Use gifts without imitating gifts

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. Now 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. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. (1 Corinthians 12:1–11)

A college course and seminar material shared with me from my sister have taught me that spiritual gifts come in three categories: motivational, manifesting, and ministry, based on the three NT passages that mention them. While some lump the gifts listed in those passages, I’ve found this three-fold distinction very helpful.

The gifts in the above passage are called manifestation gifts. The Spirit gives them to God's people on various occasions. They are not permanent but for the need of the moment. That is, some one who demonstrates them this week may not do the same thing next week.

The reasoning behind that could be related to the old nature’s tendency to take a skill and make it a trademark. That is, if I was involved in working a miracle, I might want to become “a miracle worker” for the rest of my life. This is the same with healing and speaking in tongues and others of this list of gifts. They are for “common good” yet easily grasped and even imitated by the flesh. (Read Watchman Nee’s book, “The Latent Power of the Soul”)

I remember blurting out advice on how to sleep well to a medical student. Saying what I said was a shock to me, and he could have been angry or retaliated, but he was not. The Spirit gave those words that hit a hot button, yet he was glad. That was a “word of wisdom” completely a surprise, yet obviously not from me and not a usual way I would talk. Besides, most of the time, wise words are not my forte.

Speaking in tongues is another example. The Bible says they are given only with an interpreter. It is not given to be a requirement for salvation as some claim. If this gift or any other gift does not make people more like Jesus, then it is a flesh imitation.

Lord, I’m cautious to write this, yet do realize that our old nature has the ability to look good, even seemingly do good, yet what does not come from faith is sin. True goodness comes only from You and glorifies You. Anything else is ego-serving and only looks good to us. No wonder You sweat blood as You felt the weight of our sin. Yet the gifts of the Spirit are necessary. In many ways we cannot bless others without them.
 

Having nothing…

For the past few weeks I’ve felt that I want something, but I don’t know what it is. Less work? A change of pace? A new location? Someone to step up and take some of my responsibilities? Maybe just more contentment? This nagging feeling does not make contentment easy. It keeps at me without identifying itself. Is it part of getting older? An evidence that I want to be in heaven where all is perfect? Yet I’m aware of a deeper desire for big challenges. I don’t like ‘normal’ but thrive on change.

Being alone is okay even though I’m much more interested in meaningful conversations than ever before. My hubby says to be content, but for a person who likes challenges, a sane pace and a relatively normal life can seem terribly boring at times. I woke up at 4 am thinking of how to create an online photo album for our family, as if there is nothing else to do.

Today’s reading begins with this truth:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; (2 Corinthians 5:17–18)

Thinking about the changes Christ gives, I’ve learned that God activates spiritual motivations when He gives new life to His people. My spiritual gifts include teaching, which is described as being an information-gatherer who wants to share what they find. My old nature had that motivation but used it for self, such as becoming a collector of useless information, even useless stuff, however, this gift includes an insatiable curiosity that goes non-stop. Part of that is wanting to know things about people but even that comes with a problem; many people wear layers and do not want to reveal their real selves. I easily detect that and become quickly bored with layers.

The reading says that everything that belongs to my old nature has passed away or become useless in Christian living. So that means I’m to love others even if they are ‘layered’ and be kind, not bored with them. For me, this is difficult and can be arrogant and not easy to deal with.

Two verses give me some fresh ideas:

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ….If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations which have no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. (Colossians 2:8; 20-23)

The world’s way is to feed on what pleases me. God tells me to listen to Christ, to let Him be my example and my strength. He said, “Not my will, but thine be done.” If my will is what I’m describing in this desire for new things, then I need to make sure that those things fit with the will of God, not something to merely satisfy my desires, vague as they seem right now. Anything that is sought out by “flesh,” must always be “nothing” in the sight of God. But if I am seeing things with His eyes, those “I wants” will be nothing in my own sight. He also says:

We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:3–10)

The last sentence speaks to this vague desire. I can rejoice in making others rich “as having nothing, yet possessing everything.” Only in Christ, not in the old me or the old way of satisfying myself. I need Jesus and the satisfaction He gives, then pass it on.

PRAY: This fretting has seemed complex, perhaps because I’ve taken my eyes off the simplicity that is in You, Jesus. Just fill me with Your Spirit. I cannot be ‘nothing’ unless You are ‘everything’ in my heart.

A challenging assignment

 

READ Ezekiel 21–24

God’s anger is unleashed against His people and against the Ammonites. For both, “a sword is drawn for the slaughter” as God pours out His indignation and delivers them to those who will punish their guilt. For the people of God, this “seems like a false divination” that their lives and land will be ruined. For the Ammonites, they will be “fuel for the fire” and “no more remembered.” (Ezekiel 21) Not a welcome Word from the Lord!

Through the prophet, God declares the abominations committed by His people. He focuses on bloodshed, how they show contempt for fathers and mothers, exhort foreigners, do wrong to widows and orphans, despise sacred things, profane the Sabbath, commit sexual sins, take bribes, exhort their neighbors for dishonest gain, and forget God. For this, He will “scatter you among the nations” and consume their sin as dross is removed from metal in a furnace of fire. He condemns false prophets for speaking when God has not spoken, killing and making widows, for taking financial gain, not regarding the Sabbath and making no distinction between holy and common, clean or unclean. Leaders destroy lives for dishonest gain. The people also have oppressed the poor and needy and given no justice to those who pass through. He looked for “a man among them” who would “stand in the breach” and intercede for the land so He would not destroy it, but found none. Therefore He poured out indignation and the fire of His wrath. (Ezekiel 22)

The Lord describes Samaria and Jerusalem as two prostitutes who chased after the Assyrians and Egypt and were destroyed. His people lusted after the Chaldeans also and God said He would bring them against ‘her’ and deal with ‘her’ in fury. He said:

Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust, and they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoring have brought this upon you, because you played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. You have gone the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand. (23:28–31)

They forgot God and would be laughed at as they were filled with sorrow and desolation, bearing the consequences of their sin, the slaughter of their children in sacrifice to idols and their lewd behavior — that they “should know that I am the Lord God.”

The prophet was then called upon to deliver a dreadful message by showing the people how they must respond to what God was going to do. God would take this man’s wife and he was not to mourn or react, but stoically accept this loss. For him, it was not deserved, but for them their punishment was deserved and they must respond knowing this was true.

Ezekiel heightens my sense that the role of a prophet is vital to the spiritual well-being of God’s people, but not a romantic or exalted role. All of the OT prophets suffered, some physically, some with the weight of their task, and for this man, the loss of “the delight of his eyes” without being able to mourn for her.

Since this gift is listed in Romans 12 as part of God’s spiritual gifting to the Body of Christ, it is with solemn thought that I consider the practical application of this reading. First, the ‘gift tests’ and other Christians verify that my two main gifts include prophecy. The testing devices usually change the term to “discernment” lest it be confused with declaring future events. Instead, this gift is about having insight from God into the will of God and into the spiritual state of others. It tends to see things in a black or white way, can be dogmatic and critical, but helpful if able to avoid being harsh and judgmental. Oswald Chambers correctly says that those who have this gift are to use it best in prayer, to be prayer warriors. Sometimes God uses it in a preacher, but “fire and brimstone” is not popular or necessarily God’s message today.

Personally, this gift tends to produce a tender conscience and high standards in those who have it. Obedience is important. So is the Word of God and saying only what God wants said. Prophets have few friends, are often misunderstood or dismissed, and are best helped by encouragers.

Reading Ezekiel gives me a sense of need for revival for I see the negatives in God’s family, but I try also to focus on the good stuff and praise God for it, as well as encourage those who are faithfully walking with Him. I don’t want to be unpopular with people, but pleasing God is far more important. The older I get, the easier it is to listen to Him and pray with confidence for whatever He puts on my heart. The downside of that is He asks me to check up my own life first before I ask Him to change anyone else.

Again, being a prophet is not a picnic; just read Ezekiel a few times.