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Stibbe 97

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Mark Stibbe – Know your Spiritual Gifts

Zondervan 2004 (1st published 1997) Notes by Alison Morgan, May 2009

Excellent discussion of spiritual gifts, with examples, well researched, with bibliographical notes. Sometimes
controversial, and he tends to offer several definitions for each of the gifts, but it’s a good and helpful book.

Introduction
Charismata is best translated ‘grace gift’. Our task is to practise the presents of God – to find which presents have our
name on them, to unwrap them, and enjoy using them in bringing pleasure to the Father.
Much of our understanding of spiritual gifts has been dictated by experience rather than exegesis – book aims to fill this
gap, to provide bridge between recent scholarship and the Church.
There is a recent tendency to refer to behaviours such as falling, laughing, weeping as ‘manifestations’ of the spirit – but
in 1 Cor this word is used to describe the charismata which follow. The behaviours are human emotional reactions to the
power of the Spirit – not the thing itself. The book aims to correct this too.

The nature of the gifts


Father, Son and Spirit (1 Cor 12.4-6). By using the word charismata for the gifts fo the Spirit, Paul is emphasizing they do
not come from natural abilities. Before Paul the word charismata is used only twice in the Septuagint, in Ecclesiasticus
7.33 and 38.30, where it’s used to denote a ‘lovely work’. Paul uses the word 16 times, Peter once. Paul uses it in two
senses, general and particular: Rom 6.23 the free gift of God is eternal life; and 1 Cor 7.7, each man has his own grace gift
from God.
Charismata: Romans 1.11, 12.6; 1 Cor 1.7; 7.7; 12.4/9/28/30/31
The other words Paul uses to describe the spiritual gifts are works of service (diakoniai) and workings (energemata).
Works of service – the term highlights why they are given.
• Charismata – their origin
• Diakoniai – their purpose
• Energemata – their power. They are ‘manifestations’ of the Spirit – like lights powered by an electric current.

The purpose of the gifts


1 Cor 12.7 ‘for the common good’. By using the body image he talks about the gifts in a corporate, not individualistic,
way. Gifts are received nto for the benefit of the individual but of the body of the Church.

The employment of the gifts


Through love. 1 Cor 12 an d14 are about the gifts; 13 is about love.

The pursuit of the gifts


How do we receive them? By being initiated into the kingdom of God – repentance, faith, baptism in water and in the HS.
All the gifts are available today – Paul says they will cease ‘when perfection comes’, and the word he uses is teleios,
usually used to refer to end times. Until then, in the not yet, their use is essential.
Irenaeus:
• For some drive out demons with certainty and truth, so that often those who have themselves been cleansed from evil
spirits believe and are in the Church, and some have foreknolwledge of things to be, and visions and prophetic speech, and
others cure the sick by the laying on of hands and make them whole, and evea swe have said, the dead have been raised and
remain with us for many years. And why should I say more? it is not possible to tell the numbero the gifts which the Church
thorughout the shole world, having receive dthem from God in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius
Pilate, uses each day for the benefit of the heathn, deceiving none, and making profit form none. For as it receive dfreely
from God, it ministers also freely.

The extent of the gifts


The NT lists are not exhaustive, and there is overlap and addition (eg 1 Cor 7.7 celibacy).
1 Cor 12 – ‘to one.. to another’… ‘do all…?’ – it is not God’s intention for a Christian to be ’omnicharismatic’! Paul wishes
us all to have the gift of prophecy (1 Cor 14.31) and desires that all should speak in tongues. It seems we may additionally
have a primary gift (eg teaching) which may be accompanied by other related gifts (eg faith, wisdom, knowledge).

• Gifts of teaching – wisdom and knowledge


• Gifts of power – faith, healing, miracles
• Gifts of revelation – prophecy and discernment
• Gifts of adoration – tongues, interpretation
(p58)

The Word of Wisdom


In popular charismatic teaching it’s understood to be an inspired application of a word of knowledge, which in turn is
defined as a supernatural insight into hidden facets of a person or situation. Eg Wagner – wisdom is the application of
knowledge into specific situations. But it’s a word of wisdom. MS offers a two part definition:
• The gift of being able to understand and to express something of God’s wisdom, in such a way that the Church is built up and
strengthened
But there’s a deeper/broader aspect too. If we look at 1 Cor 2 we see that wisdom is concerned with salvation history,
not just with God’s purposes in the life or a church/individual. The gift of wisdom helps us to understand something of
God’s wisdom in giving us his son.
So a further definition is:
• A charismatic revelation into God’s secret, redemptive purposes in history

Wisdom is therefore of 2 kinds, theological and practical.

Jesus offered practical wisdom all the time – eg Mk2, answering the question about eating with tax collectors/sinners;
Mk 3 answering the accusation that he drives out demons by demonic power; Mk 7 answering the question about purity
laws; Mk 12 answering the question about taxes.. The response: ‘where does he get such wisdom from?’ Mt 13.54; and
the answer, ‘from the Spirit’. This is not erudition, it’s a charismatic insight in particular situations into the will of God.
The best eg is the woman taken in adultery, and the word of wisdom is, ‘if any of you is without sin, let him be the first to
throw a stone at her’. Is he praying while writing on the sand?

Given this practical wisdom of Jesus, it seems likely Paul understood wisdom in both a theological and a practical sense.
The story of Joseph and Pharaoh’s dream illustrates wisdom; Joseph is said to be ‘full of the Sirit’. The Spirit of God
reveals the hidden things of God – see the wisdom literature in the OT, eg Prov 3, Eccl 3. Isaiah 11.2 specifically says that
the Messiah will have the Spirit of the Lord resting upon him, bringing wisdom, understanding etc. This happens at his
baptism, John 1.
Paul describes Jesus as the wisdom and power of God – 1 Cor 1.24. He is Wisdom in person…

The word of Wisdom – ‘a charismatic disclosure of divine truth’. The Spirit reveals theological insight (relates to belief)
and practical insight (relates to behaviour). The first kind is usually ministered in the context of teaching – relates to what
P teaches about God’s wisdom in 1 Cor 1-2. The second kind is usually ministered in difficult life circumstances – wisdom
for right living.
• Acts 15 and the issue of circumcision
• 1 Cor 14 – Paul’s insight into the use of grace gifts

Evaluation of wisdom
The Corinthians had turned it into a special spiritual category, and saw it as initiation into the secrets of the heavenly
realsm – for Paul wisdom is not cosmological but christological. Inauthentic wisdom is kept secret and used to divide one
sort of spiritual person into another. True wisdom will be consistent with scripture and will encourage behaviour
consistent with kingdom ethics.

For Paul, the word of wisdom was the articulation of an insight into God’s purposes, either general (ie to do with God’s
plan of redemption) or sepcific ie (to do with God’s plan for a church or for an individual).
Like the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom is primarily a teaching gift – the ability to speak inspirationally of God’s
purposes at the global, local or individual level [?? prophecy?]

2. The Word of Knowledge


Popular understanding is ‘a supernatural insight into the secrets of a person’s heart or situation’. The standard example
is Wimber seeing ‘adultery’ on someone’s forehead on a plane. MS thinks this mistaken – it must be an insight not into a
person’s thoughts but into God’s thoghts. He offers: an inspired insight into the mind of Christ which is then expressed in
words given by the HS.As such, it is a revelatory gift through which the body of Christ is edified.To be sure, it’s not just
natural talent sanctified; it’s revealed knowledge imparted by grace.
This gift is best understood not by refs in other biblical writers to insights gained into a person’s heart/mind/circs (eg
Jesus and the woman at the well) but in the context of Paul’s own writing. He talks about knowledge in 1 Cor 2.12-13:
‘we have not received the spirit of the world but th eSpirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has
freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit,
expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words’. He uses similar language in 1 Cor 12.
Definition: a special anointing in which a believer is given an insight into the unfathomable depths of God’s grace – an
insight which he or she then articulates in words taught by the HS.
Content – as with wisdom, both theological and practical. In the theological sense a word of knowledge is ‘the anointed
description of on eof the many treasures associated with God’s gracious gift of his Son’. In the practical sense it’s ‘an
anointed description of the work of grace available to the church of Jesus Chrsit’ – ie it’s some understanding of the
relationship of God to the believer.
So instead of seeing a word of knowledge as a revelation of a person’s secrets, we now see it as an inspried utterance
concerning God’s works of grace. As such it’s a tool for those called to teach in the Church. An example is Paul’s prayer in
Eph 1.
‘The word of knowledge is therefore that special ability to know and to articulate the things which God has freely given
to us’. The practical aspect is ‘the inspired ability to understand the nature and the function of the gifts of the HS’ [!!?].
The info in chapters 12-14 came through the gift of wisdom (how to use the gifts) and knowledge (what they are).
The differences between knowledge and wisdom are not clear. Wisdom seems to be connected with the ability to
understand God’s secret purposes, knowledge seems to refer to the nature of the gifts. So wisdom is how, and
knowledge is what. The common view that knowledge is charismatic understanding into the hidden facts about a
person’s life needs revising – this is prophecy not knowledge. See 1 Cor 14.24-25, which describes an unbeliever being
told things about himself which cuase him to believe. The woman at the well responded ‘I can see that you are a prohet’.
So it seems Grudem is right in saying what many today call a word of wisdom/knowledge is more accurately seen as
prophecy.

3. The gift of faith


Eg Zerubbabel ‘s faith in rebuilding the temple, Zech 4.
The only other ref to faith in 1 Cor 12-14 is where Paul says ‘if I have a faith that can move mountains but have not love, I
am nothing’. The gift of faith is an unshakeable confidence that God can move any obstacle, however great or small. It’s
the same faith Jesus talks about in Mark 11.22-25.
James Dunn in Williams): ‘P presumably has in mind that mysterious surge of confidence which sometimes arises within a
man in a particular situation of need or challenge and which gives him an otherly certainty that God is about to act
through a word or through an action (such as laying hands on someone sick)’.
To sum up: the gift of faith is a supernatural certainty given by the HS to some members of the Body of Christ. This
certainty is an unshakeable confidence that God is about to resolve a seemingly impossible situation, for the edification of
the Church.
Charismatic faith is to be distinguished from conversion faith (eg Eph 2.8-9) in Jesus, and continuing faith (eg John 20.31)
– as defined in Heb 11.1-2. This kind of faith is about believing, obeying, persevering, trusting.
The Faith Movement confuses charismatic faith with continuing faith – we aren’t meant to operate all the time ni
mountain-moving faith, only when given it. It’s continuing faith we are meant to operate in all the time, whatever we feel
like.
Eg of charismatic faith – George Muller

4. The gifts of healing


Plural – means a person charismatically endowed with healing gifts will have a varied ministry.

• Healing gifts are not given to all. Do all have it – no. We know leaders are encouraged to pray for the sick; but some
members of the body are given this ability to minister healing.
• Healing gifts are not a temporary endowment but an ongoing anointing. ‘Like all the gifts, ‘healings’ are .. supposed to be
understood as a long-term rather than an occasional enabling in the believer’s life’.. If you receive this gift you should expect
to minister in this way on a consistent basis (it says people have gifts of healings, in the present continuous – and the same
applies to the other gifts).
• P doesn’t speak of ‘healers’; it’s a gift not an office, like apostles, prophets, teachers – see 1 Cor 12.28
• P saw it as a spiritual anoinging, not a natural talent/skill – it’s not to do with medicine
• Some say Jesus’ healings and ours are only for psychosomatic disorders – but Matt says Jesus healed every disease
• The use of these gifts should not be seen as restricted to the Church’s worship. Healing is witness to believers and
unbelievers of the power of the Resurrection to offset the moral and physical consequences of individual and communal sin
• Human sickness is a consequence of human sin – it’s the result of the Fall. Only some sicknesses are directly due to sins
commited by the sick individual!
• The individual receives the gift of healing as a permanent thing, but the Church only until the return of Christ.
The healing gifts are best understood as the special, charismatic ability to heal illnesses in the power of the HS, and
through faith in Jesus Christ. This ability is given to some people in the Body of Christ, and they are expected to use this
gift faithfully and continuously until the Lord Jesus returns and does away with sickness for ever.

Three other spiritual gifts are needed to exercise the gift of healings – faith (Acts 3.16) which makes it possible for Jesus
to heal (Lk 5.17). Jesus looked for faith in those he ministered to. In Nazareth there was none so there were few healings.
Luke says the power of the Lord was present for Jesus to heal the sick – which implies that sometimes it’s not. Healing
gifts also require prophecy – insight into people’s hearts. God may give a revelation concerning a person’s heart or their
sins or their symptoms. Sometimes those praying feel the same pain. Example from Wimber. The third gift needed is
discernment – Jesus dealt with 2 cases of deafness in differne tways, Mk 7 and Mk 9 – one healing, one deliverance.

When God does not heal. Problems on our side – lack of faith (Mk 6), hidden sin (James 5), wrong theology (healing can
occur through medical treatment eg Hezikah’s boil, 2 Kings 20). Problems on God’s side – h eis sovereign, and we need to
respect his will for a person. He has a different understanding of suffering from us. Catholics teach that any suffering
which prevents a believer form living a fully human Christian life can and should be healed, but some suffering is positive,
developing charactger and enabling love and growth. Michael Butley said, ‘the problem is not that there is suffering in
the world but that we waste it so foolishly’. Finally, lack of healing can be because the kingdom of God is now but also
not yet; only with the Second coming will the works of Satan be finally and totally eradicated; they include sin, sickenss,
suffering and death.

5. The gift of miraculous works


The word energemata carries the notion of energy/power. Energemata dunameon is workings of powers, might acts. The
gift of miracles is the special ability to perform acts of extraordinary supernatural power. these actions are performed
through the power of the HS an din the name of Jesus Christ, and they evoke wonder in many, and faith in some. It’s a
public demonstration of extraordinary, charismatic power, which can take a number of forms:
• Resurrection miracles
• Nature miracles
• Healing miracles
Not all healings are miracles – there’s the healing of salvation, relational healing, gradual healing during a period of
prayer, psychological healing, spiritual healing, communal healing, social healing. So the difference between healings and
miracles can be undersood in terms of degrees of charismatic power – healings are often gradual and less visible,
miracles are always immediate and often public. For both the gift of faith is essential.

Do miracles occur today? The liberal view says they never did occur; the conservative view says they did then but they
don’t now; the pentecostal view says they did then and they do now. Paul Thigpen proves that miracles occurred
consistently in all ages up to our own. He quotes from Justin Martyr, Hermas, Irenaeus, Tertullina, Eusebisu, Athanasius,
Hilary of Poiteirs, Martin fo Tours, Epiphanius of Salamis, Augusting, Severus, Benedict, Gregory the Gt, Gregory of Tours,
Aidan, Cuthbert, Jospeh Hazzaya of Syria, Ulrich of Augsburg, Anselm, William of Malmesbury, Hugh of Lincoln, Bernard,
Francis, Catherine of Sinea, et al; then fewer during the Refomation but again in George Fox, Wesley, Von Zinzendorf,
Edward Iriving, ahrles Cullis, Maria Woodwroth-Etter, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina et al. Sometimes he includes
hagiographical as well as historical writing, but it’s an impressive list.
Today – egs from Mahesh Chavda, Only Love can make a miracle. Includes a resurrection (with death certificate); and a
meeting in Zaire where sorcerers and witchdoctors gave their lives to Christ.
The key which seems to unlock the door for miracles in our own day seems to be: faith, fasting, compassion.
All are evident in Acts 9, where Peter raises Tabitha from the dead – need, faith, discipleship (Peter did exactly what he’d
seen Jesus do with Jairus’s daughter), compassion, looking to God (Peter prays to God before he does anything else inc
looking at Tabitha).

6. The gift of prophecy


Its use is on the increase. But there is misunderstanding. Some define it solely as predicting the future. Some limit it to
forthtelling God’s word in the present, and identify it with preaching – but this is a reductionist definition. Paul
distinguishes between teaching and prophecy. Teaching is a charismatic exegesis, a fresh understanding of the written
Word (for Paul, that meant the OT). Prophecy, however, is an inspired utterance of a word which God gives directly to
the believer; ‘the speaking forth of words given by the Spirit in a particular situation’. The difference between teaching
and prophecy is that teaching has a conservative function and prophecy has a creative function.

Mark Cartledge says there are 3 ways of viewing the prophetic experience:
• A message received some time before it’s shared
• A part of a message being received, and the rest as the person receiving begins to speak
• An impulse to prophesy, but without any words, which come as the person starts to speak

Words of prophecy can be directed to unbelievers, and contain hidden facts (1 Cor 14.24-25). Prophecy is a revelation
and declaration of the secrets of an unbeliever’s heart.

Words of prophecy can be directed to the church assembly, to edify, exhort, comfort (1 Cor 14.3). the most common
form is a message of exhortation beginning with words like ‘my children’ and expressed as a word from God in the 1st
person singular.

Grudem defines it as ‘telling something that God has spontaneously brought to mind’. If it’s in the form of a conscious
reflection on scripture, it’s teaching. If it comes suddenly, it’s prophecy. It’s a fallible gift, and its authority is linked to its
general content and not to every word:

• Scripture is universal in application, a prophecy is contingent


• Scripture doesn’t need testing, prophecy does
• Scripture possesses authority, the authority of a prophet needs to be established
• Scripture is eternal, prophecy temporary.

Principles:
• Delivery - Humility, Love, Submissiveness, Self control
• Administration – welcome it, teach about it, encourage people to desire it, weigh it, don’t allow it to dominate, help people
to listen, keep sense of humour, keep perspective.

Margery Kempe, C14th, practised spiritual gifts.


Problems with prophecy today – first, we should be aware it may concern sin. Second, we should beware individualism –
we tend to direct prophecy towards indivdiuals or the local church, whereas OT prophecy offered a radical protest
against the dominant ethos in society (see Brueggemann). Maybe it’s time to break out of our individualism in the realm
of the spiritual gifts, and particularly in the realm of prophecy.

7. Discernings of spirits
The word spirit (pneuma) is used 379 times in the NT. It referst to the spirit within human beings; to the Spirit of God; to
supernatural beings which can be either angelic or demonic.
Discernment is the special ability to discern whether the human spirit, the HS, or a supernatural spirit (good or bad) is at
work behind a particular phenomenon.
Eg Jesus and Nathaniel John 1. It’s to be exercised when we gather together and when assessing a person. Paul urges us
to test spirits and prophecies – eg 1 Cor 14.29, 1 Thess 5.19.
It’s possible to discern the presence of God or of his angels.
Criteria for discernment:
• Conviction – Jesus was troubled in spirit when he confronted evil, eg John 11.33, 13.21
• Community – weighing prophetic words
• Consistency - with the Spirit of Jesus, the scriptures, the way God has worked in the past
• Christology – any spiritual experience should draw people’s hearts towards Jesus
• Character – does it come from and promote love?
• Consequence – by their fruit you will know prophets

8. Kinds of tongues
Inspired speech; and the source of the controversy. Glossa means language – so it’s a gift that enables us to speak
unlearnt languages. Poythress defines it ‘the production of connected sequences of speech sounds, not identified by the
speaker as a language known to him, lexically opque to him, not capable of being repeated by him (except in very small
snatches), and which sounds to an average hearer like an unknown language’.
So it’s a charismatic anointing in which a person speaks an unlearnt and unintelligible language.
But it’s also the spontaneous utterance of seemingly random speech sounds which represent the language of the angels.

• Xenolalia – speaking an actual language, eg Acts 2.8


• Angelolalia – speaking in an angelic tongue, eg 1 Cor 14.2, it needs translation
I Cor 13, if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels… The Testament of Job gives an example of Job’s daughters
speaking in the tongues of angels when they are given his sash.

It’s used devotionally (edifies the believer); and if used in public it will usually be an utterance of adoration (edifies the
gathering). Limitations – Paul lists it last, not first; he warns of the danger of creating ridicule through excessive use; says
it’s of no use without an interpretation; remarks that the mind is unfruitful when it’s being used; warns of disorder and
of confusion. It seems the Delphi Oracle involved a priestess speaking in tongues in a state of frenzy (it was interpreted
by a male priest); Paul warns against this.
Carlyle May has researched glossolalia in many parts of the world and cultures – not all Christian.

Advantages – speaking in the language of angels offers a foretaste of heaven; its private use is edifying because it brings
intimacy with God; it allows deeper expression of thanks and praise; it releases a greater sense of the Spirit’s presence in
our lives; it expresses deep joy; it gives a sense of continuity with the early church; it helps us yield more to the Spirit by
relinquishing control.

Tongues for all? The primary indication that a person has been filled with the HS is inspired speech – which can be
prophecy, praise, tongues, witness etc. MS thinks not every Christian receieves the gift of tongues when filled by the HS –
which is why Paul asks, ‘do all speak in tongues?’.

9. The interpretation of tongues


The most neglected of all the gifts – because it’s the only one which doesn’t stand on its own.
Eg of a woman who saw and wrote down a para of NT Greek (which she didn’t know) – which turned out to contain
scriptural quotes and an exhortation to welcome and not despise the writer.
Definition: the special, charismatic ability to translate a public utterance of glossolalia into the vernacular of the
congregation.
A common assumption is that tongues + interpretation = prophecy. There is no scriptural support for this – P says
tongues is directed towards God not man (1 Cor 14.2).
Singing in tongues – P talks about singing with one’s spirit in 1 Cor 14.15-16.

Conclusion
The gifts P mentions in 1 Cor 12 are ones which veer towards the sensational end of the charismatic spectrum. In reality
there’s a range of gifts from the ordinary (helping, mercy) to the extraordinary (miracles, prophecy). Paul spoke of the
gifts as acts of service as well as acts of power.

1 Cor 12 – helpful deeds – the special ability to help others who are in need (eg the men who brought their paralysed
friend to Jesus; somehow they are never mentioned in examination of the story

Rom 12.8 – mercy: ‘the special, God-given ability to show acts of mercy to those in need, and to do it with unbridled joy
and enthusiasm)

Romans 12.7 – teaching: ‘the ability to expound the scriptures in an inspirational, dynamic and sound way’

The charismata are essential for both worship and mission.

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