The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Part 2 of 2
Q & A
 
By Paul Tatham 
tatham47@hotmail.com
 
What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit?
They are special enablements, abilities, and talents given by God to every Christian.

When do Christians receive their gifts of the Holy Spirit?
Likely at least one gift at their conversion and others subsequently as they grow in the Lord.

When do Christians receive the Holy Spirit Himself?
At their conversion. This is sometimes referred to as the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” (I Cor 12:13).

When are Christians filled with the Holy Spirit?
Typically, at several times throughout their life as they yield themselves to the Lord. But we all need an occasional refill because we tend to “leak”! 
When a person is baptized by the Holy Spirit, at conversion, the Holy Spirit is made resident. 

Each time a Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit, subsequent to conversion, the Holy Spirit is made president. In the New Testament, you often read of so-and-so, “who being filled with the Spirit,” accomplished mighty things for God.

How many gifts does the average Christian have?
At least one but often more (I Pet 4:10).

Can a Christian have all the gifts?
Not likely.

Is there one particular gift that all Christians possess?
No.

How many gifts are there?
Numbers vary, since some abilities mentioned in the New Testament may not be labelled as “gifts,” per se. Furthermore, some gifts seem so similar to other gifts that they may be one in the same.

What is the purpose of the gifts?
For the building up of the church (Eph 4:12). A strong local church will have a wide representation of gifts, each functioning for the benefit of the whole.

Is each of the gifts defined in the Scriptures?
Only rarely. Most often we are left to guess at the definition, based upon the name of the gift coupled with examples of its use. This is one aspect of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that can be frustrating.

Can your gifts carry over into your profession by helping you do a better job at work?
Likely so, although there is no biblical precedent.

Christians are enjoined to “covet earnestly the best gifts” (I Cor 12:31). So which gifts are the best ones?
The gifts are nowhere ranked by importance, so we don’t know exactly which ones are more valuable.

I Cor 14:39 says that we should “covet to prophesy,” so perhaps prophecy is the most important gift.

I Cor 14:12 says that we should “seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.” This likely means that we should covet those gifts that are most needed or useful in a particular local church, and that would vary from church to church. Some churches are in dire need of members who possess certain gifts.

How can you tell which gifts you have?
It should feel comfortable and natural to you. And it should be confirmed by fellow believers.

Is it possible for one of your gifts to lie dormant and unused?
Yes, sadly it happens all the time. I dare say that it’s highly likely that most gifts lie dormant throughout the average Christian’s entire lifetime! See II Tim.1:6.

Are all the gifts “alive and well,” operative for today?
This is a hot-potato issue among evangelicals. Some contend that all the gifts are still in play, while another school of thought contends that some of the gifts concluded their usefulness at the completion of the canon (c. 100 AD). 

The latter group posits that the so-called “sign gifts” (healing, miracles, tongues) were necessary while the New Testament was being written but not afterward. 

When the New Testament was not yet finished, they contend, these more spectacular gifts were necessary to validate the message of the apostles. When the New Testament was completed, people needed only to hear the completed Word of God for themselves. No other “fireworks” were necessary.

Personally, I believe that all the gifts are operative for today, with the pivotal verse being I Cor. 13:10. Some argue that because there has been occasional abuse in the exercise of at least some of the gifts that that proves they are dangerous, divisive, and even invalid. 

But abuses have existed in other doctrines, for example the Lord’s Supper in which some were getting drunk (I Cor 11:21), yet we don’t jettison that sacrament. Instead, Paul dealt with the abuses, just as we should today with abuses that occasionally arise in the operation of the gifts. Just because there are automobile accidents we don’t ban automobiles. We must be careful not to throw out the baby with the bath water.

Some Christians actually fear the Holy Spirit. Like an unruly child, we think that He doesn’t know how to behave in church. When we turn over our church services to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, things can sometimes get messy. That can be embarrassing and frightening, even when the “decently-and-in-order” protocols of I Corinthians are followed to the letter. 

The Holy Spirit cannot be scripted, but we would much rather know what is coming next. We don’t like surprises. Because the Holy Spirit often operates on His own timetable, and in His own way, we would rather just quench the Spirit (I Thess 5:19) and keep Him in a box. At least while at church. 

Even Pentecostal/charismatic churches sometimes shy away from the “sign gifts” being exercised in the main service, because they tend to startle visitors. Pastors don’t want to lose customers because people are too upset to attend their church.

Is the doctrine of the gifts of the Holy Spirit a crucial, non-negotiable issue, falling within the same camp as the virgin birth, Christ’s death for our sins, and the inerrancy of the Word?
Yes, the gifts of the Spirit, as a whole, is a vital, non-negotiable doctrine. But some of the details regarding just how those gifts function today is up for negotiation.

I notice that two of the gifts are in the plural—“gifts of healing” and “various kinds of tongues.” What does this mean?
The Scriptures never explain this. Perhaps, among those with the gift of healing, an individual may be gifted in healing certain types of ailments, similar to medical doctors who are specialists. 

Some believe that there are two types of tongues, with one being the “gift of tongues” that is possessed by some Christians and used in the local church setting. The other type of tongues is a private “prayer language” given to some Christians who have undergone a filling of the Holy Spirit.

Are tongues earthly foreign languages unknown to the speaker? Or is it glossolalia?
There are good people on both sides of this argument. Some believe that the gift of tongues is rapturous, divine “gibberish” (called glossolalia) that the speaker utters in church and is followed up by someone else with the gift of interpretation who can translate the message into a known earthly language that the congregation can understand.

It can be argued that the only New Testament instance of tongues as an earthly foreign language, and not glossolalia, was in operation in Acts 2’s account of the Day of Pentecost. All other instances of tongues were glossolalia—the so-called “tongues of angels” (I Cor 13:1)--meaning that they were uttered in no known earthly language.

So what exactly happened in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost?
Some hold that the only time in the Bible that tongues is not glossolalia is on the Day of Pentecost. On that day, Jews from all over the Roman Empire were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate this holy feast, and they spoke a variety of native, provincial languages. 

The "other tongues" (Acts 2:4) meant that the 120 gathered in the Upper Room suddenly started praising God in their own provincial languages when the Holy Spirit descended upon them. They then went downstairs, still praising God in their native languages. 

This drew crowds, who gathered around those of the 120 who were speaking their native language. Peter then called for everyone's attention and preached to everyone in the common language (likely Latin). As a result, many were saved.

So what is the purpose of tongues?
There is a variety of positions on this, but the purpose is likely best explained as God having a special message that He wants to communicate to a particular local church. That message could be any number of things—a warning, a word of encouragement, a directive, etc.