1 Corinthians 12:7

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man for the profit of all. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom... to another the working of miracles. To another, prophecy. To another, discerning of spirits. To another, diverse kinds of tongues. To another, the interpretation of tongues. But all these work that the one and the self same Spirit, dividing to every man as he wills. (1 Corinthians 12:7–11)

Surveying the Spirit's gifts—from miracles to the pastor-teacher—with a call to test everything by the Word and refuse undue dogmatism.

The Spirit's Gifts for the Whole Body

We are still in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, continuing our series on the work of the Spirit in the life of the believer. We have discovered that the Lord has given to each believer His Holy Spirit, and by His Holy Spirit He has gifted us. Verse 7 says, "the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man," and it gives the reason: "for the profit of all." A gift of the Spirit is any ability the Spirit gives you whereby you express your faith in order to strengthen the faith of another.

If you have received Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, He has given you His Holy Spirit and therefore gifted you to be effective in the work He's called you to. We are one body with many members and a diversity of gifts to support the fullness of the work God wants to do. There are four listings of gifts in the New Testament—1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4—and these are selective, not exhaustive. Over the last two studies we covered prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy, wisdom, knowledge, faith, and healings. Today we begin with the gift of miracles.

The Gift of Miracles

First Corinthians 12:10 identifies "the working of miracles." Paul expands on it in verses 28 and 29, asking the rhetorical question, "are all workers of miracles?" The answer is no. But there are some in the body of Christ gifted by God to be a conduit through which God accomplishes acts that manifest supernatural power.

The Greek word here is dunamis—the same word translated "power" in Acts 1:8, "you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." Miracles were evidenced supremely in the ministry of Jesus, the Messiah. Unfortunately, people came following Jesus solely for the signs. When they said, "Show us a sign and we'll believe," He answered, "A wicked and perverse generation seeks after a sign." He did not do miracles on cue to make a show. That should instruct us, because there are people today who take their gift on the road and make it a spectacle. That is not what we see in the New Testament.

Testing the Spirits

It is the same word dunamis that Jesus uses in one of the heaviest things He ever said, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:21–23 He reveals that not everyone who has this power is a true follower of God:

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

So there are those who have apparent spiritual power and work what appear to be miracles who are not true followers of God. Therefore John counsels us in 1 John 4:1, "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." How do we test them? Verse 2 gives the positive test: "every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God." Verse 3 gives the negative test: "every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God."

In the Olivet Discourse Jesus warned, "there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." So let me unpack the real test: any person truly using a spiritual gift will do so for the glory of God and the edification of the body. If the gift is being used to glorify the gifted individual or to build up their own ministry, that person is likely self-willed and not moved of God. In Acts 8, Simon the magician saw the apostles' power and tried to buy it; Peter said, "Thy money perish with thee," and told him to repent.

Miracles Substantiate the Message

There is a true and real gift that is miraculous—that which transcends the normal natural laws of our environment, because God is fully able to work outside the norm. Jesus healed the lame and the leprous, raised the dead, walked on water, stilled the storm, and fed multitudes.

But here is something amazing: Jesus' miraculous ministry was given to substantiate His message. The Gospel of John is built around seven "I Am" statements, and Jesus proves His words true by His works. In John 8 He says, "I am the light of the world," and in John 9 He gives sight to a blind man. In John 6 He says, "I am the bread of life," and feeds the multitudes. In John 11 He says, "I am the resurrection and the life," and raises Lazarus.

In Mark, when four men lower a paralytic through the roof, Jesus says, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." When the scribes object that only God can forgive sin, Jesus asks which is harder to say—your sins are forgiven, or rise and walk—then heals the man "that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins." The work proved the message. So if you want to see God work in miraculous ways, step out by faith where God's word is going for the first time. Frontier missions still see miracles today—but He does it to glorify His power, not the individual.

The Discerning of Spirits

Because there are false, lying signs and wonders, we need the next gift: the discerning of spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10). This is the ability to clearly discern the spirit of truth and the spirit of error, to determine whether what is said or done is of God or of another spirit. We wrestle "against spiritual hosts of wickedness in high places," and those other spirits have power—not equal to God, but real.

In Acts 16, a servant girl in Philippi followed Paul, proclaiming, "These men are the servants of the most high God." What she said was true, yet Paul perceived by discernment that she had a false spirit and commanded it to come out of her. Jesus likewise cast out demons who confessed, "You are Christ," even though their words were true. Every Christian can work toward recognizing a counterfeit by knowing the Word. When someone knocks on your door claiming to be a Christian and something doesn't pass the "smell test," it's because God's Spirit reminds us of what Scripture teaches. But some are specifically gifted to look at something and say, "No, that's wrong, and here's why." This matters greatly when miraculous things happen, because people tend to check their brains at the door. That was the very problem in Corinth.

The Gift of Tongues

Now we come to the gift many have been waiting for. I did not save it for last as if it were the best, nor put it first as if it were supreme—because it is neither. Tongues causes the biggest stir in the modern church and is the most sensationalized of the gifts, largely because it is the easiest to fake and therefore easily abused. We'll cover it in depth in chapter 14, but here is what we believe at Calvary Chapel.

First, we do not believe tongues is the sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit. The Assemblies of God statement bases this on Acts 2:4, but that passage is descriptive of Pentecost and is not supported elsewhere in the epistles, which instruct the church for living. Acts 2 doesn't even tell us whether every one of the 120 spoke in tongues. Second, we do not accept that one is unsaved if they do not speak in tongues. Third, we do not believe tongues holds a greater position than other gifts; in 1 Corinthians 12:28 Paul lists "diverse kinds of tongues" last, likely to minimize it because it was being abused in Corinth.

Fourth, we do believe tongues is unique in that it is the only gift primarily intended for personal edification. While 12:7 says gifts are given "for the profit of all," 14:4 says, "He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church." Fifth, we do not believe tongues can be taught or learned, as some Pentecostals teach by having people "loosen the tongue" and repeat syllables. It is given by the Spirit as He wills. And it is not given to all—1 Corinthians 12:29–30 makes that clear with rhetorical questions whose answer is no.

What the Gift of Tongues Is

Some cessationists hold that the tongues of 1 Corinthians are merely earthly languages, and that the gift is a special ability to pick up languages quickly. I'm glad some people can learn languages quickly—I don't have that ability; it's taken me 31 years to get this far with English—but I do not believe that is the gift. The gift of tongues is the ability to speak fluently in an unknown language through the agency of the Holy Spirit; as Chuck Smith says, it is the ability to worship God through praise in a language you have not naturally learned. Some say it goes further, conveying a spiritual message that must then be interpreted.

There is little agreement among Bible teachers here. Charles Hodge regarded both Pentecostal and Corinthian tongues as known human languages. Abraham Kuyper regarded both as unintelligible sounds, suggesting that the Pentecost miracle was in the hearing, not just the speaking—people heard gibberish in their own language. John Calvin thought the Pentecostal tongues were human languages but the Corinthian tongues were not. John MacArthur holds that 1 Corinthians tongues were languages given as a sign to the apostles but are no longer in operation today. Hoekema said, "it seems difficult, if not impossible, to make a final judgment on this matter."

A Balanced View of Tongues

Pastor Chuck Smith believed there isn't enough evidence to say the Acts 2 tongues are the same or different from those Paul describes, and that tongues can be human or heavenly languages—based on 1 Corinthians 13:1, "though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels." Pastor Richard, after much study, believes they are strictly heavenly languages, always directed from man to God. Some see tongues as only a private prayer language; others as corporate; some as a missionary tool.

How do we respond when well-meaning, good Bible teachers say such different things? In an area with so little agreement, undue dogmatism is not helpful; spiritual sensitivity is vital. Always remember that the main things are the plain things and the plain things are the main things. Any time we exalt something the Bible is not amazingly clear about, we are probably getting offline.

What do I think? I think the gift of tongues is phenomenal. The genuine uses I've encountered have been awesome—and I say "genuine" purposefully, because I've also encountered uses I'd call completely bogus. In recent decades, Christian neurologists studying glossolalia have found that the language centers of the brain are not lit up while the emotional centers are off the charts. That means tongues-speaking could be by the Holy Spirit, but it could also be by another spirit—certain pagan, shamanistic, and Hindu groups practice glossolalia—or it could be purely emotionalism. So we walk lightly. Tongues should never be a measure of spirituality, nor a standard for fellowship. Do I have the gift? Yes. Will I do it for you? No—it's not a circus show.

The Interpretation of Tongues

The companion gift is the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10). Verse 30 asks, "do all interpret?"—no. The word relates to hermeneia, from which we get "hermeneutics." The one gifted to interpret is not giving a word-for-word translation but interpreting the sense of what was spoken so the whole body may be edified.

This is the only gift Paul tells us to specifically pray for: "let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret" (14:13). Since tongues edifies the individual (14:4), the corporate body is only built up through a tongue when an interpretation is given (14:5). That is why in a believers' meeting or home fellowship, when a tongue is spoken, the leader will pause and wait for the Lord to give an interpretation—and any interpretation must be in concert with the Word of God. If someone "interprets" by saying "the Lord Jesus be accursed," we disregard it as false, using the Word as our measuring line. Paul will say in chapter 14 that if an unbeliever enters and everyone is speaking with tongues, will they not think you mad? That is why everything must be done decently and in order, for everything God does has order.

The Gift of Apostleship

First Corinthians 12:28 says, "God hath set some in the church, first apostles." Verse 29 asks, "Are all apostles?"—no. The Greek apostolos means "one sent with a message." Some say a modern apostle is simply a missionary, and I have no problem with that. But in Acts and the epistles there was a group we might call the capital-A apostles, who held a special authority such that the words they wrote became canonized Scripture.

Two things set them apart: they were eyewitnesses of the risen Lord, and they were directly commissioned to the work by Jesus. These apostles held a level of authority no one since has held. The danger in certain charismatic circles today is labeling someone "our apostle" and ascribing to him the authority of Peter or Paul, treating his words as inspired truth. That is not seen in Scripture, and it is dangerous, because people end up holding their whole lives up to a guru's word. The gift today is best understood as someone sent with a message—perhaps a missionary—not someone wielding the unique authority Christ gave to those who saw the risen Lord.

The Gift of Helps

First Corinthians 12:28 lists "helps." This word is difficult to define because it is used only this once in the New Testament—a hapax legomenon—so we cannot define it by other contexts. Many describe it as the ability to enhance the effectiveness of the ministry of other members of the body. It appears distinct from the gift of service; some suggest service is more group-oriented while helps is more person-to-person.

A person with the gift of helps helps without being asked and without needing recognition. They serve with joy, see a need, and fill it. If you tried to give them a pat on the back, they'd feel funny about it—they do it as unto the Lord and find great joy in it. So often the rest of us see a need and say, "Somebody needs to take care of this—here, you do it," and that person resents it. We need people with the gift of helps. Often it's an unseen ministry that receives little thanks. Some in the body are like the mouth or hands, always seen; others are like internal organs—you never see the liver, but if it stops working, it's a real problem. People with the gift of helps quietly do the work, and if they weren't there, you'd ask, "Who did that?"

The Gift of Administration

The King James calls it "governments" in 12:28. This word appears only once in the New Testament, but in other Greek texts it is translated "helmsman"—the one who steers the boat. So the gift of administration is the spiritual ability to steer the body toward the fulfillment of its goals by managing affairs and implementing necessary plans.

A person with the gift of leadership has vision—"we're going to China." But the leader often doesn't have administration. The administrator says, "Okay, these are the executable things we need to do to get there." Kelly Kirstead has this gift: I say, "We'd like to go in this direction," and she lays out the steps. Pastor Richard planted Calvary Chapel Ramona and pastored it eight years, but the Lord moved on his heart that he was gifted as an administrator. He willingly handed that church to another pastor and joined our staff. When I say, "It'd be cool to buy this piece of property," I have no idea where to start—and Richard says, "This is who we'll talk to, this is what we'll do," and we move forward.

The Gift of Evangelism

Ephesians 4:11 says God "gave some... evangelists." An evangelist has the God-given ability to be an unusually effective instrument in leading unbelievers to a saving knowledge of Christ. That doesn't mean it's easy, but they can carry the gospel and express it in ways people understand—some in personal evangelism, others in large-scale or cross-cultural settings.

Here's the problem: most of the body says, "I don't have the gift of evangelism, so I don't evangelize." Wrong. Paul tells Timothy, "do the work of an evangelist" (2 Timothy 4:5). You are not freed from evangelizing even without the gift. But those with the gift are simply compelled—you sit down at lunch, the waitress asks what you'd like to drink, and they ask, "If you died tonight, would you go to heaven?" God empowers people as evangelists who long for no one to be free from hearing this glorious gospel.

The Gift of Pastor-Teacher

Ephesians 4:11 closes with "pastors and teachers." Some split these; there are people gifted as teachers, but others are pastor-teachers, and these go together. Peter was commissioned as a shepherd in John 21, where Jesus three times told him, "Feed my sheep." The pastor-teacher uses the strength and word God gives to spiritually nourish, protect, lead, guide, cherish, and care for the body. They are under-shepherds to the chief Shepherd—Jesus is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel of Escondido; the rest of us serve under Him.

These individuals are called elders or overseers in Scripture, and a person need not be on staff to be gifted as a pastor. When our board of elders lays hands on and ordains a pastor, we are not making them a pastor—they are already pastoring, whether in youth ministry, a home fellowship, or elsewhere. We simply recognize that God has called and gifted them. The ordination certificate, according to the state of California, mainly enables them to marry and bury; beyond that, it changes nothing. We have Pastors Richard, Mark, Eric, Josh, Roberto, and myself, and next month we'll lay hands on Pastor Jason Brower, who has pastored our youth ministry for six or seven years. But many others are pastoring in youth, children's, and home-fellowship ministries, tending and teaching as gifted by God.

All for the Body's Edification

Ultimately, all these things are for the equipping, perfecting, and building up of the body of Christ, so that corporately, as one body, we can do the work God has called us to. Are there other gifts beyond the twenty or so we've examined over these weeks? Yes—but these are the ones specifically named in Scripture, and God has gifted us to effectively do the work He's called us to. Amen.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You that You have called us to be one body, and that You have gathered in this one body many members—a diversity of talents and gifts, a diversity of opinions and ideas—yet Lord, You bring unity out of diversity. We thank You for that. Would You empower us by Your Spirit daily to function in the gifts You've given us, to be effective in the work You've called us to. Make us what You desire us to be, that we would glorify You. We ask in Jesus' name, amen.