Village Schools of the Bible

THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER YOU
An Introductory Study of Spiritual Gifts
by Max Frazier, Jr.

What are the Spiritual Gifts?

If we are to seek to understand the role of the spiritual gifts, it is imperative that we first establish a definition. I am reminded of what the Apostle Peter wrote: As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10). Using this verse then, I can define a spiritual gift as that special ability or abilities which God has given to every believer in order that His work might be accomplished.

So, who has these spiritual gifts? According to the verse just cited from Peter, everyone who has received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior has received a special gift from God. Now you might think that you have nothing to offer in service to God. Nonsense. God has given you a gift which He has tailor made just for you. I remember being told early in my ministry by a dear saint of God, "Max, if you don't do what God has created you to do, no one else will do it." This dear brother was simply reminding me that God had gifted me for a purpose and no one else could fill those shoes. Now, that made me feel pretty special. I had a purpose for living. I had something to do that no one else could do.

But what is the purpose of these gifts? Let me share with you a verse from Paul's letter to the Church at Corinth. He writes: Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7). Later on Paul continues: Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church (1 Corinthians 14:12). After identifying several gifted men given to the Church by God, Paul announces that their purpose was to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-13).

From the above texts, the purpose of the spiritual gifts is not to bring glory or praise to ourselves (we should never state, "Well, I have this particular gift" with a sense of braggadocio), or even to our church, or to our church programs. No, the purpose of the gifts is to build one another up as believers so that God is glorified and praised. I truly believe that if we are not doing the later, then we are not using our spiritual gifts properly.

Are the Gifts the same as Talents?

It is in this area that we get most confused. Just what is a talent? I think we can define it as a special aptitude directed in a special way. A talent has everything to do with techniques and methods. A talent is dependent upon natural powers and abilities. A talent is something everyone has at least one of since the time of his or her physical birth, howbeit that talent may be lying dormant in a person's life. Let me share a few possible talents: ability to sing or to play an instrument; an ability to play football or basketball or to swim or to wrestle; an ability to paint pictures which others can understand. (I can assure you that I don't have any artistic talent. I remember getting an "F" in seventh grade art on my stick-figure drawing. The teacher wrote on the picture in big letters, "What is this?" Right then and there I knew that I would never become another Rembrandt.)

Talents are not spiritual gifts, yet the Holy Spirit may choose to use our natural talents as the vehicle for the exercise of our spiritual gifts. Dwight L. Moody had a talent, and a passion I might add, for communicating with children. God used this talent as the means through which a Sunday school for street children was started in the city of Chicago. Later Moody would use this talent to begin a Bible Institute to train young people for ministry. I am also reminded of how God uses the athletic abilities of a Randall Cunningham or a Chris Carter or a Kurt Warner as a vehicle through which the gifts of evangelism and encouragement are shared.

Although our talents are not spiritual gifts, they may point in the direction in which our gifts might be used by God. I remember a lady in a former church who had a beautiful voice and was always willing to sing any time. Singing was her talent. But through her music, she brought encouragement to so many people. On those Sundays she sang, I think people were more ministered to with her music then with my sermon. Praise the Lord. I always have encouraged young people to cultivate those talents which God has given to them, admonishing them to be available to use those talents as an instrument to minister to others.

Can Spiritual Gifts be Counterfeited by Satan?

Unfortunately, the answer to this question is a qualified yes. He has done it in the past. Listen to these accounts from Exodus 7 and 8: (speaking about the plague of turning the water into blood) But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts and Pharaoh's heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said...(speaking about the plague of frogs) But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt (Exodus 7:22; Exodus 8:7).

Satan will counterfeit spiritual gifts in the future, for we read this about his activities in Revelation: And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived (Revelation 13:13-14).

So, both in the past and in the future, Satan is capable of counterfeiting a work of God with the express purpose of deceiving the people of God. If he has done it in the past and will do it in the future, it is pretty safe to assume that he is also doing it in the present. That is why the Apostle John wrote: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets (those are the representatives of Satan himself) have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1). How we need to be on our guard these days. If I understand what John is saying, there is a danger that Satan will come into our midst doing things we usually attribute to God. Caution must be exercised that we examine, yes test, every person to see if they are truly communicating God's truth to us.

Why are the Gifts not being Used Today?

One of the major reasons for the lack of usage is an ignorance as to what the spiritual gifts really are. Let me refresh your memories by using the following list:

ROMANS 12:3-8

Prophecy
Exhorting
Giving
Teaching
Showing Mercy
Ministering (Helps)
Government (Ruling)

EPHESIANS 4:11

Apostleship
Pastoring/Teaching
Prophecy
Evangelism

1 CORINTHIANS 12:8-10, 28-30

Word of Wisdom
Faith
Word of Knowledge
Healing
Miracles
Prophecy
Discernment
Teaching
Interpretation of Tongues
Apostleship
Teaching
Ministration
Government (Ruling)

If you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, let me assure you that you have at least one of the above. Remember those earlier words of Paul to the Corinthians that each one (that includes you and me) was given a special gift by God. If you are not sure what your spiritual gift is, I would counsel you to visit your pastor or a close friend. You might want to consider taking one of the many spiritual gift inventories which are available. Let me share two which I have found profitable.

TEAM MINISTRY: Spiritual Gifts Inventory Questionnaire, produced by the Church Growth Institute, located in Lynchburg, Virginia.

HOUTS INVENTORY OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS, developed by the Fuller Evangelistic Association, located in Pasadena, California

I also have observed a second reason why there is a lack of emphasis on spiritual gifts today. It might be called a feeling of inferiority.

So we develop a bad case of "let someone else do it." I am reminded of the following story:

This is the story about four people named Somebody, Everybody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about it because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it. But Nobody realized that Everybody could not do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done. Now that story may sound confusing, but I have witnessed its truths more than I care to imagine.

We observe this inferiority when we measure ourselves, not by our own norms, but by someone else's. Maxwell Maltz, one of the great philosophical minds of our time, has written: It's not knowledge of actual inferiority in skill or knowledge that gives us an inferiority complex and interferes with our living. It's the feeling of inferiority that does this. And this feeling of inferiority comes about for just one reason: We judge ourselves, and measure ourselves, not against our own 'norm' or 'par', but against some other individual's norm. When we do this, we always, without exception, come out second best. But because we think and believe and assure that we should measure up to some other person's 'norm', we feel miserable, and second-rate and conclude that something is wrong with us.

God has indeed gifted you. But you are not to compare your giftedness to that of someone else. I will not be another Billy Graham. God did not gift me in that way. I will never preach like a Jonathan Edwards. But God has not called me to be another Billy Graham or Jonathan Edwards. He has called me to use the gift which He has given to me to the best of my abilities through the help of His Spirit. I am to model excellence in the use of the spiritual gift which I have because I am working for God.

Let me ask you, Have you discovered your spiritual gift? If you have, are you using it consistently for the Lord, or have you hidden your gift in the ground of inactivity because your gift does not compare with that of another? I want to remind you again of those verses we have already read from 1 Corinthians 12.

1. God has given a spiritual gift to each one of His children, including you and me.

2. If the gift has come from God, you can rest assured that it is a very important one.

3. God is counting on your using this special gift to bring encouragement and blessing into the life of someone else. No one else can adequately do what God has gifted you to do.

4. Therefore, you and your spiritual gift are very important and very special.

In another article, To Cease or Not to Cease? That is the Question, our focus for study will be upon the availability of some of the spiritual gifts today. Did some of the spiritual gifts, which have been listed above in this article, cease to function at the close of the Apostolic Age? If they did, why did it occur, and if they did not, then what is their function today?

Return to The Philogian Archives Introduction To Cease or Not To Cease?