One More Spirit Thought
And a recommended resource
(All scripture references are NASB unless otherwise noted. Please use a Bible app and look up any scripture passages I don't reference. Don't take my word for it!)
This will be a shorter one, but I heard yet another story recently of someone where legalism damaged their faith.
In this case it was surrounding the gifts of the Spirit. So, I thought it appropriate to address this story as a final thought in my walking by the Spirit series.
Are Some Gifts of the Spirit Gone?
Let me set my opinion about the gifts of the Spirit straight as quickly as possible: those who say some of the gifts have ended have little to no scriptural foundation.
I realize this is sadly a controversial and combative topic in Christian circles, and I will not be touching on it extensively. The fact is that both sides of this issue have a problem with walking by the flesh (as we all do).
It is the very combativeness and tribalism that is a sure sign of flesh however. This is simply not a gospel level discussion that requires defending at that level. Thus, if I felt that strongly about it, I would inspect my motives.
But I must put forth some version of my opinion as it goes along with the story I want to relate. However, I have little interest in defending further or making this a focus. It is a distraction from the gospel. And thus, I offend both sides!
Saying that the gifts have not ended is not saying that some gifts are not much more rare than others. The point of any gift is to demonstrate the power of Christ and lead others to Him. The fact is that in today's world some of the 'gifts' are not needed for this purpose in the same way the once were.
Also, even in scripture, it is unclear how widespread some of the outward gifts really were. Was there faking involved, particularly in the Corinthian church? There is certainly fakery today, why not then?
However, the only “gift” in scripture that could be considered 'gone' (and it is more of a role) is being an apostle. Paul gives the definition of apostle as someone who has seen Christ with their “own eyes”. (1 Cor. 9:1).
Perhaps, even in that case, Christ has appeared to someone today where they have seen Him with their own eyes. I don't want to limit God.
However, I will be taking any announcement of this with a grain of salt, and any person who claims this as a basis for claiming apostleship has a long road ahead to prove it. But I digress…
My main point is that I simply cannot find anywhere that scripture explicitly states any gifts are gone at any point in history until Christ returns. Those who make this claim are basing it on human reasoning and trying to put together scripture in ways that are not logical, yet fit their own mindset.
I find that most often the motivation to make this claim is based in tribalism and the need to push against the excesses of those who act like a modern day Corinthian church and abuse the gifts (or their concept of them).
And tribalism is never a basis for good doctrine. Tribalism is the cause of all twisting and misinterpreting scripture. It is a fleshly inclination that we need to rely on the Spirit to avoid at all cost.
How About the Other Camp?
That is a perfect sequeway into my main point, because the “some gifts are gone” tribe would not have this motivation if most in the other tribe were not pushing an extreme form of the gifts of the Spirit.
It is clear that many in these circles elevate certain external gifts and make claims about them that are at a minimum unscriptural and at the worst pure evil.
1 Corinthians 12:29-31 is highly instructive in this: “29-Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30-Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31-But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.” (BSB)
Paul goes on to write the 'love' chapter: 1 Corinthians 13. His point is clear: not everyone has every gift or role that the Corinthians were so rapt about in a fleshly way. And the 'gift' that is above all is God's love in our hearts.
Paul calls faith, hope, and love the “greater gifts”. And the greatest of these is love. This is in a direct response to a church (Corinth) where they were overemphasizing certain gifts because they felt they brought them a notoriety of sorts.
The first clear sign that anything is not of the Spirit is when the person is seeking fame, power, notoriety, or money by using their 'gift'. It doesn't matter if this on a television screen or within a small local congregation - it is a warning sign.
Are Gifts Required?
This leads me back to my story. This person grew up in a church where physical healing was considered a sign of spirituality. And they had a chronic condition from childhood that never went away (I heard this story after their death at quite an old age.)
The person relating the story said that this greatly damaged their faith. This is legalism at it's most damaging. This church had a 'rule' of “Thou shalt be healed or you are not right with God.”
There were those in the church claiming the “gift of healing”, yet they could not 'heal' this person. Ultimately, they blamed the sick person, which stretches the imagination.
Yet, this is what legalism does, in every form. When the rigid results the rule or law requires are not evident, then the blame, guilt, and shame game begins. In this case, there was literally nothing the person could have done to meet the requirement!
I hope you can see how damaging this is. This type of thing is not of the Spirit, it is of the flesh. There is no requirement to be “right with God” beyond being joined in spirit to the living Christ by faith.
Anyone who puts requirement on the gift of the Spirit is turning it into something other than a gift. They are distorting the gospel.
Ultimately, by pursuing the gift of healing to a legalistic extreme, this church neglected the gifts of hope, faith, and love. They fell into the same trap as the Corinthians that Paul warned against!
Regardless of whether a gift of healing is still possible today, whatever this church was doing was not of the Spirit, as it pushed people further from Christ, and did not draw them to Him.
The Greatest Miracle: Salvation by Faith
Paul's entire point of his correction of the Corinthians concerning gifts of the Spirit is that not everyone has these external gifts. Yet everyone who is a believer has the Spirit.
Thus, everyone who has the Spirit can bear the fruit of the Spirit - and this is by far the greatest miracle of all!
As I described in my last two articles, as you begin to walk by the Spirit, His fruit is naturally revealed in your life. The resulting changes in attitudes and actions are absolutely miraculous. I see this miracle in my life daily!
This is truly a miracle worth celebrating! We have the love of God poured into our hearts through the Spirit! (Romans 5:5) Why must we seek more than this?
We must take great care to not miss out on the miracle of the fruit of the Spirit because we are seeking some other gift that may or may not be for us.
As I have emphasized over and over, our relationship with the Spirit is one of trusting, not trying. If you truly are being gifted something by the Spirit, it will just happen as you are walking by the Spirit and the opportunity to elevate Christ comes along.
You won't have to force it, you won't have to practice, it will just happen naturally. This is the way of all walking by the Spirit. And ultimately it will point to Christ and honor His finished work. The gospel will be elevated.
And this is the ultimate test of everything we do - does it honor the finished work of Christ or the gospel.
A Recommended Resource
As a finishing touch to this series, I heard an Andrew Farley radio broadcast recently that summarizes much if what I have been saying.
I highly recommend listening to all 3 questions and answers, but in particular it is the 2nd one that is quite superb. There is a definition of legalism within the answer that truly describes it eloquently.
In any case, hope you listen. Thanks.
11.30.2022 - The Grace Message with Dr. Andrew Farley
Have a great weekend. Thanks for reading and listening.