Theology of Spirit Gifts

While some deny Jesus as God in the flesh, others, in an attempt to protect His God-nature, end up unwittingly denying His humanity and miss the power of the Holy Spirit in His life. Jesus was full of the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and did works in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:1-14). This enabled him to live the perfect human life without sin as our substitute and as our example (Matt. 4:1-10; Heb. 4:14-16). Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise of a new spirit for His people (Ezek. 36:26-27). Not only was Jesus our substitute in life, but also being full of the Spirit (Is. 61:1-2), He laid down His life as our substitute so that we could receive the Holy Spirit (John 16:7, Acts 1:8, 2:1-4). After the resurrection and before His ascension back to the heavens, Jesus promised that the Church would continue the new Spirit-filled lifestyle (Acts 1:8). Because of Jesus, God’s Spirit brings the reality of God’s presence to God’s people (Ezek. 39:29, Joel 2:28, Acts 2:1-22).

This becomes the theme of the Scriptures at the book of Acts. The NT era is uniquely the age of the Spirit. We are called to be a people “filled” with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). What this looks like has been the source of much dissention in the church, in particular over the last several decades. At least three camps have surfaced in explaining the relationship and the evidence of the Spirit-filled life.

The first is the “charismatic” camp. These Christians have an earnest desire to practice the supernatural gifts (predominantly speaking in tongues and healing) as proof of God’s presence among His people. Their practice stems from a movement of independent churches known as “Pentecostals,” whose history can be traced back to about 1901. The movement was a reaction to the sterility and dead orthodoxy that was plaguing many American churches at the time. They placed emphasis on an emotionally charged, personal, and mystical experience with God, evidenced by supernatural gifts. By the 1960s, the term “charismatic” was used to describe those who exercised a Pentecostal understanding of the gifts, but were among other denominations. The term comes from the Greek word “charismata,” which literally means, “Grace gift.”

Recognizing the dangers of appealing to the subjective experience of people engaged in charismatic practice, the more orthodox in the Church responded with a teaching called “cessationism.” This is the belief that the supernatural gifts mentioned in the Bible were for the apostles and prophets as they were used of God to lay the foundation of the Church. However, with the completion of the New Testament, those miraculous gifts are no longer necessary or available, in other words, the miracle gifts have ceased.

There is a third camp that recognizes the dangers and unbiblical practices prevalent in many charismatic groups, but is unwilling to make the claim that the miracle gifts have ceased. These are known as “continuationists.” This group has an earnest desire for the higher gifts (I Cor. 12:28-31), with an understanding that the gifts are not the point, but are to work toward a proclamation of the Gospel that demonstrates a people lovingly united under Jesus’ rule of all things. This is the most Scriptural of the three views since one doesn’t have to do interpretive gymnastics to make the Spirit gifts disappear, but keeps the right perspective on how they are to be exercised (I Cor. 14:33).

This view points out that a spiritual gift is a God-given ability for service (I Cor. 12-14, Eph. 4:7-16), that all believers are gifted by the spirit in some way (I Cor. 7:7; Eph. 4:7; I Peter 4:10), and that no believer has all of the gifts (I Cor. 12:12-26). The gifts are something that every believer should long and pray for (I Cor. 12:31; 14:1), not for an emotionally charged, mystical experience, but in order to build up others (I Cor. 12:7; 13:1-3; 14:26; Eph. 4:12).

The purpose of the gifts is to unite the people of God for the praise of God. The Spirit’s work in the book of Acts was often marked by miraculous gifts…but it is clear in the Bible that gifts were not the goal, spiritual transformation was and should still be. Filling with the Spirit produces fruit (Gal. 5:22-26), which is played out in the way that we live our lives.