Doctrine of Spiritual Service; Temporary Gifts; 1 Co 12:7-12

What we learn in 1 Corinthians 12 is that every believer has a vital and important and significant role to play in rhe body of Christ. There is no believe who can sit on the sidelines if they are at all advancing in the spiritual life.

1 Cor 12:7 ^NASB “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” The thrust of this verse in the original does not come through in the translation. The first noun, “the manifestation of the Spirit” is the Greek word phanerosis [famhrwsij] which has the idea of a manifestation or a disclosure. This is a synonym in the Greek for a)pokaluyij which is the normal word used for revelation, which means to uncover or disclose, or e)pifaneia which has to do with a physical appearance of God. But unlike these other words this word is never used of a physical disclosure or appearance of the person of God, but instead it emphasizes a manifestation or display related to the unseen or inner work of God the Holy Spirit at salvation. What this refers to is the doctrine that will hit at the end of this passage in verses 12 and 13 which focus on the baptism by means of God the Holy Spirit. So the manifestation here is the outworking of spiritual giftedness of each believer. As we grow to maturity this work of the Holy Spirit in our life becomes a display of God’s character, and specifically God the Holy Spirit. So we talk about a demonstration or a disclosure but the disclosure “of the Spirit.” Here we have a genitive phrase which is a genitive of source. The source of this manifestation is God the Holy Spirit but the disclosure from the source of God the Holy Spirit is “given,” and here we have the verb didotai [didotai] which is the present passive indicative form of didomi [didomi] which means to give or to grant or to dispense. Whenever we see the word “give” in the English we ought to always think about grace, that this is God’s gracious gift to each one of us. This is the passive form of the verb which means the subject receives the action of the verb and does not perform the action of the verb. Spiritual gifts are given based on the sovereign will of God the Holy Spirit, they are not based on who or what we are. We simply receive it as a special gift that comes at instant of salvation. So, “The disclosure from the source of God the Holy Spirit is graciously given to each one [believer]” for the profit of all.” That last phrase has to be clarified. The Greek word pros [proj] is what is translated “for,” a multipurpose word that is somewhat ambiguous. The Greek is proj, which in this sense is the inclusion of a clause and indicates purpose, so it is given to each believer for a purpose. But the meaning of this last phrase goes beyond the sum of the parts, it is not simply pros plus the accusative of sumpheros [sumferoj], it is an actual idiom which has to do with that which is useful, beneficial, or of service. So what we come to in terms of an understanding of this verse in the original is translated this way: “But the demonstration of the Spirit is graciously given to each believer in order to serve the whole body.” So we learn that the purpose isn’t for the profit/benefit of the body but it is in order to serve the whole body. sumpheros has a rich heritage that goes back to classical Greek, and the idiom maintained itself through the Koine period and has the idea of producing that which is useful, beneficial or of service.

The doctrine of spiritual service

1) Every church age believer is in full time Christian service at the instant of regeneration. At the point of salvation the believer is given a spiritual gift, or more than one spiritual gift, and is also adopted into the royal family of God which gives certain responsibilities in terms of being a royal priest and in terms of being a royal ambassador. Christian service is related to all three of those.

2) It is not what you do in terms of activity around a local church that is important, it is your status as a Christian filled with the spirit, and that determines the legitimacy of your Christian service. For what we do to be Christian service it has to be done under the filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

3) While Christian service is very important in the outworking of the plan of God it is not the means of executing the plan. It is part of the plan but not the means. Christian service is the by-product of spiritual growth, not the means of spiritual growth.

4) Religion substitutes Christian service for spirituality and momentum in the plan of God. The believer is in fulltime Christian service whether he likes it or not, whether he is good at it or not, so the issue is to grow to spiritual maturity to be useful. If you stay a spiritual baby or spiritual adolescent your Christian service will be ineffective because you are not a mature believer, so the issue is to grow to maturity so that you can take your place in terms of usefulness and effectiveness in the body of Christ.

5) Christian service is never a means but it is always a result of spiritual progress and growth. The more the believer grows the more he will discover where his spiritual gift lies and the more he will be sensitive to the importance of service in the local church, and that is an out-growth of grace orientation. Service is not based on getting anything but on giving, and that always emphasizes grace.

6) Christian service may function through a spiritual gift such as witnessing, prayer, giving, or administration.

7) The sequence of the prepositions in Ephesians 4:12. Those gifts are given for the purpose of equipping the saints, i.e. to give you the spiritual skills and growth necessary to be able to do the work, the production of service in the body of Christ.

8) Learning Bible doctrine must precede Christian service for the service to have maximum effectiveness.

9) Spiritual momentum and motivation must precede Christian service. What is more important than serving in some sort of capacity is learning the Word of God and the spiritual dynamics that undergird the spiritual life, rather than getting out there and doing something. Then what happens is the result of that spiritual growth manifests itself in a solid, stable ministry of spiritual service in the congregation, whatever that may be.

10) Therefore Christian service is the result of spiritual momentum and spiritual growth but never the means of momentum or growth.

There are four categories of Christian service

1) Christian service related to your spiritual gift.

2) Christian service related to your royal priesthood. For example, intercessory prayer.

3) Christian service related to your royal ambassadorship. This has to do with evangelism, witnessing to others.

4) Christian service related to your invisible impact as a believer.

We have to recognize that Christian service related to our spiritual gift is based on something that is given to us at the instant of salvation by God the Holy Spirit. You don’t know what it is at that point and you may never specifically identify your spiritual gift, but that is not necessary. Your spiritual gift will become effective and you will begin to operate in it as you grow and mature as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christian service is related to spiritual gifts and we have a list of spiritual gifts given to us, starting in verse 8. ^NASB “For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; [9] to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, [10] and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another {various} kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.”

There are a couple of things that we ought to note as we look at the exegesis of this passage. There is an interplay between two Greek words, and it is this interplay that divides this list of gifts into three groupings. These two word are allos [a)lloj] and heteros [e(teroj]. The word allos has the idea of another of the same kind. This is where we get our English word “alloy,” different metals that can join together and are merged together. On the other hand, we have the word heteros which has the idea of another of a different kind. This is where we get the word “heterosexual,” it is another of a different kind. As you go through this passage in the Greek what you find is that at the beginning of verse 8 are these two gifts grouped together under the concept of allos, so they’re another of the same kind. Then in verse 9 where we read “to another faith by the same Spirit” there is a shift there to heteros. Then, “and to another gifts of healing” is allos, and then in v. 10, “and to another the effecting of miracles” is allos, “and to another the distinguishing of spirits” is also allos; “to another {various} kinds of tongues,” is heteros. So what we see here is that there is a grouping of two and they are allos, and then when you change to a new category the first is going to be heteros, indicating another of a different kind.

When we come to verse 8 we have: “For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit.” Those are grouped together.

Then in v. 9: “to another [heteros, changing categories] faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit [10] and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits.” Those are all the same category.

Then, “to another {various} kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues,” Paul uses heteros, indicating a third category now.

So in terms of grammar there are three groups of gifts here, and it is not readily apparent what they have in common. The first group has two in it: the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge. The word “word” is logos [logoj] which technically means word, but it has to do with communication, so it should be translated a message. It is not a single word, it is a message, so it should be translated “For to one is given a message related to wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the message related to knowledge through the same Spirit.” Paul uses three different prepositions which are all translated “through the Spirit”: dia [dia], kata [kata] and en [e)n], and it is to emphasize that every way you can imagine the Holy Spirit is involved—by means of the Holy Spirit, through the Holy Spirit, and according to the Holy Spirit. So the emphasis here is on the Holy Spirit and His role in these gifts.

When we look at these first two gifts it must be confessed that there is tremendous confusion on these gifts and there is no one who can speak with certainty on just exactly what these gifts were and how they operated. One thing can be said with certainty though, it is not the absurdity that is found in Charismatic operations where the word of wisdom and word of knowledge is where somebody stands up and has a personal insight into something that is going to happen in somebody else’s life. We don’t have any example like that in the Scripture. This is the only time in Scripture that these gifts are mentioned and they have never been mentioned in reference to operation. There is no illustration of these gifts in Acts or any of the epistles. In chapter 13:8, 9, 10 there is the emphasis on the gift of prophecy and the gift of knowledge, that they are temporary gifts and they will pass away. That passage teaches us that whatever else we can say about the second gift here, the message of knowledge, it is a revelatory gift; it has to do with special revelation. Therefore “word of wisdom” has to do with special revelation. So it is not just articulating something about the Old Testament, it is new revelation.

Since Paul uses “wisdom” in this epistle to relate to the work of Christ it is thought to have to do with special revelation that relates to application of doctrine from the person and work of Christ. The word of knowledge has to do with special revelation in terms of information about the spiritual life in the church age. What we have to realize is that at this early stage in the church they didn’t have any of the mystery doctrine that Paul had revealed. So during this time they don’t have a completed canon of Scripture, and not even Paul or Peter has to whole picture. It is not until the New Testament canon is complete that anyone has the whole picture and that there is a sufficient revelation. Therefore it was necessary for God to give special revelation to different people at different times in different congregations related to specific issues that they were dealing with because they didn’t have a completed canon yet. Once the canon was completed and there was a sufficient revelation then these gifts would pass off the scene.