Spiritual Gifts in Action (Rom. 12:3-7)

The use of spiritual gifts is often a topic of conversation among Christians. Many books have been written on the topic and many conferences claim to focus on it. It is common to have arguments about them, often about which ones are still available today. It is also common to confuse spiritual gifts and natural talents, with the assumption that somehow the latter are more important than the former.

The New Testament mentions spiritual gifts in several places. Perhaps the best-known one is Ephesians 4:11-12 where Paul refers how the ascended Saviour ‘gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ’. There Paul focuses on the Word-gifts, as they are called, although he does say in verse 7 that ‘grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift’. Another passage that focuses on spiritual gifts is 1 Corinthians 12–14 where Paul focuses mainly on the more spectacular gifts connected to prophecy, tongue speaking and miracles of healing. Peter also refers to spiritual gifts in 1 Peter 4:10-11; ‘As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies – in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.’

Paul’s gift

Paul here in Romans 12 refers to his own spiritual gift of apostleship when he mentions ‘the grace given to me’. This particular gift enabled him to speak with authority to the church, not just in his own time, but throughout the centuries until Jesus returns. The way that Paul speaks to us is in the Bible. We should never say about any of his writings that they are merely his opinions. Instead we should acknowledge that God raised him up for the role that he was fulfilling here in composing this letter originally sent to the church in Rome.

Thinking of Paul as an apostle actually helps us understand how spiritual gifts operate. We could say that Paul became the gift, as it were. He was not always an apostle and did not become one until his conversion. His gift had to be developed and in his case took several years before others realised he was an apostle. How did he develop it? By doing the basic things that Christians do such as meditating on the Bible, praying, serving the Lord, and taking opportunities when they came. That is how we will find out our spiritual gift(s) as well. Live well as a Christian and we will find out and others will also see that we have it.

Approaching giftedness

Paul mentions how we are to approach the subject of spiritual gifts. The first requirement is humility. We may wonder why he mentions this response and I would suggest that one reason is the possibility of confusing natural talents and spiritual gifts. It is often the case that people respect natural talents and individuals who possess them can become proud of them. Paul himself is an example of someone who did not possess what one would regard as a necessary natural talent for a teacher, which was the surprising fact stated by himself that he was not a good speaker. If Paul was to assess himself on his natural talents he might have concluded that God had not called him to preach. Of course, a teacher has to be able to speak to some degree, but the possession of eloquence is no evidence that God has called a person to serve him. The range of similar talents is broad, but the fact that we are very good at something does not mean we can assume that we have been called to serve God in that way in his church.

Another reason for the call to humility would be the necessity of serving in a Christlike way. In God’s kingdom, there is no other way to serve. This is the pattern that the Master modelled for his servants to imitate. And we can understand why a servant should be marked by humility.

We can see a second requirement in the way that Paul describes the gift when he describes his own gift as an expression of divine grace and uses the same description of his readers and their gifts. How does a Christian usually respond to the grace of God? First, there is gratitude. We see this with regard to the grace of salvation when a Christian realises that God privileged him with the blessing of salvation. Gratitude should also be the response to the grace of service, that God has given a sinner a role in the furtherance of his kingdom. Second, there is confidence that God will provide the enabling to fulfil the role that he has gifted the individual to perform.

The third requirement that Paul mentions is accurate assessment of the gift that God has given. This means that it is possible for each Christian to discover what his or her gifts are and that it is essential for each Christian to discover it. Paul does not say that there are any exemptions to having a spiritual gift. If a Christian does not know what his or her gifting is, the reason is that they have not searched themselves to see what gift they have been given.

How is a Christian to regard himself with sober judgment? Here are some suggestions, all based on what has happened to him. First, God sent his Son to pay the penalty of the sins of that person. Second, God worked in providence in the individual’s life since he was conceived. Third, God brought the person to know him through the gospel. Fourth, God has planned for that person to fulfil a particular role or roles in the church as his contribution. Fifth, God will enable that person to fulfil the role earmarked for him. Sixth, the use of that particular gift(s) is one way by which that person reveals his faith – he discovers that he can do it with a measure of comfort whereas he notices that others do not do it with that experience.

The illustration

Paul refers to an illustration that he uses several times in his writings, that of the church as a body. When we think of a body, we think of its members functioning together simultaneously. The members are not the same, yet each is essential in order for the body to function properly. The same is true of the church. To the extent that one member does not function as he or she should, the church is hindered, which makes very serious the failure to function in the particular way God intended.

Some people have in a humorous way, depicted what happens when a church does not behave like a body. They do so by using other illustrations and I will mention them. One illustration is that the church is like a bus: the minister is the driver and the members are the passengers. They drive to all kinds of interesting places, enjoy each other’s company, but they don’t make contact with people not on the bus. Sometimes it stops at a bus stop, but no effort is made by the driver or the passengers to invite others on board.

Another illustration is that of an aeroplane. The minister is the pilot, the crew are the staff, and the members are the passengers. The plane takes off and climbs out of sight of people on the ground. Eventually the plane is put on automatic pilot and people snooze away the time on the flight or else read something by themselves. It arrives at its destination with the same number of people as when it started. The point that those humorous illustrations stress is that only a few people are doing anything whereas the imagery of the body requires everyone to do something, and the something each does is their gift, whatever it is.

Paul mentions that the illustration of a body reveals that a church is composed of persons united to one another. The illustrations of a bus and a plane gave to each person a separate seat as it were whereas the illustration of a body stresses the necessity for each person to do his part. On the bus and the plane, it all depends on one individual – the driver or the pilot – fulfilling his role. In the illustration of the body, it depends on all of them doing so.

Gifts that Paul mentions

Paul mentions seven gifts here and it is possible to divide them into two kinds, those connected to communicating the faith and those connected to practical expressions of Christian living. We can work our way through them and see what they would look like in a church.

The first gift that is mentioned is prophecy. This is probably a gift that was temporary in the sense that prophets belonged to the foundation of the church. The person who had this gift often passed on a message from God for the present. Even although they were given information in this way, a way that we know little about, their words had to be assessed. We have the example of Agabus who stated accurately that Paul would be arrested if he went to Jerusalem. Agabus deduced from his prophecy that Paul should not go whereas Paul responded by saying that the prophecy indicated he should go. The prophet’s interpretation on that occasion was wrong.

This gift played a prominent role in the gatherings of the early church, as we can see from Paul’s detailed instructions concerning them in 1 Corinthians. One reason why they were needed was that the New Testament had not been composed and Christians needed revelation from God about many things. That revelation is now found in the Bible, so we don’t need this gift usually today. I suppose God could provide it if a group of his people had no access to the Word of God.

The second gift is serving and it looks as if this term covers a wide range of activities. Perhaps we are meant to observe through the mention of prophecy that all gifts need the Holy Spirit and through the mention of service that all gifts express our obedience to Jesus as Lord. If this suggestion is correct, then Paul is reminding the Romans that spirituality and service go together.

The third gift is that of teaching and this is a reference to the individuals who have the responsibility of teaching the doctrines of the faith. In today’s terminology, this is a reference to the pastor or to the minister. Of course, there can be more than one in a congregation, although it has become the general practice only to have one.

The fourth gift, exhortation or encouragement, indicates that there are other forms of teaching in a congregation in addition to that given by the pastor. Exhorters and encouragers could cover those who lead small groups or engage in teaching on a personal basis. They may not have the competence of the teacher to speak to everyone in the way that he does, yet they are sufficiently gifted to make an essential contribution to the life of the congregation. And exhortation and encouragement are always needed.

The fifth gift is that of contributing. It is likely that this gift is connected to a person with ample resources to share. Does Paul suggest that God leads some wealthy Christians to give in a sacrificial way when a particular need arises? The obvious example of this gift is Barnabas, and perhaps a picture of his old friend when through Paul’s mind when he mentioned this gift.

The sixth gift is leadership and here Paul probably has in mind the eldership of a congregation. Today, the word ‘leader’ is virtually meaningless because it is used in a variety of circumstances in which leadership is not an obvious feature. By definition a leader is an individual who people follow because they recognise his authority and trustworthiness. How will other Christians in a congregation recognise a leader of it? They will observe his zeal for Jesus and his kingdom.

The seventh gift mentioned by Paul is probably a reference to those who have the role of deacons in the congregation. A deacon provided practical help to needy people in the congregation. It is obvious from Paul’s comment that a deacon should be a person marked by cheeriness. The role is a ministry of encouragement and an expression of brotherly love.

The list that Paul gives here is different from other lists given in the New Testament, perhaps a reminder that not all possible gifts have been mentioned. Yet as we think of them, we can see that the use of spiritual gifts is varied, valuable and vital. Paul says the gifts should be used, and the way to use them is by faith in God and by a focus on those areas of church life in which they can be most effective.

The presence of spiritual gifts is a reminder that each believer should be dedicated to serve God through the gift he has provided, should be depending on other believers to use the gifts they have been given, and should be determined to make the church as effective as possible.