administrator; he is a policy maker. One of his titles, as found in Ephesians 4:11, says he has the responsibility of seeing that the policy of administration lines up with the Word of God, that it is a policy that fulfills the concepts of the New Testament. But he himself does not normally involve himself in administration.

The gift of evangelismis also a communication gift according to Ephesians 4:11. While the gift of pastor-teacher communicates the whole realm of doctrine inside the local church, the gift of evangelism is designed to communicate the Gospel outside the local church. The male believer with the gift of evangelism has the God-given ability to communicate the Gospel in a manner that holds the unbeliever’s attention. This is the spiritual gift by which people will gather or assemble to listen to the presentation of the Gospel. These unbelievers will give attention and listen to the evangelist, where they would not listen to anyone else. The gift of evangelism has the ability to teach and express the Gospel so that unbelievers will listen and have a clear understanding of the issue of salvation; i.e., that faith in Christ means eternal life, and that rejection of Christ means eternal condemnation. Pastors do not have this gift, but they are commanded to do the work of an evangelist in II Timothy 4:5, as are all believers according to

II Corinthians 5:19. This is because, as a royal ambassador, every believer represents God before the human race. Therefore, it is necessary to personally witness for Christ and give the message of reconciliation as opportunity presents.

Service Gifts

The gift of administrationis found in Romans 12:8 and in I Corinthians 12:28. This is the gift of administrative leadership, because it has delegated authority from the pastor. This spiritual gift is held by deacons, those who fulfill administrative responsibilities on missionary boards; leaders of Christian service organizations; those who lead and administer the training of children in the local church; church officers and chairmen of standing committees or other organizations within the local church. It is the responsibility of the pastor to identify men who have this gift and appoint them into the appropriate slot.

The gift of administration calls for more than simply effective administrative function. It is a spiritual gift which is sensitive to the needs of the local church and how they are best administered.

 The gift of ministeringis found in Romans 12:7. The Greek word for ministering means service. This

is a spiritual gift of service given to both men and women. Those who have this spiritual gift should serve on committees and in specific administrative functions in the local church, on mission boards, in Christian service organizations. The deacon, who is the chairman of the committee, has the gift of administration. Those who serve on the committee have the gift of ministry or service. This makes for effective, administrative function in the local church. It is from this gift that so many things are done in the local church.

This gift is the feminine form, “deaconess,” in I Timothy 3. No woman has the gift of pastor-teacher, the gift of evangelism, or the gift of administration. But this shouldn’t keep ladies from teaching children, from personal witnessing, or from functioning in the administration of the church if they have the gift of service.

The gift of helpsis found in I Corinthians 12:28. Possessed by thousands of believers, this gift is very important. It is this gift is the backbone on a local church. It provides the real stability in a local church. This spiritual gift functions by helping and ministering to the sick, the afflicted, the handicapped, and the helpless. It is held by men and women. It is this gift which functions by visiting the sick and those in hospitals. It is not the pastor’s responsibility to call on the sick. But for those who have the spiritual gift of helps, this is their great and magnificent function. This is the spiritual gift that really undergirds all the other spiritual gifts. One difference between the gift of ministering and the gift of helps is that ministering functions within the church, whereas the gift of helps functions both inside and outside the local church.

The gift of showing mercyis found in Romans 12:8. This gift extends primarily to the afflicted, to the persecuted, and to those who are victims among believers and even unbelievers. Therefore, it is perhaps more dramatic than the gift of helps. In the time of the writing, it was dangerous to help Christians who were imprisoned or under persecution. Hence, this spiritual gift is always related to courageous acts of mercy.

The gift of givingmust be distinguished from the individual believer’s responsibility in giving. This is a special spiritual gift given to both rich and poor for the extravagant use of their earthly possessions in providing for the needs of both believers and Christian institutions, such as the local church, missions, Christian service organizations, to the destitute and needy, and to those who are financially helpless.

A very false doctrine prevalent today is that you must give all your money through or to the local church. In other words, if you give to any people in need, but not by means of the local church, it really isn’t true giving. You have a right to give your money directly to any number of organizations or people in need, and it is legitimate Christian giving. Spiritual giving in both the Old and New Testament never has any percentage attached to it. Spiritual giving is first of all a mental attitude, one you can have though impoverished. Before you give to the local church, you have a responsibility to provide for your family! If a person has the spiritual gift of giving and he has a family, he is limited in how he can use his spiritual gift. A person with the spiritual gift of giving will give sacrificially.

Unless you have the gift of pastor-teacher or evangelism, you do not have to know what your gift is. In fact, you may not ever discover your gift until there is spiritual growth in your life. You will know your spiritual gift by the time you reach spiritual adulthood, because by that time it should be functioning and operational.

1. The Function of Spiritual Gifts, Rom 12:4-8. This passage tells us how the gifts should function, using an analogy to the human body.
2. Verse 4, “For just as we have many parts [many spiritual gifts] in one body [royal family of God], and all parts do not have the same function.” All believers do not have the same spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit distributes different spiritual gifts to each of us at salvation, just as a coach might assign players to different positions on a team.
3. Verse 5, “so we, who are many are one body in Christ, and each part [every spiritual gift in the body] belongs to all the others.”
4. While we all have equal privilege and equal opportunity as members of the royal family, the Holy Spirit assigns different spiritual gifts to us. The one with the gift of pastor-teacher belongs to all of you. You all have many different gifts which belong to him. We all belong to each other. We cannot separate from each other and be effective. We are all members of the same team!
5. Spiritual gifts are the basis for the team concept in the royal family. Your spiritual gift determines what position you play on the team. No matter how inconspicuous or insignificant your gift may seem to be, you are on the team and your gift is just as necessary as any other gift. Your insignificant gift is needed just as much as a spectacular gift.
6. Don’t ever have a bad mental attitude about your less spectacular spiritual gift, because you are resenting the wisdom of God the Holy Spirit. All gifts function under the enabling power of the Spirit inside the divine dynasphere only. Effectiveness of function is determined by your spiritual growth.
7. So how should your spiritual gift function, once you’ve gained some momentum, and once it begins to function with or without your consent?
8. Verse 6, “We have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the believer’s gift is prophecy, let him prophesy in proportion to his doctrine.” This was a temporary gift. There was no sense in trying to use the gift of prophecy unless you had doctrine so that your prophecies were accurate.
9. Verse 7, “If his gift is the gift of ministry [or service], let him function in the sphere of his service. If his gift is the gift of teaching [pastor-teacher], let him teach.” In other words, don’t try to be something you’re not. You’re great in functioning within your own spiritual gift. If you try to do something else, you fall flat on your face. Scripture doesn’t say the pastor-teacher is to run absolutely everything; that’s ridiculous. He is to oversee that the policies line up with the Scripture; he should know that much. But he delegates everything. The pastor who doesn’t delegate cannot study and teach.
10. Verse 8, “If it is the gift of exhortation, then let him counsel and comfort. If it is the gift of giving, let him give generously. If it is the gift of governments [administration], let him govern with diligence. If it is the gift of showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”
11. In other words, stick with your gift! Don’t get ambitious and try to be something you’re not. God the Holy Spirit gave you your gift. His wisdom is perfect; therefore, stay with your gift.
12. If you have the gift of giving, though God will provide the means to give, your giving is sacrificial. This is different from all believers giving as a part of the privacy of their priesthood. If you have the gift of giving, then as you grow spiritually you’ll find yourself being unusually generous and perhaps sacrificial. But you don’t have to give to the local church; you can give to Christian service organizations or to missionaries.
13. The gift of governments or administration is not necessarily the ability to administer in business or be an good executive in business. The person with this spiritual gift is able to function as an executive or to function as an administrator in a local church. He is sensitive to the needs of that local church, whereas in a business, he would not necessarily do well.
14. Those who need mercy are generally the unattractive people in life, and especially unattractive to the one giving the gift of mercy. Therefore, this is an obscure gift, because it is being nice, kind, thoughtful, and loving toward someone with whom you have a natural antagonism. Doing it “cheerfully” means without any rancor, without any thought that “this person is a jerk and brought this on himself.”

 The Team Concept of Spiritual Gifts, 1 Cor 12:1-14.

1. Just as every team has certain positions, so the body of Christ has spiritual gifts. Every operational spiritual gift is necessary for the advance of the body of Christ.
2. 1 Cor 12:1, “Now concerning spiritual gifts brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant.” This emphasizes the importance of epistemological rehabilitation.
3. 1 Cor 12:4, “There are a variety of spiritual gifts, but the same Holy Spirit.”
4. The source of spiritual gifts is the sovereignty of God the Holy Spirit, who gives the believer his gift at salvation on the basis of HIS decision, not ours. Our spiritual gift is a matter of the wisdom of the Holy Spirit; it is not a matter of any personal merit.      We do not acquire, attain, earn, or deserve our spiritual gift. In fact, we would not even know what to order if we had a choice.
5. All spiritual gifts depend upon two factors for their effective function.
   1. The filling of the Spirit, or residence inside your very own palace, the divine dynasphere.
   2. Momentum, or spiritual growth, from perception, metabolization, and application of Bible doctrine. This is called epistemological rehabilitation or cognition of doctrine.
6. 1 Cor 12:5, “There are a variety of ministries [services], but the same Lord.”   There are many different kinds of Christian service, and many opportunities for Christian service. All believers are serving the same Lord, but all believers do not serve in the same way.
7. 1 Cor 12:6-7, “There are different kinds of activities, but the same God works all of them in all persons. Furthermore, to each of us is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good [team, body of Christ].” The manifestation of the Spirit in view here is in perception, in virtue, and in spiritual gifts. Every spiritual gift contributes to the common good of the body of Christ.
8. 1 Cor 12:8-10, “To one there is given through the Spirit the gift of wisdom, to another the gift of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another the gift of faith by the same Spirit, to another the gifts of healing by means of the same Spirit, to another the gift of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning spirits, to another the gift of tongues, to another interpretation of tongues.” The spiritual gifts listed are all temporary. They were mentioned because many had been abused in the local church at Corinth.
9. 1 Cor 12:11, “All these spiritual gifts are the work of one and the same Spirit; He gives them to each believer just as He determines.”
10. The concept of one body, 1 Cor 12:12, “For even as the body is one [one royal family] and has many parts [spiritual gifts], and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is the Christ.”
11. Certain parts of the human body are prominent; others are hidden. So it is with spiritual gifts; some are obscure, others are obvious.
12. The baptism of the Spirit at salvation entered every believer in union with Christ, and made us all members of the royal family of God.
13. How did we become royal family? 1 Cor 12:13, “For by means of one Spirit we were all baptized [baptism of the Holy Spirit] into one body, whether Jews or Greeks [no racial discrimination], whether slaves or free [no social distinctions], and all were made [caused] to drink one Spirit.”
14. There are no human viewpoint distinctions. There is no racial discrimination or social distinctions. Once you believe in Jesus Christ, you must regard yourself as a person, having no superiority or inferiority complex. You are a member of the royal family with equal privilege and equal opportunity. You are arrogant, if you are preoccupied with yourself in terms of inferiority or superiority.
15. Drinking illustrates faith in Christ at salvation, the time when the baptism of the Spirit occurs. All kinds of people can drink, but the drinking process is the same for all. Drinking is a non-meritorious procedure which everyone can do. So also, faith is common to all members of the human race as a non-meritorious system of perception.
16. “Drinking of One Spirit” is the fulfillment of our Lord’s invitation on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jn 7:37-39, “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast [Tabernacles], Jesus stood up and shouted saying, `If any person is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, “Streams of living water shall flow from within him.”’ But this He spoke about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit was not yet given, because Christ was not yet glorified.”
17. So in a passage about spiritual gifts, it is fitting that drinking should be used as analogous to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, in which moment we receive our spiritual gift.
18. 1 Cor 12:14, “Now the body [royal family] is made up not of one part, but of many parts [spiritual gifts].” The body is a unity but it has many parts.
19. The Abuse of Spiritual Gifts, 1 Corinthians 12:15-21. 1. There are two abuses of spiritual gifts.
20. The attempt to perpetuate temporary gifts of the pre-Canon period into the post-Canon era. Many times people have tried to perpetuate into the post-Canon period some temporary spiritual gift, like healing, miracles, tongues, or the interpretation of tongues. That’s an abuse of spiritual gifts.
21. The second problem is that of arrogance or inferiority. Many believers are arrogant because their spiritual gift is more obvious in its function. Others are in a terrible state of inferiority, thinking that because their spiritual gift is not obvious and doesn’t function in front of people, they are second-class Christians. But there’s no such thing as a second-class Christian. 2. 1 Cor 12:15-21 describes this abuse. This is a part of the dissertation on the body of Christ, the royal family of God, in which distinctions are made only where our spiritual gifts are concerned. Remember that when it comes to our privileges and opportunities, we all have equal privileges and equal opportunities from our portfolio of invisible assets.
22. 1 Cor 12:15, “If the foot should say, `Because I am not the hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not, for that reason, cease to be a part of the body would it?”
23. Bother foot had an inconspicuous gift. Brother hand had a conspicuous, spectacular gift.
24. Some people have an inferiority complex because their spiritual gift isn’t spectacular. Some who have spectacular spiritual gifts suggest and imply that they are greater believers because they have this gift. Behind all this is the erroneous assumption that you earn, deserve, or merit your spiritual gift. In reality, it is the wisdom of God the Holy Spirit.
25. Spiritual gifts are not issued on the basis of spiritual growth or spiritual advance. Those with less spectacular gifts are not spiritually inferior to those with an ostentatious gift.
26. This passage was to correct the abuse resulting from Corinthian arrogance which said, in effect, “you’re not really saved until you speak in tongues.” Or, “you’re not really saved until you exercise some spectacular and emotional function in life.”
27. The royal family of God, when it comes to spiritual gifts, is a team. Each part is necessary. So whether you are a lady or a gentleman, you are important in the royal family of God. Your spiritual gift is your position on the team. It was sovereignly bestowed to you by God the Holy Spirit at salvation, and your spiritual gift is just as important as anyone else’s.
28. The different spiritual gifts generally fall into just these two categories, foot or hand. The foot represents the gifts not so obvious, the behind-the-scenes gifts, like the gift of helps or service. The hand represents the spectacular gifts. Among the temporary gifts, these would have been tongues, the interpretation of tongues, healing, and miracles. These were prominent, dominant, and well-known, along with the gifts of apostleship and prophecy. But the many behind-the-scenes gifts are just as important for the modus operandi of the royal family.
29. If you as a believer have an inferiority complex, there is either something vitally wrong with your understanding of doctrine or with your function in your experience. There is no place for an inferiority complex!
30. On the other “hand,” those with spectacular gifts are no better than those with hidden gifts. You’re not more spiritual because you have a spectacular gift. An evangelist, especially one well-known, is often thought to be deeply spiritual and far greater than others. But this is not necessarily true. The same is true of a pastor-teacher. Neither the pastor or evangelist is necessarily any better as a Christian than anyone else. What differentiates them is simply that their spiritual gifts are exercised in public, while other believers’ spiritual gifts are exercised in private. The actual spiritual advance of any believer really belongs to the privacy of his priesthood; it is really no one else’s business. Every believer must live his own life as unto the Lord and before the Lord.
31. So the only differences among believers are determined by their spiritual gift. Spiritual gifts have nothing to do with the natural inferiorities or superiorities that are assigned to race, to social, business, professional, or academic life, to athletic ability, to personality, or to human attractiveness or ugliness.
32. Conclusion: you are just as much a part of the body of Christ if your spiritual gift is exercised in private!
33. Verse 16 brings in two other factors to repeat the idea, going from parts of the body to parts of the face. “And if the ear should say, `Because I am not the eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not, for that reason, cease to be a part of the body would it?”
34. The ear refers to the congregational gifts, in contrast to the communication gifts. The use of the ear is very appropriate as a reference to the congregation. For no one ever grows spiritually without listening to Bible teaching.
35. Since the ear is generally unnoticed, it refers to the various unseen congregational gifts, like the gift of helps or the gift of mercy. These hidden gifts are very important.
36. The eye represents the communication gifts, like pastor- teacher or evangelist.  While speaking, the communicator must look you in the eye. Again, the use of the eye is very appropriate. For by looking, the communicator can easily gauge the response to his message.
37. The point is that many believers develop an inferiority complex and arrogant dissatisfaction because they do not have a communication gift. Timothy even faced this problem with certain women in his congregation.
38. Spiritual gifts do not determine the status of experiential sanctification. Experiential sanctification, or the spiritual life, has two concepts, absolute and relative.
    1. The absolute concept is being filled with the Spirit or life in the divine dynasphere, versus being carnal in cosmic one or two.
    2. The relative concept is the stage of your spiritual growth or retrogression.
39. Those believers with communication gifts are not superior to those believers with non-communication gifts. Those with communication gifts do have superior authority which is built into the gift. But their superior authority does not imply a superior spiritual life.
40. The superior spiritual life results from consistent residence inside the divine dynasphere, under the enabling power of the Spirit, and momentum from metabolized doctrine.
41. Verse 17, “If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?”
42. In other words, if everyone had communication gifts, believers could not listen and learn doctrine. Hence, the royal family of God would be composed of spiritual morons.
43. Furthermore, if everyone had communication gifts, the royal family would be in a state of inordinate competition. There would be no authority for teaching Bible doctrine, and therefore no function of operation Z at gate #4 of the divine dynasphere.
44. The sense of smell refers to the non-spectacular action gifts, such as service, helps, mercy, and giving, which in their function are almost evanescent. But these are just as important as the spectacular gifts.
45. Verse 18, “But in fact, God has arranged the parts of the body [distribution of spiritual gifts], every one of them, just as He willed.”
46. Spiritual gifts are distributed according to the sovereignty of God, not according to the merit of any particular believer.
47. There is no excuse for a superiority complex because you have an ostentatious spiritual gift. In fact, a spectacular spiritual gift does not in any way indicate a superior spiritual status.
48. There is no excuse for an inferiority complex because you have an obscure spiritual gift. In fact, an obscure spiritual gift, like helps or mercy, does not indicate an inferior spiritual status.
49. Whatever spiritual gift we have is a matter of the sovereignty of God. Therefore, we cannot complain about our spiritual gift. It is the will of God, not ours. We did not earn it, deserve it, or work for it. It is strictly the function of the sovereignty of God.
50. The principle of spiritual gifts.
51. All spiritual gifts are necessary for the function of the body of Christ, and they require faithfulness in the execution of the protocol plan of God for their proper function.
52. Some spiritual gifts have to be recognized by the possessor, that is, the communication gifts, because they require extensive training and preparation.
53. Other spiritual gifts, however, do not have to be recognized or identified, since they function automatically under spiritual growth.
54. All spiritual gifts function in maximum effectiveness under spiritual adulthood, beginning at spiritual self-esteem.
55. Regardless of spiritual growth, no spiritual gift can function apart from the filling of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we have the mandates of Eph 5:18 and Gal 5:16.
56. There are two categories of arrogance related to spiritual gifts.
    1. The superiority complex because of the possession of a spectacular gift.
    2. The inferiority complex because of the possession of an obscure spiritual gift.
57. Since the Holy Spirit assigned these spiritual gifts at salvation, there is no place for human merit, or assigning any greatness or arrogance to your spiritual gift.
58. Under computer assets, every believer still has equal privilege and equal opportunity for the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God and the distribution of his escrow blessings for both time and eternity regardless of whatever spiritual gift he may possess.
59. Verse 19, “In fact, if they were all one part, where would the body be?” All spiritual gifts are necessary for the function of the body of Christ as the royal family of God.
60. Verse 20, “Now there are many parts [spiritual gifts], but one body.” Regardless of spiritual gift, every believer is royal family of God with equal privileges and equal opportunities under his portfolio of invisible assets. The only differences are personnel differences, the third category of assets in the portfolio of invisible assets.
61. Verse 21 takes up the case of brother eye with the gift of pastor-teacher and brother hand, who has some obvious gift such as administrative leadership. “The eye cannot say to the hand, `I do not need you!’ And the head [Jesus Christ] cannot say to the feet, `I do not need you!’”a. In other words, no pastor is an island to himself. No pastor can function effectively in the communication of Bible doctrine without the function of administrative gifts.
62. The last half of verse 21 is really something. The head refers to our Lord Jesus Christ, as in Eph 1:22, 4:15, 5:23, and Col 1:18.
63. The feet here refers to the invisible or non-spectacular gifts, such as the gifts of service, helps, giving, showing mercy. Even Jesus Christ cannot say to the least of all spiritual gifts “I do not need you!” He cannot say to any part of the body, “I do not need you!” Therefore, every spiritual gift has significance in the body of Christ.
64. 1 Cor 12:22-25 teaches the importance of obscure spiritual gifts. Verse 26-27 teaches the importance of teamwork in spiritual gifts. Verse 28-30 teaches the perspective of spiritual gifts. Verse 31 is a transitional verse into the doctrine of Virtue-Love, as the answer to any apparent inequalities in spiritual gifts.

 Questions About Spiritual Gifts.

1. What happens to the male believer who has the gift of pastor- teacher and does not identify it or recognize it? Surely there are more men who have this gift than are functioning in churches or on the mission field or in some Bible teaching situation. Answer:  This believer functions without a spiritual gift. If he doesn’t recognize his gift of pastor-teacher in his own life, that means there is no other spiritual gift under which he can function. God replaces him with another male believer who has not only identified his gift, but has spent the necessary years in preparation for the function of this communication gift.
2. What happens to the carnal Christian? Obviously his spiritual gift does not function. Answer:  The carnal Christian loses the blessing and the production associated with that gift. He spends a lifetime in self-induced misery related to the law of volitional responsibility, plus he suffers under the three categories of divine discipline: warning, intensive, and dying discipline.
3. When does the spiritual gift begin to function? Answer:  When the believer has momentum in the protocol plan of God. Maximum function occurs in spiritual adulthood. It requires the filling of the Spirit and spiritual growth from the perception of Bible doctrine.   The communication and administrative gifts require identification. But the obscure gifts, by and large, function without identification.
4. What happens when the believer does not function under his spiritual gift? Answer:  He is replaced by a believer who has the same or a similar spiritual gift.

Every believer in Jesus Christ during the Church Age receives at least one spiritual gift (some have multiple gifts) at salvation. A spiritual gift is a specific ability given by God the Holy Spirit to the believer.  The word for gift in Greek is “charisma” and means “grace gift”. Therefore, spiritual gifts are not earned or deserved.  These gifts are divinely bestowed by the Holy Spirit in grace to those Hechooses. The purpose for spiritual gifts, as stated in Scripture, is for the function of the body of Christ in the local church. (Romans 12:4-6; I Corinthians 12:11-31)

Within the category of spiritual gifts there are permanent and temporary gifts.  Permanent gifts were first given to believers in the early Church and will continue to be operational until the end of the Church Age, which ends at the Rapture. Temporary gifts were also given to believers in the early Church, but were foundational for the establishment of the Church and are no longer operational. 

Spiritual gifts are a great blessing from God for the local church.  Without the function of these gifts in the local body, the church could not properly operate.  Each of us has a spiritual gift/s and it is up to us to discover that gift/s and use them. The discovery of our gift/s may come from recognition from a person in authority in the local church, such as the pastor or a deacon.  However, most spiritual gifts are discovered as the believer begins to function in the local church doing things they love to do.