A Snapshot of What the Spiritual Gifts Might Look Like Today

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church about the work of God's Spirit among them, he explained that "there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone." (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)  Famously, he then went on to compare this variety to the different parts of a human body, and to how they function distinctly, but interdependently, as a unified organism. 

But what exactly does it look like in real life for Christians to function together in this way, with different gifts or manifestations of God's Spirit working together in a complementary way? Let me offer a snapshot of a simple church gathering in which evidence of that very thing is discernible. Before presenting this fictitious (but true-to-life) snapshot, it's important to point out that the end to which these diverse "gifts... service... [and] activities" are given and manifested is, according to Paul, "the common good" (12:7). In light of both the nearby and broader contexts, I take that phrase to mean both the building up of those within the church (14:12), as well as the building out of the church, as new disciples are made (cf. Matthew 16:18). 

As you read through the description below, you will find that "spiritual gifts" listed in 1 Corinthians 12, as well as some from Romans 12, have been included in brackets in connection with the 'gifted' individual. As previously mentioned, this snapshot has been thoughtfully constructed to give just one possible embodiment of the body of Christ functioning together according to the Spirit's empowerment (since we simply can't say for sure how all these gifts actually functioned in the early church).  Here's that snapshot...

As the tight-knit house church wrapped up their post-meal conversations, Pastor Sam ["teachers"/"leadership'] gently interrupted and introduced their celebration of the Lord's Supper. After a song, and then briefly sharing  ["the utterance of knowledge"] about the biblical basis for the observance, Sam asked another brother to pray. Before praying, this brother, Terry, shared a word that he felt God had put on his heart for just this time ["prophecy"]. In light of recent challenges that were weighing heavy on everyone, Terry encouraged the weary group, and before praying for the Supper, prayed in light of this encouragement. After observing the Table, Pastor Sam directed the conversation to how God was at work in the lives of those gathered. In one exchange, Kelly, a young mom, sought counsel and prayer as she shared about difficulties she was facing with one of her children. After a moment of consideration, another sister, Anna, shared some very wise counsel ["the utterance of wisdom"] she had received as a younger mother, and some examples of those same principles in Scripture. After Anna, a brother named Rick excitedly shared about a need in his neighborhood that he felt could be an opportunity for Christ-like service ["helping"/"service"/"acts of mercy"]. An elderly couple (with whom Rick had been building a relationship) needed a lot of help with yardwork, but were living month-to-month on a very tight budget. Rick wasn't sure how to tackle the need, but he was sure it would be a tremendous blessing to the couple, and lead to an 'open door' for the gospel. On hearing this, an older gentleman, Dan, passionately reminded the church ["exhortation"] that it was very important for believers to "devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful." (Titus 3:14). Strengthened by this word, long-time member, Connie, chimed in that she would be willing to organize volunteers to serve and contact the elderly couple to work out the details ["administrating"]. Several people added their willingness to help out, and someone stopped to pray for this opportunity. As the night drew to a close, a new addition to the group, Doug, shared a word that he also believed God had put on his heart. But Rick's wife, Courtney, was troubled, discerning ["distinguishing between spirits"] that something about Doug's words, and possibly his motivation in sharing, were 'off'. She carefully offered a word of mild caution: "That's certainly something worth praying about." Afterward, she discreetly approached Pastor Sam to share her concern about what Doug had said. Sam reassured her that he would follow-up with Doug and learn more. The final element of the evening came from a young man named Kyle. Referring back to an earlier meeting and a particular community challenge that lay before the church, Kyle reassured the body that God would make a way ["faith"], and that he would personally contact local officials who were attempting to hinder the church.  As the pastor closed in prayer, each member of the faith family felt encouraged by the time together, and the contributions of so many. [NOTE: Some days later, Connie followed up with the elderly couple about the yardwork, and found out that a pressing (and expensive) home repair was threatening this couple with steep HOA fees. She then communicated with the church about the need via a prayer request. Within the hour, a faithful brother in the church, Ramon, reached out to let her know that he would gladly donate the parts and labor needed ["generosity"]. Wonderfully, the service opportunity went well, and the couple responded positively to an offer for prayer and to learning more about Jesus.]

That snapshot mentions ten of the twenty or so gifts and offices mentioned in Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, 28-30. While these two lists have several gifts in common (e.g., prophecy), what about the remaining gifts, the ones not included in the snapshot? Of these, I would suggest a number of them (all from 1 Corinthians 12) were normative for the apostolic age, but not for today. These would include, "gifts of healing", "the working of miracles", "various kinds of tongues", "the interpretation of tongues", and the offices of "apostles" and "prophets". In regard to the gifts just listed, the book of Acts explicitly mentions each of these supernatural manifestations (though not "the interpretation of tongues"), describing them as "signs and wonders" that "bore witness to the word of [the Lord's] grace" (Acts 14:3). Importantly, they are never presented as regular manifestations normative in the life of each church. Rather, they were normative for those who are regularly portrayed in Acts as announcing "the word of his grace": the apostles and their close associates (who were, of course, active in many places, including Corinth). Even the three instances of "speaking in tongues" in the book of Acts (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6) are clearly connected with the ministry of an apostle. 

Alongside of this observation, Ephesians 2:20 describes the church as being "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets". Similarly, these two offices ("the apostles and prophets") are also linked in Ephesians 3:5, and mentioned first (and in this same order) in the lists of Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Corinthians 12:28. If these two offices were used to lay a solid "foundation" upon which the Church has been built over the last two-thousand years, then, in combination with their unique use of "signs and wonders", I believe it's reasonable to exclude these gifts and offices from our thinking about the normative functioning of the Spirit-empowered church today. That doesn't mean we shouldn't ever pray for God's miraculous intervention, as if He were somehow limited. But it does call us to acknowledge that such supernatural interventions are not the norm as we carry on and carry out the mission of Christ in our generation. 

I pray (and hope you will pray as well) that this snapshot is helpful, not only in making sense of the Spirit-given "gifts... service... [and] activities" mentioned in the New Testament, but also in inspiring a vision for, and the application of, these Spirit-empowered expressions in the life of our local church today.

* Photo by Julia M. Cameron